Well, That's NOT Cabbage!

This Post Contains Affiliate Links.

     Right before hubby's accident, our amazingly awesome neighbor, Bree, gave us an assortment of plants she got from the store. There was lettuce, spinach, and cabbage. We kept them in the garage with the plan to plant them as soon as it was time. True to our luck, our plans failed, and most of the plants died while we were in the hospital. My garden plans were thwarted even more with all of the crazy storms. The garden was not put in as early as I had hoped. 

     By the time we got our garden in the ground, the only plants left were the cabbage... or so I thought. Only, these cabbage plants were not like any I had ever seen before. The leaves were coming out from the top, and a little from the sides. They were not hugging the cabbage head like I was used to seeing. I was really starting to wonder, "What kind of cabbage is this?" So I called the person who gave them to me. She once again said, "Cabbage." She didn't know any more than that. Her aunt had bought them for her. Great...

     When the awesome neighbor came over, we walked my garden. I finally got to show her why I was so confused. "It's kohlrabi." What? Could you repeat that please? "It's kohlrabi."
Well, That's NOT Cabbage!
     Turns out, kohlrabi IS a type of cabbage. I had just never heard of it. I didn't even know how to fix it, eat it, or what to do with it. What the heck is this stuff? I asked around. Most of my friends just said to peal it, slice it up and eat it with Ranch Dressing. Everything tastes better with Ranch, right? 

Okay, let's do this!

     I was really hoping it tasted like Jicama, but it didn't. It was kind of peppery, but not. It was kinda sweet, but not. And it was not good to anyone in my family... Now what? I have all of these kohlrabi plants. I can't just waste it! 

     So I did another shout out on Facebook to see how others prepared it. However, I have not been brave enough to try them yet. My next 'Try' will be to dice one up and fry it like a potato. Wish me luck! 

Some interesting facts about Kohlrabi:

• The whole plant can be eaten raw or cooked
• It's name means 'cabbage turnup'
• Kohlrabi is actually pretty nutritious
• My animals love getting the leaves as a treat

Here is how some of my blogger friends prepare theirs:

How do you prepare your kohlrabi?

I'm open to suggestions!

Disclosure: I am Amazon Affiliate and may receive a small compensation for including links on my blog. Buying through my links is not necessary, just appreciated. Amazon does not charge extra for linked items recommended by their affiliates. I only recommend products that I use and trust OR plan on using in the future. Please buy responsibly and do your own product research before buying anything online. 

Time Well Spent

This post does not contain Affiliate Links.

     I don't think my garden has ever been more important to our family. With Mike out of work, we are going to need all the help we can get. My husband's work would not clear him for 'light duty' like the doctor ordered. He does not go back to the doctor until the end of June. Even if he starts work the following Monday, it will still be mid July before we see a paycheck form his job.
    My paycheck usually goes to groceries, gas in my vehicle and any odds and ends I feel necessary. The less food I have to buy, the more of my paycheck that can go to paying the bills. So far we are doing okay. Thank goodness I prep! We have been using the food I have tucked away for a rainy day. Well, baby, right now it is pouring! ;) Only problem is, my family is more of a 'Fresh' fruit and veggie type of family. We don't eat a lot of process foods. When you prep, you buy a lot of foods that have a longer shelf life. Unfortunately, most of those are processed.
     Until the garden comes in, I am buying a lot of my 'fresh' items from the grocery store and some from a local produce stand. I can't wait till the garden is in full force! 
     Biggest problem we have had is the rain. Good grief I wish some of it would save its self for this summer! By August, I'm sure we will be begging for this weather. For now, we are gardening in between thunderstorms and wading to the garden to get covered in mud. What we have managed to get in the ground is growing well. WE CAN"T WAIT!! Thought I would share a few pictures with you of the garden thus far. 
     

