Dorie’s Different Reality

Ever notice they come up with “new” vegetables all the time? A couple of years ago, I started seeing orange-yellow cauliflower. It tastes the same, it just looks like somebody already put the cheese sauce on it! The agronomists of the world need to consider the zucchini, known in some places as a courgette, or plain ol’ summer squash. Cross the thing with a lentil and feed the world! If you stand quietly in one place you can watch the things grow! Any veggie that grows five or six inches in a day, they need to find a way to put protein into the veggie! I’ve already had to sacrifice one to the compost fairies- the thing was at least 18 inches long. Like I told you, my frugal father would try to palm those monsters off on the neighbors, saying they were delicious stuffed. Nah, the little guys taste better!

So, to deal with the population explosion, I’ve got the dehydrator going. Bought it two seasons ago, and then with the bad drought last year didn’t have enough veggies to dehydrate! Here’s a pic of the mean machine:

If it were a car, it would be like the BMW of dehydrators. It’s great. I sliced up a bunch of the squash and it’s dessicating away. The plan is to put the goodies in jars and use it up later. I also sliced up a one pound bag of carrots and wow- they’re really tiny once the water is gone! It occurs to me that since we’re at the height of cherry & blueberry season, I should get some of those and dry ‘em! Dried fruit, apart from raisins, is fairly expensive, but always nice for baking.

Went to the “undoctor” today. I’ll live. In fact, my blood pressure is down to normal range. So the “antihypertensive” little orange pill is working. On the other hand, I have “Generalized Anxiety Disorder” I think I was born with it. My whole life I’ve never stopped worrying. Even when I’m sitting still, inside me the winds still blow. Sometimes worse than other times. Panic is not good. As an added bonus, I get depression with it. So great- stay up all night worrying! I’ve only had a few anxiety free moments in my whole life.
I had a little break from it for a few days several years ago. Back when everybody was trying Redux and Phen-fen to lose weight, the doctor let me give phenteramine a try. The amphetamine part of the phen-fen- so for most people, it’s a mood elevator, perhaps an appetite suppressant. My Lord it was amazing! You know how quiet your house gets when the power cuts out- all the hums and ticks you don’t normally notice until they’re not there? That’s what it felt like inside my head. Peace, freedom- drug induced to be sure, but wow. One of my coworkers asked me if I’d lost any weight taking the pills and I answered quite honestly, “No…but even better, I don’t care!” And I totally understood why people take drugs. Like the glow of two good stiff drinks, but lasts longer.
So anyhow, as fun as it was, I never refilled the prescription. I took an antidepressant that took some of the big dips out of the road for several years, but a couple of years ago, due to lack of insurance and the stuff I was taking being expensive, I stopped taking it. I have to admit, I have a tired, worried, serotonin deprived brain. So Mr. R. gave me an Rx for one of the older SSRI’s to try. It’s $10 a month stuff, so if it helps, that would be fabulous!

Dreaming of a Gothic Garden: I’d love to expand my flower bed out back, get a couple of nice benches. And maybe one of those copper fire pits to sit outside at night, enjoying the fire and listening to the crickets! I’ve seen pictures of gardens with lots of white flowers that seem to glow in the moonlight. Eventually, what I’d like to do is have sort of a black and white area in the garden. “Black” flowers aren’t really black- more dark red, purple, etc. But I like the light/dark contrast idea! I have “Queen of the Night” tulips and they’re pretty black-deep purple. I bought a ground cover called “black scallop” It reminds me of that lettuce that has brown on the leaves. It’s interesting. Took a picture of one of the daylilies in bloom now. I planted them a couple of years ago, and they really took off this year. This one is called “Strutter’s Ball”; I guess that’s the Politically Correct flower name based on the old song, “Darktown Strutter’s Ball” I think it’s such a cool flower- dark maroon, and it’s really a lime green in the middle. Memo for next year- put a couple of white lilies next to them!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008 at 8:34 pm and is filed under Culture, Gardening. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.