just sayin

JUST SAYIN
i dont want to sound like a scrooge today
but this christmas thing has become overrated
maybe overdone is a better word

first we take away our thanksgiving day
to do a preblack friday day
a day when family and friends get together
hopefully to enjoy each others company
and
at our house to watch football and with
a full stomach take a restful nap in the afternoon
returning
at dark time to the table to have more leftovers

why would you want to leave this to find all those
crowds
get tramped get in a fight feel like you are on a
subway in new york city
just to buy something you probably dont need
anyway
its gotten hyped that day and the friday thats black
so so many feel like they have to participate

ok i did it once years ago and barely lived to tell about it
well it was 17 years ago
the scars still remain

then
theres all that spending and buying all those presents
many of which the recipients dont really want

a relative gives away gift cards in $25 increments to be used
from a charity that makes loans to underserved areas to
be used by businesses like farmers shopkeepers taxicabs etc
to expand their business in countries like central and south america
ive taken one of those gifts
selected the person to get the loan
they always seem to pay it back with interest
i then reloan it again
they pay it back

thats a christmas present that keeps on giving

isnt that really what christmas should be about
giving and not receiving

we have gone too far on the receiving end
so much that much our economy almost depends on it

just sayin

the organicgreen doctor

whats below counts

WHATS BELOW COUNTS
every year at this time i pull up my old plants
from my garden and throw them in my compost
pile
yes everything compostable goes into it
and it all eventually looks like this

after spending weeks and months getting attacked
by chickens weather piles of leaves newspapers
cardboard paper feed sacks bacteria fungi
insects leaving a big ole pile of almost edible compost

when i do pull up my plants usually in years past
the roots are large and are a mirror image of the
plant that was above the ground
you know like a reflection of a tree in a pond or river

but
this year was different
when i pulled up my peppers this year after that last freeze
what i found was this large mass of a root system
that now explains my fantastic production of peppers
this year
the first year that weve ever frozen peppers for future
use this winter

this root system why was it so much better this year

it was the hugelkulter and the keyhole garden methods
plus
an hour long conversation i had this year with the head
gardener at the organic garden place in austin
the natural gardener recently nominated for one of
the best garden nurseries in the us
when if you ever go there youll understand why
be sure and take your kids theyll love the donkeys
chickens and the goats and the cats

this year i took an old water trough that was rusted out
its 6 ft in diameter
cut out the bottom
dug a hole about 16 inches
put a layer of cardboard and newspapers
logs limbs twigs leaves lots of leaves
layered in dirt compost leaves newspapers until
i reached the top then
topped it all off with several inches of good compost

then i added a good organic fertilizer then cottonseed meal
and as i planted the plants i add worm castings worm poop in
with the plants as i planted them

i fed them rainwater all spring and summer and had the best crop ever
of peppers eggplants basil tomatoes all in this 6 ft diameter bed
with a final depth of about 24-30 inches

all that stuff i put in the soil held moisture in the soil
plus i forgot to mention
i put a 1 ft cylinder of chicken wire and filled it with compost
materials compost and kept it watered also through this cylinder

must have been the right thing to do based on our production in
this 6 ft square area
and based on that mass of roots

here is the same garden space all ready now for spring planting
in march
it had a 4 inch layer of compost added
a scattering of good organic fertilizer
a dusting of cottonseed meal
i will add earthworm castings to the planting holes
then just add water
it was covered with a layer of your leaves that you gave me
thanks again
and will keep the composter full of material all year

the hugelkulter or anthill garden method and keyhole(less) garden method
does work
try it

yes its what below the surface in gardening that makes the difference

the organicgreen gardener

no to obamacare

NO TO OBAMACARE

no i havent changed my mind on obamacare
im still a big supporter of it
although i think we should be on a single payer system
which would overall save us money as a country

we would all be working under the same rules
costs could be better contained
and all our care would be equal
no cadillac plans for the richest of us

im saying no to obamacare
because it appears in february or march i will be on medicare
since my social security disability will likely be approved

this was a requirement on my long term disability policy
to file for social security disability
along with that comes the automatic signup for medicare

so if the claim is won i will be on the same single payer system
that many americans are on

i will buy a supplement to cover the parts that medicare doesnt
cover
these are not available with the obamacare policies or even those
policies bought in the private world

i could stay on my wife shes blue cross policy but would be paying
$850+ a month to do that along with my medicare
so for the same coverage of medicare at $100+ a month and the
best supplement blue cross of $275 a month for health coverage
and drug coverage
i will be saving close to $600 a month for health insurance

sorry obamacare

ive spent a lot of time researching the obamacare policies for some
friends myself and one of my sons
what ive found is the policies if you pick the right ones
are just as good as the ones they have now or in some cases are
even cheaper

if i dont get the claim i will chose between my wifes shes policy
and an obamacare policy a gold one that is almost the same
as hers at the same price
i probably will stay on her  policy since i would have to switch
off both of them in a year anyway
so why change for 1 year
note the providers are the same on both policies

when you look at these policies be sure and look at the provider
list to make sure your providers are on the list and you hospitals
are on the list also

also some of the companies offered in texas eg do not have a
good reputation among patients and providers
and some have restrictive provider lists
just eg like the medicare advantage plans do or
some of the hmos do

my son has a chance to get a policy from the company he
is associated with but its $100+ a month more
an obamacare policy with the same company blue cross with the
same provider lists but with a slight increase in out of pocket expenses
its a silver plan
will cost him $100+ a  month less
so his cost will be the same as he is paying now for a good policy that
is grandfathered which means it doesnt have the protections like the
obamacare policies do
this policy will go away in 2015

so im recommending he get the silver blue cross ppo based on his age
and the fact he hasnt used his insurance much in the 8 years he has had it

you have to take you situation your age your health care usage and what
you can afford to make the right chose for yourself and your family

dont listen to the news about any of this
think for yourself
take advantage of this opportunity to get good quality insurance

another friend is buying insurance for her 18 year old daughter through
blue cross
she could get it through her work but its cheaper to buy it herself through
blue cross
shes done this for several years

looking at the obamacare exchanges she can get a similar policy
for $100 less a month
and may actually qualify for a subsidy also
again this says a lot for what we dont pay our teachers

so folks dont be afraid to check it out
the website is working
ive been able to use it from the beginning
i do have a cookie blocker that blocks it on google chrome so i
have to use internet explorer

in summary
i support obamacare
i probably will be on medicare and a blue cross supplement since thats
whats best for my situation

my son will probably get a silver blue cross ppo plan through obamacare

this friend can save money by getting an obamacare policy for her daughter

you have 6 months to figure this all out

what if the republicans and democrats had put some of their energy
into making this health reform law better instead of spending so
much time and energy fighting about it
and
in the republicans case
spending so much time and money putting up roadblocks which
then affect you and i no matter our political beliefs
millions are being left without coverage in several states

thanks rick for leaving your citizens out of the new system and
without coverage

special thanks to states like arkansas that figured out a compromise
to cover its citizens

so
no obamcare for me
darn it

the organicgreen doctor