The Bad Thing About a Good Book

You know I'm reading a good book when I read for three hours straight and still look forward to reading more.  This book is so good, it's like watching a movie.  A couple times it made me laugh out loud!  The bad thing about it is that I didn't move much.  I'm used to being on my feet all morning, at least standing at the computer if not walking or exercising.  At least I did get a long walk and some exercising in before I started reading--good thing.  Yesterday, the only reason I stopped was to eat lunch before going to play pinochle at the Sr. Center for two hours.  (More sitting, although since I kept winning, I did get to move a little when the winners moved to the next table.)   

The Lady's Mine by Francine Rivers is the Christian historical fiction book that has got my attention.  One of all-time favorite books is Redeeming Love by her so I was eager to read this one.  It did not disappoint and this one has clean language!  A well-to-do lady from Boston who was involved with the women's sufferage movement was sent off to the wild west to claim her uncle's inheritance.  The town has no sheriff, few women other than prostitutes, is dirty and full of saloons.  She finds her uncle had a mine, a small newspaper office/house and was murdered but no one was charged.  She is determined to find out who killed her uncle and why, make the town better and restart the newspaper her uncle wrote.  She stirs up the town not only by being a new pretty lady, but also with her curiosity and determination to make it on her own and learn to operate a mine.  Here is the link to my full review of it:  https://ourstack.blogspot.com/2022/04/the-ladys-mine-by-francine-rivers-is.html

Now time to read some more before going to play Bunco.

What is the last book you read for at least three hours straight?

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My Impulse Purchase

Sometimes when I go to the Senior Center I work on a puzzle with some other seniors and find I enjoy it!  Since then, I've been sort of wanting to try doing a puzzle of my own.  I own a big one that I did years ago with my parents, but didn't want to set up that big one.  So, when I was in Marc's and saw they had 500-pc. puzzles for just $1.99, I bought one I thought would be fairly easy.

I sorted the pieces by color to help save time hunting for certain pieces and started on the border.  It was harder than I expected, but I did get it together, sort of.  I knew one piece at the top wasn't quite right, but was close and didn't know where else to put it.  It turned out that this puzzle was tougher

than I thought it would be.  I looked at the path pieces I sorted and thought no way is there enough here for that path!  But there was.  Several times I looked and looked for a certain shaped piece and again thought there has to be some pieces missing, but there wasn't.  It was much harder than it looked because pieces would be so close, but not fit exact.  As you can see from the picture, many colors are repeated in different places and sometimes I couldn't go by matching the color because the next piece started something different, like switching from flowers to the bushes, or from the house to a tree.

I stuck with it and eventually was able to rearrange the top border and complete the whole puzzle.  It was actually fun and relaxing for me, a great way to wind down right before going to bed.  I felt a sense of accomplishment when I finished it all by myself in ten days.   

When was the last time you did a puzzle?  What was your last impulse purchase?  I don't usually make impulse purchases, so this was rare for me.  What about you?

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Roxy's On TV!

This morning Channel 3's Dog Gone weather segment featured our dog, Roxy!  Hollie mispronounced Gerard's name though as many people do.  She called him Jerod.  I should have included the phonetic pronunciation (Jur-ard) in the email, but I just didn't think to do that.    

You can get your dog on too!  Just email a picture of your dog(s) to Holliestrano@wkyc.com with our name, city, and description of the dog.

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Squirrel at Home in its Tree

Today on our walk, I finally got a picture of the squirrel in his tree hole.  Our dog, Roxy, sometimes jumps up against the tree to try to reach it, but so far hasn't been able to.  It can usually run out and up the tree before she can get to it.  Today though, she didn't go after it so I was able to go get my camera and come back to get a picture.  I took three, one at regular distance and two close up.  Which do you think is best?

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My Neighborhood Cat Friend - Woodka

This is a picture I took of Woodka today, a very friendly neighborhood cat who comes up to me on its own and lets me pet it.  Its fur is very fine and long so is easily matted.  It's very soft though and I feel honored that it comes over to me.  The yard is about a foot above the sidewalk and the cat stays in the yard for the most part.  I can sit on the wood border along the side of the yard and pet it up easily.  Today since it reached 61 degrees, I was pretty certain Woodka would be outside so brought along my cat massaging shell comb to brush it.  My cat loved it and didn't like any of the other combs or brushes I tried and Woodka liked it too!  I was able to get some of the tangles out of her fur before her owner called her back inside.  I miss my cats so much and am happy to see some outdoor cats in our neighborhood as we walk our dog, but this is the only one so far that comes up to me for petting.  

I highly recommend getting the massage comb from Leospaw.com for any cats you know.  Here is a demonstration so you can see how much cats enjoy it:

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I Want This Spread, Mom!

We have a polar bear bedspread that my dad gave us for Christmas one year that we always use during the winter months.  Unfortunately, our Roxy has developed a habit of jumping on our bed several times a day and ripping it up.  I am not a sewer, but really like this bedspread so tried mending it.  I finally got all the tears sewed up and now see she just made another one!  UGH.  Apparently, she must figure if it gets too bad I'll let her have it for her bed.  I already gave her my old coat to make it softer and more comfy for her, but I think she wants this bedspread.

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I Am Eating Veggies Again!

I like vegetables, but don't like many raw.  For years I avoided getting them because canned vegetables, although good, were so high in salt.  The canned peas in the picture have 300 mg of salt!  My new find, frozen Bird's Eye bags have zero salt!  That's right, none!  And, they taste very good!  I can put the whole bag in the microwave for 4.5 minutes for the corn and peas and 6 min. for the green beans.  Wait 1 minute, then easily tear open and dump them into a bowl.  Each bag has about four servings.  

I am so excited I found something healthy to eat that is easy to fix and that I like eating!  

Since I saw a doctor specializing in kidney disfunction and my health scan last November indicated I was pre-diabetic, I am trying to eat healthier and stay away from pastas, rice, salt and bakery.  I was eating these things every day so now I only have them maybe once a week or less.  I want to avoid Diabetes!  

Here is a list of other changes to my diet that I have made over the years:

When working:                                    Since retired:

had a donut every Friday . . . . . . . . . . Dec. of 2019, had only about 5 donuts

2 big slices of pizza 3 days a week . . . Individual Lean Cusine Spinach frozen pizza less than once a week

                                                                Added an apple every day (kidney advice)

                                                                Added blueberries on my cereal (kidney advice)

                                                                Added pineapple almost every day (kidney advice)

                                                                Cut out Calcium vitamin (kidney Dr.'s advice)

                                                                Cut down to 1 Vitamin D3 a day instead of 2 (kidney Dr.'s advice)

                                                                Cut down on chocolate 

                                                                Replaced protein bars with granola bars (diabetic nutritionist)

                                                                Eating mostly fish (salmon, cod, some tuna), chicken, turkey

                                        Usually only drink Joint Juice and water

Do you follow your doctor's advice?  I try!  

 

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