karenmarie - glad to be here in 2022, part I

Welcome to my first thread of Two Thousand and Twenty-Two!

Where to begin? Pandemic going into a third year, my heart attack last November, and more hunkering down.

The Good: Family, friends, kitties, books, in constantly-rotating order. Modern medicine, too. Cardio rehab to gain strength.

The Bad and the Sad: No one is safe until everyone is safe. The unvaccinated are still ruining it for responsible people who respect public health policies. The social and political rift among people in the US is more entrenched and apparent than ever.

The Ugly: Supposedly law-abiding Republicans flouting laws because all of a sudden it’s okay to do so, encouraged by top members of the Gang of Psychos. The Republican Party continuing to evolve into The Gang of Psychos.

I am so glad I’m retired, and am beyond grateful that I don’t have to venture out to work to earn a living ever again. I’ve paid my dues. Every day I don’t have to get up to an alarm is a cause for celebration.

I read and am a charter member of the Redbud and Beyond Book Club, started in 1997. We haven’t met since March of 2020, met July 11th of last year and decided to ramp back up in September. However, Delta and Omicron have put the kibosh on those plans. I am President for our local Friends of the Library (henceforth abbreviated FoL). The Board still meets enough times to keep in compliance with the By-Laws, but nothing much is happening. We have tentative plans for a book sale in late March 2022, but who knows if that will happen.

I have been married to Bill for 30 years and am mother to Jenna, 28, who lives in Asheville now. Bill and I live in our own little corner of paradise on 8 acres in central North Carolina USA. Last year we got a planned-for new roof and new gutters, and TWO not-planned-for new hot water heaters.

We have three kitties. Inara – 14 1/2, Zoe - 3, Wash – 2. Jenna took the fabulous picture of Wash.



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Nephew Ryan, niece Heather, sister Laura, Jenna, and yours truly at Disneyland circa 1998.



My goal last year was 100 books and I exceeded it by 3. This year’s goal will be reduced to 75. I haven’t been in much of a reading mood since my heart attack and setting a lower goal will keep the stress down. If I exceed it, great, if I just meet it, great, too. I’m going to reduce my pages read goal proportionally, to 25000 pages per year.

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Poetry is not a go-to genre by any means, however, I am going to choose a short new poem for each new thread. For this first thread I’m going to include a poem scribbled on a piece of scrap paper by a college friend many years after college, circa 1986. It has always spoken to me even though I’ve lost touch with Jimmy over the years.

Just a moment of serenity
Comes & radiates like the sun
What is eternity?
All the days to come?
The house of bliss
In summer brings the rain
And joy is his
When love is all maintained.

My heart is overcome
By friends upon friends
Trying to relieve my intentions
“They will come around”
Can we ever judge for ourselves
Or is it only our social contacts
To live alone may find the truth.

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2022 - it has to be better than 2020 and 2021, right?

Books Read
1. The Guncle by Steven Rowley 12/19/21 1/2/2022 324 pages hardcover
2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling 9/29/21 1/6/22 audiobook 19 hours
3. Some Die Nameless by William Stroby 1/3/22 1/12/2022 337 pages hardcover

Currently Reading:

The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray 1/16/22 347 pages Kindle - borrowed from Library
Should We Stay or Should We Go by Lionel Shriver 1/14/22 266 pages hardcover
An Elderly Lady Is Up To No Good by Helene Tursten 1/12/22 174 pages Kindle 2018
My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk 1/8/22 413 pages trade paperback 2001
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 1/7/22 audiobook 21.5 hours 2007
How To Be Champion by Sarah Millican 1/2/22 296 pages trade paperback 2017
Run with the Horsemen by Ferrol Sams 1/23/21 422 pages trade paperback 1982
The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race by Walter Isaacson 10/16/21 489 pages hardcover 2021

Adds. Last year was supposed to be a year of controlling my insatiable need for books, but I fell off the wagon big time. 316 books acquired last year, which was ridiculously high compared to the previous year's 128.

I won't make any promises for this year although I don't anticipate any Friends donations that make their way to my shelves (with permission of the donors).

1. Kindle - An Elderly Lady Is Up To No Good by Helene Tursten and Marlaine Delargy
2. Amazon - The Longevity Plan by Dr. John D. Day and Jane Ann Day
3. Amazon - My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk
4. Amazon - Should We Stay Or Should We Go by Lionel Shriver
5. Kindle - Sam by Lonnie Coleman - RD
00 The Book of General Ignorance: Everything You Think You Know Is Wrong by John Mitchinson - bought December, just added to catalog
6. Amazon - Faithless in Death by J.D. Robb
7. Amazon - Forgotten in Death by J.D. Robb
8. Kindle - Walking on the Ceiling by Aysegül Savas
9. Jenn - A good scent from a Strange Mountain by Robert Olen Butler

Culls. Last year I culled 72. While looking for some books for friend Louise today I saw two very poor quality mass market paperbacks that I should cull... perhaps I can focus on culling unreadable books if they don't hold sentimental or intrinsic value, of course.

I am toying with the idea of culling a book for every book I acquire. Toying only, but I did just find 3 mass market paperbacks with print too small or too yellowed.

1. Kissing the Gunner's Daughter by Ruth Rendell
2. Artists in Crime by Ngaio Marsh
3. A Dark Adapted Eye by Barbara Vine (pseudonym for Ruth Rendell)
4. Some Die Nameless by Wallace Stroby reasonable, but not enough to award it permanent shelf space

2021 Statistics

103 books read
28 of them on my shelves before 01/01/2021 and not rereads
19 books abandoned, 1317 pages abandoned
31723 pages read
47 audiobook hours
Avg pages read per day, YTD = 87
Avg pages read per book, YTD = 308

Book of the month: 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard

Books By Month
January 6 books, 1665 pages
February 10 books, 3790 pages
March 13 books, 3609 pages
April 10 books, 2426 pages
May 10 books, 2894 pages
June 15 books, 3379 pages
July 7 books, 2165 pages
August 9 books, 2982 pages
September 9 books, 2942 pages
October 8 books, 2797 pages - 7 books recorded as abandoned, 327 pages
November 3 books, 1076 pages
December 3 books, 697 pages

Author
Male 57%
Female 43%

Living 62%
Dead 38%

US Born 64%
Foreign Born 36%

Platform
Hardcover 45%
Trade Pback 21%
Mass Market 21%
Audiobook 2%
e-Book 11%

Source
My Library 85%
Library 11%
Other 4%

Misc
ARC/ER 1%
Re-read 18%
Series 57%

Fiction 89%
NonFiction 11%

New to Me Authors 40

Author Birth Country
England 20%
Germany 1%
Ireland 4%
Jordan 1%
Scotland 7%
Spain 1%
US 64%
Wales 2%

Original Decade Published
1890s 1%
1910s 1%
1920s 2%
1930s 2%
1950s 6%
1960s 17%
1970s 3%
1980s 4%
1990s 8%
2000s 15%
2010s 22%
2020s 19%

Category
Adventure 2%
Biography 0%
Chrestomathy 0%
Contemporary Fiction 8%
Fantasy 10%
Historical Fiction 5%
Humor 1%
Informational Nonfiction 10%
Memoir 1%
Mystery 35%
Poetry 1%
Science Fiction 0%
Suspense 0%
Thriller 27%


Book Acquisition Date
2007 - Joined LT, added 1853 books 16
2008 1
2009 1
2010 1
2012 2
2016 4
2017 3
2018 8
2019 2
2020 6
2021 45
borrowed from friends 3
Library 11

Rating
2.5 - Average 1
3 - Good 6
3.5 - Very Good 28
4 - Excellent 51
4.5 - Stunning 17

November and December’s Lightning Round

A Perfectly Good Family by Lionel Shriver 10/29/21 11/4/21

Told from the viewpoint of the middle sibling of three, Corlis, when she returns home from living in London after their mother dies. The family house is on the chopping block because the father’s will left ¼ to the ACLU and the mother never changed her will to override that bequest. The brothers are estranged and diametrically opposite in temperament and philosophy. This is a dense, emotion-packed, introspective and philosophical book by an author I love. This book is beautifully written, capturing, in exaggerated scenes, the family dynamic. Once again I’m reminded that each child in a family has a different childhood.

Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart 11/4/21 11/9/21

Historical fiction based on the true story of the Kopp Sisters. An accident with their buggy and horse and Henry Kaufman’s car causes eldest sister Constance to stand up for her family, provoking Henry into retaliation. I found the book a quick read, with vivid characters, places, and pacing.

The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan 11/17/21 11/27/21

First in the Cormac Reilly series, a complex story intertwining events from Cormac’s first year on the force with current day events in his new posting in Galway. A suicide that might not be a suicide, linked back to the first case, suspicions of a fellow officer. Well done, if a bit overcomplicated.

Shattered by Dick Francis 11/28/21 12/4/21

Rather formulaic story of a non-racing person caught up in nefarious racing activities. Not much else to say, except the bits about glass blowing were fascinating.

56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard 12/5/21 12/11/21

Very well done thriller with the author teasing us into believe one set of things when another set is the truth. I didn’t like the confusion of going backward different numbers of days and across narrators, but the story held my interest to the end, and the end was absolutely shocking.

If You Exist: In Search of a Reader Deep in the Future by Lillian Moats 12/11/21 12/13/21

Contemplative philosophical essay with chapters, written to a theoretical descendent of homo sapiens living in some undetermined time in the future. The discussion of the things that are destroying our planet and our humanity are presented with the hope that they’ve been solved or are being worked on in the future. Moats’ re-defining of Gathers and Hunters is a useful construct – Gatherers gather in people of all races, genders, sexes, politics, etc. Hunters exclude and ‘hunt’ people of other races, genders, sexes, and ‘other politics’ to prevent them from obtaining or keeping resources and power. Thought provoking, gently written, a tad repetitive.

103 books read

0 Masterpiece
17 Stunning
51 Excellent
28 Very Good
6 Good
1 Average
0 Bad
0 Very Bad
0 Don't Bother
0 Anathema

Best Fiction
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine
Widow of the South by Robert Hicks
Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley
The Mandibles: A family, 2029 – 2047 by Lionel Shriver

Best Nonfiction
Killing Lincoln by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard
Ties That Bound: Founding First Ladies and Slaves by Marie Jenkins Schwartz
Never Caught by Erica Armstrong Dunbar
A Promised Land by Barack Obama
Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit

Top five overall for the LT Top Five Books of 2021 list:
An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine
Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley
Killing Lincoln by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard
Ties That Bound: Founding First Ladies and Slaves by Marie Jenkins Schwartz
A Promised Land by Barack Obama

…

And here I am, stubborn as usual, starting my 2022 75 journey on January first.

Welcome, dear friends.

This group always helps me to read; welcome back to the group, Karen

Hi Paul! Thank you. Sharing with you on your thread and sharing with you on my thread always make me happy.

I love the image, and had literally just gone back to my first thread of 2017 to find my personal rule for your #1 to post on Richard's first thread:

"If for any reason you don't want to continue reading a book, put it down. You may keep it, get rid of it, re-start it, never finish it, finish it from where you left off, but put it down." A different way of saying it is that I abandon books with glee if they're not working for me.

Happy reading in 2022, Karen!

>1 karenmarie: Lovely pictures of the kitties.
And yes, wishing for a better 2022!

>9 karenmarie: I started my thread in the last hour of 2021. Plenty of time to work things out, as the fireworks went on until after 2. I finally could go to sleep at 2:30.

Hi Anita, and thank you!

I had insomnia and woke up at 4 a.m. After playing with the kitties and trying to get back to sleep, I finally gave up and came downstairs at 5. I was excited to get my thread going. I'm going to slowly catch up with threads - there were 1,054 messages to go through when I started this morning.

Hello there and happy new year! Cute kitty pictures. :)

Happy New Thread, Karen. I love the Best of List, including the graphic. I have wanted to read An Unnecessary Woman for years. I need to track a copy down. I also loved Life of Pi.

>14 ursula: Hi Ursula, and thank you. Thanks re the kitties, too. They were pretty excited when I opened the kitty door when it got light this morning - we keep them in and it locked at night. They were hovering around where I hang out, trying to get me to open it when it was still dark, but went out as soon as I opened it.

>15 msf59: Hi Mark, and thank you. I made the graphic myself, so thank you for that. An Unnecessary Woman blew me away. You'll love it when you get to it. And I had Life of Pi on my shelves before I joined LT in 2007... only took me 14 years to get to it!

Happy new thread, Karen and happy new year. May 2022 be a better year than the past 2. Really, it's time!

Love the photos, as always.

Happy New Year!

Happy new year, Karen! Glad you’re back with us for another.

>17 jessibud2: Thank you, Shelley! My goodness, yes, it would be so good to be able to look back on 2022 as an improvement over 2020 and 2021. Thanks re the photos.

>18 SandDune: Hi Rhian! Thank you.

>19 drneutron: Hi Jim, and thank you twice. I must admit that I was chomping at the bit to get my thread started this morning, being stubborn and only coming over here this morning.

Morning, Karen! Great kitty photos! Jenna got a great shot of Wash - what pretty eyes he has.

Hi Mamie! Good morning to you, too. Thanks re the kitty photos. Jenna has a particularly good eye for framing good photos and is patient in getting just the right shot.

I'm going to go visit friend Louise this afternoon, taking a box of Pecan Puffs and some books for her to read. Last time I apparently choose too much contemporary ficiton, *smile*, so this time I'm trying to mix it up a bit more.

Happy New Year from me n Miss Po!

Happy new year and new thread, Karen!

Happy New Year, Karen.

>22 karenmarie: *feels a sharp and severe lack of Pecan Puff-age*

Horrible, your pleasure in If You Exist warms me.

In spite of a severe lack of Pecan Puff-age that someone else is glorying in.

Welcome to 2022, Karen. Take heart, a good many of those 1000+ posts on other people's threads are holiday greetings and can be skimmed. I hope you have some 5 star reads this year!

I'm glad to see you've set up shop here, Karen (and totally understand waiting until today, btw). Hope you have a nice, relaxing, stress-free day.

Happy HEALTHY New Year, Karen. I was so sad to read about your heart attack in November. That is scary for sure. It looks like you are back on the path to better health.

I read An Unnecessary Woman in 2014 and loved it. I am trying to reduce the size of my library, but that is one I will snap up if and when I see it at a library book sale. It is most definitely reread worthy.

LOL to "Do I need more book?" YES!! It's gonna be a good year.

Happy 2022, Karen! Looking forward to any shared reads we can shoehorn into this year!

I am so glad I’m retired, and am beyond grateful that I don’t have to venture out to work to earn a living ever again. I’ve paid my dues. Every day I don’t have to get up to an alarm is a cause for celebration.

Amen to that!

Aha! Karen, I finally got here to wish you a Happy 2022, gaining strength, reading great books, and enjoying life to the fullest.

Love the feline toppers! Have a great year of reading!

>23 sibylline: Hi Lucy, and thanks to you and Miss Po!

>24 katiekrug: Thank you, Katie!

>25 BLBera: Thanks, Beth!

>26 richardderus: Hiya, RD! Pecan Puffs are quite wonderful, as you know, whether they’re called Mexican Wedding Cakes, Russian Tea Cakes, or Pecan Puffs. If You Exist was a definite pleasure, even though you’re experiencing a severe lack of Pecan Puffs. *smooch*

>27 laytonwoman3rd: Hi Linda! Yes, lots of skimming has occurred. But there are occasional nuggets hidden in an easily skimmable message, so gotta make some kind of effort, right?

Alas, there were no 5* reads for me last year. I am very stingy with 5 stars. I have 7 books with a 5* rating out of a current total of 5,223. One of the books is informational nonfiction – Old Southern Apples by a local man, Lee Calhoun. My last 5* read was a Library Book - The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai in February of 2019, so almost 3 years ago.

>28 lauralkeet: Hi Laura, and yes, I’m a January 1 thread starter. Today’s been good. Thank you.

