One of the advantages of having a good pantry is that I never have to run to the shops for any item, whatever I need is always there in the cupboard, makes life so much easier when you both work full time.

Another blessing is that I never buy much that is not on special these days, I just buy bulk on special, I then have enough to last me to the next time it’s on sale. Talk about returns on your investment, with food prices the way they are you get better returns than you would in the stock market or bank!. Great inflation beater!

Why do I keep such an extensive pantry? Ok, I will let you in on a secret….I absolutely HATE shopping! I only go shopping now once a month, buying only what I need when it is on special and once a quarter (every 3 months or longer) for our meats.

We have an incredible butcher who has all local or regional paddock fed organic meats, we buy a half- side of this, or that, whatever takes our fancy and the chest freezer is full in no time. Given we have reduced our meat consumption somewhat, it seemingly lasts for eons.

So by getting organised enough to keep a well stocked pantry you can save money, (beating inflation), look after the planet (reduced travelling to shops), stay well organised (rarely get caught short for some ingredient) and can take care of you and yours in an emergency where food may be one of the goods hard to obtain for whatever reason.

A couple of hints: Keep bay leaves and lavender in the cupboards, the bugs hate them Freeze anything that comes in packets first before storing, it kills any little critters in there and their eggs. I usually leave things in the freezer for at least 3 days then decant into my storage containers.

Keep those preps going!

Take care of you and yours:)

WONDERFUL RESOURCES FOR READING

This Tasmanian website provides a large number of free e-books available for immediate download from anywhere in the world. The books are mainly about holistic agriculture, holistic physiological & spiritual health and self-sufficient homestead living. There are secondary collections about social criticism and transformational psychology. No fees are collected for this service, HOWEVER, might I suggest that in all fairness if you are planning on reading a number of books you make a small contribution for the management and continuous updating of the site. Every title in the library catalogue that is labeled "public domain" or "out of print," is available to be scanned upon your request. I love the place, it is loaded with as much info as you could want and then some! Hope you enjoy! Take care of you and yours:)

TOYS.........

..........are not just for boys! LOL. Here are a couple of my favourites. They are all wind ups, the radio is quite astounding, reception is as clear as a whistle and the wind seems to last quite a while. The tall torch also has red flashing lights and a siren whilst the blue wind up torch just has the light. We have 6 of the torches, thats one for each of us and a couple of spares. Wonderful gear if we happen to be without power for any reason! What are some of your favourites?

Global warming 'irreversible' for next 1000 years: study

Climate change is "largely irreversible" for the next 1,000 years even if carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions could be abruptly halted, according to a new study led by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The study's authors said there was "no going back" after the report showed that changes in surface temperature, rainfall and sea level are "largely irreversible for more than 1,000 years after CO2 emissions are completely stopped." NOAA senior scientist Susan Solomon said the study, published in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, showed that current human choices on carbon dioxide emissions are set to "irreversibly change the planet." FULL STORY

Take care of you and yours.....and our planet:)

GARDENS OF DESTINY- Dan Jason

If you want to hear about the importance of seed saving, water usage, insects, problems with seed banks, encouraging diversity of crops, commercial cropping and its inherent problems, the difference in foods grown organically and commercially, the challenges ahead in the years to come for our food supply, multinational corporations who want control of our seeds and ultimately food and a whole lot more information on our food production then this series is well worth watching.

It is presented in a very succinct manner yet holds basic human truths about how we live and eat…..yet more reminders about why growing our own foods is so vital to our planet and ourselves, take the time to watch it all if you can, you wont be sorry. Part 1 ...............Part 2 ................... Part 3.....................Part 4 Part 5 .................Part 6 .....................Part 7 ...................Part 8

Take care of you and yours:)

