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My thoughts released; a mind set free |
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These pages contain my thoughts, from meandering ideas and persuasions to deep cerebrations and serious mentations. Why, for what purpose? To release my mind and set creativity free. Somewhere inside the constraints of my mind dwells a writer, a poet, an artist who paints with words. In here, I release those constraints and set the artist free. Perhaps, lost somewhere in the depths of thought, is a story or a poem, waiting to be written. |
| We've changed the clocks again. It's a real pain in the ass for most people, and it doesn't do anything positive, yet every spring we move it ahead an hour and every fall we move it back. Living as far north as I do, I'd prefer to leave them on regular time, but I understand a lot of people prefer to leave them on Daylight Saving Time. I've said for years that we should jump ahead thirty minutes and then just leave them alone. That's a compromise I think everyone most people would be alright with. But I'd be fine with leaving them on regular time or leaving them on Daylight Saving Time, just leave them. What I don't understand is how anyone can think the time change gives an extra hour of daylight. I've read it a few places here and, like Charlie Brown listening to Lucy, it gives me a stomachache. We currently have eleven and a half hours of daylight; changing the clock did not increase it to twelve and a half. It only changed the time it gets light and the time it gets dark. It's simple, yet some people just don't get it; there is no extra hour of daylight. The very name, Daylight Saving Time, is a lie! Nobody saves any time in the spring, and nobody loses any time in the fall; approximately twenty-four hours year-round, that's what we get. I suppose part of the reason I dislike Daylight Saving Time is that it's yet another lie governments tell the people, and it's yet another example of people's lives being disrupted for no practical reason. |
| Time differences, that's it. I was just late getting in here today and thought I would get my stuff done before midnight, no problems. Only my midnight is an hour after WdC midnight, so once again, I kind of spaced it. Oh well, that's the way it goes. Today was kind of like that; it started right away this morning. I woke up too damned early and couldn't get back to sleep because I remembered I had an infusion sometime this morning. Did I set the alarm? What time do I have to be there? What the hell time is it anyway? I got up and checked to see what the time was. I knew it was early because it wasn't light yet, and I knew it wasn't night anymore because it wasn't dark enough. It was seven. I checked to see what time I had to be at the hospital: ten-thirty. I checked my alarm; it was set for eight. I could go back to bed for a while. No, I'm up, I may as well start the coffee, so's I did. I got to the hospital on time and had my port accessed, blood drawn, and then we wait. We wait for the labbers to do their stuff and relate their findings to the doc, who then comes in and goes over everything with me. The Zack, my nurse for today, came in for another tube of life-fluid; the doctor wanted to run some tests for my pituitary gland. More waiting, but eventually the labs were back and in comes my doctor. We had a good visit, my labs were all normal except I was a bit dehydrated. Then we discussed the side effect of my immunology infusion on the pituitary gland. It causes hypothyroidism. When it manifests, we'll treat it with hormones to maintain the proper balance. Not if, when. The results she needed were not in when I left, she said she'd call. I knew she meant she would have Zack, my nurse, call and relate the information. As of now, I have not heard anything about the results. I'm assuming no news is good news and my glands are glanding properly. The forecast for today was 50s, sunny, mild weather. The morning fog didn't lift until after it was getting dark this evening, it didn't quite reach 40, and it was drizzling most of the day. We also are under a winter storm warning, and I can almost hear the meteorologist telling his/hers boss, "New things have come to light, man." It hasn't been a bad day, it's just been an off day. My monthly infusion seems to do that. I don't feel bad after, I just feel off. It usually only lasts the day of, but it has made the following day an off day as well. It's also affecting my eyesight, but I still don't know if it's permanent or not, but my oncologist and my regular doctor are both looking into it. I can't set up an eye exam until I know. It's not a bad change to my vision, it's actually an improvement. Actually there's a trade off, my close up vision is a bit worse, but not significantly. But my normal vision has improved. It's nice to see clearly without glasses. It would be terrific if this is permanent. |
