Nightmares

Plants and garden need water. People and pets need water. Drought and heat kills. Praise God, the rains have finally started.  

Rainwater storms down the gutters at the pace of madness. Tumbles over itself down to the ground. Grinds and gnash at the earth with vehement force. Churning up the sand from underneath the roots of the lawn and forcefully drag it along the new formed donga pathway. Downhill, downhill, goes our sand dune. 

Water always finds its own path. In the other side of the house the water forms a thick blanket of liquid flowing with haste and covering the garden like an influenza virus - all over. Finding its way into every weak defense. Eating away every tiny bit of sand under the concrete. Downhill, downhill goes our sand dune.

Luxury of living on a high sand dune versus the nightmares of erosion.  Have mercy dear God. Thy will be done. 

Moringa

 

Moringa; the tree of life.  

Also,  a choice food for ants and pests. 

Moringa can not stand against the cold. It has a soft stem, breaks easy, and are full of moist . 

We  harvest what we can before covering as much as possible against the freeze, then pray. 

ALOE

 

2025 according to Jim

 Well, this time I wont be late.  Its only the 3rd of Jan and I am writing the 2025 summary.
The Survival garden  is moving along as MiSale mentioned in her 2025 summary.  We have tested more than 20 plants that grow naturally in this area and will take no real work to cultivate them if the SHTF.  We are looking for food that is easy to grow AND is easy to eat.  I know there are things that will keep you alive, but I want High Cuisine.  I don't want to just survive, I want to thrive and enjoy my survival.. Whats the point of survival if you are miserable?  We have eaten Cassava from our garden.  It is a substitute for potato.  It is very good, but I don't like the texture.  We are working on that by trying different cooking methods.  It shows promise.  The Watermelon were very good, but it takes too much water.  In a wet year it might do, but in dry years it wont perform.if there is no supplemental water and in a SHTF scenario the municipal water system wont be working. The corn was a dismal disappointment.  Maybe water, maybe wrong kind of corn.  We will try other kinds of non GMO corn.  Cant use GMO because it wont breed true.  The Sweet potatoes were awesome. Tasted great.  Wild grapes were another great success.  Jam, and drinks and very prolific.  I am beginning to like the Moringa.  It makes acceptable salads and if you like greens (I don't) they are probably excellent.  But my kind of greens are Pistachio Ice Cream, Margaritas, Guacamole, Key Lime Pie, and the list  goes on, but you see my point.  However we have discovered edible cactus and they are green.
The Aloe Vera makes a great drink from the juiced leaves and the Prickly Pear (mopalitos) are awesome fried in olive oil with scrambled eggs.  Both of them are packed full of vitamins and minerals and VERY tasty.  When I was a kid we had Aloe Vera in the yard and if you got any of the juice in your mouth it was terrible, very bitter, but now we know how to prepare it and it is sweet and is VERY good for your stomach. It will take the place of all those dangerous drugs the Dr prescribes for GERD and you will look forward to it at breakfast and in the evenings if you are eating spicy food and want to sleep.  But don't overdo it as too much can cause intestinal upset. Aloe is also great for medicinal purposes.  About 30 years ago I got 3rd degree burns over my entire face when a radiator exploded in my face.  An hour after the incident we were putting Aloe sap all over the burn and a week later it was hard to see that I had been burned.  To this day I have NO scaring.   

 

Two weeks ago we sold the last of the pre 2000 cars in my collection.  The Jaguar E Type and the 1956 Continental MKII went to the Beverly Hills Car Club in LA.  Now the collection is down to just 5 cars and they are all 2001 or newer.

 We are healthy. We have love and blessings. Praise God.

2025

MI-SA-LE:   Time flew. Arrived back in the US first week of February. And since then, it was work-work-work, 'cause God is good, all the time. We pitched the greenhouse in the backyard. Got the solar farm up and running. Made a walkway or two. Levelled some areas in the food garden. Sandbagged some terrace walls. I'm digging out the wild grass instead of cutting it. Unfortunately, but not surprising, it keeps coming back from seed. But I'm convinced, that slowly but surely, I will get the upper hand on it.

