10-7-2019 Monday--9am

Good morning!

Hard to take a photo with the sun in your eyes to show you the right tree is almost half brown now this morning...

...but I am not complaining because it is so nice to see the sun after many days of clouds and rain.

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Before I forget!  The craft hauls!!  First Leah's.  Seems she has plans I don't know about--LOL!  Got quite a few more items than she showed me in texts.

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The punches and dies. 

Cling stamps.  (I knew about all of these.) 

More stamps.  Leah might be wanting to work on Halloween cards this month, you think? 

Finally, embossing folders.  The hard to see one that I knew about on the left is a Christmas tree. 

I am still waiting for several from my haul (super cheap so probably coming from China or Taiwan), but I'll show you what I have received so far.

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Two turn-around stamps and a turn-around jig. 

And Chriistmas and birthday dies. 

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Okay--Wednesday--Dr. Blom, rheumatologist appointment.

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First of all I really liked her.  No diagnosis yet.  She said there are several types of arthritis and autoimmune diseases.  I asked about the Rheumatoid arthritis that doesn't show up in the blood tests, but she said RA is usually symetrical and mine isn't.  In the meantime, she asked me to take Aleve twice a day to see if that can help with the swelling (still have some in knees and ankles, too).  She sent me to the lab to have 12 vials of blood drawn for what looks like 19 more tests.  Said we will have a lot more to talk about after all my test results come back.  (I go back on the 24th.)

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I told her about going on the Keto diet and she immediately told me to stay on it.  When I was telling her about Leah's going on the carnivore elimination diet she said--you should try that and smiled.  She knew all about the Keto diet apparently.  Said we will talk more next time but stay on Keto.  So that is what I am doing.

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BTW--Dagan asked his cardiologist in Minneapolis before he started on Keto and they said to go ahead.  Leah's doctor okay'd it for her, too.  Three different doctors (all younger) from three differnt clinics.  And my rheumatologist was the most positive and enthusiastic of them all.  

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Now I know my vegetarian, vegan, and WFPB friends might think this is dangerous and crazy.  I don't blame you.  Sounded pretty extreme to me at first.  Especially since I have been 95% vegetarian (aiming for 100%) for over a decade.  But I see how obviously it has helped Leah.  Her knees stopped hurting in only a week or two--before she lost more than a couple pounds.  Her lifelong battle with asthma seems to be gone!  She lost 30 lbs in the 6 months she was on Keto and now 25 on the Carnivore elimination diet in 5 weeks.  She has more energy (but that took months) and her sinuses are so much better.  Honestly--being vegetarian didn't do anything for my health all these years...so there's that.  ??

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I know I will be talking more to Dr. Blom about it.  I think every person is different and I do think some of us might just have bad reactions to carbs.  I know there are better carbs and worse carbs...and there are arguments pro and con for so many diets.  Well, I'll have more information when I go back for all these additional test results.  I hope.  In the meantime--I'm still on Keto.  I seem to have been slowly getting better over the past month or more.  I am taking the Aleve regularly now because she asked, but there are cons to that, too.

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Meanwhile...back at the ranch...LOL!

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Leah came over Thursday night but we never worked on the bullet pages.  She helped me with some computer stuff, we double-checked measurements for the table and cabinets in the corner of the sutdio, and we made a decision on which dye ink pads we would like to collect.  We have a lot of odd ink pads (metallic, distress, etc) but my only set of very old Archival regular dye ink pads from the 90s that have turned absolutely yellow with age...

...well, they really need to be replaced.  

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I had bought up a few brands of black ink pads to compare quite a long time ago but we never did make a final decision.
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Well, we finally did!

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Simon Says Stamp brand.

 Memento was the second choice.  I'll check and see what colors there are to pick from and watch for sales/deals.  Already knew we liked the SSS ink pads because I already had just gone ahead and purchased two different reds for Christmas cards.  :)

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We were going to work on the bullet pages this coming Thursday...but looks like Leah also has plans to make Halloween cards--LOL!  ;)  So, we'll see what she wants to do when the time comes.

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Friday I worked all day washing winter clothes from the bins and packing away summer clothes...and my hand held up pretty decently!  :)  I can almost make a fist some days the past few weeks.  Not a tight fist, but the best I've had since beginning of June.

Dagan was going to come over after work on Friday to help me do some other seasonal switching over here but his car was smoking on the way to work!  Had it towed to a garage and will find out this week what is wrong with it.  Cars!  :(

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 Saturday Ian came over for Gramma Day.  

He wanted a movie day and it was an afternoon Gramma thoroughly enjoyed, too. 

We were waiting for Mama to come to pick him up.  I wanted a picture of his monster knees sweat pants! 

I didn't even realize that his hoodie had a Darth Vadar mask attached to it!  LOL! 

We had a great time!  Here's a little video of our waiting for Mama conversation.  I think Ian was getting a little tired. 

That rash on his cheek was almost gone for a couple weeks and then returned again when he came home throwing up sick from school last week.  ?  Anyways, it is going away again with the cream.
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Oh, and when Ian arrived that day I got SOOO excited to see the covey of partridges!!  Right there in the afternoon!  Here I had thought I would be telling you today that I hadn't seen them for weeks.  This is a different covey--six of them--larger--more confident--stick around when they visit.  Must be one of the two I fed last winter.  :) :)  
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They came back at dusk, too!
Sorry the pictures are a little blurry.

I think I was too excited to see them and didn't wait for the phone's camera to focus--LOL!

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Then last night after dinner Dagan and Ian came by to help me with making a couple trips to the garage and back.  We moved all the patio furniture, three bins of summer clothes, and three fans to the garage.  

We brought in the two humidifiers, the brown rug to put near the patio door (for the shovel I didn't need to bring in...yet), the little round table, and a bag of winter clothes that were missed.  Ian carried a small patio table both trips out and he pushed the cart on the way back in one time and carried the little table another time!  He even helped Daddy plug in the living room humidifier for me behind the TV cabinet.  He was a big help!  :) 

Was a productive day!  I feel prepared for winter now.  
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Okay, I have been working on this blog post for so long that it's going on 1pm so I could get a picture without the glaring sun.

You can see how much the one tree has changed (can click to enlarge)...but not the other two--LOL!  I wonder if they are going to prepare for winter in their usual right to left order again this year?  I'll try to remember to take pictures.
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So, today--I am washing the last of the winter clothes from the garage.  I've been watching the few things I wanted to see on Hulu before I cancel.  Got the 99cents a month for a year deal on Black Friday last year but don't want to keep Hulu at full price.  I just didn't watch it that much.  And I can rent The Handmaid's Tale on Netflix DVDs.  That was my main interest in Hulu.  Sure it may take months after it airs until I get to see it, but I don't mind.  I'm patient.  ;)
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The sun is actually shining today--whoohoo!  So it's up to 58 degrees (14 C).  More and more sparrows are showing up for bird seed since it got colder, too.  Annie and I are happy with more birds, for sure.  Dagan will have to make a trip to Fleet Farm pretty soon for bags of bird seed.  :)  I was worrid there for a while I might not need any.
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That's it from here for now.  Have a studendous week!  :) :)  Chat again soon.
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"Whatever our individual troubles and challenges may be, its important to pause every now and then to appreciate all that we have on every level."
Shakti Gawain