Tag Archives: health

May 30, 2025 · 9:32 pm

A Bit of Progress 5-31-2025

Time

Since today is the end of May here in Chiang Mai, I’m doing my official accounting of my efforts to lose the lard.

I have a new set of digital scales from the one I had in the states, so I’m not sure of the accuracy, but I think weight is a relative thing, and that ALL signs of downward results should be celebrated loudly, with great enthusiasm. 🤣

I am now down 62 pounds from my heaviest, and have lost 51.75 inches.

We went to a clinic here a couple of weeks ago to get a baseline on me since our move to Thailand. It was showing a fairly alarming blood pressure and lesser concerning reading of high cholesterol, relatively speaking. I started a combination of two blood pressure meds, taking one-half pill for 6 days and then switching to a whole pill daily until I see her again on June 23rd. She advised me to lose the lard (imagine that!) eat low carb (we’re already doing that) and exercising (I’m walking the mile on the treadmill every morning, walking to places close to our building during the day, and doing yoga stretches at night). The scale is showing I’m down almost 4 pounds since the initial appointment, and I’m hoping to have a good amount down by the time I see her again, plus better blood pressure and improved numbers otherwise.

I go to a 2nd main place for hearing aids this morning. We found a good candidate at another place awhile back, but wanted to see what this second place offered before we make a decision.

In each place, I am asking that I go outside wearing the pair I think is the best so I can hear how they perform with lots of background noise. We will study, read a lot of reviews, and then decide what seems best to do.

I still find it amazing that I could hear normally before I was admitted to the hospital for my low blood oxygen, ending up with heart failure and a pacemaker, plus a significant loss of hearing when I was released. No one can find anything physically wrong, and I’m very grateful that hearing aids may help.

Onward and downward, I hope, becoming healthier as the days pass.

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May 22, 2025 · 5:50 am

Lovely Flowering Trees in Chiang Mai

There is one of these – a Red Frangipangi – though the one we see beside the gym is actually white with a yellow center. It’s simply gorgeous. Even the spent flowers on the ground are pretty, and I try not to step on them.

This is called a Cannonball tree. So far, it’s only dropping gorgeous orange petals, but supposedly it grows large fruit that it can drop on your head as you walk under. (Just what I’d need, walking to the gym to try to get healthier….) 😜

Speaking of trying to get healthier, I had an appointment at a local clinic today to be assessed for how I am since the move from the states March 31st. We wanted to see where I am on blood pressure, blood sugar, thyroid, and pacemaker, see what their recommendations were, and then plan to follow up every 3 months.

We’ll get the results of the lab work via my email. Blood pressure was really high, so I am on a new combination medication that is supposed to bring that down. I’m starting today with half a pill, then going to a full pill after 6 days, taking that until my followup appointment in one month. I’m supposed to take and record my blood pressure twice a day from tonight until my next appointment.

Hopefully that will show a big improvement. I’m already doing the low carb diet, though we have been splurging too much. We’ll reign in that and be stricter on our adherence to that. We’re already exercising, with my walking a mile every morning on the treadmill, doing yoga stretches in the afternoon or evening, and walking doing errands in-between. Hopefully, losing some of my lard will be the result of this, as well.

We’ll take whatever recommendations they have after looking at my bloodwork. Hopefully, all this will result in a good improvement in a month’s time, so I’m glad we got to the clinic, found a problem and are working to improve it, and have a baseline now from which we hope to show good improvement, moving to once every 3 month appointments, once they find the medications and dosages are good.

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May 4, 2025 · 2:22 am

Sun., May 4 – 2 p.m.

This place came furnished, but we are having to change several things out for one reason or another.
This bed is pretty sad, for example. The mattress is very thin -about 4 inches deep- and crunches whenever you sit or lie on it. I think there are slats under the mattress and they make sounds like they are considering dumping me on the floor in the middle of the night.
A couple of days ago we found and ordered what will be a very nice bed for us – if my husband comes home – and, of course, for me.
We THOUGHT we had arranged for them to deliver and set up the new one and take the old one with them. Brian called yesterday to make sure that was the arrangement. They called today and said they would not take the old one, so we are having to make other arrangements. We are kind of at the mercy of these companies, so the people who will take the old bed get priority.
This means that I will sleep on the couch until the new bed arrives and is set up. That is scheduled for the 16th.
As much as I have defended this old, rump sprung couch, I have to admit I hope I don’t have to sleep on it MANY nights…😀

We are going to replace this chest of drawers, as well. The third drawer down has no bottom and none of the drawers want to open or close.

This is the closet and a little dressing table. Brian has ordered me a make up mirror so I will be able to confirm I HAVE a face and slap a bit of makeup on. 🙃

The newest thing today was we got a night light we ordered so I don’t have to leave the bathroom or alcove light on when I get up in the night!😃

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April 28, 2025 · 6:07 am

Encouraging Day

Brian and I went to the hospital to visit Harvey as usual this morning. He was sitting in a chair (!) eating his breakfast, mainly able to feed himself with careful monitoring to make sure he swallows between bites or sips, rather than sitting there with his mouth full and then choking later.

We left mid morning to visit a nursing home we are considering for Harvey, who will be discharged from the hospital in a few days. It was good in lots of ways, with lots of care-giving things we liked. I wasn’t sold, however, and we went back to the hospital thinking we could accept this as a temporary place for him at least.

This afternoon we went to another place, farther out. I immediately felt good as we walked up to the door. The people simply exuded caring. We were shown all over, they answered our questions, will visit the hospital to see Harvey and meet with his doctors and the nurses who have been taking care of him to make sure they understand what has been happening and what he needs. The hospital and the nursing home will work together on transporting Harvey to the new place.

The decision is still ripping me in half. No one can control situations like this, though, and I will feel he is in good, caring hands here. If it’s temporary, that would be wonderful. If it’s not, I can see him being comfortable and content here. It’s a reasonable distance for us to travel to visit a lot, so this is the best outcome I could have hoped for at this point.

