Cleaning up the flower pots...

Fall has arrived in full, and this past weekend, I finished removing the flowers and their pots from my back deck.  This is always a big chore, because our deck is raised up a story, and it's either down a flight of stairs and up the side of the hill to the garage, or through the house.  My husband helped me with most of them, and I just handed them over the railing down to him so I didn't have to lug them one by one.  Many of them are earthenware, and weigh a lot! I think I had about 20 pots or so, plus 5 window boxes.  I emptied the dirt out first this year, hauling it by the bucket load to the front hill garden to leave it for the winter.  I usually either dump the pot's contents into a compost pile, or keep the dirt in the pot.  But this winter, I wanted more room in my garage, so I emptied them all.
We've had a couple of frosts now, and I lost my morning glories, lantana, part of my nasturtiums and the leaves on my Mandevilla, which is a house plant.  Should have brought that in earlier, but they were calling for 32F, and it actually got down to 27F.  Oops.
I did bring my goldfish plant into the garage though, good thing!  It's looking so beautiful, as it always does after it's been outside for the summer.  It too is a house plant, but loves humidity, just loves it.  It always loses a lot of leaves during the winter because of the lower light and dry air (be sure to fertilize it, it's a heavy feeder).  My shamrocks always flourish outside too, and then look sketchy for the winter (you can 'rest ' them in the garage for the winter, water a bit monthly).  Probably the rain helps them too, instead of constant well water.
Speaking of, I did set out my big containers to catch the rain water off the roof, and for the most part, didn't have to use nearly as much well water for watering.  Water needs in July and August are high, and had to water at least once per day.  Maybe I ought to add perlite to my dirt mix...
Now I just need to wash the pots and saucers and put them away in the garage for the winter.  I'm somewhat relieved and a bit sad at the same time, throwing out my plants.  Kind of glad to not have to worry over and water them, but miss their cheerful blooms.  I did keep the Lantana, which I had overwintered in my garage last year - it did WONDERFUL this year - it was HUGE!  Plus the Fuschia, which lost all but one stem over the winter, but boy, did it make a comeback!  I almost threw it out this spring, but it was gorgeous later on.  My mother commented on it when she visited the first of October for my birthday.
I kept one geranium.  I don't have much luck overwintering them.  I think it gets to dry and cold for them.
OH!  My canna lilies, which my realtor friend brought to me this spring.  She brought a big container full, probably ended up with about 15 or 18 pieces by the time I divided them, and planted them in 3 large containers.   Lets just say, those babies love to multiply!  Oh my goodness. I had to break a pot just to get them out to dry for the winter.  I had probably 15 - 20 canes in each pot this summer.  Way too many, I know.  Lovely little red flowers though.  I am giving some of the tubers away, as I just don't have the room for them in my flower gardens or pots.  This pic is early summer.
PS:  I eventually lost the bulbs to mold over winter.  They probably should have been kept in some peat moss or shavings.  My garage is too cold some winters, and my basement too warm.

The bunnies are back!

The wild bunny is back.  He/she has been visiting in my back yard on and off this spring, after I saw the two of them chasing each other about 3 weeks ago.  They spent about 45 minutes in the back yard, chasing, playing tag, it seemed.  I'm going to assume it's 'Mrs. Bunny' that's out there.  The neighbor's cat, Tramp, had caught a baby bunny a few summers ago (which, after a rather amusing round of tag, I managed to free the poor little thing.  Let me tell you, they are powerful little jumpers, even that small, and very determined to escape!) so I am thinking that this could be related.

I learned a thing or two about wild rabbits at the time.  One, they cannot be domesticated.  Perhaps there are stories out there that they can, but the official answer is they can't, nor should they be. They would not do well in cages, and in my opinion, would be cruel for something that hasn't been domesticated.  Also, the momma leaves the babies to forage for food, only returning twice a day to feed them.  So if you find a nest, leave them be if you can, she will likely return by nightfall.  Also, I think it's at about 5 weeks they are basically on their own, but you can research that one in case I'm wrong. There is a lot of good information at the following site: About Orphaned or baby wild bunnies here

Oh wait! There's another one! Either the first one is going in circles, or there is another in pursuit.  With the overgrown vegetation this time of year, I can't see what's going on back in the woods.  But they do seem to like the wild rambling rose bush, as they stop to nibble when they go by.  They love dandelions too.  Kind of funny to watch them, as they eat it like one might eat spaghetti, starting with the flower, and nibbling down the entire stem like a noodle. :0)
I like wildlife in my back yard, I have seen a lot in the 10 years since we've moved here.  Sometimes it's a bit too close for comfort, though, in regards to the black bears, coyotes and bobcats.  :0)

Max ... March 31, 2015

Hey all.  I know.  I am not making any more promises about posting.  Yeah...
Anyway, updates.  Well, I had to make that one-way trip to the vet a couple of weeks ago.

Max - Sept 1997 - March 19, 2015
He was 17 1/2 years old.
RIP my beloved cat.  He was my best buddy, loved him with all my heart. Had him since he was 6 weeks old - left at the vet without a mama, and I picked him out as he was busy beating up all the other tiny kittens.  He and Jellybean.  What a ride it's been.  He moved 8 times with us, I think.
Lots of memories there.  The day of the vet trip was very very hard for me.  But I made myself do it, because it was for the best.  The vet said it was the right thing to do.  As I mentioned earlier, he had stage 3 chronic kidney disease.  I cared for him for nearly 2 years with this disease.  It's a terrible disease, I wish they had a cure, but all one can do is try to slow it down. 

The house is lonely now without him.  Everything reminds me of him.  Opening the pantry door, which squeaks, always brought him running for a treat.  He was usually in whatever room I was in, preferring my lap.  He loved sunshine.  Grass.  Plastic bags.  Yeah, had to hide those because he'd eat them.  Not good.  The first few days were rough, because in my mind's eye, I could see him everywhere, because he'd been everywhere in this house.  Waiting for us when we came home.  Sitting in front of the electric fireplace in the family room.  Head-butting open the bathroom door.  Waiting outside the bathroom door while my DH showered, then following him downstairs so he could get his nightly treats.  So many memories in this house with him.  But I kept telling myself that they don't live as long as we do, that it's inevitable that they go first.  If I just didn't get so attached. But I've always loved animals pretty passionately.  Horses were my first love.  I was head over heels about them, so to speak.  I hope to have one again someday.  But kitties were more portable.  Now I just feed the birds and chippys. :0)
Ok. More big news.  My dear hubby had to have hip revision surgery in January.  His first replacement about 14 years ago seemed to go bad this past year or so, until he could hardly walk on that leg.  He went back to work 2 1/2 weeks after surgery because he 'felt so good', but now it's sore again, because he's walking too much on it at work.  So now we are trying to back pedal a bit and give it a better chance to heal.
More sad news.  The same day of surgery, his father died.  We knew he was going to, he had stage 4 lung cancer.  We went home at Christmas to see him, and he wasn't good then.  We got the call at 4:30 AM, just before we went to the hospital.  We were unable to go home because of the surgery, and it's a 9 hour drive to another country. We are going home for the burial service in May, since the ground was frozen and snow covered in January.
And, to top it all of, I had to get a root canal.  Yup. My very first cavity, in fact.  Which needed a root canal, and crown.  I was not excited.  I was actually in disbelief!  50 years old and never had a cavity until now.  Bummers.  I thought this was going to last forever, but no, no.  Sigh.
I survived it. Did quite well, actually.  I was quite terrified, but really, it didn't hurt.  Not after the needles.  I was really nervous about those needles.  I kept asking how much this root canal was going to hurt, and they kept saying 'oh, no worse than getting a filling.'  Oh Wait. You've never had a filling before.  Yeah. 
Did I mention I'm going through the midlife change?  Yeah. Icing on the cake.
Also, this was the coldest worse February on record for this area, I believe.  We had to fill the oil tank an extra time this year!  Awful glad oil prices are coming down!! 
Well, I think that's about it for now.  Onward and upward.

