Too much rain?

This summer has been a very wet one in so many ways. Raining almost every three days or so, and for the last couple of weeks, it has been almost daily. I did lose some of my raspberries (about 1/3 of them) due to the over-abundance of rain, but I did not have too many lost due to molds. More like, they got too ripe too fast, and fell before I could get to them.

The birds and the bugs have been able to feast quite nicely! At least this time I did not end up with the little black spots that I had last year. Of course, the season for my berries (being the everbearing kind) is not over yet. The next group will start to ripen over the next few weeks and will continue until frost.

As you have seen in prior posts my volunteer zuchinni has been doing very well, and has actually provided some really huge zuchinnis. Mind you, those we allow to grow just to see how big they will get. I do not use them for cooking or freezing for winter. It is quite difficult to time it just right to be able to pick them at the perfect size. Now, the ones my husband planted by seeds are quickly catching up in size and are producing very well indeed.

The leeks are growing huge, and the onions are also doing well. My tomatoes are a mixed lot, of at least 5 different varieties, and some of them are doing better than others. The cherry tomatoes are doing well, the romas too. The beefsteak kind are not doing so good though. Lots of blight on these and I am afraid I will not get any out of those plants. I may have to buy a bushel or two from a local farmer in order to have enough for winter preserves.

As I do not use any pesticides, or herbicides, it has cause some difficulties in preventing the mold/rot on the tomatoes. Hopefully it will not affect my 2nd batch of raspberries.

My peppers are starting to produce as well, and I got two nice little peppers so far.

The closet

Today I took a big step. I realised that all of my clothes that I have been saving for years in hopes of them fitting again, was a waste of space. I filled two large plastic bags with clothes still in excellent condition, and walked them over to a bin that is for the diabetic association. Feel much better now!

Mind you, it just gives me a good reason to tell my husband that I need to go clothes shopping again.

Raspberry Jelly

Yesterday I decided that it was time to make some of my favourite jelly, Raspberry! I still had raspberries in my freezer from last year and wanted to make room for this season's berries, so I took out the 3 large freezer bags full and defrosted them. It gave me enough juice to make 3 batches of jelly.

I do keep about one tablespoon of seeds in each batch, as I have found that it helps it set better.

A very strange summer

This summer is one of the strangest I have seen since moving here 5 years ago. It seems like it is raining almost every other day, and the humidity is unreal. Last night there was a wicked thunderstorm, and it was not a short one either. The light show lasted for at least 3 hours, and when the lightening strikes started coming closer we knew we were in for a bad one.

The road lights actually went out a few times, but it never did in the house. It was enough to trip the breaker for the air conditioner but not the computers or the clocks. Now that is unusual in itself. We were awake for the entire storm, and finally went to sleep sometime after midnight.

With the jet stream all over the place, and snapping southward rather than northward (where it should be this time of year) it is playing havoc with our weather and our bodies themselves. At least now I know one reason why I have, in the past 3 years, been battling severe headaches that can last up to 3 or 4 days at a time. But recently, over the last 2 months, it has progressed into having scintillating auras. Apparently, this means that I have been having migraines.

Most often migraines have the auras, and severe headpain with sensitivity to light and sound. This can also include nausea. For me, I have 3 different symptoms. First, I am nauseaus for about 2-3 days. Second, I either have the headache with photophobia (sensitivity to light) and hyperacusis or phonophobia (sensitivity to sound), or the scintillating aura. Usually after 3-4 days of the second symptom, the third one will appear. So far I have had that aura about 4 times and it takes at least 30 - 60 minutes for it to go away. I also have the "blind spots" that can last up to 3 hours afterwards.

This last time though, I was at work when the aura appeared. In fact, I knew it was going to happen because it seemed as though my vision/eyes were all jumpy. So, as soon as the aura appeared, I went to one of the doctors I work for and asked him if there was something I could try. I was given 3 different medications to try (only one at a time though!) and I chose to try the Maxalt. I did not notice anything immediately, but it has been a week now since that aura and the 3rd symptom has not appeared. I did have some tension in my neck and at the base of my skull, but no pain!

For those of you who are interested in reading more about migraines, check out wikipedia. I have found that to be a good sourse of information.