Thursday, February 5, 2009

"G" is for Gamma Globulin

Gamma-globulin. My word o' the day. Doesn't that have a lovely ring to it? It's just a fancy name for a protein found in our bodies, but I think it sounds lyrical....like so many words in medicine.


G is for Garden!!!! Every year, I get through the last 2 months of winter by dreaming of my next garden. During the worst of the weather, I leaf through garden books, websites & seed catalogs, drooling over pictures of flowers, edibles, & trees. It doesn't matter how much I'm NOT actually gardening anymore. Just the act of "dreaming green" helps me get through February, the loooooooongest month of the year IMHO.

I eagerly await bulbs flowering each spring. This year, there might not be many bulbs left--we tilled under the flower bed last summer. But if any survivors come up, I will be ecstatic! Keeping my fingers crossed.

This year, I want to plant some heirloom seeds from seedsavers. I did this a number of years ago, and I have to tell you, the heirloom tomatoes I grew (4 varieties) were KILLER!

If I remember right, I grew "Black Krim", Pink Brandywine", "Eva Purple Ball" and "Amish Paste." I don't remember much about the last 2, but the others were fantastic. Homegrown heirloom tomatoes ROCK!

G is for GMO--genetically modified organisms--that are being forced on us by "Large Corporation." I'm very concerned about this. This article about super-plants whose very DNA has been meddled with makes me want to change my consumer habits. To counteract the implications of this "scientific advancement", I will buy my seeds from mom & pop seed-savers and not the local displays at chain stores. And, I might try to save my own seeds after a good harvest.

I don't want to eat GMO. I don't want our food-chain modified. Already it has meant the complete extinction of numerous varieties and species of natural organisms. Did you all know about this?! What if these scientists unwittingly unleash some "viral" plant that wipes out all others?! What the heck?! These guys need to be controlled. They have no business messing with my sustenance. Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.

(Link here).

So, I'm gonna garden a little this year. Organic food on my own land. Even if it's only a couple of tomato plants, it will be worth it. My mouth is watering!

G is for Gourds. I grew a crop of gourds once, about 7 years ago, put them into the garage to dry, and promptly forgot about them! (I had to get through PA school.) Last summer, I was moving stuff around in our garage-cum-shed, and found a pile of dried, ready to craft bottleneck gourds! And I just found this tutorial on gourd-crafting. I need to make gourd birdhouses! What a great idea.

"G" is for Granny squares. Oh yes, I love the old-fashioned granny afghans. I remember the year my Nana gave us each one for Christmas. That was five afghans! We each had our own color, and those blankies were well-loved and well-used. Some of them still exist 30 years later! (She did not make them, but bought them at a church bazaar. She was a prolific knitter, but never crocheted...)

So I have a fondness for the granny square. The flower grannies I am working on I already published my pictures of here. I am making a blankie for DD.

Look at this cute crochet granny top, shown here:

Happy Granny Crocheting!

6 comments:

Mary Anne said...

love the photo of the dandelion fluff, and the granny squares vest (I love granny square patterns too).

Just thinking about home grown tomatoes has me hungry for the taste. I may follow your example and attempt to grow a few tomato plants this summer. Good luck to both of us!

Anonymous said...

That Granny Square tank is really cute.

We had lots of tomatos out of the garden this year!

I'm of two minds about GMO. We've been fooling with crops for centuries. Is it less invasive grafting/etc?

Aim said...

Carrie--I think it's worse, they're changing the DNA of the plant, then this is carried in the pollen from plant to plant during fertilization and spreads to native and other species. It's uncontrollable once it's in the pollen: bees, birds, wind, bugs all carry it around, and it's been known to kill off beneficial insects. I don't remember more specifically, but google it and you'll find lots of scariness about it.

Aim said...

Forgot to add: here's a list of good articles

http://www.sciam.com/search/index.cfm?q=BPA&submit.x=29&submit.y=10

hetty said...

Great dandelion shot! I love gardening too. Can't wait for those yummy homegrown tomatoes! And don't get me started on genetically modified plants and animals! Most of the foods we eat have already been meddled with. I'm all for science but I think there should be tighter controls on experiments that could potentially harm our environment.

sister's nest said...

what a lovely color..., that's very cute top. i actualy never thought the old fashioned granny square can be that cute...,