Apples might work…

There is an old proverb about apples a day keeping doctors away. I think that might be the next self remedy. The MRI the middle of this month showed my MS is no longer teeny tiny. It, unfortunately, is growing. The neurologist said the brain spots (doesn’t that sound nasty?????!) could be from Diabetes or MS, but the spine lesions are all MS. She didn’t want to give me meds yet because of the sore tummy and the UTI symptoms. She said to keep an eye on things and get back to her in 3 or 4 months. (Her scheduling person came in and shook her head. Apparently, the dr has no clue how busy she really is because the earliest appointment was April 1!!! I anticipate if things deteriorate, she’ll squeeze me in. Probably.)  

I was finally able to see my primary person today. And she felt I did have a UTI and said she’d do a couple of different meds. She also said I was dr hopping (I’ve seen a gal at the drop in clinic 3 times), didn’t seem impressed with my neurologist (who is stellar, busy, but stellar), and said to not cry (I was so sore and unhappy) and things would get fixed. 

Alas, turns out the pharmacy had a cancellation of the prescription order. So, with the majority of the tests showing nothing is wrong, that must be the case. Thus, it is up to me to fix myself (except for Diabetes and MS and my eye doctor who is super great fun!). At least, I think it is mostly up to me. My primary person goes on vacation the end of Sept and start of Oct, so don’t expect to hear from her for a while. I will take pain meds and continue to drink lots of water. With apples now and again. 

On the cool front, Little Bear found me 5 white lined sphinx moth caterpillars. Hopefully, at least 3 will emerge next summer. 2 are being squiffy, they are being lazy about burying themselves and don’t quite look like they are mature last instar caterpillars. He also found a katydid. I’ve never seen one of those in real life. This one looks just like a leaf! It is a fork tailed bush katydid.  Plus, he found a wooly bear the other night. Now, folklore suggests the color of bands on a wooly bear will tell you the length of a winter. Unfortunately, that is right up there with the groundhog, Phil. What they do, however, is amazing. These little friendly guys eat until they hide in ground debris, freeze, and remain in hibernation til they slowly thaw out to eat again!! Unfortunately, because of some areas having odd freeze thaw freeze cycles, wooly bear caterpillars tend to not do so well when they finally attempt to build their silk worm beds for a shorter nap than their other cousins. I didn’t keep the wooly bear. I need more places for them to hang out in cold storage. The two insect cages will have moths.  AND GUESS WHAT Katy just did???? In between paragraphs, I went to look at her and she was laying eggs. What incredible creatures they are. They chew sections of a plant and some lay eggs inside a leaf. This gal has put some on a sunflower I picked for her. They actually resemble sunflower seeds and will remain as eggs over winter. Which gives me quite a long time to decide if raising katydids is something I want to do. I may wait til they get big enough and release them in the yard. They are considered beneficial insects. I will need another cage, though. 

On the super thankful front is Strider. He had been working in his garage and misplaced something (which was later found in his kitchen, of course). He didn’t turn on a light and tripped in his workshop, hitting his chin on the top of a piece of wood. Once back in his house, he discovered he was bleeding through his beard. He stuffed paper towels under his chin and eventually, it stopped. About then, he investigated and felt a hole. That’s when he decided to visit the VA hospital. Thankfully, this was about 2am and they were not at all busy. Turns out if Strider had landed in one of 3 other spots, he’d have broken his jaw (which they could see) or destroyed his vocal cords or hit his jugular vein. One of the doctors took a photo for him after they got a good portion of his 8 in long beard removed. Creepy wow. After several stitches both inside his jaw and out on the triangular slice, he had a bandage tied to his chin in bunny-like ears(because the ER shaver almost wore out and he was only half shorn!), drove home, finished cleaning off his face, showered, and got a bit of sleep before his 8 am class. His teacher wittily suggested that he should shave more often if that was the sort of damage that could happen. Thankfully, no one was familiar with Sweeney Todd or songs from the musical! And he’s not eating apples unless as sauce. 

Yup, busy month in this family! 

Foolish and Topsy Turvy

It’s not quite a Disney gig. Well, maybe ‘Hunchback of Notre Dame’. That was NOT a kid musical and it is close to where this week is. And it is barely Wednesday! I slept quite a bit today and can’t now. Hopefully, with the aid of the tylenol, maybe I will in a bit. It is also hard to focus on the screen of the chromebook. 

