This amazing lady, Tao Porchon-Lynch, died in February of 2020, living to be 101. One of her mantras: “Know that the joy of living is right inside you.”
I’m not at all sure I want to live to be 101, but I really admire the way she lived life to the fullest, spreading joy and energy to everyone she saw. What a wonderful role model!
“Scattered to isolated downpours will continue through our Thursday.” – our weather website says. It’s quite dark and rainy outside right now. A GREAT day to stay inside, warm and dry. :0)
Today I’ll concentrate on more ‘recognized’ forms of exercise, since yesterday morning was spent helping my husband change from snow to regular tires on the truck and the only other exercise was yoga. I’ll try to do better today, getting in all my online exercises, plus elliptical and yoga during the day.
I’ll also catch up on cleaning a bit, since the hairballs from Amber are starting to reach out and grab our ankles as we walk by. Hopefully, I can do all the 1st floor tiled areas, and then get the carpeted stuff, too.
No cooking tonight – main meal salad.
I did watch the tomato pruning video again yesterday and went out to see what was what on my plants. I was very conservative, mainly cleaning up the branches that were touching the dirt. I’ll tie the plants to their supports probably this weekend. So far, so good. I didn’t see any clear suckers yet, so I left things alone for now.
Well, I just came inside from ‘pruning’ my tomato plants.
I’m a chicken. I DID get rid of any stems and leaves touching the ground or looking less than stellar. I DID identify the main stem of each plant, noting the ‘sun leaves,’ ‘main stem,’ ‘a couple of flowers,’ or where it looked like they would come out.
My plants are still quite small. We’ve had a LOT of rain and wind, and relatively little sunshine since I planted them. The temperatures are supposed to warm up this weekend, particularly on Mother’s Day, but this will be the first real tomato weather we’ve had.
I’m chicken about pruning something I can’t be SURE is a ‘sucker.’
How do you identify a tomato sucker? (we ask)
tomato sucker
“The short answer to this is a tomato sucker is a smallish shoot that grows out of the joint where a branch on the tomato plant meets a stem. These small shoots will grow into a full sized branch if left alone, which results in a bushier, more sprawling tomato plant.” – http://www.gardeningknowhow.com Jul 23, 2021
I will check them again next week with an eye to identifying suckers. If I can be SURE I have one, I’ll hold my breath and cut it. If not, I’ll continue to watch.
I may need to tie the sweet plants to their supports next week, too.
Well, we took the snow tires off the truck and got the regular ones on. No injuries. No lives were lost. No flared tempers. It took us an hour and a half – two hours by the time we were back in the house.
We fixed lunch. The next thing I knew it was two hours later. I woke up in my chair. The TV had gone off (probably what woke me).
My husband told me – before he left the office to go take HIS nap – that I was, “Perfect” this morning in helping him with the tires. It’s a laborious project for us these days, fraught with chances for it to go badly, but this morning went well. I’m relieved it’s done now until late fall. I’m enjoying basking in the praise. :0)
I’m now trying to wake up with a cup of coffee. My PLAN is to watch the tomato pruning video and then to get out there and get started, VERY cautiously.
Tonight-into-tomorrow we’re supposed to get bad storms, so this afternoon is the time to get the tomatoes pruned. Both my husband and I are intimidated by the actuality of this. The worst that could happen is that we don’t get ANY tomatoes. But since we love them so much, that’s a daunting thing. I’ve told him I’m going to go REALLY slowly, mainly trimming off any limbs touching the dirt first and then moving really slowly after that, trying to make SURE I can identify what should come off. We’ll see.
Today is just supposed to be isolated rain, but tonight the forecast is for red, yellow, and pink blobs to come over us and try to blow and rain us away. (We are just southeast of Fort Smith.) This is supposed to start late-tonight-into-tomorrow. Something to look forward to. :0)
I’m trying to gear up for my husband and I to change our truck tires this morning – taking off the snow tires and putting on the regular tires. All the tires are already on wheels, but it’s still a big job. My husband promises we’ll rest after we get two tires on. This job will be my exercise for the day, although if I’m not TOO pooped, I’ll try to do my yoga this afternoon to stretch things out. Between the weather and my husband – the forces of sloth have conspired to clobber my new regimen. I haven’t been keeping to my exercise goals this week, except for Monday.