>29 Donna828: Hi Donna! Good to see you here. It was scary, and I’m taking lots of new drugs and going to cardio rehab 3 times a week through the end of February. Yay for An Unnecessary Woman.

>30 Berly: Hi Kim! Thank you, and glad you like my funnies.

>31 alcottacre: Thank you, Stasia, I loved our shared read of Girl Waits With Gun last year and hope to get one shared read in this month for sure. I love being retired…

>32 ffortsa: Hi Judy! Thank you. I ate a few too many cookies today, but actually lost a bit of weight over Christmas week. Tomorrow I’m not going to have any sweets and will do some home stretches given to me by the cardio rehab team.

>33 thornton37814: Hi Lori! Nice to see you here. Thanks re my kitties.

…
I made some relatively low-sodium grilled boneless/skinless chicken thighs. Bill liked them better than I did, but I’ll take the recipe and tweak it a bit, I think.

Then we watched an episode of Midsomer Murders (we’ve started all over again, season 1) and an episode of Murder in Paradise. We then tuned into the last 10 minutes of the Rose Bowl Game, which had an amazing finish.

Now it’s off to try to finish The Guncle and then hit the sheets.

Hi Karen! Happy New Year, and Happy New Thread!

Have a great reading year, and that means reading for pleasure. You first introduced me to the rule of letting books go when they aren’t working for you, and I am really glad for it!

Happy new year!

>34 quondame: Hi Susan. Admirable sentiment, with books. Perfect.

>36 EllaTim: Hi Ella, Happy New Year to you, too. That makes me feel good - so glad you can let books go when they're not working for you. For me it's a great stress reducer besides freeing me up to read good ones.

>37 figsfromthistle: Hi Anita, and thank you.

...
Not a particularly good night, pain wise, and I Woke Up To The Alarm This Morning, set to make sure I take my life-saving meds on schedule.

Ah, that first sip of coffee.

I didn't quite finish The Guncle last night because I didn't want to rush reading the ending, so that will be my first order of business this morning. No plans for today except to watch football. Panthers play at 4:25 and if we can get it, I'd like to watch the Chief play at 1.

Morning, Karen. Happy Sunday. We didn't get slammed as hard with the snowstorm. Maybe 3-4 inches, but it does finally look like winter out there. I am getting ready to get out there and clear the driveway. I picked up a new snowblower a few months ago. I plan on visiting Jackson today and watch the Bears game over there. Sue is still recovering. I hope your Panthers can finally win one. I am sure the Chiefs will.

Morning, Karen! Sorry last night was not good with the pain. But hooray for coffee. I am having tea because no caffeine, but the end is in sight - just 8 more days to go.

>39 msf59: Morning Mark, and happy Sunday to you, too. I just finished posting on your thread... Glad you only got 3-4". Yay for the Jackson visit. Go Bears! Go Chiefs! Go Panthers!

>40 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie, and thanks. I was wondering about when the no caffeine/alcohol regimen was ending. 8 days is totally doable, and good for you, even if it started out with the flu.

So sorry about the rough night, Karen. I'm glad you can take it easy today...

Thanks, Katie! So far it's coffee and LT, and I've pulled out The Daily Jane Austen, which I forgot to do yesterday. It's a book with one quote per day and I'm already up to date. Should be pretty easy to get through although I still have go back and read the intro.

>43 karenmarie:. Oo, The Daily Jane Austen intrigues me. I get daily Zen wisdom from a calendar, but hers would be welcome.

Happy New Year, Karen! Love the photos of your furry pals.

I’n happy that you’re reading The Code Breaker. How are you liking it so far? Kath (mcstay) and I were just talking about how we wish everyone would read it. The future is upon us.

Best wishes for ‘22 being a wonderful reading year.

Hi Joe, and thank you! Happy New Year to you, too. Thanks re the photos of our kitties.

Speaking of The Code Breaker, I just put it back on the desk. It was moved to the Little Yellow Table for a while. Zoe Rose, with little room left on the table, manages to find a place to snooze.



I'm liking the book very much, just been distracted since the middle of November. The writing is engaging and the science presented for a laywoman. I'll read a chapter today after finishing The Guncle.

Thank you, regarding my reading year. I've lowered my goal so I won't get stressed if I don't attain it, but reading's a joy and I'll definitely pick some good'uns this year, for sure, with the help of my fellow LTers.

>35 karenmarie: Well, you've handed me my first disappointment of the reading year---I went hunting for Old Southern Apples and discovered I can't have it for much under $200.00. So hug that signed copy of yours!

Oh, my goodness, Linda. I didn't realize how valuable this book is... I'm sorry you can't find a reasonably-priced copy.

Hallooo Karen. I've made less progress through the new threads than I would like. But it is what it is. I did finish one book in this new year, and I'm engaged in two others. I do want to get my ass in gear and build that bookcase. More active action actually.

I like that your kitty is snuggled in with some books.

Happy New Year, Karen! I hope it will bring you better health and lots of good reading.

Howdy do, smoochling. Drink that coffee! No better antidepressant than that on a winter's day.

I've got three books on the go, and one of them's a damned great bully & won't let me settle in to the other two. He just muscles back into my brain and re-opens the Kindle to where I left him!

If only I didn't love him so much.

Happy new year! Happy reading! I gave myself lots of leeway related to reading last year and can recommend it: numbers and challenges are good but so is just having fun reading what you like.

I have you to thank for Dick Francis. I enjoyed many of his books last year as part of the shared read and just in general. I agree that Shattered wasn't one of his best but I love how he explores a topic like glass blowing and integrates it in the story.

The amounts predicted for us tonight range from 2 to 8 inches. I think most are predicting near 4.5 to 5 inches for my town based on the latest models. It's supposed to be the wet heavy kind of snow. I'll probably regret not putting ice melt on the drive, but I'm hoping the warm temps of the past few days will keep the drive from getting too bad. I don't really need to go anywhere until Thursday so I should be good.

>48 weird_O: Hi Bill, and thanks for the visit. Congrats on one book finished - I finished one myownself and am publishing my review below. Get cracking on the book case and publish a picture of it - if you build it, we will come.

Glad you liked the picture of Zoe Rose. I wasn't expecting to find her there when I went to bring The Code Breaker back to the desk and was charmed.

>49 cbl_tn: Thank you, Carrie!

>50 richardderus: Hiya, RD! Three books, with one bully of a book who demands all your time. Put him in his place by powering through. I'll be anxious to read your review of this tyrant.

>51 witchyrichy: Hi Karen, and thank you. I've become much more careful about accepting challenges, participating in shared reads, and setting own personal challenges. Right now I'm only committed to the January Asian Authors Challenge and will read My Name is Red, and reading one of two books with Stasia this month if I can get organized and fit into her schedule.

I'm glad you participated in the Dick Francis SHARED Read, glad you liked the books. Yes, Shattered wasn't the best, but I agree that when he integrates a topic he does a good job.

>52 thornton37814: Hi Lori! I hope you don't get too much snow. Me, personally, I'd like to get a dusting or two. However, thinking about it, I don't want to get so much that I can't get to rehab.

1. The Guncle by Steven Rowley 12/19/21 1/2/2022





From Amazon:

Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP, for short), has always loved his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant. That is, he loves spending time with them when they come out to Palm Springs for weeklong visits, or when he heads home to Connecticut for the holidays. But in terms of caretaking and relating to two children, no matter how adorable, Patrick is, honestly, overwhelmed.

So when tragedy strikes and Maisie and Grant lose their mother and Patrick's brother has a health crisis of his own, Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian. Despite having a set of "Guncle Rules" ready to go, Patrick has no idea what to expect, having spent years barely holding on after the loss of his great love, a somewhat-stalled acting career, and a lifestyle not-so-suited to a six- and a nine-year-old. Quickly realizing that parenting--even if temporary--isn't solved with treats and jokes, Patrick's eyes are opened to a new sense of responsibility, and the realization that, sometimes, even being larger than life means you're unfailingly human.

With the humor and heart we've come to expect from bestselling author Steven Rowley, The Guncle is a moving tribute to the power of love, patience, and family in even the most trying of times.

Why I wanted to read it: I read Lily and the Octopus last year simply because I loved the title. It was so good that I wanted another book by Rowley.

A woman dies of cancer, leaving behind two hurting children, a hurting uncle, a husband addicted to pills as he tried to cope with her illness and death, and the unusual situation where Maisie and Grant come to stay with GUP. GUP’s unorthodox approach to keeping the children alive and safe heals them all.

GUP has money to throw at situations. GUP has the unorthodox house and lifestyle to engage Maisie and Grant. GUP provides unexpected reactions. GUP also provides a pink Christmas tree, a dog, and the tenacity to hold off GUP’s sister Clara when she comes to visit and nearly disrupts the entire fragile experiment of GUP and his niece and nephew.

The emotions ring true, the situations are reasonable, especially for Palm Springs, and I was a combination of sad and happy when it ended. Sad that there was no more book, happy that it ended up in such a satisfactory way.

Six word review: Helping your family can heal yourself.

>52 thornton37814: I'd rather get dumped on rather than get so little it is disappointing. I would not want so much that power outages become an issue though.

Karen, I love your opening statements!

Congratulations on reading 103 books in 2021. And, congratulations of adding more books, and giving some away!

I think of you and send continued prayers for good health.

One of the good things of for the most part, being home bound, is that I read more books from my own library in 2021. I didn't go to Barnes and Noble often, but when I did, I bought some books.

I curtailed getting books from the local library. I did hit the Thriftbooks.com site often, and because their used books are categorized, and I've only received a poor condition books once.

I very much like your review, and The Guncle by Steven Rowley is now on the TBR list.

Hi Karen and Happy New Year! I hope 2022 is a good one.

I love the photos of the kitties. Jenna's pic of Wash shows his collection of toys. Cracks me up as our living room floor is littered with toys for Carson. He has his favorites, but we leave several out for him just in case.....

Happy 2022, Karen! I’ve found you and look forward to following along this year.

>55 thornton37814: We get power outages at the drop of the hat although we do have a generator. I wouldn’t want to get too much snow because the secondary roads take a while to get plowed and we can’t get out safely.

>56 Whisper1: Thank you, Linda. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

It’s nice to like to get books and then be able to read from our own libraries – not everybody feels this way, but you and I seem to, along with Stasia, and Paul, among others.

I stopped getting books regularly from the Library when I started owing enough in fines that I could have bought the books. That was a long time ago and our Library is fine-free now, but still. The mindset of keeping track of Library books has escaped me for the most part. However, I surprise myself – 11 of last year’s 103 were from the Library. I think 4 or 5 of them were e-book downloads that I read on my Kindle.

Thanks re my review of The Guncle. I hope you like it when you get a chance to read it.

>57 EBT1002: Hi Ellen! Thank you. I hope your 2022 is a good one too. Retirement year, right?

Thanks re the kitties. And the toys… they are all over the place. Funnily enough, Wash’s favorite toy is a water/soda bottle cap. I use old soda/water bottles for water and if I forget and leave a cap off, he grabs it and it becomes a toy. We also spend money on real kitty toys, too, however. I accidentally threw away Zoe's Favorite Toy. Bill was not amused, and found something close that's due to arrive in the next day or so. He's a big softie when it comes to the kitties - Zoe without her favorite toy? Perish the thought.

>58 Copperskye: Hi Joanne! Good to see you here. I'm hoping for another good reading year, NOT interrupted with heart attacks.

...
Well, the Chiefs, Panthers, AND Cowboys lost. Disgusting.

I’m off to find another fiction book – I’ve got a couple going but right now neither one suits.

Karen, a new thread that I set up you might find of interest: https://www.librarything.com/topic/338329

Thank you, Stasia! I'll definitely post to it, although I probably won't post my weight - heck, when I go to cardio rehab they weigh me but I don't look. I have a scale that you can 'set' at your starting weight. It reports gains and losses only. I didn't 'set' it when I first came from the hospital, but I did set it in the middle of December and I've lost 10 lbs since then.

Insomnia, but because we had lightning and thunder and heavy rain about 4 a.m. The bedroom has a skylight - great for every time except a huge nighttime thunderstorm.

I've posted to the thread Stasia created - Here's to Our Health in 2022 - and will stop talking about my health issues here and try to minimize posting about them even there. It's about time, almost 2 months after my heart attack.

I've picked a fun nonfiction book - How To Be Champion by Sarah Millican - and started reading it last night. Laugh out loud bits, along with good advice.

I need to find the right fiction book. That's the challenge for today.

Hmm, six word reviews … I like that!

Morning, Karen. Only single digits out there. No birding or hiking for me today. I do have a few errands to run, though, which includes more bird seed. I had a great time hanging out with Jackson yesterday and getting to watch a rare Bears win. I see the Panthers got edged out and that the Chiefs were upset by the Bengals. That was a surprise.

I see you were up very early. I hope you can get a nap in later.

>63 ursula: I forget where I saw the idea, Ursula, but I really like it. It doesn't always work out well, but this time I liked what I wrote.

>64 msf59: 'Morning, Mark! Brrr. We're at 43F, down from 58F at 5 a.m. when I came downstairs. We have had 3" of rain since midnight and are going to get more rain and quite possibly a few snowflakes between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Temps are supposed to drop further to 34F soon.

I need wild bird seed, sigh, but I need to get the trash can cleaned out - somehow or another damp got in and it's a mess. I've been filling both bird feeders with sunflower seeds and need to do that again today.

Yes, I was happy to see your Bears win, and watched the Panthers do a bunch of stupid things after the first quarter, naturally, after scoring on their first two drives of the game and nothing after. Cam Newton came in for one play, ran for a first down, then stood on the sideline complaining about a hurt finger.

Yay for getting to see Jackson yesterday. We watched the Chiefs game and were disappointed.

I was up the other day early, too, and couldn't figure out why I was extra tired by 8 p.m., entirely forgetting that I was up 3-4 hours early. We'll see about a nap today, because it sounds like a wonderful idea.

edited to add:

I think I'm going to try a thriller by Wallace Stroby - anybody read him? I have 6 by him on my shelves, given to me as part of last January's Friends donation. Some Die Nameless gets 4.9* here on LT, although that's only 5 reviews.

I do love the first paragraph, though:

The storm caught Devlin out on the Intracoastal just before dark. The rain was light at first, only pebbling the surfacing, then lashing down in staggered sheets that moved like ghosts across the water.

Good morning Karen!

I like that setting on your scale which reports gains and losses only. After all, that's what merits attention, not the weight itself. Congratulations on making such excellent progress already.

On the subject of backyard birds, I have this vague memory that you use a brand of suet that does not appeal to squirrels. Or have I imagined that? I'd love to know the type or brand so I can look for something similar.

Have a great day!

Hi Laura!

Nothing like burying my head in the sand, right? But for now net loss is what matters. I do know what my weight was from the cardiologist visit in December, accidentally seen on the after-visit summary they gave me, but I'm not telling, *smile* and I tend to forget it most times.

I did buy hot pepper suet, which is sitting forlornly on a shelf in the pantry. The birds absolutely would not touch it after a sample peck. However, it seems to get good reviews. Here's what I bought: Hot Pepper Suet

Oh, the birds didn't like it? Well that's problematic! I guess I won't buy a ten-pack to start with then ha ha. I'll see what our local Southern States has available, next time I'm there. Thanks for the info!

Morning, Karen! Your current read sounds good, and I love the quote that you posted from it.

I wonder why the local birds wouldn't eat pepper. They can't, according to biologists, perceive capsaicin...what could've put them off?

Bet the squirrels enjoy it. Perverse things.

Happy rehabbing! Don't get snowed on. The Weather Goddess needs a spanking for waking you up, anyway.

>61 karenmarie: Curious as to the make of the scale? I would be interested in getting one!

>70 richardderus: I wish I knew about the birds, RD. The squirrels get burned by capsaicin, hence the suet being laced with it to deter them. I felt a little bad but not hugely bad when I watched one squirrel take a bite and make unhappy/pain sounds. Little fuckers.

