losing weight or not

 barrel cactus are not blooming at this time of the year. This is from 2022 and something positive to think about.

Like most ,who are tempted by diet tricks to lose weight whether it's surgical, a pill, a shot, or a new way of eating, I understand the appeal of such schemes. 

While I grew up pretty slender, I saw the family had weight issues. I worried about that for myself. When I got married, I put on some weight with a new way of snacking. I went yuck and used one of the canned drinks to take that weight off. You take that for two meals and one real meal. I lost most of the weight.

Then, along came baby-making years, and although I watched my weight when pregnant, I had gained weight. In my early thirties, I found a diet plan, very like the later Keto, where you minimize carbs for protein and fats. I again lost the weight and felt satisfied with the results. In the following years, I did a few other techniques, which led to weight loss but also gaining it back.They weren't ways of eating I could stick with.

That lasted until my 70s, when I really gained--way more than I'd ever imagined-- and more or less accepted it's old age. I lost again but more for a dietary change than a desire to follow a diet as such. Then I got into this thing about loving jelly bellies, which led to my own jelly belly (sugar is sugar, baby). And it's where I am today, interested in reading about supposedly miracle ways to lose weight but suspicious that if you don't change your way of eating in a healthy way, it won't matter.

I thought about Keto when so many lost weight that way, like what I'd done in my 30s, but felt I'd never stick with it. YoYo dieting is bad for our health. 

Most recently, I came across a friend on what is called the carnivore diet. It basically is protein and fat, which means, eggs, meats, fish, butter, and cheese. While I love eggs, I am not a big meat eater. Plus, it's working for that person but they are the age of my kids. When someone is in the old-old category, I think different rules have to apply for living well. 

My other concern with the carnivore diet, is without vegetables, fruit, beans, nuts, etc., how do you get the vitamins your body needs. Weight loss is nice but scurvy not so much, and generally speaking supplements are not as beneficial as the actual food.

Ozempic is the instant weight loss for the movie stars-- or so I hear, and even one multi billionaire. But now it comes out that it has some potential side effects down the road that could be catastrophic-- like enlarged small intestine.  One of the ones I know uses it, is very happy with the results, but also younger and claimed it would prevent a heart attack. The thing is that person wasn't obese, but just wanted to be slender as she'd been when young. Don't we all lol 

In the past the instant cures for overweight have all proven to have big drawbacks. I will settle for trying to eat healthier-- and keep my blood sugar at a healthy level (I tend to get low blood sugar if not careful with eating often enough). 

That reminds me, among the supposed miracle answers was fasting so many hours a day. Eat at say 9am and then at 3pm; then your body will burn the fat you want gone. I don't know about you but that seems like a good way to end up with low blood sugar (I'd done that but not to diet but because I didn't desire three meals. I don't recall losing weight that way but did definitely end up with blood sugar issues (I take mine every so often at home as one of my ideas for living healthy without having to run to the doctor all the time).

I suppose there are those who will claim all the things I have no faith in have worked for them. Good. Hope it does long term as that's where the problems lie with easy answers. At my age, I am going to try to stick to healthy eating... pretty much. *s*

August and some nice storms

 August 12th

This Sturgeon moon is the considered to be fourth supermoon in a row after the Buck moon in July, Strawberry moon in June and Flower moon in May.

 

I haven't had a lot to say lately as our world has been very quiet. Ranch Boss had cataracts removed from both eyes and that takes some time to arrange and then the healing and repeated doctor visits to be sure it's all fine. He is quite happy with the results and now has 20/20 vision in both eyes and no more astigmatism. 

We had a little concern about the process since it does involve an anesthetic, but they don't put the patient to sleep, but just to relax so they can do the work. He found the process fascinating for  how they remove the cataract and the old lens before replacing it with the new one.

The patient has a choice of how far they want to see, and he chose distance with using reading glasses for up close and the computer. He also had a choice on using a laser and paying for that as the basic cataract surgery is covered by Medicare for someone with as bad of vision as he had in the one eye and fuzzy in the other.