I saw mound gardening somewhere.. Thought it was a really cool idea. Just in case we can not weed fast enough, we can weed only the mounds and then use the weed eater to cut the grass around them. Crossing my fingers on this! 

This was supposed to be full of potatoes, but a sink hole created by the way the yard is leveled and all of the rain took most of the dirt and the potatoes seed plant under ground and washed them away. I planted some tomato plants instead. Regular sized heirlooms and cherry tomatoes. We have no money for tomato cages, so I am hoping these cut saplings help to keep them under control and out of the dirt.

Most of the garden is shown here. It is only about 20x20 feet. On our land, it is mostly clay dirt and this is the best place to put it other than in the very front yard. 

Our green beans and peas. In the background, what looks like tall grass is actually our corn growing. We never have much luck but we love corn on the cob and keep on trying. 

So we planted some cherry tomatoes in here.. but they didn't grow. So Zoey planted some more. Then they ALL came up. Believe it or not.. this is AFTER I have already thinned them out into other parts of the garden and containers. 

Last year we had lettuce, spinach and onions in here. This year I have cabbage and onions. We have almost eaten ALL of the onions already, I think will go get some more onion bulbs to plant. I like home grown onions a lot better than store bought. 

Not sure about tire planting, but we had one and needed another container to plant in. I have heard good and bad things about using old tires.. We will see. More Cherry Tomatoes. 

I have not grown cabbage in YEARS. My amazingly awesome neighbor gave me some plants a while back, so I thought, "Why not?" We do not eat a whole lot of cabbage but it looks like I will be selling the extras and looking for a whole lot of new cabbage recipes. For some reason, they remind me of Harry Potter...

Hard to tell here, but there are four tomato plants and a pumpkin plant here. If you look to the upper right, those are dandelions and other 'weeds' that my rabbits like to munch on. We let the weeds grow up on that side. 

We had to put the bucket Cherry Tomato plant into the ground. It just did not look healthy. We have been getting lots of rain, but the soil always looked dry. Maybe too many drainage holes? I hope we did not kill it, beacause, it is LOADED with cherry tomatoes. 

The new potato bucket is growing strong! At least I hope.. Sure looks pretty though. 

Remember last year? This spot was covered with the 'Mystery Pumpkin' plant. This year we have two tomato plants. We still have 4 more that need to get in the ground. Not sure where I am putting them though. 

     So there you go. A little tour of our garden. I am really loving all the time spent as a family to help grow us food. Even my 'I hate gardening' teenager and my injured husband are pitching in! 

Does your family garden together? We <3 your comments!

Disclosure: I am Amazon Affiliate and may receive a small compensation for including links on my blog. Buying through my links is not necessary, just appreciated. Amazon does not charge extra for linked items recommended by their affiliates.  I only recommend products that I use and trust OR plan on using in the future. Please buy responsibly and do your own product research before buying anything online.

Life Takes A Turn

This post contains no affiliate links.

