Kindle

I like my Kindle DX and Larry's Kindle because I can move books onto them from other sources.  Baen Publishing, for examples, has a free library with some books that I really like. They are science fiction, fantasy, alternative history, interesting stuff.  I can put their books onto my DX (my husband would be very unhappy if I put those books on his Kindle).  But I can't put them on my Kindle Fire.  I can get free books onto it through Amazon, but they have to be free books that they offer and sometimes even when it says online that they are free, and I get an email that says $0.00 charged to me, I think I've still been charged.  I have gotten some really awful books for free.  I've gotten some good ones, but I stopped getting free ones for a long time because of just how awful some of them were.
I love my Kindle Fire because of the internet and email.  But I really like to read on my DX.

Swallowing Pills

I was having trouble swallowing one a day vitamins and calcium pills.  They are huge and not coated with anything.
So I decided that I would take my one a day vitamin with a low-dosage aspirin.  And I put the calcium pill with a B-12 vitamin and D.  It turns out that I have no trouble swallowing 2 or 3 pills, even the huge ones.  I feel like the old lady who swallowed a goat, just opened her throat and swallowed a goat.
I take the 1-a-Day vitamin and calcium because the doctor said to take 1000 units a day.  The 1-a-Day is 400 and the calcium is 600.
I take the low-dosage aspirin because all those three vegetables are high in vitamin K.  My dad and my grandmother both had strokes.
My health coach seemed to think everybody should take more vitamin D.  I said I learned in school that 15 minutes in the sun provided enough vitamin D.  She said science has advanced.

Gastric Bypass

I heard that people with gastric bypass surgery become more prone to alcoholism.  I had previously heard that the surgery got rid of type 2 diabetes so I was kind of envious.  But it is possible that a diet for type 2 diabetes is easier than fighting alcoholism! 

Fingernails

My fingernails have ridges.  I've tried getting rid of them with buffers, but if I file the ridges down until they are even with the lowest part, they are thin and tear.  They are corrugated. So I looked at the Mayo Clinic site.  Evidently ridges are one of the aspects of aging.  Well, there are worse, I assure you.
I had thought maybe taking some vitamin would help, or eating jello or something.  Not.
So now I decided to do what Aunt Jenny did.  She decided she liked them:)

I Asked the Doctor

I asked the doctor about a test for clogged arteries as I had been on the Atkins diet for several years.  I'd been eating lots of meat, cheese, eggs, saturated fats and became concerned that even though my lab results have consistently improved, perhaps my arteries were clogged.  He said he could check right then.  He put the stethoscope in various places and said I was clear.

47 mpg

The best mileage I've gotten with this car is 48 mpg.  That was on a cross-country trip.  This mileage was just fairly short runs.  I think using gas with no additives is one reason my mileage is good.  It doesn't hurt that the car itself, a Honda Civic, is gas-thrifty.  Another thing that helps my mileage is accelerating calmly.  Also, if I know I'm about to encounter a stop sign or traffic signal, I don't pass people to get to it.

On-line Catalog

Today at the hospital the phone rang in the gift shop.  It was a lady telling me that they were going to stop sending out paper catalogs and just use online catalogs.
I said we are a volunteer organization and all of us are either old or older.  I have a computer but I don't do the ordering.  The lady who does the ordering doesn't even want to use the phone so we will just get our supplies from somebody else.
She said she would make a note and continue to send us a catalog.

Peaches

Today we picked our first peaches of the season from our tree.  It doesn't get sprayed so they require trimming.  But juicy and delicious peaches are my favorite fruit except when I'm eating strawberries. 

Blog Fan

I'm a fan of blogging.  As a teacher, I pointed out to students that keeping a journal is a good idea.  It is a primary source for historians but also allows one to look back or share it later with family members.
Well, advice is well and good, but I couldn't consistently keep a journal.
I've been able to blog, though.
I know my life will not remain the same.  I will have better times and also worse times.  I want to look back at this time...what I do, who I do it with, how I felt about it when things are maybe not so good in my future.  I don't really look forward to getting really, really old...but it could happen.  I'll want to look back at our beautiful home, gardens, flowers, etc.
That doesn't mean that I think I'm going to a nursing home tomorrow.  A tornado could hit, whatever.  Pictures in an album could go up in smoke.  But I would still be able to access my blog (as soon as I managed to buy another computer after whatever disaster hits).
Nothing is certain except that things don't stay the same.  I want to remember.  My blog is for me, but I like knowing others care:)
I also like knowing others are beginning to document their lives.  Nothing stays the same.