AUSSIE ECONOMICS

A key economic forecast says Australia will definitely fall into recession this year and has described the Federal Budget as being "buggered". The latest business outlook from Access Economics says that Australia's prosperity will unwind quickly because of the slowing Chinese economy and the Budget will fall into deficit. It also says it expects house prices to fall by 5 to 8 per cent over the next year and that unemployment will be up to 7 per cent by next year. Access Economics director Chris Richardson told News Radio global growth is slowing at a scary speed and Australia's growth prospects are expected to follow the lead in similarly swift fashion. "A lot of things are buggered because the global economy is in real trouble," he said. "Four years of boom has collapsed in four months of chaos."That has all sorts of implications here, including for the Federal Budget which has very much been propped by the strong earnings of Australia's leading exports such as coal and iron ore. Mr Richardson says the loss of trade exports to China will eat into Australia's trade deficit, worsening the current account deficit. He says that with the economies of the US, UK, Europe and China all performing badly it will be impossible for Australia to avoid a recession. Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan told ABC Radio's AM program that budget revenues will be more seriously affected than first thought. He says the report confirms the very difficult global conditions faced by the Australian economy but he would not speculate on whether Australia would fall into recession. "We face the prospect of the United States economy shrinking, and of course the prospect of China not growing anything like [what] was expected only a few months ago," he said. "There's no doubt that a slowing China will have a very substantial impact on countries in this region, and most particularly Australia. Mr Richardson says any Government actions may not be able to provide full protection from global conditions. "That stimulus package was the right thing to do - it had all the things you want in a slowdown for a government policy," he said. "But these are diabolical circumstances and governments cannot protect us from what's happening internationally. Source Keep those preps going! Take care of you and yours:)

HOME GROWN

I have bees!! Those who read my previous post will know why I am so overjoyed at seeing these little fellows flying around! Now whether it was the universe hearing my call or just synchronicity I will never know, however it was wonderful to know I may now get some pollination going! Today was just one of those days…..you know the ones, the hours just seem to lazily plod on by, there is serenity, a relaxed feeling.... I love those days! I started the day with a leisurely breakfast on the patio, home grown seedless white grapes and of course the obligatory coffee to go with it...(I won't mention the ciggy too LOL). I then pottered around inside the house, put a loaf of bread on to cook, picked up this and that, finished some dusting, cleaning, the usual domestic engineering we do. A few hours later it was out into the back garden. There is no better place than outside my back door, it is one of the few places I truly relax. I walked out onto the patio, sat with the two ratbags (the dogs) and sipped on a large glass of iced water with home grown sliced lemon floating in it whilst I contemplated where I would start on the yard. First stop the tomatoes. I picked off the ripe and any looking half ripe, remember, I have two fruit & vegetable stealing dogs, better we get them than they do! The tomatoes smell beautiful. I stripped the seed from the celpar and saved that to a bowl to dry out and store and then cut the plant back to ground level. Next stop the silverbeet which is looking tired now. The previous month I had cut a large amount for the chooks, now there are a few replacement leaves looking rather sun hassled so I removed the plants. The chooks loved the pickings, and of course it’s nearly time to put in some new seed, so in went another half a dozen. The apple cucumbers have finalllllly sprouted! This is about the 4th planting; some bloody little pest was eating every plant that sprouted! It will be interesting to see how they fare; technically it is too early to be planting them here, however I love to experiment with early or late cropping. The Yellow cherry guava has fruit growing. I have taken most off as the shrub is only waist high, however I couldn’t resist leaving these few just to try, having never tasted them before! The pea straw arrived this morning, this will be spread over the top of the existing straw mulch (which is fast disappearing) with a good dose of blood and bone. I love the pea straw summer and winter. Summer it keeps the soil moist and worms cool and in winter it protects the plants roots by keeping them warm. In addition to the above, the sprouting peas add in precious nitrogen to feed it all! Last stop the chook pen. The plants you see on the left are called Tagasaste; they are feed for the chooks as well as being shade in the summer. I will be planting those in the new pen area. The presently used pen got a rake out, some fresh straw in the laying boxes and a bowl of shell grit to supplement their grain and they look happy! Thankfully the supplier tells us the colourbond sheeting for the new chook house will be here on Friday, so we can finally get that project finished. A couple of hours of weeding, pruning, raking and general tidy up and it was back to the pergola for a slice of homemade bread and some gorgeous home grown potato salad with popped amaranth tossed through it. All in all a wonderful day, I truly am thankful for such moments, the quiet garden, no maddening crowds, just tranquillity, natures foods and a continuing sense that my path is slowly but surely headed where I want it to go. The bounty from our gardens truly makes one feel rich! Hope your week-end is as joyous! Take care of you and yours:)

STRANGE GOINGS ON

I have just woken up to a fact in my garden today.

Very little is being pollinated! Or at least I think this is the problem? There have been masses of flowers but a very limited crop from nearly all of the vegetables.

The butternuts are miles long all over the place, but have very few butternuts growing. The loofah has flowered like a maniac yet there is only one fruit to date. The watermelons are the same.

Strangely the tomatoes seem to be fine, producing ample flowers and fruit? Nothing is lacking fertiliser, or being fed too much. They aren’t lacking water or sunshine either.