| It's still above freezing here, and today we saw early spring weather, temperatures in the fifties, lots of sun, and just a light breeze; a very beautiful day. Most of the snow is gone except in areas where the sun doesn't reach it, and even that is diminishing rapidly. We had to make an early run to Fergus Falls again today. My wife needed to have her hearing aids cleaned and serviced. We arrived a half hour early in hopes of her getting in right away. It's a walk-in, first-come type set up, and we hoped to be done quickly. I know, it never works out that way. Or does it? I dropped her off at the door and went and parked. I had just shut the engine off when she texted me she was done and at the door. I knew right then, this was going to be a good day. Since we finished up so quickly, we decided to take a scenic route home, driving through the metropolis of Phelps Mill (you can look that one up, but I doubt the population exceeds fifty people. They do have a nice park, and we were hoping walk the dogs a bit, but the park was still closed for the season. From there, we headed over to Pelican Rapids to grab some breakfast. WE got goodies to go and proceeded to drive over to Maplewood State Park and walk the dogs there before returning home. It was a fine day, an enjoyable morning, and I noticed one thing in common at every location: ice. Lots of wet, slippery, and thick ice. A few more days like today and we should be about done with the ice, but until then, it's almost impossible to walk anyplace without doing some kind of funky, slip-sliding, disco moves on the ice. As I said, a few more days of the ice capades, then we get to deal with the mud capades. Then, once the ice and snow have all but vanished, the mud has all but dried up, and spring officially arrives, we'll get dumped on with at least a foot of wet, sticky, and heavy snow one last time; we always do. |
| We have Sunday, Monday, and now, Murphday. Murphday isn't a regular day that repeats regularly, but we all have Murphdays randomly; today was my Murphday. What is a Murphday? It's any day when things just refuse to go as planned, or right. It's a day when Murphy's Law rules. Today was my Murphday. Right from the start, not even one cup of coffee down, and things began to go amok. Despite numerous attempts to set the day right, it continued to morph into a Murphday. There wasn't anything I could do to change it, so all that was left to do was to surrender and roll with the punches. So that's just what I did, I stopped trying to make the day right, and made myself right with the day. Yep, sometimes you're the windshield and the next, you're the bug. Now it's time for me to "bug-out". |
| Today I traveled to Fergus Falls to see my cardiologist for a three-month follow-up. Everything went well, and she said I'm doing well, but she was concerned about an incident when I was in for my last endoscopy. That was a messed-up day to say the least. I was scheduled for ten-thirty and told to show up a half hour early. That meant I had to be up pretty early so I could get to Fargo, about a two-hour drive from home to the hospital. No coffee, no nothing after midnight, so it was already a rough morning. Once checked in I was moved to a prep room pretty quickly, but they didn't have anyone who could access my port and would have to have an IV put in. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem, but when this was done, I was still not getting enough liquids, and it was difficult to even find a vein. But the nurse tried and failed; she pushed the needle all the way through. Second attempt in a new location didn't go any better, but at least she didn't push the needle through. She gave up and got another nurse who didn't do any better, so she called for someone to come with an ultrasound to put the IV in. After a few minutes, she had located a vein and, with the help of the imaging, put the needle in the first try. Why hadn't they just done this right away? After I was hooked up to the IV bag, they put the monitor patches on my chest, plugged me in, and wheeled me off to the endoscopy room. That's when I fund out that my doctor wasn't at the hospital yet, but I was assured he would be along any minute. But someone had messed up in scheduling; my doctor wasn't there until one in the afternoon, and I was stuck in an uncomfortable hospital bed, wired, punctured, and all hooked up. After my two week stay stay in that same hospital, and all the problems I had, things didn't go well. I don't like hospitals anyway, and after my stay, I developed an actual fear, not a phobia, but a fear of hospitals, and the next thing I knew, I was feeling a panic attack coming on. I deep breathed, I asked for something to calm me, but in the end, I just had to lie there and deal with it; I went into AFib and almost didn't get the procedure done at all. I did talk my doctor into going ahead with the scope, but he didn't stretch my opening like he usually does because of the AFib, and I didn't come back out until after we had left the hospital. This incident was in my records, and I had also had a few incidents at home going into AFib, but these tend to be short, just a few minutes, and maybe once a week or less frequently. At the visit today my heart was doing great, my blood pressure was ideal, and my pulse was strong and regular. Another ultrasound of my pump was done as well and the old ticker is doing great. My cardiologist and I discussed possible causes, like electrolyte imbalance, low potassium, etc. She also asked me if I still had an anxiety disorder, and if I'm taking medication for it. "Yes, I still have it, and no, I'm not taking anything." The anxiety tends to come with stressful situations, visits to the hospital, and when I don't get enough sleep (the immunology causes insomnia sometimes). She informed me that it may be my anxieties that trigger the AFib and wants me to wear a monitor for two weeks to see when and for how long the sessions last. Once we get the results, I'll have logged stressful times, any panic attacks, and anything else that I'm doing that puts a strain on my ticker; like a little while ago, I went out and chipped some ice from the sidewalk. I don't feel like I AFibbed, but I logged the activity and let the monitor do the rest. It's still sounding good. She wants to monitor my heart, but doesn't think I need to go on any medication. I hope she's right. |
