We’re under a ‘flood advisory’ on one of my weather sources, and 91% chance of “heavy rain” from now until midnight with maybe a couple of short breaks in-between storms. The sky is quite dark. The branches were whipping around earlier, but now it’s ominously still…
I’ll aim for a combination laundry/office cleanup/and art room day.
A lot of activity started our day. My husband took the last of his diabetes medicine. He didn’t have more in the drawer like he should have had, and didn’t seem to care. I went upstairs to see if it had been inadvertently put up there, but nothing.
I ended up posing as him, calling Humana to find out it had been removed, somehow, from the auto-renew list, getting a refill in the works to be sent ASAP, and an okay for a ‘prescription override’ where we can get a short supply from a local pharmacy to tide him over until the prescription arrives. I posed as him again on our portal to our doc, asking for them to call that in to the local pharmacy we use. I’ll check later to see the status on that, and see if we can go get the tide-over meds. WHEW. He did have the good grace to thank me for my efforts.
Now I’m finally having my first cup of coffee. I feel lucky to have a strong, warm house in which we can weather the storms. If we can zip out and get his meds later today, it will be perfect.
“The name pink moon comes from the April full moon’s seasonal association, appearing in spring around the blossom time for flowers, according to the Farmers’ Almanac. The full moon aligns with the blooming of Phlox subulata, a pink wildflower native to eastern North America.” ~ Google. (And I missed the whole thing – although I’ll check to see remnants this evening, if it’s not raining yet.)
Community Playthings
I weeded another planter yesterday.
beforeI had some beautiful elephant ears in here for the past several years. I’ve been cutting them off at ground level and then mulching them heavily for the winter, rather than digging them up. This past winter saw way TOO many super hard freezes, where we were dripping water to keep our water pipes from freezing. I’m not surprised that the elephant ears didn’t make it. I’ve just ordered more bulbs to plant. I’ll get them in a week or so.
TODAY’S PROJECT –
My weather people are now saying it may start raining today around 6pm today, so I may get more time in the yard than I thought. :0) We built 14 planters around the yard over several years. I’m now using 3 for square foot garden veggies, and I still have 6 to go on weeding and pruning.
I made this yesterday. My husband said it smelled good as it was cooking in the crock pot during the day, and said it was “yummy,” not realizing it was different from the regular full-of-starchy-high-carb stew I’ve made for years. It was satisfying, good, comfort-food beef stew without guilt. I sprinkled Xanthan Gum in at the beginning so the liquid would thicken a bit and that turned out well, too. I’ll get more recipes from this source.
The weather report is telling me that I’ll drown getting to my massage tomorrow morning. We’re in a new place, having had to move because the place my massage therapist was using is being torn down for the Greenwood Bypass. The good thing is that she is now using a room in the retirement place where my good friend, Linda, lives, and hopefully I can see Linda after my massage. :0)
Karin de Haas – Funda Altincekic Aysel6m assets – Freepik
It’s a really pretty morning here in Arkansas. It’s supposed to get to 80 today. I’ll spend as much time as my body will allow outside, trying to get at least one more planter weeded. As I said in my previous post, the rains are due to start overnight. One of my weather sources is showing the rain tomorrow not beginning until about 5 in the afternoon, so maybe I have a bit more time than I thought. :0)
Peace, Love and Low Carb.com
I have been making beef stew in my crock pot for a hundred years or so – using mostly the same ingredients. Today I’m trying a KETO beef stew recipe for the first time. It’s from Peace, Love and Low Carb and it has 4 net carbs per serving. The only starchy veggie included is one carrot, mainly for color, I think. The picture here is showing some green onion tops, so I’ll include those as part of the onion included. I hope that it’s a good substitute for the beef stew we’ve always loved. I’ll let you know.
Lowe’s
I’m working on two wood burning projects in my art room (when I can make the time to be up there) – that hopefully will be presents for two of my favorite people. Shhhhhhhh! I should be able to make some time with the coming rains.
Boo – @333too3 on X
If I’m suddenly ‘gone,’ I hope I’ve escaped to this dream! I absolutely LOVE this place. I’m going to keep this photo so I can continue to dream….
Hahahahahaha! I don’t really feel like this, but I LOVE the artwork and the sentiment. :0)
Times of India
It’s dark and rainy here in my part of Arkansas this morning, so I’m switching to inside activities. I was planning to weed at least one flower planter, but Mother Nature has decided that we need rain. And the week ahead looks particularly rainy, with chances for rain starting Wednesday and continuing through the following Monday, the 29th. We may need a boat!
Lowes
I may spend today with a combination of laundry and wood burning, a nice combination of ‘should’ and ‘want to’ for the day. I have ideas for a couple of plaques I would like to make for some good friends. I’m still experimenting with what tip does what with the wood burning tool, so progress is very slow, but it’s fun to be trying to do something completely out of my comfort zone.
The cold front came through last night. It’s 58 outside and quite overcast right now. I can’t see that we got any rain, though, and the dreaded ‘large hail’ did not materialize, for which I’m very grateful. I’ll be washing sheets today so they’ll be ready if they’re needed again.