Autumn...

We are 1/2 way through Autumn, winter is officially still a few weeks away, but we are feeling the chill from those 2 arctic fronts swooping down out of Canada.  I can't complain though, as the grass is still fairly green, the burning bushes are still 'burning', and the temps were fairly mild until recently.  We keep saying (and hoping) that THIS will be the last weekend to do leaves, but I dare not make that assumption yet.  I think we are pretty much done for the most part, the oak in the front lawn still has about 1/3 of it's leaves, so we will see how next weekend looks.  My DH couldn't get the lawn mower started yesterday, it seems the spark plug was gone, and a wire was chewed on the magneto from the mice who tried to set up housekeeping 3 weeks ago.  They had built a good sized nest in the motor area, and it was occupied!  A year or 2 ago, it was chipmunks.  I even discovered a little nest in the middle of our portable fire pit.
Speaking of the oak tree, it dropped a few acorns this year compared to previous years. I have learned that nut trees in general do not produce the same amount each year.  There are some years we are lucky to find 1/2 dozen.  One year, the ground was literally covered!  This year, there were quite a few, but the squirrels were very diligent -- all you can find are mostly the caps left from the acorns.  Well, it made it easier raking, that's for sure.
Started my light box the around the first of October.  I've had some foggy days, but I think I'm doing better.  Combining SAD with peri-menopause, and oh what fun. The ups and downs of hormones and lack of sunlight, I never know what kind of day I'm going to have. Sigh.
Max is still hanging in there.  Poor guy.  Chronic Kidney Disease is a terrible thing.  It's hard to know when 'it's time' to make that one way trip to the vet.  I hate to think about it, but also don't want to wait until the last minute, which could end up being worse, for both of us.  The medicine I got for him a year ago has helped alot, but I think it gets to the point where there isn't much more you can do.  Combine that with other side illnesses that can crop up, like high blood pressure, thyroid issues, and it just gets more complicated.
A big factor has been his teeth.  He goes through what seems to be monthly cycles of gum disease.  He gets really bad breath, REALLY bad, and he doesn't eat very well.  With CKD, he cannot afford to lose calories, so I have to be diligent and watch him closely to see that he doesn't fail too badly during these times.  I do feed him 4 times per day, all canned food (even the dry Kidney disease food causes problems with him), with his meds 2x's day in his food.  He takes the generic form of Pepcid AC regular dose for his nausea that comes with the toxins building up in his system.  His kidneys just cannot flush everything out like they used too, because they are only operating at about 15 - 25% capacity at this point.   I am guessing, as he is in the later stages of this disease.
He still looks forward to his daily routine, though.  He gets cold very easily, and LOVES the electric wood stove in the evening with DH.  Parks himself in front of it. I finally put his big pillow there. :0)
Anyway, it weighs heavy on my mind at times.  He's been a faithful companion for 17 years.  I got him when he was 6 weeks old from our local vet, no mama.  When I saw him with his siblings, he was busy beating everyone else up. Ha!  I got him, a Tiger Tabby with a white nose, and his sister, Jellybean, who was black/calico, with an orange dot on her forehead.  She passed away from diabetes when she was 9.

I am still feeding the birds.  I can watch them out the window as I type.  There was a major flock of blackbirds and grackles that came through last week, many hundreds, moving from lawn to lawn.  I say, eat up those bugs and spiders!
The Juncos came around October 17th - 20th this year, as they do every year.  On stormy days, I can have up to 3 dozen, but usually about 15 or so usually.  The woodpeckers love the suet feeder.  I switched over from rendered w/seeds to the raw from the grocery store, now that it is colder.  I use this when I can find good pieces in the store, as it's slightly cheaper.   The white breasted nuthatches, I think 2 pr, they are so crazy and fun to watch.  Also, the titmice, cardinals, purple finches, chickadees.. but my very favorite is the Carolina Wren.  They are such perky inquisitive little birds!  I have a small basket hanging up under the deck which holds the remote for the weather station, and I watched them one day totally check it out, inside the basket and all around the outside.  Just in case it could be a home for them, I think.   And the doves.  Always the doves.  But at least it isn't pigeons!  Once in awhile, a hawk sweeps through, and I will find feathers, mostly dove.  That's ok, I have LOTS of doves. It's the little birds I'd feel real badly about.  The squirrels are quite tenacious too.  I had a lot of grays most winters, usually about 7, but the black squirrels arrived about 6 years ago, just one for a couple of years, but now I have more black than gray I think, and they chase the grays away.  I also noticed that the black ones are more skittish than the grays.  Interesting...

We took a day trip up to Gould's Sugar House in Shelburne, Massaschusetts in October.  We hadn't been up in awhile, and though it would be a nice trip for leaf-peeping, and it was.  Not a bad breakfast, although I thought the pancakes were quite mealy.  Flavor ok, texture wasn't my type.  They make their own breakfast sausage, nice big patties, not bad.  They serve their own homemade dill pickle chunks with breakfast, very good, but salty! They are open for 2 seasons each year, since like the 1960's, for breakfast/lunch, very limited menu, but very popular.  Some days you wait for an hour, so get there early!  They are open during sugaring in the spring, and a few weeks in the fall during apple season, which you can buy some while you are there. They have a small gift shop where you can buy their maple syrup as well.  All this is located in their old barn which used to bunk their help way back when.  It also houses their sugaring operation which you can see operating in the spring. I think it's all run by cord wood, if the large amount stored is any indication. It's worth the trip.  In fact, the lady who runs the restaurant must be near 80, and still works the counter.  She showed us an article about them in the Yankee magazine, which was very nice.
We also stopped at Shelburne Falls Coffee Roasters, one of their 2 stores, if I remember rightly, also on Route 2.  Neat little place, very busy!  GREAT COFFEE!



The store I stopped in has a nice little sit down area, several choices of pastries, and of course, coffee.

