Sunday August 27th 2023

Good afternoon!

Joe, I missed what has you so sore?

Dianah, that was a nice gift to put your two friends together.  Eating out here has gotten quite expensive as well.

Age would be an issue with me to join meet up groups around here that match my interests.  There is a group of older gay men that meets for coffee and lunch, but best friend is a part of them and I don't want to intrude.  My bowling team at least are all gay men over the age of 60, one being over 70.

Today I started laundry and mowed until my electric battery died.  Maybe next mower I'll have to buy a bigger one that has more charge.  It wasn't so hot but when I got out to finish it will be.  Although my phone says current temp is 89 with "feels like" of 98,  I can handle that and want to get it done.

The storm out in the Gulf is moving agonizingly slow and who knows where it will land.  The waters are unusually hot so it's likely to strengthen since it's moving so slow.  On the bright side we really need the rain, just not the power outage and destruction.  Fingers crossed.

ugh, I wish this miserable smoke would clear! Yesterday had a light breeze, but today is still and the air feels so stagnant. I did go to my class reunion, but not many people came. Someone that I went all through grade and high school with came, so I had a nice opportunity to catch with him. In two years, we will have our 50th, so we are hoping to get better turn out, by changing the day, or trying to have camping available. 

I am seriously considering getting an electric bike, because I just can't climb hills, I think because my heart rate doesn't come up. I'm going to check with eldest ds, because he and his wife are avid cyclists. I wonder if I could justify the expense by using less gasoline for trips to the grocery store. 

And I'm going to look more seriously at an anti-inflammatory diet, because I'm tired of sore knees and feet. Although, I am seeing some conflicting info--some say yes to tomatoes, some say nightshades, which include tomatoes are bad. Sigh. But I suppose my weekly waffle has to go? eek. 

j22~ There was a time in my life when I was having a lot of aching symptoms, and I read about nightshades, so I decided to eliminate them from my diet....and did it for two years. Within two weeks, there was a remarkable difference as it did really help and after two years a doc told me I could  probably not have to be so strict, so I started adding those foods slowly back into my diet. Now, writing that, I wonder if trying it again would help the gypsies...? I do eat a lot of potatoes and tomatoes, don't eat eggplant. And what's the fourth thing on that list? Anyway, it might be worth a try.... I hadn't thought of that in quite a while.

Since I started taking the turmeric 2x day and the robaxin 2x a day (AM and PM) the L knee pain has miraculously mostly eased off. *fingers crossed*

I got up at noon and hubby came up and went to lie down in his bed for a while. Now we are both in the den, as it is the coolest room in the house. Hubby is staring out the window, Nannie is on her way to some deep sleep. The ballgame is on ESPN tonight; I do not care for their announcers but at least we will get to see the game.

Well....hubby just called the neighbor to see if they had any vodka, because once again he didn't 'plan' on it being Sunday and 'didn't know' he had run out and only had two little bottles left. She brought over a big bottle of vodka which he told her he would replace tomorrow. He shuddered when he had a snort, because it is not 'peach flavored' and it is %100, while his usual poison is 35%. Sad way to live.

The early-bird doe just came up to the back yard and was looking for food, so I went out making that "CHH_CCHH_CHH" noise that I make every time I put out birdseed or deer corn. The doe had taken off to behind the shed and I saw her slow down instead of go leaping off into the woods. Hoping that one day they will make the connection with the sound I make and come back to eat sooner.

Hubby says his belly is full of gas and he doesn't know if the vodka will ease it off or not, so he said not to worry about fixing him anything for supper. Okay by me! Nannie is easier to feed than he is, as she will usually eat anything I put in front of her.

All for now~

Peppers are in the nightshade group. I can't say that I eat much of any nightshade , except an occasional potato . And I'm supposed to avoid turmeric because of a med interaction. 

Yeah, that's right -- green peppers! I used to eat pepper-steak subs with tomato and onions on them ALL the time! And was a big potato chip eater as well.....Mmmm! 

The baby deer have lost most of their spots now. And one of the deer we thought was a doe has now revealed it has 4-5" horns growing 'twixt his ears! 

The groundhog thinks this is her estate....lives under the shed, and wanders a wide range in the yard all day long. We decided it was a she because 2 years ago there were two young groundhogs who hung out w/ her in front of the shed; we assumed they were her children.

