Are we living our dream?

[flowerbug]

...
So cardiologist told us to diet and exercise....not much I can add to that. Wants us to walk. I don’t mind except when your feet hurt so much it’s hard to think about walking 20 minutes on concrete (which is where DH imagines us to go). I rather go walk in the orchard if I have to walk. Mother Earth gives; concrete doesn’t.

aside from lack of give there are other aspects of walking on uneven surfaces which really help as you get older. if you can manage it, walking on varying surfaces really challenges your brain to work on balance a great deal, but it also helps your feet, legs, etc work harder and to be more flexible and capable.

i learned this when i was practicing Tai Chi regularly and when first was learning we were on a flat floor in a classroom type setting. so it was very uniform and not a challenge. then for a summer and part of a fall the next year we were practicing outdoors at a park and sometimes on a beach and i was also doing some practice in the woods. the next winter when we returned to indoor practicing i was amazed at how much my balance and strength had improved.

 

[Medicine Woman]

Dead turkey hen 😔. I had a feeling. I probably just didn’t see her yesterday. Put her in the burn pile. DH and I finished closing in the wall in the coop. Now we can rip the fly pen down and add a room in front made from the existing posts. It only costed some screws and some heavy gauge rabbit wire.

 

[Medicine Woman]

Merry Christmas my old and new friends!! I am a mess but at least I am showered and dressed...hopefully for Mass. we can do the basic feeding and clean up the truck for tomorrow’s road trip to Fort Polk. DD5 has been learning to drive and we have been taking the dog to a lonesome street for her runs and driving...kill two birds with one stone kinda thing. I let her drive us home afterwards because it was late and cold and I didn’t see anything on the road at all. She did well. She will be 15 in March.
I really gotta see about getting a few pieces of clothes. I barely have anything you can call decent at this point. I guess I am just so set in my ways. Even t-shirts that look new have stains on them. I might have to get creative and cover them up with something.
I need to close off my bedroom against the dog and put puppy pads down on the bathroom floor before tomorrow because I don’t want to count on a neighbor to come over 4 times a day. This is why I don’t want more dogs in the future. All I have to do for the rabbits is make sure plenty of hay and pellets and totally fill the water. I wish she was an outside dog or at least a toy dog. No.....DH had to get a pit bull.
I think DD5 is coming with us to Fort Polk. Her older brother is her godfather. DH says we will stay the night at a hotel to be comfortable. I will go back to the house the next morning to rock a baby and drink coffee before I go home.
So I don’t know how long DH and I will live in the family house. I already know something is up with the shower drain and there is no way either of us can get under and fix it. I really think a shed in the backyard with a few 50 gallon drums sunk in the ground bottoms out and surrounded by beer bottles....hidden and with banana trees all around might be able to serve as a bath house and then we can turn the shower space into a big family closet of sorts.
But I am really serious about PVC pipe aquaponics garden for the windows instead of curtains.
OMG...gotta run. DD2 just informed me she is expecting us in 45 minutes 🤦‍♀️ Great warning.

 

[Medicine Woman]

I used the container DS and DIL had my Christmas gift in to start maybe 6 types of seeds that I wanna try with simple aquaponics inside the house....grow in the many windows instead of put up curtains.
The box DD2 and SIL gave me is pretty and I put my new seed collection in it.
DD4 is here with me. She likes to drive in the evening for practice and to run the dog. Last night it was raining. We had a very small, two year old pig in back of the truck that I had covered with a plastic board. Basically made the truck look like a covered wagon. We took the pig and dog to the back, almost to the boat launch but dog never got to run. We noticed the mustard greens are as tall as I am...full of seeds and flowers. I told DD we will clean the back of the truck and when it’s time we will beat a few plants and then sweep it up to add to our seed collection. I said we can plant all we want around the house, in the barnyard or in the orchard....even put some anywhere so other people can see it and harvest. It’s coming.
Last night a woman my age messaged me that she was cleaning her mom’s house and wanted to give me her mom’s mason jars. Gotta meet her there. She told me where but I remember her getting off the bus there anyway when we were little. Small town living....
so today I guess we gotta park a pig somewhere and put him to work. They make good tillers. Speaking of which the old man who owns the field behind us noticed DH had put a buck on a teeter to keep the grass and brush down and he was ready to both cut grass and till the ground at some places. DH helped him move a fence and next thing I know the goat is relocated and the old man is passing the plow over and over on the property right behind us. DH told me the old guy is making me a garden. Wow!! Well.... I can’t grow okra inside.
DH brewed some Hawaiian coffee and it’s ready. Supposed to be very good and strong. I could use it. See y’all. Always too much to do.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

wanted to give me her mom’s mason jars

Score! Congratulations!