| We are, according to the liars meteorologists, done with the severe cold. Is it severe? Sometimes, but other times, they describe it as bitter cold. We are not done with the cold by any means, but the forecast shows above freezing temperatures during the days, some even into the fifties, and down into the teens and twenties at night. Hopefully, they are right, but that doesn't happen very often. If it remains warm enough, the ice should melt enough that the person we purchased our camper from should be able to deliver it. He stored it in a pole building with a sliding door, but the bottom track became frozen with all the ice we received early on, so the door won't open until the ice melts. In anticipation of the camper being delivered, we have begun to set aside some items that will be going into it. I have also purchased some items, like the solar panels for it. A lot of things we use for camping are currently in our mobile-tent (pop-up) camper, and we cannot get them out until it's a bit warmer. Even if we did get it up and open, we don't have anyplace to put the items until the hard shell camper arrives. It really isn't a big deal; we won't be going camping anytime soon, it's just excitement and anticipation. In fact, if he did deliver the camper now or soon, I'm sure it would turn back to winter with a lot of snow. That would be fine, too; we could get more snowshoeing in. |
| Yesterday we took the dogs to the State Park to enjoy some time outside, exercise, and fresh air. It was a beautiful day, but by noon, it began to fade into a change. We had hoped to do some snowshoeing, but we could not find any trails that still had enough snow on them. We had anticipated this, but brought the snowshoes and hoped there might still be enough snow in the wooded areas. There was some, but there was more mud than snow, and we didn't care to take the dogs out in the mud or to go mudshoeing. We quickly changed our plans and went to a paved trail to hike on. The wind had picked up to about thirty miles per hour with gusts up to fifty miles per hour, nearing sixty at times. With the high winds, there were few people in the park, so we were able to let the dogs off their leashes for a while. They enjoyed this free time to run, sniff, and explore; Max, my Husky, tended to run out into the snowy areas as much as possible while Bellah, my wife's Australian Shepard stayed in the grassy areas more. After about a half a mile down the trail, we encountered another person walking their dog, so we put ours on their leashes. Shortly after, we encountered a park ranger on a tractor clearing away any remaining snow and ice, so it was good that the dogs were leashed. They don't walk the best on their leashes, so it was also a bit of training for them. By this time, the wind had picked up, and it was making so much noise we knew the dogs wouldn't be able to hear us very well, so they stayed on their leashes. Soon enough the trail we were hiking crossed the road, so we turned off the trail and followed the road back to the vehicle. We had kept the wind to our backs most of the way down the trail, so now we were walking straight into it, and walking was difficult, almost like walking uphill. It was an enjoyable hike, but it was also challenging. This is good, I need to challenge myself so I'll be ready to do some serious hiking when the weather turns nicer. And, being on asphalt made this hike much less challenging than if we had followed some of the gravel trails that wound around more, had more hills, and of course, lots of mud. Within minutes of driving out of the park, the snow started. There was no forecast for snow, but it was coming down at a fair rate, and with the wind, it was snowing sideways. We had timed our hike just right and didn't have to try to walk into those strong, gusty winds and the blowing snow. Sometimes things work just right. The drive home was pleasant, and the snow, clouds, and blowing clouds were very beautiful. It was warm enough that the snow didn't stick at all, and by the time the temperature dropped, it had stopped. In fact, we had stopped at a store to pick up a few things before finishing our drive home. When we went in, it was still snowing, and the temperature was forty-nine degrees. When we exited the store about fifty minutes later, the temperature had dropped twenty degrees, almost a thirty-degree drop in less than an hour. Another half hour later, and we were home, the temperature had dropped to eleven degrees, and continued to plunge down through the night, and they didn't rise much today. Tonight, we get to see the mercury drop below zero one last time as February dies and March marches in with milder temperatures. At least, that's what the meteorologists are saying. |
