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  My blog was filled up. I'm too lazy to clean it out. So I started a new one. |
| My niece with 5 kids asked about Easter. She has to be at her Mother-in-law's for dinner, but wants to see her father's family for lunch. The kids will show off their new Easter clothes and hunt plastic eggs. There is another niece with 3 kids, and my brother with a wife and kid in the same age group. I have stopped cooking normal food in favor of plant-friendly, heart healthy food. Obviously, I cook in smaller quantities now. My everyday cooking is no longer for company. And the Easter bunny will not be leaving chocolates or Skittles at my house this year. He doesn't go to the grandmothers' homes, why should he come to mine? I guess it started because I moved in with my father, the great grandfather, to be his caretaker after my divorce. He wanted to lavish things on the kids. They are still coming to the house even though he's gone now. I have put up a few decorations just for myself, before I knew anyone planned to be here. I can throw something together since they will be having a second meal later that day. I don't heave to cook fish or quinoa for them. I'll come up with something that doesn't gross them out, but won't leave me with inedible leftovers.( I am not using salt these days.) If the weather holds out, we'll take the annual photo of the kids with a tree out front that may be in its own twilight time. It's hard to get the kids to stand still that long. And they are taller now and don't fit the poses or branches that they did years ago. It needs to be less about the food and more about togetherness and fun. One year, maybe 8 years ago, they all sat out in the yard looking for four leaf clovers. That is a wonderful memory. |
| Just finished my 8 hour online safe driving course, which might save me a little on my insurance bill. It is for anyone over 50. The point they drive home is that everything changes: we change/get older, the roadways change, vehicles change, laws change. The driver needs to be more alert and flexible than ever before. There are actually recommended exercises and stretches to keep ankles, feet, shoulders and neck moving properly for driving, parking, and backing up. Vision and hearing are two common areas that people tend to ignore as they age and continue driving. We know that our reaction times slow down, but many of us don't want to adjust our driving habits to accommodate this delay in reaction time. Going to the doctor and checking our vision and hearing is a way of taking care of ourselves and keeping us in the driver's seat. After age 75, a collision is more likely to be fatal than we are in our 50's. Our bones are brittle and we might have other health problems. It is not a free course, so I'm hoping the insurance deduction will be greater than the expense. At any rate, I feel better about brushing up on laws and other vehicles on the roadways, like scooters, ATV's, bikes, motorcycles. Driving is one of our ways of feeling independent and self-reliant. It's hard to give up the keys, but they make a good case for how it might be cheaper to pay for the taxi instead of all those taxes and insurances. |
| I had washed all the winter weight sweaters and put away long sleeve shirts. I've been running ceiling fans to avoid AC. But today, it was cold! I put on a long sleeve turtle neck and a sweater and wore a jacket when I left home. Fortunately, I did not leave any plants outside over night. I have taken a few out just for the day recently, but returned them before dark. Today, they stayed inside. I didn't do any yard work because of my headache, the pollen, and the temperature. I keep my gardening gloves and a few hand tools handy, the hoe and the rake just outside the back door. I even bought potting soil yesterday. I guess I was anticipating a little too soon. I enjoy seeing the budding trees and the blossoms blowing in the wind. If only the pollen did not affect breathing and watery eyes. Oh, well, beauty of the earth comes with a small price. For tonight, here at home I am sitting by a small space heater, and I am wearing a fleece jacket. Is there such a thing as an Indian Spring? |
| I am trying this heart healthy routine, but not excelling at it. Eggs and potatoes without table salt are not worth eating. I do yard work, the easy stuff, until my back hurts. I am getting my minimal steps in. My goal is to do more, seven days a week. Tonight I fixed boneless chicken breasts with cherry tomatoes according to my rehab lesson book. I used garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and Mrs. Dash lemon pepper according to the all purpose seasoning directions. The recipe called for freshly squeezed lemon juice and vegetable broth. I served it with quinoa, raw carrots, and a spoonful of black beans for contrast. It was okay, but seriously, it needed salt! I didn't add any. And I had enough left over without quinoa to make several meals for the freezer. I am feeling guilty about sitting so long at my computer. I should get up and stretch more. My Internet access is so slow and lousy. I need to make a change but have been dragging my feet. It could be worse, and it always ends up costing more each month than what you are told. So I sit in anticipation that any moment my program will come back up. I went to the library last week to use the computer so that I could print something. I was amazed how quickly I could get through all my usual things. Better Internet would be a big time saver and get me on my feet more often. So I have to do some stretches now and walk up and down my hall a few times before getting ready for bed. Improving my sleep habits is another item on my lifestyle change list. |