Otherwise, not much. I have been wrestling with low blood sugar and may have found a way to help which involves protein bars in the late afternoon. Fingers crossed. (turns out that wasn't the solution. More research needed).

 The monsoons in our area have been mixed for how much rain is involved. we bought a rain gauge and the other night, we had three storms come through, with some scary thunder in one of them and 3/4" fell between the three. 

 We and the cactus are hoping for more rain, but you really never know and often the storms hit places other than us.

 

 

 

health and aging

After writing about my fall, my mind was on things I've learned this last year about my health. It's one of those things I don't generally write about but maybe some of what I've learned will help others as a lot of it I hadn't thought of before.

The one still impacting my life is keeping track of my blood sugar. I always thought if I had problems with it, it'd be heading toward diabetes. Not so. I ended up off and on (some thanks to nightshade intolerance before I realized it) going to hypoglycemia. Fortunately, I never went all the way into the dangerous realm, but when I get down to 70, my body reacts to it by unsteadiness and not feeling well. 

How do I keep it from going there-- small meals and carbs... What I had been doing, because I liked it, was eating a good breakfast and lunch around noon and then not eating much from then through the rest of the day. What I do now is breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, mid afternoon snack and a piece of cheese before bed, which for me tends to be between 6 and 7 since I am up before 4 the next morning. If I watched movies or television, I'd likely stay up later. I do not.

The nightshades have been a huge disappointment and some of them were among my favorite foods, like tomatoes, but worse was what is often snuck into processed foods i.e. paprika. If I eat that, I am in bad shape within a day or two.

There was a plus to this. I've lost 50 lbs over the last couple of years and wear jeans 4 sizes smaller than I did. I think maybe the snacks might help with what my last doctor visit revealed that I was low on sodium. Who thinks that could happen given we are not supposed to eat salt! Some of this might be aging as in 2021, I turned 78. I didn't imagine getting that old as at one time I thought I wouldn't live past 30. So goes my age predictions.

The photo is from a month ago right before we took the tree down. I care less about how I look these days than I do about how I feel and how I can move (walking gracefully is a thing of the past but I am settling for being stable :).

 

something good

by Rain Trueax

One of the blogs I read suggested that people come up with positive things that have come up for them through the pandemic. I literally could come up with nothing positive in this for me. Adding to the upset for me has been all the bitter partisan fighting. 

I wonder if Nancy Pelosi thought at all how many fat people she offended when her target was the President and she said he was morbidly obese. CNN did an article to explore if he was and turns out, based on his last physical, he'd have to gain 77 pounds to reach that level of obesity. He was barely at the level of being obese, according to CNN-- not exactly a fan of the President. Pelosi, in an interview discussing among other things what she'd said, clearly looked smug that she'd nailed him, but she also nailed at least one of the possible women Biden is considering for the next Vice President.

Another hot button issue this week was-- should the President be taking hydroxychloroquine, about which even doctors don't agree on whether it's potentially dangerous, useless for Covid-19, or might be a good thing to  avoid the virus or get a lighter case of it? The argument is at what level you begin to take it whether it helps. Some believe it has saved lives. Others claim it cost lives. One thing for sure is if it worked, it'd be much cheaper, and it's very available since already used for lupus, etc. Also, Pelosi's excuse for calling him morbidly obese (she also mentioned his age) would make him more in danger if he got Covid-19. Knowing he had an aide who tested positive for the virus, could be why the doctor felt Trump taking the drug along with zinc was a good idea.

One thing they are claiming is wearing masks whenever someone is out around people like for grocery shopping. The problem with this virus is how people can be out ad about before they know they are sick. Think of it as not about fear but what you do for others, like workers in the stores. Some say masks make them have panic attacks and hence just can't do it. I wonder if different kinds of masks would help. I mean if nothing else, the bandit bandana.   

