I’m starting to get emails asking if I’m o.k. so I thought I’d better post! Yes, I’m fine and I’ll give a personal update at the end of this post (I still have a few emails to respond to – thank you for your concern!).
I harvested some basil so I thought I’d share how I preserve what I don’t dry.
Remove the leaves, wash and spin in salad spinner to dry
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I freeze quite a bit of basil as the summer goes and then I use it as flavoring in soups & sauces. I also make a batch of pesto at the end of the summer using some of the frozen basil.
blend the leaves with little bit of olive oil to keep them from turning black in the freezer
We use our wonderful Vitamix which is THE best thing I ever won from a blog give away! Yes I won the Vitamix!! The Canny Homemaker gives away some wonderful items like the Vitamix/ Cuisinart/Kitchen Aid etc. Plus she has good posts about eating healthy. We use our Vitamix every morning to make smoothies and lots of other things (like ice cream).
put your chopped up basil in freezer proof containers
The basil I freeze for flavoring is pureed and put into ice cube trays. The basil I freeze to use in pesto is chopped more coarsely and frozen in a larger container.
Leave some leaves on your plants so they can re-grow
This is my basil AFTER cutting – I leave a few leaves on because it needs some leaves to re-grow.
Although it was an unexpected expense, we had to put up a fence along the back of property after Colonial Pipeline chopped down all my trees and shrubs.
New fence along the back of our property
They cut the Crepe Myrtles down to 4 feet and we all thought they wouldn’t leaf out again since they were cut so late in the season. But they have come back! I’ve started replanting the fence line but it’s going to take me a while. This photo shows about 1/5 of the area!
Vegetable garden June 2012
The vegetable garden is coming along. Slower than last year. Plus we have two rabbits that have made our yard their home and either them or the chipmunks had a snack of my corn early on (what they left alone doesn’t seem to be doing well – so no homegrown corn for us the year). Last year, I already had lots of zucchini – this year not even one so far and I’ve already been fighting the squash bugs!
Sunflowers grown from seed in my cutting garden
I have lots of sunflowers in my cutting garden raised bed. I haven’t cut one flower! I rarely cut any in my yard except the hydrangeas. I don’t know why 🙂 I guess I just enjoy seeing them in the yard!
I love this tree! I got it as a tiny seedling from my daughter’s piano teacher about 10 years ago. You can see one of our rain barrels next to it (we have three and really could use more). They’re almost empty. It’s so hot today (over 100) and we haven’t had any rain in while.
On a personal note they finally know what’s wrong with me (at least I hope they’re right) – I have an entrapped (pinched) lateral femoral cutaneous nerve. Nothing much they can do at this point. I don’t have any pain at the moment – it could flare up again though and I’ve lost some sensation in my left leg. But at least I can get on with my life and not see a new doctor every week! That in itself was very stressful.
Anyway, hope you are all having a good weekend and staying cool!
Your garden is looking so good! We are on our 2d week of 100+ temps and 13 inches below normal rainfall, so I’m not sure whether to soldier on with the garden or cut my (water bill) losses early — since we could conceivably have this pattern last until late September! Our water barrels are almost empty, too.
I’m glad you know what has been causing the pain — at least now you can get on with things!
Glad to see you post again. Thought about you, but also know we all have other things going in our life. Glad they found the problem and hope it will heal soon.
Have heard/read how many are struggling with their gardens this year. I still think the utility company should reimburse ya’ll for some of your expenses to repair the damage.
Off to water my pitiful looking flowers and ferns and hope they make it in this heat wave.
Hope you are enjoying your weekend and staying cool.
Pinched nerve, ouch! I hope they’re right and you stay pain-free for a long while.
I’m tickled that I’m not the only one who admires her flowers in the garden rather than in a vase. If I want to see flowers while I’m sitting at the table, I figure that’s why God made windows see-thru!
