Winter solstice

I used to have a cutting of my grandmother's monstera @Appleblossom but it monstered too enormously. I have a rat-tail cactus too. We were close but there were deeply hurtful moments too, tipping points really. I had ECT after she died. I have some of her paintings. She was clever and decisive, and very strong-willed and independent. I did well at school but otherwise I was a huge disappointment to her.

Ta re CAM note @Appleblossom ... I dabbled in botany once..

Ooh @Dimity so nice to find someone who appreciates my quirkiness... dabbling in botany makes sense and why you make caring informed decisions about the garden ... for some it is just a job business... to be managed.

Read about ATP... in CAM... so come full circle ... re understanding ... lipid metabolism ... energy and trying to support my son's weight issues. Somehow I knew ... the importance of organic chemistry ... tho certainly not fluent in it ... lol.

I am sorry about your complicated relationship with your grandmother... Some people are too arrogant about their achievements and fail to see the work others put in ... You must have been in serious grief response after she died. How long ago was it? Maybe the monstera getting too big could seen as symbolic ...

My monstera has been hacked and repotted ... and might misbehave too ... but atm is going good ... the roots are fighting for room with my mother's rubber plant.... it has lots of fruit atm ... and I have never eaten them ... a friend has told me how to eat them and that they are worth it ...I have decided to keep it until I can have fun with it with my vegan grandson... I think he will appreciate it ...

When I moved here it was all builder's clay... and no trees ... we have come along way since then...

I lost biochem at the Krebs cycle @Appleblossom I was a formula girl but acronyms for all the çomplex molecules meant it was rote memory rather than logic.

I tried a monstera fruit once but it might have been off. I'd heard they're delicious.

Grandma passed half a lifetime ago, and I used the small sum my mother shared to retrain through a postgrad diploma.

My next door neighbour told me tonight he overheard our nemesis issuing orders to level the remaining front garden. So it will have gone full circle.

@Appleblossom @NatureLover @Owlunar @Shaz51 feeling relieved to make it through a demanding week. Still that sense of treading water. But glad to have heart problems confirmed. First surmised by my trusted old gp 6 years ago then dismissed and denied after he retired. Today the stand-in for my usual gp reading off my hospital-ordered results couldn't believe I wasn't seeing a cardiologist. The serenity prayer comes to mind. There were things I was struggling to change but couldn't, so now I can better judge where to place my efforts. My eyesight too.

Now to support my sister through the next few months. She's as fickle as Melbourne weather so it won't be easy.

Dear @Dimity I only learned of krebs cycle recently lol! Trying to understand for the keto regimes and steer my son to non restrictive eating, as well as not be bamboozled by medical professionals ... my science is pretty simple ... as I moved out of it in 2nd year ... but it is an anchor. Also people get confused and think those struggling with mental illness are not intelligent.

I am so glad to have witnessed the broad and intelligent and funny and caring conversations people have here on the forum.

Women's relationships are delicate and tricky ... re maternal ancestry ... and being with your sister. Kind thoughts and best wishes.

Re the Lousy Lawn Lover, I hope others in BC step in and see the bossy power grabbing for what it is and trim and prune him a bit.

Feel like I have found a friend.

Gently Bently

Apple

Sorry about your heart condition and the problem with doctors recognising it ... it is horrible feeling uncertain, not getting treatment and sadly it is not uncommon. Hence why Dr Google can have a place ... if the real live docs mess up... which they do.

@Dimity

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@Dimity wrote:

My next door neighbour told me tonight he overheard our nemesis issuing orders to level the remaining front garden.

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Oh no! @Dimity 😞 What gives him the right? And why does he just like the plain lawn - does he think it'll be easier /cheaper to maintain, or something?

Sorry to hear about your heart issues, although glad along with you that they've been discovered, so that you can get treatment.

@NatureLover @Appleblossom most of my neighbours simply prefer concrete and perpendiculars. However one has joined in my resistance to the slash and trash efforts. Neither of us understand why people would buy into a property with an established garden if they were so opposed to it.

Re my health I'll use spoon theory and reprioritise, and not feel so morally culpable for tiring easily. My usual gp is away for a few weeks and the stand-in deflected all follow up til her return. I'm not expecting much if any, MH stigma is very real.

I'm gobsmacked at how anyone can prefer cold hard concrete over natural greenery, @Dimity . And sorry to hear that there's more than one neighbour of yours like that 😞