Pain, Pain, Go Away!

Something has finally gone right in this one-thing-after-another season of home repair.  The other week, a kitchen electrical outlet went out. This week, it was the microwave. It started zapping like there was metal in it, so I decided to replace it. As a good citizen, I took it to Recycle Force, a nonprofit that recycles electronics. The place is hard to find--it's on a winding, unmarked road that looks like it's part of a different road, and today, the road was closed for construction. After a couple of two-mile trips circling back around--I was not coming back home with the microwave--I saw a little detour sign by an alley, took the detour up over some train tracks, and saw Recycle Force's sign. At least getting rid of the microwave was easier than replacing the bad outlet. It hasn't rained for weeks here, but since it's supposed to Sunday night, I decided I'd better get the garage primed Friday night so I could paint Saturday and give the paint plenty of ti...

How soy makes me feel. Fatigue, puffiness, hunger--these have been keeping me from getting much done the past few weeks. It was discouraging after I felt so well at the end of August. But when I took a look at what I was eating (Atkins bars), I saw they were full of soy protein. Soy is a thyroid inhibitor--just what I don't need. So I quit the Atkins bars and ate more real food, but got a few things from the deli. Hey, more fatty food is good, right? Not when it gives you...more fatigue, puffiness and hunger. The broccoli cheese soup and cole slaw were made with soybean oil. Into the trash they went. I was careful about what I ate today, and I'm feeling better. One good thing about COVID has been working from, and eating at, home. I had scrambled eggs and coffee for breakfast, leftover coconut curry chicken and a green salad for lunch, and the same chicken, some homemade lentil salad and homemade low-carb chocolate chip cookies for dinner. Coincidentally, someone on a chat site...

Mark's Daily Apple had a post today that ended with the author wondering about people who have done well in the pandemic. I think I've done pretty well--having my job and being an introvert have helped a lot. I'm also used to living far away from family, and I'm a homebody. Still, this year was pretty stressful  for me and I found some ways of dealing with it.  Years ago, two wise older friends both recommended ignoring overtures from a depressed former friend who wanted to reconnect. It sounded insensitive to me at the time, but they were right. Like a drowning victim, negative, depressed people can take you down with them, and crazy people can make you crazy, too. I've applied their advice continually over the past several months. Hitting unsubscribe to emails with black backgrounds. The self-flagellation will have to carry on without me. Unfollowing people who refuse on principle to wear masks. Likewise, t he fight to save our masks for Halloween will have to c...

I approached the garage this morning intending to do more repairs but saw bumblebees napping in the asters in front of it. I turned right to go around them and saw a big black and yellow spider, argiope aurantia , had built a web there. Such spiders aren't aggressive or very poisonous, but I still didn't want to disturb it.  Carefully placing the ladder to avoid the bumblebees and spider while avoiding damage to the asters, I scraped some more peeling paint and saw some areas that needed to be filled. I got down and looked at my new can of putty and saw it was actually epoxy; a video on it said you should wear a respirator while using it--and there was five- our ten-minute window to work with it once you mixed the sixteen-to-one ratio of the stuff. Too complicated--it had to go back to the store.  The electrical outlet I bought also had to go back to the same store (it was the wrong shape for the cover). In an interruption yesterday, a kitchen outlet stopped working. That's...

It's been over a year and a half since I turned 50 and got serious about solving some health problems. My stomach felt off, I was gaining weight, getting tired, having trouble concentrating, and some cavities were emerging. My visit to the dentist today found my teeth in much better shape. I skipped my spring appointment since I  was sick, and then coughing, for so long. There were a few cavities my dentist was keeping an eye on, but the x-rays apparently didn't show any need for fillings. My dentist was impressed that I was able to get off my thyroid medication; I told her a little about Dr. Davis's program--it's a lot of effort, but well worth it. I told her truthfully that I'd have ended up on disability if I hadn't gotten better.  Incidentally, my dental hygienist and neighbor, who used to comment about my being an older person, has retired --the word they used at the dentist's office. I've got to ask her if she's getting an RV or a walk-in tub t...

Maybe it was getting rid of a biofilm. Maybe it was the iodine in the kelp pills. Maybe it's the adrenal medicine. Or maybe (probably) I got rid of SIBO last year. Whatever it was (probably all of those), I've gotten my strength back. Over the weekend, I made headway on the garage, mowed the lawn--without stopping!--canned some pasta sauce, baked cookies, did the grocery shopping and got the laundry done.  Three-herb marinara. I took six pounds of roma tomatoes from my garden and blanched, cooled, peeled and chopped them. They went into three-herb marinara, made with basil and oregano I picked in the dark and Italian parsley I went to two stores to buy, along with a dab of brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.  While it simmered, I took a shower and then baked a big batch of low-carb cookies. I filled the jars with the sauce and a tablespoon of lemon juice, put them in the water bath, then put the second batch of cookies in the oven. I got to bed at midnight. This wa...

 Five minutes, and lunch is ready! 1/2 T butter 1/4 c sliced mushrooms 1-1/2 c stock 1/2 c chopped cooked chicken (no skin) 2 T nacho cheese 2 T salsa In a small soup pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat and cook the mushrooms. Chop the chicken while they're cooking. Add stock and chicken to pot and heat. Stir in the cheese and salsa and serve (or pack up for lunch).  It looks a lot like this stock photo.