The other good news is that the closing for the new condo has been moved to tomorrow morning, instead of Wednesday. Hopefully, Brian will return with the keys and we can move my stuff out of the air bnb and into the new condo tomorrow. I don’t have to hurry to get settled. I want to leave the air bnb as clean and orderly as I can, showing the owner how much I appreciated having a nice place to stay in the same building as Brian since we arrived in Thailand.

I haven’t really slept for two days with all this important stuff flying around in my feeble brain, so I’m hoping I can sleep well tonight, being on the road to some big solutions.

Brian and I celebrated our news, stopping for some cappucino and some cookies (!) I haven’t had cookies in over two years or so. They were delicious!!!😁.

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April 26, 2025 · 11:05 pm

Embracing My New Life

Our son just joined a gym day before yesterday. He gets up at o-dark-thirty and gets to the gym as it opens. He then runs on the treadmill for 30 minutes, comes back home, showers, and then gets ready to come down to my air bnb to share some breakfast and some plans for the day.

I am going to try going to the gym with him (yes! at o-dark-thirty) after I move into the new condo and get it reasonably settled. I’m going to create a new life for myself outside of the visits to my husband, in the hope that this will be good for all of us in the future.

I want to get healthier. I will TRY to walk for the 30 minutes he runs, or as much as I can manage. I will TRY for every morning, though I may cut it back to every other day, or three times a week.

I’ll plan my new activities around our visits to the nursing home. When we first decided to come to Chiang Mai, Thailand to live in the same building as our son, I thought fondly of several things I would like to do –

  • exercise and lose the rest of my lard
  • eat healthy low carb food
  • start trying to draw
  • renew my love for playing a guitar and singing (very quietly! ☺️)
  • take conversational Thai lessons (speaking, reading and writing)
  • have regular massages/manicures/pedicures
  • figure what in the world to do with my hair 😜
  • see if I can find a women’s group that creates art
  • communicate with a American Ex-Pat group my SIL found for me
  • learn to cook using my new cookware (egg cooker, vous vide, air fryer)
  • Learn to use Grab (going places and ordering food delivered)
  • Getting to know Brian’s adopted family in the building (they have already adopted us as grandparents to their two children. 😁

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April 25, 2025 · 8:19 pm

Back Home

We are back in Chiang Mai. This lovely fruit shop was on a “corner.” We got dragon fruit from there that was super delicious to have with our breakfasts at the hotel cafe – a lovely open air spot with ceiling fans that brought in a beautiful breeze, rain or shine, creating a beautiful place to eat. There was a rooster who lived nearby who sang particularly well when the sun was shining. 😁

Hopefully, we will close on the purchase of our condo Monday. Brian and the realtor laid more of the groundwork for that yesterday after we got back to our place. I’m due to move out of the air bnb on the 30th or the 1st, and I’m HOPING I can move directly to the new condo. This is a wonderful situation for me here. I’m in the same building as our son, so I feel secure. We share meals, we go get a Grab to go to the hospital to see my husband each day, Brian brings food he has ordered from various wonderful places where is he able to order food that meets with my low carb diet. I will try to adjust VERY GRADUALLY to Thai food. The one-half inch of one sliver of a veggie I ate almost blew my head off it was so hot. I had to drink an entire glass of water to get my eyes to stop watering and my lips and tongue to quit burning. 🥵🔥 I’m a wuss.

We got a good report on my husband’s progress yesterday. He was able to feed himself better without choking. (He still has to be monitored for every bite or sip to make sure he remembers to swallow.) He was able to walk using a hand rail for a bit yesterday. They are not saying anything about his communication, so we’re hoping he can say a few more words in response to us or others, or able to recognize us today. Here’s hoping!

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April 17, 2025 · 7:43 pm

Day 11 in Hospital

Today we have an appointment at the local visa place. We’ll then go to the bank, and then to the hospital.

We will talk about low carb with the therapist who feeds Harvey, plus the head nurse and the doctors who come to the room. It makes no sense to US to give him daily shots in the stomach to try to bring down his high blood sugar while feeding him a high carb diet both in the therapy feedings and the nutrient bags he’s still getting via the feeding tube.

We have seen the delirious behavior before in the states when he was drinking a bunch of chocolate milk and eating potato chips. This behavior wasn’t repeated at ALL once he agreed to quit cheating and we went to a strict low carb diet. Right after breakfast yesterday, he was out of it. He didn’t know we were there yesterday. He didn’t react to commands.

We have lots of details to handle outside the hospital and inside. We will try to do as much as possible on each of the areas.

Otherwise, the water festival is a thing of the past for another year. Workers were taking down the scaffolding used to protect the front of the huge mall Maya during the festival. I have truly never seen that many people in one place before. The Grabs are no longer having to detour around the area as much as possible to get people where they are going. There were still a huge number of people walking around, but that is the norm in Chiang Mai. I find it fascinating to see everyone, see what the people are wearing, where they are congregating, watch in amazement as the Grabs dart through the lanes of traffic as the motor scooters and motorbikes dart in and out, everyone seeming to know how to navigate, when they need to stay in there lane and when it’s okay to dart out. Only the motor scooters dart in and out. All others are very calm, taking every opportunity to change lanes when needed, but remarkably competent in getting where they are going.

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April 13, 2025 · 10:07 am

Day 6 in the hospital

Today was Day 6 in the hospital. After a carotid artery ultrasound, he was moved from ICU to a private room. We are now on the 11th floor of the hospital. I think this is the top floor.

We were worried about this move because we thought he still needed the really close monitoring, and we didn’t know what to expect in a private room. We hired an extra nurse for tonight to make sure he got the care he needed.

After spending the day in his room, we are calm now that he is receiving excellent care. There are nurses, physical therapists, doctors, and all sorts of people coming in all the time to do some special thing.

He had a really good session of physical therapy today, with him sitting on the side of the bed by himself for a minute or two (bookended by the therapist and her strong male aid), standing twice and lasting for several seconds both times, getting arms and legs exercised, encouraging him to do the moves, but aiding him if he wasn’t able to fully yet, and more. He showed a lot of progress and really put honest effort into it.