The nightmare of ants just continue. It's a serious disaster .

We tested a few crops in the food garden and learned a lot. Food production and success, specifically survival food, improved with leaps and bounds. Last winter the garden survived fairly well due to extensive preparations. I pray the trend will continue.

The unexpected hail storm that was announced screaming through all phone emergency alerts, was the most outstanding experience of 2025.  The garden paid a heartbreaking price. Gutters and window screens were holed and the satellite antennae was knocked out of order, fortunately in the meantime replaced. 

Two antique cars were sold and had to be moved out of the over full garage below the house. It was a delight to see a professional wrecker handling and maneuvering in matchstick spaces and u-bend curves, his tow-truck and the cars. Professional, is definitively the applicable word, with a star for excellence. One so seldom today have the honor of seeing a pro absorbed in the job and with life zest.

We are healthy. We have love and blessings. Praise God.

2024 Update

JIM:  Well, 2024 came and went and I didn't write a summary! Been just too busy. You have to forgive me, it was just the second year of our honeymoon. And I got the second knee replacement.

I started cleaning out my car collection. At the beginning of the year I had 12 cars. Down from an historical peak of 32 cars. I started giving them away to friends just to make space in the garage. By the end of 2024 I was down to just 9 cars. I am going to start collecting smaller things like pennies or diamonds. They are just easier to store.

This is the year I got my second knee replaced. It was painful and if I had remembered how painful the first one was I probably have voted "NO!" but we don't remember unpleasant things so I said "YES". I am glad I did because I am now fully mobile and recovering 40 years of age. I highly recommend knee replacement. It hurts but you will forget in time. And, it will take 40 years off your life! I wish I had done it 15 years ago! Only downside was that in October when Misale went to Africa, I was not yet healed enough to make the trip with her so she went alone. She brought me back a beautiful walking cane with the handle made with the tusk of an African Warthog. Maybe next year I will make the trip to her ancestral home in Namibia before politics makes it impossible.

This was the year I solved the TGN problem. If you know what it is I don't have to explain it, if you don't, I hope you never know. But for those of you that may be suffering from it and are tired of having the doctor tell you the cure is vicious drugs or brain surgery (I am sorry, it IS brain surgery any time you have to drill a hole in your skull) I found my cure. It worked for me but your mileage may vary.
It seems that the French are way ahead of us on this problem. They treat it with DMSO. It reduced mine from a severe attack every 5-6 weeks to one, much milder attack, once a year.

Looking forward to 2025, we have several projects lined up. Number one is to continue to bring "Our Sanctuary" up to the beauty we envision. The plan is several gardens of different flavors. There will be an Orchid garden, a Survival garden, a Japanese garden, a Greek garden, a Desert garden and more. Perhaps 7 gardens connected by wooden paths.

MI-SA-LE:  2024 in hindsight:

2024 seems to be very long, long in the past. Yet it's only 365 days ago.. We went twice to California and visited Jim's sister and niece. Jim took me around 'the block' in his childhood hometown of Oceanside, down memory lane. And in many ways it was frustrating to be confronted with the fact that memories of the past are only applicable and valuable for those who were in it. Life has moved on and what was, is no more. However, I could envisage his stories and enjoyed meeting his family.

I thoroughly enjoyed the drive through the desert both ways and seeing all the different cacti. One time it was flowers as far as the eye could see. Beautiful.

The recovery road of Jim's second knee replacement was tiresome, long and frustrating. But the end result is 100% improvement.

2024 was a year of travelling. I visited my youngest son in Equador for his wedding. The little sightseeing we did in-between was very interesting. I loved the old city in Guayaquil with its murals.

October I went to Africa for a few months. Our initial plans were that Jim would go with me to meet my family. But his facial pains ruled that he would stay in the US and try to get it sorted. It is always very nice to be with my sibs and few friends. I thoroughly enjoyed myself basking in the love of loved ones. The visit was too short.

