water water everywhere

WATER WATER EVERYWHERE
 kvue.com

in the austin area there is water water everywhere
flooding all over the place
even the lady bird lake is flooding some of the streets of downtown
austin
those streets that are always flooding with the rains are really
really flooded now
austin has gotten so much rain in the last few weeks that it
has nowhere to go
but out






statesman.com

the sad part of all this rain up to 8-12 inches last night
is that hardly any is falling here at the country n
which is about 45 miles north of downtown austin

and not that much is falling in the watershed of the highland lakes
and especially lake travis which supplies the water to so many
of the cities including austin in this area

the river that is near our house is part of the watershed for
lake georgetown which provides water for several communities
in the area also

if we had that much rain here that austin had we would hear the
roaring of the river think multiple steam engine trains
thats how noisy it would be

nothing here but the pleasant sprinkling on our metal roof which helped
us sleep last night

so the end result of all this water is that the important lakes around
here arent going to fill up and benefit completely from all this rain
most of it will flow downstream into the gulf of mexico
which doesnt really need it since its slowly rising anyway


in next weeks election here in texas there is a amendment to the
constitution proposition 6
(why does the constitution have to be amended)
to allow the state to take money from the 'rainy day fund'
(how appropo)
which builds up from all the states oil land gas revenues
and use it for a statewide water plan

yes despite all this rain weve received this month
there is and will continue to be a severe water shortage
in this area and probably throughout texas

is this the answer
i do worry about who will be profiting from all this
someone must be since there is an awful lot of money
being thrown into this election to get it passed
follow the money they always say

something has to be done
this isnt the answer but it may be the only something that will
be offered

are we all going to continue to waste water like we have been
doing when we get this bolus of water
we will unless we are forced to by laws or by water shortage

we here at the country n are sensitive to water shortages and
water conservation since we totally rely on mother nature
to provide our water for us
without conservation we would at times run out of water

so
it is with texas
without conservation we may be all be in the country n boat

then theres the corruption and greed that you know is coming
there are those with the power and the influence that will
benefit the most financially

that said
there is no real answer out there
i would really like to see this money used to improve our states
poor standing in the nation in education and healthcare
especially for women and children
but i know in this present political climate thats not going to
happen

how do our politicians sleep good at night

so i probably will vote for it
but i will not feel good about it
since i know what will happen
but
without water we wont survive

the organicgreen doctor

garden items

GARDEN ITEMS

this is my wife shes garden we put in last year
its made with concrete blocks that are stacked
side by side and two stacks high
with 4 1/2 blocks to each side
which gives a garden width dimension of 56 inches

each block is 8 in x 8 in x 16 in
cost is $1.34 per block
total blocks needed are 36
total cost $48.24

rebar 2 ft x 1/2 in are used in each corner and middle blocks
cost is $1.60
i used extra
total used 12
total cost $19.20

1 cubic yard of hill country soil was used to fill it up
buying in bulk is cheaper
cost $46.95

16+ 1 ft squares were planted with plants
at $1.50 per square
seeds if used are cheaper but some veggies do better
if planted from plants
total cost $20.00

estimated total cost $134.39

these costs are easily recouped the first season
remember these are all organic produce so check out organic
prices when you figure your recouped costs
eg one of my big onions is worth almost $4

this is a permanent structure thats easily dismantled if needed
it will not rot
you can paint the brick or as in the texas gardener you can
stain it with iron sulfate (ironite or copperas) solution for that
rust rustic look
2 cups in a gallon of water then place the brick in the solution
in a shallow tray with the solid side down for 2 minutes
then set in the sun to dry
you only need to do 1/2 of the brick

in my wife shes garden we added a central composter which
isnt necessary
not doing this opens up 1 ft square of planting
she fills it with garden waste and pours the water from
the fish tank in it

we also surrounded the bed with 2 ft of thick black plastic
pushed under the blocks then covered with crushed granite
this helps to keep the grass from growing into the garden