He said several words today – one word answers to questions, but answers don’t have to be lengthy, do they? He tried to say other things but we couldn’t understand. He kept putting his hands up near his nose, concerning us, because he still has the nasal feeding tube in. We explained to him that he needed to leave it alone, but then watched him like a hawk because his hand would come up over and over. We explained what the tube was for, and that it would be removed once he showed he could swallow reliably. I also mentioned at one point that if he managed to get it out, they would have to put it back in. Hopefully, that and the extra nurse watching him tonight will do the trick.

The carotid artery ultrasound showed plaque in both arteries, but not enough to cause a stroke or need surgery. They think the stroke was caused by atrial fibrillation plus really slow heartbeats per minute to the point of stopping for some seconds (this sounds similar to MY problem in February! He is now scheduled for a brain CT tomorrow we think, to make sure there is no bleeding. Next they will install a pacemaker (the second in our family in two months!) They think that the pacemaker and a blood thinner that they will start soon will give him the best chance going forward.

We went to the hospital today with all electronics in plastic bags. Brian even got us fancy bags for our cellphones especially made for protection during the water festival. It hangs around your neck, completely sealed. We made it to the hospital without incident. It started raining while we were there, making it really difficult to navigate on the way home through the throng of party-goers undeterred by the rain, all heading to Maya for drenching, dancing, listening to music, drinking until all hours, etc. I have honestly never seen anything like this.

Three lanes of vehicles on either side of the big highway and several lanes of motorcycles and motor scooters, each holding from one to four people – and animals! all darting in and out of the lanes, between the cars, nose to tail all traveling at a high rate of speed. Truly amazing to watch. And then a gazillion people walking on both sides and filling up all available space. The rain was causing the streets to flood, and water was half way up my shoes when we got back to our condo. Thankfully, though the entrance to the condos was full of revelers, no one shot us.

This was Day One of the Songkran new year’s water festival. We have two days not only LIKE, but exceeding what I saw today. Hard to imagine. It’s a challenge to travel, and if we didn’t need to, we wouldn’t. We ordered a Mexican dinner to be delivered this evening, but were notified the order was cancelled due to the Grab motorcyle rider refusing to deliver in the pouring rain. I don’t blame him. Luckily, we had some chicken and some canteloupe left over from yesterday.

Here’s to Day Two of the Water Festival. I really hope we don’t get doused because Harvey’s room is like a meat locker.

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April 9, 2025 · 8:52 pm

Day 3

Thank you to all of you who are bearing with me, only writing about my husband’s health lately. Please just skip over these and I hope I’ll be back soon with my more normal posts.

This is day 3 of my husband’s surgery for a stroke and fall. He is doing better. The surgery cleared the two arteries in his brain that were completely occluded and damage from the blockage was minimal, the doctors say. They are now focusing on his low heartbeats per minute and low blood pressure. This improved yesterday, and I’m hoping it will today, as well, so they will be able to take out the breathing tube

I long to hear his voice, hoping he can speak. I hope he is alert enough that we can explain his situation more clearly, see if he is able to walk without problem in the near future, and what the doctors recommend.

Our son and I are spending almost the entire visiting hours at his side, except when they are doing something where they ask us to leave for half an hour or so. There is a waiting area right down the hall. Otherwise we are watching the monitors, watching him, seeing the good care he is receiving, and are available if a doctor comes and wants to talk with us.

No one can no the future – even the good doctors.
We are all essentially waiting and doing all we can for him. We are there every time he opens his eyes, taking his hand, kissing his forehead, letting him know he isn’t alone. It’s sad that they are having to restrain his hands and feet, but it is essential now that he not disrupt the equipment. He tends to flail a lot when not restrained, putting himself and the equipment in danger.

Brian and I enjoyed a nice delivered breakfast of eggs and cheese, bacon, and a salad. We then took a walk to the laundry farther out, out by our koi pond, since the one in the building was closed. He showed me that he weighed the bag of laundry on a scale. There was a chart on the wall re the cost of the weight. He put the ticket with his name, phone number and email address and the payment in a bag and then put the bag inside the tied up laundry bag. Then there was a chute where you dropped your laundry. He says they will call or email him when the clothes are ready to be picked up. Interesting system!

We visited the koi for a bit and then continued our walk around the block. We will leave again in a minute to get a Grab to take us to the hospital for the day.

I hope to bring good news, and more regular blog posts in the coming days. Thanks again for bearing with me during this scary time.

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March 25, 2025 · 7:03 am

Hard to Believe

Pam Grout

It’s hard to believe that tomorrow we’ll be on our way to a new life.

We are happy that Amber’s new parents, Tim and Lisa, will come this afternoon for a visit. I’m sad that they live down the road from here and we just met them. They are a wonderful family, surrounding Amber with attention, good care, and lots of love. It will be nice to relax and get to know them better this afternoon. We have promised each other to text and email each other so we can keep up the new friendship (and kind of extended family).

My husband has a last haircut this morning. Michael Remillard of Tangles has taken care of us for years. We may find someone else who will do a decent job on our hair, but we’ve shared a friendship with Michael, and that is not replaceable.

Lots of details left, but we’re closing in on being able to leave tomorrow.

My husband is doing really well with the strict low carb. (Though he had started to eat some pretzels yesterday when I saw him. I snatched the bag out of his hand, admonished him, and threw that and another bag that had been in the pantry a long time into the trash. We then made a low carb snack for him. (He realized that he had just ‘thought’ about eating something, wasn’t really hungry, and felt guilty.) We took a walk around the house and out to the shop. Later on, HE announced he was taking a walk. I ‘graciously’ accompanied him. :0) We went around the house again and out to the shop, and then a bit farther, out to the old garden area. We’ll try to do that again today.

We’re finishing last-minute details. The three of us will work together to get my husband packed, organized about what he’ll wear on the trip, and our backpacks carefully packed tomorrow.

Hope your day is a good one.

