My email account was hacked yesterday. I am working on getting them to realize that I am me and that I’m trying to change my password. If I normally write you, please gnash your teeth with me while I try to straighten things out. Same for Hangouts. Thanks. Linda
Tag Archives: challenges
Grateful, but Unhappy
Getting ready to leave for the dentist – our twice-a-year cleaning.
I’m a weenie about this.
I’m grateful that we have a truly compassionate, excellent dentist. My husband went to many in the Marine Corps that made him VERY serious about finding good dentists ever since. That doesn’t mean that I like it. In fact, I can never sleep the night before we have to go.
My mom died of oral cancer. That’s one concern. I never think of it except when I’m at the dentist’s office. So far, no sign of anything, but I always breathe a huge sigh of relief when I’m cleared for another 6 months.
I had braces when I was a child. The results of all that didn’t last and my teeth are as crooked as they were when we started, even though I wore the retainer for a long time after the braces were removed.
I have never had anything else done except cleaning. No cavities. No teeth pulled. And yet my fear has remained.
Last year this record suddenly changed. A wisdom tooth broke off causing a LOT of pain. I was a basket case when we got to the dentist. Even though he doesn’t normally do ‘oral surgery,’ he took pity on me and removed the tooth. He sedated me with something that made me cooperative with the procedure, but alleviated the pain and made me forget afterwards. I love that stuff!
The last teeth cleaning, they found my first cavity. WHAT!!!!! Yes. I had to have it filled. Again, since I’m such a weenie, he agreed to partially sedate me. The procedure was done, and my husband didn’t say a word about my weenie-ness, even though he may have had lots of thoughts about it.
Here’s hoping that today’s visit goes smoothly, with only good information. Fingers – and all other appendages, including my eyes – crossed.
Filed under Challenges, taking care of yourself
Warning
I’ve told you that the Gremlins are in full force in our area lately.
The latest is our Honda Ridgeline. We took it in yesterday. They called today, saying the repairs it needs will be about $600. Sigh.
I also finally reached the propane people. A guy will come out between 12 and 3 on Thursday to see if he can help my husband get the pilot light for the heater in the shop lit, or figure out what needs to be repaired or fixed out there.
When things tame down a bit, our porch ceiling sheet rock needs to be replaced.
And so it goes.
In my NEXT life, I will be tall as a basketball player, strong as a football player, smart about fixing things, and have a gazillion dollars….
Filed under Challenges, Funny Signs - Humor, Housekeeping - Maintenance
I’m Not the ONLY One With a Birthday
Four years ago Amber was born and soon came to live with us. She is a yellow lab.
We had done some research before getting her, and saw that labs tend to be a bit hyperactive for the first two years, but then they settle down.
Amber did not get the memo.
(I remember my parents, both only children, sitting me down at times for ‘serious discussions.’ They would calmly tell me that they had read the book (probably Dr. Spock) and that they realized that I was apparently going through the ‘terrible two’s.’ They had decided that I would SKIP this stage, moving right on to whatever came next. The talks really didn’t work that well, but I understand their motivation.)
Amber HAS calmed down – to be fair – but still is a maniac. She does pretty well when nothing is happening and we are by ourselves. The minute anyone ELSE comes, she acts as though she has never seen us before. All the time we’ve spent trying to train her goes out the window.
Since she weighs 95 pounds, it isn’t ‘cute’ that she wants to run right up to you, jump up, and lick you in the face. We have baby gates all over the house so that we can contain her. She is sneaky, and very smart, knowing that we can’t pay attention to her every minute. She calmly waits and then goes into the kitchen and eats my husband’s treats off the counter, leaving only the container on the floor, coming in where we are in the living room, smiling and belching. My husband and I try really hard to remember to close the baby gate between the living room and the kitchen, but we’re old and we get busy…
My other worst time is when she is outside and I come out, usually going out to the shop to check on my husband, or out to the garden. When she sees me, her eyes light up and she comes running FULL SPEED. She has knocked me flat onto my back on the ground several times. I now try to hurry to a tree, or at least turn sideways to give her a smaller target. She doesn’t mean to hurt me, but the damage is done before she tries to lick my face.