I woke this morning to find my husband was up and dressed, but sleeping in his recliner. That means he didn’t sleep well last night, so I’m trying to be as quiet as I can to let him rest as much as he can.
Getting older is the pits – although the alternative is pretty grim. I have two small ouchies from yesterday: one, where I nipped my finger when I was trying to close and over-center glass container, giving me an impressive blood blister and bruise, and two, when a rose bush bit me while I was weeding the planter. We get to the point around here where we have so many ouchies we can have a contest as to who has the “largest,” “most impressive,” or “most numerous,” kind of like the awards given for floats in a parade.
The ‘getting-bitten-by-the-rose-bush’ was in a good cause. I got the weeds out of two of our rose bush planters yesterday, plus pruned the dead stuff off the bushes.
I have several brick planters in serious need of attention around the yard. I’ll try to get at least one under better control today.
Quotesgram
I told you I gained two pounds when I ate some potato chips recently. You would have thought I swallowed bricks. I didn’t even eat a LOT of chips, but the damage was done. I got one of the pounds off this morning, and hope to get rid of the 2nd one tomorrow.
I wish you a wonderful day and a great weekend to come.
I saw this this morning, loving it. I couldn’t find an artist’s name or other credit – not at all unusual on Pinterest – but there WAS a discussion going on as to whether this was actually created by a person or if it were AI.
I’m kind of ambivalent about the whole question of artificial intelligence. I don’t like that it is being used evil-ly to gain money by duping the ‘audience,’ stealing credit for an artist’s work, being used to manipulate public opinion for nefarious reasons, versus something like this, where I equate it – if it IS, indeed, AI – with the same creativity I give people credit for when they create something on the computer, rather than actually painting on canvas. It’s still very creative, and I still love it for the creativity and skill.
It will be a challenge, increasingly, to determine what is real and what is not – and checking sources will become paramount before we take any action.
I told you a while back that we discovered, after taking our sweet Abby to the vet, that she has a large, inoperable tumor on one kidney, plus numerous other problems due to being 13. Some people have asked how she is.
I’m happy to say she is holding her own. The tumor and the problems resulting from that will only get worse, but so far, she seems to be doing amazingly well. I bring her in daily when I can make time to sit and hold her. This is our ‘cat-loving-time’ and we both enjoy every minute.
It’s amazing that, as much time and love we have shared over the years, Abby has never been a cat who PURRED. She looks very happy when she is petted, but she is silent. Since our new-normal, she has suddenly decided to be a more normal cat. I can FEEL her purring, and sometimes I can even HEAR her. It’s wonderful for both of us. She is still eating fine and doesn’t seem to be in any pain.
“Lone Sandpiper” – MaryLou Lewis
My SIL is driving home today from a few well-deserved days at the beach. She’s been kind enough to share some pics of sandpipers and gorgeous sunrises so we can share in her vacation vicariously. I’ll have more to share tomorrow. Safe trip, ML.
I hope that you, also, cannot be down after looking at another of Karin de Haas’ pieces. I love the absolute surrender to laughter and love of life shown in her work. I would love to BE the lady here.
Ta Focando – Unsplash.com
I’m leaving soon to meet my miracle-worker-hair-dresser, Michael Remillard, Tangles, Greenwood AR, who will hopefully, once again, be able to bring order out of chaos. :0) I’m taking him a gallon bag of lettuce from our garden, since he’s a salad lover, like me.
Women’s Health
I was a good girl yesterday, doing half an hour or so of yoga stretching plus a 10-minute video on general movement, plus another 10-minute video on exercises with weights. That’s pretty good for an old broad like me. I’ll try to do that again today.
When I get home from my haircut, I’ll stop and get the mail and then go up and gather trash to take back down to the bottom of the driveway to put in the trash can I’ll drag down. I’m trying to be proactive about this because I don’t want to even THINK about my husband skidding and falling on the gravel in the driveway.
Better Homes & Gardens
Not sure what the rest of the day will hold. We’re forecast to get rain late tonight into tomorrow morning. I’m hoping my veggie plants will get a nice soaking rain from it. There is always the possibility of hail, but they are not emphasizing it now, so I’m not planning to cover my planters.
I’m still angry at myself. My husband and I had finished eating dinner in front of the TV and we were still watching a program with Amber on her bed in front of the TV. All of a sudden I heard noise in the kitchen. Amber had oozed her way off her bed and sneaked into the kitchen while I was distracted. She ate half of the roast beef and sauce from the skillet on the stove. She has done this a couple of times before. I KNOW better than to leave the gate to the kitchen open. It’s really hard to take when your dog is smarter and more sneaky than you.
I’ll go out in a bit and harvest some lettuce for my good friend and miracle-worker-hair-stylist, Michael Remillard, Tangles Hair Salon, Greenwood AR (479) 996-6366 to take to him tomorrow when he once again transforms me from looking like a ‘dandelion-gone-to-seed-in-a-storm’ to ‘someone-has-a-plan’ – a difficult feat to be sure.
We’re supposed to have highs in the 80’s here through Thursday and several chances for rain in the coming week, starting today, so that’s good news and bad news for my veggies. The good news is that I should see some good growth in my tomato plants, and I won’t have to water. I’ll need to make sure the tomato supports are adequate or add more, plus prune the plants for the best tomato production I can. The bad news is that these unseasonably warm temperatures in the early spring may cause my lettuce and spinach some grief. I sure don’t want to be faced with them ‘bolting’ at this point!
