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| New Composter |
One of the gifts my daughter gave me for Christmas is a composter! In all my years of gardening and composting, I've either made compost heaps in the garden (mostly for the yard waste) or dug holes in the ground to fill with plant based kitchen scraps which get covered with soil and then, planted over with flowers or vegetables. But, after falling in the garden several times, daughter was concerned about me falling on my trips to the compost pits, and bought me a rotating compost bin. It has a dual compartment bin and two doors that slide open (not visible in the pictures I took of it). You give the bin a slight downward push and it rotates and the composting kitchen scraps inside the bin tumble around which helps them break up.
Daughter assembled it on Christmas Day and I had her put it outside in the "patio" area, right next to the back steps:
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| Within easy reach of the back door |
Having it near the back steps makes it easy to access, without having to go out into the garden. Technically, I could even stand on the steps to drop the kitchen scraps into the bin (once the barrel is rotated to access the sliding doors).
Thank you, Daughter, for my new composter.
Today, Monday, I contacted my primary care physician to discuss my concerns about my blood pressure spiking. I had woken up feeling fine, but, when I checked my pressure, it was quite high. Well above normal. I didn't even have my usual morning cup of tea because I didn't want the caffeine to raise the pressure even more. I asked the doctor if I should take a higher dose just to get the pressure back under control. But, the doctor assured me that there was no cause for concern. She said to continue to take the medication as I have been doing and there was no need to increase the dosage of the medication. She also told me not to take my blood pressure as soon as I woke up, but, to do my morning routines, have my breakfast, etc., and then check the pressure. She also told me to reduce my stress levels and that the pressure will stabilize again, over time.
So, I took it very easy, today, and started on a new knitting project. Knitting is a stress reliever for me (crochet is, too). I decided I will knit a new sweater with yarn (100% wool) that I had already bought when it was on sale, back in 2023! The medications and the knitting were a successful combination and kept my blood pressure under control.
Daughter didn't let me do anything today! She cleaned the fridge, took the kitchen and bathroom trash out, and took the big trash bins out to the curb, washed and put away the dishes, etc.
I made myself a one egg omelet for breakfast (doctor had told me to eat more protein) and daughter picked greens from the garden to make us both a salad for lunch. We had leftover almsgiving and Christmas food for dinner.
On Monday, I was grateful for:
- The doctor's reassurance that the pressure spikes are nothing to be concerned about
- Access to medical care
- Daughter taking care of me
- A relaxed day of watching videos online and knitting
- My new composter
Monday's joyful activities included knitting!
Plans for Tuesday include going for a blood test. Daughter will go with me, just in case she's needed.
How was your Monday? What are your plans for Tuesday?
A word from One What Knows. Do not fill you rotating compost bin to the extent that it is a struggle to turn it. Believe me, I learnt that the hard way.
ReplyDeleteThank you for that word of caution, Mary! I shall heed your advice!
DeleteReally like that composter. What a kind, thoughtful daughter you have! I agree about the crochet. It is a great anxiety reliever for me. Take care. Haha, had to fix that first sentence, it had changed to "composer"! LOL.
ReplyDeleteHi Kay! Thank you; I'm thrilled about having a composter! Yes, my daughter is very kind and thoughtful (but, then, I'm a bit partial towards her! :) ) Thank you for visiting my blog and commenting.
DeleteWhat a lovely gift from daughter!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about the blood pressure. It's good that you contacted your doctor and listened to their advice. Knitting certainly is relaxing. I'm glad your blood pressure returned to normal - may it continue!
Thank you, Sharon. I am listening to my doctor and haven't checked my pressure, yet. I hope my blood pressure will stabilize, soon. In the meantime, I'm taking full advantage of this time to relax and knit! :D
DeleteI will be interested to see how well the composter works. Sounds like wise words from the doctor and I'm glad she was right.
ReplyDeleteThank you, June. I am wondering how well it will work, myself, as I always thought that worms in the soil help with breaking down kitchen scraps dumped into a pit or yard waste heaped up on the ground. I haven't added any worms to the composter (yet, anyway).
DeleteI'm listening to my doctor and taking it easy!
I'm the first to leave a comment. Not sure why, but that always makes me excited. I used to take my BP daily and the Doctor said that alone may cause it to be higher because you get nervous. Sounds like you had a nice relaxed day. Knitting is very peaceful, so is crocheting. Take pictures of your yarn and start so we can enjoy seeing your project come along. LOVE the idea of a compost like that. Used to do it just on the ground in our backyard, but it created unwanted varmints, so we stopped doing that. Our community has food waste pick up the same day as our trash and recycling, and yard waste. All we do is put the bucket out at the curb. Quite nice, everything is picked up weekly. Then they compost it and you can buy your mulch from the same facility. Happy New Year and enjoy your visit with your daughter. Ours came just before Christmas and will head back home shortly after New Years, so a nice long visit.
ReplyDeleteSorry, Sandy; the comments don't get published until I moderate them.
DeleteKnitting and crocheting are very relaxing; yes, I will post pictures of my latest knitting project.
I'm hoping that the composter will work well. We are encouraged to put kitchen waste in your yard waste bin, but, I want to have free compost for my garden.
My daughter has moved back home and is staying with me. So, it's one long visit, now, and I'm loving it. :)
Happy New Year to you, too, and your family and loved ones.
The composter looks amazing - really useful.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that your daughter is taking care of you. That spike in blood pressure must feel worrying and I hope that you feel better soon. Hugs x
Thank you, Lyssa. I'm blessed to have a caring daughter. I think the spike in blood pressure concerned us both, but, it seems to be settling back down, again.
DeleteThat is a lovely composter, but we have to have the one that sits on the ground or our little vole wouldn't be able to sneak in at the bottom from the woodshed and sort through the latest contents, including the 2 peanuts that I leave him when I empty the kitchen pail in there!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Bushlady. I love how you make sure the vole gets access to your compost bin and special treats. :)
DeleteWhat a nice gift from your daughter. It will be nice and handy and produce wonderful compost for your garden.
ReplyDeleteI hope your blood pressure levels out. Reading your responses it seems that it is doing better. I'm glad.
Isn't it? I love it and I hope it will produce lots of compost for me!
DeleteThank you, Debra. I, too, am hoping that the blood pressure stabilizes. Following my doctor's orders, I am not checking it as frequently; just once a day. In the meantime, I'm knitting! :D
What an incredibly thoughtful gift! I'm glad your blood pressure spikes weren't concerning.
ReplyDeleteThank you, hannah jane. I'm enjoying feeding the new composter.
DeleteYes, I'm glad my doctor said that there was no cause for concern.