I’m making a new grocery list in order to stock up on ways to add more fiber to my diet. I lucked out, using the search term “keto-friendly fiber” and now have several good ideas on how I can add more fiber without going above my carb limit for the day.
The ones above are only a partial list. There is also
asparagus
pecans
cauliflower
spinach
collard greens
mustard greens
kale
brussels sprouts
artichoke hearts
and more – but you get the idea. There are lots of things I can eat to try to get to the suggested 25 grams of fiber per day.
My ‘sweet’ husband and I are at loggerheads once again over a topic we have ‘discussed’ several times before – changing the tires on the truck from regular tires – to snow tires – and back again.
It’s time to take the snow tires off and put the regular tires on again. My husband always wants to do this ourselves in the shop. This saves us money. We can schedule it when it is most convenient for us. We know how to do it and have done it countless times.
It is my opinion that it’s a good idea, with our advancing ages and decreasing strength and other health problems, for us to put the tires and the lug nuts into the back of the truck. I would drive the truck to the tire place. Settle in the waiting room with a book, and read while THEY change the tires, air them up, put the snow tires in the back of the truck. Then we can put the snow tires and their lug nuts back in the shop for the next time.
I’m the gofer on this project. I guide him and the truck into the shop. I then go to the back of the shop and roll the tires out, one at a time, grab the bag of lug nuts, find the tools necessary to take the tires off and put the other ones on. My husband does the heavy lifting, using the jack, then sitting on a stool, loosening the lug nuts and handing them to me, then pulling the tire and wheel off, passing it on to me. I roll that one out of the way and roll the replacement to him. He really struggles, but boosts the tire up and gets it on the “spokes’ (for lack of the correct term). I hand him the correct lug nuts for the replacement tire. He puts them on and tightens them. We do the same on the other side.
He then backs the truck out, turns around, and we get the other end in the shop and repeat the process, replacing the four tires. He drives the truck outside the shop, pulls the air compressor tire inflater thingie out there, airs up the tires while I roll the tires we took off back to the back of the shop and store them, then store the special lug nuts that go with them, put the tools away, and start moving things back in place that we had to move in order to get the truck in. When this project is finished, even with yoga, online stretches, Tylenol and the heat pad, my back hurts for a couple of days.
So, we’ve had the discussion. It seems to be a matter of pride for him. So guess what we’ll be doing tomorrow? Wish me luck.
We seem to have gotten through the bad storms here last night without damage. If the rain will stop long enough today, I’ll walk around the yard and check.
We’re about to go out for some errands and then will be in the rest of the day. More storms Wednesday-into-Thursday – again probably severe. Keeps you on your toes!
Since it’s rainy, I probably won’t get a chance to prune my tomato plants. I’m intimidated by this whole process, I have to admit. I keep watching the video, but this guy really knows what he’s doing, and I’m just hoping for the best. I really would like to avoid having vines all over the place this year.
Elliptical and yoga for exercise today. Lost a bit more. Down 31.4 lbs. now.
This rainy, gray weather is bringing out my sloth. I would really like to go back to bed, snuggling into the covers. It’s almost time for us to go and relocate the raccoon. Hopefully that, and another cup of coffee when we get back, will get my motor started…
This is an excellent day to stay in. According to Finagle’s Law of Dynamic Negatives, though, we will head out in about half an hour to ‘relocate’ a raccoon we caught in our humane trap overnight. He/she had not only been eating each and every seed we left for the birds in the feeders, but trashed one feeder and dumped the suet blocks onto the ground below the deck. We had the trap set for the past two nights and were successful last night. This is the 2nd raccoon we’ve caught and relocated this season.