We’ve enjoyed the first harvest of leaf lettuce in a big chef salad for dinner one night, several other salads, plus some roast beef sandwiches last night. Such a nice luxury. I’m glad to be able to share some with Michael tomorrow.
Amazon
I’ve done my 10-minute video with weights from Mike, my Australian senior exercise expert, MoreLifeHealth.com, for 2 days now. I can tell you that my arms are ‘feeling’ the exercise, but not so much I can’t do the next day easily. I’m only using 3-pound weights and will do this for the foreseeable future. Then I’ll switch to 5-pound weights. It feels good to be trying to gain strength in my arms. This should help me in getting up off the floor after my yoga stretches, too! :0)
Karin’s work makes a smile start down at my toes and work all the way up until it simply spews out the top of my head. I can’t look at these without smiling and feeling happy. She truly has a gift.
Yesterday I made “Broccoli, Bacon, and Cheese Egg Muffins” from my Simply Keto recipe book by Suzanne Ryan. I ate one this morning. It was really good and is only 2.6 net carbs. :0)
Tonight I’ll fix a roast beef sandwich for my husband and I’ll eat what I call ‘roll-ups’ – with roast beef and cheese rolled up inside Mission Zero Net Carbs Tortillas for me. I’ll finish my ‘splurge’ at lunch with the remaining chicken tender from the deli in town.
We’re due for a really nice weekend weather-wise. I’ll try to spend some time in the yard to celebrate.
Yoga, two 10-minute exercise videos (one with weights and the other stretching) and combo work-in-the-yard and walking around outside will complete my exercise plans for the day.
I’m not sure what else is in store. My husband is trying to write a complicated program on his computer. He finally asked for help from our son via the chat program and then the video conference program. I don’t know whether it helped or not, but he’s busily frowning at his screen. I told him that it was good he reached out because our son really likes to visit with him regardless of the the subject. I was proven right when I read the last line of our son’s reply on chat this morning. “I was happy to see you earlier!”
I’m having to shift my exercises once again. My elliptical trainer is flashing a ‘motor error’ message and won’t run, so it’ll have to wait until further notice for me to mention it to my husband. I don’t want him anywhere near heavy, complicated stuff until he’s fully healed. Meanwhile I’m finding some information online that may help when that time comes.
I decided that I would benefit from some guided, timed practice with the weights, so I went back to Mike, a ‘seniors’ exercise specialist online (https://morelifehealth.com/) and found a 10-minute video he leads with exercises with weights and just finished that. I changed from the 5-lb weights I was using to 3-lb for this, since it looked like that was what he was using and I didn’t want to not be able to do it next time due to my arms being too sore. :0)
With that, my 30-minute yoga practice, and either working in the yard or simply walking out to the shop, then back and around the house several times, that will be my exercise for the day.
I’m re-reading Suzanne Ryan’s Simply Keto Recipe Book. I find new information each time I read it, plus renewed motivation to lose the lard. I’m going to fix a chef salad for our dinner tonight with leftover roast beef.
I have also decided that Mission Zero Tortillas may save my life. (Each has 7 carbs. Each also has 7 grams fiber. You start with listed carbs and subtract the fiber count plus alcohol sugars to determine the net carbs. In this case, it’s zero, and there are only 25 calories in each tortilla. I’m using one in place of the dinner roll I used to have with dinner. I use one rolled up to eat a hot dog. I use two for a ‘sandwich.’ Since bread has always been one of my favorite things, I really missed it – so these are a miracle for me.
This photo makes me happy just looking at it. Just LOVE the happiness of this dog who loves his companion.
The sun came out and it’s supposed to be windy and 69 degrees F. this afternoon. I’ll take it! We have had a lot of rain the past two days. I’m not sure if I can walk in our yard without getting sucked down into the mire, but I’ll try it later to check on my veggie planters.
Pond5
I made it to a 5-pound increment on my efforts to lose the lard this morning! I have a long way to go, but setting and making it to interim goals helps me keep my focus. I now am down 25 pounds since my heaviest.
In another 5 pounds, I can show the whole blue bear.
I wish I could meet the person who came up with this.
Update: My husband is healing well from his sudden encounter with our brick planter brought about by our dog, Amber, getting excited while on the leash for her last outing of the night. We are now just letting her out now – no leash – and waiting for her to do her business and return. We do learn from our experiences. He reports no pain in either his ear (7 of 8 stitches removed by the nurse practitioner yesterday morning, and the last one ‘snipped’ so it will come out easily over time as the scab finishes healing and falls off.) When I asked him about his previously dislocated little finger, he held up the wrong hand to look at it. :0) Amber is looking quite innocent about all this, just enjoying life.
I just went out to check the veggie planters. All seem to be doing great. I’ll show you some pics in another post this morning. Since we’re supposed to get a lot more rain today, we’ll go down and get our mail and drag our trash can back up the driveway to its resting spot before lunch.
I hope that your Wednesday is a pleasant and happy one.