Oh, and thanks for the olive oil tip for the basil (which is coming on very s-l-o-w-l-y at our house).
Love your sunflowers.
I am so glad I stopped by your blog this evening. Somehow I missed the issue with your leg until now. I have the exact same thing! I’d had some minor numbness on the outside of my right thigh for some time. I would notice it when I was drying off after a shower. In early Nov 2011 I had a bad flareup of arthritis in my left knee and ended up having to adjust my position in bed to lying on my back most of the time. This aggravated the nerve issue and I would wake up to go to the bathroom with extreme pain in my right thigh. I was a mess. And right before our first trip to Walt Disney World!
But I made it through the trip and had a good time. Later in Dec I woke up one morning in excruciating pain in my right thigh. It was about 6am. I took a pain pill but it didn’t touch it. I had to wake up my husband and he took me to the emergency room. The doctor there had no idea what to do. He gave me some additional pain med and another drug – can’t remember at the moment. I got past the immediate agony but ended up sleeping in a recliner. I had researched it online and knew exactly what it was. But for whatever reason my own doctor could not diagnose it either. I worked my way through unrelated tests and appts until I finally met with a neurologist and he listened carefully and said “I’ll be right back – I have to get a book” and then he told me what I had thought all along. He prescribed gabapentin, 300 mg 3 x a day. It did the trick!! I was so happy to finally be free of the pain. He discussed some surgical options with me and wanted to do an MRI to verify the exact place the nerve was being “pinched” but he honestly told me that it looked like I will be okay just taking the med. He said gabapentin has very little permanent effect on the body. He also advised me to lose some more weight to see if at some point that would relieve it.
I can get by with only twice a day, but do still have a little pain if I do.
Sorry to go on so….just saying hi 🙂 I need to go back and read your previous posts. I blog so inconsistently I have not written much about the situation.
Your fence looks awesome! I know that you didn’t want to spend that money but you just had to do it, I understand:) Loving the flowers and trees! Have a blessed day! We will pray for complete healing for you and NO MORE flare-ups! HUGS!
Hey Manuela, glad to see you posted. Wondered where you were. It’s really hot here in OK too, so trying to save the plants the best I can. Glad they found out what it is, even though you don’t know what to do. At least you know now, huh?
Brenda
Happy to see another blog post from you! Sorry to hear about your pinched nerve, but I’m glad you finally know what it is. Your yard always looks so beautiful ~ love your sunflowers!
nice to see an update and to see such a pretty garden. Things here look so blah, the weather is just awful, not hot though so I shouldn’t complain. I hope you find something that works for the pain, I have a similar situation and take gabapentin for it, it really helps. take care and stay cool! ;j
Sorry to hear about your pinched nerve. Living is pain is no fun at all. I have been thinking that I should harvest my basil too, but wasn’t sure how to ensure it grows back (I haven’t grown any for a long time), so your post came just in time.
Your garden is beautiful, Manuela. And the fence looks very nice and will be a nice backdrop to your plantings.
Sorry about your pinched nerve but glad you finally have some sort of answer!
xo
Claudia
Your basil looks so good and your garden is lovely!
Glad you are feeling better.
Your garden is inspiring. We planted herbs this year and my husband is using them in all his wonderful recipes. We are trying to figure out a spot for a vegetable garden. I think that will wait until I retire.
Very glad to see a post here. Also glad that they have discovered what the problem is…now if they could prevent it. It’s amazing what can go wrong with us.
Thank you for the information on basil. Mine is doing very nicely and I thought that I should be doing something with it soon besides throwing it into a salad. It’s about the only thing that is doing very well. Apparently, it likes a lot of water. We’ve had so much rain. Yes, I wish that I could share.
Take care and try to stay cool this summer…
Manuela~
first let me say, I’m glad the dr’s finally figured out your problem with your leg. I hope it isn’t too unbearable for you and your able to get relief when it flares up.
the fence looks pretty nice, glad your Crepe Myrtles came back.