It could be the season, local gardeners are commonly making the statement that they aren’t having much joy in the garden this summer. Either that or the bees have decided its tomatoes only month! Any ideas?

DOING IT NATURALLY PAYS OFF

An extract from a flowering desert plant used as traditional medicine by Indigenous Australians could one day be used to coat hip transplants and other biomedical devices, researchers say.

Professor Hans Griesser and colleagues are presenting their work at a biomaterials conference at the University of New South Wales in Sydney this week.

"We can learn so much from nature and traditional knowledge," says Professor Griesser, a materials scientist from the University of South Australia.

He says Aboriginal people use leaves of eremophila plants, which grow in Australia's desert areas, to make ointments for skin abrasions and gargles for throat infections. Professor Griesser and team extracted eleven compounds called "serrulatane diterpenes" from the leaves of eremophila and found they had the same bacterial killing power as established antibiotics.

The researchers then developed a method of permanently bonding the compounds to plastic and metal materials used to make implants such as catheters, heart valves, hip or knee implants.

Professor Griesser says antibacterial coatings on implants are important because those devices provide a perfect site for bacteria to become established. He adds this could lead to serious infection or death of the implant recipient.

He says the problem with traditional antibiotics like penicillin is they do not work well when they are on the surface of a biomedical device.

In tests using staphyloccocus epidermis over 48 hours, the team found a very thin layer of the antibacterial coating stopped nearly all bacteria from attaching to the devices. Scanning electron microscope pictures also showed dying bacterial colonies FULL STORY

Many of us have for a long time proposed a more natural return to medicines where possible and greater research into the millions of plants on our planet not yet tried for medicinal purposes. What is sad is that so many plants have vanished because of our desire to clear or crop everything in sight!

Many of the old ways are still the best way! I love this find and hope we have many more.....now to try and find and order the plant!

Take care of you and yours:)

PAY IT FORWARD - update

Hubby very kindly offered to pull the names from the hat for me today for the books and it went as follows:

Depletion & Abundance - Kez

Choosing Eden - Crone (only entry lucky pants lol)

Email me with your address and I will get into the mail first thing Tuesday ladies.

To Darren, Nat , Rest & Nevyn, I will be runnning another next month, keep your eyes open:)

Hope everyone has a wonderful week-end ahead

Take care of you and yours:)

molly

POLYSTYRENE BOXES AS PLANTERS

I have noticed on more than a few sites the promotion of polystyrene boxes as a great way to grow vegies. I have several concerns about this, however rather than listen to my thoughts, I pulled up some research about what you may wish to consider before you use this method: Polystyrene is made from petroleum, a non-sustainable, heavily polluting and disappearing commodity. Polystyrene does not biodegrade. It crumbles into fragments that do not break down. Food service polystyrene packaging is not recycled because it is not economically viable due to contamination. Polystyrene takes up more space in landfills than paper and eventually will re-enter the environment when landfills are breached by water or mechanical forces. Though polystyrene manufacturers claim that their products are "ozone-friendly" or free of CFCs, this is only partially true. Some polystyrene is now manufactured with HCFC-22, which, though less destructive than its chemical cousins, CFC-11 and CFC-12, is still a greenhouse gas and harmful to the ozone layer. In fact, according to a 1992 study by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, HCFCs are three to five times more destructive to the ozone layer than previously believed. According to the US Foundation for Advancements in Science and Education, styrene, a component of polystyrene, leaches into food. Styrene has been found in 100 percent of human tissue samples and 100 percent of human nursing milk samples tested. There is evidence that styrene is a carcinogen and neurotoxin and it has also been linked to reproductive problems. Styrene has also been linked to increased levels of chromosonal damage, abnormal pulmonary function and cancer in workers at polystyrene and styrene plants. Manufacturing polystyrene is also a major producer of pollution. In 1986, the US EPA ranked the 20 chemicals whose production generated the most hazardous waste. Polystyrene was number five.

Something to think about before you recycle that old vegie box from the greengrocer perhaps?

