Monday, December 09, 2019

12-9-2019 Monday-noon

Good afternoon!
What a week!  After I quit the steroids I was finally able to sleep and crashed for 11 hours.  Gradually been feeling more human since I have been able to sleep better.  :)  
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This was the bird cafe the beginning of the week with a little frost on the glass.
Funny how well the partridges blend in when they're  just sitting around in that brown grass.
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Leah came over on Tuesday night.  We discussed oxalates and oxalate dumping.  When I added back in some oxalate rich foods to slow down the dumping (almonds and chocolate) my pain level subsided noticeably within a day.  All new information to us and we've been doing a lot of online research.  
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I know--we had never had heard of it, either.  Can search online if you're interested.  The weirdest thing is that oxalate buildup could possibly be another cause of my health issues the past 20+ years...along with the carb overload.  Time will tell.  Anyways, since I have been having dumping issues, I will slow down and stay with Keto for now.  I don't have a scale but I am losing belly fat and a bit of my double chin--LOL!  Oh, and same thing with Dagan--belly fat and chin--and we both have had excessive watery eyes (apparently another of the many ways to oxalate dump).  I have even had the hard crystals in the corner of my eye stuck in my tear duct, but Dagan hasn't had that.  Well, it's a slow process and I feel I have nothing to lose.  :)
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Anyways, Leah finished another page (both sides) for the bullet journal on Tuesday night.  Friday Dagan stopped by after work to dump a 40# bag of kitty litter in the bin for me.  Saturday afternoon Leah popped in to help me go through my supplements for setting up my pills for another two weeks.  (She has done a lot more research than I have.)
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Then yesterday I finally had a Gramma Day.  Was a very quiet TV day.  Caroline (cleans and groceries) had told me about a cartoon show her little boy loves on Prime called The Stinky and Dirty Show so I had checked it out and figured Ian would love it.  He did!!  I love that it has all kinds of vehicles, they are all friendly, no villains (like DinoTrucks), problems arise and they keep trying ideas until they figure out some way to solve the problem.  It's a happy show with learning to think things through and work together.  Was a great day!
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Dagan picked Ian up and shoveled off my patio before they left.  But then we had snow again--LOL!  And it's been really frigid out there! 
I love seeing the tracks. 
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Last night Leah came over and the bullet pages were finished!!  Leah printed off a year-plus worth of pages, cut them in half, and punched them for me!!  I am so excited!
I have my monthly calendar spread pages... 
...the monthly tracker page and the monthly goals & correspondence page... 
...the weekly goals with doodle boxes & extra space at bottom page and the weekly Monday-Sunday page.  
Now I can work on figuring out what lettering I want to use for each month to fill in the headers.  Then I'll fill in all the dating, birthdays, reminders for repetitive tasks, etc, for the year and then finally fill in monthly goals and the monthly habit tracker for January 2020!  Whoohoo!  Once I get some done I'll show you how it looks.  I do so love my minimalist bullet journal.  (And, as Leah reminded me last night, now it will take less spoons!)
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This morning Caroline brought my groceries and filled me in on her trip to Mexico (cousin's wedding)--what fun!  
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Yes, Dagan did shovel the patio off last night--LOL! 
But more snow.
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I sprinkled catnip all over a toy for Annie and she's kind of in a catnip coma right now.
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Worked on Christmas cards most of the week.  Hope to be done soon.  Leah plans to come over tomorrow night.  She said she'd help me reorganize my bathroom shelves!!  Awesome!  (It is sure nice one of us has more energy--LOL!)  After that she said she wants to work on putting the gatefold table together--probably start that on Thursday night.  Nice!!  I will help as much as I am able.  :)
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I can hear the soft sounds of the partridges through the patio door glass as they dig with their feet and beaks for seed.  The dryer is tumbling softly.  The dishwasher is humming and rumbling.  The sun is shining on this cold-cold day (-2 F or -19 C) so it looks just gorgeous out there with the fresh snow.  Have a grateful week, everybody!  Life is good.  :)
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Notice how the word "temper" has changed over the years...
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"Have a heart that never hardens, a temper that never tires, a touch that never hurts."
Charles Dickens

16 comments:

Rita said...