If I had to describe Amber in one word, it would be ‘EXUBERANT.’ The love for life and wish to experience all there is overflowS in this sweet dog. I wish her parents were smarter…
Filed under Amazing Animals, Challenges, Family
Progress re Revenge of the Gremlins
I told you recently that gremlins have taken over our home lately. We have had to move from one thing needing repair or replacement to the next over and over and over, all starting when we were iced in for a week and then snowed in for another week last month.
One of the important things was that our generator didn’t do its automatic weekly test. My husband was unable to start it manually, either. Thank goodness we didn’t need it while the weather was so challenging. We recharged the battery that we just bought a little over a month ago and I bought a new air filter, and we made sure the oil was good, but that wasn’t enough. My husband took out the starter motor. We called around and found a guy who fixes small motors, and drove to Ft. Smith – leaving it with him. He called later and said he was unable to fix it, but that he had a new one we could buy.
My husband went back to Ft. Smith, bought the new starter motor. On his way home he had a flat and managed to get to a tire place to buy a used tire to get him home. We ordered two new rear tires for the Vette.
My husband installed the new starter motor in the generator and tested it. It RAN! He left it set on automatic weekly testing. I put the time of 12:20 today for the test on my calendar. I set my alarm so I could open the door and HEAR it start for the test. It was 12:23 when the motor turned on and started the generator!!!!! It ran for 10 minutes and shut itself off.
ONE PROBLEM SOLVED!
We got the two new rear tires and headed for the local tire place, with me following my husband there. They installed the new tires, but told him that he needed new FRONT tires ASAP. So – we ordered new front tires…
While we were waiting for those to arrive, we took the Vette to the dealer in Ft. Smith because the turn signals weren’t working. I followed him there and we left the vehicle, asking them also to look at whatever holds the exhaust system up because it was rattling, and the headlights, which opened up, but were recalcitrant about going back down when we push the button. They called us back, wanting $1200 to fix the exhaust system and they wanted to change the headlights. My husband told them to JUST fix the turn signals. (That entails taking the whole front off the Vette). They called us later that day, so we made a second trip to Ft. Smith to pick up the Vette.) They charged us $211 for the turn signals. My husband says if the exhaust system rattles get louder, we’ll take it to Midas. He will ignore the problem on the lights, since that isn’t a safety issue.
Today we received the new front tires and have now left the Vette at the local tire place for them to put them on. They will call us when it is ready.
So we will have TWO of the several problems we have had one after the other FIXED – or as fixed as we can afford. :0)
Two remaining problems is that the heater in the shop isn’t working and the garage door opener quit. We have contacted the propane people about the shop heater and we have ordered a new garage door opener. The company wanted around $900 to install a new garage door opener, but we ordered one for $250 and will install it ourselves – we hope.
If you see the gremlins, please catch them for us. We will see if they can be appeased…
Filed under Challenges, Housekeeping - Maintenance
What You Think
Though it’s on my wish list, we have very few quiet days around here.
I’ve told you that things are falling apart around here lately. We are having to jump from one thing to the next, sometimes trying to juggle several things at once, trying to keep our heads above water.
We are waiting for our propane supplier to call us – hoping that one of their delivery people can stop by the next time they are in our area to help us get the pilot light lit for the heater in the shop. I’m assuming that because my husband can’t do it this time, it needs something replaced. We are in a good holding place on this problem. Everything is turned off. We don’t HAVE to work in the shop, and the weather is gradually getting warmer anyway.
I told you that my husband ran over something in the road on the way back from Ft. Smith last week, resulting in a flat and our having to order two tires. The turn signals quit working and the exhaust system is rattling now. The wonderful Vette designers made it so the whole front of the Vette has to come off to work on – or change – the turn signals. We are planning to take it to the dealer in Ft. Smith tomorrow and leave it with both problems to be fixed. THEN, when the tires arrive, we will take it to the local tire place to have the new tires mounted and balanced. Hopefully, that will finish THAT project.
I THINK that is the last of the series of things we have been dealing with the past month of so. (Knock on wood) I’m very glad to be enjoying the LAST day of February!
I saw the local hardware store is selling veggie plants! I may break down and get some. The seeds I started may one day finally be strong enough to go out in the garden, but I’m not depending on that. The plants are calling to me. L- I -N -N- N—- D- A! WE’RE W- A- A- A- A- I- T- I -N -G F O R Y O U !!!!!!!! :0)
Happy last day of February. I hope it’s a fun day for you.