We got up at 0-dark-thirty this morning and were waiting in front of the clinic at 7am, since the lady I talked to yesterday told me it was first come, first served with a limited number of patients accepted, so it was best to get there as early as possible. They opened a bit early. We filled out paperwork and were called after only a few minutes.
The nurse practitioner removed 7 (of 8 (!) stitches) from my husband’s ear. She snipped the last one, saying she didn’t want to disturb it because it was embedded deeply in the rather thick scab there. She said it will now come out on its own as the scab heals and falls off. We are supposed to be careful not to bump it a lot, but it looks like it’s healing well.
We treated ourselves to breakfast at The Dari in town before coming home. As we checked for mail, the mailman drove by and handed our mail to my husband. We are in for the day now, and he’s taking a nap.
CNN
I’m still very happy that we got to see the eclipse yesterday. It was different than I expected, in that we didn’t see the whole sun blocked by the whole moon surrounded by a corona, but we saw the sun disappear bit by bit until it was ‘gone’ leaving us in a twilight state for several minutes before starting to appear again, bit by bit. It was the first one we’ve ever seen, and the last one since it won’t happen again for 20 years, so we’re happy that we actually got to see something this time.
Later on today, I’ll check my veggie plants to see if they made it through the night. The forecast said we might get hail. By the time they said that, it was already dark and I decided the heck with it. We’ll see.
I’m feeling pretty groggy since it seems we got up in the middle of the night in order to get to the clinic today. If I do my yoga and my elliptical trainer today, I will decided I have done well.
Here in Greenwood AR we are in the ‘path of the totality.’ We are supposed to see our peak at 1:45 this afternoon. It’s sunny and bright right now, but the forecasters say that clouds are coming in for tonight’s rain. :0( I’m hoping that they hold off until I get to see my first and only eclipse. It’s supposed to start here about 1:45pm. I’ll be out there before that with my glasses and my camera, just in case. All appendages, including my eyes, are crossed that as many people as possible will be able to stare, awestruck, at one of the world’s miracles.
We will stay completely clear from town today. We’ll go to the bottom of the driveway in a while to take our trash down and get our mail, then we’ll turn around and come back up. The news people are ASKING people not to stop their vehicles in the middle of the street, on a dam or bridge, or just sidle to the side of a road in the middle of this. We don’t need to be on the road at ALL, so we won’t be.
Saturday was was a zombie, not doing my exercises or much of anything else after a really poor night of sleep. Yesterday I was a ‘good girl,’ doing 11 minutes on my elliptical trainer in the garage and then my half hour or so of old lady stretching yoga. I put TWO stars on my desk calendar. :0) Today I’ll do my exercises for my arms with my dumbbells and then my yoga.
I bought a beautiful beef roast at the store yesterday and got it in the crock pot a while ago. We haven’t had one in a long time, so this will be a real treat. My husband immediately said he would make the mashed potatoes. I had to tell him that would be fine, but to just make enough for him, since I wouldn’t eat them with my keto eating plan. He looked at me and said, “___ the potatoes. I’ll eat whatever you’re eating.” (He’s definitely a keeper.) So we’ll have a nice tossed salad – with some lettuce included from OUR VEGGIE GARDEN and some steamed broccoli.
I wish you a Happy Eclipse Day. I hope we can all see at least a piece of it.
Things are starting out quietly here this morning. I actually got some good rest last night, so I’m feeling almost human this morning. My husband is sleeping in.
We plan to run errands today, getting the mail we didn’t yesterday, plus hitting a couple of places for supplies.
Britannica
We will only be going down to the bottom of the driveway tomorrow for mail and to leave our trash for pickup, since our small town expects viewers to arrive for viewing the eclipse. The schools will be closed, too. We have traffic jams twice a day (around schools opening and letting out – hence, the bypass that is being constructed) so – even with the schools closed – if three people come to see the eclipse, we’ll have a mess on our hands… :0)
Our skies are due to be ‘partly cloudy’ which probably means we won’t be able to see much at all here. I’ll be out there with my glasses to see whatever I can see. I have a pair for my husband, too, but he tends to scoff at things such as this, so I don’t know if he’ll join me or not.
Yesterday was a complete wash-out since I had gotten very little sleep. I did a bit in the veggie planters and some cooking, but did not exercise, except to get into and out of my recliner. :0) I’ll make up for that today, doing my yoga and the elliptical.
I THINK I’m functional this morning, but I’m sleep-deprived. Last night was awful. My husband was constantly moving – an unusual thing for him – intermittently snoring – NOT as unusual. He was actually cross-wise in the bed at one point and I had to wake him up to get him to move so I had a spot. Then I had a bad dream, so I went downstairs to read until about 2:30. I was just dozing off again upstairs when Amber started barking. I went downstairs to ask her firmly to stop. I caught about 45 minutes sleep, I think, and she started in again. AND, of course, I was up twice to pee…. So I’m feeling like a zombie, trying to get what I need to do done anyway.
I checked on my veggies and actually had my first lettuce harvest!