| So this entry is being written today, but it's not today, it's tomorrow. I know that doesn't make sense, but yet it does. See, it's 11:40 my time,, but it's 12:40 WdC time. Thankfully, I commented on a few blogs earlier, and that completed my five for today. But I still wanted to write my entry, only I wrote it just after midnight this morning, my time or yesterday WdC time. Are you getting confused yet? I know I am. But, instead of posting my entry from early this morning, I'm going to post about something that happened just about a half hour ago; something that scared the bejeebers out of me. I was watching a spot of television, a show called Supernatural. I've seen it before, but it's been a while, and it's something I can watch while my wife's at work; she doesn't care to watch shows like this very often, especially at night before bed. Anyway, I had watched one full episode and started another when the dogs decided they wanted to go outside. I usually go out with them, but sometimes I just let them out and watch them from the door; that was the case tonight. I usually have a treat ready for them to reward them for coming in when called, but I didn't have one yet tonight. I went to the kitchen, got them a treat, and then went to the door to see if they were ready to come in. But when I looked out, someone was looking back in at me! My heart just about stopped before going into overdrive and tried to rip out of my chest. I even stepped back before my brain kicked in and told me there was someone at the door. I opened it and found my neighbor standing in front of me. She had just reached out to knock when I looked out and I scared her as much as she scared me. The dogs, both of them, were right there beside her; they think everyone comes over to see them. She had, in fact, come over to drop off a package that had been delivered to her mailbox in error. I thanked her and let the dogs in. I would have been a bit more neighborly, but I had already gotten ready for bed and was running around in my boxers and a t-shirt, so I didn't think it was the best time to socialize. Besides not being dressed appropriately, I also had to pick up my bejeebers. |
| Yesterday was lazy, but today not so much. It's barely into the twenties here, but the sun is shining and that seems to be enough to motivate just as yesterdays gloomy, drieriness seemed to suck the energy right out of me. Today, after fixing our lunch and enjoying our noontime meal before my wife headed off to work, a package arrived that contained a five foot by seven foot exercise mat. But, it's not for exercise, although I suppose it could be used for that as well. My wife likes an antifatigue mat in the kitchen in front of the stove and she also has a big rug infront of the sink. I do fine with the rug, but the mat is a hazzard to my neourologicily damaged feet. I tend to get snagged and tripped up on it because I can't feel things properly; my feet tend to feel asleep. So, I thought I would look around for a bigger mat for the kitchen, but through my searches in stores and online, I found very little for big kitchen mats. Rugs, yes, but not mats—the problem with rugs is they get nasty so fast, between cooking, food prep, and washing dishes, our kitchen rug ends up lasting only a few months. Being a stubborn determined man, I didn't let my lack of finding a large kitchen mat deter me, and then a few days ago, I had an epiphany. "What's that?" You ask. "Well, in this context, it was a moment of sudden revelation. Oh, you mean what was my sudden revelation?" It was an exercise mat, like a person would use to do yoga, stretches, pilates, etc., so I did an online search for one that would fit our kitchen; the area I wanted to cover measured seven foot by five foot. I thought, "If needed, I could go bigger and cut the mat, but one of the first ones I found came in a few different sizes, including five foot by seven foot. Since it was here, I wanted to get it put down. It came rolled up, so the first step was unpackaging it and unrolling it so it would warm up and lie flat. This was done before we ate and with a few weights placed on the corners, it flattened out nicely. The next step came after we ate, putting it in place by the stove, in front of the sink, and alongside the breakfast bar. I thought I may have to trim it a little where the stove sits, but my measurments where spot on and it fit fine. I decided as long as I was working in the vacinity of the stove and had removed the drawer to make it easier to fit the mat in place (in case I needed to cut for the pads on the stove) I woul level the stove. I had leveled it when we put it in, but it settled a bit and liquids tended to move to the right side of the pans. It wasn't off much, but I adjusted the pads a half a turn on the right side, checked the level bubble, and it was perfect, or at least close to perfect.  |
| Today is warmer, in the twenties, but kind of dreary. We were supposed to get a few more inches of snow last night and today, and it was also supposed to be windy. Instead, we have low clouds making the day gloomy, and a bit of a breeze, but not what I'd call windy by a long shot. I suppose it's Murphy's Law being applied; we purchased snowshoes so we could enjoy the snow, so now we're not getting any. That's alright. If the snow goes, we can get our camper out of storage and start setting it up. On the other hand, if we get more snow, we can actually try out our snowshoes. We've been out a few times, but the snow is crusted and has melted down to the point where we don't need snowshoes. All in all, it's just a lazy day. Even Max thinks so, as you can see. I settled in to spend a bit of time here, and he climbed up to assist me but fell asleep. Bellah is currently sleeping on my feet, but I couldn't get a picture of her without moving my lap desk and computer. I should go work on my office, but I hate to disturb them. It's days like these when they are my partners in procrastination.  |