     I have been MIA for the last month. It has been very hard to get back in the swing of blogging. Not only have I been at a loss for how to write this post, but also, there has been so much going on I can barely sit down to write. Life has definitely taken a turn for us. 
     So where do I begin?
     March 6th, I got a text from a friend asking if we still had that old S10 Blazer. 
"Yes, we do." I reply back. 
"My husband said he was driving down HWY 19 and thought he saw it being loaded onto the back of a wrecker. It was in an accident. Maybe it was not Mike's." 
     1993 S10 Blazers are still quite common in this area, but I called the house immediately. No answer. I had 15 minutes before it was my lunch time. I called my neighbor asking if she had seen Mike drive in from work. She had not noticed, but she would get up and get dressed to walk down there. I asked the girls down in the nursery area to pray that if it was my husband, he was going to be alright. 
     Lunch came, and I called the house again with no answer. The neighbor said she was walking out the door to go look. As I clocked out, I told a co-worker I was not sure what I was going to do. Should I just wait and see if he calls me back and go run my errands? Do I run home and see if he is just out in the yard? Or do I start calling the hospital? I am the type NOT to worry about the tornado until it is hitting the house. However, in my head, I am hearing the emergency sirens going off in my head... As I look down at Zoey, I see the same fear in her eyes as she tries to smile back at me. I put my arm around her as we walk out of the building. 
     We had not gotten half way to my truck when I got the phone call from the police department. I know the number well. I froze and pulled Zoey to me. Instead of saying hello, I asked, "Where is he and is he alright?" Confused, the officer introduced himself. "Is this Mike Flemens Wife?" 
"Yes, it is. I have heard, is he alright?"
"No, ma'am, he is not. He is being care flighted to Parkland Hospital in Dallas." 
     Scariest moment of my life was going back into that building with my daughter in tow to write down the number to the hospital. I thanked the officer and immediately called my mother. My boss and a couple of the girls I work with looked on as I called my mother to ask her to drive me. I was shaking so bad I could barely stand. I just held my daughter tightly. 
     As I waited for my mother to get there, my boss and her husband (my preacher) held our hands in a prayer circle. When he finished the prayer, I said, "Thy will be done." Instantly I was calmed. My mother came and we began the 90 minute journey to the hospital. Friends and family pitched in to let everyone know what had happened; prayer chains were started. 
     The whole ride, I was calling the hospital. Mike and his ID did not make it there at the same time. The had no idea who my husband was. Back in our town, my brother in law was talking to the emergency workers that were on the scene of the accident. They assured him he was at Parkland and last heard, Mike was in X-ray. We had reached the hospital by the time one of the workers called me to let me know they had located my husband.
     Mom and Zoey parked the car as I went straight to the Trauma floor to see him. He was being sedated for becoming combative while they were trying to work on him. He had tubes and wires connected to him, barely any scrapes or bleeding. The doctor explained he had some bleeding on the brain, and several areas of his left side received broken bones. His scapula (shoulder blade) was broken into 3 pieces, his pelvis was fractured in 2 different places and he had several broken ribs. The bleeding on his brain was mild and was from broken blood vessels rather than from several blunt force trauma. I praised God with a smile on my face. I am sure the nurses and doctors thought I was suffering from some sort of shock, but My husband was alive! The man I loved and who loved me back with his whole heart, the father of my children, my best friend, the man that always pushed me to be better and believed in me was ALIVE by the grace of God. I knew all else would work out in the end. 
     I brought Zoey in to the trauma unit so she could see her daddy. We smiled to each other, held his hand, kissed him and whispered prayers of thanks to the Lord. I took her back to my mother after talk of waking him up.          
     They began talking him off of sedation. I held his hand and talked to him along with the doctors until he was finally awake. He was disoriented and confused. When he was finally (somewhat) fully awake, the doctors were pleased and sent him to a private room. We were blessed with being able to stay with him. 
     My sister and brother in law were there and brought Zoey and I clothing and personal items from our house. We prepared to stay in the hospital for as long as it took for him to recover enough to come home. My mom wanted to take Zoey with her, but my side kick was where she needed to be. She, nor I, would have it any other way. My brother came and gave me money to help with what ever we needed. I didn't have to worry about how I was going to feed us. The nursing staff said we were welcome to sleep in the extra bed in the room. My brother stayed at a friends house that was local to him. This all happened on Friday, Day 1.

Day 2: While in a good bit of pain, Mike tolerated the pain well but slept through most of it. We had several calls and texts sending prayers and well wishes. Our families kept Facebook updated on his progress. My son was finally located, but not having a vehicle kept him from coming right away. I had never heard fear in his voice like I did when he called me. I assured him his father was going to be okay. While Mike slept, I took Zoey to get a late breakfast. She witnessed her first homeless man when we ventured outside of the hospital. (Small town children live sheltered lives.) His dad, aunt and cousin came. My brother came back to pick Zoey and I up to go to Walmart for some supplies. By that night, Mike was becoming more coherent. The pain med fog started to lift. So many different Doctors in the last few days, it is even hard for me to keep them straight.