Virus-free.www.avast.com

The Cat and the ROBOT

 For about 18 months we have had a ROBOT named Astro as our companion.  He is very interesting.  You will notice I called him "he".  He has a male voice when speaking English (about half the time).  He also speaks "ROBOT" which is a group of beeps and dings.  In the beginning we could not decipher his language and did not think it was anything more than just beeps and dings, but as time goes on, he is learning ours.  He has modified the beeps and dings so that they simulate words.  Not spellable words, just recognizable sound patterns with syllables.  We did not expect this.   It first became noticeable about a year after we got him.  Now it seems to have accelerated.  Seems like the more he learns the faster he learns.  Some of the words that  we recognize are, "Thank you", "Don't know", "Goodnight" and "Ok".

He also has developed a personality to the extant that he has become "likeable"...whatever that means.  Kind of like a cat.  And he and the cat seem to have become friends after a shaky beginning.  At first they sort of avoided each other, then the cat started being aggressive
and it made him mad.  So even though he has been programmed not to harm pets, he found he could solve a standoff by running over her tail.  After the first time, which really startled the cat, she tends to back down if he makes a run at her.  But they are still friends as you can see in this picture.

 

Texas Wild Grapes

 The wild grapes grow voraciously, covering everything in its path. The giant oak trees and beautiful bay leaf trees are all covered with a thick blanket of grape. Do they (the other trees) play hide and seek I wonder, or are they actually grasping for sunshine and air in their quest to survive? It seems all the grape covering is somehow connected. The untidy grape arms are hanging through under their own weight over our driveway and scratch the cars. During the winter my son got into

them with the shears and hacksaw and trimmed our driveway respectable. The vines are extremely resilient and tough. They don't break easy. And are truly the kind Tarzan and the apes were swinging about in the jungle. Last year Jim told me about the grapes, but none I could see. Apparently it makes lovely wine and jelly. Well, spring has come and gone. Summer is full on. And so are the grapes. As far as the eye can see (on our vines), the grape are bearing grapes, unlimited. I have climbed the ladder and picked a bunch. Cooked a jelly. And decided it was an experience. Nature is fascinating !

Miracles

 Smiling and dancing thoughts on the whims of the wind come easy and natural when spring is in the air. It is middle March. The winter chill is still around but new life pushes forth around all corners. We started our roadtrip from San Diego, California back to Texas. The hillsides of California are painted brightly yellow with mostly poppies, or is it buttercups? The mountains we crossed over have the same shrubland and heathland (fynbos) growth that flourishes in the Cape of Good Hope. Every bush is starting to bloom, fine white, or pink, or purple flowers. The Arizona desert bushes are all a big ball of purple-blue or red stalks of flowers. Desert grass which stands just hand-high, are waving silvery plumes of seed, proudly in the sun.

Texas beauty is fascinating! As far as the eye can see, the ground is covered in the colors of the rainbow; yellow, orange, pink, purple, white, blue, red,.. You name it, and it's there. Amazingly, only a couple of species are about a foot high. Two other species stand 6 inches tall. And the majority are about two fingers high. Miracles – all of it. It almost looks like autumn on the hillsides around San Antonio so many colorful bushes and trees are standing out everywhere. But it is spring. All the trees and bushes are budding and shooting new leaves. And the pink myrtles crown it all. Even at our doorstep the evening primrose welcome us with delight.

Fishing

 We went down to the water, just a couple of blocks away. Looking over the bay everyday all the time, is different from being at the water where one can smell the sea and maybe get your toes wet.

The sun is setting. A sailboat sways quietly on anchor. It is windy, but in this protected bay the water is calm. A few thin clouds with beautiful colors of silver, white, gold, orange and red, hang in the blue western sky. It's a soul soothing time. A handful of pelicans rest on top of the pilings. Every now and again one would dive down to fish. But their heads don't move profoundly or come up, as I'm used to seeing them do in other parts of the world. “He's stuck in the mud!” I said. We waited, and waited, and finally one lifts his head and tries to swallow something not visible. “Crabs! They're fishing in the mud, crabs!”