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February 27, 2025 · 11:21 am

“Ch-ch-ch-ch-anges…”

Elizabeth Westfall-Pinterest

I am still among the land of the living and am finally feeling strong enough to try to get one blog post written this morning.

There are lots and lots of changes going on around here, due to the sudden events of the past 2 weeks or so. I appreciate your bearing with me on things I’m having to do differently as I adapt.

To summarize the events of February, my husband and I both were diagnosed with Flu A (husband flu plus pneumonia. Me flu plus bronchitis.) at our walk-in clinic on the 6th. The doc there strongly suggested I go to the ER due to low blood oxygen. We went home and I called a friend, who drove me to the ER. I was admitted there, transferred to the ICU, had two operations in three days due to my heart stopping beating, one for a temporary pace maker and the other for a permanent one. I was released on the 12th.

I asked our son to come home from across the world from us. He dropped everything and traveled 24 hours to get here. He has handled all the cooking, cleaning, medications, animals, taking care of us beautifully. I honestly don’t know what we would have done without him.

We are both improving very slowly. I am on oxygen, but am trying to wean myself off of it as I can.

Yesterday our new bed came and the fridge guy came to look at the ice maker in the new fridge. The bed will be fine, though we both need to do some adaptation. The tech ordered a part for the fridge, so that will be handled eventually, too.

The most impactful thing from all of this is that my husband and I have always planned carefully for future scenarios, not wanting to be caught flat footed. We honestly hadn’t thought about the fact that I could croak first. This has upended everything. We also never planned for both of us to be sick at the same time, and that upended anything that was left. I have to admit I am rocked down to my core on this one. I could handle being the survivor, but I seriously worry about my husband’s ability to function by himself.

This will take a lot of thinking and replanning, and possible scenarios we never even considered before.

Again, thank you for taking the time to read all of this. I hope to be able to get back to the regular blog posts starting tomorrow. I’m trying to give myself some slack, though, since I tend to give out at the slightest effort, and will need to work to build my stamina again.

Meanwhile you’ve been on my mind and I hope you’re doing well.

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January 24, 2025 · 8:03 am

“If You Rest, You Rust”

The quote is by Helen Hayes. I’m trying to live by her words.

Patty Durfee-Pinterest

I’ve been doing my exercise regimen for a reasonably long time now. At the end of the month, I’ll measure to see if I’ve made any progress in the ‘losing-my-lard’ project.

Newport Daily News

I AM feeling looser and stronger than I did. When I’m writing my blog posts to you each morning, I stop after each one to do a series of exercises with 3-pound weights. I write another post, and do another series until I’ve finished the 4 posts I write every day. This results in a reasonable number of repetitions on trying to strengthen my arms.

I then do chair exercises that are supposed to be targeting my abdomen or core. There are four exercises. When I do two of them, I can really feel it. The other two involve my arms, and I’m not strong enough yet to do them, but I hope to work up to them.

Pinterest

The only other exercise I do daily is my yoga stretches in the afternoon. I do a half hour to 45 minutes, doing a series of big stretches. I don’t do a lot of ‘poses,’ like people who really do yoga well do. I just do stretches on my mat, breathing into the stretches and concentrating on relaxing.

sent to me by my friend, Marsha.

I’ll be reporting to you at the end of the month. Keep moving!

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December 17, 2024 · 10:15 am

Tuesday 12-17-2024

PsychoBitch Lou – via Deb Miller – Pinterest

Today seems to be one of challenge.

First, our ice maker in the fridge is on the fritz. It’s going VERY slowly, grudgingly spitting out a few cubes a day. We changed the filter, checked the water, made sure the ICE OFF button is NOT pushed, so I’ve now arranged for a repairman to come look at it. He can’t be here until the 30th, so we may arrange for some ice trays in the meantime.

Second, I’m going to TRY to get the smart light bulb my husband bought to work. I’m the most non-tech-savvy person you’ve ever met (although I DID get my smart watch to work again-HOOORAAAAAY), so I’ll give it my best shot.

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Keto Cheeseburger Casserole

We tried the recipe by Vered DeLeeuw of the Healthy Recipes Blog, and my husband pronounced it, “YUMMY!” wanting it to be added to our wonderful dinner list. I’ll make twice as much next time so we have lots of leftovers.

___________

Since I gave the memory boxes I painted to the residents of the retirement place yesterday, I now have room on my shelves to spread out what I’ve listed for sale on my Etsy site. I’ll reorganize that this afternoon.

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Big Stock Photo

I’ve told you, ad nauseam, possibly, about my efforts to lose the lard and get what’s left more healthy, flexible, and strong as possible.

I’m doing sessions of exercises with 3 lb weights in-between blog posts, trying to strengthen my arms and shoulders. I also do sessions with the weights to music provided through YouTube Videos of women doing “Fit Sticks,” exercises to catchy songs with drum sticks and humongous exercise balls to beat the sticks on while moving to the beat. It’s a fun thing for me to do, making me feel I have company. :0)

I found some chair exercises to try to strengthen my abdomen. I can do most of them, and am now doing at least one session of the 6 exercises daily. There are TWO exercises, though, that call for more strength in the arms than I have. I’m hoping the WEIGHTS exercises will one day enable me to do the remaining CHAIR exercises…

Finally, my half hour or so yoga practice daily allows me to relax (unless Monster Cat attacks my feet), and really stretch things out. I’m not folding myself into a paper airplane and flying across the room. I’m concentrating on stretches and breathing into each one, increasing my flexibility, throwing in a few exercises for my stomach, and hoping to strengthen my core.

I want to continue living in as healthy a fashion as I can. Low carb eating, losing the lard, and moving what’s left of me as much as is reasonable seems a good way to go about it.

Make your Tuesday a fun one.

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December 6, 2024 · 10:09 am

Character-Building Exercises

Indian Hills Signs – Vince, the Sign Guy

If you’ve been reading my blog, you know that I whine from time to time that my efforts to lose the lard and get stronger are frustrated.

I’m into a routine now.