| I didn't get a blog entry written yesterday. I had every intention of writing one, but when it came down to it, it was like the song, "I got stoned, and I missed it." I have never been a big participant in the "herbs' as one coworker called it. I tried wacky tobaccy from time to time over the years, but it was always with the same results: an asthma attack. It's difficult to enjoy anything that ends up stealing your breath away, so I never really pursued a stoner's life, even though I did live on Stoner Avenue for a spell. When I started my chemo, I had a lot of digestive problems. Pain and loss of appetite were high on the list, and my oncologist told me that marijuana could help with both of these problems. But, he also told me that it was a pain in the ass to get it, and most insurance companies wouldn't pay for it. However, since Minnesota legalized it, he recommended I try edibles or a tincture, if I was interested. I didn't see any reason to spend money on the stuff without knowing if it would help, so I didn't get any. Money was tight as it was, medical bills were already in double digits in the thousands, and things like food and gas held precedence. But when my children asked why I didn't seek out medical marijuana, and I explained the cost issues and it not being covered by my insurance, they decided to help me out and got me a bottle of tincture with a low THC content. It worked wonders, and I didn't feel "high". Of course, I was only taking a quarter teaspoon three times a day. The tincture was expensive, and one of my children decided to make the tincture to keep costs down. Soon, I had a quart jar of homemade tincture, and it worked just as well, maybe even better than the purchased product. I stayed on the same dosage, but only took it twice a day, in the morning and before bed. Not only did it help with my appetite and digestive pain, it also helped with my back pain, and most nights I sleep all night long. Over time, it seemed a half teaspoon wasn't always enough, so I increased to a full teaspoon. After my chemo symptoms improved, I took the tincture before bed, but on occasion, I would take half a teaspoon in the afternoon if needed. Yesterday was one such day. For some reason, I was having a lot of abdominal pain after eating, so I took out the jar of tincture. I noticed I had another jar that was almost gone behind it. I took down the old jar and took the rest (there was only a teaspoon left, maybe two). The first thing I noticed was that it was stronger than the new jar, and it was full of particulate material. I also noticed it was a lot more potent, but this didn't hit until about half an hour after taking it. As the afternoon progressed, so did the effects of the tincture, and soon enough, I was buzzing like the fly in the song by America, "A Horse With No Name". In my weakened and sickly state of health from the chemo, my wife did the honors of tracking and administering my medications. Now, I'm able to do that task myself and have been for over a month. But, somewhere during the transition, I missed something or just forgot that the tincture needs to be stirred or shaken up before using, or it separates, and the good stuff settles to the bottom. It explains why I had to increase my dosage from a half teaspoon to a full teaspoon over the last month. I wasn't getting all the good stuff; it was building up on the bottom. Yesterday, however, I got a good dose, and my wife, when she got home from work and discovered my condition, got a good laugh. This song came to mind: |
| It was either Husky Run or Pooped Pups, I decided on the former. "But, what are you talking about?" You ask. It all started when I went out to get a bit of fresh air and sunshine. With the weather colder again, I didn't get much sunshine because I was bundled up in warm clothing, but that's not relevant to this entry. Normally, Max, my Husky and good friend, does his part to help out. At least, he thinks he's helping. But today, he didn't grab the shovel and pull; he just watched and did his own thing. After I finished shoveling, I decided to play with both Max and Bellah so they would burn off some energy. Bellah is easy to play with since she loves to play fetch. Max, being a Husky, isn't really geared to playing fetch. He will, on occasion, but he only brings back the object once or twice, then gives me that look that says, "I'm not falling for this again. I brought the damn thing back twice, and each time you just threw it away again. Go get it yourself." No, being a Husky, he has his own game he likes to play. We call it Husky Run; actually, Max named the game. He will get right up close and say, "Run!" Today, he didn't tell me he wanted to play; he's been a bit depressed since my wife is working. Huskies can really be temperamental and moody. This is likely the reason he didn't help shovel, too. So, while he was lying in the snow sulking, I snuck up on him, then charged him when he turned his head and looked at me. He jumped up and took off. He ran across the yard, turned, and charged back at me. I waited until he was close, then tried to catch him, but he twisted and turned and circled the garage. Again, I tried to intercept him, but he's fast, and he has some moves that would make any football player jealous. Max stopped playing "Run" with me when I was dying sick from chemo. Only recently has he let me play with him, and then it's been pretty limited, so I wouldn't overdo it. Today, however, he gave me a clean bill of health, and we played until we were both pooped pups. |