Thoughts on a Thursday 2-25-2021
I want to adopt this dog. NOW. I simply melted into a puddle when I saw his little face.
If you’ve been following the blog, you know our generator suddenly wasn’t working. Yesterday we found a man in Ft Smith who could look at the starter motor to see if he could fix it. It turned out he couldn’t, but he had a new one for us. I was asleep when he called, and my husband insisted he would go and pick it up.
I was worried by the time he returned. He said he ran over something on the way home that flattened a tire. He was able to limp to a tire store and buy a used tired to get home. So now we have bought a new starter motor for the generator and ordered two new tires for the Vette. Oh, joy.
We worked on the starter motor most of the remaining afternoon until dark. He was able to get the motor in and running, but will have to tweak it today. He said he had to loosen something to get the motor out that apparently controls the speed of the motor. He will see if he can get that into the proper position today. I hoping this goes smoothly and solves our problem. He really had to work hard yesterday.
I am also hoping for a quiet day so I can get back to exercising. Both my husband and I have been either doing errands quickly, putting out ‘fires’, or working on the generator the past few days, so all routines and idea of a ‘regular’ schedule have been out the window. Instead hot showers, heat pads, muscle gel and Tylenol have kept us afloat.
My mantra is “things will get better.”
Stress Eating
We just got home from a trip to Ft. Smith.
Yesterday we discovered that our generator failed to do its weekly automatic test. It also failed to start manually. We charged the battery we just bought last month, and installed a new air filter. The oil level and quality was fine. My husband took out the starter motor and tested it in the shop. No one in Greenwood works on starter motors, so we found a guy in Ft. Smith.
The traffic was AWFUL. My husband is always complaining about the “Anti-destination League,” who take pride in driving side by side in the left lane with the vehicle on the right, so no one can do anything. They really seemed to be out in force today, causing my husband a huge amount of frustration. His griping and efforts to try to get around the traffic cause ME a lot of stress as well.
We found the motor repair place, left the motor with the man, and started to drive home. We agreed to stop for something to eat. We found a Burger King. Each of us had a bacon cheeseburger and French fries. NOT on our diet! The burger was a burger, but the French fries were magnificent.
We are home now, in one piece. I didn’t kill my husband for scaring me to death over and over, but it was a close thing.
I think I may see if I can just go get the motor – if the man can fix it – by myself.
Filed under Challenges, DIET!
We Did It!
We walked down the driveway right after lunch today to get to our truck my husband had to abandon yesterday, not being able to come back up our driveway. We cautiously backed down a seemingly endless amount, sliding a lot, before we were on the street in front of our house. We were delighted to find that our driveway was the only bad spot between our house and town.
We were able to get a microwave that was almost exactly the same as the one we loved that died. It’s a 2.2 cubic foot Panasonic with turbo defroster, genius sensor, etc. The only difference is that the new one has 100 watts less power than the old one. We are beyond delighted. My husband celebrated by warming up a cup of coffee. :0)
The only other excitement in our trip was trying to get back up our driveway. The first time we made it up about 1/3 of the way, but then started sliding around, losing traction. My husband had to carefully back all the way down to the bottom to give it another try. I thought we would end up stuck in the deep ditch on one side of the driveway or the other.
The second time he ‘went for broke.’ We started sliding about half way up, but managed to gain some traction and got over the middle, really steep part of the driveway. I had been holding my breath and firmly keeping my big mouth shut, so it took me a minute or two to calm down. My husband is a much gutsier driver than I, and gutsy is what it took today.
So the truck is in the garage safely now. Hopefully, by the end of the day tomorrow our ice and snow on the driveway will be only a memory.
Filed under Cause for Celebration, Challenges, Mother Nature, Seasons
Eat-Arounds
The forecast shows a slow warming trend here, so maybe we’ll be able to find our driveway in the coming days! I am hoping that I can convince my husband to wait at least until tomorrow afternoon before trying to negotiate our way down to the street that runs in front of our house.
Our microwave finally gave up the ghost, so this spoiled lady has been having to get off her duff and do some cooking, rather than simply heating up delicious, healthy frozen meals from REAL FOOD and STU’S CLEAN COOKIN’ in Greenwood.