The Benefit of Wearing a Mask

Anyway, back to the first thought-- something positive from the pandemic. Can you think of something that has been positive about it for your life? Share it as as way of being uplifting to others. We all need that.  

  It is the time of the saguaros. The bees and birds love them and suck from more than any other cacti that I have seen anyway. The saguaro gives to many who find good from its blossoms.

a bonus post and a different view

by Rain Trueax

Because I got this from Facebook, I wanted to share it widely. As countries and states open up, each of us will need to decide what that means for our choices. Do we go back or do we continue to self-distance? If it's a job, where we have no choice, do we demand protected working conditions, some changes that take the virus into account?

Having all the facts helps us make those decisions. That means hearing diverse opinions and weighing which seems best for us. Below is a different opinion from something I posted earlier. I believe it's worth reading. It made sense to me and pretty much is what I have believed is my personal choice when governors lift the various bans. 

One thing I have learned from my many years of following what should or should not be done. Experts constantly change their minds or disagree with other experts. In the end, it's your life and body. Get information and don't be afraid to look at different ideas for what might be best. Then make a choice. If you click on Read More, you will find what I consider to be a reasoned and non-partisan view of the situation.

something to think about

by Rain Trueax

I've been torn on what to write here given the times. My gosh, we get all this information but which parts do we trust? How can we know whether we can shut down for months or even a year? If it's not until a vaccine is ready, can we still pick back up a viable economic culture-- one that families can support themselves with? If we don't shut down that long, could the disease claim millions of us? What to do what to do???

Sweden went with social distancing, not shutting down businesses, and herd immunity-- let people get sick. Some claim that worked and some claim they are yet to be inundated. 

Herding is something most my age remember well. The parents would just as soon we got the measles, chicken pox and mumps. The idea was get it and you'd be done with it. Did not work that way for everybody, and now we know chicken pox can lead to later getting shingles. 

Other diseases though like whooping cough, strep and scarlet fever were taken more seriously. Polio was something people tried to avoid for their children as it was deadly or crippling at the least. My husband's aunt had it, survived, but walked with a limp the rest of her life. 

How do we decide what would work for our country but also ourselves. This idea of keeping shut businesses that are not deemed essential has had appeal for many.

The thing is what is essential? For instance car repair might be deemed that (at a time they want to ban people from even going for pleasure drives). So if car repair is, how about those who manufacture the parts needed for it? 

It's hard to get our heads around what this is doing to agriculture with people unable to sell their products, get them packaged, or get them to a market with a lot of markets shut down-- like restaurants. Some farmers are saying they won't plant due to the uncertainty. That could mean a lot more shortages ahead-- and that doesn't take into account the meat packing plants that have had to close because of workers testing positive for Covid-19. Should this be a serious concern? [One opinion]

My son-in-law has a doctorate in virology. Years back he described a virus that would prove deadly and the way this one attacks is it. One that doesn't show its symptoms right away, doesn't kill fast and is very contagious. Here we are and all the uncertainty still here for us.

I've done social distancing for years during the flu season because although I do other vaccinations, the flu shots made me sick, left me with a lump in my arm for months and I decided I couldn't risk another as they'd been getting worse each year. Yet, I can do the

pneumonia and other vaccines. Go figure. So in the season, my husband, who has the shots with no reaction, goes into the stores. This virus has added him wearing a mask and wiping everything down and only going when essential. 

This year, we have self-quarantined here, felt lucky to do it other than being way apart from our family. Still, they are better off as it is.  Turns out that a lot, who call themselves snow-birds or sun-chasers, have found their plans also disrupted. But then life has a way of doing that anyway with little predictability and often equally little control.

So I debated sharing the article below. It's by a guy known as a bit of a bomb-thrower in terms of dire predictions and also in making money for his own enterprises. Still he has some interesting ideas especially that we are not all in this together given our differing circumstances. Until I looked him up, I had never heard his name. His opinions are controversial, culturally scary for where we are heading, but are they also true? Who do you believe?

moon thoughts

by Rain Trueax

April 6th and the setting of the Pink Moon. 

