It's Monday, Lawd Help Us

President Lump is in London right now. Many of us were hoping that he wouldn't go until July 4th. But any time he's away from the U.S. is a wonderful time. By the way, America is still looking for any countries that would like to babysit host Pres. Lump for the July 4th and Labor Day holidays. Asking for friends. Anyone? Any takers? Please, we'll pay you well.  crickets  Well, I tried.

This past weekend I was fooling around in Pinterest looking for something in the way of homemade food items. I found out how to make my own butter using a mixer and heavy cream. And that the whey that is left over from the butter can be used for making bread. I also found a way to set up my homemade cake and biscuit mixes without having to go to my kitchen notebook. I had David buy me a 4 pack of 1-quart canning jars at HEB. When he got back with the jars I sterilized them and let them dry. While that was happening I wrote out the title of the mix and the wet ingredients to add and quick instructions on 3x5 cards. Punched a hole in the corner of the cards and attached by slip knotting the cards with rubber bands. Then I  tore off a large square of parchment paper and measured off the dry ingredients for each cake, biscuit, or scone mix. I then funneled the dry ingredients into the dry clean 1-quart canning bottles with the parchment paper. Sealed with the lids and wrapped the cards around the necks of the bottles as I made them. I now have bottles of ready mixes for whatever I need in my pantry. I used one of the mixes last night to make scones for this morning's breakfast. It was so damned easy to make. This was a great idea.

Well, I have a house to clean and puppies to let back into the house. It's their morning nap time. Y'all have a magical day.

Religion in a Nutshell

Silly Sign Saturday

Lucy and the Thunder Boomers

Lucy the yawning Boston

Last night Lucy woke me out of a dead sleep because, well, a thunderstorm again. As I have said before that little girl hates thunderstorms. No matter how far away or how slightly muffled the sound, she still hates them. So she woke me up and I listened over her loud panting. Nearly nothing in the way of thunder boomers. She woke me up for that? So I took her outside so she could do whatever. Still muffled thunder. I was looking and the lightning was far off to the west of us so San Antonio was most likely getting hammered. I came back inside with the scaredy cat and turned on my laptop to see the radar. Sure enough, they were getting the shit hammered out of them. So I decided to stay awake because Lucy would surely wake David up and I didn't want that.

Lucy the seal

I made a cup of tea and settled in on the sofa and the princess was already there waiting for me. I watched a bit of a movie, drank my tea and the princess brat was sleeping next to me. So I got up, turned off the TV and lamp and went to go back to the bedroom and Lucy starts her panting again. By this time there was no more storm to warrant staying up any longer. I just looked at her and said it wasn't going to work anymore, the storm has long passed us up, child. But she insisted through her panting that she was still scared. So, I left her in the hallway outside the bedroom door and told her when she calms down I would let her in. Talk about a fast calm. I think she was back to normal in a split second after she realized her mommy wasn't going to play that game anymore. So, I'm going to start forcing her out of the bedroom when she gets this way again. Losing a little sleep over pain is one thing but losing sleep because of a pain is another. 

It's Thursday

I have great news and bad news this morning. First the bad news. There is a fucking cool front sitting right above Seguin and will not move. I was hoping that the front would come through the area last night but it took its time moving. I spent most of last night watching lightning light up the sky and comforting Lucy. I'm not sure but I think I finally went to bed at 3am this morning only to find that the cool front did move only to sit on top of us. The weatherman says the front will eventually move south later this afternoon. So I'm sitting with the heating pad and in so fucking much pain that the Hydrocodone isn't even helping, trying to write this as fast as possible. It's raining too.