When I had gotten dressed and came back into the Sunroom to grab cell phone and a mask it was seriously snowing. I yelled “Bill, snow!” We watched it for a few minutes then I left. I had to have the wipers on double time – that’s how heavy it was snowing. Alas, by the time I got out it had stopped snowing and the snow was almost completely melted. I was inside for almost the entire event, trudging away on the treadmill, using 3-lb weights, then stretching. Grrrr. We got 3.15” rain since midnight, which should help the moderate drought condition we’re in.

I bumped the pace by .1 again to keep my heart rate 20+ points above starting. It wasn’t hideously hideous today for some reason. I was proud.

>71 alcottacre: Quantum brand, but I apparently didn't buy it on Amazon lo, these many years ago. It looks like the model # is CR2032, from a number that's inside the battery compartment, but I'm not 100% sure of that.

Here's a link to the concept on Amazon: Quantum scale although it is apparently currently unavailable.

Looks like Ozeri has weight change detection technology, but I'm not sure that that brand won't show your weight AND the net change.

>72 karenmarie: I can't muster much interest when mice make those little squealy sounds as Death approaches. Same diff...squirrels are mice with perms.

It's a shame you weren't able to appreciate the snows a bit more, but I'm glad you didn't have to drive back in snowy slush! And looka you go, upping your difficulties and still smashin' it! If anyone can make this congenital heart horror flee screaming, it's you. Stubbornness has its upsides!

I agree, RD, even more so as I have three mice killing machines and am always pleased when they do their job.

Funny story - I may have mentioned it here on LT at one point or another, but for the first 20 years we lived here the squirrels were around but not overly abundant. I thought we just lucked out, frankly. Then, all of a sudden, there was an explosion in the squirrel population early 2017 or so. I mentioned this to friend Louise, who sort of smiled and said that until he got dementia bad enough for her to take his pellet gun away, her husband Harold used to kill any and all squirrels that had the nerve to show up on their property. He went into a memory unit in 2017, died in 2018, and there was nobody around who performed the same service for the neighborhood.

Like I said, little fuckers..

It's blue skies with puffy white clouds now. Tonight will get to 23F. No slush on the way home, not one single shady area with one single snowflake. I would like some snow before the end of winter, but it has to be a Friday-Sunday event so as to not interfere with rehab.

Thanks re my efforts at rehab today. Yup, my stubbornness may pay off.

Karen--Gunkle sounds like fun! Sorry about the birdseed/squirrel issue. Hope you get better sleep tonight and stubbornness has its virtues. : )

Hi Kim!

i really enjoyed The Guncle. It was a poignant and emotional and funny book, all rolled up into one.

Right now I'm not having problems with squirrels getting to the birdseed, fortunately.

Thanks re my getting better sleep tonight. Fingers crossed.

I hope you are waking up now after a good night sleep, Karen.

Morning, Karen. Sue is still struggling with this cold, so she is staying home this week. It warms up a bit today, into the 30s, so I plan on getting out for a walk. I saw a rabbit under the feeders earlier, it was still dark. I have not seen one in a while. A couple of doves perched on the birdbath and a lone cardinal, out there at the moment.

>77 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita! I woke up about 20 minutes ago after a rough beginning but eventually good night's sleep. Morning stiffness and pain, which will ease when I get some pain meds in me. Thank you for asking.

>78 msf59: 'Morning, Mark, and happy Tuesday to you. I'm sorry Sue's still struggling with the cold, glad it's not COVID, obviously. Enjoy your walk! I haven't seen a bunny lately either, come to think of it, but right now there are 6 Cardinals alternately in the Crepe Myrtle and on the feeders, a house finch zipped in for a minute to grab a sunflower seed, and when I came into the Sunroom a few minutes ago a male Red-Bellied Woodpecker was on the suet feeder. Nobody's on the bird bath. We had so much rain yesterday that they all got baths and filled up, I'm sure.

...
Bill and I are going to run an errand or two in town, then get takeout from John's Pizza. I'll get a grilled chicken salad. I remember theirs as being just as good ad Elizabeth's, which is now closed on Tuesdays.

The Stroby book, Some Die Nameless, is starting out good, with an attempted murder and much mystery.

Morning, Karen! I was here yesterday but you missed me. Our furniture comes today!!!

We have a mockingbird who is most annoyingly chasing all the birds away from our feeders - we were perplexed until we realized there is a nest with eggs in it in the shrub nearby. I hope they hatch soon and leave so that I can have my birds back. The cats are also NOT PLEASED.

>35 karenmarie: I'm really jonesing for a new season of Midsomer Murders. Do you know if they are continuing the series?

>79 karenmarie: I can't even fathom the fortitude it would take to get something not-pizza when in a pizzeria. I am not made of stuff that stern.

*bows before Goddess of Stubbornness*

>80 Crazymamie: Mamie! I'm so sorry I missed you up there. The book is continuing nicely. Yay for your new furniture. You will provide pictures eventually, right? *smile*

We used to have a mockingbird here who loved to divebomb one particular cat of ours, Coco Chanel. I hope the babies hatch soon, the mommy mockingbird doesn't feel threatened, and things return to normal.

>81 ffortsa: Hi Judy! Looks like there are 22 seasons, last season was 2021. We stopped at season 19, I think. The series is streaming on Amazon Prime right now, so we're having fun starting at the beginning. I hope we can get through all 22 seasons before Amazon Prime takes it away and a streaming service we don't subscribe to (think everything except Amazon Prime and Netflix!) gets it. A quick glance online doesn't show that it's been renewed, but that may only be me not knowing where to look.

>82 richardderus: Pizza: High sodium pizza/tomato sauce. High sodium cheese. High sodium pepperoni. Sigh.

Thank you, thank you. I ate half the salad, saving the other half for supper. Then I ate 3 pieces of Red Vines red licorice - very low sodium. Now I'm in the Sunroom trying to get warm. It was 62F in here because Bill had the propane stove on in the living room, which confuses the thermostat into thinking that the whole downstairs is warm enough. I had to turn on the propane stove here in the Sunroom, but it's still only at 65F and I'm still chilled. Scratch hot cocoa to the rescue! Warms from the inside out.

>81 ffortsa: >83 karenmarie: I paid for the Britbox add on for Prime so I could watch the most current season. One of my all time favorites. I trust you saw the 20th anniversary show?

The sun came out here and melted what little snow we got with the exception of a few bits in the shady spots. I could use one more decent snow without all the rain that came with this one but then spring can't come fast enough for me. I am getting together with a friend later this week to talk seed starting and the catalogs are piling up!

As for birds, our leaky old house lets in lots of wrens. There is almost always one flying up and down the hallways or perching on the window sills. They complain and sometimes we help them out via an open window.

>84 witchyrichy: Hm. I don't think so. I'm not even sure where I left off, as some of season 21 sounds familiar, some not. Is the anniversary show part of a season?

>84 witchyrichy: Hi Karen! By the time we get to the end again Bill might be inclined to pay for the BritBox add on, at least for a little bit for us to see something more than the kinds of things we're seeing and not seeing on Amazon Prime and Netflix.

I have not seen the 20th anniversary show. That'll be fun to watch.

That's a riot about the indoor wrens. Our kitties would have a field day.

I remember once, a long time ago, when I was upstairs reading a book in bed and all of a sudden a bird came zooming right overhead. It had to be one the kitties caught that got away from them. I shrieked, and Bill came upstairs. We still had the butterfly net from when Jenna was little, and he eventually managed to get it and escort it safely outdoors.

>85 ffortsa: If you have Amazon Prime, Judy, that's where we're watching it right now. Hopefully they have all seasons.

...edited to add:

I was looking at the bird feeders through the Sunroom windows and noticed a White-Breasted Nuthatch hanging upside down and motionless on the suet feeder. I then realized that there was a house finch not moving on one of the sunflower seed feeders, and all the Cardinals in the Crepe Myrtle weren't moving either. Must have been a hawk or other predator nearby, because this went on for about 2-3 minutes. Then the finch moved its head, the nuthatch moved its head, but then everybody went still again. Finally, about amother minute or so later everybody started moving around and coming to the feeders - it was almost surreal.

Hi Karen my dear, i have just starred you my dear friend.

Hi John! Good to see you here. Sending love and hugs to you and Karen and skritches to Felix.

Paul posted a meme for 2022 on his thread, and I've spent an enjoyable half an hour filling it in for myself.

Describe yourself: An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good
Describe how you feel: You Can Heal Your Life
Describe where you currently live: The Most Beautiful House in the World
If you could go anywhere, where would you go? The North Carolina Birding Trail: Piedmont Trail Guide
Your favorite form of transportation is: Night Train
Your favorite food is: Elizabeth David Classics: Mediterranean Food; French Country Cooking; Summer Cooking
Your favorite time of day is: Beyond the Sunrise
Your best friend is: It's Always the Husband
You and your friends are: The Reader
What's the weather like: Simply Perfect
You fear: The Closing of the American Mind
What is the best advice you have to give: Happiness Is…
Thought for the day: Free Reign
What is life for you: Love and Will
How you would like to die: Peace Like a River
Your soul's present condition: Equipped for Every Good Work
What was 2021 like for you: No More Dying Then
What do you want from 2022: These Happy Golden Years

>84 witchyrichy: I love that you had a cat named Coco Chanel!

>89 karenmarie: Nice answers!

>89 karenmarie: Great meme answers.

>59 karenmarie: One of our professors got a generator from her brother for Christmas. She'd just purchased a home that is in a pretty isolated location. It came in handy when the power went out in the snow storm this week. I believe she is still without power.

>90 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie! Thanks. Bill named her Coco and I added the Chanel. We're a team. Thanks re my answers. I downloaded my whole catalog and searched for titles that had words I thought appropriate and picked one that made most sense. So these are all books in my catalog.

>91 thornton37814: Hi Lori, and thank you. What a wonderful present from a thoughtful brother. Good for him.

We are looking at replacing our 21-year old generator in the coming year AND making it whole house instead of most house.

Happy New Year Karen! I'm late with it I know but it's taking me awhile to get through threads. I'm going to try harder this year but I don't know if I'll manage it. I'm so behind I didn't even know you had a heart attack. I'm glad to see you're rehabbing. I don't think I'd get along with a scale that didn't show my weight. Years ago I got in the habit of weighing myself every day and it's helped to keep my weight in check. Along with denying myself every desirable food on the planet and walking everyday lol.

My son and his wife were here from Raleigh for Christmas and wanted to get all the food they love but can't get in NC like fabulous pizza, great chicken wings, beef on weck, Mighty Taco (local taco place), Ted's Hot Dogs, loganberry, you see what I mean? Lots of unhealthy food. Lol. Oh well, it was Christmas. They don't get to have it every day.

Here's to good health.

Hi Bonnie, and thank you.

When I first started looking at the threads on January 1, there were 1,034 messages on the threads that I follow and right now there are 18 threads with 25 or more messages. It's a labor of love for me, that's for sure.

I have never weighed myself daily, ever, but I say brava to whatever works for you. Weight has been a hugely emotional issue with me since I hit puberty. That's 55 years ago. Sigh.

I'm glad you got to see your son & dil over Christmas and can understand their wanting to get their favorite foods. If I went home to SoCal right now there are several things I'd love to get for sure.

Yes, here's to good health.

...
Up early, and Bill's gone to work today. He's switching his work schedule so that he's home on days I go to rehab just in case I want/need him to go with me, which I appreciate. It also gives me Tuesday and Friday completely free - no rehab or any other regularly scheduled errands - to be alone in the house.

Morning, Karen. Happy Wednesday. An arctic blast is blowing in here today, so it will keep me off the trails for a few days. I should be seeing Jackson Thursday and Friday though. Poor Sue will have to wait for the weekend.
I did get out yesterday and checked out my favorite river spot. Highlights were swans and a few different kinds of waterfowl included these beauties. Very hard to take photos of, since they are pretty far in the distance.



-Common Goldeneye. m/f (NMP)

>95 msf59: Hi Mark, and happy Wednesday to you. Brrrr! Light snow and a high of 18F for you. Off the trails is a very good idea.

Beautiful birds. I love the markings.

Let's see - I can count at least 15 Cardinals, a Chickadee, and 2 House Finches.

Morning, Karen!

Morning, Karen! I love that Bill changed his schedule just so that he's available if you want or need him on rehab days - mighty thoughtful. AND bonus that you now get the house completely to yourself Tuesday and Fridays!!

>97 katiekrug: Good afternoon, Katie!

>98 Crazymamie: Good afternoon to you, too, Mamie! Bill's a very thoughtful person, although all that's out the window because some of the shop guys at his very small company have Covid and in order to protect me and himself he came home as soon as he found that out this morning and told his boss he's working from home til nobody has Covid. I'm glad he's protecting us, sad that my alone time's gone again after just getting some back.

This morning I had 3.5 hours - I spent some here on LT and the rest working on cleaning up unopened mail on my desk. I got the ambulance bill from my heart attack - $2,294.34 - but called with my insurance info and they'll run it through again. I should only pay $250 since I'm on Medicare. Thank goodness for insurance.

Went to rehab, came home, fell asleep on the couch 'til Jenna just called. Late lunch time...

I'm surprised the bill didn't induce another STEMI. Yow.

*smooch*

I knew from what Bill told me that it would be less than $300 with insurance, so it was just a matter of getting them the information they needed to recalculate what we owed. Have I mentioned that the hospital bill was ~$83K, of which we paid $1,340? Fortunately, I saw the net amount due on the hospital's online system for patients before seeing the total bill.

*smooch*

>101 karenmarie: That is a lot of money, Karen, even only your part would be a lot for us.
Gladly we have a yearly max. you pay yourself for healthcare of €385. With our insurance you can pay 10 months €38.5, and get back what you haven't used at the end of the year.

Morning, Karen. Sweet Thursday. Sue usually watches Jackson on Thursdays mornings. She is definitely feeling better but wants to wait a few more days. I have a doctor's appointment and then I will head over there and help out. Most likely until sometime in the afternoon. I ain't complaining. Only in the mid-teens the next 2 days, so no birding for me.

>99 karenmarie: Wow! That seems quite excessive for an ambulance bill( $2,294.34) ! Glad it was reduced to a more bearable number. Yikes!

>101 karenmarie: 83K?!! Makes me glad for my the Canadian healthcare system.

Have a great Thursday!

>102 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita. I’ve been in favor of socialized medicine ever since I heard there was such a thing. Our system is a regressive tax, discriminatory, and so complicated to navigate that it drives me crazy. $435/year seems amazing to me.

>103 msf59: Hi Mark, and a sweet Thursday to you, too. I’m glad to hear that Sue’s better, also glad that she’s being cautious for both herself and Jackson. Yay for your Jackson time! With the cold weather I hope you can get some good reading time in, too.

>104 figsfromthistle: Hi Anita. I didn’t look at the detail. It might be because 3 firemen from the local fire station came in addition to the 2 EMTs and the ambulance. Since I’ll get another bill that takes my insurance into account, I can look at the detail then. $83K was for the 4 days in the hospital.

…
Rehab this morning. Experimenting with no sodium baking powder in a scones recipe this afternoon perhaps.

>105 karenmarie: No-sodium baking powder?! How does that work? Well, obvs you're about to find out, but that'll be a fascinating experiment indeed.

Rehabilitate well. *smooch*

>105 karenmarie: - Karen, if you don't want another heart attack, then you probably shouldn't read Timothy Snyder's excellent but grim book Our Malady. It's all about the American health care system and he compares it with other systems that work, and offers solutions to make it work there. But what I got out of it is that politicians aren't really interested in making that work in the USA. As you know, I am also Canadian and reading that book terrified me, truth be told. It was quite an eye-opener. I was grateful, though, that Snyder survived his ordeals and lived to tell the tale! It was published last year.

'Morning, Rdear! As I wrote on your thread, Happy Thursday to you, but terrible Treason Day anniversary to US.

