Weed Whacker

Today Larry tilled some of his garden plots, he used the weed whacker to clean the asparagus row, and he took down the martin houses to clean them out. Then I used the weed whacker to tidy up the flower bed that runs parallel to the road. The main thing I wanted gone were broom sage clumps, but I also trimmed everything except the roses and crepe myrtles (we had already done those). It looks really good, but when I use the weed whacker, my arms tremble so badly, it makes eating, drinking, smoking a challenge. I've stopped trembling, but I wonder if I will be sore tomorrow.

Cleaning

Since my cleaning girl quit, I guess it's up to me. I'm pretty sure I won't be pleased with my attempts at cleaning, either. But I used the Roomba today, washed a load of clothes, ran the dishwasher, and dusted. The problem is that I don't do everywhere, just where I notice something. Maybe I'll get better. Maybe a schedule would work.

Product Placement

I'm reading a series of political thrillers by Ben Coes. LL Bean is mentioned several times:)

Warm Enough

Today it was warm enough to sit on the front porch and look at the birds. Larry feeds them and I counted fifteen male cardinals shining in the afternoon sun. Or maybe it was warm enough because I accidentally let the fire get away from me when I was trying to burn some boxes. Larry finally connected the hose and we were able to put it out.

Cleaning Girl Quit

I've had a cleaning girl for a long time. This one has only worked for us about a year. She is in her early 20's, but is slow. If she were slow and careful, I could live with it. But she is slow and careless. She has broken several things. Last time she broke one of the lights off in the hood. So today she called and said she isn't comfortable working for me because she is worried I will sue her. I told her I wouldn't sue her over a light bulb, but maybe it is for the best that she not work for me anymore. Well, I guess I'll have to do my own cleaning. Rats. But having somebody work for me that just irritates me isn't good, either.

Words

I was listening to a book and heard a couch referred to as a chesterfield. That reminded me that that's what couches were called when I was little. Then they were called sofas and sometimes still are, but mostly they are couches now.
But that also reminded me that people used to refer to a refrigerator as a Frigidaire. That was a brand name but was kind of like people calling all soft drinks "cokes."

Lab Work

The last couple of times I've had lab work done, the results haven't come by mail before my visit to the doctor. Today is Thursday and my follow-up consult is next Wednesday. I asked if I could call the office later today to check on my A1c so I'd know if what I've been doing is all right or do I need to cut back more.
The lab tech said they used to pick up the mail in the afternoon and now they don't, but she said the A1c doesn't take long to run, did I want to wait? So I waited and my A!c was 6.0. That is up from last time, but still OK. I really like my lab tech!

Cardiolite

My husband went for pre-op and his ekg wasn't good so the doctor scheduled him for a treadmill stress test with dye and electrodes, and whatever. It took a while and he wasn't to eat or drink after midnight so this was a fun morning.
His doctor was there for the test and said he would call as soon as he got the results. Larry said we would be coming in Monday. The doctor said he wasn't as laid back about this as Larry so he was to stay by the phone.
Well, when the doctor called he said Larry's heart shows no damage and no blockage...so good!

Volunteer Mixup

I called one of our new volunteers to find out how close she is to completing requirements so she can start. She said she is waiting for the nurse to call to tell her when to come for her second tb test. I went to find the nurse to ask for a time projection. She said they have completed their first TB test and can begin serving this Friday (the day they chose) and she will hunt them down while they were there. So I called the volunteers and told them they can start this Friday and will get the second TB test then. I hope the new smocks are in by then. They should be. I'll come in to help them through their first day. Then I went to admin and asked about the third volunteer. Her background check is complete and just has to do the physical and orientation. We should have every day covered soon.

Weird Tulips

My tulips are starting to come up. Mostly they are just little pointed green things breaking through the mulch. But these two stuck buds up and opened...no stems.

I really like Flair tulips and have planted them before. But this is the first time they've looked like teacups sitting on the ground. I hope the other 98 do better.

Stir Fry

Larry made stir fry for dinner. He also made rice and bought a jar of sweet and sour sauce. He kept them separate so I could have healthy low-carb stuff that is on my diet. All the vegetable stuff was in a bag of frozen stir fry vegetables so this was a fairly easy thing to put together. He sliced and cooked the chicken first.

Deciding NOT

I wanted to have bees and ordered a hive, a used suit, and bees to be delivered in April. Then my back and my knee hurt for a couple of days and I read an article that said beekeepers have bad backs. So I decided that wanting to do something may not always depend on whether I have the money to do it. I could just decide I shouldn't do it. That is pretty difficult. But today I called and cancelled the orders. Everybody was really nice. The guy I ordered the hive from said he had broken his ankle and wrist since I last saw him! He also said he'd had both knees replaced in the past. Anyway, I should have decided on this earlier.

Ricer Idea

I bought a ricer with several discs intending to use it to make cauliflower look like rice. Today was my first effort. I managed to mash the cauliflower into a flat disc. I went ahead and ate some cauliflower with butter. Tomorrow I'll try a different disc.