With my interest in full moons, I found two meanings for this moon. The first was that it's for the pink phlox and early bloomers. The second was it meant rebirth. Since Sunday is Easter, a time of resurrection for Christians, that's a good meaning. The time of rebirth. however, isn't always good. It means death first.

I have mentioned before that I am on Facebook. Currently, it's a good place for me. I like connecting with people there and sharing parts of my life. If someone asks an opinion type question, even on a topic I generally avoid, I will answer with my thoughts on it. BUT if it's peppered with insulting terms, if it's from someone I have considered a friend, I quit reading with the first of them and hide the post. If it's a 'friend' there that I don't know, I snooze them for a month and then unfollow if the nasty words are still there.

Some say they don't like coming to FB for the negativity. What I wrote above is a solution, which I need, as it's important for me right now as a place to connect with those I have gotten to know, where I am interested in how they are doing. The only way I can continue there is to get rid of what upsets me. Maybe it's my generation or how I was raised to be polite, but insulting words don't work for me even if I agree with them-- and once in a while, I might...

I have a thought on the virus, which I will share... read it or not as it works for you. 

row your boat

by Rain Trueax

Row row row your boat

gently down the stream

merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily

life is but a dream.

Everybody knows the melody or maybe not younger generations but it is well known to older ones. It is credited to Eliphalet Oram Lyte, who is cited as its composer in the 1881 New York publication The Franklin Square Song Collection. It is thought the words have been around much longer.

It came back to me because of a book we are reading-- The Dude and the Zen Master

by Diane : The value of art to me and quotes

My personal story:

I learn positive values of aging from my art making. 

My golden years are an empty canvas or book

that I fill with nurturing care for myself like I care for my paintings.

 

 

Art is a license for me to play, fantasize, and be young at heart.

 

Art is healing was the most compelling theme in a book I read recently. Since last week's post which was a review of "Disturbances in the Field", a novel by Lynn Sharon Schwartz, I am looking for more stories of  the art's power to impact the quality of our lives. One of the secondary stories within the novel was about the main character calming herself by coloring in a children's coloring book after two life tragedies. She hid her coloring books under couch pillows when family and friends came unexpected.  During the eighties adults would think she was digressing to childhood. Today public opinion has become more accepting. Big chain stores like Target, Fred Myers, art galleries, craft stores and even grocery stores market adult coloring books. Artist friends of mine are not ashamed to say at times they find coloring books soothing. Art permits us regardless of age to play.

 

Art saves lives. Practicing an art improves quality of life making living joyful and rich. For example this morning at breakfast I watched the swallows in flight, a couple of foxes hunting and the lighting on the field and woods changing color with the heat of summer. I was looking with the interest of an artist preparing to paint. Seeing like an artist is enough to enhance living. But I wanted more. So I rushed outside to paint. My iphone camera doesn't capture my excitement or how I see the colors. Selecting what I paint from the landscape is empowering.

 

My experiences are reflected  in quotes my sister-in-law Debby Wenzel gave me.

An hour a day of art makes me happier. An hour of art per week reduces depression.


In art as in life much can be forgiven if your values are right. Experiencing the world my values have changed over the years. I would rather buy art supplies than most material things. I see beauty in people and the environment in unconventional ways.

Art humanizes people. One example is children learning to play musical instruments and playing in a band or orchestra. Another is the art of cursive writing helps to develop a child's brain. Art is the sublime manifestation of the human spirit. Henry Louis Gates Jr.

On the internet I found this quote shared by Donna Watson.
Art is not just ornamental, it is an enhancement of life.
It is a path in itself, a way out of the predictable and conventional...a map to self discovery.  Gabrielle Roth

negativity

by Rain Trueax


 
This has been a difficult week to write anything here. It's had two physical problems. The first might be unpleasant to read; so if you prefer not getting it, come back for the next blog and enjoy the cactus blooms.