Take care of you and yours:)

molly

PAY IT FORWARD

As some of you would know, I love the "Pay It Forward" concept, for anything, and about 6 months or so I ran a book one with 3 books I had read several times. Now I have another 3 books to offer. All 3 are in new condition and make for great reads and extensive info These are wonderful books that have information I believe needs sharing with as many as we can. There is only one rule, if you are going to enter, you must promise to pass it on to another with the same rule, they have to pass it on and so on....with no costs attached. Here are the URLs to a synopsis on each of the books: http://www.seekbooks.com.au/book/The-Secret/isbn/9780743566193.htm http://www.storycirclebookreviews.org/reviews/depletion.shtml http://www.randomhouse.com.au/Books/Default.aspx?Page=Book&ID=9781741665499 If you would like to enter, just leave a comment about which book you'd like and I will add your name to one of three hats, first one drawn from each hat wins. Unfortunately due to postage costs this is an aussie only offer. CLOSES ON THE 23rd, noon Take care of you and yours:) molly

HOW HEALTHY IS YOUR CHICKEN DINNER?

An article on River Cottage a couple of nights ago showed some very interesting facts. Chickens were taken from different places around the UK and submitted to lab tests. There were 3 types required from each location. One had to be a Tesco’s or similar battery chicken, one had to be battery corn fed chicken and one was free-range. The results are scary. They consistently showed: The Tesco chickens had a miniscule .1% of omega-3 oil, it had 17% fat per 100 grams, the corn fed chicken fared only slightly better in the omega-3 and had even more fat than Tesco’s due to being corn fed! The outright winner?......You all know already I’m betting…the free range chicken of course! It had 25% less fat and 10 times the amount of omega-3. Can you believe that?? Its gob smacking! What concerns me is that there are many who will continue to buy the supermarket battery chickens because they don’t know how to cook the more expensive free range chicken on a budget, and lets face it, for many, the budget is the bottom line, especially with the global economy as it is. This gives us all the more reason to raise our own chooks for meat where we can and for others to learn how to use free range chicken in dishes and still keep within budget. The more mankind interferes with the natural world, the more damage he does..often unseen and less than desirable side effects are the product of the "we can do it bigger, better & cheaper" brigade. Take care of you and yours:) molly

Weekly Roundup

Good Morning! Oh, make that Good Evening for you mad yanks LOL! I got out into the garden this morning about 5am. The heat here has been hellish, well into the mid 40+C and with the fires all around, the smoke is making it very oppressive. Most I might add started by arsonists it appears. They ought to make those mongrels work in a burns unit for a few months and let them face the very possible consequences of their actions. There, now I have had my rant, check out the yacon to the left. It appears to love it in the straw bed, the pea straw lets the peas shoot feeding it nitrogen as they grow. I generally rip the peas out once they reach about 6 inches, there are always wee peas coming up to take their place and the chooks love the feed! Look at what I brought back inside witth me. Some very good looking basil, some of the chillies, (the bush is absolutely loaded) and some of the tomatoes. Remember the cape gooseberry, carrot stealing dogs? Well they have decided they love the tomatoes too! Gawd love a duck, I cannot wait until those wicking beds are in, they won't have a hope of raiding anything then! And the latest addition to the garden, another pepino. This one is a different variety to the one brought home a few months ago, will be interesting to compare the two. You would never guess that pepinos, with their melonlike flavor, belong to the nightshade family, that also include eggplants, peppers and tomatoes. The heart-shaped golden fruit is marked with purple stripes or patches. Pepinos, which range from plum-sized to cantaloupe-sized, have fragrant yellow flesh surrounding a central pocket of seeds, like a melon. Choose aromatic fruits (the size does not affect the flavor) that give to gentle finger pressure. Avoid those with greenish undertones. Ripen the fruit at room temperature for a few days, if necessary, until it is fully golden-yellow. Serve pepino like melon, with a squeeze of lemon or lime, or use it in fruit salads.

Nutritional Info: KJ=101 Calories=22 Protein=0.6 Iron=0.1 Dietary Fiber=5g Total Fat=0%

Check out this loofah!

Now this thing appeared in a couple of days....either that or I'm going blind in my old age LOL. I can't wait to make bath sponges from them. I'm going to keep a closer eye on the vine, the loofah is edible when young, so we will taste test, supposedly it is very similar to zuchinni. The flowers are interesting. Apart from being pretty in a very simple way, they appear to only last a day before falling off, a shame really, they really brighten up the workshop wall.

And last but not least the blueberries. We lost one to the heat, not sheltered enough I suspect, so these 5 went under the side garden bed near the patio which is sheltered by shade cloth, hopefully this will be the right place for them....ah, the trials of gardening, always a challenge to find the right place for the more tender plants. I finished removing the temporary carrot bed this morning after the dogs stole at least half the carrots, cleaned the paths of leaves (which went back into the garden beds), ran around with some chook manure to give them all a feed and now it's inside to hibernate from the heat for the day! Have a wonderful week-end ahead! Take care of you and yours:) molly

MORE FOOD FOR THOUGHT......