So, today was the CT scan to see about the odd lump on my side under the ribs. This is something I’ve not experienced in years and I didn’t even think to go online to find out what it would entail. The contrast drink was not bad, unfortunately there is a small percentage who reacts badly to it. Guess who’s in it? I’d thought I could drive to the clinic myself, it is only about 30 min. Thankfully, Little Bear took me. I was so darn uncomfortable. Once there, I think I ended up in the bathroom three times before my appointment. (ridiculous) Then, the nice tech wanted me to lie on a curved board-alas, I needed to visit the bathroom again! She then told me I needed another contrast in my vein. And was a bit annoyed I’d not let them know my veins were miniscule and hard to find. (If I’d been TOLD I was getting stuck, I’d have told them!) She looked on both arms and then, reluctantly, did my hand. It was messy, blood dripped down my fingers. She was glad it worked, because she didn’t really want me to have to hang around til later on in the day when someone else was available to poke me. She said she’d need to keep an eye on it when the dye was added to make sure it didn’t ‘blow’. (YIKES!) And,  it was so hard to relax my upper body and hands and arm when my guts were roiling in distress! She  noticed my hands on my lower tummy and was surprised when I mentioned it hurt (and not because of the contrast I’d ingested, it often aches). So, she opted to see if the scan could go further than just my upper abdomen. She called the physician, who was found quickly. Then, the insurance needed to ok it and they did it fairly fast. We were lucky because usually this test has a 30 min window and she had an hour open-so she used it! I also needed to use the bathroom again. The funniest part? The scan was all of 2 min. Most of that was practice. The actual scan took perhaps 25 seconds. Incredibly anticlimactic after the hoopla getting me ready. 

We left the town to go back to ours and opted to get Grandma something for lunch-thankfully, the grocery store had a bathroom available. Once at the house, I ate something and attempted to take grandma her meal. The kid ended up doing it, I kept needing to visit the bathroom!! 

After a nap, I’d gotten a missed phone call. It was odd, I was holding my phone and noticed a call, but I couldn’t answer it and it went to voicemail. It was the clinic. Apparently, my tests were absolutely fine. There appeared to be a bit of inflammation from possible diarrhea (which I’ve had for about 2 weeks or more), but other than that, everything looked normal. Thus, I’m going to suck it up and pretend nothing aches and ignore the UTI symptoms because I’ve only had those since early July (and two different antibiotics). I must be an overweight short hypochondriac.

THEN, The Craftsman was going to pick up my Libre 2 sensors and the store can’t get them. The warehouse the pharmacy uses doesn’t have any in stock. I called this script in at the end of August and just assumed it was going to be there. So, the one I’m wearing has 9 hours left and then I get to go back to finger sticks for a while. Probably a week. I have an MRI on the 11th for the neurologist and can’t wear a sensor to that. So even if I did get a new one tomorrow, it would need to be removed after 8 days. Wasting part of the 14 day run the sensor has. It is funny. As much as I detest the numbers being off by quite a bit sometimes, it really is a handy tool to have. I’m fortunate I can afford test strips, but I won’t be testing 12 times a day or more!! It will be strange to guess glucose numbers (maybe I could make a game of it!?)  and I’m a tad annoyed that I have an endocrinologist visit in October. A week of chasing them with few tests is going to muck up the Alc! 

Anyway, I’ve opted to just let things go and do what I can how I can. While watching Paris burn and hoping for a better someday, 

Slipping into the Future

Today is one of my dearest friend’s birthdays. A milestone year of 60. The Craftsman had his a bit ago and mine is on the horizon. I was thinking about what I’ve done and realised it has been pretty much just existing. I am so very thankful for books to dive into, even ones I’ve read more than once–twice–many times! 

The last weeks have been rather horrid. Not sure what on earth this household had, but everyone was coffing and snotty and achy. Little Bear and I had tiny fevers and thankfully, the guys pulled out fairly fast. They still coff, and the MiL escaped completely. Thankfully. Me? I’m still sick. My stomach aches almost constantly and I’m not eating very much. My glucose has been fine on saltine crackers and apple juice and applesauce with tea and rarely oatmeal.(Everything just goes through me, which is nasty!) I had blood tests and they were found to be pretty much the same as my previous ones, so that is good. They want a CT scan (the dr was concerned about the spleen or something), but otherwise all appears fine. So, I attempted to eat dinner last night. It was really a good meal and I did not want bullion while everyone else had mashed taters and green beans and baked whole chicken! Mine was a bit more than a cup of the above and, unfortunately, my glucose didn’t like it and overnight it rose alarmingly. A bit over 200. 

It was almost amusing being sick. One of the books I was able to borrow before processing from the library was On Call, by Dr. Anthony Fauci. What a saga of servitude! I highly recommend it. Many reviews focus on the trouble he had working with COVID and Trump. That is silly because covid is the last eighth of the book!! He was a man with a mission to eradicate HIV/AIDS. The vaccines and protocol created to combat diseases like Ebola, Zika, and SARS were fascinating to read about. He did finally write that he wasn’t sure a vaccine for HIV would happen, but the other medications created to stab the disease are life changing. He had worked with every US President from Ford thru Biden and politics never entered into it until COVID and Trump. Fauci is a fun author, several times in the book, I had to laugh. Other times, I wanted to cry. I’ll add one of my favorite quotes from this hero, “People associate science with absolutes that are immutable, when in fact science is a process that continually uncovers new information. As new information evolves, the process of science allows for self correction. The biological or heal sciences are different from the physical sciences and mathematics. With mathematics, two plus two equals four today and two plus two will equal four a thousand years from now. No so with the biological sciences, where what we know continues to evolve and uncertainty is common.” I shared that with a friend who is a geologist and she said even rock science changes when we learn something new. 