 

[tortoise]

aside from lack of give there are other aspects of walking on uneven surfaces which really help as you get older. if you can manage it, walking on varying surfaces really challenges your brain to work on balance a great deal, but it also helps your feet, legs, etc work harder and to be more flexible and capable.

i learned this when i was practicing Tai Chi regularly and when first was learning we were on a flat floor in a classroom type setting. so it was very uniform and not a challenge. then for a summer and part of a fall the next year we were practicing outdoors at a park and sometimes on a beach and i was also doing some practice in the woods. the next winter when we returned to indoor practicing i was amazed at how much my balance and strength had improved.

I could not agree with this more!

Katy Bowman is my hero! Here's a quick overview on feet:

She advocates for walking on uneven surface textures to reduce foot and body pain.

But this longer video is more encompassing:

 

[Medicine Woman]

I totally understand about what, ideally would be best for me as far as balance and exercise. I am a little worried about fracturing my ankle. But yeah.
So funny we have talked about this...I called my doctor about my bloodwork. Got a return call. Total cholesterol was 239 and sugar was 129. He was going to put me on a med and told me diet and exercise. I said... hold on a minute. This is the first time in my life I have high cholesterol. Let me see what I can do until March. I will call y’all back and go in. Y’all weigh me, check my vitals and send me back for tests again and then we discuss meds. So that’s the plan. So tonight instead of run the dog and drive, we going to the park and walking the dog.
I will try to get on a save my life diet. Waiting for DH to get that little pig out the truck so we can leave. He has been working on a little pen. Cattle panels, T-posts and Hurricane Ida sheet metal. Little guy should be okay. Hurry up DH.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Sounds like you've got a good plan to get some better test results in the future.

 

[tortoise]

I totally understand about what, ideally would be best for me as far as balance and exercise. I am a little worried about fracturing my ankle. But yeah.
So funny we have talked about this...I called my doctor about my bloodwork. Got a return call. Total cholesterol was 239 and sugar was 129. He was going to put me on a med and told me diet and exercise. I said... hold on a minute. This is the first time in my life I have high cholesterol. Let me see what I can do until March. I will call y’all back and go in. Y’all weigh me, check my vitals and send me back for tests again and then we discuss meds. So that’s the plan. So tonight instead of run the dog and drive, we going to the park and walking the dog.
I will try to get on a save my life diet. Waiting for DH to get that little pig out the truck so we can leave. He has been working on a little pen. Cattle panels, T-posts and Hurricane Ida sheet metal. Little guy should be okay. Hurry up DH.

Can you get an LDL particle size analysis done? I had high cholesterol - 229. My old GP was trying to get me to make some major changes. Fortunately I have followed the science on cholesterol. The older research has significant flaws and the conclusions drawn from it have not produced the desired health outcomes. Further, low cholesterol is a significant risk factor for dementia - yikes! I'd take a quick exit from a heart attack over a slow demise from dementia any day.

From what I learned, LDL particle size is much more meaningful than total cholesterol. This is the test I had done. https://testdirectory.questdiagnost...oprotein-fractionation-ion-mobility?cc=MASTER My results were that my particle size is primarily large (healthful) and my high cholesterol does not represent any increased risk of vascular or cardiac disease. It was a relief. It was quite reasonable cost when ordered from Quest. I plan to have it repeated annually.

Understanding cholesterol was really hard for me at first because I don't have a medical background. I found some really good lectures on youtube that helped me understand it.

If you decide to reduce carbohydrate consumption, your cholesterol will increase. This does not represent increased risk, it's just your body mobilizing fat as fuel.

I ended up leaving my GP over the cholesterol issue and found a younger and more up-to-date doctor who was willing to order the particle size analysis.

 

[tortoise]

I said... hold on a minute. This is the first time in my life I have high cholesterol. Let me see what I can do until March. I will call y’all back and go in. Y’all weigh me, check my vitals and send me back for tests again and then we discuss meds. So that’s the plan.

Kudos for lifestyle before meds. I respect that so much. It's not easy but I think it's worth it. You are already strong and active from your lifestyle. I have confidence in your success.