Healthy Choice Monday 7/6/08

Good morning friends,

It's another sunny day ~~Hooray

Holley and Uncle Frank went fishing so it's just me Sebastian and the kitties here this morning.

I woke with another headache this morning but thank goodness it's seems to be going away.

I can't wait to try the sleeping mask because I do think the headaches come for the apnea.

I didn't get a thing done this weekend except some watering late yesterday afternoon.

Today I have some vacuuming, dusting and laundry to do.

I have my water aerobics this afternoon.

I keep thinking about Marti and Joe and wish there was something I could do to help them.

Marti sounds very tired. She is so worried about Joe. She is trying so hard to get him into the new house.

I better post this before someone else beats me to the start.

I will come back later to catch up.

Shirley

Good morning Shirley and everyone to come by today.

Shirley, so glad your rain has stopped and you can finally enjoy some sunshine. Holly must be feeling well again, since she went fishing with Uncle Frank.  :)     Just wondering what kind of fish do they catch and if they release them or bring them home for dinner?  My guys would love to go fishing as often as Holly does, but they have to travel about two hours to fish where the wallelye  and perch are and then have to rent a boat, or hire a charter since we don't have a boat anymore.  I wish they would plan a day again, there's nothing we like more than  the fresh walleye that they bring home.  Yum.

I have to water as soon as I sign off here.  It's a good way to get in my Vitamin D for the day.  I go out before my shower or any sunscreen, so I know that must help.  Then DH and I are giong to the Farmer's Market in Peninsula.  He wants a tomato salad and they really do have the best tomatoes.  We always end up with lots of other fresh produce once we're there.  It all looks so good, it's hard to pass up. 

I wonder why Lusi's visit has been such an unusual one for her.  I hope she can meet with Sue before she leaves for Finland.  It would be nice if Viny could meet them too, but he might not be free.  Keeping Pat's brother in my prayers.

Shirley, I can't get Marti out of my mind since I've talked to her yesterday, either.  She sounded exhausted and so sad.   I've been praying for Joe and for her each time I think of them.

Will check in once I'm back.  Have to hurry to do the watering before we leave so DH can get home and prepare for, what is promising to be, a very important meeting tonight at the Town Hall. He's been on the phone all morning with the trustees and looks pretty stressed about it.

I hope everyone will have a nice Monday.  Take care, stay healthy and God bless each one of you and your families. Jo Ann

Good morning.

It's much cooler here today.  We've had so much wind the last couple days and now it's cloudy with sun breaks.

I planted wave petunias on the north side of the house in planters that hang on the wall under my windows.  When I went to water them, I found 2 big clumps of them had blown off.  I guess I should know better than to put them there but they look so pretty.

Shirley, I forgot to tell you how much I loved the picture of your yellow roses.  I have only one yellow and it's a small one. 

Jo Ann, my Dr. cut me back to 3 of the Vit. Ds a month during the summer.  She wants to check and see if my # stays high from the sun.    I know in the winter we don't get enough sun in the NW.  Well, Jolynn gets more than we do.  It's much dryer there.

That reminds me, Jolynn, do you have rattle snakes at your place ?  I know they do have a lot in that part of the state.

Shirley and Jo Ann, thanks for calling Marti and letting us know what's going on.  I have been hesitant to bother her by calling with Joe so ill.  I worry so about her.  I just don't know how anyone can live with the  constant stress she has and has had for such a long time.  I'm afraid one of these days it's going to really hit her and she will get sick as well.  I have been keeping them in my prayers, as I do all of you, but especially thinking of them . 

I took the dogs for a walk but didn't get into my exercise room again.  They can hardly wait until I finish my paper and they watch me.  As soon as I lay it down, they get excited thinking they are going for their walk.  And they need the exercise too so on the days when it's nice to walk, I will take them.  But I need to get into my room and work out with my weights.

These dogs  DO NOT want my sons puppy, Sophie, here at all.  He brought her last night.  She is so cute and just this ball of fur.  She comes right in and goes to their toy box and gets all the toys out.  Now, mind you, these two of ours seldom go near that toy box but when little Sophie gets those toys out, they don't like it.  And she had better not go near DH's chair.  That's where they spend most of their time.  Up there on his lap.  They are such stinkers !!  But Rosie did try to play with her when we took them out on their leashes.  Next time he brings her I think I'll put her and Rosie in the big pen together and let them play.  I'm afraid to put both Zoe and Rose in because they might, and probably would, gang up on her.

Our cherry tree is loaded with cherries this year.  I sure wish some of you could take them.  This tree is  strange.  It's like someone grafted 2 kinds of cherries.  One side is almost like a seedling bing.  Very tiny fruit but dark and taste like a bing.  The other is Lambert and regular size cherries, although this year they are a bit smaller than usual.  DH is talking about cutting this one down and planting a Rainier.   I told him he is NOT cutting down another one of my trees.  The man is wicked when it comes to cutting things down. 

Well, much to do today so I had better get busy.

Good morning... It was pretty warm over the weekend - especially Saturday. It has cooled off today and we have had a couple of thunderstorms pass through this morning; but, we have gotten very little rain out of it. However, it is supposed to be cooler the rest of the week.