We are in the area in which they predicted no rain for 7 days. We have had a thunderstorm every night since then. This storm is starting about 4 hours earlier than the other two. I love to listen to the storms, and it is nice not to have to worry about a freaked out dog shaking out of his skin when the lightning flashes or the thunder rolls. Last night I sat in bed reading, and smiling at every thunder boom.

Well, I have nuked Nannie some Stouffer's Chicken a la King, and hubby had a Stouffer's Salisbury Steak with mac+cheese, plus green peas. I believe I will eat some smoked salmon, a hard-boiled egg, some greek olives, and... I had something else in mind ....hmmm ....I guess I'll find out what it was when I go up to the kitchen!

J22, you don't need any justification to treat yourself to an electric bike if you would use it regularly.

Mr. Stars would save a lot of money I'm sure by buying 5th of liquor instead of those sleeves.  

There's no good scientific evidence to avoid nightshade vegetables.  Same with gluten, for the overwhelming majority of people it's not inflammatory but that's one of the latest things out there anecdotally.  If it helps anecdotally then like Dinah says, we should all do what works for us.

What is inflammatory is dairy, fatty meats, and highly processed foods (like Sotuffers), donuts and the like.  It's easy to say gluten is the problem when it's donuts.  LOL and not something like whole grain farro or bread.

Eating a diet rich in healthy fruits and vegetables and high fiber foods like whole grains and legumes goes a long way in reducing inflammation.  

Not that I eat like that 100% of the time myself.  Nor am I the picture of health either.

Don't mean to get preachy but nutrition and food are an interest of mine.  

Anyway mowed the grass in two sessions and glad to get that done.   Just listened to one of the trusted weather people do a live facebook about the impending storm.  All of Florida will be affected in one way or another.  Just filled up on gas, have some cash, have some food that doesn't need electricity and lighting.  Just have to charge my electric fan and I guess I'm ready.  Already bought my water.  The stores and gas stations were not bad this evening.

I hope the storm doesn't cause you a lot of trouble, Tweety.

We are home. And tired. The dog (Dory) snapped at the grandma-sitter this evening and I think she is done with us. She (the sitter) is scared of cats, too, and here we are with 3 of them. It isn't normal for Dory to do that. But she is 14+. It's too bad because the sitter is really good with Gma. 

One evening shift, way long ago, I was sitting with a very rich woman in her big house. Since it was a weekend and her cook was off, it would be up to me to heat up the meal left for her. Well. The power went out. She started feeling cold and told me to go to the closet and get her mink coat out for her to wear. But what about supper? I told her that I bet she'd never had p'buttr and jelly sandwiches by candle-light while wearing her mink coat! She said she never had.  I had to drape her with a sheet so she didn't get jelly on her mink! She told everyone that it was a real adventure for her.

Tweety, you can't be any worse about food/diet/health info than my sister is. I get tons of emails and stuff she sends me, tapes of lectures and mitochondria programs She is a vegetarian except she does like seafood. She turns up her nose at a lot of things because she reads about such and such and so and so, and then I get, well, not lectures exactly, but a lot of advice. I feed the two 'patients' here with whatever the easiest thing is to fix that they will eat. I used to cook a lot of home-made meals, but with everything else I have to do here, I figure as long as I am not using engine coolant or eye-drops or rat-poison in their food, they will be fine. A lot of times I will have something separate for me. More fruits and veggies. I still eat stuff that's not the best for a person, but not as bad as some folks I know. As Grampa used to say, "It'll all come out in the wash." (Will it? I dunno!) Anyway, all I know is I am not a junk-food junkie. I am a print-junkie, and words have never added the fat to me. In fact at my last Dr's visit, my weight was down again, and for it to be down on the doctors office scale, while I am completely dressed, I know I am not gaining a pound. In fact, I am feeling FINER than a frog hair split 4 ways.

I've also been able to let go of a lot of hubby's problems, and am feeling calmer and more realistic about life. Nothing has been 'solved', but eventually it will be. Have to get out the papers dealing with Nannie's time in the nursing home, and turn it in to Medicare for them to straighten them out. We do NOT owe them what they say we do.  Have to find FiL's papers about him being in the Navy, as that might help Nannie's costs for living in a nursing home, they say. Those are the things I am willing to help with, but in order to keep my mental senses from flying off the rails, I am keeping an eye on my tolerance levels. So things might go pretty slowly for them, but tough cookies for them. I am doing what I can and not feeling guilty about not being willing or able to carry out all the things that are involved..