7.25.2010

Vintage Fabric Project & Goodbye Garden




Many moons ago I found this vintage fabric at a giant garage sale.
It has been sitting in a drawer for ages. This afternoon I got it out and made some pillow cases for the guest bedroom. The fabric doesn't exactly match the room or anything, but I kind of enjoy non-matches lately. My sewing skills are nearly zilch, but hopefully I will improve with time.

Now that I am fairly convinced I was poisoned by my beloved garden, I'll be investigating other hobbies. However, I will be the first to admit, I'll never know for sure what made my platelets disappear (I will have more appointments tomorrow so I'll update you on those - I'm pretty sure the docs will say all is well and the platelets are going up, up, up). I can only guess what caused the disappearance based on instincts, online research, and the perspectives of friends and family members.

I do know that my garden & the fields surrounding it were sprayed several times with some pretty strong chemicals (enough that two rows of beets were accidentally killed within hours). The landlord sprays the area because it is part of his field. I like my landlord very much, and I know he didn't do anything intentionally. I plan to never even tell him about all this.

I was never careful at all about wearing gloves in the garden. Oftentimes, I wasn't even all that thorough about washing the produce. And, as you all know, for about a solid month, I was eating basically ONLY food from the garden. Many people have bodies that can handle being around pesticides and herbicides in the middle of a commercial bean field. Maybe mine just couldn't deal with it anymore.

Interestingly, the day I went to the ER, one of my big sunflowers tipped over, as did all the tomatoes. Many would say it was because the soil got too wet. I think it tipped over (and crushed all the rest of the lettuce and cilantro) because my plants and I are connected, and they feel bad about what happened. I'm sure they don't like all the toxins either.

The garden was almost over anyway. All that was left was tomatoes (now mostly toppled) and peppers (I am sad about those dear ones). I'm not giving up on gardening forever. I'm just giving up on gardening near pesticides and herbicides. I planted some little seeds inside today. I will have an herb garden inside. Maybe next spring and summer I'll plant a garden at church on the property there. We shall see.

In the meantime, there's a world of interests to explore.

Sure, I've cried plenty of tears about the garden.
The thought that my favorite hobby in life nearly killed me is a little overwhelming.
(If I wrote that book I could have a chapter titled: "From Passion to Poison.")

Primarily, I've just been thinking a lot about our dear ol' earth and all the terrible pollutants we are contaminating it with. Even if the USDA or FDA or whoever else says pesticides and herbicides and home cleaners are safe - the truth is, we don't know the long-term ramifications of any of it. I'm sure there are plenty of millions of positives that stem from Roundup Ready beans and corn that are immune to all weeds and bugs. I'm sure there are plenty of millions of positives that stem from genetically modified fruits and veggies and grains. I'm sure there are plenty of millions of positives that stem from animals filled up on growth hormones and antibiotics. I get all that.

But it's probably good to take some time to think about the potential negatives of all these things, too.



Like I said, in the end, there are many diseases and sicknesses and illnesses that never make sense. We never know why.

And so we go on smiling, laughing, learning, exploring, and soaking up every moment for the gift that it is.

8 comments:

  1. Emily! Soooo good to see you yesterday afternoon! But I feel like such a fool because I just now caught up on some blog-reading and just now found out about your continuing platelet ordeal/saga!! Oh my goodness, Em!! This is scary! But I'm glad to read you have hematologists on the case and the platelets are starting to thrive again and such! I am definitely thinking of you and your silly platelets and hoping all is back to normal soon, my friend. Take care and I will be sure to check back more regularly!! Platelet power!!

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  2. P.S. I really didn't type "gina & toby :)"...I don't know who "amp" is...weird!

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  3. Gina! Great to hear from you! And sooooooo good to see you and Toby! :) :) :) :) :)

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  4. I'm sorry to hear about your garden. It really is like losing a companion. :( But now you have time for more creative endeavors like knitting and sewing, which I'm totally on board with! Check out http://www.alteredcloth.com/ for some free sewing patterns and http://www.knitty.com has awesome funky knitting patterns! <3

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  5. Emily! So sorry about your garden. We had some of our beloved plants bite the dust too and sadness set in. Next year, find a lovely little plot away from fields with scary sprays and plant yourself a sweet little (or big) organic garden. It does sound lovely.
    LOVE the fabric. Mismatch is totally awesome. I agree with your friend Sarah, take up knitting or sewing...it is very rewarding. Praying for your platelets:)
    Peace,
    kamb

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  6. Emily! So sorry about your garden. We had some of our beloved plants bite the dust too and sadness set in. Next year, find a lovely little plot away from fields with scary sprays and plant yourself a sweet little (or big) organic garden. It does sound lovely.
    LOVE the fabric. Mismatch is totally awesome. I agree with your friend Sarah, take up knitting or sewing...it is very rewarding. Praying for your platelets:)
    Peace,
    kamb

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  7. Emily! Soooo good to see you yesterday afternoon! But I feel like such a fool because I just now caught up on some blog-reading and just now found out about your continuing platelet ordeal/saga!! Oh my goodness, Em!! This is scary! But I'm glad to read you have hematologists on the case and the platelets are starting to thrive again and such! I am definitely thinking of you and your silly platelets and hoping all is back to normal soon, my friend. Take care and I will be sure to check back more regularly!! Platelet power!!

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  8. Gina! Great to hear from you! And sooooooo good to see you and Toby! :) :) :) :) :)

    ReplyDelete