here it comes

the meals on wheels night at the austin toros game at the cedar park
center is tonight at 730 pm
one half of the tickets you buy  goes to meals on wheels
then
there will be a silent auction on several items with 100% of the proceeds
going to meals on wheel
come join us and bid on the items
tickets should still be available 

if you want to just donate to the meals on wheels
go to this link and make a  donation

in the designation box write in 
meals on wheels program

or
send a check to
wbc opportunities
604 high tech drive
georgetown texas   78626

include a note that the check is for meals on wheels
thanks
togd

HERE IT COMES

alzheimers disease has in the past been reported as the 6th
leading cause of death in the united states
and
the only one of the top 10 leading causes of death that has
no treatment or cure

now
however
it appears that the cause of death from alzheimers is underreported
its that stigma thing i guess
like cancer use to be

heck they use to not even tell patients they had cancer years ago
like some do now with alzheimers disease

if i got it i dont want to know
they cant treat it so why know
just like cancer was years ago


researchers at rusk medical school looked at the true causes of
death of a large number of patients
what they found was that alzheimers disease as the cause of death
was grossly underreported
by as much as 5 times

which if extrapolated to the country as a whole would make
alzheimers the 3rd leading cause of death in the united states
behind heart disease and cancer

this move upward in the list
makes it even more important that we throw money at this
disease that may eventually overtake
heart disease and cancer and be the
number one cause of death in the united states soon

the disease now costs us $200 billion a year
its rapidly eating up medicare and medicaid costs
in the last 10 years the death rate from alzheimers disease has
gone up by 68% while other causes of death like heart disease
and cancer have declined

alzheimers research is grossly underfunded for being the
number 3 killer of americans
the lack of supportl is symbolized by the lack of showing by senators at
seth rogens testimony last week before congress

until they
our  elected officials get more involved its not going to happen
we by the way are the ones who sent them there
so i guess it makes it our fault also
let them know we need more done

what can you do for yourself and your kids and your hubby

maintain a healthy blood flow to the brain by controlling your blood
pressure your cholesterol your diabetes your weight

exercise doing something walking is cheap and easy

eat a diet rich in fruits vegetables legumes nuts whole grains fish

homocysteine is obtained from eating meat
keep your homocysteine levels down by increasing your b12
and folic acid intake by eating green leafy vegetables and fruits
and lean meats fish yogurt and fortified cereals

lower stress
laughter may be the best medicine
control depression and anxiety
meditate i eg do that everyday as i sit and look out our window
at the sunrise or the sunset or watch the birds or deer or road runner
thats how i meditate
a glass of red wine may help relax you also as you meditate
preferable not in the morning though

maintain an active social life

more formal education
learning new things like quilting photography playing a musical
instrument eg may help

get adequate sleep

if youll notice these are the things that may also help lower
the risk for the top two causes of death in the united states
heart disease and cancer
and further down the line stroke

so we can determine to some extent what they are going
to put on our death certificate

lets just make it so that they have to say
well he or she just died of old age

the organicgreen doctor

tomato planting

the meals on wheels night at the austin toros game at the cedar park
center is friday night at 730 pm
one half of the tickets you buy  goes to meals on wheels
then
there will be a silent auction on several items with 100% of the proceeds
going to meals on wheel
come join us and bid on the items

if you want to donate to the meals on wheels
go to this link and make a  donation

in the designation box write in 
meals on wheels program

or
send a check to
wbc opportunities
604 high tech drive
georgetown texas   78626

include a note that the check is for meals on wheels
thanks
ogd

TOMATO PLANTING
recently i was at the natural gardener in austin texas to buy plants
and
i started thinking about my tomato crop this year

a friend had given me a celebrity tomato plant that i had put in
a 1 gallon pot
i placed it in my green house and man did it grow there

at the natural gardener i looked at their garden where they had
already planted their tomatoes in holes
heres the label that was on their tomato bed

so i decided i would plant my tomatoes in a well or a hole
following their general directions
i did something like this last year and was successful

first i have a 4 ft x 14 ft g garden bed that i decided to turn into an anthill or
a hugelkulter bed

i got these ingredients
old cardboard
old newspapers
old records
shredded stuff from my shredder
my chicken made compost
leaves yall gave me
limbs twigs tree trunks

i dug out all the dirt out of my bed in 4 ft increments down to about 2 ft

then i added cardboard newspapers old records shredded stuff
on top of that i added limbs and old tree trunks
then added some of the soil from the hole
then added your leaves
then added the chicken compost
then added more newspaper
then added leaves
then added the compost
then the dirt
layer after layer until i ran out of soil
then on top i added my compost from my really composted compost