Had Fun Fast Today

My friend and I went to lunch, then went by another friend's house.  We had chocolate chip cheesecake and coffee.  We looked at everything they'd done since we'd last been there.
Then I had a hair appointment for a trim and perm.  My hair person is very good; it isn't her fault I don't provide much for her to work with.  When I said it takes three or four minutes to wash and fix my hair and I'm willing to do that on a pretty regular basis, she just laughed.
When it cooled off, we picked blueberries and cucumbers.  Several of the tomato plants are wilting.  We don't know what's wrong, but they looked really bad.

Red Cabbage

 Larry picked two red cabbages yesterday and I canned them today.  I've done it before because Larry likes it prepared the way we had it in Germany, kind of sweet and sour.  He uses vinegar and splenda...no caraway seeds.  At first we couldn't find red cabbage in the stores.  Germany has it.  So he planted it and grew it.  We've found it since.

My slicer makes cutting it in uniform slices easy.  What isn't easy is getting every little bit of cabbage cleaned up.

Dermatologist News

I've been having to go to the dermatologist every three months because she found a melanoma.  Today she said we would go to every six months because my skin is so clear.  That was good to hear.  I came away without stitches or sprayed places:)
Larry is already on a six month schedule.

Bedtime Snack

I found a recipe for the Swiss Chard.  Start with olive oil, saute garlic and crushed red pepper.  Cut the greens into one inch strips.  Put the greens in and cover them for five minutes.  Turn it over for five more minutes, covered.

I divided it into two bowls, one for Larry and one for me.  I ate mine and his.  He doesn't like crushed red pepper or garlic.  I thought it was pretty good.  It was on my diet and didn't take long to prepare (if you don't count the time it took to grow it).  Also, it was something different. 

Swiss Chard

That pile of green leaves is Swiss chard.  I haven't eaten it, to my knowledge, but Leigh says it is good.  One seed came up, a year after we planted it.  I'm cooking it now.

I am always on the look out for a green vegetable that I like.  There aren't many, and the Atkins diet calls for lots of low-carb fiber.

Japanese Beetles

The first time I saw Japanese beetles I thought they were pretty.  I don't think so any more.

They eat roses, the buds, the leaves, green beans, crepe myrtles, everything.

Larry put out milky spores that are supposed to multiply and consume the larvae state of the beetles.  If they are, I hate to think how many we'd have without the spores.

We've also put out four bug bags.  They trap a lot of beetles, but we still have so many!

Nice Day

My diet lunch was slaw, steamed broccoli with butter, an 8 oz. steak, medium rare, and water:)
I found a suitcase at Bed, Bath, and Beyond with spinners.  I also got one of the cooling towels from them.
A sporting goods store supplied me with one of the little backpack things with a tube to drink from.
We saw Snow White. It was pretty well done.  I especially liked the settings.
Home next with the progress made on the summer kitchen.

 The one sticking out on the left is for the grill.

The rest of the metal trim is on the roof and they started building a couple of porches.  One of them is for the grill.  I have no clue what the other one is for.

Then we rode around looking at stuff.  I picked today's open gardenias and put them in the gator's glove box while we picked blueberries.

The orange lilies are finished but the others are still nice.  This one is from Paul and Ruth in Grand Bay.  We didn't know if it would survive up here, but it is doing just fine with no particular care over the winter.

Diet Aggravation

When a person is on a diet and trying hard to stay on it, sometimes other people are mean.

 I had a nice slice of Starns Deli ham, green beans, cabbage, and slaw for lunch.  I drank carbonated water with it.  Protein and lots of fiber.

My husband bought a box of lovely doughnuts.  The missing one was his snack today.  For his lunch he had potatoes from his garden, green beans, and cabbage.  He may think a plate of vegetables is dandy, but potatoes aren't good for him and protein would have kept him from getting hungry so soon afterwards.  The doughnuts are just a slower form of suicide. 

It is difficult enough for me to not buy the doughnuts myself, but to have to not eat them when they are already in the house is mean.  He didn't buy them to be mean.  He bought them to have a snack for the Amish boys who are going to come work on the summer kitchen.  But he bought extras:(

Tight Piriformis

My left hip joint isn't as flexible as it ought to be.  I started trying to search for it on the internet.  I was looking for a couple of things, including what that condition is called.  I tried doing what the video clip called for. 
But sitting on the floor with my knees bent, with the knees aimed at the ceiling, then lowering one knee to the floor, then the other, seemed to help.
I did OK with the right knee, but the left one didn't want to go all the way to the floor.  It did loosen up, though.
The photo I saw of the stretch they said was good for that showed the right foot flat on the floor (sitting in a chair) and the left ankle resting on the right knee.  Resting the hands on the left knee seemed to complete that move.  It hurts to do it.

Cabbage

 The tab that came with the little plants said the cabbages would grow to between 5 and 7 pounds.  This one is nine pounds:)

It is dense and full of water instead of dry.  Larry was even more enthusiastic than I.  He made me listen when he cut it so I could hear it make that splitting sound like a ripe watermelon does.