| I know, it's supposed to be out of the frying pan and into the fire; something like that, anyway. Here, just south of Canada, it's cold and will be for at least another month, maybe two. When it's above freezing, it's a fridge, and when it drops below freezing, it's a freezer, of course. Recently, we enjoyed a period of refrigerator weather, although it did drop below freezing at night; we're just going with daytime, alright? But for the next week or so, we won't see any temperatures above freezing, so now it's back into the freezer. Now, it's not the deep freeze, mind you. We had a period of that shit too. I don't mind the freezer, but I do not like the deep freeze, Sam-I-Am; let's not get me started with boats and goats or even clogs and hogs. We did get a couple of inches of snow from the six plus they forecast. If it had all come down as snow, we'd have gotten a foot or more, but a lot of the precipitation arrived as rain first, then turned to snow. So yeah, a couple of inches of snow and a nice coating of ice under it. Not that I'm bummed about it, since we just got snowshoes, I can enjoy the new snow as long as it's not too cold. And, if by chance the snow melts and it turns warmer, I can handle that, too. For the next day or two, it's going to be pretty cold, but it's supposed to be back up near the freezing point by Monday. That makes me think of a song: Come Monday, it'll be alright, come Monday I'll snowshoe till night... |
| I really didn't have anything planned for today except for spending some time here. I have plenty of other things I can put some time into, but I just planned on winging it today. Starting out this morning, things were going according to my plans to not have plans. I slept in till almost ten, then spent a quiet, relaxing morning with my coffee, wife, and two dogs snoozing on my feet. So far, so good. Then it was time to make lunch; my wife volunteered me for that duty because she needed to start getting ready for work. I scanned the fridge to see what was available to use. In a few minutes, I had the fixings out to make tacos. I got the beef cooking while I prepped the veggies and got everything else ready. I had found some leftover bacon from yesterday in the fridge, so I chopped that up and added it to the beef, tossed in some onion and garlic, spices, and let it all cook together. We didn't have any taco shells on hand, but we did have some tortilla shells, so we had soft-shell tacos. After we ate, I was informed that we needed to fill up all our water bottles and pick up some milk, butter, and a few other items from the grocery store. But, since it was time for my wife to go to work, she didn't have time. So, she volunteered to give her a ride to work, stop at the store, and then come back to pick her up after work. I went out and got the vehicle out of the garage, put the empty water bottles inside, and took my wife to work. Then I went to the store and did my shopping, drove to the gas station and filled up the tank, and then drove back home and unloaded the vehicle. The guy who plows us out hadn't shown up yet, so I shoveled out in front of the house. We have about two inches of new snow. After, I was going to start dinner, but when I came in, my phone was ringing. It was my wife; she had forgotten her cell phone in the vehicle and needed it to clock in and out of work. So I loaded the dogs back up, and we drove back into town, dropped off her phone, then returned home. By this time, I didn't feel like cooking anything, so I've been snacking and spending my time in here. I guess it's a good thing I hadn't planned anything for today. |
| Today is humpday; at least many people refer to it as humpday. Maybe it's because of the hump, but it seems like things just kind of stalled today. It's been busy for at least a week with little time to spare. Today kind of just crashed. Not in a bad way; everything just came to a standstill. We are under a winter storm watch, or warning, or expectation; something wintery anyway. As of last night, we were to expect about six inches. As of this morning, there was barely enough of the white stuff to cover the sidewalk. As of this afternoon, it was snowing harder, and as of now, it's stopped again with maybe an inch of new snow. The National Weather Service people say we could get two to four inches by tomorrow afternoon, but then they have issues with their pants catching fire. Just in case they are right, however, we decided it's a good day to just stay home and take it easy. As for more snow, it doesn't matter to me; both my wife and I are ready for spring, but we also have a new hobby, snowshoeing. We've only been out a few times, and so far we haven't had any deep snow; we've hiked packed trails and a snow-packed back road. With the possibility of bad weather today, I didn't do much, but it's kind of nice to have a relaxing day. I guess you could say, I'm just humping it today. |
