Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

Well, after six weeks, my thumb is still swollen and it still hurts. Wednesday while I was at my physical, my doc said it was time to x-ray it (I kinda think this should have been done six weeks ago, but I'm just a lowly English teacher who has no medical training). The x-ray tech said yes, there was definitely something but wouldn't tell me what. The doc had to tell me. The doc, though, ended up having her nurse call me and tell me my thumb was fractured. I needed to see an orthopedist. The orthopedist sent in his nurse practitioner who informed me a piece of the bone did break off and slipped down into the joint, which is why it still hurts and is still swollen.  There's nothing that can be done for it.  I knew before going to the orthopedist that most likely a piece of the bone had chipped off. All along I could bend my thumb a little bit and move it. The only issue I have is gripping things and using my thumb to open my car door. Any pressure on the thumb pad is painful...

So, that chocolate cake I made as a gift to myself? Lovely Beautiful Daughter and I (mostly it was just me) demolished it through last week. It became my 10:30 am snack each day, and it was interesting how much I looked forward to getting a slice each morning. I know I can't do that all the time. If I did, I'd be spinning my wheels with getting the last few pounds off.  The first morning Lovely Beautiful Daughter was here last week, she cut a slice of cake, and in her best Stockard Channing voice from Practical Magic , said, "In this house we eat chocolate cake for breakfast." And that's exactly what Lovely Beautiful Daughter did each day she stayed with me last week. The happiness I felt over her enjoying a simple thing like chocolate cake for breakfast made my days all the better. This week I wanted to bake something that didn't use white flour. I really want to move away from using white flour and gluten free white flour. While there's nothing inherentl...

After the fireplace insert was installed, I said no more home improvement until spring. That lasted a whole month. In retirement!  A few weeks ago I decided to do something about the hot water heater. The   existing hot water heater is 25 years old. I figured it can't be all that efficient,   and  it makes a lot of noise when it's heating the water. While it works, I'm   always thinking it could go out any time. Honestly, I've been amazed with how   the water heater still worked after 25 years.   But . . . I decided it was time for it to retire. So I bought a tankless water   heater,   and this week, I installed it. Well, I had help installing it. I did, though,   a lot of   the work to get it up and running, and I enjoyed the process from   beginning to   end. I learned so much about how my house is set up along with   what might be   needing atten...

Yesterday I jumped on the scale to make sure I'm maintaining the goal I set for myself. I stopped weighing in once a week when I hit my goal, instead going for once a month. I was pleasantly surprised to see another two pounds have come off since my weigh-in a month ago. I find this just crazy considering how for years I spent so much time scrutinizing what I ate and how much exercise I engaged in to keep the weight off. Ever since going whole food plant based, I've really not had to do anything other than eat whole foods that are plant based. I've not had to spend an hour or two every day working out. I've not had to count calories. I've not beat myself up for eating a couple of cookies, thinking I just messed up my progress. All of the used-to-do behavior is no longer, which feels great. When I reached my weight loss goal, the thought of losing ten more pounds crossed my mind. Given my height, I can lose ten more and still be considered in the normal range. Right ...

Murphy is now 13 weeks old. Already seven weeks have passed since I brought him home. During those seven weeks, he's become Ado's best friend (most of the time) and he has learned how to be a part of the family. As of this week, I believe he is completely housebroken because he hasn't done his business in the house at all. We'd been down to once a day up until last Monday, and every day since he has come to me when he needs to go out. He gives me a look and then a little bark. Just like Ado, when I say, "Outside?" he turns and looks out the window then heads for the door. His bark for needing to pee is different than his bark for needing to poop, which is too funny. The "poop" bark is much more urgent. Ado has been a great teacher for when it's time for play and when it's time to settle down, especially in the evenings. Both dogs settle in for the night by 7 o'clock, and after one last trip outside around 9, both sleep through the night, ...

Six months. That's how long I've been a full-on whole foods plant based vegan. And I can't imagine ever going back to eating meat or dairy or highly processed foods. Not only is eating WFPB a healthy approach to what goes into my body, but the simplicity that comes with eating WFPB is enough for me to never want to return to consuming all the other things I used to consume.  I've fallen into a routine of using online shopping at a local grocery store and picking up my order curbside. Not having to actually enter the store is wonderful. I just pull into one of the pick-up parking spaces, call to let them know I'm there, and within minutes an employee brings my groceries out to my Jeep, loads them in, and I'm good to go. Easy peazy. I've noticed this not only saves me time, but it also saves me money. When I'm filling my grocery cart while shopping online, I'm much less likely to buy things I really won't eat, like bok choy, which I bought twice wh...