I’m eating low carb and monitoring what I’m eating and drinking on MyFitnessPal.com. This is a wonderful site with a free part that allows you to (1) set your goals (2) plan what you’re going to eat and drink ahead of time BEFORE you mess up, and (3) chart your progress with exercising, measurements and weight logs.

Womens Health

In-between posts on the blog to you, I’m doing short sessions of exercises with 3-pound weights, several reps of lots of different moves – some to the beat of music videos of ladies doing ‘drumming exercises’- and then I go back and write another post. This takes the ‘curse’ off of things for me. I have the weights on my computer counter right next to me, so it’s easy to stop, do a session, and then get back to what I was doing. I end up doing 4 to 5 sessions daily.

The Indian Express

I try to get in a session of “old-lady-yoga-stretches” – 30 to 45 minutes – every afternoon. I do NOT fold myself up into a paper airplane shape and sail across the room. I’m concentrating on relaxing, stretching my poor, aching body as far as I can into each position and breathing into it. I’m making progress because I’m stretching farther and able to relax into it better than I could when I started. I’m getting more flexible, looser, and my balance is improving. I can relax – unless Monster Cat decides to jump onto my feet and bite them.

Getty Images – Health

If the weather permits, I try to take at least a couple of walks around our yard daily. At one point, I decided I would walk down and get our mail every day. Doesn’t sound like much, does it.

Well, we live on top of a ridge line in Arkansas. Our driveway is 650+ feet from the house down to the road that runs in front of our property. It is graveled and STEEP. I tried to do this, but almost fell on my head several times trying to walk down, and then, even stopping several times to bend over and try to catch my breath, it felt like Mt. Everest to this old lady. Once was enough.

Now I walk out to our shop, around it, past our old veggie garden area, back to the house, around it, and do the round again. If the weather is nice, I put my gardening gloves on and carry my pruning shears so I can stop and cut something down while I’m out. (The woods are continually trying to recapture the land we took when we built our home 37 years ago now.)

Deviant Art

Finally, just for giggles, my husband helped me get our old Wii Fit to work again after several years. I stopped using it years ago due to my general laziness and it’s predilection for snark when I got on to measure my weight and when I tried to do the activities. I’m ignoring that and talking back to it now. :0)

I whine because even with watching what I eat like a hawk and pushing myself to move the lard daily, I’m having trouble meeting my current interim goal. I just bobble with 2 to 3 pounds over and over rather than actually meeting my goal and being able to set a new one. It’s aggravating, to say the least.

I guess it’s also character-building, because I AM sticking to my eating and exercise plan and I WILL – EVENTUALLY – reach this interim goal of 45 pounds off from my heaviest. Right now the result is 44 pounds down and almost 44 inches less. I. AM. DETERMINED.

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November 20, 2024 · 10:05 am

Wednesday 11-20-2024

americasbestpics.com

Other than not “waking up rich,” I’m doing pretty well this morning.

THE DAY’S PROJECTS –

THING ONE – I’m going to move warm weather clothes and shoes OUT of my closet upstairs and move cold weather clothes and shoes IN. This is a bit more work than it sounds. Because I’m finally being moderately successful in losing my lard, I have several sizes of clothes. I’ll need to gather warm weather clothes that are now too large for me to wear to give to the Veterans Thrift Store the next time we go. I’ll need to try on old cold weather clothes to see what is wearable and what isn’t.

THING TWO – I cook in batches, trying to be sure there is enough for at least two meals for my husband and me, and more, if possible. This results in a lot of storage and labeling of lots of individual meals in the freezer for us. My collection of plastic containers is stained with tomato-y stains. I’ve done everything, including sand blasting (just kidding) to get the stains out, but to no avail. Some of the tops are splitting. I finally ordered two groups of containers – one round, one square with lids that MAY arrive today. If they do, I’ll do a reorganization of at least two large pull-out drawers in my kitchen. Having new, unstained containers may not seem like a big thing to YOU, but it’ll be a real gift to me. Out with the old – in with the new! :0)

EXERCISING AND LOSING THE LARD –

India Times

I’m definitely starting to feel stronger and looser with my exercises. I’m using weights to gain upper body strength. I stop between blog posts, between emails, etc., to do a set of exercises with the 3-pound weights, and then go back to what I was doing. The fact that I don’t have to designate a time to do these results in SEVERAL sessions each day with the weights – some with videos with music – so I can bop along with ladies doing other stuff – all of us keeping time with the beat.

In the afternoon I do a good half hour of old lady stretches with yoga. I’m able to stretch farther and hold the poses longer than before. I still can’t fold myself into a paper airplane, like real yoga people do, but it’s good for an old lady like me. It’s making me more flexible, eases any pain I have, and having a strong core will keep me able to do what I would like for as long as possible.

Finally, when Mother Nature is smiling on us, I walk out to our shop and then around the yard, usually with a pruner and gloves so I can snip things as I go. I’m still on baby steps on walking, since walking a bunch tends to make my hips hurt until I sit a second, but I’m improving. My ‘kind-of-smart’ watch keeps track of steps and reminds me it’s time to exercise or drink another glass of water. Did I tell you my eyeballs are floating by the end of the day?

NEW FIND – I found a new social media site two days ago. It’s called “Blue Sky.” So far, I’ve found some interesting people. I’m reading a lot, following the people who interest me, chatting with some. It’s fun. You might like it, too.

LINDA’S CRAFTINESS – Hand-wood-burned and painted one-of-a-kind wood slice Christmas ornament. I will personalize it for you with the year and a name on the back to create a cherished keepsake at no extra charge. $14.00 with Free Shipping. See this and other Christmas offerings on HandmadeHavenbyLinda on Etsy.

Have a wonderful Wednesday.

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November 17, 2024 · 9:36 am

Sunday 11-17-2024

Riekie – Rhonda Pelletier – Pinterest
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SPECIAL DAY –

My husband is having a birthday tomorrow. He doesn’t want to TALK about it, DO anything about it, or even THINK about it. Last year he was hyped because turning “80” had panache. 81 is simply old. I think you can FEEL him frowning. I’ll just try to make his day as pleasant as possible and let it go at that.