 
I brought home 4 different flavors to try - Chocolate Raspberry, Toasted Coconut, Sugar Maple Nut, and Amaretto.  They all smell and taste good.  Very smooth coffee.  I ground my own beans, as they sell whole beans in big stoneware crocks with wooden lids.  Nice!  Definitely better than most store brands.
That's all for now, laundry is calling, Max is looking for some lunch, and I've got a pot roast in the slow cooker and need to 'accessorize' it. :0)  Have a blessed day.

Welcome Spring!!

Finally, spring has arrived!!  Long awaited, dreamed about, impatiently sought after, finally here.  Winter was LONG this year.  I guess it was for just about everybody, it seems. Even still, my folks further north still have snow in their yard, but as my mother says, bare spots are appearing.  When I boast about my azaleas blooming, she says, well, my flowers are just poking through the ground in the bare spots.

As I type this, I'm watching a grey squirrel cavort about like a kitten.  Having the best time!  He's bouncing off of tree trunks, rolling on the ground with a stick, squirreling around, enjoying himself (or her). 
The Goldfinches have been numerous this spring!  I counted at least 12 males outside my window at the bird feeder, plus Purple Finches, Chipping Sparrows, White-throated Sparrow, White Crowned Sparrows, and oh yes, one Pine Warbler!  A new one for me this year. The Downy Woodpeckers have been quarreling over the suet feeder, I think I have 3 pairs coming daily.  Plus the Hairy and Red-bellied. 
The male Cardinal has been courting his mate, by staying close to her and occasionally offering her a seed, which she shyly accepts. It's so cute! The nuthatches are crazy as ever, and courting as well.

I have one wild turkey who has been coming every day for over a week now to my bird feeder.  I'm wondering if it's a female, and if she has decided to nest in the woods somewhere out back of us.  Seems she's been staying in this area.  Would be cute to see the babies.  We did have a whole flock pass through in the last month or so.  I heard yesterday that the population of wild turkeys is down this year in CT, but still stable.  

We had a hard winter for our area.  My lavender suffered terribly, and I think I lost some perennials as well.  We've had mild winters for several years, with not a lot of snow for most of them, but this year was colder, longer and I think the frost might have gone deeper as well.

Today it is raining, we need the rain, and you can practically see the grass growing.  The trees are starting to leaf out, the wild rose bushes already have small green leaves.  I must keep an eye out for the Jack in the Pulpit this spring so as not to miss the bloom.
Well, I better get on with my day.   Have a great week!

Merry Christmas!

Since this is likely the only post I will get in before Christmas, I want to wish all of you who stop for a visit a blessed Christmas!  Mine will be blessed because my parents are coming Christmas Day, all the way from Canada. That's a 9 or 10 hr drive, and quite a drive for my Dad, who's in his 80's.
And every year, I am just so thankful that they are still able to come.  Very thankful.
As a Christian, I am also very blessed because Jesus the Christ was born one night in Bethlehem, in very humble circumstance, as Savior of the world.  'For God SO LOVED the world, that He GAVE HIS only begotten SON, that whosoever should believe in Him, should not perish, but have eternal life.' John 3:16
This has become more real to me in the last couple of years than in my whole life, even though I've been a Christian since I was a teenager. 
Well, am I ready for Christmas?  Uh, not yet.  But I'm getting there.  I procrastinated again this year, much to my chagrin. Seems I just get overwhelmed and ignore things until the last minute, until there's immediate pressure.Yeah.  Not a good way to function. Part of it has to do with my Seasonal Affective Disorder, which starts to kick in late October. The rest just comes naturally.  I am doing my light box every day, and it really does help.  
Every year, when this season rolls around, I tell myself, this year it will be different. I won't focus on gifts, and all the rest, but more on the spiritual aspect of the season.  I'd rather not have to buy gifts at all.  Especially as the family gets added to, there's more and more people to buy for - to think about what they might like, how much to spend, how to get it there, whether they have that item or not...sigh.  This 'snowball' of gift buying just keeps getting bigger and harder to roll every year.  
So I struggle with how to celebrate, how to keep the real meaning in my life, and not get overwhelmed by it. 
Seems it should be simpler than this. Not quite so commercial.  It seems that the spiritual aspect takes a back seat to getting everything else done.  Especially for someone like me, who has a tendency to procrastinate, and not be so organized!  But I cannot seem to get off this 'hamster wheel' of expectations that I have and everyone else has for me.  If someone out there has had similar struggles and has made changes, please let me know how you accomplished that.  
Well, I'm off to go accomplish something! :0)  Get the cards sent, the gifts bought, the tree cut and decorated, the baking done and the house cleaned.  All before Christmas Eve.  
I can see it now. I will be mopping the floors on Christmas Eve. Sigh.
Merry Christmas!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Note:  My hard drive failed last week - it lasted 7 years - so the photos in previous posts may or may not be visible.  I haven't check yet.  I do subscribe to Sugarsync, an online storage site, so I had saved most of my photos and all my documents.  Worth the money each month! I need to re-sync so I have access to my photos from my computer again, but I think I will wait until after Thanksgiving.  I am planning an upgrade to Windows Vista, as I am still using XP and service runs out for that in April.  My plan is to gradually go to Windows 7, if my old Dell system can handle it.   The new hard drive was a quick relatively inexpensive fix to my aging computer, but I know I will be in the market for a new laptop or something similar soon.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My how time flies. Christmas is just a month away now!  How was your summer?  We had a good summer here.  I raised tomatoes this year - plum - which did ok, considering where I put them.  They didn't get real big or thick, despite the composted manure I put in, but I think it was just not enough sunshine.  My yellow tomato plant did quite well - planted it in a big pot instead of the ground. I just don't have the gardening space for more. But I am encouraged! 
I didn't grow the blue morning glories that I usually do, we were having our deck finished, so I couldn't let them twine around the railings, so I just skipped them this year.
I did extend the shade garden between us and the neighbors.  The bee balm I had put in a couple of years ago survived, so I expanded the bed to include some extra columbines - they readily self-sow in my front garden.  A few extra's that seem to do ok in shade as well.  We'll see how they survive the winter.
My cat, Max, has been diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease.  What an awful disease.  It's not reversible, and will just keep getting worse until he will need to be put down.  I'm trying to prepare myself, as I love him dearly and I've had him since he was 6 weeks old.  He's 16 now, which is somewhere around 75 in people years.  We had to switch him over to a special vet food for cats with renal problems.  He's doing a bit better, but he's not that fond of the food.  We fed him dry food for years - this can be a contributor to CKD.   I did start feeding him a bit of canned stuff a couple of years ago or so, but I think it was too late.  Now all he gets is canned stuff.  Cats need water.  Dry food just doesn't put enough into their system.  Also, they are thinking now that one of the kitten immunizations could be contributing.  Anyway, I hope they find out for sure what causes it, because many older cats develop this, and it's so sad to see how it causes muscle wasting, loss of energy, many trips to the litter box, and overall deterioration to their health.   The vet food lowers their sodium and phosphorus intake, and their protein intake, so their kidneys don't have to work as hard, which then gets their water intake under control.  I thought he might be diabetic, he urinated quite a bit, but he wasn't hanging over his water bowl like Jellybean did when she was diabetic. 
Anyway, it's hard when your pet is ill, becuase they can't really tell you how bad it is or hurts, you have to watch for the signs.  If you have a cat that's older, and you are feeding dry food, please look up Chronic Kidney Disease and check the symptoms - it's not usually apparent they have this until they are well into it.
http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/cliented/ckd.aspx  is a good site to get started.http://www.felinecrf.org/index.htm is also an informative site.
Well, better get back to work! I've got a pumpkin pie in the oven, and will roast the turkey today as well.
I'm thinking about making a quiche for breakfast tomorrow, something real simple.  Perhaps one with canadian bacon, cheddar and onion.  I usually use regular ham, but I have none on hand.  I'm also going to do candied sweet potatoes - I love sweet potatoes, especially roasted! Plus mashed and gravy, cranberry sauce, and I've already made the homemade biscuits. I may throw in a green bean casserole.  I've been wanting to try making it with fresh green beans instead of canned.
Hope you all have a great day tomorrow!