After Jenna calls at 1:25 and our call ends ~ 1:50, I'll make something easy - probably the scones and report back. Hain is a name I already knew, so I'm very positive about this experiment.

Morning, Karen! Like Richard I am curious to see how your baking powder experiment goes. Good luck!

>107 jessibud2: I just finished the graphic edition of Snyder's On Tyranny, having read the original edition in 2017. A re-read of a sort. So I'll be interested to read Our Malady.

>108 karenmarie: Yes, Hain's an old and trusted baking-supplies name. I think it'll be a great test to try scones out with it. They're not difficult but they *are* a bit pernickety. Get one variable wrong and they're just plain flat and yechhhy.

>110 weird_O: - I read his original when it first came out and would be interested to see the graphic take on it. These are the only 2 by him I have read though I know he is a prolific writer.

>108 karenmarie: I can endorse Hain from personal experience. I hope it works well for you, Karen.

Happy Thursday!

>105 karenmarie: No, the insurance premium is €280 a month (€3,360 a year) for the two of us, the €385 for each a year is the extra (own risk) if you really need medical help and/or medicines. It is posssible to take an higher own risk and pay less insurance premium.

We used to have an income based premium, without own risk, but that changed 15 years ago.

Thank the lord for the NHS over here, at the moment because of Covid, the waiting lists for operations has increased but it is free at the point of service. The only thing we have to pay for in England is medications and they are £9.35 per item although i buy a season ticket which is £108, payable over ten months. This is well worth it for me as i have five items per month and now that Karen is 60, she gets her prescriptions free.

>107 jessibud2: Hi Shelley. I won’t – it doesn’t interest me in the least. I’m not totally sure why, but I’m feeling rather helpless about government, religion, and the US health care system right now and don’t want to wallow in something so negative.

>109 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie! Thanks re the experiment. I just finished making them. They’re tasty, but in hindsight I haven’t made them enough to know how much different these taste. I need to make something I make regularly – pancakes or cornbread perhaps.

>110 weird_O: Hi Bill!

>111 richardderus: They came out well if a bit crumbly – as I said above I don’t remember the recipe well enough to know if it’s the recipe or the Hain bp.

>112 jessibud2: I have Snyder’s On Tyranny, but haven’t read it yet.

>113 alcottacre: Good to know, Stasia, thanks.

>114 FAMeulstee: Ah, got it. My insurance premium is $167.50/month. Bill’s is $167.50/month. I think the Medicare part of it goes up next year, but the Blue Cross bit is coming down. We have co-pays and the tier system for drug copays is ridiculously complicated.

>95 msf59: Gorgeous birds! I miss our winter birding trips to eastern North Carolina.

>101 karenmarie: My hip replacement was a cool $250K! I paid zero as I had met my pretty large deductible in the run up to the surgery that took place in early December (shots, xrays, etc.)

Hope you had a good day! Interested in the baking powder experiments. I have almond flour coming as I want to try out some baking again.

Morning, Karen. Happy Friday. Still extremely cold but since I am on Jackson watch this AM, I will be staying plenty warm, inside and out. I haven't been watching the feeders much but the platform feeder is empty each day, so something is feasting on the seeds and peanuts.

>117 witchyrichy: Hi Karen! Wow. $250K. I know from your threads that it was completely successful, too. Well-spent money for your insurance that let you pay $0.

I had a pretty good day. Rehab went well. A small brag: I spent 20 of the 30 minutes on the treadmill at my highest pace yet and cooled down to a pace higher than usual without feeling winded. I'm going to do the same pain meds schedule I did yesterday for Monday's rehab because it got me through the treadmill quite well. 9 a.m. tramadol, 10:15 2 tylenol arthritis.

I made the scones but made one mistake - I baked them on a Silpat, which I've never done before. I d
o not know where my brain was because I normally know better than to introduce more than one new variable in an experiment.

So this morning's experiment will be with pancakes. I'll even use salted butter in the recipe because ... only one variable. *smile*

What's the benefit of almond flour over wheat flour, unless one has celiac disease or has another reason for going gluten-free?

>118 msf59: 'Morning, Mark, and happy Jackson day to you. Extremely cold for sure - the NWS says you're at 1F with a high of 14F today. Brrr. We're at 34F, going to a high of 39F today. I have no plans on going out at all, so yay for that for both of us.

Morning, Karen! I also have no plans to go out today. Of course, I have no car, so I wouldn't be able to go very far even if I did have plans.

Hooray for your treadmill progress - way to go!!

Waiting for the results of the pancake experiment. *smile*

'Morning, Mamie! Aaack, still no car for you because no tires for the other car. Sending new-tire mojo! Thanks for the encouragement on the treadmill.

I'm probably going to just drink some juice with my 9 a.m. meds and wait 'til I'm actually hungry before making them, so probably 10-11ish.

He has an appointment to get the tires on tomorrow today at 3pm, but I am not holding my breath.

Karen, that's great about your progress in rehab. It's so satisfying to see results like that. And to feel them!

W00t for the rehab progress! Hmm...silpats can change the baking time, so it could be the extra crumb came from a bit more heat. Did the pancake experiment go well?

Almond flour lacks gluten, which is the only reason I can think of to substitute it, so I'm interested to hear about that too.

(Chestnut flour was called for in a fruitcake recipe I made once and made no difference whatever in the result that I could discern. I made the recipe with normal flour at the same time. No one could detect any difference so the $11 spent on a pound of chestnut flour really rankled.)

>122 Crazymamie: I think crossing your fingers is a better idea than holding your breath, Mamie.

>123 katiekrug: Thanks, Katie!

>124 richardderus: Thank you, RD.

The pancakes came out perfectly - absolutely no difference in taste whatsoever or rising whatsoever. @SqueakyChu mentioned on the Here's To Our Health Thread that she'd be interested in the results of an experiment that requires more rising than pancakes or scones. I'll have to take that under advisement, although Katie's mentioning of a chocolate cake the other day got me started on this whole baking/sodium content effort, and now I've got chocolate cake teasing me.

I've got chocolate cake teasing me, too, Karen. I bought a mix and am going to make some cake mix cookies. I decided it would be easier to control portions in cookie form than in cake form :)

Yum for perfect pancakes! The chocolate cake experiment should draw a goodly audience.

*smooch*

>119 karenmarie: I'm thrilled with your progress - never doubted you! Congratulations anyway!

Your baking is impressive. I've lost every urge I had several years ago to try anything new. Maybe it will return.

Stay warm!

>126 katiekrug: Yay for giving into the craving in a controlled way, Katie.

>127 richardderus: Chocolate cake sometime this weekend, most likely, but no promises. *smooch*

>128 LizzieD: Thank you, Peggy! I think I have Katie to thank for getting me to think about recipes and sodium content and therefore cooking and baking. I hope you get the urge to bake again.

Stay warm for sure – tonight’s supposed to get down to 20F here. If it drops into the teens, it will be the coldest in 3 years. Warm winter jammies, corn bag for my feet, and the extra silk comforter that I had Jenna put between the blanket and the bedspread when she came home the first time in November should keep me warm tonight. And if I’m even a tad chilled, I’ll bump the heat up another degree or two.

Looks like you are making good progress at rehab, Karen. Good luck with your baking experiments.

>119 karenmarie: Love the small brag. Progress! Onwards and upwards!

Happy weekend!

>119 karenmarie: Yay! Every time I get on the treadmill, I have to convince myself all over again that I can do it and it's been a year for me. So, I just tell that part of my brain that we can stop any time, a little tiny bit of permission, and that seems to help calm it down. I rarely do stop but I know I can.

>125 karenmarie: I envy you your baking. Prior to going keto this year, I had been baking up a storm, mostly sourdough, experimenting with the discard. I have pretty much stopped but did invest in almond flour to see what I might do. I am not completely gluten free but almond flour is what my keto friendly instagrammers are using ;-) I used unsweetened almond milk in my latte this morning and saw no difference. I am mostly experimenting with that as it is shelf stable.

Happy Saturday! I'll be reading and crocheting while I watch ice skating. Tennis is coming soon.

Morning, Karen. Happy Saturday. Ooh, you have chilly temps too. We barely got above 10F yesterday but in the low 30s today, which is normal for this time of year. I enjoyed my time with Jack yesterday. Bree might drop him off here tomorrow so Sue can finally visit with him. She is missing him something awful.

I just peeked at the feeders, on way back from getting more coffee- 6 juncos and a female cardinal.

>130 Familyhistorian: Hi Meg! I’m determined to work hard at each rehab, for sure. Thanks re the baking experiments, too.

>131 alcottacre: Yes, Stasia. Onwards and upwards! Thanks re the weekend. Same to you.

>132 witchyrichy: ‘Morning, Karen. At this point I’ve got 2-3 therapists wandering around, occasionally coming by to check how I’m doing, so they are a huge motivator. If/when we get something for home, I hope that the motivation has become more internalized. And yes, a small permission makes it easier to do it. My small permission is still holding pretty tightly to the rails, but part of that is to relieve the burden on my knees.

My daughter does not drink cow milk any more, and when she comes to visit I get unsweetened almond milk. She prefers unsweetened cereals, too, but I do get her Special K sometimes. Cornflakes are the preference, and she eats them with no added sweetener in the unsweetened almond milk.

Happy Saturday to you, too. Yours sounds like a good and relaxing day. Ah, tennis. We might watch some.

>133 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark! Happy Saturday to you, too. This is very cold for us, for sure. Yay for your Jackson time, and I'm glad Sue will get to see Jackson tomorrow. Nice feeder report. I see 2 Cardinals and an unidentified lb – little bird – probably a finch. It’s pretty far away in the Crepe Myrtle. I’ve seen one or more Carolina Wrens almost every day this week, in addition to Downy and Red-Bellied woodpeckers. After coffee, I need to replenish all the feeders – 2 sunflower and one suet.

I forgot to mention that last week when I visited Louise we were on her front porch and saw a huge flock - 40 or more Cedar Waxwings. It was fantastic.

…
Errands today. Dump, groceries, lunch. Coffee and a scone in the meantime.

So, for lunch today, you'll be having gravlax on brioche with PluGra?

*smooch* for your abstemious self.

Grilled chicken salad. I should tell them to hold the mozzarella cheese, but I am already having them hold the olives, *sob*, and haven't gotten as far as the cheese. It was very tasty with oil & vinegar dressing, plus I had one packet of Captain's Wafers.

Bill noticed that I've put 2 large and 1 small jar of Armour dried beef on the counter, meaning that I won't be making chipped beef on toast any more. He said, "Damn. I guess I'll have to buy Stouffer's Frozen again." I said "Yup". Mind you, he could learn to make it himself, but hasn't asked me how to do that.

*smooch*

Happy Sunday! Sue is feeling much better so Bree is dropping Jack off here this morning and she should get plenty of baby time in. She really missed the little guy. Of course, I will reap the benefits too and hopefully see a final win by my lowly Bears.

Hooray for Louise and the cedar waxwings!

'Morning, Mark, and happy Sunday! I'm glad to hear that Sue is feeling well enough for Jackson to come a'visiting. Good luck to your Bears. My Panthers play the Bucs at 4:25.

A Carolina Wren was on the suet feeder just now, and I've got a few Cardinals in the Crepe Myrtle.

Morning, Karen! I hope you have an enjoyable Sunday. My Giants play at... some point? I guess? I'm pretending I don't know them until next season ;-)

Morning, Karen! Happy Sunday. We have a Carolina wren that greets us every morning - always make me think of you.

>139 katiekrug: Your Giants play at 1pm today - against Washington.

>139 katiekrug: Hi Katie! I've been thinking about you this morning as I'm probably going to make a chocolate cake. The only variable will be the no-sodium baking powder. I just took 2 eggs out to get to room temp. Since my Panthers play at 4:25 I'll have plenty of time to get up the energy. We're in the same boat with our Panthers as you are with your Giants, but will watch today. My back up team, the Chiefs, played yesterday and won. Bill's co-equal-with-the-Panthers team, the Cowboys, won yesterday, too.

>140 Crazymamie: 'Morning, Mamie! Happy Sunday to you. I like knowing that the wren makes you think of me.

...
I've just ordered no-sodium baking soda. I'm going to be asking the cardiologist on Thursday about lite salt and no-sodium baking powder and soda. We'll see if she knows anything about them for her heart patients. (sob, I'm a heart patient)

Hi Karen. Skimming through, catching up a bit. I also followed Stasia's link and starred the Here's To Our Health thread. Not sure I'll post, per se, but only because I already struggle to keep up with all the threads. Since my stroke six years ago, my commitment to eating well and exercising adequately has waxed and waned. I'm determined to be better to myself this year. I've been best about the low sodium eating but not as good about some of the other elements of good food and exercise hygiene.

We get BritBox and it's one of my favorite streaming services. Midsomer Murders is a favorite, along with the mind-candy Death in Paradise. Father Brown took some getting used to but we're into it now. We love Grantchester.

Yes, you are and will remain a heart patient! Because, to be a patient, one must be alive and that is really all that counts.

*smooch*

Hi Karen,
I am really slow to post much this year ~ popping in a bit here and there on the Talk threads. Yours has lengthened quickly ~ I decided I need to skim a bit rapidly to see what's doing (not surprisingly) or I'd never get to posting.
I liked your review (at #6) of 56 Days. More balanced than my semi-hissy although I did say I thought it was a heck of a good read. My 3½★s are about like your 2½★s, I believe.

I've updated my profile and that's where I'm listing my books-read this year (very brief reviews, allowing the star ratings to speak to the evaluation of the book.

I am totally on that page about keeping the stress down in setting very reasonable expectations for reading goals. life is like that and I can go gang-busters some other year when anxiety is not so much an issue (for myself, at any rate). Stay well and enjoy those blissful acres ~ a beautiful area to live in during a pandemic for sure.

I'm also a Midsomer Murders fan and catch them on Acorn TV which has many British shows. Good luck with your chocolate cake.

>142 EBT1002: Hi Ellen. Nice to see you here. I hope your commitment to eating well and exercising adequately waxes this year. I’m just getting onto the low sodium bandwagon. I haven’t cooked much since my heart attack, but need to start getting back into cooking the several times a week that I used to enjoy. Of course now my energy comes and goes.

Midsomer Murders is fantastic, although I wasn’t in the mood for an hour and a half long tv show tonight, so we watched the first episode of Warehouse 13. We watched the series a very long time ago, I remember liking it a lot, and it’s on Peacock. We also love Death in Paradise. We re-watching it, too.

>143 richardderus: Yes, sigh. I get it. Most of the time I’m quite good at accepting my changed life, it’s just that every once in a while I have a bit of anger that bubbles to the surface. It will pass. *smooch*

>144 SandyAMcPherson: Hi Sandy. Thanks re 56 Days. I’m seriously stingy with stars. Here are my 5* reads since joining LT in 2007:



Lincoln in the Bardo is listed three times and To Kill A Mockingbird twice because I re-read and re-listen to books.

I’m glad you’re taking care of yourself by keeping your stress down. Thanks re our blissful acres. They feed my soul, for sure.

>145 Familyhistorian: Hi Meg! There’s just something about Midsomer Murders that is so satisfying. The episodes are complicated, intricate, and multi-faceted. Most nights they appeal – tonight I was too tired after making the cake and making sure all the dishes from making the cake were washed or in the dishwasher.

…
The cake came out well, although it was almost dry. Official bake time was 40-45 minutes, and I set the timer for 38. It was done then. I cannot taste any difference using the non-sodium baking powder, neither can Bill. The next experiment will be to convert my buttermilk biscuit recipe. It uses self-rising flour, which is way too high in sodium because it has baking powder AND salt in it - 320 mg sodium per quarter cup, so good-bye forever more. There seem to be differing opinions on how much baking powder and salt to add to 1 cup of flour to make it self-rising. I’ll have to play around with it.

