weekly Musings of the 19th

 

Yes, the weather reports were correct for Friday, it rained yesterday and then snowed with the rain and now there is slush and ice out there.  However our car is not out there so no temptation to go out in it but I am getting ahead of myself as that is a story and a half.

Beginning of the week I was in rebellion mode, the 'I can eat what I want when I want' thought and of course when I went to bed that night my body taught me that NO you can't eat what you want when you want and your doctor was telling you the truth.  That morning after I was a much humbler person, making sure I was not eating anything from the list to avoid.  

After all the reactions from eating so poorly subsided I was doing pretty good but there was something else in the wings.  By evening I had all the signs of a cold - yippee!  Thank goodness over the counter stuff keeps one going a bit better.  Got the weekly groceries with the plan to finish off Christmas shopping either the next day or day after then we would be done.  

We actually took mid-week off for me to rest and drink lots of fluids so Thursday with a good cold medicine to keep me up and going we headed out to pick up a gift basket for friends.  Just out of town the car on the road starting a horrible sound and hubby struggled to safely get the car off the road.  He was successful that within moments we were on the shoulder.  He got out and looked and the front tire was not only flat but it was off the rim nearly completely!!! (Sorry I totally forgot to take pictures of the mess it was) But the good news was the day was warm, we have CAA and called them and we settled in to wait.  This time was not the usual quick tow truck arriving but it stretched out to a 2 hour wait on the side of the road and hubby like me thought we were not going to be long and left his smokes at home and I didn't load up the latest book I was reading on my phone so it was a long wait.  Several people and the OPP officer stopped to see that we were okay and if we needed any help which was super kind of everyone.  The tow truck driver when he arrived could not understand how it took so long as he knew there were others in the area but these things do happen from time to time. 

We got to the dealer/service center we always take our car to and as hubby talked to both the service person and tow driver I asked the other lady where the washroom was, nearly running down the hallway.  I was pretty desperate after two hours in the middle of no-where and fully committed to not squatting in a snow filled ditch.  

Of course because our car is more than 10 years old they no longer make the tires for that model and the service person must find a similar brand, which she thinks she has so we shall wait and see.  

The weather today seems pretty good for 'wait and see'  

  

Weekly Musings of the 12th

 

There is a real story behind this picture of Tigger.  I had seen her do this a few times but didn't watch closely until this week and when I did I couldn't believe how clever she is.  

Hubby was sleeping in his rocker recliner and after a little while Tigger walked out and seeing him in the chair sleeping she walked over to the side near the back and I heard her claws go in but no sharpening of them but the chair rocked and moved a little side to side until hubby's snoring changed to a cough and went quiet.  Tigger stopped and walked to the front of the chair and sat down and waited.  Hubby went back to a deeper sleep and when that happened Tigger went back to the side again and began moving the chair again.  She did this over and over again until hubby woke up and she waited until he got up from the chair and then she curled up in the chair giving him one last look and went to sleep.  She has been waking him up from his nap each time to get him to get up and surrender the chair to her.  I thought back to all the times I heard her do the claw thing and move the chair and realized that she figured out how to wake hubby and get the nice warm chair for herself.  Clever huh?

We didn't get up to a lot this week as it was a pretty snowy one.  I did get out for a couple of walks when there was a break in the weather for which I was pleased about.  In the winter I get out when I can but don't beat myself up when it is just to yucky out. 

We did watch Walking Alice and her 2025 walk through a New York neighbourhood called Dkyer Heights (I put the link below if you are interested)

One thing that always makes me smile is that even in this video I see St. Anthony again.  I have mentioned how he pops up in my life over and over again so seeing him in this video just is a tickle.  

It is really something to go with Alice through this neighbourhood where Christmas threw up - LOL.  

As well this week I kept working at leaving out dairy, egg and gluten.  The first two pretty easy for me after the year I went vegan.  Gluten is a different challenge so far and there have been a few hiccups but I figure one can't get it perfect in the first week or really ever perfect but progress not perfection is best.  Sunday brunch will be a big challenge because my usual order is for French toast which is everything that I shouldn't eat.  I am going to have to change that order this week for sure although I will miss my favourite brunch item since the ingredients are all three of what I need to avoid, but perhaps a club (leaving the bread on the plate).  We shall see.  I have a few choices in mind and will see which I settle on when I get there.  I still want the brunch to be a treat so I just don't want a plain salad with no dressing (egg). 

Anyway, still a learning curve this week and probably for a few more for this old girl.  Have a wonderful weekend all!

 

 

Weekly Musings of the 5th

 

Tigger is one happy girl now that her tree is back.  She came running when she saw the box, looked inside and sat down watching as hubby put it together.  Now that it is all set, her favourite place is the back corner where she watches the world go by and settles in to sleep.  

I got one walk in this week, on Tuesday after the snow stopped the sun came out and warmed the parking lot right up, no ice.  I got out there for my usual walk and was pretty happy I did as it was the only ice free time for the rest of the week.  Winter is kind of hit or miss but I don't stress about it, I figure if I walk over 330 days a year then those days I miss because there is ice on the ground is no big deal.  

Tuesday morning I was off to see Dr. A. and to go over all the results of the blood work.  The nice thing is he actually went through line by line going over each number.  He told me what was good (and there were surprisingly a lot of good) and what needed to be worked on.  

We went over the food sensitivity (which can cause allergy reactions - some small and some big, like hives) The ones with the big numbers is what I have to cut out and the lower are not a problem.  As you can see I have a problem with egg, dairy and gluten.  I figure because these things have so many chemicals in them today than they use to, especially hormones. I actually was pretty happy with the numbers and I suspected these foods were the problem in many areas.  Since I had given the plant-based diet a try many years ago the need to eliminate dairy and egg was pretty easy peasy to me.  Gluten could be more of a challenge but then again the section at our Superstore is so full of gluten free foods I am pretty much set with changing things up.  I am not overwhelming myself with the changes but taking it one step at a time.  Thanks to all that I learned from the Happy Herbivore's cookbooks and website I am pretty happy with the changes.  

I thought back to my sister's godmother who had celiac disease that was diagnosed in the early 70s.  There was nothing in the way of information and she had to figure out everything.  Doctors then had minimum information and told her things like use rice flour (which was not just in any store) She had to figure it all out on her own.  Now I can just ask a question on Google and there it is.  Asking like is yeast okay and being told yes, these kinds are just fine.  She didn't have that, nor did grocery stores carry anything gluten free.  I am lucky it is just a sensitivity and not celiac and that everything I could need or eat is at most grocery stores today.  

So, grocery shopping included getting things to support all the recommendations and we will follow up in three months to see how the vitamins and food changes are going.  It is even possible that in 6 to 12 months I may no longer need my prescription for blood pressure and that my hands may get better than they are now and the inflammation will go down.  Determined!  Yes, I am.  If I can do that with just getting back to mostly plant-based I am certainly good with that!  

Today I am going over to the Superstore on my own to explore more of the gluten free products and take my time.  We did the main groceries on Wednesday together but now I want to just look closer at things.  Especially the gluten free flour they carry for my bread making.  If hubby doesn't notice a difference then I don't have to make one loaf for him and one for me ;) 

So that's it for me, have a great week!