Yesterday I cooked a chuck roast in the crock pot all afternoon. We had some of that, plus some rice, gravy, and peas. I am planning to spoon out some of the leftovers into oven containers to heat up for tonight.
I am learning to be careful what I gripe about! Not long ago I was griping because I wanted some comfort food to help us through the ice and snow we’ve had for about 3 weeks now. At that point I was taking my microwave for granted. NOW that has all changed.
In times like these, we learn what a great life we have and how VERY much we have to be thankful for. We cancelled Lunch Bunch for today. Yesterday I talked to one of my Lunch Bunch friends. Not only was she snowed in, but her main water pipe had burst and she was waiting for the plumber to come and try to repair it. Plus my heart truly goes out to the people suffering in Texas. I gripe about small annoyances while they try to get warm and find SOMETHING to eat.
Diets, extra lardage, and inconveniences, such as the lack of a microwave don’t even get on the bottom rung of what is important right now. May we all get through this winter so we can enjoy the promise of spring.
Filed under Challenges, DIET!, Mother Nature, quality of life, Seasons
Calories
The saga of small annoyances vs real problems continues in the Lewis household.
A month or so ago, the dish inside the microwave that turns when the food is cooking to ensure even heating quit working. I looked up our records and the microwave was purchased in 2005. We have certainly gotten our money’s worth.
My husband is really good at fixing things. He figured out a way to fix the microwave so the plate turned again. Things went fine until yesterday, when the plate stopped turning again. My husband immediately squashed ideas of getting a new one – assuming we will EVER be able to negotiate our steep driveway and the roads between our home and town again. (We are into our second week of being completely stuck up on top of our ridge line – the first week due to ice and this week due to snow. We still have about 8 inches on the ground, so we MAY be able to get out by NEXT week some time if the sun stays out and the temperatures warm up from the current 15 degrees F.)
My husband went to work on the microwave again and we tested it this morning. It ran – and the plastic ‘thingie’ in the center of the floor of the microwave turned – for about 3 seconds and then the whole microwave shut off. It is now clear that the microwave is completely dead this time, no matter how smart or inventive he is.
I explain all this because we have been thoroughly enjoying frozen dinners from two new places in town – Real Food, and Stu’s Clean Cookin.’ These are individual dinners, portion controlled, healthy, and delicious. We have quickly become spoiled.
“I” will need to get inventive now on defrosting these on the counter, then transferring them to oven dishes, then figuring out how long – and at what temperature – to heat them up. In the meantime, I’ll cook a roast for tonight in the crock pot.
As I began when I started this post, this is a small annoyance vs the very real and dangerous problems many good people in the United States are facing right now. I feel a bit guilty even mentioning something as small as this. The pandemic, cabin fever, and the trying to diet have all combined to make me a rather gripe-y lady.
Filed under Challenges, Changes, DIET!, Mother Nature, Seasons
We Have a Leak
In 2005 we bought a competitor to the Sleep Number Bed, called Celenia, by Comfortaire. It has been a wonderful bed. We particularly like the fact that each of us can independently adjust the firmness of our side of the bed. It has worked flawlessly until lately, when my husband keeps having to hit the control to pump up his side.
We stripped the bed all the way down to the fancy, super-sturdy air mattresses this morning. We will tackle finding and repairing the leak, if possible today. This is much like finding a leak in a tire. We will make up a solution of soap and water and see if any area of the bed bubbles up. If that doesn’t find it, the problem may be where the hose goes into the mattress – a more complicated problem.
I’m a good go-fer and will endeavor to keep my mouth firmly closed – with any suggestions or questions squelched before they are allowed to see the light of day. Hopefully, we will find and fix the leak while I’m washing everything that goes ON the bed. I really would rather not have to call and try to find someone who can come and fix it for us…
Fingers crossed for our success.
Filed under Challenges, Housekeeping - Maintenance
FINALLY!
I saw this Everblade Knife on TV around the beginning of November and ordered it online. I waited and waited, but didn’t receive it. Finally, a week or so ago, I wrote, telling them to either send the knife I ordered or give me a refund. It was just delivered about 30 minutes ago, January 25th.