The other book I read did make me cry. And made me mad. It was by Charles Spencer, A Very Private School. When British fiction is written, young people are always sent off to school (even in the US boarding schools were popular). And I imagine some schools were ok, but the horrible things that happened to Charles and his classmates that were ignored, covered up, and carefully condoned angered me. I’m so thankful for the changes therapy can make. I also recommend this book, but do know you may end up with a tummy ache from the frustration of not being able to help. Even if it was decades ago!

Now I’m ready to start a book by Barbra Kingsolver called Demon Copperhead. It is set in the Appalachian part of the US and is a fiction story loosely based upon David Copperfield. Somehow! I opted to read this because of the creepy man running as VP for Trump. Kingsolver and others tore into his memoir because it doesn’t depict the real stories of the region. This book is more accurate.

The coolest thing I’ve found, however, is music. It is a trio of women meshing two kinds of music that absolutely works!!! The latest album is called From China to Appalachia. And WOW!!!! Check out this NPR link for the banjo, banjo cello, and hammered dulcimer mix. 

Bouncing around here-

I feel like that little ball in kid music videos that keeps you in time with the song. Except, I’ve bounced off the lyrics!!! Temps are hovering around the high 90sF, and creeping into triple digits now and again. The moth pupae have broken open and almost all the viable cases have had success stories. Probably because it has been warm in days and nights-now they need to go forth and find mates, lay eggs, and die. It is amazing how a creature who just exists can go from a pencil dot egg to a hand sized hawk moth, in a year. Most of it is in sleep.  

Also in the insect world, I’ve learned earwigs (terrifying creatures that resemble the life form in Wrath of Khan. You remember, the one that Khan dropped into the space helmets of Chekov and Terrell and the world watched the slug-like creepy forms crawl into their ears …it was a scary scene!). Anyway, earwigs love to eat marigolds and zinnias and cosmos. Next year, I plan to make a small garden just of those so I can catch them and keep them away from other things Maybe. I’ve got a container of soy sauce and molasses and cooking oil outside at the moment-that is supposed to be a good way to collect and destroy the tiny disgusting things.

Scary scenes. American politics. How so many people managed to get into the pocket of a man who has no shame or belief in anyone but himself is beyond my imagination. It amazes me that the judicial system gave him (and any other presidents, if there are any past this next regime of T, because he probably will be) a get out of jail free card in every way. (Note the loose Cannon. I bet he appoints her to his Supreme Court the minute he has an opening.)  Other citizens are caught in lies and tried and punished. But, apparently, since he’s never done anything wrong, he must be like God. The latest slogan, ‘Saved by God, chosen by God, America will fall if he’s not given the presidency,’ is firmly believed. Many of his people (and himself) believe God protected him from being assassinated. (nothing suggesting the retired fireman who literally gave his life for his family is anyone to remember past prayers and wishes to go out to their family). The messiah theory is running strong. His Bible in public domain KJV and full of ‘American’ symbols, selling for 59.95..not counting shipping and what not, is one of those pushes he’s making for the Christian side of the voters. And those people are falling for it! And the fluff about him not knowing or agreeing to much of the Project 2025 Plan for the first 180 days of him being in office? Ummm, his VP pick is on the Heritage Foundation which crafted much of that plan! Sickening. 

The 56 Mercury Custom won another award at a car show. This wasn’t cash, but a cute trophy made from bits of cars and tools. Apparently, the local shop class helped make them. The guys also learned the Burma Jeep, which is almost all original, is a rare rig. Ford made 15,000 in the 40s. It is in terrible condition, but it is one of the few that was not cannibalized into a farm vehicle. Now, they are super excited about getting it working better. And new tires, the ones on it are original and cracked and worn. And brakes. Which are also inefficient! And seating, which is almost nonexistent. The Craftsman’s dad probably got it in the 60s, No one is sure just why, we’ll need to look through journals to find out. 

A while back, I put  packets of hot cocoa into whipped topping and it was pretty good. For The Craftsman’s bday, I put a packet into a box cake mix and made it delectable! And the cardamom and cinnamon probably helped. I also used a BBQ for the very first time in my life the other day. (I know, odd, but true. Almost always someone else will use it.) However, the pork roast in the crock pot needed put elsewhere because the electricity went out early in the day!!!!!!! All in all, it was probably on low partly indirect heat that made the inside of the grill hot enough to bake muffins for too long, but it wasn’t bad and it definitely wasn’t undercooked. And the avocado that we grilled. What a dull tasting fruit. I can see how it needs paired with something besides garlic salt. Mouth feel-3, Taste-1, Interesting-10. 

