i have a small pond in my backyard that frank and my son put in for me after my mom died.in 1998......i go out there and 'talk' to her.......i love it....it is a preformed one .....................

i have several koi, and several water plants........i don't know what state you are in, but here in michigan it gets really cold. i have water lillies and others i don't know their names ...but after november, i cut the plants way down, and drop them to the very bottom of the pond so no parts of the plants are visible.....then all winter the pond is mostly frozen, and there is a small heater there to avoid total icing....the fish go dormant, they swim very little, and do not eat....then in the spring, wha la......they are fine, the plants are put back on the small shelf of the pond and they are fine and grow once again...........the lillies are pretty, however, the flower part only lasts about two days and then you have to wait for the next blooms.............
i noticed that when i posted the photos of my flowers, i forgot to add one with the finished product of the flower ball, so i will add it to this post......................
there are two small goldfish that emily added to the pond too, and they are doing well...........

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Wow Claudia!

That is a nice backyard! Love the pond.

I have this huge totally unlandscaped backyard, would love to do something like that. Maybe if I can purchase the property, wouldnt want to spend a bunch of money just to have the rent go up lol.

Hi Allen--totally understand not wanting to sink a lot of money into permanent landscaping!!! I think if you used those pre-formed ponds and didn't "dig them in" to the ground, you could dismantle them and keep them if you evermove to a new place...also, from the superb pix on this site of pots and planter boxes, you could take those with you as well. I guess the trick would be is to not make them too heavy, unless you have a lot of help!!!!

If you ever did get your own piece of property, you would have a real good "head start" on landscaping!

Love, love love that pond!!!! It would be so nice to have some fish, but I think between the neighborhood cats, the racoons and coyotes, they wouldn't last too long...!!!! But, I sure would be happy to hear the sound of trickling water and have a few lilies and other water plants, so THANKS for the "winter tricks"!! (Lots of snow and minus-zero temps....brrrrrrrr!)

Also, I have seen those roll-out flower-seed mats, but wasn't quite sure if they actually worked...now that I know that they DO, I will definitely give them a try! Soooo much easier than trying to dig a bunch of holes!!! I am going to also try the mounding technique for the roses--they could probably be transferred to a planter pot if I didn't get it quite "right"!!!

So may NEW "possibilities" for having a nice garden again!!!! THANK YOU , THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!!!!

Wow, everyone!!! Thank you so much for all your input and ideas!! I was so thrilled when I opened up the RSD forum and this topic was 4 pages long!

I do have a dog. He keeps me on my toes because he always needs to be walked, brushed and taken care of. He isn't a very hyper dog, but he is young. He makes me feel better some days when he lays next to me... he is a big, sweet baby!!

I was wondering if anyone does any baking? I suprised myself and some others and made chocolate chip nut cookies the other day. It was good therapy to make them, and then be able to see my work. Was I ever excited... small steps! My physical therapist was thrilled (I made him a batch!) that I was able to do that (he told me to, but didn't think I would, because he is *always* telling me to bake or make something, and that it would be good for me).

I do have good intentions for the next weeks... I got a cross-stich (don't think my fine motor skills are good enough for it yet, but I really wanna try!), and I am going to pick up my camera. It's not going to be easy, but I am going to try my best!!



Thanks so much!!

HI in His Hands-- I have tried a little baking, but I need to use a stand mixer to help stir heavy doughs like cookies, etc. But, it works GREAT! I like to find cooky recipes that require rolling teaspoon size dough in my hands, like Mexican Wedding Cookies ( alos called Russian tea-cakes--you know, the ones that have about a pound of butter and confectioner sugar and chopped walnuts, ehn you re-roll them in confectioner sugar afer they have cooled).

I also like baking things like corn-bread that do not require very good mixing!!
And experimenting with adding different cheeses, chopped jalpeno peppers, etc. just for variety.