this garden eg at my wifes school will provide years of
gardening for the students at the school even after
she is retired

it is easy to build
just dig a trench thats level the width of the garden
place the bricks leveling each one
stagger the second level to help reinforce the structure

place the rebar in each corner and in the middle block
and use more if needed or if you want

add the soil and please only put in good soil
its the life blood of the garden
you have to start out with good soil
you can also make your own soil like the school did i
wrote about yesterday with the lasagna method
but for instant gratification use good soil to start

also before the soil is placed i would scrape off
all grass and lay a double layer of cardboard to suppress
weed and grass growth

then after the soil is placed

(be sure and fill up those square holes in the concrete blocks
with soil and plant things in them
like spinach strawberries etc)

plant your plants and plant the seeds
you are on your way

each season before planting add a good quality compost
to the beds
the best to use is the one you make yourself

for those who asked i hope this is useful

the organicgreen doctor

trashy garden

TRASHY GARDEN

this is a square foot garden that is made from concrete blocks
its is 31/2 blocks wide and 8 blocks long

when i was in practice i was always talking to patients about
gardening never politics or religion since my patient population
was such a diverse one from all over the world
but
one common interest was gardening

then when i retired many of my former patients began reading
this blog to keep up with what i was doing
of course
besides alzheimers disease i blog about gardening a lot

one of my patients reads my blog and was especially intrigued
by the keyhole gardens square foot gardens and my gardening
here at the country n

she and other parents wanted to put in a garden at their kids school
near here
she wanted it to be organic and to use some of the principles of
keyhole gardening and square foot gardening and of course
organic gardening

of course
as a reader of my blog she contacted me via facebook and email
about ideas on the garden

sorry
but when it comes to gardening its like alzheimers disease
ill talk your ear off and tell you a lot more than you want to know
so thats what i did

this mother even went to a
deb tolman presentation on keyhole gardening
that was done recently in this area
and she wanted to incorporate a lot of this into the garden

all of these techniques ive used to redo my garden here at the
country n and in the other school gardens like my wife shes garden
and the habitat gardens ive helped put in and the alzheimers auction
4 ft square foot garden ive done

these parents and school and kids accumulated funds and collected
recyclable stuff to be used in the garden
cardboard lots of it newspapers garbage grass clipping lots of leaves
egg cartons shredded paper etc
then they got a load of lady bug brand hill country soil
to use in the beds
you either have to make your own soil or buy a good quality soil to start
with

first the beds five of them were laid out all parallel to each other
and all level

laying these and getting them level and just right was the hardest
part of the project

the first two or three beds were done in the lasagna method of
gardening which involves layering of materials they obtained as
mentioned above
the features of the lasagna and keyhole and square foot gardening
are all interwoven
the difference with the lasagna method is that all the soil is made
from this recyclable stuff
which is how a pure keyhole garden is made

i use in my gardens a mixture of these
i layer with the cardboard newspapers leaves grass compost soil
and usually on the top part i use just plain hill country soil
the end result is fantastic soil and an unbelievable garden

ta da then they covered the top with the good soil
now all it has to do is cook and in a few weeks all this
will turn into soil
homemade soil which will be rich with nutrition
there are a lot of worms in the ground there so they will come
up and devour all that paper leaves etc and poop everywhere
making the soil better

then the mom got this acrylic plastic glass
removed some of the blocks in the end
so the kids could watch the soil breakdown
and watch the worms moving around eating the stuff
and watch the plants roots grow in the soil
what a great idea

i personally cant wait to see this garden develop
especially through this glass
what a great idea for the kids and the adult kids to see

they will now be planting these beds with plants
of course the lasagna garden part will have to breakdown
some before it can be planted

but the other beds which will be mostly the rich hill country soil
will be planted now

it was fun to see the kids enjoying themselves
especially making the lasagna garden
think playing in a big mud puddle
as they had to soak the cardboard in wheelbarrows of water
standing on the cardboard to hold it down
then as they layered all that stuff in the garden bed
they had to spray it down
and stomp it down like someone stomping grapes