I harvested the largest lettuce leaves from two planters, cleaning up the plants a bit, snipping off dead leaves, weeding a bit, etc. Things are looking good right now.The spinach is doing well so far.Combination tomato plants, lettuce, and spinach.Just tomatoes (although I did strew some green bell pepper seeds around a week ago in all three planters.)1st lettuce harvest – 4-6-2024 – we’ll enjoy some of this tonight with some baked fish and spinach (one day some we’ve grown, I hope).azalea
mystery blue periennial
I hope that your Saturday is more ‘alert’ than mine and that you feel really good this morning.
I’m down 23.6 pounds – closer to my interim 5-pound goal. I’m doing my 30 minutes of old lady stretching yoga each day. I’m going to add exercise for my arms with 5 pound weights on M-W-F and a few minutes on the elliptical trainer T-Th-S. It would be nice to see a good difference by the end of April.
American Montessori Society
My sweet veggie plants are still doing well despite the wild changes in temperatures. I just watered everything, and I’ll take some pics tomorrow to share with you. I also plan to harvest some lettuce!
We had to re-install one of Amber’s gates last night. We’ve been keeping her on the tiles since her tummy hasn’t been completely reliable lately. It doesn’t happen often, but we try to at least make sure her food has settled after feeding her before we let her into the carpeted area. Now she has started routing around for more food in the kitchen. I’m careful about not leaving anything on the counters or island, having learned the hard way that she will eat anything she can find. Last night I heard something and found her with her front feet on the counter in the kitchen licking the counter! So we re-installed the gate between the dining area/kitchen and the utility room.
I learned this morning that with the new gate I have to plan ahead to get out into the garage without incident. I managed to have the utility room gate open while trying to also open the door to the garage. Amber wanted out and Abby wanted in at the same time. It was a mess. I ended up shutting the door to the garage, closing the gate, then starting over on going out. When I finished, I related my ‘lesson’ to my husband, hoping to save him from experiencing the same thing.
Freepik
I’m still having bad dreams about trying to help my husband after Amber pulled him down into the brick planter on the 30th. I was really freaked out that I couldn’t get the blood to stop, and then we spent all night in the ER getting him the help he needed. In my dreams I continue to rush around frantically trying to gather what I needed to help him. We HAVE 1st aid kits, but they tended toward snake bite kits, etc., and I was rushing around upstairs and down, trying to find things to help us.
I have now ordered several things online in order to create two bins of wound care supplies – one for upstairs and the other downstairs, gathering the things I would have liked to have, or have more of. I’ve received some of the things I ordered, and I think I’ll receive the rest of them today. We’re going to get two bins with lids that I can label, distributing the things I ordered into them. Having them organized, where I can grab them quickly and have more of might be needed to at least get us to the ER intact will help me sleep better. Hopefully, I won’t need them.
Things are quiet so far this morning. My husband slept in and is just now trying to rise and shine. :0)
Britannica
I’m starting to get excited about the eclipse Monday – since we’re supposed to be in the path where we can see the total eclipse – though the weather forecast said it will be partly cloudy with rain coming before and after the actual eclipse, and they don’t know if it will be too cloudy to see it or not. Frustrating! Whatever happens, I’ll be outside to see what there is to see. We have our special glasses and my camera ready to grab.
The forecast severe weather apparently mostly missed us last night and I’m really grateful. The gusty winds were enough not only to dislodge parts of the sheets I put over the three planters, but BREAK the clothespins!
The hail missed us, thank goodness. I don’t know how much rain we got. I’m washing the sheets this morning, since our local forecast is a cold front moving through and freezing temperatures Wednesday and Thursday mornings. UGH.
I was really happy to see that our sweet veggie plants seem to be okay. I’m going to start harvesting some lettuce leaves to add to our salads.
And finally, here is the azalea I couldn’t cover up. :0)
My stubborn husband insisted that he mow the yard yesterday, even though he’s only two days out from the all-night visit to the ER. He did it, with me nervously monitoring – even complimenting me when he came in, saying I did a good job of making his job easier with the weed whacker. Even though his picture is beside the words “Stubborn” and “Obstinate” in the dictionary, he’s definitely a keeper.
We’ll do our errands, but hopefully will enjoy a quiet day, otherwise. I hope that you are well and having a really nice day.
This is the aftermath of man vs dog, or trying to take our 97 pound yellow lab, Amber, out for her last outing of the day on the leash. We have now agreed to simply let her out, tell her to “hurry up” and hope if she finds something interesting, she’ll come back in a reasonable length of time.
My husband is pretty comfortable this morning, and actually was able to sleep in the bed without hurting himself. I don’t have to do any extra laundry this morning, either, a really nice thing.
We go to get the stitches out in 10 days time. We can do this at our local clinic. I’ll call tomorrow and see if I can make an appt for that.
Amber went out with my husband for her last outing of the night about 1:30 this morning. At about 2:00am my husband woke me, asking for my help.
To make the story shorter, Amber saw something, reacted, caught my husband not paying close enough attention, and pulled him down and into one of our brick planters.
He was bleeding in several places and didn’t know if he had broken or dislocated his finger. I tried to clean him up, but couldn’t get the bleeding under control behind his left ear. His finger was also hurting badly, so we ended up in the ER in Fort Smith.
