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Oh, YUCK!

A couple of weeks ago, my local Kroger affiliate put Rice-a-Roni on sale. And, let's face it--I'm old and always looking for something easy to eat. Particularly now, with a damaged leg. So I decided to try a pack of this stuff. The one I selected was a "fried rice" offering.

First of all, if there is any nutrition in this stuff, let me tell you it's impossible to find. I scrambled 2 eggs, added some freeze dried chicken, and two heaping teaspoons of dehydrated mixed vegetable powder. Still low on nutrition by my estimation, but better than where I started. Second, though this is supposed to be chicken "fried rice" the predominant flavor is salt. Lots and lots of salt. I added some garlic, onion, low sodium soy sauce, and a bit of sesame oil. And, still the predominant flavor is salt. Finally, even with my additions, this stuff bears no resemblance to fried rice. 

How do people eat this stuff? I promise you, it'll be a cold day in the devil's den before I eat any more of it. I dished myself a decent-sized portion of it and ended up giving most of it to the dog. I figured the dehydrated veggie powder, the freeze dried chicken, and the scrambled egg gave it the potential for more nutrition than plain kibble..... She'll get the rest of it as well, the part left in the skillet........

The good news of the day is that my leg/knee are doing better. When I got out of bed this morning, it seemed perfect. Glory, hallelujah! However, as the day has progressed, I realize there's still healing to be done. My knee is swollen and there's actually a part of it that feels bruised. I really don't get that. The pain of walking is much reduced but I am still rising from a sitting position with care. I intend to try to stay off of it til bedtime, as much as I can. Another day or two, though, will probably see me walking the way I usually do, instead of limping.

I feel blessed that it is as good as it is, even with room for more healing. As bad as it hurt when it happened, I wouldn't ever have predicted this much improvement so quickly. It's good to live in the palm of God's hand..........

Oh no! Satan heard me........

I mentioned a couple of days ago that I've been thanking and praising the Lord for the parts of me that don't hurt rather than just nagging Him about the parts that do hurt. It goes something like this: Thank you that my feet don't hurt and my ankles don't hurt. Thank you that my calves don't hurt and my knees don't hurt......"

Yeah, Satan was listening. Tonight I'm gonna have to skip the part about the knees not hurting and the calves not hurting. 

This afternoon I got down on my knees next to the bed to get at something that had fallen under my nightstand. As I started to get up, there was a knife-like stab of pain starting at my left knee and going on down the outside of my left calf. It hurt like crazy but faded quickly and all seemed okay. Well, not so much. Tonight my knee is threatening to buckle under me and that part of my calf just aches, really aches. I figure it must be some soreness from a muscle cramp. I've taken an extra potassium, an extra magnesium and some ibuprofen. I've also dug out an old knee brace I had in the bathroom medicine chest and I'm using my cane when I have to walk. 

I've also satisfied myself that the idea of a long, hot, soaky bath is very appealing, but it's out of the question for now. I had a tough time getting up from the floor, hanging onto the bed. I can envision myself marooned in the bathtub, not a pleasant thought......

attitude changer

My butt was injured when I was in the 3rd grade. A guy named Richard Stith was practicing his baseball swing and landed right on the bottom tip of my tailbone. My back has been a source of pain for YEARS. My first back injury occurred when my car was rear-ended on the freeway in 1979. My second back injury occurred in the 90's when I was rear-ended by a smaller vehicle that was going over the speed limit and tried to go through me as I was stopped at a red light. 

Pain of one degree or another has been a constant daily companion for more than 60 years. In the back the injured/weakened back muscles would spasm and, between the pain and the narcotic muscle relaxers I took for the spasms on doctor's orders, I'd be in bed for days. Thanks to a sympathetic and knowledgeable pharmacist, I seem to have conquered the spasms with mega doses daily of potassium. Now, instead of spasms, it is simply a constant, unrelenting pain. I no longer have to wipe myself out with drugs, but I hurt all day long, everyday, from the time I get out of bed til the time I go back to bed. It's worse when I'm standing or bending. It is better when I am sitting, but that starts the butt pain. And the butt pain reaches a crescendo when I stand after sitting. 