Though the shipping was lousy, the knife seems to be first class. It comes with a self-sharpener for the blade built into the holder, which sticks to whatever surface you would like. Every time you take the knife out or put it back in, the blade is sharpened.
I have high hopes, since it was advertised that it makes cutting squash and/or bread easy, and that really appealed to me. You have to hand wash and dry it, but that’s a very small price to pay if it’s as good as I hope it is.
I’ll make a note to let you know.
_________________________________
The other thing I ordered about the same time was a purse. It looked like a good size, had a strap so you can wear it cross-body, is large enough to easily carry my big wallet/checkbook combination, and looked like leather, even though it cost almost nothing.
Again I just received it in the mail this past week. I transferred all my STUFF to it yesterday and carried it for the first time today. I love it. It’s probably not leather, but it FEELS good. Nice and soft and yummy.
I love it. So the lesson for the day is that determination and patience pays off. :0)
Filed under Cause for Celebration, Challenges
I DID IT!
I just finished my part of the tax prep for the year. I feel SMUG, TRIUMPHANT, and RELIEVED.
I feel SMUG because I jumped right in on it this year, rather than doing my normal procrastinating until it was a really stressful, have-to thing. I have been inputting monthly information on the spreadsheets I created for each tax category so that when all the information is there, I just total it and print it. This has been the best year ever for staying on top of things. I have opened the spreadsheets now for 2021.
I feel TRIUMPHANT because I figured out some things on my filing system for receipts that will save me a LOT of time and effort next year.
I feel RELIEVED because it is done ahead of time – for once. I will print investment statements when they are available and then we can take it all to our wonderful CPA to perform his magic and make sure all is good.
HOORAAAAAAAAAAAAY!
Filed under Cause for Celebration, Challenges
What Will You Do With Your Now?
I laughed when I saw this. I have to admit that I do identify with it.
In our world today, tensions remain high. Emotions live at the surface. It’s hard to know whether to keep up with the news of the day or avoid it and cover up your head. Communication can be strained. Attitudes are like yo-yos or roller coasters. You’re not sure whether to smile and put your hands in the air or crawl down into the bottom of the ride car and hope the ride will end soon. It’s hard to plan when we don’t have the first clue what’s happening or what may be in the future.
I have found that I like to feel in control. I like to plan my day – know what’s going to happen – get things ready. Very little of that is possible now, so I’m a bit at loose ends.
But then – as I’ve had some time to think about it – I have never really had control over much of anything. That’s all just been an illusion. I DO have control over how I REACT to whatever is happening, though, so THAT’S where I will put my concentration and efforts.
All we really have is NOW. The PRESENT. I will try to remember that and make each NOW count. Make each NOW the best I can make it. Make each NOW productive, enjoyable, or at least as pleasant as possible. And make the people sharing my NOW know how very much they mean to me.
Filed under Attitude, Challenges, Changes, taking care of yourself
Hold On To Hope
One of my favorite ‘memes’ – or things by which I try to live is, “Today I will not stress over things I can’t control.” I have it printed and up with magnets on the file cabinet near my computer so that I am reminded.
We are submerged right now in all kinds of things we can’t control and it’s easy to become depressed and frightened. There is a lot of fear, hate, and hurtful labels flying around that only compound our negative emotions.
I am reminding myself to breathe a lot. Just one breath at a time, slow and deep. (Yeah. I’m nuts. I talk to myself a lot in an effort to retain SOME portion of sanity. :0) ) I’m doing my yoga stretches in the afternoons – again – s l o w l y – trying to end up relaxed and looser. If I get sleepy, I’m OLD – so I can give myself permission to take a nap, whether to cover up my head and get away from what’s bothering me, or a power nap just to recharge for whatever comes next.
I go to my art room. Sometimes I’m actually productive, but other times I just sit there, clean things up a bit (or a lot), consider possibilities, dream… I listen to music on my MP3 player or on my computer. That always transports me, lifting my spirits. When the weather gets better, I look forward to working in my flowers and my garden. (Now I am plotting and planning which plants will go in which squares in my raised bed, square foot planter veggie garden in the spring. I’m going to TRY to get some plants going on my counter in the garage starting mid Feb or early Mar)
I hope that you have things that help you cope, too. The world is a scary place now and SO much of is made up of things over which you have no control. My suggestion is that you control what you can in your everyday living to insulate and isolate yourself from things while you protect yourself physically and emotionally.