And now, off to bed. Even with a nap during the second half of the Panthers-Bucs game, which the Panthers lost, I’m pretty tired.

Morning, Karen. We had Jackson for over seven hours yesterday. Sue was in heaven. She also got the lion's (or lioness) share of cuddling, which I had no problem with, as long as I got some time in. I am glad the Bears season is over. That was painful. We hope they can correct these many issues and show some improvement when they suit up later in the year. I see that the Panthers lost too. They also had a miserable season.

Stop by- great birding news!

>146 karenmarie: That almost-dry issue is the one I understand runs through the NaCl-removal process in baking. Salt has very particular effects on moisture in food. Replacements aren't the same and the result is sometimes very noticeable.

Happy Mmmday, Horrible, and may the buttermilk biscuits be The Thing. *smooch*

>147 msf59: 'Morning, Mark! How wonderful to have Jackson for so long. I'm glad you got some cuddles in, too.

You and your Bears, me and my Panthers. Yesterday was painful although I took a nap for most of the second half.

Cardinals, finches, and a Carolina Wren have all been at the feeders since I got up an hour ago, and I just now saw a Carolina Chickadee, too.

Off I go to visit your thread.

>148 richardderus: Happy Monday, RD! I was thinking last night that what if i added more buttermilk and water - instead of 3/4 cups each perhaps 1 cup each? Something to think about for next time.

Today's rehab and some Friends of the Library stuff.

*smooch*

If you increase the buttermilk and leave the water the same, but with the extra 1/4-cup measured out to add if the texture seems "off," that could work.

Noted in the recipe for next time. additional Monday morning *smooch*

Morning, Karen! Hoping rehab goes quickly an smoothly for you today.

So how did rehab go?

>152 Crazymamie: Thanks, Mamie! My knees were protesting even before I left the house, but I got through it with only a small increase in the amount of knee pain.

>153 richardderus: Thanks for asking, RD! I increased the time spent at my fastest pace and spent about 5 minutes of the 30 NOT holding on to the bars in a death grip by only holding on with one hand. It helps my balance. I used weights for 15 minutes - 3 lb. weights, repeating the exercises twice - and then did some stretching exercises to cool down. Total time spent about 55 minutes or so. I was pleased.

...
And here's something that I wish the f****** cardiologist had told me on December 13th. Remember that I was absolutely devastated when she told me my heart function was 40%? I assumed that the 40% was out of 100%. (The measurement is called heart ejection fraction.)

Well, that just ain't so. Normal heart ejection fraction is 50-70%, depending on which website you look at, and the therapist today said that it is 55% - perhaps for my age and being a woman, but I'm not quite sure.

So I am much cheered. She also said 40% was not bad for such a serious event. They would have been much more worried had it been 35%.

So all in all I have a very good chance of having a very positive outcome after cardio rehab therapy, on a low-sodium diet, and continuing exercising, most likely with a treadmill or other in-home cardio training machine.

You can bet I'm going to tell the cardiologist that I do not appreciate her only giving me half the story about my heart in December. It's not as if I didn't indicate that I was devastated and shocked - she should have figured out that I was perhaps not aware that normal is 50-70%, NOT 100%.

Katie posted a sausage and potato soup on her thread and was already planning on adding garlic to it the next time she makes it. This recipe is full of flavor and I think would still stand up well without the added salt and with using low/no sodium chicken broth.

Hungarian Potato and Sausage Soup
by Chef John

"When the going gets tough, the tough make soup! There are certain recipes that comfort the body and soul in a profound way and this hearty potato and sausage soup is in that class. I think you'll agree it's one of the best things you've had in a long time. The savory flavor from smoked sausage and the earthy sweetness from onions and cabbage are balanced perfectly with a splash of vinegar and a bit of sour cream, all brought together by soft and tender potatoes--the only way this gets better is serving it with a nice hunk of buttered, crusty bread."
Ingredients
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 6 ounces smoked Hungarian sausage, sliced into rounds - I use andouille sausage
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons Hungarian paprika
• 5 cups chicken broth, or more to taste
• 2 cups chopped green cabbage
• 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
• 1/2 cup sour cream, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons sliced green onion, or to taste (optional)
Directions
1. Melt butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Add sausage and cook and stir until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove sausage to a bowl, leaving behind any butter in the pot.
2. Toss onion into the pot with 1 teaspoon salt. Cook and stir until onion just starts to turn translucent and picks up a brown color from the meat juices in the pan, 4 to 5 minutes. Add flour; cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic and paprika; cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute, being careful not to burn the paprika.
3. Stir in 5 cups chicken broth. Increase heat to high and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally so flour does not stick to the bottom of the pot. Stir in cabbage and cook until it just loses its stiffness, about 2 minutes. Stir in potatoes and bring back to a simmer. Add black pepper, cayenne pepper, and bay leaf, plus a splash of chicken broth if desired. Bring back to a simmer.
4. Stir soup and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are very soft and tender, about 30 minutes. Add sausage and vinegar and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust for salt.
5. Remove from heat and ladle into bowls. Garnish with sour cream, green onions, and cayenne pepper.

Percentages are so tricky to use in communicating between experts and civilians. In any event you're doing everything you can now to prevent a repeat of the entire painful, unhappy experience, so it's all good.

Karen, you are doing really well with your rehab and recovery! I totally understand your frustration over the 40% figure you were given by your cardiologist. I'm glad your therapist provided more perspective on that.

>155 karenmarie: I've been following Katie's Soup Saga, and your soup looks damn good, with lots of flavor-making goodies in it. Mmmm.

>155 karenmarie: I love watching Chef John on YouTube, Karen. He has such a delightfully soothing and reassuring presence, he almost convinces me I could cook. :-)

>157 lauralkeet: - Is Laura making fun of me? I feel like Laura's making fun of me. Saga, indeed!

:)

>159 katiekrug: No ma'am! You're on a journey to find and make the perfect potato leek soup, with just the right level of flavoring. I'd call that a saga.

Hi Karen!

I love Midsomer Murders as well. I have not seen new episodes on TVO lately and will have to stream the new episodes at a later date.

Have a wonderful week!

>160 lauralkeet: - It's like an epic quest narrative! I need an elf-like companion and some talking trees or something...

>162 katiekrug: ROFLMAO.

>146 karenmarie: I am slated to read Lincoln in the Bardo next month. I certainly hope I enjoy it as much as you did, Karen!

Have a wonderful week!

>156 richardderus: If percentages are so tricky, she should have been more careful, IMO. I am doing all sorts of good things to make sure I survive this thing, for sure. *smooch*

>157 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura. I’m glad I’ve got the straight story now, too.

Ha. The Katie Soup Saga. Bill and I love this soup. I haven’t calculated the sodium content and it may be too salty for me because of the sausage, but it’s very tasty and I recommend it unreservedly.

>158 rosalita: I loved Chef John until about 6 months ago, when too many in a row didn’t appeal. I haven’t gotten back to watching. He does make things look easy, though.

>159 katiekrug: Laura is not making fun of you.

>160 lauralkeet: See? Laura’s not making fun of you. Getting the spices/herbs right is a saga.

>161 figsfromthistle: Hi Anita! We just watched another one, Garden of Death. And guess what? The actor Neil Dudgeon, who plays Tom Barnaby’s cousin DCI John Barnaby in later seasons plays a gardener! I thought I recognized him, and was right. Thanks re the week, same to you!

>162 katiekrug: Is that a LOTR reference? On the only person's thread in the entire 75ers group who doesn't like LOTR?

>163 lauralkeet: If that was a LOTR reference,aren’t you proud of me for picking up on the trees and elf-like companion thing? If it's not LOTR, then I am hideously embarrassed.

>164 alcottacre: Ah, Stasia, if you’re like me, you will be gobsmacked by it. I read it once, then read it and listened to it at the same time. It’s definitely a book I will read again.

I'm not a LOTR fan. It was meant more as just a generic fantasy reference 😁

Well, phoo. I wrote a message early this afternoon, and copied it on Mama's computer when it didn't post immediately. Then LT quit on me and I forgot to go back. The upshot is that I'm thrilled that you are doing so well and trying to figure out what's up with that cardiologist.
I also love the look of that soup! Thanks, Karen. I'm thinking more and more of Senate Bean Soup that we used to enjoy, but we'll have to get some ham and navy beans.

>165 karenmarie: I see it turns out that it wasn't a reference to LOTR but I just want to let you know that you're not alone!

>165 karenmarie:, >166 katiekrug: I almost posted a GIF of Gollum doing his "precious" thing, and then stopped myself because I wasn't *sure* it was an LOTR reference!

Also: good morning Karen!

>169 lauralkeet: *snork!* I almost posted a LotR gif of Samwise saying "PO-TA-TOES!" but didn't because I then saw that neither Karen nor Katie like LotR!

Morning, Karen!

Apologies for causing so much confusion!

Morning, Karen. Yep, dealing with the aftermath of yesterday. So glad no one was hurt and finally realizing how bad it could have been, in just a few feet in either direction. In the dusky light earlier, I saw a lone male cardinal hunched down at the feeder. That was it.

>166 katiekrug: Got it. Generic Fantasy Reference. *smile*

>167 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! I know – LT quit then came back then quit then it would not let me post for a while. I tried a different browser, then completely restarted my computer. Eventually things got back to normal. Thank you re the cardiologist and her cluelessness about my distress. You’ll have to let us know how the Senate Bean Soup comes out.

>168 ursula: Katie, and now you, Ursula, are with me on not having LOTR love.

>169 lauralkeet: ‘Morning, Laura! I just checked, myself, and here it is, straight from the horse’s mouth, Wikipedia:

Gollum is a fictional monstrous character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He was introduced in the 1937 fantasy novel The Hobbit, and became important in its sequel, The Lord of the Rings. Gollum was a Stoor Hobbit of the River-folk who lived near the Gladden Fields.

GIF away!

>170 scaifea: Thank you for being thoughtful, although the trees and Gollum are welcome here. My daughter always cracks up when I say ‘the trees’ and she always corrects me, ‘you mean the Ents, right?’. ‘yes, the trees.’

>171 katiekrug: It’s been fun, Katie!

>172 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark, and happy Tuesday. I’m sorry Matt got banged up, glad it wasn’t serious, sorry it’s going to be an expensive fix. On the upside, you were able to get your truck out and will just all have to park on the street/driveway, right?

Let’s see – birds. I had a Carolina Wren on the suet feeder first thing. Now I’ve got about 6 or seven Cardinals, and what appears to be a House Finch or two. A male Red-Bellied Woodpecker is now on the suet feeder. There’s a Cardinal on the bird bath, but it’s below freezing and I don’t think there’s any water that’s not ice. I need to find the bird bath heater. Sigh.

Bill’s at work. The house is quiet. I have some things on the agenda for today – mostly straightening so I won’t die of embarrassment when the cleaning guy comes Friday. I am trying to not play the heart attack card very often.

Coffee, too, and reading of course. I might go into town to pick up two prescriptions AND get a grilled chicken salad. Ooh, the possibilities…

>173 karenmarie: Karen, just to clarify, I knew who Gollum was and that he was a LOTR character. It was Katie's post I was unsure about. I didn't want to make a LOTR reference if she was referring to something else, like, you know, a Generic Fantasy Reference. 😀

Got it, Laura. The floor recognizes that Laura knows who Gollum is. *smile*

...
I made sodium-free baking powder pancakes again this morning - yum - with a bit of unsalted butter and real maple syrup, plus a small glass of 'more pulp' orange juice to wash down my meds with. I've ordered and should be receiving no-sodium baking soda wanna-be on Friday, so can safely add a new variable to the mix.

Y'all are cracking me up! Birdy volunteers are Katie's elf companion - she is five foot nothing, so she qualifies next to Katie's height. And since Birdy is coming, then I want to, too, and I am only two inches taller - we could be her Merry and Pippin.



Morning, Karen! Hooray for the quiet and having the house all to yourself. Bliss!

>176 Crazymamie: - I'd love to have you as my faithful companions. You can fight the ogres on my behalf while I eat third breakfast.

We can have our own Fantasy .. Flock... Flight... Flamboyance... Fleet... Flush... Flotilla... Flutter... Fall...

I personally like Flamboyance. A Fantasy Flamboyance. (comes from a flamboyance of flamingos)

And second and third breakfast! Da bomb. I just posted about wanting a Dunkin' Donuts apple fritter on Katie's thread. Unfortunately/fortunately, there's a new DD only 10.4 miles away instead of the previous 29.3 miles away. However, it's totally doable from the sodium point of view.

>178 karenmarie: ...then what the heck's stoppin' you?! Less round-trip than it used to be one way! And just about one gallon of gas, to factor into the equation.

Treats! *smooch*

Maybe tomorrow after rehab. Today, if I go out at all, it will be to head the other way into Pittsboro, where my prescriptions are.

Going for fatty, sugary treats reminds me of the time after working out at the YMCA in San Pedro CA in the mid-1970s that the Baskin Robbins manager, who was working out with us, opened the store after hours and we all got ice cream. Working out and unhealthy treats sometimes just go together, don't they?

>180 karenmarie: Well, yes...otherwise what the hell's the point of all that work?

>180 karenmarie: I agree 100% So lots of salty snacks are out, but sweets are okay in a controlled way. I've been losing weight, so I won't feel bad getting an Apple Fritter after tomorrow's rehab if I'm up to turning left into town instead of right and home. per the underwear discussion on your thread, I've begun noticing that my underwear are getting loose. No lace, but some are black...

So I've finally gotten the Library back to NORMAL. Bags of books gone, bed linens from Jenna's Christmas visit put up, pie-crust table back in front of the sofa, tchotchkes out.


.
.

Nice!

>182 karenmarie: - Lovely and cozy! Do you do much reading in there?

I really want a dedicated reading space. Right now, anywhere I read is very open to other parts of the house and all the attendant distractions. There is a weird landing outside the 4th bedroom (currently used as my "dressing room" - not as fancy as it sounds) where a half-flight of steps goes up to the unfinished attic. I've got lots of books up there, and if I can clear enough junk out of it (it's become a catch-all for random things like luggage and plastic storage bins), I could fit a chair and table and be able to close the door on the rest of the world.... *blissful sigh*

Hi Karen. I am following along with your rehab practice. Keep up the good work! You are making some wise decisions and making me think I need to examine my daily food intake...right after the Christmas goodies are gone. I like that you are tweaking your recipes using the one variable at a time approach. Very scientific. So sorry that your knees are so painful. Maybe you will be able to modify the exercises that are causing the most problems in the near future.

>134 karenmarie: DH and I saw a flock of Cedar Waxwings several years ago clustered around a neighbor's crabapple tree feasting on the fruit. It was a beautiful but noisy experience.

>141 karenmarie: Go Chiefs! and Go chocolate cake!

>146 karenmarie: I thought I was stingy with 5-star ratings. Haha. I love your list. I'm also a rereader of favorite books. What comfort they bring me.

>182 karenmarie: Karen, your library is perfection!

>183 drneutron: Thanks, Jim! Obsessive that I am, and with my location tags to help me out, I can report that there are 1,832 books in the Library. Read, tbr, and dnr.

>184 katiekrug: Thank you, Katie! Not as much as I used to and want to get back to, but if I can get an ottoman or confirm that the antique dresser's bench is the right height to sit there and make it easy on my knees, I can make it so. The Library isn't as quiet when Bill's home 'cuz the TV's usually on in the Living Room, only one pocket door away, but it's a pleasant room that I definitely should spend more time in.

I hope you can create a Reading Nook. You, a good chair and table, a good lamp, and the door to block out the world. Make it so!

>185 Donna828: Hi Donna! Thank you. I learned to apply one variable at a time as a programmer after some truly sensational screw ups – fortunately they never made it into production because of all the testing that I did.

I’m going to pursue reducing the pain in my knees – it may be aggravated by one or more of the new meds I’m taking, or it may be that I just need to get stronger pain meds. I’m not opposed to that because quality of life is right up there for me.