Books. Travis Baldree has narrated many books and wrote two of his own. He’s from the PNW (Spokane area) and is an excellent author. He has two. His first is Legends and Lattes. However, I’d start with the second, Bonedust and Bookstores and then read the ‘extra’ piece in Legends and Lattes followed by the Lengends and Lattes. You don’t need to, but it helps flesh things out. Unless, of course, you are the skeleton, Satchel, from Bonedust and Bookstores. If you like Fantasy, fighting, fun, and words, you will like these. I’ve decided my epitaph on my tombstone should be: ‘See you in the story past the story.”

Think that is enough for now! Let me know what you thought of the ‘ear scene’ if you watched Wrath of Khan. Or  your favorite song from Top Gun (which was the best part of the movie. Oh, and Val oiled and shirtless playing beach ball…..). 

Sometimes you gotta wonder

The end of May, my sister and BiL arrived to stay overnight. Except, it wasn’t that simple. Jake called me mid April to ask if they could stay the night the 30th or 31st of May. There was a reunion (of some sort) and they’d fly from ANC to TX and drive to Seattle, passing us on the way back north. I agreed and she said she’d let me know more later, they hadn’t gotten tickets yet. By mid May, I’d not heard anything and figured it was just another thing Jake planned that didn’t get off the ground. She finally called and said it would be the 30th and they’d leave that morning from Laramie. I gave them the address (I said it was really easy: You come down the hiway, turn right at the casino, stay on that road til the end, turn right, stay on that road til you get the the blinking light,  turn on that street, and stay on it for a few blocks til you see a bunch of Fords on the left. I gave her the address anyway.). After she hung up, I texted that the drive that day would probably be about 14 hours. Then, I heard nothing. Zilch, zero, nada. By the 29th, I finally resorted to her FB page. They were spending the night in Idaho, NOT WY!!!! Thus, they were about 6 hours away. I still had no idea if they would arrive for dinner or if they’d sight see. I kind of thought they wouldn’t do the latter, most of Jake’s FB pix were taken from a moving car window. They arrived by 330 the next afternoon. Since a great deal of AK stuff is in the Little House, I opted to  let them sleep in my room (The Craftsman has been staying at his mom’s each night for the last year and a half. Tikka sleeps anywhere and I could be in the lvng room). I was glad I’d done that. They needed to use the bathroom several times and trying to get from outside, up the stairs, thru the kitchen, and around the corner would be daunting!! (besides Jake would want to know where I got things. And when.) We also took them to our favorite place for dinner. Alas, the place had a newer chef and it wasn’t near as good as it was a few weeks earlier. Plus, Jake has been working in a hotel restaurant and knows EVERYTHING about cooking and cleaning (they didn’t take showers at my house or wash anything out except coolers they’d stocked in AK and brought on their entire trip! I think Jake wasn’t impressed with my cleaning skills. She’d probably be worse with my cooking.). All in all, I was really glad to have them head for Seattle. I tried to tell them not to take the shorter way (about 20 min faster) because it was back farm roads and easy to get turned around, even with Alexa. When I texted my 35 year old niece they were on their way but I wasn’t sure what way, she replied ‘Sissy (my 19 year old niece) gave me access to their life360, so I have a GPS tracker on Mom.’ My sister has a tracker…I laughed! 

We also had a couple of trees that needed taken down. My favorite company has a guy who is super nice, does great work, and is as hard to pin down as my sister! One of the week’s they might have come, I was glad they didn’t. The city opted to dig out water lines right near one of our trees. Impressive hole, you could see tops of hardhats poking out as the guys worked! A week after my sister was here, the tree cutting truck was parked in the yard. They’d arrive by 9am. No…noon. Well, probably closer to 230. Little Bear took the afternoon off so he could help and he didn’t need to. They arrived about the time he got off work normally, 330. The poplar was close to 30 feet (or more) tall and didn’t take long at all to bring down in sections. Little Bear quipped that his dad should make me penguins out of some of the very straight logs. I rather liked the idea. Poplar Penguins! (Mr. Popper’s Penguins is an excellent read.) While cleaning up, several sections were saved. The next tree was a weeping birch. The top was dead and brittle and the bottom filled with water when it snowed or rained. Seriously. Little Bear has drilled holes in the trunk to drain it! When the trees were down, they again left the truck in the yard because the next job was nearby. The truck stayed put til Friday. I did call and suggest they might want to put it in a more secure location while they were on vacation in AK (everyone goes home but me!). 