Things will get better eventually. One day at a time. Stay safe and well.
Filed under Attitude, Challenges, Changes, taking care of yourself
New Diet Program
My INTENTIONS are good, but aren’t matching reality lately. My newest excuse for eating the wrong things (and too much) is doing bookkeeping and taxes. I hate them so much that I ‘reward’ myself when I get some of it done. Yes, I could be ADULT and MATURE about it and reward myself with something other than food, but I’M the one who gives myself a gold star on my calendar when I exercise….
I had a really good day on the bookkeeping yesterday, so ‘rewards’ were higher than I deserved. I’ll try to actually finish up for 2020, print spreadsheets and gather things for tax prep today so we can dump them on our CPA soon. :0)
It’s yucky and rainy today, so it’s a great day to have a warm, dry home. I’m still re-reading J.D. Robb’s (Nora Roberts’) In Death series in preparation for reading the newest paperback in the series, so I have a nice session of curling up under my throw in my recliner, heat pad under my back on warm, coffee on my warmer on the chair-side table, and book in hand this afternoon. I’m on #41 in the series. (The newest one is #51. )
We just returned from doing errands. My husband insisted on getting cherry fritters from the grocery store. I got some turkey to eat for any snacks and some salad to go with our dinner. (I AM trying…)
I hope that if you are trying to lose some lard, you’re having an easier time of it than I am right now. Better days are ahead. I’m concentrating on one meal at a time…
Filed under DIET!
Finding the Joy
My efforts to keep hope alive continue.
Things that I have found helpful include –
- Doing one concrete thing on my to-do list for the day.
- Finding something hopeful to share on the blog.
- Playing in my art room.
- Reading
- Listening to music – I have an MP3 player, plus I listen to my favorites list on YouTube
- Learning something new on YouTube, such as a demonstration of an art technique
- Singing (I do this outside while I’m walking around our yard. I used to play the guitar a bit, enough to accompany myself back in the dark ages of folk music. I gave my guitar to our son years ago. I only croak to myself now.)
- Playing with Amber (our 95 pound yellow lab) – I’m trying to teach her ‘throw and bring back.’ She prefers ‘tug-o-war’ and run around the yard in a victory lap, shaking the toy.
- Feeling good about doing my exercises and putting a gold star on my desk calendar when I’ve finished my elliptical trainer and my yoga stretches for the day.
- Consciously mentally listing good things in my life
Life these days is challenging on a whole lot of different levels. If we really try, we can help each other find the joy.
Filed under Attitude, Challenges, Changes
Best Laid Plans…
I was going to get a big list done today, but my plans went awry.
I was getting ready to go out to the garage to put in my 35 minutes on my elliptical trainer. My husband wanted us to go to Walmart and get some glue, so I switched gears, grabbed our Walmart list and we headed for town. We DID manage to leave our trash at the bottom of the driveway and get our mail on the way. We got what we needed at Walmart, even though my husband was in the mood to wander around. Since we get very little entertainment these days, I tried to be patient.
By the time we got home, it was time to fix lunch, so I did that. Then I started getting ready to go to Rags & Roses to change out my products and rearrange the booth. My husband got a reminder on his computer that he was supposed to check the oil in the generator, so he went out to do that. Just as I was getting ready to go out the door, he came in, saying that we needed to get another battery for the generator. He insisted we go back to Walmart.
We took the old battery in and left it in a receptacle at the customer service desk where indicated, found a replacement battery and brought it home. We had a bit of trouble getting the new one in, but finally managed to get it hooked up and tested. Then we ran a quick test on the generator and it was good.
My husband went to put a tool back in the well house and decided he wanted to start the propane-powered gas heater in the well house to keep our pipes from freezing. (We have a small electric heater that turns itself on when it gets too cold in there, and it was on. ) He had a bit of trouble getting the pilot light lit and the heater on, but we finally prevailed.
On the way back to the house, we saw that the new pvc pipe we use on our irrigation system on one of the planters was broken in two. We thought about tackling replacing that, but we were just too tired at that point to care much.
Both of us fell asleep in our chairs.