I would like to see a flock of Cedar Waxwings feast on fermented fruit – I hear it’s quite amusing.

Yay Chiefs! Yay chocolate cake. Yay being stingy with 5* ratings.

And finally, thank you, for complimenting my Library.

>182 karenmarie: That looks lovely!

>186 karenmarie: ...I trust you meant "DNF" above, not "dnr" with its, um, medical overtones....

>182 karenmarie: *aaahhh* That is a lovely, lovely sight. And all yours again!

>182 karenmarie: I love the look of your library, Karen! Mine is not large enough to put anything other than shelves in it - and I still manage to have books on the floor.

What a perfect library, Karen!!!! Enjoy!!!!!!! I love that you're doing everything right!

Catching sight of a flicker on our walk this morning prompted talk of fletchers and the silver service and other things Thurberian - entertaining!
Oh the Christmas goodies, Donna! I am so entirely in your camp. Mocking birds feasting on beauty berries are silly too.

>182 karenmarie: LOVE! I wold absolutely love to have that much bookshelf space all in one place.

>187 SandDune: Thanks, Rhian!

>188 richardderus: Nope, not DNF. dnr = do not read. I used to have them tagged ntbr, but searching was problematic, so I changed them to dnr. Yikes. dnr. Didn’t even think of that. What about ssh – shelf space honor? Rather than bring in the negative vibe of dnr, it can be the positive energy of wanting each of these books on my shelves, so I just changed 816 books to ‘ssh’.

Yes, I’s a Library again. *happy dance*

>189 alcottacre: Thanks, Stasia. I can’t bear having stacks of books out and about and have the luxury of not needing to have stacks out and about. I am currently a tad unhappy that I’ve had to start double-stacking books in the Library again. 1113 of the 1852 books there are to be read, with 280 read and 459 formerly dnr now ssh. My mother loved the idea of my Agatha Christies being on shelves in the Library from when she last visited in 2009. They take up 2 ¾ shelves, but I won’t move them. I also keep my Georgette Heyers, Harry Potters, Susan Hills, and a few other series in the Library regardless of status.

>190 LizzieD: Thanks, Peggy! I’m too whupped to do it today, but I’m going to figure out a way to rest my legs in the Library and start using it. Bill’s going back to work 3 days a week, and I don’t have to spend the time in the Sunroom. Today I got the Library back in order, cleaned out a closet looking for, and finding, the bird bath heater, and then had to put the bird bath heater out. Big bag of trash and a good-sized bag of canvas and other bags to take to the thrift shop.

Ooh, a flicker. I haven’t seen one in a while. Fun talk with your DH, for sure. We don’t have any Christmas goodies left over, and I’m just disappointed enough in the chocolate cake that I won’t eat any more of it. Not to say I won’t have sweets, though… *smile*

Plus "ssh" has a lovely library-in-joke feel to it! Much, much preferable.

>182 karenmarie:, Hi Karen my dear, i just love your library and feel a tad jealous, our third bedroom is now classed as the library, i have four Billy Bookcases in there and just need a nice chair, oh and a nice reading lamp.

I would like a nice slim table, deep enough for a laptop and just wide enough to be comfortable to do my book stats, notes etc. I think i will have to look at designing one and maybe incorporate some storage space for my inks and pens so that i can be self contained.

I also need to put up some shelving across the bulkhead for my collection of Wisden Cricket Almanacks, Playfair annuals and hopefully, my Yorkshire County Cricket Yearbooks.

Ooh la la, that library is to die for. Very nice, Karen.

>193 richardderus: Why, yes it does, RD! I hadn't thought of that. It's like when I unintentionally pun and Bill and Jenna just look at me and shake their heads. I tag punned.

>194 johnsimpson: Hi John. Glad you love the Library. It sounds like you know exactly what you need to make the third bedroom a true Library, and I know it will be perfect when you can put the plans into effect.

>195 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura.

...
More Midsomer Murders tonight. Now it's time to head upstairs.

>182 karenmarie: Excellent, cozy library!!

>182 karenmarie: That is really lovely, Karen. I am still trying to decide whether to extend my own library here or hold fire as the real possibility of relocating back to the UK looms ever nearer.

>59 karenmarie: Karen, I smiled when I read your description of the challenges of reading and returning library books. A few days ago, I placed some of the recent books I've added from the threads. Now, I have to go and get them. And, it wasn't today when it was 9 degrees outside.

Are you feeling better?

Have a great rest of the week, Karen!

>197 figsfromthistle: Thank you, Anita!

>198 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul. I hope that the return to the UK is going to happen within a year or so for you as I know it's what you want. How’s Hani doing in the UK? How’s Kyran doing in school?

>199 Whisper1: Hi Linda! I don’t know if it’s a blessing or curse that our small, rural Library more frequently than not doesn’t have the books mentioned here on the threads. 9F. More brrrr than our 19F.

…
One of yesterday’s missions was to find the bird bath heater I knew was in one of two spots. Unfortunately it wasn’t in the first, and the second was a closet that hasn’t been cleaned out in quite a while. However, it was mostly bags – cloth bags, canvas bags, paper bags, etc., and I created a pile of trash, a pile of donations, a pile of bags to keep. I was successful with the bird bath heater, too, and THEN I had to run the extension cord from the front porch to the bird bath after testing it, cleaning out the bird bath, and putting it all together. I couldn’t really test the bird bath heater itself without wasting a lot of time, so just went on faith. My faith was justified – it’s 19F out and there’s water in the bird bath. The lump of ice I dumped from the bird bath yesterday is still there on the ground.

First sip of coffee’s taken and fully appreciated. Rehab at 11, some Friends business and reading before and after.

Jenna has changed jobs and today’s her first day as an office admin for a family-owned insurance company in Asheville. She’s now 8-5, M-F.

Hugely preferable schedule. Esp. as she now has a romantic interest...I speak from experience, hospitality is *rough* on the not-hospitality-workin' partner.

Luckily I'm retired or this would've become untenable long, long ago.

Fun rehab! *smooch*

I'm sure having a more regular schedule will be nice for Jenna.

Hope rehab goes well. Don't forget that apple fritter afterwards!

>203 katiekrug: Hiya, RDear!

This will be the first time she's had a regular office schedule, but her partner is a nurse - on 3 days 12-hour shifts, then off, and etc., with shifts changing between days and nights periodically.

You are lucky in Rob in so many more ways than just schedule, of course.

Thanks re the rehab. I'm seriously considering turning left at Hwy 64 instead of right and heading to Dunkin' Donuts to get an apple fritter. I'll get Bill a donut, too. Aren't I a nice wife?

*smooch*

>203 katiekrug: Hi Katie! Oh yes, a more regular schedule and NOT being in the hospitality business. She's an introvert and will do much better with having to deal with fewer people each day. Of course these people will be co-workers instead of customers.

Thanks re the rehab. Today will be treadmill, weights, and stretches. I'm toying with the idea of increasing the weights to 5 lbs - will ask to hold a pair to see if it's even possible. And, believe it or not, I'd already written the reply to Richard's comment above before you reminded me of the apple fritter. The likelihood of turning left just increased even more.

Morning, Karen. Happy Wednesday. I was busy writing up a flurry of mini-reviews. I had fallen behind. Caught up now. I have some phone calls to make, mainly the insurance company. I have a guy coming out to look at the brick work but I think we are going to go with a reputable construction company for this job. I may also try to slip out for a short solo walk.

'Morning, Mark! Happy Wednesday to you, too. Good luck with the phone calls. For something that could affect the structural integrity of the house, I like the idea of the reputable construction company. I hope you can slip out for a solo walk. How long are your solo walks, typically? Do you just go around the neighborhood or do you drive somewhere nature-y?

>182 karenmarie: The library looks lovely. I decided against the book tree this past Christmas as I had done so much organizing last year after I put away the one from 2021. I have a great chair and light in there but, for some reason, don't read in there. I am going to resolve to spend more time there this winter...maybe even make it a no electronics zone.

Happy Wednesday! Small treats are an essential part of the journey!

Hi, Karen. Just checking in as I finish the last few sips/gulps of coffee #2. Dr. appt. this afternoon in this hellhole of Omicron spread - like everywhere else. Did you hear the WHO doc yesterday saying that in a few more weeks, fully 50% of Europe's population will be Omicron positive?
Stay in and enjoy home!

>207 witchyrichy: Thanks, Karen. No electronics is a good idea - I tend to play on my cell phone more than I used to but I like making the Library electronics free. Happy Wednesday to you, too.

>208 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! Yay for coffee. Aack about the doctor's appointment. I did not hear about Europe being 50% Omicron positive in a few more weeks. I'm just a tad worried about so many different folks at rehab, but it is what it is.

We have next Monday off rehab - MLK Day. I'd actually rather go, because after 6 days it'll be harder than after 4.

...
Sad news, and I'm very puzzled. Mapquest showed a Dunkin' Donuts in the town my rehab's in. After rehab I looked for it but couldn't find it, gave up, went grocery shopping, then came home. There's no DD for that town on the DD website, but it's still showing up on Mapquest. Sigh. I'm safe from temptation now, but sad.

So I bought a Snicker's Bar. Only half the sodium of an apple fritter, so there's that.

>209 karenmarie: Boo! Hiss!! There needs to be fritterage! I've been promising myself that as a reward for getting through the eye dilation (I can't have one because going to get it with dilated eyes is a NO).

Well, at least I got my nostalgia book read. Because I took 1.75 hours of my life in a cold lobby sitting...squirming more accurately...waiting for the damn transport company to pick me up!

Totally hear ya on preferring to stick to the schedule. Just prolongs the pain, imo, when things get shuffled. But Federal holidays are there to be grabbed.

sad little unfrittered *smooch*

I was sad about no fritterage. I'll have to make fritterage happen somehow.

I hope your appointment was a success.

*smooch*

>208 LizzieD: >209 karenmarie: Omicron spreads very fast, the postive tests numbers keep going up fast. The "good" part is that hospitalisations don't go up accordingly, so it does look like omicron is less servere in most cases. In our small country now the large majority of all positive tests are from those who went abroad. With a lockdown here and not in other parts of Europe, many went on vacation and returned as the schools started last Monday.

Re: omicron, I’m surprised and not surprised at that 50% number. In my small Turkish class we now have 2 students Covid+ so…

>291 lauralkeet: Karen, you amaze me. Recovering from a heart attack, you find a closet containing lots of things, and the main thing that you are looking for is a bird bath to be sure others can weather the cold, stormy days! What a feat of energy it took for you to finish that task. I imagine tiredness afterward, and a supreme sense of accomplishment.

Well done Karen!!!!

Morning, Karen! Sweet Thursday! The insurance adjuster will be here this AM. I would sure like to see the ball rolling on this. I peeked out at the feeders in the lingering shadows earlier and had a lone cardinal and a bunny.
Quite a feeding frenzy going on yesterday, though.

>212 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita. Here I would imagine that most folks who test positive traveled during Christmas or are unvaccinated. I just looked at the North Carolina metrics, and they are reporting 70% fully vaccinated and 74% with one dose in them. Higher than I thought. And with us sharing borders with 6 other counties, my county has the fewest hospitalizations. Lower than I thought.

>213 ursula: Hi Ursula. I’ve been enjoying your walking videos and see some folks masked and some folks not masked. Are masks required in your class?

>214 Whisper1: Hi Linda! I had a burst of energy on Tuesday that I took advantage of. I was whupped by the end of the day, for sure. That bird bath heater had been bothering me for weeks. Thank you.

The recovering from a heart attack issue is an interesting one. I don’t know when I’m supposed to have increased energy. I’ll ask the cardiologist today. Just officially added it to the list of questions that I printed out a while ago. I joke about playing the heart attack card, but truly don’t know if being this easily tired after two months is the norm or something to worry about. They’re pleased with me at rehab, I hasten to add.

>215 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark, and sweet Thursday to you, too. Yay for the adjuster coming out today. Thanks for the bird/bunny report! Let’s see – Cardinals, a Red-Bellied Woodpecker, a House Finch or two. There’s currently a male Cardinal happily splashing around in the fresh-water-just-added bird bath. When I went out to add water, I caught a whiff of skunk. Oh – yesterday when driving home from rehab I saw a Great Blue Heron fly over the road and in the morning I had a Tufted Titmouse at the feeders.

…
Rehab. Yesterday when I got home from rehab and the grocery store I realized that I still had the telemetry unit/wires/sensors still on. I was able to show the unit to Bill, and it’s now on the seat of the car ready to go back. I’m amazed they didn’t ask me for it but not surprised that I didn’t feel it. I've been losing weight, and the 2"x 4" x 1" unit fits easily into my front left pocket. I called and they asked when I was coming back. Today was the right answer – they said I could bring it when I come in at 11.

And then the cardiologist at 2:50 p.m. Fun times.

>216 karenmarie: BUT next to no waiting for answers to your quite reasonable questions! So yay for appointments in towns...
...
...without Dunkin Donuts...oh phooey. Maybe ask them?

'Morning, RD!

Oh yes, I'm going to put Dr. Gazda through the hoops, although I hope I can keep it friendly.

We do have a donut shop in town, Phoenix Bakery, but their donuts are very small and very expensive and strangely unsatisfactory. I'll wait to get something good.

Small and expensive equals unsatisfactory, no strangeness about it. Donuts are indulgent and opulent. Small ones are the British-dessert sort, cold and mingy and grudging.

My compensation sweet, the Snickers bar, was highly satisfactory. The guilt has already gone away.

>216 karenmarie: masks are required anywhere indoors. Technically they’re also required outdoors but it’s not been enforced for months. Also at the university everyone has to be vaccinated.

Sorry about the Dunkin Donuts. Small towns in Virginia rarely have Starbucks but I found that DD made a very good latte and then there were the donuts. I am also willing to do Sheetz when I really need my espresso.

Morning, Karen. Happy Friday! It is Jackson day! I am heading over there shortly, to watch him while Bree works and then I get to bring him home for the afternoon, so Sue can share the loving too. Yah! We will have friends over later too. They have never seen Jack yet.

Hooray for the GBH & titmouse sighting!!

>221 ursula: Thanks for the info.

>222 witchyrichy: Me, too, although since they are so not good for us it's probably better that there's not one TOO close.

Funny - I've never ever ordered any specialty coffee anywhere ever. The ... four?... times I've been in Starbucks I've ordered plain old medium roast (right, Peggy, for 2 of those visits?).

...
Bill's at work, my coffee's made with two sips taken, and I can putter and read all day. I might vacuum, but then again, I might not.

>223 msf59: Hi Mark! Happy Friday. Yay for Jackson Friday. Have fun with the little guy.

There was a flurry of finches and Cardinals a while ago, and I saw a Red-Bellied Woodpecker in the Crepe Myrtle but not on the suet feeder. Gotta fill the feeders today, especially as we're supposed to have a snow/ice event Saturday night/Sunday.

If anybody's interested in the results of my cardiologist visit yesterday, I've posted them in the Here's to Our Health 2022 thread so as to not clutter up my thread with my ongoing health issues.

Karen's cardiologist visit results

>226 karenmarie: All good results, especially reminding her she needs to be extra clear about what her numbers *mean* before whisking them offstage. Very glad there's no issue re: your statin reaction!

*smooch*

Hiya, RD, and thanks. *smooch* back'atcha.

Morning, Karen! I toddled over to read your update about the cardiologist appointment on the other thread. Good for you for being such a great advocate for yourself! I have learned over the years the importance of doing this, and am trying to get The Wayne to be better about speaking up. He's finally found a doctor he really likes and who listens to him and seems to "get" him, so that's been really helpful.

Hi Katie! Thank you. Being assertive and an advocate for me or my family took decades to get to, but I'm happy to report that I'm finally there.