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LINDA’S CRAFTINESS –

One-of-a-kind set of 4 hand-wood-burned & hand-painted wood slice Christmas ornaments. I will personalize each with the year and a name on the back of each to create a cherished keepsake at no extra charge. 3.25″ in diameter and the slices are about 1/2″ thick. natural beige hanging ties are attached. Only one set available. $44.99 with Free Shipping at HandmadeHavenbyLinda on Etsy. Use the link to see this and other Christmas decorations.

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Indian Hills Signs – Vince, the Sign Guy

BUILDING HABITS WITH INTENTION – My idea of exercising with my 3-pound weights in-between blog posts, or other activities on the computer is working well. I stop often, doing a good set of exercises right beside my computer with the weights, then put them down on the counter and get back to my computer. I did this 5 times yesterday, getting in a good amount of exercise during the day.

I’m rounding this out with my yoga stretches, even though Monster Cat has decided that I’m teasing her by getting down on the floor on the mat. She crawls under the end of the mat, then leaps out and attacks my foot, then dashes under the mat again. Yesterday I brought my foot down on top of her, letting her know that I didn’t appreciate her efforts while I was trying to relax.

She retaliated later by jumping into the empty cardboard box we usually keep for her in the middle of the floor. (I put it up on the sofa when I’m doing my yoga.) She played around in it and then attempted to jump out of it and pulled the whole box down with her to the floor – on top of my head and outstretched arms. My husband died laughing, but did retrieve the box and move it to the foyer, enticing her to follow him so I could finish my stretching.

When the weather is cooperative, I take at least a couple of walks during the day, out to the shop and around the yard, sometimes with pruning shears in my hand. This combination of weights, yoga, and walking is making me feel as if I’m doing a good thing for this old body.

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PLAYING IN MY ART ROOM –

Yesterday I added the wooden key chains I’ve made to my Etsy site. I created a new section called, “Small Unique Gifts” to list them and other small gifty things in the future. There are custom orders, such as the name designs above, and I’m offering to put a large initial, initials, or a name on the back at no extra charge. $10.00 with Free Shipping.

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I hope you’re doing fun things today. Enjoy every minute.

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November 8, 2024 · 11:48 am

Beautiful Phrases for Us

Danie Franco – Unsplash

As we get older, we are FINALLY learning how important it is to read the labels on the things we eat and drink. I’m trying to stay low-carb and watch my sodium. My husband is a Type II Diabetic and must watch his sugar (or, more accurately, I’M watching his sugar.)

To this end, I’m embracing products we find that make our lives easier. I’m trying to find substitutes that are healthier as we go.

“Sugar-Free” –

The G. Hughes Smokehouse Sugar-Free BBQ Sauce was a huge find for us. I got two more bottles while we were out today, and discovered that the company also makes sugar-free teriaki sauce, sugar-free stir-fry sauce, and sugar-free honey mustard. I bought all three today to add to our pantry. As we were checking out, the lady at the register told me they also offer Sugar-free Ketchup, so that’s on the list for next time. I also found their website and will go back and see if I’m missing other wonderful things.

Other products we’ve found are Sugar-Free Maple Syrup. My husband is using this in his morning coffee, instead of the two spoonfuls of sugar he has always used. ZERO soft drinks are so much better than the full sugar pop he has always insisted on.

“No Sugar Added” – This is another beautiful phrase, because it allows me to substitute more things my husband has been missing. They are not sugar-free, and you have to read the labels carefully, but there are more and more good products out there. A recent example for us is Marketside No Sugar Added Blueberry Streusel Muffins. These contain 2 grams of sugar per muffin. (The apple fritters my husband was insisting upon were 22 grams per fritter.) I breathed a sigh of relief on the way home from the store today when he told me he had thrown out the last of the fritters today. We bought two containers of the no sugar added muffins today, but I was really trying to keep my lips zipped as much as possible, encouraging, rather than condemning. HOOOORAAAAAAY!

“Low Carb” – this is very important to me. I’m almost to an interim weight loss goal and I’m checking everything I eat and drink, listing all I plan to eat on MyFitnessPal.com before I start the day. You have to be super careful here, though, too. “Low carb” seems to be a relative term. I’ve picked up several things labeled that way, and then read that they’re much too high in carbs for what I’m doing. I also have to really pay attention to the sodium content, as I have blood pressure and water retention considerations.

One place we are really happy with is Stu’s Clean Cookin’. They have a website that lists everything they offer, giving full information on the nutrition content of each frozen meal. They also divide their offerings into categories to make finding things easier, such as low carb. I can go online, read through the offerings, making a list for me, another for my husband before we go to their store. We have our order ready so shopping is quick and easy.

(We made a mistake the last time we were in there. We grabbed some BBQ’d ribs in a big foil package. They were easy to heat up and delicious, but the BBQ sauce obviously wasn’t for us, as our blood sugar numbers were up the next morning. OUR fault, not theirs.)

We’re learning as we go – even though being older than dirt, one would THINK we would have learned before now. We’re tweaking things, learning about new products and new ways to cook things that are healthier and healthier. It feels good that we’re not TOO old to learn how to be as healthy as we can be.

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October 31, 2024 · 5:01 pm

Snap, Crackle, Pop!

Nourish, Move, Love

I sound like the older-than-dirt Rice Krispies commercial when I exercise. I’m drowning that out with earphones plugged into my computer where I listen to “Ladies Drumming” exercise videos where they use drumsticks to beat on exercise balls on platforms just below chest level to some fun music. Instead of their equipment, I’m holding 3-pound dumbbells and doing exercise moves I’ve learned elsewhere, keeping up with the beat. It makes the movement ALMOST fun. I just finished doing two of the videos before I was feeling it in my neck and shoulders.

I did quite a bit of walking (for me) when my husband and I went to do errands this morning. I’ll walk more before dinner.

Now I’ll go do a session of old-lady stretching yoga that will nicely fill out my exercise for the day.