Cherry Pie

Homemade crust, flaky, yummy. I love cherry pie but finding canned tart cherries packed in water was difficult. I finally ordered eight cans from Amazon. Larry looked at it and brought two cans of tart cherries packed in water he found at Kroger! We can have cherry pies any time!

Fed Up

No diet journal today. Nothing is better and I am going to make a cherry pie tomorrow. I don't think I'll lose weight or bring my blood sugar down with that. Maybe I will be in a better mood next week.

Husband's Birthday

When my neighbor's husband turned 70, his wife told me by saying she'd never slept with a 70 year old man before. Well.

Friend's Journal

I was talking to a friend who said she had decided to keep a journal but wasn't doing well. I suggested she examine each day for something good so that would be what she would remember. She said she didn't like her son-in-law and her daughter kept raving on about him when she called. I told her she shouldn't vent in the journal because when she dies, she won't want her daughter to see what she wrote and feel awful. People tell kids to vent in journals, but it really isn't a good plan for an adult. Husbands, kids would remember the bad feelings when/if they see it and it would hurt them. She was taking notes and expressed gratitude for my suggestions. Sometimes I miss teaching a lot. Mostly I'm just glad my feet don't hurt as much.

Diet Journal 2-16-16

Weight: 185
Blood Sugar: 119
1 coffee, half and half, Splenda
1 coffee, black
Atkins meal bar
pork, broccoli, margarine
chocolate coconut Atkins snack bar
coffee, black
soup

Diet Journal

 2/15/16
Weight: 185
Blood sugar: 125
waist: 40"
Large go mug of coffee, half and half, splenda
Large go mug of coffee, black
Large mug of coffee, decaf
sugar-free vanilla pudding, 1/2 cup
salad with tuna, ranch dressing
soup

Why?

"Why/" questions are hard to answer. Today's question was why did I buy two bell peppers when we'd just tossed two shriveled ones. My answer was, "They are like carrots."
"What?" Some things belong in a refrigerator because they are healthy and it's ok to eat them or put them in soup or stir-fry. I try to have stuff in the refrigerator that's healthy. I don't necessarily eat the stuff, but I need something besides peanut butter when I want a snack. So I buy vegetables and replace them.

Today's Food

I've had two mugs of coffee with half and half and Splenda, a ground-chuck patty, salad with vinegar and oil dressing, and Brussel Sprouts. For snack I had a chocolate coconut snack bar and a mug of black decaf coffee. I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to eat more frequently.

Shopping

Today I shopped for stuff on my diet for the next couple of weeks. Well, the meat should last two weeks, but the produce won't. My blood sugar has been annoyingly high so I decided to do induction level for a couple of weeks to see if the numbers come back down. I really don't want to think I'm going to have to go on medication.

Mexican Food

My friend and I were eating Mexican food and talking about the next time we go out to eat. She said her husband says he is tired of Mexican food. I told her I think I must have a part Mexican soul because Mexicans don't get tired of eating Mexican food, do they?

Repairing/patching

Larry managed to get a couple of holes in a shirt that was otherwise good. He tried to repair it with odd thread. The repair didn't hold and from the odd thread, I could tell he wasn't concerned about colors., so when he asked me if I could do something with it, I agreed. The shirt is a deep rust color. I used gray polartec pieces over and under the holes. So now there is no hole and it is thicker in case he still wants to carry the sharp thing that made the hole in the first place. I don't think it will show up very much, but gray looks ok with rust.

Snow and Ice

I didn't volunteer today because of snow and ice. We didn't get a lot, but I stayed home anyway. One idiot wasn't on the road.

Not Sleeping

Sunday night I didn't manage to sleep until after 4:30 A.M. Larry went to sleep but woke up and kept me company. But Monday night I slept just fine. I wish I knew what causes me to be so awake some nights. Mostly I'm sleeping better, but I still have some awake nights.

Looking for Spring

A tulip in my new flowerbed is trying to bloom. We are supposed to have snow so it may be early for it, but lots of them aren't up yet. Several have green tips showing, but this one has the bloom showing.

New Audio Books

Wow! This is a good month. Lois McMaster Bujold and J.D. Robb both put out new books this month. These are two of my favorite authors. I like the characters and the humor. They aren't in the comedy section, but they are really nicely skewed. I just finished Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen and enjoyed it. It wasn't what I was expecting to come next in the Vorkosigan series, but it was still interesting and entertaining.

New Volunteers

I called a couple of people yesterday who responded to a flyer we sent to several churches asking for volunteers. They came today and talked to me for a while, got their applications, and arranged to come back tomorrow to follow me around to see what they will do when their paperwork is processed. That is so encouraging.

Giving

Today at the hospital one of the patients was a bluff, jovial man with a friendly wife who had a bag of oranges. She went around giving people oranges and being kind to everyone. I couldn't help but think those two really seemed perfect together...both outgoing, friendly, and kind. I don't know what was wrong with the patient, but he certainly had a positive outlook on life.