Home Visits

by Rain Trueax

For the last year or two (or more), we've been getting calls from our Advantage insurance plan asking us to find a time for a home visit by a nurse. We didn't like the idea. It had no cost but seemed invasive. We finally decided we had to do it  if for no other reason than to not get the calls. We preferred, however to do it in Arizona. When in Oregon, with all the uncertainty involving raising livestock, to set up a date ahead of time can be dicey. These visits are supposed to take an hour per person.

Aging-- gracefully or not

by Rain Trueax

 Image from Stencil. 

No, it's not me but isn't that a great old face as she looks at a barren and dried up world. All she's experienced is seen through those eyes-- maybe,as she's getting closer to it, also what she sees of the other side.

There are reasons I come back to the topic of aging-- sometimes it's a lifestyle change, but it can simply be looking in the mirror. As people move into old age, some try to hide the numbers. I guess, that's fear of being devalued for being old. This is a cultural thing as it's not that way everywhere or even years back in my own culture.

The word elderly has its own connotations. I remember reading articles where the 'elderly' person in it was 63 or so. When does elderly begin? I would guess by 75, my age, or is it more than a number? I went looking and found varying opinions for elderly. This article on NPR seemed pretty good-- if you want to be politically correct about it. [An Age-Old Problem].

When your body can talk to you

by Rain Trueax

Our life depends on our body continuing to function. Kind of a basic truth. Years back, I was interested in meditation as a way to keep track of how my body was doing. Deep breaths, blocking out my thinking, meditative scripts, music, lots of ways to quiet the brain, and listen to the body. 

Mostly, being aware of our body involves noticing what in the beginning might be subtle changes. Losing/gaining weight? Yellowed skin? Long-lasting, unexplained pain? Digestive disorders? Skin changes? Breathing difficulties? 

For most of us, we'd just as soon not have to think about something going wrong. Reality is-- the earlier we recognize a symptom is significant, the more likely it can be fixed. 

Many people depend on yearly checkups, mammograms, colonoscopies, and other tests in the doctor's office that might find a problem before symptoms.

There happen to be home tools that can help our body talk back to us. For young folks, this may not be an issue as there are years when we don't worry about things going wrong. The older we get, the more that changes.

a complication

by Rain Trueax

 Sometimes I write blogs weeks ahead, as the ideas are flowing, and I want to get them down. Then there are times, like this week, where nothing is coming-- as the tail end of the cold has me still feeling dragged out. I am off the over the counter meds mostly... which is good because one of them had a surprise for me.

My first migraine was when I was pregnant with our first child and not that far from delivery. I was taking a hot bath and suddenly got the aura, some numbing of one arm, and a slight headache. We called our regular doctor and he said it wasn't a stroke. He was right, and it was over soon-- baby soon to come after. 

More migraines followed in the next months, and my regular doctor didn't seem to have a name for them. He gave me a prescription for a muscle relaxant, which I didn't like taking. I went to an osteopath and his adjustment brought on one of auras, but eventually his realignments were the answer. Through the years, I went from osteopath to osteopath and currently a chiropractor, who with those alignments always ended any migraine cycle. 

Now I knew migraines can be brought on by certain foods but hadn't actually had one I could assign to a food-- until this last week. I got a double migraine one morning with a nasty headache (mine hadn't always had headaches). It had come after eating some potato chips (yes, i know junk food). That afternoon, I got another migraine, again from a food known to potentially trigger them in some people. 

By this time, we were researching ingredients in the cough syrup (one safe for those who take meds to lower bp). It turned out it was known for triggering migraines in some people. I took it again before bed, got another migraine, with a headache and knew for sure that it was that syrup. Maybe for someone else, it'd have been fine, not for me-- although I had taken it for a week before it triggered the migraines. 

I am only writing about it because it might do the same for someone else. No migraines since I quit the cough syrup. The cough is fortunately tapering off also. 

Writing has been going poorly. Any schedule I had for it has been tossed. I need to write when I feel it, not force it.