Even in the hospital, 3 days after my heart attack, I chewed out a doctor for telling me I could go home on Saturday then rescinding it. It was for a legitimate reason but one they caused by putting me on TWO high blood pressure meds when I don't even have high blood pressure. I also told him Do Not Tell Me That I Am Going Home unless the discharge papers have been ordered and are in hand. The next day my nurse said I was going to get to go home AND she was just finishing up the discharge papers. They listened to me.

I hope TW thinks to make a list before he goes in - either on his phone or even a paper copy of a list so he can remember the things that are important to him and not be stifled or intimidated. I'm glad he's found a doctor who seems to be working for him.

Morning, Karen. Happy Saturday! We had a great Jackson Marathon yesterday. Bree didn't pick him up until nearly 7pm. He was fussy in the AM but perfect at our house. And we get to see him again tomorrow. Yah!!

Is any of this bad weather hitting your area? I saw the east and southeast is going to get hit hard.

'Morning, Mark! Yay for Jackson day yesterday.

From weather.gov:

Tonight
A chance of snow and sleet, mainly after 5am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 27. Northeast wind 5 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New snow and sleet accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Sunday
Snow and sleet before 11am, then freezing rain between 11am and 4pm, then rain or freezing rain after 4pm. High near 37. Wind chill values as low as 15. Northeast wind 9 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 32 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New ice accumulation of 0.1 to 0.3 of an inch possible. New snow and sleet accumulation of around an inch possible.

Sunday Night
Rain, possibly mixing with snow after 1am, then gradually ending. Low around 31. Northeast wind 6 to 13 mph becoming southwest in the evening. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.

...
We frequently lose power in ice storms, of course, but have the generator. We don't have to go to the grocery store, and plan on hunkering down.

>232 karenmarie: Ick! That's a ghastly forecast indeed. I know it's winter and we'd better treasure it while we can, but still that doesn't sound like any fun at all.

It's a lot colder than that here, but no one says the awfulest words in English (next to "President Trump") ie "freezing rain" in our world.

Oh yes, the freezing rain, especially if it gets to .3 inches, will cause all sorts of havoc. I don't anticipate Bill going to work Monday because with an overnight temp of 31, even if some of it melts Sunday afternoon, it will simply re-freeze and make driving treacherous.

As long as I'm inside and don't have to go anywhere, even 'freezing rain' is better than pt****.

When I first moved to NC from sunny SoCal I didn't know the difference between sleet and freezing rain. I've since learned, of course. I noticed that our local weather station has started saying 'pellets' instead of sleet. Here's to catering to the lowest common denominator instead of using the correct technical term!

>234 karenmarie: Uck. All we are having here is a ton of wind. It is 32 degrees outside but the wind makes it feel like 19.

Stay warm and stay safe!

Karen, thanks for sharing the link to your cardiologist visit summary. I love that the health thread exists, but I am not a participant and don't want to voyeuristically lurk there. So I liked being pointed to a specific post. And I'm really pleased that you were able to have a very candid conversation and also take some positive steps with meds and salt intake.

>235 alcottacre: Brrr. I'm safe and sound inside. Here's its 39F, feels like 34F. I'm pretty excited, too - just put a set of new fleece sheets on the bed and now I have a backup pair.

>236 lauralkeet: You're welcome, Laura. The thread has taken off and is a wild success, I think. I'm glad that you appreciated just going to the one link. I am discovering that there are several sets of conversations going on there, and while it's all interesting to me right now, I'm especially happy to be chatting with Madeline about her husband's heart attack and the low-sodium diet she's working hard at perfecting.

...
Bill has tested the generator and it's working like a champ. We're still looking at .1 to .3 inches of freezing rain after snow and after sleet tomorrow.

Waving a friendly how - de - do

Hi Karen my dear, hope that you, Bill and the the Kitties are having a good start to the weekend despite the weather forecast you have got. It has been just below freezing all day with thick fog, we have kept indoors nice and warm doing a bit of reading etc.

Sending love and hugs from both of us dear friend.

Hoping you're warmer and more powered than the forecast would lead us to believe.

Hi, Karen, hope everything is going well.

I'm in Minnesota, and we have been flip-flopping between the single-digit positives and negatives, and then the 30s! It's disconcerting!

Karen O.

>234 karenmarie: Karen, like you, I worry about loved ones who need to drive in snow and or ice. My grand daughter works at the desk of a gym about ten miles away. I worry...

>232 karenmarie: Sounds like awful weather! Here, we are expecting at least 10-15 cm of snow by Monday.

Glad you are able to stay home and stay safe!

>238 magicians_nephew: Hi Jim! Nice to ‘see’ you here. *waves back*

>239 johnsimpson: Hi John. We’re doing fine. I was busy today filling bird feeders, doing laundry, and changing bed linens. I am now officially whupped. Yuck to below freezing all day with thick fog, glad you and Karen have been able to be nice and warm. Sending love and hugs to both of you.

>240 richardderus: We’re cozy. It’s 36F outside, 65F here in the Sunroom (which I’ll be leaving shortly so I don’t have to turn on the propane), and about 68F in the rest of the house. The forecast has not changed for overnight and tomorrow, so we’ll just have to see what actually happens. We're about at the white check mark I've inserted.



>241 klobrien2: Hi Karen! Things are going well, thank you. Yikes to your flip-flop weather in MN. I have only been in MN one time, in the 1980s, and remember walking to the car from the airport in St. Paul and having my nostril hairs freeze. A bit of a shock, that, and totally not fun. I’ve never been colder in my entire life. *smile*

>242 Whisper1: Hi Linda. I hope that when it’s not safe to drive, your granddaughter can call in to say she isn’t coming in without repercussions. Jenna’s new job seems to be going out of their way to tell her to only come in on Monday if she feels safe doing so, and they might even close the office completely if the weather’s bad enough. Bill can work from home on Monday without it being a problem, too, if there’s too much ice on the roads in the morning.

And for me, rehab’s been cancelled because of MLK Day so I haven’t had to worry about the weather at all!

>243 figsfromthistle: Hi Anita. I’d much rather have 10-15 cm of snow than any ice and/or any sleet. But no, we’re smack dab in the middle of what will probably be an ice storm tomorrow. It may be more sleet than freezing rain – yay – but freezing rain of even .1 inches really makes power loss almost inevitable.

Ah well, I’ll find out when I wake up tomorrow morning. In the meantime, I’m going upstairs to read a bit and then sleep on my new fleece sheets. *creaky knees happy dance*

Morning, Karen. Happy Sunday. So, the weather hasn't been too bad there? No storms or power loss? If not, great. Bree is dropping Jack off later this AM and then we will take him to a small family gathering this afternoon. Of course, we will have to share him then. Grins...

Absolutely nothing happening at my feeders, the last 2 times I checked. Very cold. Only 11F out there.

'Morning, Mark! Happy Sunday to you, too. I got up late to the alarm at 8:50 and just had my first sip of coffee. We've had sleet so far, but it's supposed to turn to freezing rain for 3-4 hours before turning to rain. If there's any accumulation of ice, we might lose power. Yay for a Jackson day, even if there has to be sharing.

Let's see. Cardinals, Tufted Titmice, House Finches, a Red-Bellied and a Downy Woodpecker, both male. Thank goodness I filled the feeders yesterday - I'm not inclined to go outside today at all. But we're definitely warmer than you are, and I understand why the birds are hunkered down. 11F. Brrr. We're at 27F.

Jenna's got lots of snow and sent 3 pics and a selfie. My daughter doesn't show her emotions very often, so this is her, thrilled to the core.

>246 karenmarie: She looks positively giddy!

Happy Sunday...hoping you'll stay warm. *smooch*

LOL, I know, my kid actually almost had a smile.

Happy Sunday to you, too, RDear. The Sunroom's now 67F, and it's 27F outside.

My new fleece sheets were So Wonderful last night. I love them. I now have two sets of fleece sheets so I don't have to scramble in the winter and strip the bed, wash the sheets, AND put them back on in the same day. Such a luxury.

*smooch* back'atcha

Cuddly fleece sheets! *aaahhh*

I'm content with my heavy cotton blankie. It only comes out on a few weeks of serious cold, but it's glorious then!

Yes, *aaahhh*

I'm a wimp. I put the winter sheets on in late September and started wearing winter jammies in mid-September, along with my warm wool winter socks. I probably won't switch to summer jammies/sheets until May.

>246 karenmarie: I love Jenna in the throes of joy!!!

I came over expressly to see how you're faring..... We had some ice this morning, but now it's above freezing, and the ice is pretty much gone from trees, so I think we got away with one. Hope you don't lose electricity. You have a generator though, right?

I was just reading your interview with the cardiologist. I hope she realizes how fortunate she is to have a patient like you who is direct with her for both your sakes. I hope she's wise enough to profit from your comments, and I'm very glad that you know how to take care of yourself.

One of our prized possessions is a mattress warmer. DH doesn't like flannel sheets, but we turn it on an hour or so before bedtime and then cut it off so that we don't get overheated. It's blissful.

ETA: Hmmm. You said "fleece" not "flannel." I don't know them, but I suspect that my DH's reaction would be the same. (Mama sometimes refers to flannel as "outing." I had never heard of that until a year or so ago.) (When snow is mentioned, I always think about my grandmama, born in 1885, who would always say about snow, "We children would be in such a glee ----- foolishness!" I was sorry that her rigid Presbyterianism condemned joy as foolishness. Grandmama managed to be foolish anyway.)

Karen, I have been following your story on the Health thread. I have nothing to add over there, but I am soaking up the encouragement others are giving about healthier eating and more exercise. Finding someone with the same issues (Madeline's husband) has got to be good medicine for you. It does help to realize you are not the only one going through uncertain times. I wish you all improved health in 2022.

Seeing Jenna's pictures made me smile. I consider myself a serious but inwardly joyous person. I do need to remind myself to smile more frequently.

I hope the ice storm passes you by. We have snow and cold temps here but the streets are clear enough to walk Penny for the second time today. We didn't go at all yesterday and she was not happy.

Stopping by for a quick wave before you start your new thread.

I'm glad your rehab is going so well.

I hope you avoid the ice storm. We had about a foot of snow two weeks ago, followed by just enough rain to crust everything over. Now it gets into the low 30's everyday - just enough to melt a little - and refreezes every night. My outdoor chores are incredibly slow as I can't take the chance of a knee twist with only one ligament intact in my right knee. So I've taken to wearing my knee brace outside on the ice. Are you familiar with the penguin walk on ice? I'm pretty sure I read about somewhere here on LT many moons ago. The knee brace keeps me from pointing that leg outward - so I am reduced to doing the half-penguin - perhaps a penguin munched on by a seal or killer whale.

But ..... wonderground now has us at just over 9 hours of daylight! Hooray! And the GHOs are hooting up a storm every evening. Gives me hope.

>250 karenmarie: Very good to be nice and warm! I would like the snow Jenna was having, just for a moment. But freezing rain sounds awful. Hope it’s over by now.

Morning, Karen. I hope you are doing all right. My SIL, in Hendersonville, posted an update on FB- they have snow and ice on the roads and she can't get out.

Love the Jenna photo up there!! I bet she is great at poker.

>246 karenmarie: I love this photo! Very Mona Lisa quirky.

One of the ongoing battles I have with my MIL is that Charlie doesn't like smiling for photos, and she badgers him about it. Fake smiles are dumb - I'd rather him be his own self.

Mmmday orisons, Horrible my dear, hoping it's not as gluccchhhy there as it is here.

>246 karenmarie: That is a lot of snow, Karen.
I showed the picture to Frank, and we laughed about so this is her, thrilled to the core :-D

‘Morning, all!

Everything’s fine – no power problems, no health problems. I got busy with football and dinner and then went to bed without checking back in.

>251 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! Jenna was thrilled all day, sending pictures and texts. She ended up getting 6” of snow, once she finally remembered she had a ruller and could measure it.

We didn’t get any freezing rain at all, just sleet until about 2 p.m. Then, apparently, overnight, we got a bit of snow, perhaps ¼” or so. We do have a generator but did not need to use it.

Thanks re the cardiologist and me. I’m trying very hard to do everything they tell me to do. Today I’m trying to get the emotional energy up to use the weights – one of the cardio rehab therapists sent me the video that we use on weights days.

Mattress warmer – never heard of that! I used an electric blanket for quite a while, but now have the corn bags. And, if I can remember to take an extension cord upstairs, I found the heating pad, which I’ll use on my knees, I think, all night.

Yes, fleece is different than flannel. If I can get back to this post, after 6 more to address, I might discuss fleece vs. flannel. My paternal grandmother was born in 1882, was Presbyterian, and called most things foolishness. She lived with us from when I was about 2 until she died in 1964, when I was 11.

>252 Donna828: Hi Donna. That thread is helping quite a few people here in the 75ers, and I was glad to share. Yes, Madeline’s husband’s issues are similar to mine, and we’ve been having good discussions about healthy cooking/baking. Thank you for your wishes for improved health.

I have to remind myself to smile more, too. Let’s all try to smile more.

We got no ice, thank goodness. It’s already 36F, going to a high of 42F, and most of the sleet/ice/snow should be gone from most surfaces today.

>253 streamsong: Hi Janet! Thanks re the rehab. I feel good about it. Ugh to ice-crusted snow. I’m glad you’re taking extra precautions,and sacrificing a graceful gait for caution and safety. Yay for more sunlight and the GHOs. I can hear them out here too, occasionally.

>254 EllaTim: Hi Ella! The storm is over. Jenna’s company is closed today because of the weather. I’d have preferred snow, of course, but am just glad we didn’t get ice.

>255 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark! Yes, the western part of the state got snow. I’m not sure Jenna could get out of her apartment complex today even if she wanted to. She still might get flurries today, but no accumulation.

She is a good card and game player, you’re right.

>256 scaifea: Thanks, Amber! That photo reminds me of someone… user @scaifea… oh yes. Another very Mona Lisa quirky pic. *smile* Good for you and Charlie for not giving into MiL.

>257 richardderus: Hiya, RDear! Happy MMMday orisons. Normally I’d write the day out, because I personally find, and have always, found, hating MMMdays, ridiculous. There came a time when I did a bit of living for the weekend, but I never universally hated the day after Sunday. I’m sorry it’s gluccchhhy over there. I’ll be over in a bit to try to cheer you up.

…
And so, the big old nasty storm was a bust here. There were 60,000 households/businesses without power yesterday, still about 32,000 today, but we dodged the bullet. We’re staying in today, no reason to go out. Bill can work from home. Rehab’s been cancelled for MLK Day.

Morning, Karen!

I think my much better half would stay in her warm pajamas until Spring if she could.

Love that photo of the thrilled to the core Jenna.

Our trainer cancelled on us today, so we’re going to have to exercise on our own. It’s surprising how much harder it is to do it that way. Self-discipline: for this, I’d much rather have simeone telling me what to do, and that I have to do it.

Morning, Karen! Glad you dodged the storm bullet.

>260 jnwelch: - What Joe said. I find it so much harder to motivate myself with no outside pressure. But I am going to have to learn to do it, because two gym sessions a week is not going to cut it on its own. *sigh*

>258 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita! Yes, my kid is still thrilled over the snow, although her first text this morning was this:



From yesterday, Jenna’s mini-snowman. Bill suggested calling him “Smarty the Snowman” because the candy is called Smarties. Smarties are about 2.25" tall plus the extra cellophane on the ends.

>260 jnwelch: ‘Morning, Joe! I’m glad you like the pic of Jenna. She knows the pic made mom and dad happy, although I suspect she took it for her romantic interest. I’m okay with that, not proud at all.

Good for Debbi!

I have a plan to use the weights today – in fact, after I get off LT here in a while, I should really do that prior to doing anything else. You’re right, it’s harder to exercise without someone telling one what to do – or, in my case, being at rehab where I can’t do anything BUT exercise.

>261 katiekrug: ‘Morning, Katie! We are, too, although I love the way the trees look like they’re covered in diamonds after the freezing rain has frozen.

Yes, I can see that two gym sessions/week is not enough. Do you and TW have any exercise equipment at home?