they were soaked and muddy but quite happy
putting in this garden
now
they will get to plant it and watch it grow
and probably will eat plants theyve never eaten before
and
probably never would have

things like swiss chard broccoli kale cilantro spinach lettuce snap peas
carrots beets yes beets onions potatoes radishes etc this winter

they will always remember this experience
and hopefully they will incorporate this into their lives as they get older

i hope that i had some influence in all this
since after all thats one of my missions in life it to promote
organic gardening

thanks to mom mc for allowing me to  participate and be part
of all this

the organicgreen doctor

football pleasure

FOOTBALL PLEASURE
thats what i call it
football pleasure
being able to sit on my lounging comfortable couch

those who have been to the country n know what im
talking about
it holds at least three and maybe four full grown adults
completely lounged out
and
after big meals like on thanksgiving and christmas a
location to enjoy the games and a long afternoon nap

heck one of my brothers comes to visit just so he
can take over his spot for that afternoon snooze

this weekend on friday and saturday
i helped a local school put in their school garden using
concrete blocks to form the beds
it took a lot of work to set the blocks and get them
in place
heres one of my blocked out beds i worked on
well i worked on five of them

another row of bricks will be placed then
in layers in the bed
cardboard newspapers leaves grass clippings etc
will be added
then the rest will be filled with ladybug brand
hill country soil
then they will be ready to plant

after working doing this all weekend i was able to have my
football pleasure
saturday night football
and
sunday pregame and sunday all day football

of course the horns game was delayed and they changed
later to a channel i was not signed up for so i only saw
half the game
ok i fell asleep and woke up 2 hours later to find out
about the game delay
still it was football pleasure with that nap

then on sunday
setting up in my brothers spot
with my sunday newspaper
my note pad for landscaping
my blog schedule
my unread magazines
as i watch the games if it gets boring i start reading the paper
or doing paperwork
or doing a landscape plan which i have 3 im working on now
then
mix in with that some napping
and thanks to dvr
i never miss any of the game action now

thats what football pleasure day is like
usually a non productive day
we need these occasionally
like once a week

of course it was ruined somewhat by the last second
loss by the cowboys
that dez bryant what a talent he is
then
someone needs to slap him upside the head with his
helmet off
or kick him in the rear end
or send him to therapy
or maybe timeout
jason witten would be im sorry the last person in the world
i would get in their face and yell at

dear dez
jason whiiten on tv looks much bigger than you
he is tough as nails
heck he even played with a ruptured spleen
if i were you i would apologize to him
ok while you are at it apologize to the whole team
and to us too

my wife she lets me do this like on this weekend
because she was gone to the book festival all weekend
i cleaned the house well all week
i kept all dishes washed all week
i washed all the clothes all week
i cooked most of the meals
i do a lot of inside and outside honey dos like mowing
weed eating planting brush clearing wood cutting etc
so i do my chores and try to keep her happy all week
so i can have my football pleasure day

wait isnt that what some housewives do every week every month
for years
and they dont get football pleasure days

i never said life was fair did i
its the y gene thing

the organicgreen doctor

strolling, to or not to

STROLLING
for those in the bell county temple belton area in central texas
there is the
bell county walk to end alzheimers on saturday november 2
at the
pepper creek trails
1206 w campus drive in temple

walk registration at 800 am and walk starts at 900 am

donate and or join the walk here
remember
this is a free walk
you can also register the morning of the walk

my team organicgreendoctor will be there

TO OR NOT TO
this week the us preventative task force came out with a
report from the annals of internal  imedicine
sometimes called the anals of internal medicine in some circles
that said there was no evidence for or against early testing
for dementia or alzheimers disease

so the answer is maybe or yes no

i say test
since ive been tested and i interact online with others who have
been tested early like i have been
we all agree i think that we are glad we know that we have a problem
and we mostly know what our future paths will be
although they can all vary somewhat