| When I consider how much stuff I throw away when cleaning, or how much I take to Good Will, I wonder what I was thinking when I spent money on such useless temporary stuff. If only I had been willing to pass my impulses and live a more spartan life. I'd have more money now and would have less junk surrounding me. And some of it was given to me. Why do we give each other such trinkets to collect dust and lose our fascination. They tell us that the younger generations don't want to inherit our junk. They don't want great grandma's crystal cake plate the way we baby boomers coveted one. They don't want the hand woven baskets made by an ancestor or the treasure purchased by Uncle Sonny when he was a sailor in the Orient. They don't even want the china and silver that we craved when I was in college. I sometimes watch The Collector on TV. Those collections are only of value to other crazy collectors. I had a brother who invested in comic books and toys because he thought they would be worth some money some day. He died in 2012 a little on the poor side. I researched the comics which are all printed after 1992. There are about 5000 of them. Worth the cover price today because of people like him. Only the older ones in mint condition bring in good returns. All the ones I inherited re in individual covers, about 100 per plastic box. Most are unopened. Doesn't improve the price. He also had unopened toys from McDonald's happy meals, and several thousand Hot Wheels, still in original wrappers. Nobody wants them. I wish I had kept my money and practiced more will power. I wish my brother had kept his money and led a more abundant life. I wouldn't feel swamped with decluttering chores in my old age. |
| I've always made Easter baskets for the kids in my family. There's a lot of them. A nephew who is in the same age bracket as great nieces and nephews, and now there are two step children in the picture. This year I am taking the easy way out. No baskets, no candy. I am not allowed to have candy and I have no will power. I conquered Halloween candy and have overlooked Valentine's. But I can't resist Easter candy yet. I crave anything by Cadbury and Reese's. There are solid chocolate crosses and hollow chocolate bunnies. The only way to behave is to avoid having them in the house, and save a little money at the same time. As for Easter dinner, I am not allowed ham so I wont cook one. I can't afford lamb, now that I know how to butterfly a leg and cook it. I don't want to fix a turkey unless I know for sure I will have company. They are last minute people; I like to plan. If they understand I'm doing low sodium cooking and no frying and pushing fruits and veggies, they probably aren't interested anyway. If the only brother I have left out of three comes with his family, we might have Easter pizza and no candy. |
| Headaches can be debilitating. You actually feel sick on the stomach with some of them. Pollen doesn't help if you already hurt. I have learned that all pain relievers have side effects. You have to choose the one you are willing to tolerate or that your doctor allows. My neurologist prescribed CoQ10, magnesium, and B2, all Over the Counter. She said once the pain starts they don't help, but they can help prevent a migraine. The cardiologist made me stop magnesium because my counts are too high without supplements. B2 or Riboflavin doesn't hurt anything and the coQ10 helps digestion. So they are regulars every day. However, my head hurt any way, after almost a year with no migraines. Tylenol gives temporary relief. I know people who get no relief from anything, so I am sympathetic to those people. I am limited to the number of Tylenol I can take in a 24 hour period. Even Tylenol, a gentler pain reliever, has its pitfalls. When taken too much or too frequently, it damages the liver. Too many Tylenol can also aggravate blood thinners, which I am on forever. So I try to be stingy with them, but sometimes the pain is just too much. Massaging the back of my neck helps a little. Ice and heat don't help. There's always something. |
| Today's nutrition class was a gross out. I've always washed my produce with plain water to remove sand, etc., I know a lot of people touch the tomatoes, apples, and other lose products, so I'm conscious of germs. However, I found out water is not enough. Some people rinse in vinegar first, then several rinses of water to get rid of the vinegar. Some people mix baking soda in. This breaks down the wax on fruit and cucumbers. It's a start about hand prints. There are also bugs on fresh broccoli, especially from farmers markets. And grapes have a film on them. Bananas have gnats living in the top of the peel, but I think I've heard that before. If you don't like the idea of vinegar on your fruits and veggies, there are actually produce washes available in the produce department. My guess is that vinegar is cheaper. Apparently, I've been consuming a little wax and many germs despite rinsing everything first. I prefer fresh to canned or frozen, but I might rethink that. Yuk. |
| Someone asked that question Sunday. Of course, one person said, "In scripture". There was a lot of hemming and hawing. A few said positive results from medical tests. One person said, "In our children". Another thought that observing people helping those in need was a sign of hope. There is also nature. Life goes on. The trees are budding in many colors. Some are blooming in white or pink and letting the wind blow their petals like snow down the road. Jonquils and hyacinths are casting yellow everywhere. My pink camellias are beginning to show blooms not ready for opening. The crocus are finished and gone, but the lilies are busting through the ground with their green stalks. The days are longer, and we can go outside without heavy jackets. Spring is here. What did the poet say? Hope springs eternal in the human breast? No matter the circumstances in our lives or the community, or the world for that matter. Hope is all around us, if we just open our eyes. |
| Ok, it was rainy here today. I could not go outside to rake leaves or just walk, except to the mailbox between drizzles. I watched "Grease" for the umpteenth time, but I do like to see men dance. I even got up to dance with a very slim young John Travolta in Greased Lightning. It won't add more steps o my Fitbit, but it did involve stretching. I did not get down on the floor with the backup dancers because I knew I'd never get up. I did have to sit down afterwards and catch my breath. It was not on a commercial free channel, so I did get up and walk in circles during the breaks. Maybe I'm not completely inactive. I'm having fish and salad for dinner, so maybe that's healthy. Breakfast had the unhealthy egg and grapes. Lunch was almost healthy. But there was more fruit after that. I like to snack on radishes and grape tomatoes. But if someone offered me a Kit Kat, I wouldn't say no. I am taking my blood pressure every morning and recording it, a new procedure for me. I am totally self-absorbed these days and hope to get beyond it some day soon. |
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