| I've been known to say, "It's exactly the same, only different." Today it's stated about the day, as compared to yesterday. Yesterday was warm, in the lower fifties, calm breeze, and sunny. Today it was almost as warm, in the upper forties, but windy, gusting to almost fifty miles per hour. It was also overcast today, with a feeling and a smell of bad weather coming. Yes, I can sometimes feel a storm brewing, and sometimes I can smell it on the wind. I slept in this morning; I've been really tired lately. I think a lot of my tiredness is from all the fresh air and exercise this past week. It was the same again today, only different. Instead of going to the park, we just drove a few miles and snowshoed down a closed-for-the-winter road. It's heavily shaded, so there was still snow to snowshoe in. There's a small campground at the end of this road, so it does get plowed out, but not regularly and not right down to the gravel. We just got our snowshoes, and already we are lacking snow. For a while, it was looking like we may end up doing as much mudshoing as snowshoing, but today was the last day we will be above thawing for a while adnd the forecast is for three to six inches of new snow. After a mile trek through the woods, we took the scenic, long way home. Then it was dinner (we call it supper, but not sure where that term came from. Both my family and my wife's family refer to the last meal of the day as supper; dinner is reserved for fancy meals with friends and family.) I baked up a couple of yams and a couple of the pork chops I smoked the other day. Now, it's time to sit back and relax with a little brandy, some CSI Los Vegas, and then bed. |
| I had a terrific weekend, even if it was too short. Saturday, I enjoyed a wonderful visit from our daughter. I had smoked a ham (double smoked) on Wednesday, and decided to have it for dinner on Saturday. It went into the slow cooker so we could eat whenever we decided. On Sunday, we went to the state park and tried out our snowshoes. The dogs had a blast romping around. We did three-quarters of a mile on a trail that goes around a small lake. It wasn't very far, but for our first day snowshoeing, it was enough. Of course, we stayed and enjoyed a nice afternoon in the park, then took the scenic ride home. I was surprised by how little snow was left. In the open areas where the sun hits, there's not much left at all, but even in the trees where it's shaded, there's little snow left. Not that I'm complaining, I'm loving this nice weather; it was in the lower fifties today. Tomorrow is supposed to be in the forties with rain, but then it turns to snow tomorrow night with up to three inches possible; we'll see. |
| As Mr. Quincy Magoo often said, "Oh, Magoo, you've done it again." Only it wasn't Quincy, it was TJ who did it again. "And what has Mr. Magoo TJ done again?" You ask. "What, you didn't ask? Well, I'm going to tell you anyway." I did my smoking today and was content with just kicking back in here while I waited on the smoker. I also thought about working on my office; I think I've procrastinated on the task long enough. But things didn't work out quite like they were supposed to. My wife informed me that we needed to refill our water bottles. Our water is high in iron, and even with a softener, it isn't ideal for making coffee or drinking, so we get water in three and five-gallon refillable bottles. She suggested that I drive her to work, get the bottles filled, and then bring them home. Not only did this mess up my plans, but she also didn't have to work until five this afternoon instead of the regular time, two o'clock, so my afternoon wasn't going quite as planned; life has a way of messing things up from time to time, and today was one of those times. I had stuff in the smoker, so before leaving, I made sure it was full of pellets. We left early so she could fill the bottles, which we did, then I dropped her off at work. I stopped and filled the fuel tank before coming home since we have to drive to Fergus Falls tomorrow for a medical appointment, and decided that it was a good time to go through the car wash as well; the vehicle was filthy with road grime and salt. So, by the time I got home, it was time to make dinner. Actually, it was a bit past time, but we adjust, right? While dinner was cooking, I brought the pork roast in from the smoker, bagged it, wrapped it in freezer paper, and put it in the fridge. Then I ate, cleaned up my dishes, and the kitchen. By this time, it was sunset and getting dark out, so I had to turn off the smoker and bring the ham and beef inside and get them in the fridge. (Tomorrow I'll slice the beef into thin strips and put them in our convection oven to dry, after we get back home. At least that's the plan. After finishing up with the meat, I had to bring the smoker back inside and put away my stuff. Finally, I had a bit of time to sit and relax. I settled into my recliner and almost instantly dozed off. I only dozed for a minute or two, but somehow during that doze, it became time to go pick my wife up from work. In other words, I didn't get in here until after we got home. I thought I would have time to write in my blog, do some kind of forum post, and finish up my four. I had forgotten, however, that WdC time is an hour later than my time, and since it was after eleven here, it was already tomorrow there. Yes, I did not get my blog post or forum post in today because today here was already tomorrow there. |