The great news is I had my cardiologist appointment yesterday. My doctor sat with me for more than 20 minutes explaining all the tests that I went through and the results. Test after test was proving negative. The one test that I was shitting bricks about was the last one that I went to the hospital to get done. Yeah, the Calcium Score. That gives the doctor the percentage amount of calcium in your arteries that builds up over time and can attribute to the cause of arterial blockages in the future. My score was 6.6. Anything less than 10% is insignificant of coronary artery disease and the pictures of my lungs were clear as a bell. So . . . I am at a very low vascular risk. She noted that not very many women at my age and weight are like this. Also, she said the extra beats are most likely not of any consequence. She noted in my file that the PVCs were most likely caused by two drugs that the doctor that I was seeing for my MCTD had issued me. I stopped taking them after the first incident of PVCs and haven't had that many PVCs since. She also said that everyone has PVCs and doesn't know it or even feel them. She said many people go through life with them and never feels it. She said not to worry. She said that if the flutterings bother me too much she will either try drugs or just go in and zap the area on my heart that is having the flutterings and that would be that. She was about as happy as I was at my overall outcome. She said to keep doing the weight loss and heart smart stuff that I have been doing. She also wrote me a referral so I could get into the hospital gym and pool. You can already get into the gym but they don't like to let people in that have medical conditions like my back and would prefer you go to the Physical Therapy side of the building. So, I have a referral that says I don't need a trainer or a baby sitter as long as I just go for the bike and pool. Then she officially released me from her care. So I'm heart healthy and happy. 

So that's all I have for all y'all today. I'm going to set the heating pad on the bed and do a few exercises in hopes that the heat, as well as the movement, will help stop some of my pain. Y'all have a magical day.

Wet Dog Wednesday

It's Tuesday

We have overcast skies today. Well, at least until the sun decides to wake up and get to work. From what I understand from the NOAA weather site, we are supposed to expect rain off and on for the rest of the week until Monday. That's as far as the forecast goes so I'll have to wait for a couple of days to find out if the sun will shine again.

Anywho, David and I had a very productive weekend even though he wanted to sit in front of the TV and watch Harry Potter movies, I did get him up and doing some work. We tore into his Man Shed first. Took almost everything out of it and put up new shelving and get rid of a bunch of junk. Then we put out mouse bate and put most of the stuff that we wanted to keep back into the shed. I had him set up a large oval tin pot with sand in it and we poured oil into it and mixed it up really well. Then we took garden tools, cleaned and sharpened the ones that needed sharpening and stuck the metal into the oily sand. Then I let him rest for the rest of the day. Saturday, he tried to replace the hose for the steering fluid but couldn't get to it. So he will have to take his truck to the shop down the street and have the guys work on it for him. They were closed this weekend. So, we, yes I said WE, went to Wallyworld, gawd, I hate that place. David wanted a new set of headphones because his old ones kept dying on him. So, yeah, we went there for a few minutes but it seemed like an eternity. Sunday I had him mowing the lawn and trimming around the garden. He actually did a good job without lopping off any flowers. Monday, I let him rest. He wanted to take off today but I shoved him out the door this morning.

While all this was going on, I helped him clean out the sheds and threw a lot of crap away. I gave the puppies baths and clipped their nails. Finished the laundry, only two loads. Baked some bread, froze some bread dough for some other time I need breadsticks. Made cheesecake which for some reason was so much easier now that I know how to make it and it tasted so much better. I precooked three meals in case I don't feel like I can cook because of pain in the future and froze them. I made stew, lasagna, baked chicken breasts with rosemary butter in foil. I cooked a pot of rice and bagged it portion wise and froze that. I had a lot of heavy cream left over from making the cheesecake so I made butter out of that. I found out what to do with leftover cream and there was a tutorial on how to make real butter so I tried it. It was great and so easy to do. When I finished making the butter I mixed some fresh herbs with it and then froze it. I used the whey from the butter to make the bread. Nothing wasted. It was fun doing something new.

Thursday I got a call from my cardiologist's office and they moved up my appointment from Friday to tomorrow morning. That's all good for me. I'm hoping since everything has been negative so far the Calcium Score I had last week will be okay too. But I'm dreading knowing the news for some reason. 

Well, I have a little puppy that is antsy as hell because I promised I would let her run at the dog park this morning. Y'all have a magical day.

Remember

Today many friends and family members will go about their day with a BBQ and pool or block party. To them, today is just another holiday and nothing more. Not to rain on your parade but today is a day of remembrance and honor. There are those that will spend the day remembering family members at grave sites in Arlington and some that will be visiting the beautiful memorials in and around Washington D.C. I advise everyone who can, please spend a few moments at your town or city memorial for fallen soldiers. Honor the brave souls that gave their lives and thank those that have served or are serving in the military.