The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Look at those big teeth! 

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly-

This title best sums up my last two weeks! They're not in any particular order as far as how things have been going, and why I have not been posting until today. Hopefully this post will make sense since I am currently on painkillers! Weather has been great, 60 degrees today! So...

I was having trouble sleeping starting about 2 weeks ago and was getting more and more tired. I have sleep apnea but it is very well controlled with a dental device. I started waking up more at night, tossing and turning, and was thinking maybe I needed to get a replacement dental device? That was the ugly part. I then realized what was really keeping me awake with my IT band along my left thigh. I did some stretching and heat and a few other things. Went to bed that night and slept really great! I did a couple more nights in a row and problem solved, got my energy back.

I decided to bite the bullet and bought a nice L.L. Bean down parka online. Mine was toast from 25+ years of use.  It arrived and it was too big, which was pretty aggravating. So I shipped it back for a smaller size and called to follow up a week later. I was told it was out of stock. Bummer! The next day I found the exact same parka new on eBay for about $120 less. That's a lot of money but I wanted one that was going to last. The reason this one was so inexpensive is there was a small repair done on it, done very professionally, doesn't really show. Beautiful! I called L.L.Bean the next day after getting an email saying my replacement had shipped. I told them I had said to cancel my order and they said oh it's already shipped. I was not happy since I told them the day before to cancel the order. Luckily it turned out it actually had not shipped and they were able to cancel it. I got the eBay new parka really cheap, in the right size. It arrived yesterday and fits great!

Sunday night we were having dinner and I noticed my bottom rear molar was a little sensitive. The next morning not much. Mid-morning yesterday I was speaking and it felt like an ice pick went through my jaw! It only went downhill from there. Luckily I had called in first thing in the morning to get an appointment with my dentist but it was at 5 p.m.. I didn't want to wait with this excruciating pain the whole day, so I called back and they got me in at 9:30 a.m. today. I visited with the dentist and the first thing he did was give me a shot of Novocaine, since I had only gotten about 2 or 3 hours of sleep from the constant throbbing all night. The Novocain kicked in and suddenly my mouth felt fairly normal. I'd had a root canal done about 20 or more years ago and they felt there was possibly an infection down in there. They gave me a referral to a root canal specialist down the street. Part of me was thinking how much is this going to cost! I went to my car after the exam with my prescriptions for pain pills and antibiotics and I called the other dentist's office. They said miraculously they had just had a cancellation and could I come over right away? I said I will be there in 5 minutes and I was. The short version was they felt it was either an infection in the root canal or the tooth was cracked.  They asked me if I wanted to do a 3D Dental x-ray before I left or at the appointment? For some reason I thought we should do it right then. The Dentist came back in and said well we have a big change. He showed me the X-ray and there was a big infection down in there and looked like the tooth is cracked. He said we were lucky that we did the 3D x-ray then to catch it. So I called my other Dentist back and have surgery set up for next Saturday morning. So as much as I don't like having a tooth removed there's not any other option. The good news is I have really good dental coverage! 0% copay. I can see how I do further down the line and maybe can get a dental implant if needed, to help my chewing. My wonderful dentist actually offered to do the surgery today but I said no, not on 2 or 3 hours sleep thanks. So I started my antibiotics which should help a lot in the next 24 hours or so and some pain meds so I can sleep. I will say it was one of the more whirlwind dental experiences I have ever had, and definitely the worst dental pain I have ever had, a strong 10 +. OMG.

Next Dave and I decided to get a exercise bike after I found out I have arthritis in both knees. My ortho doctor recommended an exercise bike since it's non-weight-bearing instead of the treadmill we were thinking about getting. We did a lot of research through Consumerreports.org, only $10.00 a month to subscribe. We found a Schwinn A10 exercise bike at a store that we liked that was $400. We figured it would be a good investment in our health since we both need to lose weight. While we were there looking at it I noticed another exercise bike in the other row across from it with a little tiny price tag on it. It was $250. We both tried it it worked great, it's smaller and easier to move around the house. It's also nice and quiet. The other day on my lunch break I got on the exercise bike and did 10 minutes and it works great! 

When my TV kept dropping the internet signal, it turned into a router issue with my work computer. Short version, after multiple phones calls and a visits from a tech it's all now working fine. Zero cost, just a few hours of my time lost. So those are the highlights of my 2 weeks. How is your week going?