We’ve gotten plenty of zucchini this year, it’s running out our ears! Some grasshoppers ate my sunflowers…but yours are pretty!
glad to see you posted, Pat
Your fence looks great, as does your garden. Too bad about the weather this year. I think most are struggling with their gardens. We finally got some rain Yeah! We didn’t have to water today:) Hope your leg thing gets better, but at least you have a diagnosis. I hate not knowing, don’t you?
It certainly has been warm and dry in our part of the country. Your garden is looking great. Mimi
First: It’s good to see you! I have been away myself for about a week. Sometimes, life just gets in the way. I’m also glad that you at least found out what is the cause. Sometimes, just figuring it out, giving it a name, and knowing that it isn’t terminal or something is almost like a medicine that begins to numb the pain a little. That’s how it was with me and fibro anyway. I just hope you can keep your pain as much at bay as possible.
As for how your garden grows? It looks as fabulous to me as ever. Basil is my favorite herb to cook with. I’m growing some this year, but just in a big pot. A friend just gave me a big old bag to freeze, though. .
The garden is looking great and so is the fence. I love the sunfklowers and great shot of all that basil.
Cynthia
She’s Back! I hope you don’t have any flareups from your nerve..OUCH! Affects your movements and motions doesn’t it?? Always a little ginger about HOW far you will reach or extend your body when you have had pain… O.O Love the garden, and those were great tips about the Basil. Thanks for sharing. Those crepe myrtles are SO hardy…once the heat hits in summertime they just begin to take off. And I love your Rose of Sharon…we had those lining the driveway in Charlotte. So pretty. some are more tropical looking than others…We had two WHITES appear out of nowhere. **Guess the birds planted them???? 😉 Glad to see a post and enjoyed the visit. The fence looks fantastic.
{{hugs}} xo
I always get an idea to take away when I see your pictures. 🙂
I love sunflowers but I’ve always had the forest creatures eat them before they grew very tall. If we are able to expand our raised bed (which is fenced in with a chicken wire fence), then I’ll have garden space to plant some.
I have been inspired by you to plant flowers in the same beds as the veggies. This year I have zinnias on one edge of the lettuce-bush beans bed and marigolds at the end. There are marigolds also at the end of the raised bed with tomatoes in it and nasturtiums share a bed with the pole beans.
I let my sage flower this year just for the gorgeous way it looked in the herb garden!
Praying you continue to feel better.
I like the way the fence came out and I Love your pretty garden! I missed hearing about your leg somehow, but I am glad you are doing better. Hope the recovery continues!
Glad to see you here! I’m catching up after time away to help my dear, little mother who had another heart attack a few weeks ago. Wishing you improved health. Knowing the problem helps – a bit! Your yard and garden are wonderful. Thank you for sharing how you preserve Basil. It’s my favorite herb and I haven’t yet done much with it. Need to learn and do some trial – and error (!), I think. Have a wonderful Fourth.
~Adrienne~
I am so glad you don’t have pain now and I hope you can prevent flair ups! To have a diagnosis is a relief isn’t it?
Great basil – we don’t use much but am trying to do more with it. I’ve never grown it but maybe next year.
We have the heat too – not hundreds but 90’s and humid! Woo-wee….I think we’ve had a bit more rain than you have.
Love to see your garden – such great ideas and also your fence looks great!
Have a happy holiday!
Hi Manuela! Glad to hear that you are doing a bit better with your health issue. It is NO fun to have something wrong with our bodies! I’ve had vertigo for three weeks and my balance is way off. Headaches and nausea, too. ICK…. I feel your pain with all this heat, but your garden sure is looking good! Wish I had a veggie garden. No room now in my yard- it’s full of other stuff. LOL Too bad the money had to be spent, but your fence area will grow in eventually. Take care. Sue
Oh no Manuela, I will be praying for you xox Clarice