I’ve tweaked my eating by adding the protein shake my doctor recommended daily, plus eating Zero Net-Carb Mission Tortillas, one for lunch and another for dinner, adding 14 grams of fiber daily. I’m drinking more water in-between.

I’m almost to another milestone for me – one of my interim goal marks, and I hope to be able to claim that by the end of this week.

I splurged, though, today, because my husband wanted to stop at our local grocery so he could get a chicken/mashed-potato-bowl for lunch. I caved and got two chicken tenders. I ate one with lunch today and will have the other tomorrow. This allows me to realize that this is a lifestyle change for the rest of my life, not just a ‘diet’ that will end at some point, and that small splurges from time to time add motivation while keeping me from feeling deprived.

We enjoyed delicious BBQ ribs from Stu’s Clean Cookin’ last night. I divided the rack we bought into two pieces. I put one in the fridge to eat last night and the other piece in the freezer for another time. When it was cooked, I divided it again so we both enjoyed 4 ribs with a side salad. My husband had a roll and I had a tortilla. Tonight we’re eating some leftover “Simply Keto Chicken” by Suzanne Ryan.

If you need a laugh, you can picture me on the floor, snap, crackling and popping my way through my yoga stretches while Monster Cat either tries to bite my toes, sit on my stomach, or walk under me as I stretch up on my hands and knees…

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October 15, 2024 · 10:20 am

Tuesday 10-15-2024

Ayse Cakan-Pinterest

Good morning! I’m having a slow start getting to my blog this morning. I had a note on the chat program from our son, asking me to open a PDF file. It’s from the IRS, saying he owes them money. Since our son lives across the world from us, I wrote the check, signed the form and will mail everything later today or tomorrow. Our son pays us back right away, so it isn’t a big problem.

I started a new account on Facebook two days ago because I wanted to read a new blog there. Someone hacked my account years ago and Facebook wouldn’t help me, so I closed my account. I started looking at things there, joined a few local groups, tried to find some of my old friends, commented on a few posts, etc.

I received a notice in my email later from Facebook saying my account was suspended because I hadn’t followed their rules. They didn’t point to anything, so I have no clue. I appealed the decision, saying if they would let me know what I had done, I would make every effort not to repeat it. I haven’t heard anything since, and I’m still suspended, so you MAY be reading the words of a ‘terrorist,’ though, from what I’ve read elsewhere, Facebook allows THAT…

Montgomery Child Care Association

We don’t have anything scheduled today. I’m hoping that things will be quiet around here. I’m working on a couple of signs in my art room, have ideas for two more, and am getting supplies gathered to try to paint some new stationery and/or note cards.

Freepik

I’ve been trying to walk more, to add to my weights videos and my yoga stretching. I ordered a competitor of the Fitbit watch. I don’t need the brand name and all I really want is for it to track my steps so that I can keep track and try to increase it each time. I should get it Thursday, I think.

Source Unknown

I’m on a bit of a plateau on my efforts to lose the lard since I started the protein shakes. I’m tweaking what I’m eating otherwise. I’ve read that eating too much protein can knock you out of ketosis, but I’ll keep doing this until my body has a chance to settle. It’s important that I increase the protein, so the tweaking and increasing movement will continue, hoping for the best.

The weather here has gotten so much cooler in the mornings and nights that not only have we turned off the a/c, but we wait to open the doors until closer to lunch time. What a welcome difference! Monster Cat is a bit ticked because she likes going out on the back porch. In the early evenings there are some bunnies running around and she fantasizes about catching them and eating them. Amber enjoys lying on the tiles right in the doorway to catch the nice breezes.

Our terrific tree guy wasn’t able to take the stray pup who has been visiting us. I didn’t see the pup yesterday, though, so I’m hopeful he’s moved on.

Hope your Tuesday is a fun one.

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October 13, 2024 · 9:23 am

Sunday 10-13-2024

Carol Larson-Pinterest

Today is supposed to be the last day of unusual heat for October. We’re due for a cold front tonight with much cooler temps tomorrow. HOOORAAAAY!

Meanwhile, we hired a wonderful tree guy who worked in the heat all day yesterday and will do it again today, trying to cut back trees or branches that look like they’ll dump into our driveway at the next severe weather or the coming snow and ice storms this winter.

We’ve maintained this ourselves for the almost 37 years we’ve been here, but we’re both too long in the tooth for chain-sawing and hauling branches to the side and dumping them off the edge of the driveway anymore.

He’s actually climbing the trees, lopping out the parts of them that cut off sunlight to the driveway, so we’ll have better melting of snow and ice.

He’s also going to clear out a bunch of the weed trees that are impeding our view across the back yard. He said that if he doesn’t finish today, he’ll be here after he finishes his regular work tomorrow. He is a really nice guy and takes what he’s doing seriously. We’re lucky to have found him. (As usual, the guy we found before him doesn’t have a working phone anymore.)

I finished these in the last couple of days and listed them in my Etsy shop.

I’ve started a couple more. My husband has been calmer and has been working on computer stuff, rather than what could be dangerous projects, so I’ve had more time to relax and play in my art room. It’s really great and I THINK that, plus music and reading are keeping me sane. :0)

I’ve tweaked my program for my health by

  • increasing my protein (I’m drinking a Premier Chocolate Protein Shake daily, plus eating some cottage cheese during the day),
  • taking the new med that is supposed to protect my kidney function, plus
  • continuing to increase drinking water daily and
  • losing more weight, plus
  • doing my weights videos and yoga stretching.

I’m having to really tweak my eating and drinking log on MyFitnessPal.com. I’ve decided to ignore the protein part of my macro since my doctor wants me to increase it, but I’m trying to watch everything else. I dropped some things I’ve been eating, substituted things, and moved other things around, but I was able to come up with a good combination for today. I love this website and would be lost without it.

I hope you’re doing well and having a fun weekend.

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October 1, 2024 · 9:17 am

Celebration!