you cant do anything about it is what i always hear from folks
yet
is how i answer

so early testing for me was important
i know theres a problem
and with supporting other testing-negative labs and mri scans, postitive
spinal fluid biomarkers, double allele or homozygous apoe 4/4 gene that
increasing the chances of this being alzheimers disease, normal cognitive
testing followed by abnormal testing, short term memory problems that
are noticeable to me and are progressing, a strong strong family history
of alzheimers disease-
then i know thats the  problem and what the diagnosis is

so we are marching on like thats what the problem is
planning for the future has occurred

yes i have my booklet called
what if...workbook by gwen w. morgan
out and am in the process of completing it
so that when the time comes when i cant do things anymore or if i die
that all the important details are there for my wife she and my family
to read

we have our will our power of attorneys our health care power of attorneys
our dont resuscitate me form etc done

we are getting ready for the future
as ready as we can be
then we are extract every drop of now that we can while we can
doing good while we can do good
enjoying ourselves while we can

then
knowing
also along with having some of the testing done
allows you to be ready for some of those studies that are coming
available real soon that will be actual treatment studies
in people without symptoms yet but who will probably get the disease
or
people like me who are real early in the disease  process
and
who these new treatments may actually work on as they will be
attacking things before they get worse or get started

so to or not to be tested
is a no brainer

those research guys sometimes need to step into the real world
and think real world
or
do as i do
and
walk in the bathroom each morning
and look in the mirror
and
say im glad i know

now
what am i going to do about it all today

the organicgreen doctor

zxx faraday, update

ZXX FARADAY
what the heck is a zxx faraday
no its not a new band

if you dont want google to read and save and share all your emails and
searches
or
if you dont want the nsa to do the same
read this and the links highlighted

which i wonder is worse
the private company google doing it or the government entity nsa
doing it
for some reason it seems nsa doing it is much worse

snowden whether he was wrong or right
has exposed the nsa and other agencies who spy on us everyday
you know like google does

i read a news feed from yahoo every day
so i guess they do some of this too
ive noticed over time that the news offered to me has gotten a
more narrow focus each day
lots of sports and financial stuff and obamacare stuff
but less and less of other news
natural selection works this way right


zxx is a new font that may block the prying eyes of nsa or google
from reading all our stuff
it was developed by a former nsa employee

here is a link to an article and a short video that explains it 
better than i can
since when i tried to explain it to my wife she
she just got this dazed look on her face

hopefully shell read and watch the video so she will understand
maybe

then the faraday cage
well i tried to explain that one to her also
duh dazed look
so
go to this link for a good explanation on page one
more pages are there if you want to know more

i saw a video online on how to make your own for your
cellphone
you know to keep nsa and other agencies from tracking
you down
put it in a martini shaker with the lid on
no spying can happen

so
i guess what will happen from this this zxx and the
farady cage
is nothing
we will just keep on doing what we are doing now
we will get use to all this spying on us by government
and companies like google
and move on and accept it as normal

just doesnt seem right somehow

UPDATE
update on my applying for obamacare
i was able a couple of weeks ago to set up my login information
but couldnt get past that point without getting a blank page
so i happened to read an article by a reporter who was able to
sign up without any problems

he suggested changing browsers
since cookie blockers might be the problem
so i switched from google chrome to internet explorer
and
was able to not only fill out the application
but was able to look at all 74 plans available here in texas

i only looked at platinum and gold plans
there was only one platinum plan
an hmo whose price seemed too cheap compared to the gold plans
i recognized the companys name and knew its previous history with
medicare advantage plans
good benefit real good but not many providers have signed up
in fact none that i use regularly
so
i looked at several bcbs gold plan ppos who were well priced
and had the providers i use and the hospitals i like to use on
its list
then im comparing my wife shes policy from work to this one
the deductible is higher for the new policy
but with at $5000 a year cheaper price it is actually a better one

i am temporarily stopped in the process as i have to have a irs
looking form completed by her employer before i can proceed
and chose a new policy

