Let me tell you about the one true love of my life. His name is Jordan Tre and he is 9 months old. He also goes by the nickname "itchyscratchy" because he suffers from eczema. But, nevertheless, this kid is all little boy. He's happy, he's otherwise healthy and just a true blessing from God. Mommy and Daddy have had a very difficult time trying to find some relief for his eczema, but Grandma and Grandpa know that in no time at all he will be just fine. KID JUST NEEDS TO GROW UP A LITTLE!!!! We have tried almost every remedy out there in Googleland, but to no avail. We tried the old fashioned cornstarch remedy. No luck. Oatmeal baths--zilch. His parents should now be stockholders for Aveeno and every other lotion producer in the market. The only way those products provide a little relief is if they are applied 16 times a day.

I swear for the longest time, this kid didn't realize he had fingers because his hand were always wrapped in gloves or socks. He's been seen by pediatricians, allergists, and dermatologists. They all had remedies and suggestions, but no success. So Mommy joined a support group online and quickly made friends. They too, shared their "horror stories" and referred her to other sites. Online experts know more about this kid than his own pediatrician, yet they've never touched the kid. There were all kinds of miracle creams introduced as well as nutritional supplements, but if there was no relief in a week or so...plan b,c,d,etc.

The latest thing right now is some local homeopathic "shaman" who has studied alternative medicine in India and apparently spent a couple of years living in a teepee somewhere in California in order to study herbology. I don't buy it and I am strongly opposed to the whole idea. Anyway, I give it a week.

A Plethora of Pumpkins

If you've read my profile you know I like gardening. The weather in El Paso has been a little strange this year and perhaps Indian summer will arrive early. Since we moved into this house less than a year ago, we have had quite a struggle to plant a garden in our backyard. Since we live so close to the foothills of the Franklin Mountains, we have a bumper crop of ROCKS. Not just little rocks, mind you, but boulders. Being as I am not as young as I used to think I was, it has become a real PAIN to plant anything in the yard. Painful because it hurts and also because everything tends to die. But, by some odd twist of fate or what have you, we now have a beautiful little children's garden on one side of the house near our kitchen. This garden was put in for my grandson, Jordan, and it has a little bench for him to sit at when he's a little older and some funky little toadstools and a little path which at present is completely overgrown by PUMPKINS. The pumpkins are changing color and I'm a little worried about them since we've had quite a bit of rain. I read somewhere that I should place boards under the actual fruit to keep them from rotting. I am also trying to figure out how to turn them with accidentally breaking them off the vine.

We are planning to upgrade our heating and cooling system very soon and it's possible some of the equipment may have to be placed in the children's garden so I am going to have to gently rearrange the vines and pumpkins so that they are not in the way of the installers.

Jordan will be celebrating his very first Halloween this year and he will have his very own jack-o-lantern. . . home-grown and lovingly tended by his Grandma Terri. In the meanwhile, I hope everyone else out there will enjoy viewing my lovely little garden.