I’ve gotten notes from dear friends, calls from them, texts, and have barely kept up on emails. I have been reading a lot. (surprise!!!) One of the sadder books was by Liz Cheney. Her book Oath and Honor was from her point of view (naturally) and full of references to instances she was writing about surrounding the Jan 6 attack. It was interesting to read what was happening as it happened. And scary. I was really proud of her for finally standing up to T and his loyalists. It angers me that he has remade the R party I used to belong to into what is a cult. I’m starting Hamilton next. (Founding father read)

T’s hold on the party was brought home several times these last weeks. I check my MiLs mail and 3 different things came for her from the RNC. One was a birthday card for T with his picture on the card and a sentiment inside about how grand he is with a line for the person’s name who was sending it to him. AND several pages devoted to special birthday donations. Another was even odder. It was a 2024 Presidential Year Platinum credit card app from the RNC. (Little Bear said it was a scam inside a scam.) The last was super annoying. It was a match donation packet with a 47$ check made out to her from the RNC. Lara T was excited to send out checks for the amount of the next president and you could just read the ooze in the letter she ‘wrote’. Baffling. 

It has been really warm here. My mock orange is in the last stages of bloom, the purple lilacs in the yard aren’t doing much of anything, and I think I didn’t eradicate the mosaic virus from last season. I did plant some peas and beans in a different area and it is so much fun to see them break through the soil and reach for the sky. Hoping they survive! Seeds aren’t always as easy as the package states. I do have have one cosmos seedling that looks strong and a handful of zinnia that seem ok. The pussy willow I bought several weeks ago as kitchen flowers, those are awesome! Mum would pick pussy willow stems and put them in dry vases. They’d last ages that way. I love how mine look. Every so often, I reach out and pet one. 😀 purrr. 

What’s Up, Doc?

This is one of my favorite movies, just because it was so very screwy!!! About on the par of It’s a Mad Mad Mad World with a lot less stars and geography. Both are movies one should watch if you haven’t, especially if you need to laugh out loud a lot. 

At any rate, it turns out my chipped front tooth feels odd not just because it is chipped, but somehow it has a cavity in the edge! How on earth that happened, no one could really tell me. I was referred back to the dental place where they built up my jaw to have them do it again and put the first part of the implants in. The dentist said my jaw was too little. Not my mouth, my jaw. (I was sad, rarely am I told I’ve a little mouth!) So, dental ping pong. Also, last week I visited a dermatologist (who has always been connected with my endocrinologist office) and it was a pain in the backside to find! The map they sent to patients after moving to their much larger facility was beyond silly. Not laughable unless you weren’t trying to follow it. At any rate, most of my skin bobbles are normal. The doctor wrote (in very nice printing) on a business card the name of one. I will use the card as a bookmark for books in a Piers Anthony series about Xanth. The name is Xanthalasma. Unfortunately, it is ugly and can be a product of high cholesterol and obesity and diabetes and drinking too much alcohol and liver issues and thyroid problems. I do not have high cholesterol and I don’t drink alcohol. I have, but so rarely, it is negligible. The others I do have in part or in entirety. So, yeah. Piffle. He did remove another ordinary bump after he touched it and I flinched. I wasn’t supposed to flinch. The removal was slightly painful. (Weenie!!) Another tiny, head of a pin sized bump he said was a wart! I was horrified. Also a byproduct of diabetes. 

All I could think of was Mark Twain’s characters Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Tom favored “spunk-water” (rain water in a rotten tree stump). One of Huck’s liked a dead cat: “Why, you take your cat and go and get in the graveyard ‘long about midnight when somebody wicked has been buried; and when it’s midnight a devil will come, or maybe two or three . . . and when they’re taking the feller away, you heave your cat after ’em and say, ‘Devil follow corpse, cat follow devil, warts follow cat, I’m done with ye!’ That’ll fetch any wart.” Other doctors, even today, suggest raw taters rubbed on it or spit. Between you and me, I’m just plain disgusted with the whole idea of a skin icky. Thankfully, I haven’t held hands with anyone in ages and I probably won’t ever again! (The doctor offered to remove it, but I was too traumatized) 

On a more fun book note, I’m reading another non fiction book I highly recommend. It is about the relationship between our brain and fitness. Spark: The revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain by Dr. John J. Ratey. I was also startled to discover the 10000 steps thing is less logical than people have made it. Yes, it is good to move and walk, but HOW you walk is more important than how far. And retraining my brain to think that fitness is growing my brain and making it more efficient is just plain fascinating. I will eventually buy this book, but for now I’m borrowing it from the county e-library. 

The mom in law has several appointments. She may opt to cancel the first one this next week. She says she feels really weak. When I got her in the shower over a week ago, I noticed her leg was swelling. I put a compression wrap on, but it was removed and she didn’t like it. Her second appt is with her regular doctor and she also has a tooth removal later this month. I try to get her showered on Sundays, but her weakness made her decide to do it later. 