We made slaw out of half of it and cooked cabbage out of the other half.  Fiber:)

Hummingbirds and Honey Bees

I have a small digital camera.  Larry has a bigger one but we couldn't find the charger.  We finally just ordered another charger so these pictures are some he took with his lovely (heavy) camera.

He feeds the birds and keeps the hummingbird feeders filled.  The honey bees have recently decided the hummingbird sugar-water is an easy source of fuel for them.  Larry is delighted.  He seems to think honey bees are on the endangered list.  I'm glad he's happy.

Don't Try to Teach a Pig to Sing

Robert Heinlein said, "Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it annoys the pig."
I really wish people wouldn't get mad at people for being themselves.  It doesn't change the person, but it upsets the angry one.  Larry thinks I should help him do things.  I'm willing.  But.  I'm not willing to pay attention and try to guess what he wants me to do.  I'm not willing to pay attention to hand signals.  I'm not willing to even think about most of it.  I'll hold it or help move it, but this pig not only can't sing, but doesn't want to.

Awww, Man!

Today Larry accidentally deleted all the messages from the answering machine...all the messages that had Jonathan's baby voice and messages:(  I'm sad about it, but I'm really glad he did it, not me!

Peach Cobbler Adaptation

I used low-carb bake mix for the flour, xantham gum instead of cornstarch, and splenda instead of sugar...the filling turned out fine, but the crust wasn't great.  I think next time I'll just make half as much crust using flour.  It will have to be lower-carb than making the full amount.  The xantham gum and splenda were both ok substitutes.
My neighbor told me how to make the cobbler in the first place.  She said to use a cup of flour, a cup of milk, a stick of butter, a tablespoon of cornstarch, and some peaches.
It made a good cobbler.  After I'd been making it with various fruits for a year or so, I thought I'd try mixing the flour and milk together with the butter.  Then mix the sugar, peaches and cornstarch together, and then combine them and cook them for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
It was even better.  When I told my neighbor about my discovery, she said, "Didn't you know to do that?"
Well, no.  And it was ok just dumping in all in a sheet cake pan. 
When my husband makes this cobbler, he adds cinnamon (except once he added cumin...they both start with c and end with n). 

Sparkling Lime

I'm still happy with my SodaStream.  I like the diet root beer flavoring, but I like just carbonated water, ice, and lime juice. 

Cliches

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing well.  I think that is true for some things...surgery, accounting...whatever.  But if I try to use that to run my life, I feel obsessive-compulsive.
 I think "a lick and a promise" describes a lot of my attitude.  A stitch in time saves nine is a good one for me.
A penny saved is a penny earned is understated because tax has to be paid on a penny earned.  I guess it depends on how the penny is saved whether or not tax is required on it.

The Thing about a Diet

Today we had a lovely lunch.  The green beans, turnip greens and ham were on my diet.  We also had new potatoes from the garden in the green beans, creamed corn from our freezer, and cornbread...none of which are low-carb. 
Meat and something green is pretty well how I describe my Atkins diet although there are some variations.  If I eat meat and something green (not pistachio ice cream), I will be hungry when I'm finished.  So I have to use my brain on what is a reasonable amount to eat and just quit when I'm finished with that amount.  So after I eat, I drink 1/2 liter of water.  By the time I'm finished with the water, I'm not still hungry.
Today we had a selection of non-diet things.  I decided to eat a few bites of new potatoes and one small piece of corn bread.  When I finished, I wasn't hungry.  It was nice.  I think I miss cornbread and pizza the most.  So every six months I have a pizza; about once a month we have cornbread.  I think cornbread should have enough fiber to cancel out all the carbs, but I have found no evidence for that belief.  If there were evidence, it wouldn't be a belief, it would be a fact:)

I Like the Smells of Home

The smells aren't always the same, but today these are the smells I'm enjoying:

 The plums from our tree smell good.  The smell is on my diet:)

 The first green beans from the garden...but not our garden.  Our neighbor has bush beans and his have started bearing.  Our running rattlesnake beans are blooming but not bearing yet.

 The turnip greens are from our freezer.

We have enough gardenias blooming that I put some in the kitchen and dining area with one in the bedroom.

Third Try

I haven't had much luck staying connected today.  I'm going to try one more time.

Larry decide to use white vinyl lattice to hold up the tomatoes.  It looks nice.

I Downloaded the Bible

I was going to read to a patient who was upset and wanted somebody with her.  I talked to her for a while but it was a really one-sided conversation.  When I offered to read to her, she was agreeable.  However, it turned out she wasn't a fan of science fiction, mysteries, westerns, or action books and I couldn't bring myself to offer to read a romance out loud at all.
So today I downloaded the Bible with search function.  My Kindle Fire downloaded it just fine, but I'm having trouble getting it to download onto my Kindle DX.