Now it’s too late to go to the booth in town, too late to do my elliptical trainer in the garage, and too late to do my yoga practice.
SO –
I will write this day off as far as trying to get my list done and hope for more success tomorrow.
Decision
For my husband and I today is DAY ONE.
This morning we started an honest effort to get ‘back on the horse’ of our healthy diet – and for ME – daily exercise – in a real effort to continue our efforts to get the lard off, get and stay healthier. Our ‘diet’ has no time limit. We are trying to make a lifestyle change. This is not to say we won’t celebrate occasionally, or indulge in a favorite goodie when we reach our goals. This IS to say we will eat mindfully, trying to eat fresh, clean, REAL food.
I made tuna fish salad for our lunch. We had sugar free jello, and I had some black olives.
I read today that drinking broth is a good way to solve any hunger problems. I have some here at home, but will try to find a bone or chicken broth with the lowest sodium I can find. I will plan to make a cup for a mid afternoon snack.
I have earned one gold star so far today for doing 35 minutes on my elliptical trainer. It’s in our garage, so I got a little cold, but I consider this a character-building – as well as physical – exercise. :0) I will try for a second gold star this afternoon, when I plan to do about half an hour of yoga stretches. I will also make note of my steps, although this is more of a monitoring effort right now, just to make me pay a bit more attention to it and motivate me to move a bit more.
Filed under Challenges, Changes, DIET!, exercise, taking care of yourself
Laborious Aquarium Clean-Out
What is usually a 30 minute job turned into at least a two-HOUR job this morning and afternoon. I was putting together the aquarium after cleaning and ran into a problem with the filter. The motor wasn’t running when I plugged it in. I played with it, my muttering becoming more and more colorful as nothing worked. I finally asked my husband to come look at it.
He looked at things, tested it, and decided it was dead. I found one of our old filters and installed it so that the sweet fish wouldn’t croak while we waited for a replacement. My husband continued to look at the one that wasn’t working, and decided it was working again. I changed things out, only to find out the motor died. We did this two more times. Finally, he took the filter apart as far as he could and found a part he thought had been jammed. I changed the filters out for the fourth time and it worked. I told my husband I would fix lunch and leave the new filter running and see if it quit again.
I came back after lunch and it was still working. I then proceeded to clean up the kitchen – which is always a mess after aquarium cleaning – PLUS now from the lunch fixing. I have just now finished cleaning up and leaving the dishwasher running.
All this for two goldfish who never say a word, show any affection, do tricks, or perform any service. They DID get into the far right corner of the tank and wriggle their little bodies, opening and closing their mouths as they looked at me. I broke down and put a bit more food in the tank.
Filed under Challenges, Family, Housekeeping - Maintenance
Hooooraaaaaaay!
I told you yesterday that I spent the morning installing the newest version of Windows, then Start 10, then made a new System Image to use in case of catastrophic failure, then backed up my data. I am one of the least technical people I know so this was stressful, but necessary.
The result of all that – other that I’m grateful it’s done – is that the folder in which I have gathered images for the blog and elsewhere only showed an ‘icon’ image, NOT the picture. It showed the name of the picture, but not the image. This is really frustrating, irritating, and down right unacceptable. I know better than to ask my husband about it, so I have been fighting with it off and on the rest of the day yesterday and then about an hour just now. I kept at it, and then FINALLY hit an option button that restored the images. Whew!
I’m feeling a bit triumphant, a bit empowered, but mostly grateful and relieved.
Filed under Challenges
You’re Never Too Old
Yesterday my husband went out to burn boxes in our burn barrel. I asked him if he wanted me to stay and help, but he said he was fine.
I went inside, taking some time for a bathroom break. When I came out, I saw he wasn’t back in the house yet. I went out to check on him.
The burn barrel had smoke coming up, but all the boxes were gone. My husband wasn’t there. I started looking around.
I found him, and wanted to kill him. He was lying on his back on top of the roof of our shop! (He has had several mini-strokes, just celebrated his 77th birthday, and we have agreed that we are too old to be up on roofs anymore.)
I tried to remain calm while talking to him. He wasn’t hurt, but he realized the ladder was rickity when he was on the way up. (He went up anyway.) He wanted to re-attach a wire to the power pole thingie that is attached to the front of the shop. He had gotten the wire re-attached, but realized the ladder might not stay where he needed it when he tried to get down. So he decided to wait for me to come ‘rescue’ him.
