Therapy Thursday, planning the garden

Therapy Thursday

Blondie had therapy again today, but of course as I begin taking pictures of her learning to use a hula hoop as a jump rope my battery died, so here is an old picture. Blondie REALLY wants to jumprope, but coordinating the wrists/arms, and the jumping is challenging. We thought the hula hoop might be a good substitute, but its very heavy for her to turn with one little wrist doing most of the work, so now we're thinking the ropes that boxers use, but don't know if they make kid sizes.... have to investigate. On a side note, I have been known to gush about her newer brace. It is a kiddie-gait trainer, and has really helped her fall less because it forces her toe up so she doesn't drag it, and she doesn't limp quite as much. UNFORTUNATELY, we are finding that we have to replace it about every 6 months- thankfully they are guaranteed for a year, so we aren't paying. They warned us that the brace could break at the ankle if she did a lot of squatting, but we're actually having more of an issue with the pad on her calf splitting down next to the metal insert. SO, if you have one for your child, please look at the black pad on the brace frequently, because just one little crack there seems to negate the benefits. I'll try to post pics of the brace crack tomorrow so you know what I'm talking about.

Topic 2 - Planning the garden.

I took an inventory of the different veggies we have purchased. Now, these are all fruits and veggies that we eat A LOT, so it benefits in the long run, but I think I'm going to learn about blanching and freezing them this summer too. We have 12 tomato plants (different varieties), 6 Romaine lettuce, 18 Red leaf (hmmmm may be too much - we didn't plant this last year so we'll see how it goes), 18 Broccoli (blanching and freezing), 15 Green Beans, 4 strawberries, 1 Oregano (other one died), 8 Cauliflower, 2 bell pepper (may need 2 more), 4 spinach, 1 basil, and 2 Seedless grape vines - add to that a peach tree that should give us six great peaches this year, and two pear trees - plus some sort of apple tree that I've never tried because I'm afraid for some reason.... but the trash collectors love it....

So, the lettuce is all going in window boxes on the deck ledge because of the deer/rabbits that ate it last year. The rest of it is going into the garden, and I'm thinking we need a LOT more boxes, so we'll have to think about where those go.

No, we aren't eating the pink snapdragons. I showed their "mouths" to Cheesie, and it is now her pet plant. I'm going to start planting them next week while I'm on break. OH! I think the ants moved out - just as I bought organic ant killer - it took TONS of boiling water, and at least a bottle of white vinegar. Hopefully they stay away.