| It's another nice day, sunny, a light breeze, and almost 40oF. If it weren't so icy and slippery, it would be a nice day to walk around the loop. But the road is terribly slippery, so I'll pass. Besides, it's supposed to be even warmer for the next slew of days (if those who profess to forecast the weather aren't lying and risking their pants catching fire again). Instead of risking a slip and a fall, I've decided to do a bit more smoking out back. Not today, today I'm preparing the meats for the smoker, which will be ready to go tomorrow. One item that doesn't need much preparation is a small ham from the pork we purchased. The local butcher shop sells double-smoked hams that are so damn good it's almost scary. What's scary about them is the price, and that's why I decided to try double-smoking one of the hams we received with our pork. I'm also going to smoke another pork roast from the same fresh pork. I did a couple back in December, and they turned out awesome. I still have one from the other day when I went out to smoke, but since they are so good, I want more. (My wife also wants me to make more.) So, what about the title, "Jerk", you ask? At least, I'm pretending you're asking. It's like this: We take beef jerky along when we hike and use it as a special treat for our dogs (as well as for ourselves). But the store-bought stuff is very expensive, full of unwanted chemicals, and not as good as homemade. So, I decided it's time I taught myself how to make beef jerky. There are plenty of recipes to pick from, and I'm sure they are good, but I want something basic, old-style, and easy; something similar to what people made a century ago, cured with salt, sugar, and smoke. I came across a recipe in my Mom's old cookbook for jerky that she had written down on paper. It's a simple recipe that consists of salt, brown sugar, black pepper, and coriander. This is mixed together and rubbed on chunks of meat cut one inch thick, then wrapped in waxed paper (I used plastic wrap) and aged for two days. The meat is then rinsed and placed on racks in the smokehouse (I'll use my pellet smoker) and cured with low heat for eight hours. After, they are left to cool overnight, then sliced to a thickness of a nickel, placed on racks, and dried in the oven. |
| Yesterday, my wife and I were trying to decide whether to go to Glendalough State Park with the dogs or do a bit of shopping and visit her mom. The forecast was a major influencer, with rain and snow supposedly arriving in the afternoon and lasting into the evening. By the time we finished lunch, the forecasted weather looked like it was going to stay south of us, so we loaded up the truck and headed to Glendalough to do a bit of hiking and to let the dogs get some exercise. But, since my wife returned to work today, we also decided to visit her mom for a bit, too. And since we would be in Wadena to visit mom, we may as well stop and pick up a few groceries. Because my mother-in-law doesn't tend to eat very well (she's in her nineties), I like to make up extra soup and freeze some for her in single-serving containers. We put these in an insulated shopping bag and then put that in the cooler we keep in the back of the truck. Then we headed off to the park. Being a nice day, there were quite a few people out on the trails, so we parked by the picnic area road. It's closed off through the winter, and nobody tends to go down there. We walked the road, but since it's unplowed, it was a good hike. But in some places the snow was quite deep, and it made hiking difficult, not to mention we got snow in our boots. We decided that winter hiking requires snowshoes, and this morning we shopped online and ordered some. After a few hours in the park, we went to visit my mom-in-law. She was excited to see us, and we had a nice visit. We did learn that she had taken a fall about a week ago and cracked a couple of ribs. She had woken during the night to use the bathroom, stepped on her dog's ball, and fell as a result. Other than that, she was doing well. After, we did a bit of grocery shopping. We didn't need a lot, so it went pretty fast, but by the time we were ready to drive home, it was getting kind of late. It would be about forty-five minutes to drive home, then to put stuff away and fix dinner, well, it just made sense to get something to eat before we went home. We decided to stop at Burger King, get some chicken tenders and fries, and eat on the drive home. But when we got there, the menu had changed, they didn't have chicken tenders anymore, they had chicken fries. We ordered them along with an order of fries and an order of onion rings. Soon enough, the food was ready, and we took off for home, waiting to dig into the food once we were outside of town. What a disappointment! The chicken was ground and formed, mostly tasteless, and very salty. The fries were alright, but not as good as they used to be, and the onion rings didn't have rings of onion in them; they had onion filler in them; they weren't even crispy, but soggy from the mashed-up onion inside the batter shell. At least the dogs enjoyed the rooster-dicks chicken fries. It seems it's getting harder to find decent food when eating out, or maybe I've gotten a lot pickier. I tend to think it's a bit of both. Luckily, we had gotten some healthy snack foods while shopping and enjoyed them after we got home. |
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