Strider had an experience this weekend that stressed me, as his mom, out. He’s got a weed in his area and he knows it is there, but he only pays attention when it is flowering. It is one that is related to nightshade and is hallucinogenic. He likes to weed bare handed and had been in poky plants like blackberries. These were next to it and the juices got in his scrapes and he lost several hours of his life because he can’t remember it. Thankfully, a doctor wasn’t necessary. 

I really appreciate medical persons and am incredibly thankful they exist, but I prefer not to need them. 

A New Leaf

Not mine, necessarily, but there are so many plants thrusting through the soil and putting on spring garb, it is exciting!! I am not entirely fond of summer here in EO, it is so hot and dry. Fall is lovely as it slides into a season of closure with stunning colors of flame. Winter is breathtakingly beautiful with the dozens of shades hiding inside white snow and the discovery of intricate designs encased in ice is magical. It truly is my favorite season. Yet, the reawakening of life in spring is fascinating. I never know what will come back from the depredations of cold and hungry rodents and the magic of a flower bulb never fails to amaze me. I honestly think this perpetual surprise I experience each year is from having Alaskan roots. Spring at home is so minimal, here it starts slow and gains momentum til each moment is accompanied by something that hasn’t been in the world before. Everything rushing to be as complete as possible before the hot sun sears it to bits. (NOTE: Sear means to heat, as with something hot. Sere means to wither and dry up. The English language is so strange!!!) 

I want to plant and am starting seeds, but I don’t know where to put them.  (two have germinated!)  The yard here (the house with the king size bed, cat, and internet!) needs so much care and weeds are thick.  If I plant here, I’m not sure I’ll be able to care for the new growth properly being at the mom in laws. The yard there, however, is horrible. I planted thyme and phlox last spring (just a few blocks away) and it looked great until it got super cold and froze this winter. (Frozen Time–wasn’t that a Twilight Zone episode? Or is it tempo for that ridiculous Disney movie?) It may be ok, but I’ll wait til true spring before trimming it back. Thyme here looks good for years til it needs replaced due to neglect! But that is normal at her house. Super hot, winds, and wide open areas make growing anything but weeds difficult. (The tumble weed is an incredible invasive plant to look up on google. As is purslane-supposed to be a superfood and is reportedly disgusting-and a similar weed, spurge, that grows with purslane-spurge is toxic!) Unfortunately, another plant I gave to her decades ago is also invasive and I’ve been attempting to root it up. The Craftsman has an old school idea that a good tilling will dig things up. But, it really just spreads weeds around. I do have some starts of rock cress that might or might not take root. A green thumb is something I did not inherit from my mum!!!!! The taters we planted last year were silly. Of the ones up at the mom in laws, not a single plant produced. Here, in a container, I got a double handful of tiny things. (Tater tots?) I’m very glad they were Yukon Golds, no peeling needed! I’ve got some maple shoots I want to put up there, but no one has suggested a spot for them. There are so darn many old rigs and whatnot everywhere. Granted, most of the larger rigs have been gutted and are now storage facilities (the two school buses and a van or two) for parts and hay.  But, there are others that appear to have no use whatsoever. It is just messy. I want some oaks, too. They are such amazing trees! I’d like to put golden twisted willow around, too. The house on the coast had a stunning one. The shoots we tried to transplant didn’t take and the single tree here, given to the Craftsman from a friend when I was north, is spindly beyond belief! I do not want to put any more poplar up there. Poplar are fond of spreading underground and can almost be invasive! 

 Trees are wonderful things, yet they need room to grow. People seem to forget that when they have a lot of room and a lot of trees!! The lilacs here have tiny curls of tight leaves and dozens of robins are out and about looking for nesting sites. Rather exposed at the moment, but house hunting is definitely happening! 

 I do love this time of year. And, each spring I’m thrilled by the bright greens of new growth, vibrant purple crocus with vibrant gold hearts, and those pinky red shoots of certain perennials as they tentatively poke through the earth. 

Query and Other Things

So, Tikka (the grey tiger teen cat in our house) was allegedly born on March 1. A year is 365 days, so that many from the day she was born is the 29th of Feb. I remember in Pirates of Penzance the main character had issues with his birthday and needed to remain indentured to the pirates until he was 63, which is a bit much!!! At any rate, leap year has existed since 45 BC and apparently evens out our calendars. Thus, are our ages off every four years and is Tikka really and truly a year old on the first??? 

The dishwasher is not working, so I am fulfilling that role in its entirety. I got the dishwasher emptied of most of its water. It kind of felt like a Hercules task. I used a cup measure and it never filled more than about a quarter cup. I wish I had one of those baster things people use for meat to suck out the liquid in the bottom of the machine. The boys had one to play with in the bath when they were small, but I never got one for the kitchen. Meanwhile, I’ve noticed the kitchen is lots cleaner since I need to use all the counters for stacking dishes that need washed and after everything is dry and put away, it looks rather nice. (Until the ice cream is eaten!) 