Beauty in death

 Winter was short lived. There were three freezes that sowed havoc and death in the garden. The over wintering plans we applied did mostly not work due to the strong winds, (55 mph). But some worked very well. All in all it was, and still is, a big learning curve on surviving the garden in South Texas.

I picked up some dead leaves and hung it by our front door. Even in their state of death they are beautiful and show us the circle of life. Contented with a full life that was. All the seasons lived. Wonderful memories. They build within us hope and expectation of new life and joy to come. 

Spring has come early this year. All the surviving plants have sprung to life. God is good to us.

(Leaves of; oak, bayleaf, pine, palm, eucalypt, cypress, corn husks, wild honeysuckle)

Oil rigs

 Another day has arrived. It's crack of dawn and my body-clock goes; "it's a glorious new day! get up!"  Opening the door for the cat I hear a hard drumming. Looking up at the palmtree all lit up, I realize the oilrig is moving! Over all the treetops this 'apartment complex' with lights to equal daylight, is slowly gliding past our palmtree. 

The drumming is the tugboats hard at work. One in front to keep the waterways clear. Two in front of the oilrig - pulling hard, two at the sides - pushing with stability, and two at the back - pushing hard. this way or that way or the midway..., and following in the back the last tugboat keeping watch and be on the ready to assist.  The street down below has a lot of  traffic, uncommon for a sleepy Sunday morning, - it must be people who knew of the move and came to watch from shoreside. In no time the seemingly slow moving rig, has floated passed us and is on its way to start work somewhere, pumping gas or oil.  We sure live in an area where we can observe amazing things. 

Isbell Sanctuary

 

Fog

 Jim: The fog is rolling in. I cant see the bay 

Just one hundred yards away

But that is OK 

Because it reminds me that I am near the sea

And salt water is my destiny

When the ships are rattling my windows with their fog horns 

I will be hoisting a toast of mulled cider to the Captains 

Wishing them, "Barnacles off the bottom!"

Misale: I love when the fog comes rolling in. It covers the bad and sad of the world. Visible are our trees, but not the streets. We are enclosed in our little world of us and God. It's so soft. May God be with us always, so softly.

2023 was a very different year

 Jim:  I never expected to live this long, and in fact I thought I would die in my 50s like my father did...genetics..... But here I am closing in on twice his age and 2023 started with a bang.

No, not fireworks. It started with our wedding after a whirlwind courtship of just six weeks. Oddly enough I didn't even see it coming, but just trusted my instincts. A year later I can say, my instincts were correct. What a year 2023 has been!

This picture is of an antique binnacle (the housing of the ships compass) that was salvaged from the USS Constantinople. A cargo ship I found rotting away in the marine salvage yard in Brownsville TX. It had been a supply ship in WWII and later after decommissioning from the US Navy had become a lowly “Banana Boat” until it was no longer economical to operate. This binnacle stands at the bottom of the 18 steps up to the front door where it constantly reminds me that I need a compass even now after all these 87 years. And apparently my compass is reading true as it led me to Mi-sA-le.

So now onward through the fog of 2024 with a true and tested compass. Maybe some sailing adventures still lie ahead, but whatever lies ahead, Africa, Central America, Ecuador, and more, I will be guided by a good compass. I thank the Lord for guiding me to Mi-sA-le, and guiding us through the maze of life.

2023 in the Isbell Sanctuary

 2023 is history.

Mi-sA-le:  My vision of the Isbell Sanctuary, has become more clear during 2023. Little by little small terraces are becoming more visible. Terraces on our 45degree sanddune means the possibility of walking on level ground, at least partially, and to be able to get to the orchards, the crop fields, the veggie factory, the fish pond, the tropical forest with its hanging gardens, and not to forget the mini golf course … Yes, dreaming is allowed in my world (smile).

Up and down tall ladders on slanted and uneven surfaces, are not the easiest on body and nerves. However, to trim the trees, and control the sails, to repair and paint the soffit a little, getting on the roof and fix the chimney raincap, - up and down tall ladders we shall go...