Vitamin D

[Blog update: Instead of having a regular posting schedule, I'll put something here whenever it comes up, which might mean nothing for a stretch or a lot. It might involve writing, nature, animals, cultural aspects, art, etc., but for now at least, no partisan politics. It's just too far from the election. When we have two candidates and the issues are clearer, then maybe... All right, I might as well admit it, sometimes I need to rant and for now I have a blog for that. If you have that need sometimes, check it out: Rainy Day Rant. It always is as the mood strikes or when the iron is hot!]
 

 Selfie of Ranch Boss and me-- 9/13/15

I know people who enjoy going to doctors. They get security from the visits, assurance they are all right. I am the opposite. I go when something is wrong, and I can't figure out a way to correct it, which means, with any health issue, the doctor is not my first step. Now, I would not ignore a major symptom like constricting chest pain or blood in urine, but I will delay professional help for most everything else, as I try to assess what I can do about it. Whether the ones who run to doctors frequently or I am more right, it might be trained in us. My mother was a 'not going to the doctor' kind of person also.

So you can imagine that setting up a physical isn't one of those things I do readily. This time it had been about three years when I finally felt I needed to get in for the lab work. I am on a med for blood pressure and one for cholesterol. I can keep track of the blood pressure (it's been fine), but cholesterol is invisible until it causes problems.

It's a good thing to do but my problem is that these days the blood is evaluated for everything. I have this feeling, call it paranoia, that they'll find some marker that wouldn't cause me trouble if they didn't find it.

The appointment was actually more pleasant than I expected. The only real issue was my Vit. D-- still lower than he liked-- especially since I was taking a pretty heavy daily dose of D3. He suggested upping the amount.

When I got home, I looked at my lab work results. Here are what Vitamin D levels mean to my clinic: 10 ng/mL severe deficiency; 10-19 ng/mL mild-moderate deficiency; 20-31 ng/mL Hypovitaminosis; 32-80 ng/mL Optimum levels; over 100 ng/mL possible toxicity.  (My level was 28 ng/mL.)

I wrote about this at Facebook and got responses from those who had their own Vit. D stories-- some up and some down. Where obesity and old age can be an issue in low D levels, the ones who had had deficiencies were younger and on the skinny side-- moreover frequently in the sun-- in a climate more southerly than mine. 

So I got curious about D and found a lot on it. This article is a good example of the current thinking.

Low Vitamin D linked to mental decline

According to it, my level would be mid-range and acceptable. When you read all the things that researchers believe about the impact of low D, it's easy to see where my doctor wanted to be proactive. He suggested taking 5000 IU a day, which is a small increase from where I have been.

I learned something else as I read and it surprised me. I am one of those who is gluten sensitive. Neither my doctor nor I believe I have Celiac (which other articles say can be connected to Low D), but I learned a few years ago that eating gluten led to low belly pain for me. I also learned that I could, after having been off it for many months, cheat now and then without the pain. 

This summer, knowing I could cheat led to doing it more and then more. After several months of that, the pain began and took maybe two weeks to get myself back to where I'd been-- none or normal abdominal discomfort. Cheating is over for awhile. 

During those two weeks, I watched everything I ate to avoid anything that might produce gas. That meant more than the usual number of eggs (my favorite food). I began to feel more energy, which I didn't equate to anything, until I read one source of Vit. D is egg yolk. So maybe I was improving my D level without thinking about it, and it might be why I felt that increased energy. 

They have made such a huge deal out of sun wrinkling our skin and giving us skin cancer that many elders stay out of it, wear long sleeves and hats, as well as use high level sun screen, which means no sun rays getting through to create D in the body. I had read articles about doctors suggesting this obsession has led to other more serious health problems than needing to have an occasional skin cancer removed. 

Below is another article. This one suggesting how we can get our D-- and it includes sunshine.

How to get your D to healthy ranges

It's all about balance-- everything is, but if D really helps with mental acuity, heart health and avoiding cancer, it's worth getting blood levels tested once in awhile-- even if it means going to the doctor.