Comment to get your comments. :) :)

Far Side of Fifty said...

Hey it sounds like you feel better! Boy I want some of that catnip! You have a head start on your journals! Snow is over now but now to shovel!

Joy@aVintageGreen said...

Hi Rita - SO HAPPY you got to SLEEP. I don't usually use capitals but I am so happy for you. And you introduced something I know nothing about - oxylates - so I am going to start searching/reading. Your body and KETO are getting along well together (smile).
Annie looks so relaxed with her catnip and the pigeons are visiting the 'cafe' which is a treat to watch. Hope the rabbit comes to eat again. Looking forward to seeing you journal pages as you add to them.
Hugs.
Joy

Divers and Sundry said...

Oxalate dumping is new to me, but googling shows info on spinach and broccoli and other foods I love and eat a lot of *sigh* I'll be interested in your diet as you proceed to deal with this. Food should be easier! lol That sounds like a fun series to enjoy together :) You and your snow! Wow! Even our coldest weather is warmer than the -2 you're having. It's gray here with a predicted high today of 68 with a low tomorrow night of 25. We're on a roller coaster. I'll bet your birds appreciate the food you provide :)

Bonnie said...

Yay for getting all the bullet pages done! Leah is so sweet to help you as much as she does. Oxylates are new to me but I'm glad you are figuring it out and it is helping. My daughter-in-law has been on a keto diet since last April and has lost over fifty pounds so far. It seems to really work for people that can stay on it.

It sure looks cold there - brrr! But Annie does not seem to mind with her catnip toy!

Take care and enjoy the season!

DJan said...

Those partridges don't know how good they have it, since they found your cafe. They do look contented. The whole oxalate dumping idea is something I'll have to research, but suffice it to say I am so glad to hear you are definitely on the mend! :-)

Deb J. in Utah said...

Hi Rita. I have never hear of Oxalate dumping either. Will have to look into that. Glad to hear your new diet is working and that you are feeling better. I love the pictures of your bird cafe. Sounds like an overall good and productive week!

Terra said...

I had not heard of oxalate dumping before reading your post, I like to learn new info while reading blogs. Annie is so relaxed in her catnip coma, my cat loves catnip too.

Jon said...

I'm laughing at the photo of Annie in a catnip coma - I love it!
Glad you're getting ample sleep and feeling better. I hardly get any sleep lately and feel like a zombie. I really need to hibernate.

Could you send me some snow?? The weather forecast keeps promising that we'll get some - but no such luck. Light snow is predicted for tonight, but I'll believe it when I see it.

Jo-Anne's Ramblings said...

Sleep is something I have no problem with thankfully.
Time spent with our grandchildren is so special

TammyVitale said...

never heard of that oxylate thing either, will have to check it out. Sounds like you've been plenty busy...and oh, that weather! No thank you! Annie is funny. I"m thinking of planting some catnip next summer. Wonder if the ferals will like it. ;) Good to hear you are sleeping. Lack of sleep is awful - it just compounds things. I find I really need mine. If it weren't for the dog I'd sleep through pretty much, but there is the dog, so I'm up once a night usually, but she's worth it. Happy holidays!

Janie Junebug said...

We need catnip in our lives. If only it worked for us. So glad you had a Gramma Day. I always enjoy photos of the Bird Cafe.

Love,
Janie

Lady Fi said...

So glad you finally got some sleep! Cute shot of Annie.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I have been offline for over a day due to my internet and phone lines being down. I wanted to stop by and tell you how much I really enjoyed this post. I learn something new everyday.

I've never heard of oxylates, much less oxylate dumping. I should check that out.

Leah is a gem to do all that bullet journal work. Hope your week is going great. You sound like you feel better.

pearshapedcrafting said...

Glad you are getting your food sorted! I have also lost weight having got on track with my green veggies again! Annie sure does look relaxed! I have bought a planner again - from the same company - I like that it has pages at the back for writing down monthly challenges! Hugs, Chrisx

Harvest Moon by Hand said...

Have never heard of oxylate dumping. Learned something new today. That's great that Leah did the bullet journal set-up. What a time saver!