Feeling Great, Overcoming Hangups, Getting Things Done

I stopped taking all thyroid medicine, and now just use a little bit of hydrocortisone now and then. I think I've always run low on it, and a little bit helps with aches and pains I'm now incurring since I feel 45 again--back when I had the energy I should have had in my 20s.

I've been working on my garage, which needed so much work I asked a handyman what it would cost to replace it. (Too much--like what they wanted to re-side it). I decided to fix it myself. Work was slow-going at first since I didn't have any energy in the morning and afternoons were too hot to work. But last week I turned a corner. A boarded-up window was rotted and I thought that as long as I had to do repairs, I might as well put in a window. Browsing online, I fell in love with a small, inexpensive vinyl double-hung and had to have it.

You never know what will inspire you.

Most window installation videos show nice, neat jobs that don't require retrofitting, or unusual situations. I have a very old garage with a non-standard size window opening in a neighborhood that sees a lot of garage break-ins. I don't have the tools or skills to do special millwork. After much research, I decided to convert my window from an "innie" (set into the building) to an "outie" (flush with the exterior).

Rotten innie. The black part at the bottom left is a hole.

Innies tend to rot where there's a lot of moisture. Not only is Indiana moist, but the wall faces the prevailing wind. "Outie" it was--which meant everything that wasn't framing (and even the rotted framing) had to go. New framing and trim meant a lot of sawing--so much that I overcame my long-time fear of circular saws and bought one.

I watched more videos, read the manual, did some practice cuts and still made some mistakes (nothing that resulted in injury)--but I should have bought one of these years ago. I even discovered a little tool that came with it that helps you quickly line up a guide board to make straight cuts.

After I knocked and pried out the rotted parts of the window, there were nails I couldn't pull--but I needed them out of the way. The wire cutters didn't work, the jigsaw didn't work: this was a job for a sawzall. Could I handle one? I had to try. Everything was torn out and there was no going back.

The reciprocating saw I bought that morning didn't cut through the nails like butter, but it did cut them and it was oddly empowering. I liked the saw so well that on my next trip to the hardware store, I bought a pruning blade for it to cut off maple limbs that are always growing over the sidewalk.

I replaced one rotted piece of framing and repaired another with wood petrifier and epoxy (the white stuff at the bottom right). I built a frame, put it in the opening, and flashed it (the flashing is the silver tape that keeps out moisture). In went the window.

New frame and old repaired frame.

That was a day's work.

Today, I made the trim, installed it and caulked everything. It still needs spray-in foam, more rot fixed, and then more caulking. And painted. Obviously, I'm no carpenter, but the window is better than what I started with.

Even a month ago, I didn't have the physical or mental fortitude to do this. I have to give a lot of credit to Dr. William Davis--I really think his program helped me a lot. This isn't meant to be a plug for him, but I'm very happy I belong to his Inner Circle program. This project wasn't a slog, like other repairs have been--I was pumped up to do it. That's a big difference from the past few years!

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Fly with Reuteri

If you're planning to travel by plane and you want to keep enjoying the benefits of l. reuteri yogurt, you might have gotten sticker shock from the price of l. reuteri probiotics. MyReuteri * costs $46 to $83 for 30 capsules, depending on the CFUs (colony-forming units, or the number of viable microorganisms). If you're thinking about economizing by putting some yogurt in a sturdy container and taking it with you, you can do that. I'll break down the pros and cons and look at some alternatives. Photo from Unsplash . Cost Yogurt might be less expensive than probiotics, but it isn't free. A half-cup serving costs about 70¢ to make if you start with a previous batch. It contains about 90 billion CFUs if fermented for 36 hours. This is a lot less than $5.56 for two capsules of 50 billion CFU MyReuteri, but for a one-week vacation, you'd only save $34 by eating yogurt instead. (You can freeze any unused capsules for later.) Furthermore, the yogurt would have to go in ...

30-second Fix for a Cracked Stick Blender

Use Mighty Fixit (if you still have some from 2012) or Rescue Tape (which looks like a similar product) to fix a cracked stick blender. After I fixed the attachment, I washed it in the sink and the tape held up. I also wrapped a knife handle several years ago, and it's been through thousands of washings.

Thanksgiving recipes for Pumpkin Pie & Cranberries--printable!

If you'd rather read a printed recipe than watch a video, here are my recent recipes for Better than Grandma's Pumpkin Pie and Probiotic Cranberry-Apple Relish. Hat tip to Dana Carpender, whose pumpkin pie recipe inspired this one. The cranberry-apple ferment is entirely my own creation. Pumpkin Pie--no grains, sugar or emulsifiers Crust 2 cups shelled raw pecans 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon monk fruit powder* (or 3 tablespoons sugar substitute) 4 tablespoons butter, melted 2 tablespoons water Pumpkin Pie Filling 1 pie pumpkin 1-1/2 cups half and half (with no thickeners) 3 eggs 3-4 teaspoons monk fruit powder* (or 3/4 cup sugar substitute) 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice Preheat the oven to 350F. Stab the top of the pumpkin all the way through the flesh in a few places at the top. Place the pumpkin on a cookie sheet and bake for 1 hour. Let cool. While the pumpkin is baking, put the pecans in a food processor with the S blade and run until they are finely...

Holiday Dinner Tip from Restaurant Pros: Limit the Menu

After watching some people online getting freaked out about trying to put on holiday dinners and getting overwhelmed to the point that they're thinking about canceling the whole thing, I thought I'd put out a restaurant tip that will help people put on a dinner with less aggravation. A big complaint among the frustrated home cooks I've seen is that family members are not contributing to the dinner. But a bigger problem I see is that their menu is just too big. One lady's family is having her make 12 dishes all by herself, and some of these dishes look pretty complicated. Watch the video here or read on. The reason this is aggravating is that more dishes mean more shopping, more prep, and more cleanup. It's hard to make several dishes that will all be ready at the same time. Even though I used to be a prep cook at a restaurant, I've put on Thanksgiving dinners myself, and I cook from scratch almost every day, there's no way I'd try to make a 12-course di...

The Inner Circle Site is a Maze!

If you're a member of Dr. Davis's Inner Circle site, you know how hard it is to navigate. But I have a YouTube Playlist of videos I've created on using the site--finding yogurt recipes, using the search function, uploading lab tests, finding which lab tests you should take, and more. All videos are under 11 minutes, the longer ones have chapters and time stamps in the description, and in about 30 minutes, you'll be navigating the site like techno-boss. Link here .

Pain, Pain, Go Away!

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