Gardening & Other Things

I didn't get any gardening done this weekend, but I did get some organic seeds off of a couple of different web sites that have been recommended to me ... only to find out later that Ana won't garden unless I get her spinach and white pumpkin seeds. I agreed, and she started clearing out the round bricked area that's to be her special planting area.

I wasn't able to get the strawberry crowns I wanted, all of them were more commercial in nature, and I was looking for something more native like the beach strawberry (fragaria chiloensis) or something of that nature that grows wild in the area. Maybe I should just ask for a clipping from my grandmother's garden, assuming my aunt has kept the plant in the first place. Emerald City Gardens will have some strawberries (I'm not sure which types) in about two weeks, but I'm worried we'll not get the small, extra sweet natives that I'm looking for. Anyone with experience or knowledge on that subject? [J'adore the pictures on Wikipedia for garden strawberries.]

I've sorted out the seeds I already have based on planting dates, but many of them say to plant when the last threat of frost is gone. When I think about the changes in our climate over the last several years, I really can't say when that will be. We had snow last April that chilled and damaged the ranunculus I planted near the front door (and then the slugs got to them). A few years ago, we had hail in June. Who's to say when the last frost will be when the weather is so tempermentally out of whack? Oh, but remember, there's no such thing as global warming that causes planet-wide climate upsets and leads to freak storms. No, no, no.

Other news:
sebab needs a new kidney. Anyone got a spare? Please? She is currently rejecting the transplant she received only a couple of years ago. Send good thoughts.

My step-father, Stephan, is in appeal for his Tornado Machine patent [see Tornados 'R' Us]. He's still making them by hand because the company that was going to mass produce them bailed, and they're terribly large and time-consuming. What's more, some git from the patent office has rejected his patent despite having permission from the owner of another patent to utilize his gizmo in my step-father's machine. Everything is in order, but now he, who doesn't have any money to spare, has to go through the legal system to fight for the right to hold onto his patent or lose it forever. That just shouldn't happen. He's brilliant. Anyone with good legal advice (for Germany), or who can, despite the economy, become a small-time investor, or knows of a good place to mass produce items, PLEASE LET US KNOW. He requires:

• ~1000 EU to maintain patent rights.


• ~1000 EU to afford the amazing lawyer who has been an advisor during the early stages of this case.


• And whatever it takes to start marketing and mass production

The problems they've faced with this are negatively affecting my parents' lives and they deserve to have his inventions given merit, and to be marketed effectively. He's been working for years on this project, and wants desperately to get them on their way so he can work on the next one. Everyone who has seen his tornado machines is wowed by them.

And damnit, I know at least two dozen people who need new jobs. Now. I don't believe these figures regarding unemployment. When 80% of the people closest to me are out of work, that doesn't seem to match the 7-10% unemployment rate quotes I keep hearing about. I suppose those people who were receiving unemployment at the start of this crisis have fallen off of the records by now, and the stats are only showing the current/new people joining the unemployed masses? Technically, I'm unemployed, but as a student, it doesn't count on the records. And people who have to move or lose their homes, are they being counted? People who already were unemployed, do they figure in? Well, it's all rhetorical anyway. Now is definitely not a good time to be thinking of quitting what one already has. It's an employer's paradise, except even some of the employers are being laid off. *sighs*

Strawberries anyone?

Family Cloth?

There's been a buzz the last twenty-four hours about "The Family Cloth" on natural family communities. I hadn't heard of it before, so I looked it up and found: Family Cloth: How Green Are You Willing to Go?

Read the article first, and then answer this:

[Poll #1354441]

I just read excerpts from the article, and Craig got really defensive. He said, "I think first we should stop using paper towels every time a little water gets spilled. We could use rags." I pointed out that I hadn't actually suggested we try the family cloth, and he calmed down a bit. Notice that the article mentions that men tend to be more resistant to the idea. *smirks* I think we need to remind our men that their penises should be dabbed or wiped after urinating, too. I certainly don't want to put that in my mouth after a day of urination without proper cleaning.