May 2013

(Note: I've tried desperately to upload a photo, like I usually do, and for some reason blogger gets stuck after I choose a photo.  It just sits there.  So if anyone has an answer, I'd appreciate some advice on how to fix this problem.  So bear with me until then - Thanks!)

May already!  The leaves have popped out, flowers are blooming, birds are calling - especially that poor little house wren, who just sings his heart out looking for someone to love him and make a home with him.  Last year, I think he sang a month straight, all day long.  Wonder he didn't get laryngitis.
It's dry here.  We haven't gotten our spring rains yet.  We are down about 3 inches over the last 2 months.  Not good.  We are supposed to get some rain today and over the weekend - I sure hope so.  I've been transplanting a few things in the flower beds, and it's dry about 5 or 6 inches in.  I've been watering already since April.  
I'm still volunteering at the library.  I enjoy my job and the girls that work there.  And it's only 5 minutes away.  
We've had the bass boat out a couple of times - in fact, my hubby was so excited for fishing season that he was ready the day it opened - 3rd Saturday in April!  It was working quite well, but the motor has a leaky gasket issue, so it's in the shop right now.
I made Lemon Meringue Pie yesterday, along with pulled pork.  Anyone out there have a good pulled pork recipe?  I looked at several, and chose one with a dry rub which had ingredients like cumin, cayenne, chili powder, paprika, garlic and onion powder, and brown sugar.  Not bad, but I'm thinking celery salt was missing.  Then you are supposed to slow cook it until tender, which I did.  Then add your own BBQ sauce.  I did that too, and since I couldn't decide whether to go the vinegar route or the BBQ sauce, I did both.  I mixed a bit of cider vinegar with the bbq sauce, and it wasn't bad. I think liquid smoke would have really topped it off.  (of course, doing it on the BBQ would have been wonderful, but I couldn't see wasting all that propane...)
Next on my list this week is Broccoli/Cauliflower salad with dried cranberry bits, shredded cheddar, and bacon bits. And a bit of sliced onion, preferably red.
My hubby has been literally begging for homemade bread.  I made good bread, but for some reason it's hard to get cranked up to actually make it.  When I do, I tend to make a 5 loaf batch to do us for awhile.
It's rhubarb season again here in CT.  I still have a couple of packages of frozen in the freezer to use up, along with some frozen blueberries I picked last summer.  So I see maybe a rhubarb pie, or bars or something in my near future.  I really should make the blueberries in to a sauce for pancakes or ice cream.  Yum!
It's a good thing I can't afford to hire a cook, I'd be huge!! :0)
I've been trying to change how I eat, after watching that documentary 'Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead'.  Anyone watch that?  About the australian dude who came over for a couple of months to try a juice fast?  I really liked the second part of the movie about Phil.  I'm so proud of Phil!  Anyway, it was a good documentary, very motivating to me.  My diet hasn't been bad, I've cut way back on sugar and baked goods.  I'm trying to eat grapefruit first thing most mornings, and incorporate more veggies for breakfast.  I tried a greek omelet at a local restaurant, and it wasn't bad!  Feta cheese, diced tomatoes and spinach.  
So I bought a 2-pack of goat cheese at Costco (less salty) and a big container of plum tomatoes (we like them just sliced) and baby spinach, which I sauteed a bit with garlic and olive oil.  Stirred all this into scrambled eggs, made a nice tasty breakfast.  I have also gotten into gluten free bread.  It's expensive, but good.  I'm trying to cut back on gluten to see if I feel better without it.  Doesn't hurt to try, right?
I also bought a big container of Kiwi.  Kiwis are underrated, don't you think?  A nice zing in a fruit cup, or sliced on the side for breakfast.  
I've got some dried black beans waiting to be done up. I really like black beans, and they are good for breakfast in eggs too.  W
e ate out for breakfast this past weekend, which we like to do at least one each week.  I had an old favorite, Mexican breakfast burrito.  A burrito, filled with scrambled eggs, black bean salsa, cheddar cheese, mushrooms if they remember to put them in, and I add sliced breakfast sausage.  It also comes with onion and peppers, but I omit them.  It's served with sour cream and extra salsa on the side.  YUM!  Very nice, and I always bring home 1/2 of it, because it's too much, especially with the side of home fries and toast that comes with it.
Yeah.  I see that - home fries, and I dare not say I like the 'deepfried', right??! Ha!
Well, I'm making progress, anyway.
Now I'm hungry.  Better go have some breakfast. Max, my 15 yr old cat, is letting me know I haven't taken him out for his 2 minutes outside the front door and his 3 blades of grass.  That's all he gets, because if left to his own devices, he would eat grass like a goat, and then leave me a present a bit later.  Yeah. Not cool.  
Have a great week!

We gave up Dishnetwork...

How odd, and how weird, to feel relief in giving up our satellite receiver. Yes, we gave up our Dish network after many years with them.

Why, you ask?
I guess because we finally decided that there:
A) Wasn't much worth watching, at least at that price
B) It was now nearly $80/month just for the second tier, including a $7 DVR fee (was $6).
c) We decided that we were going to change our viewing habits, and much of the regular programing was not included in that change.