We will put the trap and raccoon in the back of the truck, get our mail as we go, then drive out behind our home about 5 miles or so to the creek that runs under the road and let him/her out, giving him/her a second chance to play and frolic and eat ELSEWHERE
THEN we’ll fill up the bird feeders once again and hope that he/she is not part of a huge raccoon family…
I didn’t realize when I told you earlier I planned to spend time outside today, working in my veggie garden and pruning my tomatoes, that the veggie garden by itself would need so much attention.
The first thing I did was the first harvest for May 2022. I filled my whole harvest basket and could have gathered a bunch more. I spent half an hour harvesting, and then washing the lettuce and spinach I collected. I put them in the fridge in bags and then made lunch.
About 1:15 I went out again. The sun is quite strong and it feels hot when you’re working. I got two of the six 4’x4′ wooden planter boxes weeded before I needed to come in to rest and drink some water. It’ll probably take me two more half-hour-or-so sessions to finish the weeding. The tomatoes will have to wait until tomorrow, or the next time Mother Nature is in a cooperative mood.
In the foreground of the picture above, the zucchini plants are thriving.
I have big broccoli plants with tiny broccoli florets in the center.spinach, red onions, lettuce and zucchini in this planter.Mainly lettuce and broccoli here.spinach harvest for the daytoday’s lettuce harvest
I’m going to rest for while, cool off, and drink water like a camel before going out for another session.
I did a LOT of good stuff yesterday. I was busy all day, used my time well, got a LOT of things checked off my to-do list. The problem is that I have more to add to the list each day than I checked off, so the list seems to be growing exponentially.
I’m TRYING to choose the highest priority items each day, thinking if I can get THEM checked off, I’ll be making headway. That’s a reasonable goal, but ALL the things are ‘priority.’ :0(
The HIGHEST priority today is OUTSIDE – my veggie garden maintenance and tomato pruning – because we have a stormy forecast for both tomorrow and Tuesday. And while I’m doing these highest priority items, I’m constantly reminding myself that my daily exercise – taking care of myself – ranks right up there, too. My house looks at me with its sad face because anything more than daily necessities there are taking a backseat to all the other stuff…. UGH.
I found this quote I like –
“The only thing more important than your to-do list is your to-be list. The only thing more important than your to-be list is to be. “The best way to get through any challenge is to step back, look up at the sky, breathe deeply in and out, smile if you have to…then dive in.” “To-do list : to-do list!”
I’m delighted to welcome the month of May this year. I’m hoping that by mid month, our weather will have calmed down. Today our weather here in Arkansas is stellar. Sunshine-y with a high of 82 and lower humidity today. Wheeeeeeee! I have a lot I’d like to do outside. I’m not sure what I’ll tackle first. Maybe, since the Monday and Tuesday are supposed to be stormy, I’ll check the veggie garden first, weeding and harvesting, and then try to get started with my new “pruning-the-tomato-plants experiment.”
Thanks to my friend, Susy, we can all enjoy the beautiful artwork of Matt Dixon from the U.K. I just love his drawings. The fact that a robot can draw such strong emotions from me still amazes me. Thanks, Susy.
My official ‘monthly report’ on my efforts to lose the lard and get stronger and healthier is –
Weight – Down 30.8 pounds since my heaviest.
Measurements – there is 29.5 inches less of me than at my heaviest.
Exercise – I’m into my regimen of various online videos for seniors in the mornings and yoga and yard work in the afternoons. Videos are from Mike at MoreLifeHealth.com/seniors. The ones I’m doing now are a “warm-up,” “stretches,” one of two exercises with weights videos (alternating)’ and “Workout 1B” every other day. The day I don’t do the ‘workout,’ I spend time on my elliptical trainer. I’ve increased from 10 minutes to 15 minutes per session so far. My daily yoga stretches session is 30 minutes.
Dennis, an aviation rescue fire fighter, also encourages us to embrace May. This is from the Australian Firefighters fund-raising calendar. This is a donation that keeps on giving. :0)
I hope that May will be a wonderful month for us all.
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