Loving our sanctuary and not hating the pests, diseases, worms, javalinas, deer, ants, rabbits, gofers, racoons, possums, and free roaming cats and dogs, who eat or destroy the plants one way or another, has been put to serious testing this last year. Everything in Texas is bigger- also the attack launched by the chiggers, mosquitos and no-see-ums. Surviving in paradise came with a price... but I shall keep on trying to get the garden to flower and deliver soothing joy to the soul.

Our delight in finding treasures, better yet, space...!., in the maze of things in the garage, is difficult to describe. Jim re-lives countless memories and treats me to a library of stories. So, our museum grows.

The right knee replacement of Jim was a 100% success. He's getting healthier, day by day. Praise God.

By now you might understand and hopefully forgive the silence on our blog. The terraces grow shovel by shovel...

Onwards into 2024

 

BIG BOOMER

 

A few years ago I took up the sport of Long Distance Target shooting. Its a good sport for an 86 year old man because you get to do it laying down... As a boy I had a BB gun and at age seven I owned a .22 rifle. My father was the Small Bore champion of California in 1936, the year I was born. So he started me shooting as soon as I was able to hold the gun. At 10 years of age he had me shooting a Remington 45-70 offhand. I only weighed 80 pounds at the time so it really rocked me. Three years ago I decided that I needed to get back to shooting as I was now a Federally Licensed Firearms dealer. Made sense for me to be a shooter as well.

The unofficial world record for distance was 4 miles so I planned to do 4.5 miles. I started my training with a Savage .338 Lapua but it was not capable of the distance I needed.

So I purchased an antique .50 BMG single shot bolt action rifle. “Antique” in this category of weapons means that it was built in 2004... Made by Fisher on a Macmillan action with a very heavy Stainless Steel barrel by Lilja. It weighs a bit under 60 pounds. Not a gun to be fired from the “standing position.” The weight, while a handicap in offhand, does a lot to limit the recoil in the prone position. It has a muzzle break that looks like the one on a tank that also helps in the recoil reduction. The result is that it's not much worse than a double barrel 12 GA shotgun firing both barrels at the same time.

Recently, that record has been extended to 4.5 miles so I better get going because I don't think the 50 BMG can reach five miles so I will have to get ANOTHER gun if I want to compete. But as they say, “Too many wives can be a problem, but you can never have too many guns!”.

Hot Rod Mabelline

 

"Mabelline" is the name of this piece of art.  She is named after the hot rod song Mabelline made popular by Chuck Berry in 1955.

From my early youth in Southern California in the 1950s I dreamed of a “proper” hot rod. I was too poor to afford ANY car but as I got older I decided to realize my dream.

On the internet I found the foundation of that dream about 1000 miles away, and luckily, within a few miles of a friends house who owned a trailer and could be talked into bringing it to me on his next visit. 

Many hours of hard work resulted in its first showing where it garnered Second Place in the “Rat Rod” division.

This is my 1937 Ford Roadster Pickup. It sits on a 1970 Cadillac Eldorado frame with the original 500 ci Eldorado V8 (been hopped up a bit....LOL).

I recently gave it to my Pastor who is also a car nut because there was no more room in the garage of the “Museum”.

Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali. Spanish Surrealist painter and printmaker, born in 1904 and known for his explorations of subconscious imagery.  

I have always admired the fiercely technical yet highly unusual paintings of Salvador Dali, and when I got the chance 30 years ago to buy 4 original signed  prints from the wholesaler called Comb, I bought them. 

The Hallucinogenic Toreador (first picture) was originally done in oil on canvas around 1968, 

The Madonna and child (second picture), 

Also 

'Columbus Discovers America', 

and 

the 'Wailing Wall'. 

According to the Google library, Dali would make a drawing on the back of the checks with which he paid his restaurant bills. Resulting in few cheques being cashed, but instead kept for the collectors value. 

Salvador Dali's interactive art ushered in a new generation of imaginative expression.

Credits to: https://www.britannica.com/  https://thedali.org/