i was impressed how how easy the process was as i completed
the questionnaire

more as it progresses

the organicgreen doctor

reap what you sow

REAP WHAT YOU SOW
thats what we did last night
we reaped real good what we sowed

i raise everything we grow here organically
and i preach the organic gospel every chance i can
i even added it to the name of this blog
organicgreendoctor

this year in the late winter and early spring
i gradually took my time and redid all my garden beds
i dug them up and placed cardboard newspapers limbs
then leaves in the bottom of the beds
then i layered newspapers leaves soil compost
until i filled up the beds

then i placed 3 inches of compost mostly that i made
myself here its called country n compost

(leaves lots of leaves cardboard newspapers feedbags lots
of chicken poop and all shredded to a fine material by
our country n hens and composted for weeks and months)

and then added to some beds the lady bug composts when
i ran out of mine
then
i added an organic fertilizer then a sprinkling of cottonseed meal
and in the planting hole when i planted plants i used
earthworm castings ie worm poop

then if  i had an insect problem i used organic methods only
pick um off spray em off
so i really dont usually have much insect problems though

then its all watered only with cloud juice ie rainwater either
from the sky or from my rainwater collection tanks

that my friends is an organic garden

so last night we got to reap what we sow

from our garden we got
tomatoes
basil
rosemary
shallots
garlic
egg plants

my wife she made her own tomato sauce using mollies tomato sauce
recipe
secret ingredients i think are fresh ingredients and brandy

then
she cooked us mollies recipe of eggplant parmesan from her cook book
primi piatti by mollie ahlstrand

i know mollie is a great cook in her restaurant in montecita california
and she has written this great italian cookbook
but
i dont think she could have cooked an eggplant parmesan that tasted
this good
with ingredients that were just minutes from growing on the plants and
vines

yes the absolutely best eggplant parmesan
ive ever tasted

we reaped what we sowed

the organicgreen doctor

forever friends

FOREVER FRIENDS
we had a  busy weekend but a good one
we got to spend it with forever friends

whats a forever friend
if you dont have any of those i feel sorry for you

those are friends that you can hook up with and
take right back up where you were
those special friends that you connect with in a special way
sometimes even if you dont agree on everything outside
your friendship like politics religion sports etc

this weekend we got to spend time with an old med school
friend whom we have stayed in contact with since then
we lived close to each other and weve lived away from
each other
but
the friendship has survived the distance and the stand of time

fate brought us together when we were randomly assigned
a topic together to give a talk on in a class
gout it was if i remember correctly

their family and their kids feel like ours
their ups and downs are felt by us like they were a brother
or a sister

a nice friday was spent with them and their siblings in a rural
hill country home
we picked up where we left off last time
and had a good weekend night together

the other forever friend was my friend gregs wife
my friend greg i wrote about before in a blog
a family doctor i met through the above forever friends friend
friend in medical school

after gregs death we have been able to maintain contact with
her and have been able to meet several times since

again we take up where we left off
since
thats what you do with forever friends

we did the walk to end alzheimers in austin together
ate at some good austin and central texas restaurants
did a lot of visiting and reminiscing

even had the first fire of the year at the country n
a special event every year
if you have a fireplace or wood stove you know what
im talking about

the smell of the wood burning
outside the smell of the smoke coming from the chimney
the flickering of the fire
the relaxation of sitting in the early morning darkness
just watching the flames
with that first cup of coffee
thinking about it all
we got to share it this year

friends forever
alzheimers disease
whats in the past and whats in the future
but
this weekend it was mostly friends forever

the organicgreen doctor

a beautiful day

A BEAUTIFUL DAY
the night before the wind was howling and some rain fell then the
temperatures plummeted down into the 40s
thats when i left in the early dawn hours last saturday headed to
the austin travis county walk to end alzheimers

if you have been affected by this disease you understand why
we are involved with these walks