How To Use Time In Isolation & Independence Days Challenge

From Brenna Quinlan

How To Use Time In Isolation-

UPDATE- Just had an earthquake, we're ok. More later..

We are having a very wet Spring day today! The weatherman was right with lots of intermittent showers today and windy. I cleaned my windows few days ago and now they're all covered with rain, but what can you do-

The rain has been a blessing since since it can dry here and every Spring is different. Our cool weather crops that we planted in the cold frame are barely up and we've only had to water them once in the last several weeks. I put the chickens inside this afternoon because it is just pouring rain. They loved the greens I gave them for a snack! I love having fresh eggs right, especially considering the girls will be 6 years old this next month! Chicks are selling out locally and I'm hoping to get some next month, as I'm sure our local hatchery is trying to keep up. Time will tell, but I think more people are waking up to the REAL idea of FOOD SECURITY. Grow/produce whatever you can. NOW. I might buy some pullets that are 3 months old into the summer, as a last resort. RESILIENCY is showing up, a local cafe turned themselves into a grocery store, since they have a different set of suppliers than regular grocery stores- Sunrise Cafe Shifts Business Model They'll be able to stay in business hopefully and help the community. Smart. A small local Organic nursery/store has opened up appointments for one person at a time to come in and shop alone. YES. Think outside the box. 

My work life right now is VERY dynamic. Last week we got new higher speed internet set up since our old internet was slow. My boss was planning on sending hardware home with me to start working remotely. We cleared off Dave's desk, that he only uses once in a while. I deep cleaned the room as well. Our main computer is in the kitchen and he has a laptop. Space all ready-

Yesterday I was sent home, after working two hours, because our work load is drying up. While there is re-training going on among different staff I am basically in a high-risk group, which my employer is aware of. While I have a healthy immune system I do have respiratory issues and other things that put me into that category. Luckily I'm home (away from viruses) and I am being paid out of my own PTO and extended sick leave. When that runs out, if it gets to that place, the corporation I work for has stated they will be paying staff. Since I work for a huge medical organization at some point this will be over with and life will return to normal. In the meantime I am doing projects at home and taking things one day at a time. I saw this fun Permaculture art and I thought it some great ideas, as well as the one at the top and bottom of this post. Both are by Brenna Quinlan-

Upcoming projects will be- tuning up our bikes, getting them usable to ride again. They've been gathering dust. Start doing Tai Chi again, daily when home, since class is over. My sweet instructor posted classes on Youtube to be able to follow his directions, with the warm ups. Deep cleaning areas of the house, starting to grow Micro Greens, backing up all my blog photos and more. A lot of the general Permaculture ideas tie right in with the Independence Days Challenges that I have posted for years. So I thought I would add this today!

Independence Days Challenge-

1. Plant Something- Cool weather crops, all Non GMO-  Salad Mix, Mammoth Spinach, Baby Romaine, Evergreen Bunching Green Onions. As soon as it dries a bit I've got seed for French Radishes, French Breakfast Radishes, Cherry Belle Radishes, Little Finger Carrots in the ground. We'll either start some summer things by seed, depending on the market, or use starts. Local nurseries are amping up production I think. It's been pretty chilly (25 at night this week) so things are starting pretty slow-

If you think you can't grow food read this transformation 8 Weeks To Victory Veggie Patch From Scratch In A Rental photo below-

2. Harvest Something- Eggs, chives.

3. Preserve/Store Something- Freezing some additional items like butter, breads, flours, odds and ends. Luckily my food pantry closet is well stocked, and freezer with last year's fruits and tomatoes-

4. Manage Reserves- Get a Good Deal/Barter/Stock Up/Prep- I've been doing more creative shopping as some supplies have been running out off and on. When I heard some of the Corona virus news, I bought extra WW pastry flour and veggie seeds as I knew they would fly out of the store. Some staples like sugar are low some of the time. Flour has been in short supply. I've been alternating between some different places and sharing the info with our three adult girls. Luckily we got TP at Costco right before it started running out! One of them is getting set to start growing more food as well. I'm so proud of her! We miss our family, as we are not getting together in person, not worth the risk. We send videos back and forth, a little digital hug.