We left about 5:30 after x-rays and CT scans, plus 6 stitches behind his left ear covered by bandages and vet wrap, a ‘re-located’ pinkie finger, with him seriously out of patience and wanting to get home.
We slept in our recliners from 6 to 9. I talked to our son via conference call this morning, catching him up and letting him know we are the worse for wear but will rest and heal.
I will spend the day washing all the bloody clothes, towels, washcloths, carpeted stair steps and other places, and trying to get our medical supplies back where they belong.
Scary, exhausting time. Amber has on her innocent face and can’t see what all the hubbub is about.
This is similar to the phone system that replaced our land line years ago. We have ‘stations’ all over the house, upstairs and down. Now it has died a sudden death and will probably act much as a doorstop.
A friend called us recently and said he couldn’t hear us, though we could hear HIM fine. Then, I got a call yesterday with the same problem. We took our system base and one phone to the local AT&T store, but they said no one had techs anymore and that we would have to call AT&T about the problem. I did, spending a lot of time, but getting no result, other than an offer to send me a link to the phones they sell.
After a lot of debate, we decided to just leave things as they are, using the phone to continue to use the program we added that screens calls, making people push # or something similar, if they’re a real person and not selling anything, before the phone rings to get our attention. That has saved us a lot of grief over the years. It will also still allow anyone making it through the answering machine part to leave a message. I can then call them back on my cell phone and let them know that number is no longer good.
I then spent most of the rest of the day going to important websites, including utilities and other services, looking at profiles, changing the phone listed there where applicable. I THINK I informed everyone, but will call folks who leave a message on the old phone to let them know as they happen.
luke’s right hand-boredpanda.com
Spending the afternoon like that means I did NOT get to do my yoga practice yesterday. I will do one session this morning, and another this afternoon, in an effort to make up for that.
We are enjoying a beautiful weekend, with warming temperatures, heading into the Easter weekend.
Each time the Mega Millions/Power Ball lottery gets to an astronomical amount, we buy $10 worth of tickets. That $10 buys hopes and dreams until the drawing, when they are again dashed. Until the next time. Someone in New Jersey won the 1.1 billion dollar prize – the one that could/should have been ours. :0(
Yesterday there was no hot water when I washed my hair in the kitchen sink as I do each morning. I waited and waited with the water running, then gave up and quickly washed it in the cold, cold water. I told my husband about the problem, but he basically blew me off, asking me if I had run the water. Pffffft! Later on I brought it up again, asking what I was supposed to look for in the basement where our instant hot water heater lives. He told me I should run the water longer. (Urge to kill.) Finally, mid afternoon I asked him again to look at the problem. He basically went down to the basement to make me quit bothering him, finding that there was, indeed, a problem. (Go figure)
It turned out that the battery backup thingie he had put between the main power and the hot water system had failed. When that happened. It turned off the hot water system. When we removed the backup and plugged the system into the main power, everything turned on.
We decided, after a discussion, that since our power almost never went off, and was already backed up by the generator, we didn’t need the backup thingie. We made a note of what humongous battery it needs and stored it.
Vine Pair – (this is similar to what I plan to ask our dirt work guy for for my husband)
My husband FINALLY had the good grace to apologize for blowing me off, suggesting I was ‘forgetting’ to run the water…
Ground was broken around the 1st of this month for the Greenwood Bypass. In the image above, the solid line is the current road and the dotted line is the bypass to be constructed. Two bridges are due to be totally reconstructed, as well as the road. It’s due to be finished – in two phases – by 2026, or so they estimate.
We use the solid road now. It looks like a war zone on both sides of the road now, with downed, broken, and piled up trees, what looks like a rerouting of a creek (yes!) and it’s not clear yet if they’ll finish the dotted part before they close access to the road we use to get to town. This is supposed to relieve congestion through town by people who would prefer to just bypass the square and go on to Ft. Smith or wherever else they would like to go. What worries me is that they’ll cut off access to the east side of Greenwood, where we are. Time will tell.
My veggie garden came through the freeze yesterday just fine and I didn’t have to cover things last night. I checked this morning and all looks good.
Things got busy yesterday due to the hot water issue and time got away from me. I had to hurry to get my yoga practice in before dinner and didn’t get up to my art room. I’m hoping to change that today.
Yesterday I made some keto chicken fingers, using canned chicken, from a recipe from In the Kitchen with Matt. It was quick, easy, and only 2 carbs per serving. My husband wasn’t thrilled, but I thought it would be great as a snack. We each ate 2. I made 12, so I have 8 left – enough to have 2 each day as my snack. YUM.
Jennifer Zhang – Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole – KetoDietYum.com
Tonight I’m going to make this casserole, except that I’ll be using leftover pork tenderloin instead of the chicken. I’m hopeful it will be good.
Gardenary
It froze here overnight. Thankfully, I had covered my new veggie plants with king-sized sheets to try to protect them. They seem to have come through okay, though it’s hard to tell when they are first uncovered. I had a jacket on and STILL froze to death taking the clothespins and sheets off. I’m washing the sheets now to either have them ready for the next time or fold them to store.
I keep meaning to get up to my art room, but the days are whizzing past my head faster than I can actually get up there. Maybe today. I have an idea I’d like to start.