Rather than baking big batches of egg custard, bread-pudding, etc in one big dish, I do them in small ramekins, and use smaller aluminum pans for the water-bath part. That way, nothing is too heavy (i put the pan in the oven FIRST, then quick add a few ramekins to each water-bath pan.)

I would like to try bread in the stand-mixer, and then see how well the kneading part goes on my own. I might start with pizza dough, because I don't think it takes as many kneading/let rise/knead again steps.! (repetitive stuff is a little rough on the carpal tunnel). With the pizza-dough, one can make focacchia, stuffed calzone with all kinds of great ingredients, and I think that the dough can just be shaped by patting, rather than trying to use a rolling-pin. Just the FEEL of the soft dough in one's hands might be wonderful!!

Wha has helped me a LOT in the kitchen is using a food-processor for chopping/grating/slicing, as well as electric can-opener and the "Lids Off" Bottle Opener.

Because casserole dishes like lasagna, etc. can be pretty heavy to get in and out of the oven and CLUMBSY to handle, now I just use smaller dishes, and also the noodles that you don't have to pre-boil. Just make the sauce a little "juicier" so the dry noodles can absorb the excess. I usually make the sauce one day, then do the assembly work the next so it is not too much prolonged activity in one day.

Well, I never WAS able to make a decent pie-dough, so I just use the frozen ones, or graham cracker crust! (pre and post-injury...just do not have the "knack"!)

I also use a crock-pot a lot, and then just transfer the portions into smaller containers that can be zapped in the microwave, or stored in the freezer.

One of my "winter hobbies" has been collecting recipes from magazines, etc., and then putting them into folders according to category, which also means categorizing them by "this I can do NOW -- not to challenging", and this recipe requires "further thought of how to do it in the future" and thinking about how to make it easier by breaking it down into smaller steps or tasks. (I call that folder my 'wish book')...!

And, my NEW "winter hobby" is looking on the web for really cool, pre-formed water-ponds, plants, garden"gadgets", wild-flower seeds, and those roll-out flower carpets (sorry , off-topic) and veggy seeds that are easy to grow in a SHORT summer season (maybe zucchini), and perhaps a small, light-weight "pop-up" greenhouse. (No assembly required!)
Maybe I will be able to get a good crop, and make "baked zucchini" or zucchini bread before the squirrels and blue-jays raid thm!

You started a GREAT thread, In his Hands!!!! I bet before too long, it will be EIGHT pages, and running!!!!!! THANKS!!!!!!

Hello BrokenWings: In my area we have to keep our car doors locked when the zucchini is ready. Otherwise you might find someone has donated their excesss zucchini. Lil

Lucky you!!!!

I love recipies - A friend and I have spent most of today discussing food, food shops, restaurants, seeds etc (the fact I have almost no taste buds and can barely swallow anything makes me more of a foody than when I can eat!!! have spent all day discussing what I want most in the world......... It's like having pregnancy cravings -without the pregnancy (unless I have miraculosly managed an immaculate conception!)...

Absoloute craving for asparagus with butter ...baked rainbow trout with potato, sweet potato, turnip and milk mash and steamed vegetables... and then something like treacle tart and custard or vegan chocolate cake...
(I know.. I'm vegan... so I can have almost none of that and would no doubt end up vomiting it all up if i tried to eat it - but no issue!)...

I can't cook (full body RSD) and have carers to do it all for me - so it can be abit weird trying to explain how you like things cooked without appearing a total control freak.. (I now try and let them go to the kitchen on their own otherwise i get so frustrated with the whole thing....I have one of my fave carers staying with me at the moment - but she only eats cow and white bread/ white pasta/ white rice and it drives me insane...!!!) ...

ok - not sure that thinking about food is a hobby.. OOOh I have also passed my mediating/ counselling course - I am now a trained up mediator/ listener/ counsellor.... (about to post about this in another thread..) but I suppose that is becoming abit of a hobby too...

it's great to see that even though the RSD has affected us alot we are still individuals with it!

FRxxxxxxxxxxxxx