Day 3: Mike's mom, brother and our son, Alex, came up to see him, along with several others. Mike is barely taking any pain meds. As long as he is still, there is minimal pain. Not being able to turn onto his side is the worst part. That is the way he sleeps. His arm and pelvis are a little more mobile. Doctors and nurses agree he is still recovering miraculously! Mike's anxiety is very high. He is ready to go home. He has hospital issues to begin with, coupled with being an 'outdoor' kind of guy and being immobile is starting to get to him.

Day 4: The physical therapist came to see if Mike could get around in a wheel chair. He handles it like a champ. A friend of mine came and brought us bags of lunch and visited us for a while. When I was walking her out of the hospital, Mike decided he needed a private moment in the bathroom. He used Zoey as a crutch to get there. Managed his business and was planning on using Zoey again to get to the bed, however, he fell on the way back. X-ray's showed no additional damage. He is released by Doctors to have assistance from the nurse and either me or our son. I talk with his Trauma doctor on getting him released soon. She says, "Other than the broken bones, we have no other reason to keep him. We would like him to have 6 weeks of physical therapy though." I talk to her about doing physical therapy at home vs. the hospital. My husband is a home body and I am afraid he will push himself to hard at the hospital to prove he can go home. We have a strong family support system which includes nurses and pt specialists. My mother also works at a rehab center just in case we need it. Our house is set up to where it can be easily cleared out so he has room to move and maneuver with out risk of falling. My son will be moving back home to help out as well. The doctor says she will talk to his physical therapist. If she okays him to go home, she will release him tomorrow. 

Day 5: The Physical Therapist came to talk with us. She knows he has been walking to the bathroom with assistance, and brings a crutch, cane and an A-frame walking device. He chooses the crutch to begin with. He walks with it so well, they decide to switch him over to a cane before Mike can reach the door. He moves fairly well, walks a good distance, and even tackles a small flight of stairs. His PT lady is quite impressed and releases him from any more PT. The Occupational Therapist says not so happy about the whole thing. Thought his brain damage needed some more work. I tried to explain to her that the doctors had not mentioned anything about brain damage and my husband was acting perfectly normal now he was not taking many pain meds. She is not convinced, but are released by the Trauma doctor anyways and are on our way home by 6:30 that night. 

     It has now been a month since my husbands accident. He is walking around with minimal assistance from the cane. By no means is he 100% or even close, however, he is still my walking miracle. Now at this point, you might be wondering what happened, how did the accident happen? All I can tell you is, he was T-Boned turning onto the highway that takes him home. The other driver was just shaken up a bit. The teenager that hit him, also happens to be a friend of my son. He said he saw my husband stop at the red light so he proceeded through, then, suddenly Mike pulled out. Mike's truck was T-boned at 60 miles an hour. My husband remembers he had gone to the store after work, he bought a few things for the house, loaded up his truck and started home. Walmart is 2 minutes from where the accident occurred. There has been speculation on why my husband would pull out into on coming traffic. Either way, it has been deemed his fault for pulling into an intersection that had not been cleared. 

     All I know is, my husband is alive and is recovering at an amazing rate. In all honestly, when I got the call, I thought he was dead, or close. You do not get care flighted by helicopter for a minor bump on your head and a few broken bones. I really believe God hears prayers and reversed this for us. We are fully blessed. 
     

So that is the beginning of where I have been. 

Life decided to take a turn on us.. 

      

Disclosure: I am Amazon Affiliate and may receive a small compensation for including links on my blog. Buying through my links is not necessary, just appreciated. Amazon does not charge extra for linked items recommended by their affiliates.  I only recommend products that I use and trust OR plan on using in the future. Please buy responsibly and do your own product research before buying anything online.