 We found that for the most part, we only watched about 3 or 4 channels out of hundreds.  We only watched for 3 hours or so a night, plus maybe 4 hours on weekends.
We also started ruling out any 'R' rated movies.  PG-13 is getting so bad with violence and language that I can't trust that anymore either.
We calculated that we would be spending about $900/yr on TV, not including PPV movies at $5 a pop.
Let's see, what would I rather spend $900 per YEAR on?  Oh, I could think of a lot of things!! I do need a new washer and dryer, I would like to have a kayak, a horse, pay off the car, a house of our own, rent a cottage for a week or 2 each summer...and so much more. See, there are many things I could do with that $900 (each year!).  And TV moved WA-a-y-y down the list.
So we shipped the receiver back yesterday, dropped it off at the UPS store.  I was surprised to hear my husband say later how relieved he was that it was gone!  I knew I would be, but he was a bit harder sell on this idea, but he does really like Netflix.  He says ' it's there if you want to watch something, but you don't have to if you don't want to.'  Meaning, it's at our leisure.  That movie will wait.  Yes, the DVR did kind of do the same thing, but we ended up with dozens of things to watch, and no time to watch them, because we were still watching live TV too.
Do we miss anything?  Yes, there were trade-offs.  I miss the TCM channel (Turner Classic Movies), sometimes HGTV and he misses NASCAR.
However, like I said, we do have Netflix, and there is a small selection of old movies for me to start with there and we bought a $39 Mohu leaf indoor antenna from amazon.  It allows us to get several local network and PBS channels, and Fox - which is broadcasting several weekends of the Sprint cup.  My hubby is thrilled.
We also bought a router and new DVD with wireless capability to make this setup work and it's working great! We do want to try Amazon Prime at some point, maybe next week when our free trial at Netflix runs out.
We also can pull from our local and state-wide libraries for viewing free DVD's.  What a resource!  
We did have some up front costs, like the router and wireless DVD player, to change our viewing habits, but we are still saving a lot of money.  And funnily enough, TV has a lot less hold on us now and that's a good thing in my book.  There is so much of life to be lived outside of the living room.  Don't you think?

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  I hope you all had a nice holiday season.  We did, except we both had colds for the whole week.  This time the colds weren't too bad, we've certainly had worse. We still managed to enjoy our families while they visited us.  They live a day's drive away, and we had this planned for some time.  It was so good to see everyone, as we don't get to see them more than a couple of times a year.
We got out to the mall for a day for the after-Christmas sales.  Mom and put together a couple of puzzles (we both love puzzles) and we played a few games of 2000. (a card game)
What's new? First I want to mention my light box and how I'm doing with that, since it is the season for it.  I'm doing pretty good, thank you.  Much better than last year.  I started the 3rd week of September, with about 5 minutes a day. Then, in October sometime, I went to 10.  Then 15. Now I'm up to 25.  Last year, it was 30, and I was sitting much closer to it than this year. (I use the HappyLight, by Verilux)
This year, it's hanging on my wall just to the left of my computer screen.  It's about 3 feet or slightly less from my face.  Usually, I have to have it within about 15 inches or so.
How do I know if I have enough?  Well, at some point I start to sigh, and feel more relaxed.  Like my body is saying 'Thank you!.'  Also, if I get too much, I get a bit edgy, and feel like I have to shut it off.  So far, this is working for me.  It falls within the parameters of using the light box.
So I just wanted to update you on this, in case you too are suffering from this disorder, and hope something I said will help you or point you in the right direction.
As for other news, not sure I mentioned this earlier or not, but I am volunteering at my local library.  I started in late July last year, 1/2 a day a week, in the Inter-library Loan Dept.  I really enjoy it! The ladies are very nice to work with, I get out of the house, and I do love books. :0) 
Speaking of, I am due there this morning in about an hour, so I better get this posted.
Until we meet again, God bless!

Merry Christmas 2012

We wish you all a peaceful joyous Christmas time. 
For my family and I, we celebrate the birth of Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior, God's Son.  As we remember and honor His birth here on earth, we reflect on what it has meant for mankind --what it means to me -- and where we'd be if He hadn't come.
In case you have never read about His birth, I have reprinted it below from Luke.

Luke 2:1 - 20

 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."
 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

Last night, we went out for a movie date.  We saw the Avengers - it was pretty good, a bit overwhelming.  I think I'm getting too old for comic book characters.  Plus it was quite violent.  I always notice when parents bring their 8 years olds to see a pg-13 movie.  Makes you wonder. 
Also, I find there is just too much computer manipulation - makes it so unreal.  Not that there is anything real about comic book characters, lol...
But we had a nice evening out.  Spent a small fortune on popcorn and drinks.  Wow...that is definitely where they make their money.  We did go for the 'Tuesday Special', aka 'cheap night'.  So at least we saved some there.
On the way home, about 3 minutes from our house on a country road, just about dark, we saw a mother woodcock and 5 little babies!  They were SO CUTE!  She was taking her time crossing the road, so we stopped and waited.  She seemed a bit disoriented by our lights, and we didn't dare turn them off because it was getting dark and didn't want anyone to run into us. 
After a couple of minutes, we saw lights - a car coming the opposite way.  I didn't hesitate - I got out of the car to play 'crossing guard'.  I waved my arms at the car and started towards the birds.  Momma wasn't happy.  She turned around and started right for me, kinda flapping her wings and making very unhappy sounds, then tried to draw me away from her babies. Such a good mother!  I decided perhaps I wouldn't 'herd' them across the road after all.
The other people stopped and waited, but I don't think they saw the chicks, as it was getting quite dark and they were next to long grass.  They were so tiny.  I read afterward that they are fully feathered out at 2 weeks.  These little ones must have only been a couple of days old.
Well, they finally all went their way, and I waved thank you to the other car and we came home.  My good deed for the day.
I pondered afterwards our timing.  2 or 3 minutes earlier or later, we would likely have missed them.  Possibly the other car would have hit them, because they were still on the road.  Makes you wonder.  I do believe the Lord really does care for the smallest things in our lives.  And I was thrilled seeing them. 
But boy, I sure wish I had my nice camera with me...

Scams...

Just a quick post.  I thought this was important enough to mention here.
We are shopping for a used boat, so we've been perusing Craigslist.  We've looked at a couple, and inquired about a couple more.  We rec'd an email back in regards to our inquiry on one,  from some lady who said she was in the military, being deployed to Afghanistan this month, and needed to sell her boat within the next 2 weeks.  Excellent condition- great price.  Just what we were looking for.   
In our second email, we asked for an address and phone number, so we could come see it and set up a time.
Her 3rd email said it was in Topeka, KS, ready to be shipped.  (Funny how we found this on the Boston area.)
She would ship it to us, through EBay (Ebay?  Where did that come in?) so we could use it for 5 days before buying, or ship it back free.  She said she was a legitimate Ebayer, and would prove it.
She said she 'couldn't get off base' to show it to us, as she was getting ready to be deployed.

WELL.  About this same time, we got another email from another ad we had responded to, another boat, only 2 years newer, and about the same cost.  This was from another military lady!  With almost the same wording and excuse about being in the military.
I thought, ok, how can this be?  So I did an internet search, and lo and behold., this is a scam.  Apparently it's been going on for sometime, because the forum I found had posts dated from 2010.  And also, it's not just boats, but cars and ATV's as well.  
We didn't get to the point of talking money - I sent back my last email stating I knew it was a scam and 'shame on them'. I am assuming they get you to send a check, which they will 'hold' until you decide if you want the item.  Or perhaps they get your credit information, I don't know.  All I know is you can't be too careful these days.  If it sound too good to be true, it more than likely is.


Lesson learned.  If you can't go see it in person locally, BEWARE!  And NEVER EVER send money to someone you don't know through Western Union, etc.  