as i arrived the sky gradually cleared and was crystal clear
and cold
you know that crispy feeling coolness that you can only get
in the fall when the cold front passes through
clears the air of pollen and pollution and clouds
just
take that slow deep breath of that fresh air
what a great feeling that its

as we approached walk time the wind slowed down and the
temperatures begin to rise

joshua our team member got up and sang i think the best that
he as done of the mulitple times he has done it
every time he does it i tear up
i did it again on this day

people sang the national anthem with him
it all sounded like a choir with a lead singer
that with the presentation of flags
does make you proud to be an american and
to be proud of our youth

see the sunlight peeking through the trees
it only got better as the morning progressed

then this group of ours who got together and walked
our walk i think had a good time
all have been affected by this alzhiemers disease in some way
all im sure like me was thinking of our relatives
for me
my mother nell
my father charles
my younger brother joe
and
yes i that morning i thought a lot about me
just wondering when i would be officially added to the list
but
today i didnt linger that long

we were seranaded by a local middle school drum line
what was exciting about this walk was the youth involvement
that was evident everywhere
they are affected the most
and all this will lead to a cure for their generation

our group walked with the austin regional clinic team
my former employer
who were one of the event sponsors this year

and yes there was a razorback walker there also
heck why go and watch the hogs play on tv right

the walkers as the walk progressed were spread out it
seemed for mile and miles but i know it wasnt really that far
it just seemed that way

as i was walking and talking to people i didnt know
it seems all those hundreds and hundreds of people who
were there
were all in some way affected by this terrible disease
this alzheimers disease

this walk meant a lot to them as it did to me my wife she
and our friends who walked with us

thats why
we walk to end alzheimers disease

thanks to all of you who have been supportive this year with
your donations your involvement your kind words and your
thoughts

a cure is on the horizon

the organicgreen doctor

lets walk, these three may help

LETS WALK
 
the austin travis county walk to end alzheimers
is tomorrow with the registration starting at 730am
the prewalk ceremonies at 840am
the walk starts at 900am

if you live in central texas
come join us to walk in support of our fight against this disease

there are rains predicted during the night but they should be gone
by the time the walk events start
the skies should be cloudless and bright and sunny for the walk

i will post any changes here in the am and on my facebook page

you can join our team for this walk
austin regional clinic

remember you can walk without having to donate
just sign in the day of the walk

see you in the morning

THESE THREE MAY HELP

women who have been taking long term estrogen replacement therapy
are less likely to develop alzheimers disease
the rate is 2.5 times less likely
it has to be started before mental decline occurs
suggesting that for it to work well it has to be started years before
the damage has occurred

guess i had better not take this one huh
maybe the mr t one

the high dose most powerful statins used to treat cholesterol seems to
reduce the risk of developing dementia
in one study it was 3 times less likely to develop dementia if you took
one of the two most powerful statins atorvastatin (lipitor)
or rosuvastatin (crestor) at their higher doses

got this one covered as im on the moderate dose of atorvastatin

now a study shows that take certain blood pressure meds may
produce a protective effect in normal patients and those with
mild cognitive impairment-thats me
by reducing the incidence of alzheimers disease dementia

diuretics like hctz hydrocholorothiazide eg and arbs
-angiotensin II receptor blockers- like avapro cozaar-losartan- atacand
diovan benicar eg
 and ace inhibitors like lisinopril seem to reduce this risk
whereas beta blockers like inderal metaprolol and
calcium channnel blockers like verapamil norvasic procardia
cardizem did not have the same effect

got that one covered also as im on losartan

so it seems good control of your blood pressure especially with diuretics
or arbs and or ace inhibitors reduces your risk of getting the disease

also using the higher dose stronger statins also may help reduce the
incidence of this disease

then long term estrogen replacement therapy may help also
but other long term side effects on that one has to be considered
breast cancer increased risk of heart disease
of course i dont need to worry about this one

so
ill take my bp meds and my cholesterol meds knowing that my
heart and my brain are being protected

and take my prescribed fruits and vegetables
and
walk to end alzheimers

the organicgreen doctor