For all these days/years, I have prayed for the Lord to heal me, to allow me to have a "normal" life. 

The other day it occurred to me that God must be mighty tired of me asking Him for healing. I know I am mighty tired of hearing me do that. And thinking about what hurts and how many times I have begged for healing depresses me. I decided to try another tactic. Now I have a litany that I recite as I leave my chair to go accomplish some task in the house. It sounds like this: "Thank you that my feet don't hurt and my ankles don't hurt and my calves don't hurt and my knees don't hurt and my thighs don't hurt. Thank you that my hips don't hurt and my upper back doesn't hurt and my shoulders and arms don't hurt. Thank you that my neck doesn't hurt and my head doesn't hurt....."

After that recitation, I am struck with how blessed I am. After all, there are so many more places on my body that could hurt but don't. Surely that is by the grace of God, by His Mercy and worthy of praise. Gone is the depression displaced by gratitude!

I want to move..........

I am ready for a cabin on a mountaintop in Wyoming. (Does Wyoming have mountains???) Yep, summer is here. Every day in the next 10 except one is forecast for a high over 100. 

I went outside Monday to find one of my tires flat. Not totally unexpected, but not something I was looking forward to........ Well, I knew I had to deal with it or give up on being the owner of a car. Not ready for that yet. I have switched from GEICO to Progressive and I made sure that I would have roadside assistance under the new policy. 

First I scheduled an appointment at Discount Tire for 5:30 the next day. I wanted to go as late as possible, hoping it might cool down a degree or two toward evening. I've bought my tires from them for decades. Roadside Assistance was scheduled for 4PM. They didn't show up 'til 7PM. Thank God, I was here at the house. Can you imagine having a flat in temps of 105 on the side of a road somewhere with a 3-hour wait? 

 

That guy, Brian, claimed the donut was no good. He claimed the sidewall had a crack that circled the tire and it would not hold air. Theoretically, he pumped it up and then he put it on the wheel. It went flat under the weight of the van. He was just driving a mini-box truck. So, according to him, I had no choice but to have it towed. 

 

Then I called Roadside Assistance and scheduled a tow truck for between 3 and 4 the following day. At 1:30, the tow truck driver, Mike, called and said he'd be here around 2. He also said they don't make appointments for tow trucks!??! I called Discount Tire and rescheduled for 2:45. He got here around 2:20. I was really stressed, thinking if I got the car to Discount Tire late, I'd have to sit and wait. Tow truck guy wanted to try pumping up the donut, and contrary to what the guy said the previous night, it stayed inflated. So, he didn't think I could get up into his truck and he decided I should drive the van to Lake Mead Blvd and he'd follow me. Of course, I was late for the 2:45 appointment but they still took me almost immediately and rushed me through. God bless 'em........

 

I had to drive myself back home. Correction: I never drive anymore without praying and asking for God's help. I arrived home totally done in. It took an act of prayer, faith and will power to get me from the van to the house.

 

I slapped the blood-ox thing on my finger when I got home--Blood-ox 92, pulse 121! I immediately got the oxygen cannula back in my nose.  Slowly the numbers came back where they should be. I then decided to reward myself with a nap!

 

By God's grace, I'll never have to go through that again......... I ended up buying 2 tires because I had two that probably don't have 1000 miles on 'em, one flat, and one ready to go flat any minute. These tires are supposed to be good for 40,000 miles and I drive about 15 miles a month, max. That's about 200 years worth from that 40,000. They'll far outlive me if the desert heat doesn't dry rot the rubber. Pretty sure either I'll be gone or all God's children will have flown away before even the dry rot can get 'em. Hallelujah!

 

 

Mental Health self-care

I spend a lot of time on the internet, mostly on Youtube. I watch homesteading stuff, frugality stuff, cooking shows and news. Sometimes I'll watch quilting programs, sometimes old movies. Sometimes it's religious broadcasts. I think, on a daily basis, it's primarily news though.