I also found out why my muffins have been going screwy. I’ve been using an organic cane sugar, more than what I usually add to my recipes, and apparently it caramelizes when it gets really hot. Making my muffins stick to the wrappers. It is all in the science and as Ms Frizzle said to her students: “Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!” She didn’t have Google to help her class out on The Magic School Bus, but I find it handy! 

I’m reading a fantasy series that is annoying me completely. The main character is a dingbat and his plot armor is so thick I want to push him off a boat. I’ve read several books by this author (L. Buroker) and so far I’ve really enjoyed only two of her series. The others leave me thinking something is off. The funniest thing, I generally like her supporting characters a great deal. She’s written quite a few books (those ones between long and novella that take about an hour and half), so she’s a large following. She’s also from the PNW and I find her similar to other authors in this area. But, I’m not needed as a fan, so I’ll finish this series, eventually, and devour words by someone else. Like Essie Summers, another author I’ve loved for years. Thankfully, her work is being rereleased on KIndle. I like her because her characters always get into humorous tangles and she drops quotes from some of my favorite authors into her works. I can’t read more than one or two before a break, though. They often have very similar ideas. I enjoy the recently released versions because the books have a lot of background to the story. Photos of the places where the story takes place and information about the area. That comes in handy since I’ve never been to New Zealand. I’ve learned a great deal about the area of the late 60’s and early 70’s. (Because of the information, I’ve gone further and read reports from the last years on sheep markets!) Another book I’ve actually not read is by Asimov. Fantastic Voyage. He wrote this book from the screenplay, only it is a lot better because the idea of miniaturization seemed illogical to him. (Obviously, Disney didn’t agree) Unfortunately, he didn’t get much from this first book and it sold very well. The movie did well, too. Three nominations and two wins at the ‘67 Oscars. It had among its stars, Raquel Welch. But, it was before Star Trek and James Doohan was just a tech…as was James Brolin. (Note: Raquel doesn’t look much like I remember her when she danced on The Muppet Show!!) My favorite read at the moment (I think I have 4 partly read right now)  is an autobiography. My Name is Barbra, by Barbra Streisand. It is a very long book and incredibly fascinating. I didn’t realise how much she has done and how she does it with acute tinnitus. Going further, using those degrees of Kevin Bacon with Ms Streisand…Barbra is  married to James Brolin. 

What a crazy, mad world this is! 

Confessions

It is time for another trip around the sun and I’ve a confession to start my 5?th (8 or 9, math has never been a strong point!) voyage with. I have written at least three posts since my last one. Written, edited, and left unposted! I’ve come to the conclusion it’s because I read. 

I read Garfield Hugs and giggle and hope she is well; I read Snowless Knitter and am amazed at her fortitude in the face of struggles and by her talent (my single recent crochet project worked..kind of!); I read posts by my beloved author friend, Ms. Monster, and am so glad we met (virtually, if not personally!); I read Gary’s tasty and startling experiences (tasty meals and startling life incidents) and cringe at the latter; I read Arty Plantsman and am thankful he’s writing again; I read dear Rhapsody when she appears in my emails (I’ve an adorable bear in the snow ornament she made. It is hanging on my wall near the light switch and makes me smile every time I see it.); I read GP’s accounts of days gone by and of WW2 and learn a great deal from those moments in history and am humbled by many stories; there are fun reads in posts by The Dirty Sci Fi Buddha; and I need to find out why Becky isn’t showing up anymore. (Her reads are always entertaining, plus I worry about her!) 

And, I read books. A lot of books. I found two more on NPR, which I also read. One about President Zelensky and another about women and sexuality. The former is a hopeful library read, the latter will just be ordered. Not sure if I should do paper or ebook, though. I tend to write notes on paper books in actual notebooks. Ebooks, those notes might be visible if I ever pop into Goodreads and my settings aren’t private. Which many of my notes are!!! (‘this is mum!’ pertaining to a certain paragraph. Or perhaps I’ll add this in my notes of some random character incident, ‘ohhhhhhh/!!!! Just like when you make a mistake in cooking and it turns out anyway!’) Not really things I want everyone to see. As much as I like some parts of social media, I honestly do have things I like to keep to myself!!! 

So, at any rate, I’m still around. I’m constantly thinking about things like our world politics and whether or not I added enough flour this time or how come my glucose is a yo yo or why my random ideas like digging up an unsightly spot in the yard and replacing it with just grass is not as good as leaving things be until the yard can be leveled someday or maybe we should sell our house and move to The Craftsman’s mom’s house because I’m so tired of driving back and forth and wasting my own time in sleeping or hiding in fiction. 