Wow! It’s COLD here in Arkansas this morning! My computer says it’s 34 right now, and the sun is shining brightly, but we have some wind, and my computer says it FEELS like it’s 25. That is QUITE a big change from what we’ve enjoyed lately. I froze to death getting some pictures while checking my new veggie garden plants to see if they were still with us.
Spinach and LettuceSpinach, lettuce, and some very cold tomato plants.These tomato plants were protected a bit more by the back of the house and the porch.
I felt encouraged to see this azalea plant with one bloom and the buds in the middle of this cold snap. It’s supposed to get to 56 this afternoon. Somehow that just isn’t very encouraging right now. I would really like to continue my weed whacking, even if it’s just a little bit each day, but this is just too cold now.
Today is a quiet day for us. No errands. My husband may decide to get the mail later, and we’ll check to see if our trash can has been emptied, but that’s it. I like it.
I found a thing on Pinterest about making Keto ‘chicken fingers’ from canned chicken, an egg, and some cheddar cheese. I may try that this afternoon. We’re going to finish up the hot dogs this evening. (My husband gets regular hot dogs and some kind of chips. I’m having hot dogs with Mission 0 carbs Tortillas.) When we did this recently, he said mine looked, “Rude.” I just smiled – happy that I can enjoy almost-normal hot dogs without guilt. :0)
Lucia Verdejo-facebook.com
Will try to make it up to my art room today, to at least mess around, if not actively work on something rattling around in my brain.
This is me after my wonderful massage this morning. Lynn is a master at finding all the sore spots and getting rid of them. By the time she is finished, I am completely loose and would stay right there on the table and sleep, if she would let me.
My husband wanted me to stop and get him a “bowl” on the way home for lunch, since it was cold and rainy. (A “mashed potato bowl” is mashed potatoes, corn, and chunks of chicken tenders with cheese on top. The ultimate delicious comfort food from the deli in our local groceries. I used to get their ‘mac and cheese bowl’ but the carbs are too high. Now I get either 2 chicken tenders or two pieces of fish and I then have one for each of two lunches.)
I just finished getting Suzanne Ryan‘s “Keto Chili” – Simply Keto – into the crock pot so it will be ready for dinner tonight. I had a different dinner planned, but the cold rain got ME in a comfort food frame of mind, too.
While the hamburger meat and sausage was browning, I divided and bagged up chicken, hamburger meat, stew meat, and some pork chops for the freezer.
We gathered up our trash and will dash out between rain showers to get it down to the bottom our driveway and the trash can down where it should be for pickup tomorrow. I’ve already drowned 3 times today – once for the massage and then the grocery store/deli, and finally the mailbox this morning. Another drowning won’t bother me much. :0) I’m hoping that my veggie plants are soaking this up, saying, “Ahhhhhhh1” like I was this morning.
I did a good job weed whacking yesterday, plus changing the used-up cord thingie for a new one to use today, but I seem to have overdone. I was really stiff and sore when I finished, so I went ahead and did my yoga VERY slowly and carefully. That made me feel a bit better, except when I tried to get out of my chair…
sent to me by a good friend.
I’m hoping I loosen up more as the day progresses. I would LIKE to finish the main weed whacking today (although this is essentially a never-ending project once the season starts) – this afternoon is supposed to be 67 degrees and a bit overcast. We’re supposed to get gusty winds starting about 6pm and lasting overnight with rain forecast for all day tomorrow. So I’m going to TRY to finish the front yard today (plus the small spot I couldn’t do yesterday in the back when I ran out of cord.)
Another good thing besides the extra exercise and fresh air I’m getting with the yard work is that another pound bit the dust yesterday. :0) Since I have more than several to spare, I would love to donate to the cause of people needing to gain weight on a regular basis.
This is my recent chart from MyFitnessPal. It is motivating to ME and keeps my eye on the ball to weigh in and record my weight each morning, good or bad. I have seen a pattern on logging my food, water, and exercise each day – when it says ‘You’re not eating enough,’ I tend to lose a bit of weight. When it says, “If things were based on today, you would weigh ___ in 5 weeks” I don’t lose anything. So, what I’m doing that seems to be working lately is watching my carb count like a hawk, trying to keep it to 20 for the day. I’m going to keep doing this and see what happens. I lost pound #23 yesterday.
We’re going to fill up gas cans today to use with the mower. My husband has now declared that the “Official Mowing Season for 2024” begins on April Fool’s Day. I’m trying to weed whack – keeping the riding mower in mind – so he can mow as easily as possible.
I think the skill in this lovely watercolor is amazing. I like it as much for what is NOT there as what IS. This is done by a master, with soft edges, suggestions, beautiful color, and more. Love it!
It’s supposed to get to 68 this afternoon, so I’m putting weed whacking on my list. I’ll try to check the equipment BEFORE I get out there so that I don’t use up my limited energy uselessly, as I did a day or so ago.
Quotesgram
My scales said 22 pounds down as of this morning. My current goal is 25 pounds down (my goals are in 5-pound increments) so it’s within sight. I’m HOPING that my measuring tape will show some improvement at the end of the month, as well. One day at a time.