I'd have to say that watching the news, particularly as a Christian, can be dangerous to a person's God-given peace of mind. After a little while of watching the news, I am generally confused, depressed, or sickened. On occasion, I'm even fearful (not for me--I'm under God's protection--but for folks around me, folks I care about.)

I have discovered that 5 seasons of The Chosen can be found on Prime Video. That show becomes my therapy. An episode or two of that reminds me that no matter who is feuding with whom, who is living a decidedly ungodly life, how many inane protests are ongoing, how many missiles were launched in the Middle East, or how many drones flew from Ukraine to Russia or vice versa, God is still on the throne. He still loves us crazy humans. He'd much rather see us follow Him than all the lying, stealing, killing or other insanity, no matter how we try to justify that craziness. Jesus is still my Lord and Savior and if someone blows up my house tomorrow, I am going to Heaven where there are no bills, no worries, no flat tires or home repair bills, no tears, no sorrows. 

I honestly do not know how folks who do not take refuge in Jesus make it through a single day. I think I'm pretty strong. I've been battered by life a lot and I can still form a complete sentence and keep myself fed. But, without my faith in Christ, I think I'd have done away with myself years ago. And there wouldn't have been much of a Heavenly "reward" in that. 

Thank you, Jesus, for the "peace that passes all understanding". It's just a matter of focusing on the right stuff...........

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” -Philippians 4:8.

 

I

rescue operation, of sorts.......

A few weeks ago, Kroger offered Rice-a-Roni on sale with a coupon. Good savings. I bought 2 packages to try later. I don't know if I've ever had any of this stuff, but if I have, I couldn't begin to guess how long ago it might have been.

Last night I decided to give it a try. My original intention was to eat some of it, end of story. Then I decided a carbohydrate dinner was probably not what the doctor ordered. I pulled out a pint of home-canned chicken, shredded it up and mixed it in. That was improvement, but not much of one. I needed a veggie. I wanted a canned veggie, not a frozen one so I grabbed a can of corn. I'd have loved to have some fresh, chopped spinach, but alas I didn't have any. I can't say the corn helped much either, not nutritionally, not taste wise.

I had a LOT of leftovers. I ate my bowlful last night, but I was kind of glad when I'd worked through enough of the bowl to give what was left to the dog. But, darn it, I still had a skillet-full. 

My choices were to throw all that food away or to try to do something with it. I decided to see if I could improve it to the point that it was more to my taste. I added a can of good old cream of mushroom soup, a can of milk, some granulated onion powder, and a good shake of everything-but-the-bagel seasoning. I stirred it all up and fixed myself a bowl.

I have to say, it is much improved from before. I think the dog is going to have a hard time, staking her claim on anything from my bowl tonight. And I have dinner for several future nights as well.

Yay me for not giving up on that potful of food! A penny saved and all that..........

If-fy day

I have been doing pretty well with my chores around here the past few days. Yes, I have restarted my planner. I have trouble keeping up with the planning thing, but I recall that old adage "Failure to plan is planning to fail". And, for me, that's true. So, circumstances drive me back to the planner time and time again. 

I have a feeling today will not be very successful. My back is really hurting. Have you ever noticed how much of what needs to be done around the house requires bending? For example: making the bed, loading or unloading the dishwasher, cleaning the toilet, cleaning the fridge, putting away the freshly laundered clothes, and on and on. 

Today is one of those days where the only way to escape the pain is to lie down. Sitting hurts, walking hurts, standing still hurts, and so on. And, if I bend, it's a slow and very painful process to straighten up. 

As the weather has started to warm up, I've been back to working outside. That's a lot of bending too. I only do 10 minutes a day, but at the end of that, I am so pain-ridden, I am not sure if I can make it back to the front door to go inside. And, once inside the front door, it's straight to a chair. That way if my legs give out, I won't fall! 

So, I'm going to look long and hard at my planner to see what I CAN do vs. what I'd planned to do. I suspect mucho prayer will be required, no matter what I attempt............