When I left my appointment, with my doctor giving me the thumbs up, I said see you in two or three years. He smiled and said-- one! I guess we'll see.

Did liberals screw Obamacare?

Just guessing, I'd imagine the average reader of this blog has been following the health care debate. It is the kind of thing, no matter whether you have insurance, whether you believe others should have it, whether you love or hate Obama himself, that the average citizen of the US knows they will be impacted one way or the other by its existence or its denial. I thought this article was excellent on the reasoning the White House should have used to support the mandate. We should not only be aware of this argument but use it the next time a rightie tells us the mandate is too far reaching or unfair.

Did Liberals Screw Obamacare?

Health Care

I will doubtless be writing more about health care as it's the big thing they are pushing as being bad about Obama's policies. We don't need no health care... Oh wait, we do but you don't.

Well the scary argument they constantly dredge up is how bad health care is in the countries that provide single payer. Just read this and be sure afterward you spread the word as if the righties win in November, even the care many people have will deteriorate if they are among the working poor unable to afford the best and not eligible for Medicare or Medicaid.

My belief is we need to be working hard for single payer in the U.S. Enough already with buying what the corporate interests use for scare tactics. Universal health care will not deteriorate everybody's care.

Better care at America's or England's top of the line hospital?

Food Police

 School Lunch Police

This is the kind of thing that drives me and a lot of other people over the edge. I get it that children should have nutritious lunches but frankly what the school substituted (in both the cases that got publicity on this) didn't sound more nutritious. It also did not take into account that a child eats food over a whole day.

Even more though, it's not the business of school police to dictate parental choices for healthy food. What about vegetarian children? Some children are sensitive to dairy. Sweet potato is an example of a nutritious vegetable? Chicken nuggets, often fried in fat, that's better than the healthy sounding sandwich this mother had prepared along with fruit? Two servings of fruit and/or vegetable at each meal? It sure wasn't how I ate or eat today for that matter. Hope nobody comes around to inspect my choices for lunch!

Culturally is this what we want to have happen to four year olds? When I was in school (and likewise my kids), I didn't like cafeteria food and always brought my lunch which often was half a sandwich and maybe a piece of fruit. That was it.

I know we have a problem with childhood obesity in this country but deep-fried chicken nuggets and sweet potatoes or a doughnut is better than the lunch that came from home? In my opinion, it is not up to the government to send someone around changing what a family believes is healthy-- and charging them for it.

On top of it, we, as tax payers, are paying for these food police operations. This is one state but is it happening elsewhere? You think it's a good idea? I wonder how much of this got lobbied into existence by corporate food interests since many of the school lunch systems are now run by fast food enterprises. I don't see this as the work of left wing, do-gooders (though it could be) but rather by a group who want more of the children eating from the place from which they profit!

It seems to me that no matter where we look, we see more and more invasion into our personal lives, and a lot of these things are coming from corporations who want more control over our lives to profit themselves as much as possible.

something to smile about

Generally I set my posts, here at Rainy Day Thoughts, to go every two days and generally I write them ahead of time by at least a day, but this made me smile this morning and therefore I thought I'd be sure others had seen it. It's what many of us had been waiting for because what happened in Tucson in January has had an impact that doesn't go away. It's nice to see the progress that Gabrielle Giffords is making where although she has a long way to go, she's come a tremendous way also.

Gabrielle Giffords releases photos on facebook

Our country has been rocked by a lot of things, really the world has as change and violence have sometimes seemed ongoing, never ending, and during any breaks we feel like we are just waiting for another shoe to drop. This was one of those times that when I looked at an article, I left it smiling.

Friday the 13th... dum de dum dum

Do you ever pay attention to when a 13th will fall on a Friday? If you do, will you avoid certain activities on that day for fear of bad luck? I began to wonder why Friday the 13th is regarded as unlucky and found several possible answers. I learned they come 3 times in a year and any month that begins on a Sunday will have a Friday the 13th. The theories for why it's unlucky are many and widespread, but they all agree it goes way back. One belief is it comes from the Last Supper on a Friday and with 13 at the dinner table. Then there is the idea that 13 itself is an unlucky number and Friday an unlucky day.