Also, as a seller, the checks sent to you can be no good, can be from 3rd world countries, which can take months to clear - only to find out they are no good. 


http://forums.ebay.com/db2/topic/Escrow-Insurance/Car-Scam-Beware/520186369

This link will take you to a forum on EBay discussing scams, and show many people who rec'd the same emails I did, in some shape or form. 

Hope this helps inform you and keeps you from falling for something like this.  

Lawn care, drought, and chemicals...

(The above pic is our lawn 2 years ago, about the same time.  It's not nearly that lush right now because of our dry spring)

The lawn care people were just here. They come every spring, spreading fertilizer and pre-emerge.  It's not my idea.  It's my landlady's.
If it were up to me, I would be carefully researching my options, and doing whatever I could organically.  I'm even open to a fine layer of composted manure applied at the right time.
I was thinking...I miss seeing white clover in my yard.  Not that it was ever here, but I do remember it in yards where I lived previously. Most people like to get rid of it, because it isn't grass, but I remember how sweet it smelled on a summer day.  And the buzzing of busy bees.
Which brings me to this thought:  Just think how many lawns across America are cloverless, dandilionless, plus all the other little flowering things?  And we wonder where the bees are?  Why they are dying, or why we have to bring them in to orchards, etc.
Not saying this is the complete cause, but I'm sure it does factor in, since the last 50 years or so of chemical lawn care.  It's a huge industry, at least here it is.  With applications up to 4 times a year, that can really add up. And I won't even get into industrial applications on farms, golf courses, etc...
I was thinking about tilling up some lawn for a garden, but now?  I don't think so.  No telling how much residual chemical lies in my lawn.  Do a search on Roundup, you might be surprised.
I just know that each year when the chemical lawn man shows up, I am frustrated by my lack of say in this decision.  I can't wait to have my own lawn.  And I just hope it hasn't been subjected to years of chemicals.
I just had another depressing thought:  But what about my neighbors?? What about runoff? Is it possible that the rain can bring the chemicals from across the road and down our front lawn? (we are downhill) Is it affecting my water supply? What about the marsh out back?

All these are things we should consider  for both ourselves, and our neighbors, when we make a decision to treat our lawns.  We are to consider our neighbors...and make responsible decisions.
Speaking of lawns, I was reading recently about how much water it takes to maintain these beautiful lawns.  This is of special concern to me, and others who are drought stricken at this time.  I am already watching my water consumption due to a very dry winter and spring, and it's only April.  I know my well can run dry during a real dry spell if I do laundry and water my flowers on the same day.
I wrote about this before, how I save and use my kitchen wash water on my plants, by saving the water I wash my veggies in.  Amazing and terrible how much good clean water we pour down the drain. We take so much for granted here in America - our good clean plentiful running water.  Our indoor flush toilets - flushing after every visit, instead of every 2 or 3rd.  Running the faucet full tilt while brushing our teeth.  I've adopted these conservative measures myself, and my next plan is for rain barrels, so I don't have to use my good clean well water.
I sometimes get a bit upset when I see the neighbors down the road with their beautiful weedless lawns maintained by underground sprinklers that run EVERY DAY, and wonder, does this affect my well?  How do we know?  How can we know if we are on the same vein underground?  Maybe not, but it irks me that they run water like it's always going to be there, and I worry about my well running dry and whether I should water the few flowers that I have.
It's dry everywhere here, and we should all have a concern about this.  We should all be doing our part.  Just read about Texas and their drought.  How the towns haven't been doing enough to conserve water, and how worried they are about running out.  Actually running out of water.
I even read that a number of people are getting wells drilled that are already on town water, and how the towns may have to limit the number of permits for these wells.  Can you imagine being denied a permit to drill a well??
All because we didn't have enough foresight, or perhaps it's more than that, maybe it's a lack of discipline.  We just don't want to have to be the ones to give up anything or change our lifestyle...

And this was going to be a very short post.  Sigh. :0)
Let me just end this by saying that my mindset has been slowly changing over the last couple of years.  Between reading survivalblog.com, Mother Earth News, the weather channel, CNN, and a few other magazines and websites, I feel I am becoming more educated (and woke up!) on things I didn't use to worry about.
Top that off with our 7 day power outage last October, which REALLY woke us up and made us think, I am glad that I am thinking differently.  And it's not just me.  I overhear conversations in restaurants and stores discussing these things.  Lets just say that when 800,000 people are without power for several days at a time, people start to think about things they've never before considered.

Well, gotta run.  Laundry is calling.
Thanks for listening.  Think about these things.  Read up on them.  Make wise decisions.

Well, my computer was down for a week, in the shop. They say it had viruses. When I asked how many, she said, we lost count. Oh. My. Goodness! I've had the Cox Security Suite installed for 5 years, they use McAfee. I though I was secure.
I knew the week before it wouldn't boot up to windows that the computer was acting kind of sketchy. That little voice in the back of my mind was saying, 'you should really do a backup of your photos, get those organized and delete what you can.' And did I listen?
Procrastination is my middle name.
Well, I got lucky. My personal stuff is intact, but I have limited functionality. My audio doesn't work, only one drive works, and it's misnamed. When the computer shop repaired my computer, they used an older version of my windows XP Media. I have 2005. They used 2002. They say it's the same workings. I say, I've used this computer since Jan 2007 daily, and I know what it's supposed to look like. It looks slightly dated, and the drivers are all messed up.
AND, I never did update to Vista, although I've had the disk for years. Now, I can't, because it's an update to vers. 2005, not 2002. Sigh.
I've learned alot in the last couple of weeks. How to save my .pst files for Outlook, that I should have a backup plan and use it DILIGENTLY. That I have, are you ready? about 60 GB of photos and videos alone. Not including my documents, which thankfully are a fraction of that.
Do you know how long it takes to upload all those photos? DAYS. Actually DAYS AND NIGHTS. Seriously. I've been uploading for 4 days and nights steadily.
And did I mention music files? I've just been getting into buying I Tunes and Amazon MP3's for my I-Pod Nano (which I still love, btw!) I can't remember how much I have been it's not as serious as the photos. I uploaded all my music to Amazon Cloud and SugarSync, so I should be ok.
Speaking of SugarSync, that is who I decided to go with for online storage/backup. It's costing me, but I am hoping to downgrade my package after I get this mess straightened out. I did run into some trouble with the last 10 files, they don't seem to want to upload. Spent time chatting online with tech yesterday, need to upload the log to them for analyzing.
In the meantime, after searching online for others opinions on this stuff, I decided it wouldn't hurt to go with Carbonite, another online storage/backup site, as a backup to my backup. They offer a free trial period, unlimited upload. Yee haw! (seeing as how I uploaded about 85 GB to Sugarsync) So that is what I'm doing now.
AND, the repair shop said that AVAST is a great free antivirus software, so they put a copy on my computer before I brought it home. So far, it's blocked a couple of malwares.
I think I've done well over the years, as that was the first time I've ever had a computer in the shop, and when I really sat down to think how long I've been online, well, it's been since about 1997. I've been operating computers since the 1980's. Wow. I didn't realize it's been that long!
I've owned 3 computers, each one basically becoming severely outdated. This one is 6 years old. I remember when I ordered it from Dell, I could have a TV Tuner come installed in it, and I thought, that's crazy! So I didn't. Now I get it. Sigh. :0)
Well, I hope this helps someone out there to stop procrastinating and get things in order on their computer. I had a close call - nearly losing all my beloved family photos for the last 6 years (last backup was 3 years ago), our trips, my pets, my flowers (What was I thinking? A bazillion flower pics!) scanned slides of my childhood... everything.
And did I mention I save emails? Yes, I have several folders and sort family and friend emails into them and keep them - at least the meaningful ones. I am quite sentimental. I need to do something about that. :0)
So, what did we learn today?
1) Backup your computer! Regularly!
2) Sort those photos, make prints, CD's, etc.
3) Keep a copy of your music online, on CD's, etc.
4) Check your virus software - I think you can do a free virus scan with other reputable software now and then just to be sure.
5) Don't procrastinate. You might not be as lucky as I am next time.