I held the ladder (and my breath) while he came over to the edge of the roof and got onto the ladder. He got down safely.
I reminded him that we had agreed that we weren’t going up on roofs anymore. He huffily told me that this job was ‘within his capabilities.’ I told him that I needed to be able to trust him not to do things like this without at least letting me know. He said he knew I would come out to check on him and would ‘rescue’ him then, even if he was lying on the roof all day…
He is lucky to still be alive today.
Filed under Challenges, Family
HELP!
I told you that my HUSBAND got peanut brittle for his birthday yesterday from the NICE folks at The Pizza Barn in Greenwood.
Now “I” can’t stay AWAY from it! It is CALLING to me from the kitchen as I type. My mouth is watering. I haven’t had any in YEARS. Neither one of us should be eating it, but my husband is adamant he doesn’t want me to throw it away.
All our friends are watching what they eat, so we cannot give the delicious stuff away.
I Googled the question of whether I can FREEZE it, and found out that that is possible. It will keep for 3 months. IF I can do this without upsetting my husband, maybe we can both forget about it until the 3 months has past and THEN we can throw it away.
It has such a plaintive voice…
Filed under Challenges, DIET!
Challenges
forwarded email
Right now I am feeling like the sweet little dog on the left.
I realize I am in good company, with people trying to deal with challenges much greater than mine – whether it’s fear of COVID-19, economic results of the pandemic and shut-downs, fear for the future, dealing with the aftermath of hurricanes, wildfires, floods, unrest in the country, politics, family issues, and more. It’s ALL challenging and sometimes we wonder if we are strong enough to deal with it. I found the following helpful.
Lori Deschene via tinybuddha.com
Filed under Challenges, Encouragement
Prevailing Against Intimidation
Bored Panda
I am feeling really good right now.
I almost gave up on the idea of getting some of my art work on Amazon Handmade.
The people who write software and instructions for things should HAVE to try to follow those of others in order to get a feel for how intuitive their work is. The people who are writing the directions think their site is easy to navigate, easy to understand. This is certainly not the case with Amazon Handmade. There is also no easy way to actually get to people who can answer questions or help you.
You call and you get people who are nice, but they just send you to Seller Central, where you couldn’t get help before. If you tell them that on another phone call, they tell you that you really need to talk to someone who specializes in the handmade section. (They can’t figure out the solutions, either, so they point fingers in all directions – very politely – and send you on your way.)
What it boils down to is determination. You put the fears that you’re too stupid to do this aside. You decide you WILL figure out how to get around the problem that you have upgraded everything you have and Amazon still doesn’t recognize it. You WILL figure out how to get registered no matter what you have to do. You WILL figure out why they won’t accept the fourth image you’ve sent, even though they accepted the other three with no problem.
Right now I’m concentrating on listing things I can offer without a separate charge for shipping. You guessed it – I can’t find ANYPLACE that allows you to do anything about charging for shipping – only if you want to click a box that says YOU will ship as opposed to having AMAZON ship it. I will list hand-painted glassware if and when I can figure out where and how to list a shipping charge….
Determination – stubbornness – perseverance!
I am figuring this out – one small step at a time.
Linda Lewis Artworks on Amazon Handmade
No Longer Illegitimate!
In Real Life
I’m not as dumb as I look!!!!!
I FINALLY am
- ACCEPTED
- REGISTERED, and
- LISTED
on Amazon Handmade!!!!!!
Amazon Handmade
https://www.amazon.com/handmade/Linda-Lewis-Artworks
I worked all afternoon to try to get 5 pairs of earrings listed. (They weren’t happy with my images.) I finally called it a night and decided I would start again this morning. When I checked, the images were showing! HOORAAAAAY!
I will try to get some of my other stuff up there today.
I found the hurdles really difficult. It’s almost impossible to get to an actual person for help. I finally had to figure things out mostly by myself, but I have new confidence today because I was persistent (my husband calls it stubbornness) and I prevailed. :0)
Hopefully, someone will see my stuff and BUY it! It’s wonderful to have the chance.
Filed under Challenges
creativeartworksblog 