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 My blog was filled up. I'm too lazy to clean it out. So I started a new one. |
| I am quite willing to try new things. Many I never repeat. I don't bake much any more, so I'm not trying those type recipes. I am into making my own salad dressings. I have found a formula for putting one together that allows a lot of different ingredients to be tried. I've also gotten into making up my own soups and salads. All are without added salt, of course. I might start out with a recipe, then take off on my own. It's amazing what you can do with the versatile tomato. And fruit! Since I've learned to poach fish, I use fruit with that. Great combinations. All you need is a little flair, a slight knowledge of what is bad for you, and fresh produce. You also need a willingness to consume whatever you cook up, even if you never cook it again. |
| If there is a shrub you can't destroy or harm, this is it. It has a lovely flower and comes in several colors. I only have one. But they reproduce faster than rabbits. The pods fall off or get blown by the wind and grow where ever they land. You can prune it back severely without hurting it or stunting its growth. I spent the afternoon on my creaky old knees pulling up new seedlings from its base. I don't need a thicket of them. They do attract birds and butterflies and bees. They grow tall and will intertwine with other trees or shrubs. They take almost as much time and energy as the more exotic flowers. At least the deer don't eat these. Last year I had a big pot near one of these shrubs. I planted zinnia seeds in it. They were old seeds, so I didn't expect to see them come up. When I got these tall plants, I knew they were zinnias, but I didn't know what they were. Finally, a guest looked it up on her phone ap and told me. So my niece is going to take them. I don't need more. That was a learning experience for me. I had never seen them do that before. I think my Dad just hoed up that flower bed as usual and took out all the seedlings without knowing it, or at lest he didn't tell me about it. Grow them if you think they're pretty, but be prepared to keep them under control or let them go wild and take over. |
| I was tired of looking at it and passing by. Today, I put on the gloves and pulled up poison oak all around my peonies and azaleas. The gloves are going in the laundry and I washed my hands up to my elbows. I believe it was even choking out one of the azalea bushes. I thought it was my brother who over-trimmed it in a crowded flower bed. But he cut others and they look fine. Only this one with the invading species choking it out looks bedraggled. I'm starting my annual war with ants, several species, who try to invade my space regularly. Bees and mosquitoes will descend on my later. Meanwhile, Creeping Charlie is trying to take over flowerbeds and the lawn. There is a little weed with an ivy shape leaf with a pretty violet flower in the spring, However, it is ugly the rest of the year and grows prolifically where you don't want them. They attach themselves to iris bulbs or any root to choke them out. They have little bulbs or tubers like a potato, so you can't pull them up. They have to be dug up very carefully. When you finally finish one little spot in the yard or a flowerbed and move to something else, they come back just to spite you. Did I mention dandelions? If only I could get kids to pick the yellow flowers to make dandelion wine. They don't drink wine, and I know from experience it is hard work and requires a lot of expensive sugar. I had a friend who once had her students picking dandelions without telling them why. A mother came early and wanted to know. So she lied that it was for a recipe for dandelion cake. Wouldn't you know it? The mother wanted the recipe. So my friend studied her cookbooks and made up a recipe using dandelion petals. If you see me working in the yard, I am not making wine. My cardiologist won't let me. |
| I've had allergy trouble, not so bad now, migraines, no sign of relenting. So I am using this as an excuse to be a little lazy this Easter. No Good Friday service at church for me; I have rehab that day and have to keep exercising. I only got out of the hospital a month ago, so no Sunrise service either. I am sticking to basics. I will go to church an sing with the tiny choir. I will go to my second niece's house, who lives much closer to me, for lunch and what she promises is a massive egg hunt. She will have everyone from her side of the family and the husband's. Fortunately, we all get along great. And she always has fun stuff for the kids to do .I enjoy watching all the laughter and antics. I've been doing yard work with a mask on to keep pollen intake low. I fell backwards Saturday; my back yard is on a slant, and I was bending over to pull weeds when I lost my balance. I fell on my butt, taking some iris leaves with me. But the momentum didn't stop. I went all the way to bang my head on the ground. It's fragile enough; I rattled some thinking abilities I am sure. Yesterday, I found a dead rabbit, a small gray bunny, under the back fence. Yes, I screamed and ran the other way. Then I remembered my brother was talking about playing a trick on the kids. They had dug a hole and had sticks poking in it. He wanted a stuffed animal to put in there and cover it up, so that when they come back, they'll get a surprise. Then, I thought he played a trick on me. I went back and looked one more time. It had ears and perfect eyes and was very small. It hadn't moved, and it looked real, but fresh. I was afraid to nudge it, so I left it. After dark, it occurred to me that a coyote or cuy-wolf* or one of the many cats in my area would get it by morning. My brother texted me that he didn't play any tricks on me. Noon today, I went out behind the shed, and it was gone. I did not imagine it. Some other animal got it. I hate the idea of cleaning up the ivy, etc, back there now. The work has got to be done, so I might find more surprises. I'd rather stick to planting flower seeds and watching them grow. *We have an animal in the vicinity that looks like a coyote. They tell us, however, that it is a cross between a coyote and a wolf. A decade or more ago, in a severe drought the coyotes came across the Mississippi and mated with wolves. It is in between the size of a coyote and a wolf. |
| 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. |
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