i did this to all 14 ft of the bed

then i raked it all out real well
dug a trench down the middle where i will plant
dug a trench on the sides where my drippers will go

then i dug this hole that would hold my 3 gallon bucket
which i cut out the bottom
thats my shovel handle in the hole

i then planted my celebrity tomato down in that hole
adding some earthworm castings in the hole
watered it well with seaweed
then filled the hole partially with the garden stuff i had just made

as the tomato grows i gradually will lift the bucket out of the hole
until it gets to the top of the garden soil
leaving it in place for a while to provide protection from the wind
and from the cold
later i will use it as a well to pour some of johns liquid fertilizer
which has fish emulsion in it seaweed and molasses as the season
progresses

i then cover the whole tomato with a five gallon bucket
then cover that with row cover to protect it from the cold
opening it to the weather when its nice
covering it when its cold

if all goes well my tomatoes will get a real jump start on the season
our summers can come real early
once the heat hits hard the tomatoes quit producing

the varieties i chose are mostly indeterminate
which means they will keep producing as long as conditions are good
determinates produce only a set number of tomatoes then
thats it

the indeterminates have the chance of surviving and being
fall producers if i am lucky

my varieties im planting are sweet 100s juliets both small ones
early girl as they will produce quicker in the spring
celebrity a good producer
then heirlooms like cherokee purple black krum brandywine
mortgage lifter hopefully arkansase traveler
and porter
adding more as they become available

 if you plant your tomatoes here in cental texas remember
late freezing weather is not unusual in late march
we here at the country n seem to get one in early april
so
be sure and protect them with row covers and blankets
when the weather is threatening

there is nothing like a good juicy tomato

the organicgreen doctor

lists

LISTS
im a list maker
i didnt just start since i had to retire
and
since i was diagnosed with the mild cognitive impairment
better known as mci

im a list maker from way back
just ask my wife my kids and my nurses
im sure they hated those lists

so far im not too bad about forgetting things
but ive noticed im more likely to miss things in the last
3 years than in years past

i think part of the problem besides the mci is i
get busy doing something and get distracted and
just forget to do it

ok sometimes i do it on purpose
because i dont want to do it
and
sometimes its a project that if i do it
it seems like when thats done i wont have as much to do
like finishing painting the trim on our doors
have the paint even primed it already
awhile ago
its just one of those things i cant seem to do
it just doesnt make the daily list sometimes

then
theres the put off list
get tax stuff together for the tax guy
move the furniture for my wife she
dig up those prickly cactus
clean out our totally trashed and junked barn storage area
etc etc etc

also ive gotten a lot busier since i retired
so i dont have as much free time as i did
when i first retired

im not regretting that as i feel like im doing good
doing habitat houses running meals on wheels and
promoting alzheimers awareness by talking about
alzheimers all the time giving talks on it and serving
on the walk to end alzheimers committees and
a state wide alzheimers committee

so my list is made every day
today eg
go to house one at habitat
plant 7 shrubs
finish rock ground cover around the mailbox
finish edging the new beds with rock obtained from
a local church and from another work site
fix gutter
edge the sidewalks and curbs
pick up my large logs from the tree we cut down to use
at my house for edging around my new anthill garden
where ill plant my tomatoes

go to house 2 to finish the rock corner where the water
drains off the property to slow down the runoff
plant the pride of barbados shrub in the bed in the back

go to house 3 to water the  large transplanted crepe myrtle from
water brought in with my portable rainwater tank
since theres no water connection yet
pick up rocks for house 1

go home after lunch
nap
help prepare supper
eat
nap
go to bed

ah the joys of retirement

so thats how i do my list each day

my wife she sent me this list of 35 things to do in austin texas
before you die
ive done nine of them
one that i havent done i want to is the broken spoke
the dance hall place that many of the old country western guys
and gals have played at
especially willie
its now got sandwiched between apartment buildings
an austin landmark for sure
another is ive never swam in barton springs but ive been there
guess that counts right
one my wife she has done that i dont ever plan on doing
is waiting in line for franklins bbq
she had a grand time waiting in line with all those folks
from everywhere for 3 hours
i agree the bbq was worth it though

the good thing is that i knew what all 35 of them were

so yes im a list person
always have been
always will be
of course as time goes on those lists become more important
dont they

the orrganicgreen doctor