I don't know how much longer this is going to take. I've been at this since last Friday, a week ago. I still have several thousand files to upload to Carbonite. It could take another couple of days, I think I managed 6GB overnight last night. Make sure you turn off your screensaver, your hibernation mode and sleep mode - and just shut off your screen.
My plan is to finish this, then reinstall my correct operating system, and then install my Vista upgrade. I'm going to finally do it and get it over with. I think it's patched and fixed as much as it's going to get now, and I hear Windows 8 is coming out soon. Sure is hard (and expensive) to keep up with technology. Hmmm, do I really need it? That's a post for another day. :0)

Scripture on my heart today:

2 Corinthians 4:16 - 18

"Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen, is eternal."

Thank you, Lord, for encouraging me to not lose heart by what I see. To know that you are always working on my behalf in all situations. Even when I don't understand, I trust you. Thank you Lord, for adjusting my perspective. Thank you for adding balance. Amen

SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder...

(Turkeys in my back yard last winter...)

Well, so much for doing better on blogging. I give up making any more promises. I will catch you up on what's been going on this winter. I guess in the last post, I talked about light boxes, so I'll start there. The new one, from Northern Light Technologies, made in Canada, I tried just didn't seem to do it. I wanted it to, I really did. It was white light, so supposed to be better for your eyes. No glare, tilted down instead of up. It was big and awkward, and took up one end of my dining room table. I did get some great Bible reading time in during my sessions though, and I continue to read a chapter nearly every day. A great habit to get into, and not only reading it, but really studying it and understand what the author was trying to say. It sure helps to read the entire book consecutively, as it helps put things in perspective and you get an understanding of his point. Anyway. I finally ended up sending the light box back. It was over $200, and I had only 30 days to try it. Thank goodness Amazon has such an excellent return policy. It did come with a piece broken, so I didn't have to pay return shipping. I ordered another one, this time a Verilux Happy Light. This one is lighter, about the same size, but has a built in stand so it sits on your desktop, but also has a keyhole so you can hang it on your wall. So, I've been using in the wall, about 3 feet from me. Now, it says to be within about 12" from your face for 1/2 hour, but this makes my eyes ache, a fair amount of nausea, and a bit of a headache, so I left it on the wall, turned on, while I do my internet stuff in the morning. It's been a slow process. I think it helps some, but my problem has been compounded with 2 colds in the last month. Yes, you read that right! 2! about 4 weeks apart. The first one was a real nasty one - severe sinus pressure and pain, runny nose, scratchy throat, fatigue. What fun. Then, just as the very last of the first cold was leaving, another one came. Not as bad, but it sure is taking it's sweet time in leaving. It seems I've been sick for 6 weeks now. And tired the whole time. No energy. Down, unmotivated, wasn't able to exercise consistently, and it's winter. More fun. I am getting over now though as we speak, still runny nose, but a bit more energy. I started walking again last week. Far cry from the treadmill, bike and elliptical plus weights I was doing at the gym, but I am getting there. I am really struggling with the light box thing, though. I am to the point I am willing to buy back the first blue light. I felt SO GOOD while doing that. A lot more energy, motivation, well being - things I really like! :0) I am thinking of keeping this light box from Verilux, and using both - the blue light for a shortened period of time each day, with the other light filling in. Have to see how that works. Seems the blue light is the most effective treatment, but comes with it's hazards, like glare and headache. So perhaps I'll modify my treatment to try to eliminate these. I've really struggled with nausea too, with the Verilux when using it up close. Lasts nearly all day. I'm still having a hard time getting up mornings - this wasn't hardly a problem with the blue light therapy. Perhaps I should try the Dawn Simulator. These dark mornings, now again with the time change, make things harder. A Dawn Simulator starts about 30 minutes before you want to walk up, with a gradual lightening, just like real dawn does. Tells your body 'Wake up!' Another thing with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) is the latitude where you live. Seems if you are subject to this, the further north you live, the harder it is. Since I live in New England, can't get too much further north, although it does make a difference from living in Maine and NB. I did notice we have a lot more days of sunshine here in CT than northern Maine. I found a document online which said that Caribou Maine gets 59 days of sunshine per year, and Hartford about 82. That's full sunny days, not including partly sunny/partly cloudy days. I know there are a lot of partly cloudy days up north. We have less days of precipitation too. Most sunny days seems to be in the desert area of the US, like Arizona, Nevada, etc. Well, there's no way I'm moving there! I am definitely not a desert person. I like my green trees, flowers, grass, etc. However, I am entertaining the idea of a move further south, especially in retirement. The only problem is, I don't like excessive heat and humidity. That can also trigger a more rare form of SAD. And even rarer, is a combination of the two. With my luck, I likely have both. yeah... I know I get quite frustrated in the heat and humidity, but I think if I had a swimming pool, nothing fancy mind you, it would help. Also, a deck NOT painted brown. Can you say 'hot hot hot!!'? :0) Well, I'll just say, I will be glad to find something that works, and get on with my life, because this is certainly a major downer every winter. I want to enjoy life year round. Yes! So that's what's been preoccupying my time lately. Isn't that exciting? :0)) On a lighter note, I'm running out of my homemade soap I stocked up on in December from one of our local farms - Cupola Hollow Farms. They make excellent goat's milk soap - once you try it, you may never go back to store bought soap again. I know I won't. The ladies will open up likely the end of this month, hopefully. I see one of our favorite ice cream places has moved down the road from their original spot, can't wait! This warm weather certainly gets one in the mood. It has been in the 70's the past couple of days. About 20 degrees above normal. I don't know what that's going to say about this summer. I wish I could summer in Maine - just the summer. It is so nice up there July and August. Fresh cool breezes, warm summer days, fresh fresh air, and such a feeling of laid back contentedness. How well I remember from our years there. It's such a slower pace of life, so much more relaxing than here. But you also need to remember the long cold winters, and bug season. Oh. Yeah. If you go too early in the summer, be prepared for the onslaught of blackflies. Especially north of Bangor. And mosquitoes. Lots of swampy boggy places for them to thrive up there. Speaking of, we saw our first mosquitoes of the season here this week! And yesterday, we heard spring peepers. I love listening to them in the evening. It's early in the season, so I hope we don't have any more snow or late season hard freeze. Although at this point it time, it's anyone's guess if we will. Well, I better go. Housework is calling, and maybe some time in the sun on the deck while these unseasonably warm days are here. I hope everything is going well in your neck of the woods. God bless and keep you.