Kay Humphreys – boredpanda.com
My husband said it looked like I was making some progress in my yoga practice yesterday. When I asked him why he said that, he said I was moving ‘more smoothly’ and it looked like I was stretching farther. He asked what I was doing when I was kneeling on the mat –
LexiYoga
I put this image here to show you where I am TRYING to go in this position. When I started, I couldn’t even get on my knees with my feet out straight behind me without getting leg and feet cramps. Now I am ‘flirting’ with being upright and ‘feeling’ my butt very close to my feet…
I keep reminding myself that Cat Kabira, whose DVDs I use, says that stretching TOWARD your goal and breathing into it is doing as much for your body as actually being able to ‘sit’ on your feet with your body comfortable, for example. The stretching and breathing and relaxing are the whole point and they will help you be stronger and more flexible, with better balance.
I received a text last night from Patty, Linda’s daughter, saying that Linda’s other daughter, Kelly, was in town from Nashville. She wanted to know if we wanted to meet them, and Linda, for Lunch Bunch today! I’m really looking forward to seeing all of them, catching up, and giving/getting wonderful hugs. I don’t know if Kay and her husband, Bud, will be there or not. That would be truly wonderful.
After we go to lunch, we’ll stop at the local grocery to get more canned dog food for Amber. She seems to be doing well on the food made for dogs with sensitive stomachs, with more wet than dry food in each feeding, so we’re sticking with that for now.
I’m making it a point to bring Abby in every afternoon for a love-the-cat fest. We are both enjoying it. She is showing no signs that she is in pain. I can’t keep the diapers on her, so I can only let her in when I can make the time to sit and love her, then put her outside again. Since she has always been an inside/outside cat, this is working for us.
It’s grim, gray, 54 degrees and rainy-looking today, so unless it clears up, it looks like I’ll have to wait on weed-whacking around my veggie planters today. I’m hoping we’ll get some good, soaky rains, helping our veggies get a good start.
James Marvin Phelps – boredpanda.com
Today is DAY 34 on my practicing my yoga stretches every day. Yesterday I was feeling cranky/out-of-sorts/hostile/sore/tired and I have to admit I went ahead and put a star on my desk calendar because I tried really hard to work out in the yard and failed to make any progress. I talked myself into counting THAT as my exercise for the day. I sat in my recliner trying to relax and felt guiltier and guiltier. Finally, I got up, got my mat, and did my practice as I should have, feeling better physically and guilt-free. Does anyone else have to fight with themselves to do what’s right?
Since it looks like my weed whacking will need to be postponed for better weather, I may actually get up to my art room this afternoon.
It’s gray and rainy-looking outside. It’s 49 degrees F. and we’re supposed to have whatever ‘spotty showers’ are off and on all day. Sounds like a great day to cover up my head and enjoy being warm and dry. :0)
I’m hoping the weather will allow me to weed whack around my veggie planters today. I pooped out after fertilizing and watering yesterday, wanting to save enough energy for my yoga practice. I’m learning I need to space the work out even more this year than last. It’s a challenge to adapt, but I can do it.
Simply Keto – Blueberry MUG Muffin
I took a break in the middle of this post to try the above recipe. It always takes me longer than the prep time says, but this one was 5 minutes prep time, 1 minute cook time, so I couldn’t resist.
I thought it tasted good. My husband wasn’t as enthusiastic, eating his half of the muffin, but that’s okay. I can eat half of the muffin for a breakfast and the other half later in the day as a snack or part of lunch or dinner. I DID have to get out 10 ingredients – a bit much for my before-coffee brain, but I have to admit I didn’t use a bunch of utensils or containers, so clean up was very quick. I won’t eat this every morning, but it’s a nice start for a cool, rainy-looking day. Meanwhile, I found a nice recipe for a Lemon Garlic Pork Tenderloin I’ll do tomorrow.
Today we’ll gather trash and drive it down, setting up the can at the bottom of the drive as we start errands. We’ll get our mail, drive to Ft. Smith to our CPA’s to sign our tax returns and get the receipts, then back to Greenwood to hopefully find some veggie plants for my spring garden.
If we’re successful, I’ll get those in the ground today. We had a light freeze last night, but that’s the last one we’ll have as far as the forecasters are predicting now. I’ll keep a close eye on things, though.
Yesterday I found a gourd and sanded it and cleaned it up. I plan to do some wood working on it. I still have no clue what I’m doing, but I have ideas rattling around in my head that want to come out.
Apparently Amber heard ‘something’ in the garage last night or this morning and was barking. The next thing I heard was when she was barking at 5:30 this morning. I tried to ignore it, but couldn’t. I got up and shuffled downstairs, let her in, admonished her to keep her mouth firmly shut, and came back up. I managed to sleep a bit more, thank goodness. When I asked my husband how the dog got out, he said she was barking in the utility room and he let her out…
He took one of our guns out into the garage this morning, thinking there was a critter of some kind under his car. He came back in, saying he didn’t see anything.
I’m hoping the remainder of our Monday goes smoothly. I’m trying to gather grit and patience, in case he wants to drive the Vette to Ft. Smith. I’m HOPING the fact we need to take the trash down and bring plants back will convince him that the truck is the better choice today.
creativeartworksblog 