I have always done the latter. Lately, my hideouts are in New Zealand with Essie Summers, Prince Edward Island with L.M. Montgomery, Yorkshire with James Herriot (So thankful those are not scratch and sniff!), and the worlds of many others. I do enjoy a finely crafted sentence!! In cooking news, I recently roasted a duck. The carrots the duck rested on were tastier than the duck, but it was only my first experience with water fowl. On my birthday, I’ll adapt a fun recipe for a delicious croissant cheesy ham and bacon layered bake from The Tipsy Housewife and have mousse for dessert. Little Bear wants a cookie dough brownie for his birthday on Sunday, so I need to cook some flour. (When using raw flour, it is a good idea to sterilize it. Then, it goes into the cookie dough layer of the dessert) I also need to get motivated to use the serger sewing machine I got for Christmas (when I asked for it, I forgot thread. That was recently acquired last weekend.) I also picked up some seeds last weekend. There are several that can be put out in the colder months and since winter was over last week, it is a good idea to get them where they can eventually get started! (We had some nice cold weather and snow, but now it is warmer again. My clothing has been jeans and a sweatshirt.) There are snowdrops up  and other bulbs are pushing tiny spears through the dark earth. Such a beautiful time of year. Vibrant life unfurling from the colder moments of yesterday. Happy Sigh!

Did it again…

Y’all bready for this? I hope so!  This fall has been one cooking mishap after another. Most of the time, it has been cooking things I’ve cooked many times. There is a muffin I bake, it is one from a favorite children’s book, If You Give a Moose a Muffin. I like it because it is easy and doesn’t have eggs. Except, for some odd reason, this last batch of muffins doesn’t look anything like what they have always resembled! Then, there was this latest  holiday here in the States. I had a pumpkin that I wanted to cook down and turn into a puree for pies. 

First, it needed cut up. EVERYONE says to use a sharp knife. I decided to use a pumpkin carving knife. It was one of the small serrated safety knives we’d gotten decades ago for the boys to carve up their own gourds. It was a whisk I was willing to take and I was amazed at how easy it was, which was also funny. Those knives could cut into very thick pumpkins to make shapes and did it well, it was a cinch using it to cut this one in half. I sectioned it out, cleaned it, and saved out a good portion of the seeds because Little Bear wanted me to roast them. (I roast seeds every year and every year they end up getting tossed out before they are all gone. Not sure why, but it happens.) After being cooked for quite a while, it was time to puree it. My poor blender that was new in 1988, didn’t much care for doing garden gourds this year. (When I used it last summer, I thought it was making heavy weather of turning the frozen watermelon into a delightful 7 Up Zero slushy.) I opted to not finish pulsing the rest and decided 8 cups was enough. (The squirrels enjoyed the cooked pumpkin!)

A couple of days later, I made pie crust and yummy cinnamon sugar dusted leaves (which turned out very well) and mixed up pumpkin pies. The recipe uses a couple of bowls and, unfortunately, the bowl I usually use for the first part was already full of pumpkin. When everything was combined, it was a thin mix. However, fresh pumpkin holds more water than canned. I had drained it, but thought it wasn’t enough. The pies didn’t smell as spicy as usual while baking, but they did give the house a nice fall festive scent. I assumed it was because the pumpkin wasn’t a sugar pumpkin (there are a lot of different kinds of pumpkins and they all can be used to bake pies with. Just some are a bit better than others.). The pies weren’t as dark as usual either, but fresh pumpkin is less orange than canned. 

Before our holiday dinner, Little Bear asked if I’d tried any of it. I immediately cut a sliver out and oh my!!!!! I’d forgotten the sugar!!! When you mix up the spices and sugar in a bowl …THAT was the bowl that already had pumpkin and so I added spices to the egg and vanilla and oil and forgot the sugar completely. It was truly a diabetic dessert. Thankfully, it was ok with whipped topping and Little Bear sprinkled his piece with brown sugar. The Craftsman didn’t have any. His mom noticed it was missing sugar, but gamely ate it. I tossed out the uncut pie and the other is in the fridge and will most likely be tossed later. There is no way I could eat two entire 8 in deep dish pies. 

Then, while cleaning up dinner, The Craftsman took care of the turkey carcass. Literally. It was all thrown into the trash! Granted, I did hold the bags, but was was horrified in my soul. I almost never ever ever throw out a carcass without cooking it down and stripping it clean. I very rarely toss out the juices. I’m a kitchen food saver (true, some things in my fridge and cupboards should be gotten rid of! I slowly discover them and weed them out.). He just was cleaning and didn’t want me to save any. He told me it would be ok to get rid of it. Earlier, I was appalled when I saw a Black Friday ad for a very spendy firearm that only shoots table salt at bugs. (A salt with a deadly weapon?) Wasting food is not a thing I do. Unless it is on my body…there is a lot of waste on my personal waist. (referring to the seasoning, not the bugs!  

Have a great rest of November, may you find inner peas, and thanks for pudding up with me!