Light therapy boxes...

Just a quick update on one of my past posts where I mentioned the light therapy box.
I sent back the Suntouch Plus light box. I discovered it's a 'blue light' box, and blue light has been shown to be hard on your retinas, and can lead to Age-related Macular Degeneration. Can actually speed it up by 10 years.
The article suggested 'white light', so I ordered and rec'd the BoxElite from Northern Light Technologies. (bought through Amazon) I will keep you posted on how it works out. I know the other light box made a big difference, but I did suffer from glare, and worried about my eyesight. Plus, we are supposed to get it at an angle as if from the sun, so not from desktop level, but rather from an elevated level, which this new box does. I did notice today that there is no glare. There's also UV filter protection, and it's adjustable. The light isn't as bright, but still 10,000 lux, and it's to be used 17 inches from your face, rather than 12 - 16.
I feel more confident using this one, but will continue to monitor the research. Will keep you posted if I learn anything new.

Almost, but I didn't.

That was close. I almost signed back into Facebook today. I looked at my index card for my password, and noticed the date. 7/13/09. Wow! I didn't realize that it had been that long since I had deactivated my account on Facebook. Today was tempting. My aunt has since joined, and my best friend has pics of her new hubby on hers. My step-kids and nieces are on there too. But do I really want to get back on into everyone's daily life again? Do I need to? Honestly, for me, I probably shouldn't. I live far away from all my relatives. That might make you think that I really should. But then I remember the emotional roller coaster I could get on when I saw something that upset me, something someone said, or when someone in my own family didn't add me to their Facebook friend list. Whether by mistake or on purpose, I've decided that I don't really want to know after all. I am on this computer enough daily that I don't need to check into Facebook several times a day too. (and I know me - I will do that!) 

 While it was good to reconnect with friends I grew up with, they do live over 1000 miles away from me, and the likelihood that I will ever see them again in person is slim to none. I'm just facing facts here. And the emotional roller coaster? I can certainly do without that. I don't need the extra upsets that come along in life. I can't help much about most things, except pray, and be a support if they phone. I should be doing that for them anyway. So I think that I will just put away the thought of signing back in, and call them instead, if I decide to connect. So much better that way, don't you think?

Getting healthy...

(Above: My lap buddy, Max, who follows me around every night until I sit down and put his favorite blanky on my lap for him to sit on.)

Sorry, people, I am SO lax at posting lately! No excuses. Otherwise occupied with not so important stuff, like web surfing and reading other people's more exciting blogs. Did have company over Christmas, my parents were able to come down after all, even though Dad had heart issues last April, they were able to get insurance for a short duration. (Canadians visiting the U.S. for any length of time should have add-on insurance - my in-laws are eternally and financially grateful they did)

Can't believe we don't have any snow on the ground! In January! After snow storm Alfred last October, we thought we were in for it. That was the last and only time we had to have our driveway plowed. At least we are saving money somewhere this winter. :0) Who knows what February will bring, though. We have had warmer temps than normal too. Can't complain about that.

Still house hunting. Sigh. Yes, someday, before I die, we will actually buy a house. I think. Lord willing and we are able. Please pray for us. That I can get my act together and make a decision. and something will come up that fits our parameters and we can afford. That may take a lot of praying. Hope you are up for it. :0)
Seriously, I am praying that God helps me to accept something that may NOT be in my parameters, seeing as how they may be slightly unrealistic. That's ok. He's deals a lot with this kind of stuff. He's really good at this. There's definitely hope.

Let's see, what's new?
Well, I am still exercising. I started last July 1st, and have walked steadily EVERY SINGLE WEEK since then. Yes, it's worth shouting about. Because inconsistency is my middle name. Or it should be. Just think. Wow. Over 7 months now. Wow...
Since I've started doing this one thing, so many benefits. My poor overweight body has been just crying out for exercise. Circulating blood. Some kind of activity besides exercising my elbow. And my eyes. Staring at landscape instead of a screen.
For one thing, I have restless legs. If I go 3 days without exercising, they drive me nuts. I can't sit still in the evening. If I exercise, just 30 minutes each day briskly walking (briskly - not sightseeing like I used to do), then I don't have nearly the problem. Really helps a lot.
Mental clarity. Yes, blood circulating is a good thing! I've read that sitting for more than 4 hours a day shortens your life considerably. I can see why now.
Oh! Better lung capacity and endurance! I can go up stairs now without puffing and my legs feeling like huge weights. Crazy, huh? I sleep better. Yes, there is something to that saying about working hard and fresh air during the day makes you sleep better at night.
I used to get heat rashes every summer due to heat and humidity. Well, here's the weird thing. I sweat all last summer while walking and I didn't have ONE rash. Go figure...
Fluid retention - definitely helps with this. I did cut back on my sugar and salt intake. Canned and prepared foods, potato chips, pizza, ham, bacon, processed meat from the deli, etc - this is terrible stuff for your body, check out those labels. Please eat in moderation, or really, very very little of this stuff. You will feel better. Trust me.

I am a long time vitamin taker, but lately I've been taking 1000 I.U.'s of Vit D. Plus the 400 in my multi and whatever I manufacture on my own. I tried 2000 I.U.'s but didn't feel quite right. Always talk to your doctor about your vitamin intake.

I'm also doing light therapy with a light box. I was skeptical at first, but it really does help. I'm still concerned about exposure to this intense light up close (my eyes), but I'm desperate for help and didn't want to medicate. So far the research out there says it's ok, but I would be hesitant to recommend until you did your own research and were comfortable with it. But for me, it's really helping. Just remember. It doesn't work on your skin, so no Vit D through this. Only works through your eyes. I got the SunTouch Plus. Read up on it if you suffer from SAD.

Let's see. What else...Oh YES!  I bought a little I-Pod Nano, which I LOVE!, and download podcasts to listen to. It's just great! I listen to inspiring and great teaching on doing things right, reaping what you sow, putting God ahead of your emotions and feelings. Living life like we should. I've gotten so much out of this.  Sometimes I feel so good, I just want to sing out loud and shout for joy. Except I'm sure the other people at Planet Fitness would really wonder about me. Or maybe, I might start a revolution! A good one! Tee hee!

 Well, that's about all for today. More next time. I hope you are all having a good winter out in blog land. This is turning out to be my best one yet, even if we haven't bought a house yet. :0))