In numerology, 12 is considered a number of completeness-- 12 months of the year; 12 tribes of Israel, 12 signs of the Zodiac, 12 hours on a clock; 12 Apostles for Jesus; 12 gods of Olympus; Since 13 follows 12, guess it cannot be complete, now can it?

Black Friday has been associated with stock market crashes and other disasters since the 1800s. It's supposedly a bad day to start a project .  Author Charles Panati (don't ask me who he is as I found this quote from him in Wikipedia) said:

The actual origin of the superstition, though, appears also to be a tale in Norse mythology. Friday is named for Frigga, the free-spirited goddess of love and fertility. When Norse and Germanic tribes converted to Christianity, Frigga was banished in shame to a mountaintop and labeled a witch. It was believed that every Friday, the spiteful goddess convened a meeting with eleven other witches, plus the devil — a gathering of thirteen — and plotted ill turns of fate for the coming week. For many centuries in Scandinavia, Friday was known as "Witches' Sabbath."

Another theory is it relates to the day so many from Knights Templar were arrested (again from Wikipedia):

'The Knights Templar were a monastic military order founded in Jerusalem in 1118 C.E., whose mission was to protect Christian pilgrims during the Crusades. Over the next two centuries, the Knights Templar became extraordinarily powerful and wealthy. Threatened by that power and eager to acquire their wealth, King Philip secretly ordered the mass arrest of all the Knights Templar in France on Friday, October 13, 1307 - Friday the 13th.'

 For me I have never found it to be an unlucky day or for that matter a lucky one. It's just a day but I generally am aware of it in a kind of backhanded way, and if I am not, someone reminds me. I have never altered plans because of it.

This Friday the 13th was a pretty good one actually. I had gone to the dentist on Monday and was told I needed two small fillings. When we called for an appointment that would let Farm Boss also get a check up and have his teeth cleaned, surprisingly we could both get it done Friday morning. Was that because some are fearful of the day and hadn't been willing to schedule something at a dentist's that day? If so, it was lucky for us.

When I was waiting in the reception area, I noticed something had changed and asked if they now had nitrous oxide. Sure enough, they did and asked if I wanted it with no extra cost. Do bears live in the woods? I love it as it helps my back a lot when in those dentist chairs and makes having fillings into a pleasant experience instead of one of stress.

Even better as I talked to the dentist, I mentioned previously I had been able to have small fillings with just nitrous. She asked if I wanted to try and that's what we did. It meant I did not have 2 hours afterward with my mouth and tongue feeling swollen. The fillings were beautifully done and the drilling only mildly uncomfortable, which with the nitrous, I didn't mind at all. I asked more questions regarding the future crown and learned there was no decay that she can see. This is more something to do proactively than required immediately. That was more good news but I will be putting money aside toward the eventual crown and maybe root canal.

The rest of the day was equally good with shopping going better than usual. At Costco the parking lot was less full. We got right in for gas with no line. Now I can't say some people stayed home due to the date; but if they did, it made it a lot quicker for me in getting my groceries and back out.

Even better is that I have now checked off the last medical type event that I felt I should do this year but had been putting off. I kept feeling guilty, and now my teeth are once again up to date.

At home, to celebrate, I made margaritas after dinner and before we laid out the irrigation line. This was my second time. They came out great. Come on over and have one with us. It was a great way to end a good day.


Photo on top taken by Farm Boss Friday afternoon in our back yard with our boys-- BB and Blackie.  Black cats cross my path very regularly in fact they sometimes try to trip me up in their eagerness to reach the door or food bowl first. Guess that could be considered bad luck.

The one below is of a set of coasters I bought Friday as a reminder every time I use them of a philosophy of life worth not forgetting.