 

 

Just NOT my day......

 I woke up in pain. These days, being well beyond my prime, that's not unusual. But some days, after I'm up and moving around, it fades. No such luck today. I had nothing stronger so I resorted to several ibuprofen, an enhanced dose of potassium, and a heating pad. Eventually I was worn out with trying to cope and I went back to bed. Many times, if I lie down on my right side, I wake up with whatever was out of place and causing the pain having gone back where it belonged and the pain mostly gone. No such luck today. So, it's now almost 9PM and here I sit with the heating pad in place and several ibuprofen in my system. Maybe the pain is less, but I don't think so. And, I don't want to move, not even to find food......... Definitely NOT my day!

poke, poke, poke

You have been through a world of aches, pains, stabs, twitches, etc with me. Are you as tired of it as I am? Sorry to tell you, but we've got a new one.......... My sitter was giving me problems, in spite of my new Cushion Labs split-seat cushion. So, I decided I'd lie down for a little while. Lying down seems to take the pressure off the tailbone and that particular ache diminishes. So, as I was lying there, I began getting little stabs (pokes) of pain from my hips. Geez......what's this? 

It's kind of poke........rest.....poke....rest......poke and it doesn't stop. As you can tell, I'm now at my desk and I'm still feeling those little pokes. It's on the outside of the hip area, down low. Pretty much right where the thigh bone fits into the pelvis. poke......rest.....poke. It's not intense pain, but it IS pain. The fact that it comes and goes makes me think it's muscular. I'm still trying to lay off the NSAIDs as much as I can so I took an extra potassium supplement. And, it's calmed down.

My usual sign that I need some extra potassium is when the muscles around my eye twitch. Instead, this time, I have these "pokes" in 3/4 time. I think I prefer the twitching eye muscles. When the eye twitches, it's irritating and bothersome, but it doesn't hurt. And while the pain from this hip thing isn't horrific, it does hurt. 

Geez, what nest?

 

 

Much ado about tariffs

I've been thinking about this tariff thing. I'm not gonna say these thoughts come from God. It's just me sayin' what I think on MY blog. I pay the fee every month and that gives me the right to say what I think whether or not you agree.

Everyone is talking about tariffs. Most of the talk blows the impact of Canadian and Mexican tariffs on an individual US citizen way out of proportion. Prices have gone up 25% or more over the last 4 years. If the cost of Avocados goes up a few pennies as a result of the tariffs, whatever shall we do?

1) Option 1: Reconsider whether you NEED the product in question. Is it a NEED or a WANT? Can you do without it? If so, take the money you would have spent on it and pay extra on your credit card or put it in a savings account. In other words, go without.

2) Option 2: Buy a cheaper brand. Even if you feel you have to take a couple of minutes to add an extra spice or two, you can do it. In other words, make it do.

3) Option 3: Find an alternative. The other day I made a pasta dish that called for just a bit of diced tomatoes. I didn't want to open a whole can for such a small amount. I grabbed an already jar of pasta sauce and used some of that. I achieved the same effect and it still tasted food. You need a new bumper for your car? Call the local junkyard and see if they have one and what they'll charge you for it as opposed to that new bumper with a tariff on it.

4) Option 4: Be a patriot. So, buying American is a little more expensive than buying a cheap Chinese knock off used to be. For heaven's sake, be grateful for where you live and the blessings that have come with it. Ask yourself: Would you rather buy American, facilitating jobs for your fellow citizens, or would you rather have to come up with more tax dollars for welfare benefits for folks who have lost their jobs? 

5) Option 5: Fogeddaboutit. Put the money into your IRA, 401(k), money market account, favorite mutual fund, or your sock or sugar bowl. any times we really do not need the things we think we do. But, we all know we have to eat, even when we're 67+. And we know the future of Social Security is iffy. Stop the buying. Stop being prideful with regard to the stuff you have and realize that no one buy you may know about your bank balance, you can take courage from that as well as for a new air fryer.