Viny, I don’t know if you will see this or not before you leave.... however, I wanted to extended my condolences to you on the loss of your dbil. It seems like you have been hit with a double whammy between this and Pat’s brother. I will keep you all in my prayers.

Shirley, it sounds like Holley must be feeling better. I’m sorry you have not been feeling well the last couple of days - could it be the same thing Holley had? Take care of yourself.

Verna, I was surprised to hear about the situation with Charlene. I have to agree with the others in that there must be something else going on in her life for her to be that way with you. I hope that your new caregiver works out.

Thanks to those of you that have checked on Marti for us. Every time I think about calling her, I remember the 3 hour time difference and it would not be a good time for her. I feel so bad for her and truly wish that I lived closer. I sure would like to be able to help her out more than I am.

Jo Ann, I hope that Frank is able to relax a bit and enjoy the Farmer’s Market. Fresh, ripe tomatoes sound so good. It will be weeks before any of ours in the garden are ready. It shouldn’t be too long before we will be have fresh beets, though.

I hope Sue and her dh had nice weather in WI over the weekend. I’ll be anxious to hear how the 4^th of July celebration was.

Barb, the way your dogs behave when your grandpup comes over makes me think of kids! When is your family reunion? Later this month?

Did I tell you all that dh & I are going to take a road trip? Dh needs to get away from the farm for a few days. We got our passports about a year ago and we decided we should use them; so, we are going to go up into Canada and then back down through Glacier Park in Montana. We are only going to be gone a few days. Barb, we were going to go to CB; but, the price of a room down there (because it is "tourist season") was twice as much as what we usually pay. We are leaving Thursday.

I’ll check back later...

JoLynn

Big disappointment  :(       No Farmer's Market for us today.  DH has been all tied up in department business and it got too late to go.  Maybe another day. 

JoLynn, I've never made fresh beets.  We love to buy pickled whole beets, though.  I've heard that roasted fresh beets are excellent.  How do you make yours?

I made the cauliflower salad today (no potato, potato salad)  so glad I found that recipe.  I'm putting some shrimp in as JoLynn's recipe calls for, but not taking the chance on the pickle juice this time.  Just don't think DH would go for the sweet pickle juice, and I don't want to waste the whole recipe.  I'll try it at some point because JoLynn said he wouldn't notice it because of all of the other ingredients, but I'm just trying one new thing at a time.  I just put some raspberry bars in the oven, so have to go when the timer goes off.

Barb, aren't those wave petunias pretty.  I love the way they hang.  Your window boxes must look so pretty.  Too bad about all of the wind. That must have been some strong wind to knock them right out of the box. 

There goes the timer.  That was sooner than I thought.  Back in a few minutes.......

...............back.  Had to put the raspberry jam on the bottom crust, then crumble on the topping.  Just a little snack for after DH's meeting. He'll be glad there is something here to help with the destressing.  LOL 

Amyway, Barb, about the Vitamin D, even with the mega dose and the 1000 mg each day, mine has only come up to 17, which is still way too low.  So, I'm trying the real thing (sunshine) and hoping for an improvement.  I've been  on so many medications that say stay out of the sun, or be careful and wear sunblock, and for so many years, it's no wonder I'm deficient. My Dsis always teases me about being so white, that I'm blue.  lol  But that's because we were always so tan years ago from swimming and tennis, so I'm not really blue. lol    Now, I'm used to my lack of tan and don't even like one anymore. 

We buy cherries all summer because DH loves them  We can't plant anything like that becauses there are so many deer.  I would love to try to plant berries, but I know they would be in there too and we can't fence in the whole yard. Too bad, when I hear about all of your berry bushes and your cherry tree it makes me wish we had them too.  The cherries and berries are so epensive here. I have 4 qts of blueberries frozen and was going to see how they looked and what the price was at the market today and freeze more.  I love them right out of the freezer or in cereal, hot or cold. 

Have to have an early dinner.  Adam and Dominic's 1st playoff game is tonight and we can go for the first half hour of it, before we have to leave for DH's meeting.  They love to show Grandpa how they can hit now, so I hope they have time to show off a little before we leave.  If they lose tonight, they're out of the playoffs.  Ken thinks this will be it for them because their team isn't as good as some of them are.  It's been fun watching them on thier first baseball team, though. 

I'm looking forward to seeing Gabi. Judy said she lost 4 pounds and she's so tiny, that's probbly looks like a lot on her. I hope she's feeling better.

I'll be alone tonight, so I'll check in later.  Jo Ann

Hello everyone...better late than never!  I had four calls this morning, two of them required calls back, then I had to make another couple of calls....so....was  later leaving for my chores/errands than usual.  Got to the lab and it was packed.  Had to wait 30 minutes.  Only one person doing anythng...the other was having lunch.  Geez!  Drove over past the airport to do an errand then back by DD to have her fax some stuff for me then finally home...half starved!  Made a weiner sandwich with a low fat Hebrew National hot dog and a piece of bread with mustard....I think that will hold me til suppertime.