Fruit and vegetable growers have warned they are being driven out of business by rising production costs and cheap imports and Western Australia will be unable to feed itself with fresh local produce by about 2020 unless the State Government takes drastic action to regulate the industry. The WA Vegetable Growers Association called on the Government to investigate establishing a regulatory authority to licence growers and ensure sufficient production levels at sustainable prices. Chief executive Jim Turley warned that production would fall dramatically unless grower margins improved. “This situation is unsustainable,” he said. “The way we are going, WA growers will be incapable of supplying sufficient quantities of fresh vegetables within 10 to 15 years. Simply, we won’t be able to grow enough food to feed ourselves.” Mr Turley, who is also executive officer of the WA Potato Growers Association, pointed to regulation in the potato industry, where all domestic table production and sales are regulated, as a possible means to guarantee food security. WA Fruit Growers Association president Diane Fry said regulatory controls needed to be looked at as a measure to protect the fruit industry after an estimated 20 per cent of businesses had folded over the past year. “If regulation is the best model we can come up with to keep producers viable and maintain food security for consumers, then we need to investigate that option,” she said. The warnings came as the global food crisis sparked new fears of a “resource nationalism” by countries wishing to protect their own food stocks. India has suspended trading of futures contracts for a range of farm products in a move it claimed would clamp down on speculators and rein in inflation. Rising prices have caused food riots and protests and led to bans on food exports in about 40 nations. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon said the recent push towards national controls was threatening world trade. “If not handled properly, this crisis could result in a cascade of others and affect political security around the world,” he said. Myalup vegetable grower Anthony Marinovich has been hit with a doubling of fertiliser prices over the past six months, combined with rising fuel and labour costs. “I’ve been here for 12 years and it’s been a passion since I left high school but I am getting frustrated and seriously looking at pulling the pin,” he said. He said while regulation offered known returns to potato growers, he questioned whether it could be introduced on a broad scale across the horticulture industry. The Agriculture Minister conceded WA was facing major food security issues as fruit and vegetable growers faced urban encroachment, water availability issues, competition from cheap imports and tight margins. He said longer-term solutions lay in strategic planning, particularly for land use, rather than increased regulation. Source: The West Newspaper Now if we add peak oil (fertilisers) and the global economic crisis worsening....where will it leave these farmers? Yet another reason amongst a myriad of reasons for growing your own foods! Take care of you and yours:) molly

"HOW TO" LINKS

For those that may not have noticed, I have updated the links to a host of projects on my "How To" links on the right hand side. Ever wonder how to grow rice? Learn how there, and as one astute reader pointed out, you could also use a childs wading pool or barrels! What about the preppers? Have you got yourself a rocket stove? Mighty handy little things and easy to produce....learn how! Loofahs anyone? I know there are a few of us growing the plant, heres all the info you could need to make your own bathroom & kitchen sponges......the young ones taste good too! There are a myriad of projects there, none of them complex, if I can cope with them....any of you can LOL I hope you enjoy. If you think of any other items you may be interested in, let me know, I love to research, it's a great learning curve! Take care of you and yours:) molly

NAME THAT PLANT

Ok, since I have never grown Basil before....can you tell me ... this is Basil right? I seem to have things popping up all over the garden that I cannot identify! This of course comes from planting over 100 items in the last year and not labelling them all! Now of course I add one of my infamous name spikes until I get used to whatever it is being there..... ah the joys of ageing LOL!

Take care of you and yours:)

molly

OF PLANTS & PANDEMICS

The Amaranth seed I purchased some time ago to plant is doing wonderfully, and given it is a grain that has a high oil content it needs to be replacced annually. I decided today to try popping it as you would regular popcorn. The only difference is that you do not oil the pan. Just heat the pan (not on mega high) and drop in the amaranth and place the lid on top. It pops in seconds. Taste? Vey subtle nut taste, absolutely delightful. I added it to my potato and egg salad, lordy it is good! SEE MORE INFO AND RECIPES HERE From plants to Pandemics. Here is a glimpse of the gear we have in storage. We have 20 suits, 20 sets of goggles, 20 masks and 200 sets of gloves. All of the items with the exception of the gloves are washable, including the masks. The masks are N95 and one of the latest out with a miniscule virus micron rating. Today's day off was spent mostly in the garden. The weather has turned cooler so it was the opportune time to get out and remove one of the larger cape gooseberry bushes to make room for some more fruits. The gooseberries are now in new pots around the side of the driveway, and apart from restricting their seeding all through the garden beds it has freed up some more room. And now I'm off outside to get my hands dirty again...hope you are enjoying your week! Take care of you and yours :) molly