Calvary Baptist Church of North Lenoir County

Yes, I’m definitely in celebration mode this morning, “tooting my own horn”, dancing around the room, grinning from ear to ear, dancing with the animals, dancing with my husband (who was very encouraging). I FINALLY REACHED THE 40-POUNDS OFF INTERIM GOAL!!!!!

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WOO HOOOOOO! I’ve been trying to get to this goal for so long that I actually weighed myself several times before I really believed it. :0)

I hauled out my really old NutriSystem weight loss bears so that I could document the GREEN 40-pounds-off bear. (He has “40” embroidered on his chest.) I’ve lost track of how long ago it was that I earned him. The minute I quit eating the prepared NutriSystem meals, though, I began gaining it back. It just wasn’t sustainable for me.

Now I’m eating low carb, plus trying to cut down on salt, plus trying to drink more water, plus trying to exercise on a daily basis. This is something I can stick with and control, tweaking when necessary, reassessing goals as I go.

I’m a little past halfway now, I think to my ultimate goal- again assessing as I go. The overall plan now is to lose another 30 pounds or so and improving my blood work. I have now set my next 5-pound interim goal.

I will set my sights on the next NutriSystem Bear (50-pounds-off) when I reach the next goal.

Onward and Downward!

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January 26, 2024 · 10:33 am

Be Six Again

Little Pine Learners – posted by UrbanArtist2 on X

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January 24, 2024 · 11:20 am

Figuring it Out

Bowditch & Dewey-LynettePaczkowski

It’s been quite the night and morning.

Since my husband broke his collarbone falling on the ice in our driveway Sunday morning, we’ve had x-rays and seen an orthopedic surgeon, who said my husband could heal without surgery. With surgery or without, the recovery time is 10 to 12 weeks.

After fighting with my husband (we don’t even use the same salt :0) ) he has agreed for now that we will stay downstairs. He’s still in quite a bit of pain on ANY movement and only has the use of his right arm and hand until further notice, making any normal activity quite difficult. We are sleeping in our recliners, getting as much rest as possible, which so far isn’t much. Thank goodness we can both take naps any time we need it.

Breakfast, morning chores, sitz bath, change of clothes, meds, and back in the chair took until 10:30 this morning. He is taking a nap in his recliner right now, and seems to be as comfortable as possible. While he’s doing that, I’m doing laundry, cleaning up the kitchen, figuring out food, etc.

It’s amazing how quickly your life can change. I’m so relieved this wasn’t any worse and that we can let this heal on its own. We are adapting slowly to the new normal. I’m walking kind of a tightrope right now, between helping and stepping on pride. I’m wishing I had a magic wand to make him feel better.

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December 13, 2021 · 10:10 am

Thoughts on a Monday 12-13-2021

popularmechanics.com

It’s a beautiful, though chilly morning here. Lots of sunshine.

Mirka Lindfors-pin.it

It’s our son’s 43rd birthday today. I actually wrote to him yesterday, as he is 13 hours ahead of us in Thailand. He had forgotten that it was his birthday! I sent silly pictures, such as the one above, and wrote out the Happy Birthday song. We chatted a bit. I told him I thought he should play his guitar and record himself singing Happy Birthday. This is one of the many times I wish he weren’t all the way across the world from us.

This week will actually be most of our Christmas. Thursday I have a massage and will take my therapist’s presents then. Friday is Lunch Bunch and we will exchange presents there. I have several more to deliver around town, but that will be the bulk of it. I’m trying to get Christmas cards in the mail. I love this time of year!

Children’s Health

The scared inner child is trying to find the adult in the room. I’m waiting to hear from my doctor what and when the next step is. “One foot in front of the other. Do what needs to be done. Stop being stupid.” (Not only am I a wimp, I talk to myself. )

We’re going to run errands now. I hope you have a great Monday.

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July 25, 2020 · 9:43 am

Thoughts on a Saturday July 25, 2020

New Animalbook

  • It’s frustrating when your child is across the world from you and hurting. Thankfully, we chatted today, and our son is doing much better after a doctor’s appointment. There is 12 hours difference between us, but we got to chat a bit before he headed for bed. I am relieved.
  • I’m also relieved that my husband is doing much better after a stroke-type episode while we were at Lunch Bunch. He is also doing MUCH better this morning.
  • Our Lunch Bunch friends are all healthy and happy. It’s wonderful to have good, understanding, caring friends.
  • Our sweet dog, Molly, who has cancer, managed to eat half her breakfast this morning. She is resting comfortably now in her bed just behind me as I type.
  • All is calm and quiet so far today – and for that I am truly grateful.
  • Our lawn is turning brown and crunchy – my husband’s favorite – and our irrigation system is working to keep our veggies and flowers alive.
  • Since it’s very hot, we are thankful for good air conditioning and the ability to stay indoors today. We will get the mail, but that’s it, I think.
  • I’m working on updating important information spreadsheets today. If I finish that, I’ll work on bookkeeping.
  • I will get my 6th gold star for the week for doing my daily yoga practice.
  • I have lost 5 lbs.

I hope that your Saturday is a good one. Take care and stay safe.

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June 25, 2020 · 9:31 am

I’m Back!

Eternally Sunny

I am back to the land of the living today, after sleeping half the day yesterday and then TEN hours last night! I have noticed that since I am a MATURE woman – aka “old broad” – it takes me a lot longer to bounce back after getting sick. (Another one of the many perks of getting older.) I actually feel some energy this morning!

I will still take it easy today, doing stuff in our home office, rather than doing yard work or heavy stuff inside.

I hope that YOU are having a good day and staying healthy.

 

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December 23, 2019 · 2:57 pm

Nice Christmas

We are enjoying a quiet Christmas this year. We have spent the last few days taking presents to good friends and visiting and that has been wonderful.  We only have one remaining, but our friend is out of town now, so we’ll catch up with her when she returns.

 

I have a teeny tiny CUTE turkey breast I’ll cook for us on Christmas Day.  We’ll also have deviled eggs, dressing, and cranberry sauce.

I’m grateful that we are both healthy enough to enjoy this holiday together.

Merry Christmas!

 

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