Right now I’ve got 3 rehab sessions a week, and really need to figure out what to do for after it ends. I can’t afford, health-wise, to stop exercising and pushing myself.

>262 karenmarie: ☃
Go Jenna! Great text. And so, so true.

>263 karenmarie: - We have some weights, a TRX system, resistance bands, etc. but not a treadmill or elliptical or anything. My at-home cardio will be a mix of things I've learned at the gym and ones I've found online (like this).

>264 richardderus: Yes, my books look balefully at me when I'm getting ready to choose another one. They all clamor "Me, me, me!!"

>265 katiekrug: My knees hurt even looking at that video - and I take comfort from the fact that I'm 30 years or more older than you are and can also play the heart attack card. I don't think I've ever actually said that I admire you and TW for having a trainer and becoming so mindful of your health through exercise and eating.

I want a treadmill or elliptical for the house. We'll see if it can happen. I also know where it will go if we get it - in the master bedroom. Of course that means moving 2 chairs, 2 side tables, and one coffee table out of the bay window sitting area to only God knows where.

I have resistance bands and the weights already here.

>266 karenmarie: - Well, I don't mean I can or will do all of those things. But I can do some of them. And I do better with a variety of things to do than just one. But everyone's different. It's been fun discovering what works for me.

TW and I would be a pair of Skinny-Minnies by now if we were as dedicated to better food and drink habits as we are to our gym sessions...

Doing what you can is better than thinking that because you can't do it all you shouldn't do any of it. Best is the enemy of better.

I've learned over the years to not do too many dramatically different lifestyle changes at once. I've had to do some of them recently because of my heart attack, of course - rehab and low-sodium diet, but I still eat sweets and the occasional lite salt potato chip so I won't tear a whole bag of full salt chips to shreds or eat an entire bag of Oreos. Bill has a bag of Oreos on his snack shelf, but I mostly ignore them.

I would never be able to ignore Oreos, so you're my hero!

Yay for being your hero! Here's what tempts me every time I go into the pantry, 2nd shelf down. The regular baking soda and baking powder are on the top shelf temporarily, next to the arborio rice for the risotto I haven't made since mid-November. I haven't analyzed the sodium content of risotto yet, but am pretty sure the Parmesan will make it a special treat, especially if I make shrimp risotto, because shrimp naturally have a fair amount of sodium. I may keep the regular soda and powder for a while, but the sodium-free versions are in the kitchen drawer to immediately grab for baking.


Bill's Snack Shelf plus kitty treats. Oreos are at the end of the white arrow. I occasionally ask for and get a deli chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin cookie - 135 - 160 mg sodium per cookie.

Morning, Karen. Glad to hear you avoided the worst of the storm. Nothing wrong with a "bust" when it comes to that stuff.

'Morning, Mark! Yes, I'm glad we dodged it. Apparently North Carolina made the national news with a tractor trailer going off a bridge and various and sundry other skids and crashes.

That cartoon is perfect - when I pick a can of wet food for Zoe in the morning, I read the label to her.

Two cardinals and two finches are on the feeders, and that's all.
...
Bill's home with a twisted knee today. I got all the Friends of the Library stuff done yesterday, and so I don't have any homework. Just a lazy day facing me - perhaps a bit of vacuuming and/or straightening, reading and LTing.

The first sip of coffee on the coldest day of the year according to our weather station - 21F at 7 a.m. It's now 30F.

>262 karenmarie:❤️ Love both the book dialogue and the tiny snowman.

Right, thank goodness for the rehab therapists. Not only do they know what we need to do, but they won’t take no for an answer. For me, at the beginning I was inept at everything, including simple walking, but eventually it smoothed out.

I use our treadmill all the time now - it’s the piece of exercise equipment I’ve found the most useful over the years. I’m not as fond of ellipticals as some people are, although I must admit they can give you one heck of a workout.

>271 msf59:😅

Oo, glad to hear you dodged the storm. It swept by Chicago, leaving only a light dusting.

Yikes, that’s cold! I’m having my morning coffee and tipping my imaginary hat to you as you drink yours.

>265 katiekrug: I just looked at your workout video. OMG. I think I can do about half of them without expiring on the spot.

I've been saving little scraps of Silver Sneakers videos for ages now, and sometimes I even stack them up and do them! Now with a huge blister repairing itself on my ankle, I'd better do some of them this week until I can bear to put my shoes on again. Thanks for the aspirational motivation!

30°! It's the same there as it is here! That's surprising.

Happy Tuesday's lazings.

'Morning, Joe!

Thanks re Jenna's contributions. She's clever and a lot of fun.

I really like the therapists at my cardio rehab. I've said it above somewhere, but I'll say it again - they don't push often, but the occasional nudge is good. They are encouraging without being sickening sweet about it. No rah rah cheerleader stuff. They're medical professionals and know what they're doing.

I want a treadmill. I need to figure out which one makes sense. I can easily envision myself using it a lot. What kind do you have? The ones at rehab are Life Fitness - they are apparently gentle on the knees.

>274 ffortsa: My rehab folks can send the videos we watch to my mychart account. I love mychart - it's where I can get messages, appointment reminders, test results, send questions to my doctors, and even schedule appointments in addition to them sending me videos.

Yikes to the huge blister.

...
I exercised with the weights video yesterday - 2 sets of exercises that work all muscle groups. I also did the cool down stretches from memory, and think I can do one weights exercise I was resisting because of bending my knees - but I don't have to do full squats, just some bending, which I did yesterday and did fine. I also tried one of the stretches I have resisted because of knee problems, but I can also do it partially instead of full pull-the-knee-to-the-back-of-your-thigh. I am childishly anxious to show them my willingness to do these two things tomorrow.

>262 karenmarie: I am one of those people who has stacks of books and still have to go out to buy some because I feel that my selection is inadequate ;)

The tiny snowman is cute.

I'm way behind, but >155 karenmarie: looks like a great soup recipe. I copied it down. If I can find decent potatoes, I might make some. I tried to purchase a bag at the store, but before I checked out, I noticed some of the ones were obviously rotting. I showed it to the girl supervising self-checkout and told her I didn't want that bag. She didn't offer to go find me another bag. They had 2 brands, and I probably will check the other. The store most convenient to my house had no potatoes at all. I guess everyone must be making potato soup right now! (or mashed potatoes)

A quick good night, Karen! I don't think there's anything childish at all in wanting to show somebody who knows about you what you can do. Enjoy the support!

We're fine but dreading the new approach of ice later in the week. I meant to make a huge pot of mashed potatoes today to go with the huge pot of barbecued chicken that I also haven't made. Just call me Katy Scarlett.

Sleep well!

Morning, Karen. Happy Wednesday. How is Bill doing? I hope he has recovered. I had a great time with my birding buddies yesterday. It was a swan fest! I plan on getting out this AM but with a cold front moving in, it may keep off the trails for a few days.

>246 karenmarie: That made me smile, Karen. My youngest has exactly the same problem of being too demonstrative!

>276 karenmarie: Gently but steadily and determinedly does it. xx

Hi Horrible! *smooch*

>277 figsfromthistle: Hi Anita, and thanks. We both practice tsundoku as defined quite cleverly in the Urban Dictionary:

(Noun) The tsundoku, that Ode to the Great Unread, Shrine to the Word, Bibliophile's Inukshuk, Pillar of Light and Savior of Sorts, is the artistic and/or scientific materialization of piling up newly acquired books, in a TRP or TRQ, for utilitarian (lack of reading time/space/bookshelves) and/or psycho-pathologic (abibliophobia, fetish, OCD, hoarding or addiction) reasons.

I'm not saying you have OCD or any other pathology, I just loved the way this described piling up unread books! Thanks re Jenna’s snowman.

>278 thornton37814: Hi Lori! I hope you can find potatoes and make it. I need to ‘low-sodium-ize’ it if possible for Bill and me. That’s not a very good cashier, IMO.

>279 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! Thank you. I had some rough patches last night, but did sleep from about 1 – 5:45 without interruption.

I know – this storm has caught me by surprise. Ice for you, ice/sleet/snow for us, probably mostly snow. Yay mashed potatoes and bbq chicken. Go, Katy Scarlett! Looks like you'll have to hunker down even more than normal.

We need to go to the grocery store on general principles. I don’t know if Bill’s going to go or I’m going to go. He’s at the doctor’s now giving some blood for labs so we haven’t had a chance to talk this morning. I haven't left the house since last Thursday. No need to, really.

>280 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark, and happy Wednesday to you. Bill’s knee is back to normal – meaning some pain sometimes but not bad pain all the time. Thank you for asking. I’m glad you had a swan fest! I’m curious and will head over to your thread in a minute or two. Wow! Cold front for sure, nasty temps for you. I can see why you might want to stay inside.

…
Rehab this morning. I had an inspection for my Escape scheduled for 3 p.m., but the inspection machine’s broken and I’m waiting to hear from Barry at Ford when it will be fixed. Gotta get the Escape registered by the end of January. Of course everything’s chaos at the DMV, so I’ll have to print out my proof of registration and carry it with me ‘til I get the new sticker and registration card. Last year they didn't arrive until mid-February, but I didn't get pulled over for expired tags.

Happy Wednesday! I went grocery shopping at the big city grocery store yesterday along with a couple other errands and am now tucked in on the farm. Hoping we get some lovely snow this weekend.

I did want to share the bird report from my ferry ride across the river as I know there are a couple birders on this thread: one very cold looking Brown Pelican almost hiding amongst the black-backed gulls and cormorants. He was on the south side as I headed over and then on the north side on the return trip. And one beautiful bald eagle soaring above us all.

Hi Karen, and happy Wednesday to you, too! Yay for being tucked up before nasty weather hits.

Poor Brown Pelican. Wonderful to have a Bald Eagle soaring.

...
I'm tucking into a piece of whole-wheat bread with crunchy natural peanut butter prior to heading off to rehab. Can't do it without eating but hate eating to a schedule. Harrumph. Yesterday I didn't eat until about 12:45 when Bill brought lunch home. This is way too early.

Cancelled the inspection to next week regardless of when the machine gets fixed. Bill and I are going out this afternoon to get groceries prior to tomorrow's rain/sleet/ice/snow event, although tomorrow during the day will probably only be mostly a cold, nasty rain.

I put up a new thread and posted a new review for when y'all get back: https://www.librarything.com/topic/338892

*smooch*

Great picture up thread of Jenna being over joyed. Looks like you are getting into the healthy life style with gusto. How long does the rehab run for?

>286 richardderus: Thread visited and commented!

>287 Familyhistorian: Thanks, Meg. I'm working very hard to do the things I'm supposed to but with a bit of diet cheating - I know myself very well and know that if I don't allow a bit of fluff then I'll fall off the wagon in a stupendous way. Example: I had some lite salt potato chips this afternoon. 130 mg sodium total.

It seems to be working because I increased my pace today and kept it up for 19.5 minutes, did a stretch that I didn't do before because of knee problems and did one of the weight exercises that i didn't do before because of my knees too. What I did was grab my pants cuff instead of trying to grab my foot and bring it to the back of my leg and only go as far as it didn't hurt. And on the weights exercise I didn't try to bend my knees more than 3-4" instead of the standing squats the video was showing. Something rather than nothing was my motto today!

And I lost 3 lbs from last Thursday to today.

WOW!!! 3 pounds is an awesome loss and "something rather than nothing" is an awesome gain! You go, girl!

Off to bed. Batten down those hatches!

Only 50+ messages behind, so I skimmed a lot.

Stay warm! Congratulations on the weight loss - I gained what you lost, lol.

>289 LizzieD: That's excellent progress, Karen. You're doing really well and have such a positive attitude. I like the "something more than nothing" approach.

Morning, Karen. Sweet Thursday! Only 6F out there at the moment. I think these frigid temps will keep me off the trails for a while. My feeders were hopping yesterday though. I had a surprise visit from a Cooper's Hawk. I had not seen one back there in a couple of years. Couldn't snap a photo though.

Sue has some things to do this AM before work, so I have Jackson duty. Two days in a row? I can't complain.

>289 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! Thanks. Looks like we’re going to get a small amount of snow, with sleet/freezing rain less likely. You, on the other hand, may have a freezing rain event. I think your hatches need more battening down than ours do.

>290 alcottacre: Hi Stasia! Skimming works. Thanks on the weight loss. I’m rather proud of it, but realize it’s only the beginning. And, like you, I realize there will be times I gain weight rather than lose it. But I’m on top of it for now.

>291 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura. I’m not always cheery, but I’m not blowing it on food and I haven’t missed a day of rehab yet. “Something more than nothing” is a different way of saying “Best is the enemy of better.”

>292 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark, and a very sweet Thursday to you, too. 6F. Brrrr. Glad you’ll get to stay in with Jackson. My feeders need to be filled again, will get to it this afternoon. I see Cardinals and a Carolina Chickadee, plus a Finch or two.

…
Rehab at 11. Nothing else on the schedule except to stay in. It seems that the forecast for our part of NC keeps getting milder.

Ah, coffee.

>291 lauralkeet: and >293 karenmarie: - My mantra is always "Progress, not perfection."

>291 lauralkeet:, >293 karenmarie:, >294 katiekrug: Absolutely! I've had enough experience with the "I'm going to work out every single day and eat only (insert small number here) calories", to know that it's not sustainable. These things need to be moderate lifestyle choices.

Happy rehabbing. It's wonderful how fully you've integrated it into your routine. Long may it last!

*smooch*

>294 katiekrug: We're all on the same page.

>295 lauralkeet: It's taken inspiration to get this far - inspired on the treadmill with Deanna the Cardio Rehab Therapist, low sodium inspiration from Katie with the chocolate cake exercise leading to a systematic approach to low-sodium eating, and my own learned-the-hard-way inspiration of not trying too much too soon because I've failed spectacularly over the decades trying to change everything overnight.

>296 richardderus: Hiya, RD! Thanks. Today was the first day I really didn’t want to go, but I’m not a quitter, so trudged off. Got through it. Lowered the time getting to my highest pace and kept it up for an additional minute and a half over yesterday. I also did the stretch that hurts my knees, but did it by only pulling the cuff of my pants up and not trying to grab my foot – a teensy bit of pain but not enough prevent me from doing it.

…
Picked up a prescription (there are so damned many of them these days!) and bought lunch for Bill and me. Mine was the usual grilled chicken salad, but I splurged with Thousand Island dressing, 138 mg sodium/1T, and had about 2T. Yummy, a reward, and will only be ‘allowed’ infrequently.

Home, jammies, some Friends stuff, and now some reading.

*sigh* I pretty much spent the day battening. I am so sleepy that I dozed off reading to Mama tonight....woke up to incomprehensible sounds coming from my mouth and Mama looking quizzical.

You are absolutely not a quitter. You are good people and deserve your rewards. I am off to bed!

Happy Friday!

Congrats on the weight loss :)

Morning, Karen. Happy Friday. I have Jackson duty this AM and then get to bring him home for the afternoon too. Yah! The poor kid is teething so he had some rough moments yesterday but I still got plenty of smiles and giggles.

Congrats on the weight loss! Wishing you the best.

Friyay *smooch*

Happy that we woke up!

>298 LizzieD: Looks like you’re going to get more weather after about 2 p.m., Peggy. Sounds like your battening was a good idea.

Thank you, my dear. I hope you got some well-deserved rest.

>299 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita, same to you! Thanks re the weight loss.

>300 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark! Happy Friday to you, too. Oh no, teething already?! Thanks re the weight loss and good wishes.

>301 richardderus: Friyay – I like it. It was intentional, right? Yes, waking up is prefereable.

…
Off to start a new thread!

Hi, Karen.

I’ll have to check the brand, but we got a refurbished commercial treadmill. I’m not a small guy, and we wanted something sturdy. Gyms have to replace theirs regularly because of heavy use, and there’s a market for refurbished ones. Our gym helped us find ours.

P.S. it’s a “Precor”.