The weather is much nicer here today...only 86º but very sunny and little breeze.  I think surely I'm getting in my Vit D!!  My doc had me take 50,000 units weekly for 8 weeks then 1000 units daily for two months...then I'll get rechecked.  We have sun here all year round...although not hot all the time....so I should get enough.  My wrist is always white where my watch is.

Marti does sound tired and I'm sure she is.  This house building has turned into a nightmare and Joe's failing health only complicates things.  Keeping both of them in my prayers.

Jo Lynn...your road trip sounds like fun...how long will you be gone? 

Not much going on here.  I've been working on Alpha for the fall and getting my team together.  I do have meal coordination covered...thank goodness...that's a really big chore.

OK...I'd better do something productive...not sure what.  Y'all have a good rest of the day.

vammie

Have fun on your trip JoLnn.  Where are you going in Canada ?  It's been a number of years since we've been there.  It seems so strange to have  to use a Passport now doesnt' it?  I had the best ice cream I've ever tasted there.  At 8 a.m.  After spending a night in the backseat of a car ! 

Oh, don't get your panties in a bunch.  There was nothing "untoward" going on.  My DSis, DBil, DH and I took a road trip up there and didn't make motel reservations.  Of course it was summer and we found No room at Any Inn.  We spent the night parked by some water.  The guys in front, girls in back.  Unfortunately for the guys, it was a 2 door and you know we girls weren't  staying back there all night without a potty break.  The guys managed to sleep some (and snore) but my DSis and I didn't sleep at all and got so tired we got the giggles.  I'm surprised either marriage survived that trip.

We finally got a room the next morning but could only get one so we all were in one room.  It was a memorable trip, to say the least.

Jo Ann, What is this raspberry dessert ?  It sounds so good.  I love raspberries.  I forgot to stop and see how much they are down at the berry farm on my way to town.    They are probably about done now. 

Verna, I remember eating "weiner" sandwiches.  I always loved them.  That was before I realized they made me so sick.  But I do have fond memories of eating things like bologna and hot dogs  and all those things.  Alas, that is in the past. 

Heather and I went to the stores.  I didn't have great success at Safeway and must go back with  a $10 off coupon so they can give me that part of my money again.  While I was in there, I bought a few things.  Picked up 2 more 2 lb. loaves of Tillamook cheese and I'll be Dam*ed if they didn't do it to me again.  They rang up $2 more than they should have.  So tomorrow it's back to the store with my receipts and we'll see what happens.  They are nice about it but it happens on some item almost every time I shop there.  They don't get the sale price put into the computers so that what you see as a price on the shelf  isn't what you are paying.   I think from now on IF I even go there I won't leave the check stand until I make sure my items come up at the proper price. 

Other than that, I've done very little today.  Oh, while I was standing at the checkout, the checkout girl told me I had a bug in my hair.  She reached over with a Kleenex and took it off.  It was a TICK !!!  So, since then, I've felt "crawly" all over ! 

Jo Ann, ever since lusi told how to roast beets; that is how I fix them. My friend from California was here a couple of years ago and she said she didn’t care for beets in anyway, shape or form. I fixed them the way lusi told us, and she liked them! I’m not sure if the directions are on the RTR thread. Basically, you wash the beets, cut the root end off, leave about an inch of the green top on. Spread a baking sheet with parchment paper, sprinkle the parchment paper with coarse salt, put the beets on the salted parchment paper, cut side down. Bake in 350° oven until tender (35-45 minutes, depending how big your beets are). When they are cool enough to handle, peel (I wear food handlers gloves when I do this to keep my hands from turning red), slice, and serve with a little butter. They are really good prepared this way. I have seen recipes where you toss them in olive oil before roasting. I’m sure you can do a search for other recipes for roasting them.

I’m sorry you didn’t get to go to the Farmer’s Market today. Your raspberry bars sound very good.

Verna, we will only be gone from Thurs-Sun (or possibly Mon.) - just a short road trip. It sounds like you have had a busy day. I’m glad that it has cooled off for you - or at least a little bit.

Barb, I planted some pink wave petunias in a planter this year, too. I like them because they fill in so nicely, drape over the planter, and last so long.

Okay, break is over and time to get back to work... sigh....

Hi, All – I had to check and see how everyone is doing, but don’t really feel much like talking.   Nothing is going right with this divorce and I think it’s gotten all of us a little down.   I’ll explain more in email.   DH has his colonoscopy tomorrow and having him have to do all this drinking of the solution, etc. is enough to drive anyone crazy.   I think normally I would take it in stride, but I’ve probably been a bit short with all his questions, etc.   He’s a typical man in a medical situation.   He never called the ortho doc until today to verify his needing antibiotics for the procedure.   We had 2 different professional people tell us no antibiotics were required if the knee replacement was further out than 1 year.   His ortho man would rather err on the side of caution and prescribes 2 different antibiotics.   It’s this last minute stuff that should have been taken care of.   Plus we had Ava all day, it was in the high 90’s and not a good day.

All I have to do is think of Marti and Joe and know how lucky we are, but some days it’s hard to get past being selfish.

Sorry for the downer, but it’s hard to be “up” on a “down” day.