Monsanto Investigator in Illinois Laughs They Are Doing 'Rural Cleansing'

Steve Hixon is a seed cleaner in southern Illinois. He has equipment that takes the plant materials and "cleans" it so that the seeds are separated out and can be given back to farmers to save for the next season. It's a mechanized step up from farmers’ hand picking seeds off their own plants, which, with hundreds of acres - or even 10 - would not be easy to do. On the 9th January, 2009, a US marshall, 2 state police and a county police were all over Mr. Hixon's area, serving notices to farmers that they are being sued by Monsanto. They arrive in pairs, with two cars parked a quarter mile and half mile down the road. They've served 3 so far and said "a bunch more are coming." No telling how many will be served since Hixon has between 200-400 farmers he cleans seeds for and these farmers have been repeatedly threatened by Monsanto thugs for the last two months, getting "visits," letters, and calls daily. Farmers report that a Monsanto investigator laughed that they were doing "rural cleansing." Mr. Hixon has the non-distinction of being attacked by Monsanto. He is far from alone. Monsanto has been picking off seed cleaners across the Midwest, having already done its thuggish thing in Pilot Grove, Missouri, and in Indiana, attacking Maurice Parr, destroying business for all of them. I've said it before and I will say it again, store and plant ONLY good quality, open pollinated, heirloom seeds and never bring anything into your garden that doesn't fit that criteria. LINK TO STORY & PETITION HERE Take care of you and yours:) molly

RAMBLING THOUGHTS & DEEDS

Today I had to get out early in the garden, they are forecasting 40C+, and of course you all know how I love the heat…NOT! I decided the front needed a good tidy before anything else. In front of the fence I have beautiful butterfly bushes; however they had flowered and were beginning to get rather scraggly. So….out with the hedge trimmer…gotta love garden toys! I cut them all back, leaving about 2 inches above ground; they will shoot again and look all green and lush. Then out with the blow vac thingy, cleaning up all the leaves the gum trees across the road throw at us all the time, then onto the mulcher to process the lot. That just went straight onto the beds as a much with a little chook manure to help it break down quicker. The daisy bushes were the same, spent flowers, so a quick trim there and the same process again. The veggie and fruit garden at the back is quiet for now. I have ordered, and am waiting for, my 3 worm wicking bed surrounds to arrive so I am loathe to plant more until they do. We moved the youngberries last weekend, they were up against the back of the workshop, however the tin was getting too hot for them and it looked like we were going to lose them. Hopefully they will survive the move and start to take off on the new chook pen fence. The blueberry bushes I purchased some time ago when I bought the bulk berries never survived, not sure why, same conditions as all the others we planted out. To make up for the loss hubby brought in 5 more - different company and type….hopefully THEY will grow lol. Time this week has been centred more around my Dad, my best mate! They recently discovered a pituitary tumour so he has been in hospital, had it removed and is now home thank God! Mum is looking after him, as a retired nurse he is in the best possible hands, she’s one very strong and capable lady! For those not familiar with the condition, which is more common than most realise, here is a little information: The pituitary gland is a pea-sized gland that only weighs a few grams. It's located more or less in the centre of the head where it hangs by a stalk from the base of the brain. Despite its small size, it's an incredibly important structure and plays a pivotal role in the body's hormonal system. The most common problem with the pituitary occurs when a benign tumour develops (a growth or swelling that's not cancerous). Some pituitary tumours can exist for years without producing symptoms and, indeed, some never do. Most pituitary tumours occur in people with no family history of pituitary problems, and the condition is not usually passed on from generation to generation. The most common type of pituitary tumour (about half of all cases) is 'non-functioning'. This means the tumour doesn't produce any hormones itself. It can cause headaches and visual problems (by pressing on the optic nerve), or can press on the rest of the pituitary gland causing it to stop producing the required amount of one or more of the pituitary hormones. Alternatively, some types of pituitary tumour may begin to generate too much of one or more hormones, causing chaos elsewhere in the body. Dad’s tumour has attached itself to an artery, so complete removal was not an option. Continuing treatment and close monitoring will be the management process. Poor ol chook, since his triple bypass it has been one thing after another. At 73 he is finding it very tiring, my heart aches for him. Well, that’s the week for me, here’s to a great week ahead for us all! Take care of you and yours:) molly