5. Eat the Food- Try New Foods/Recipe-  Looking more at eating what we have and what's available. New cookie recipe, oh yes! Chocolate Biscuits I was looking for something not too sweet and good for tea and coffee. Simple ingredients. I'll make a quick soup for tonight with something I had on hand-

Will add veggies and make some Farmgirl Fare Cheddar Beer Bread to go with it. Good for a cold rainy day! I use WW pastry flour and add more herbs.

I bought a new cookbook for $3.00, free shipping, on eBay-

 6. Build Community Food Systems- Sharing ideas with our kids. If I can get more chicks I may start  selling eggs again, time will tell. No farmers markets open, not sure if that will change. Atleast I have my farmer's market print-

7. Recycle/Re-Use-  Yes, especially now.  I've had to buy some new things, but got some new sheets on Overstock.com, good prices.  I was down to my last set. No more driving around town for deals. I bought Dave and I new sneakers on Amazon, free shipping. We don't belong to Prime, since I already have plenty of streaming and don't like to pay for a membership. Shipping is usually free anyway if the order is over a certain amount.  Why join? I took our bedroom metal cart and moved it into the living room for storage and set up a charging station. Now I've added gloves, sanitizer and hand wipe clothes to it, for easy access-

8. Skill Up- Learned all about different versions of high speed internet! Learning about simple French cooking.

9. Regenerate What is Lost/Salvage Something- Tore out non-productive garden area of old raspberries. Will plant some cool weather veggies, buy new berries plants (if we can find some). 

Brennaquinlan.com

Finally Some Warm Weather! Independence Days Challenge

Finally Some Warm Weather!

After a cold end of the week, and weekend, it's finally warming up again. Hopefully for good! It was 39 degrees Friday night and only hit low 70's yesterday. Low 80's today, and we're going to hit the mid 80's most of next week. The veggie garden should start to take off more! The yarden, front and back is so green!

Independence Days Challenge-
Here's what we've been up to!

1. Plant Something- Have been trying to harden off my baby Basil's and squash, but just too cold. Will start again this week.

2. Harvest Something- Lots of eggs and herbs! Herbs have just gone nuts-

Kale and collard greens are ready and mixed lettuces. The cooler, wet weather was great for them!

My Spanish lavender is loving it's spot, going thru a second bloom!

3. Preserve/Store Something- I froze 1/2 of my baking yesterday. Last weekend I made Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies with whole wheat pasty flour and froze some. Canning will start in another month or so when our early ripening peaches come in. We should have a good harvest! Then we'll have apples and pears. Our Choke Cherry and Service berries bushes are loaded. I'll make Choke Cherry jelly and save up the Service berries and freeze. Once I have enough I'l make jams or maybe a fruit bread.

4. Manage Reserves- Get a Good Deal/Barter/Stock Up/Prep- Got a great deal on nuts, whole grain pitas, organic cereals and jams yesterday at Costco. Scored a nice, cheap office desk chair as well. Bought some bulk Falafel mix, much cheaper than buying in a box. We're lucky we have a Winco five minutes from our home, with all Bob's Red Mills in their huge bulk section. I found some Reebok sneakers 1/2 off on their website, with $7.00 shipping. A steal! I have to take care of my feet.

5. Eat the Food- Try New Foods/Recipe- I had some left-over homemade applesauce and over-ripe bananas. What to do? Make a new recipe Banana Applesauce Oatmeal Bread It's basically no fat, except the egg. I also added about 3/4 cup chopped walnuts, and left out the honey. I'll freeze 1/2 for later.

We've been eating a lot more produce and grains with moving towards a more plant-based diet. Still eating some meats, but pretty much eliminated most white flour/sugar. More on that later...

6. Build Community Food Systems- Too early for the farmer's market yet.

7. Recycle/Re-Use- Dave went looking for used angle iron, but found commercial shelf brackets. The 2" x 4"s he had on our homemade compost sifter was way too heavy. He had a friend spot weld it to the metal sifter. It's much lighter and easier for him to use. This was his idea, by the way, sifting compost!

8. Skill Up-  I've learned a TON about Permaculture from the book Paradise Lot. It has given me lots of ideas, from Nitrogen-fixing trees to planting more less-common fruits and veggies. Great info and very easy to understand, compared to other complicated Permaculture books.

9. Regenerate What is Lost/Salvage Something- Me! I joined a gym with Dave, new by our house, and only $10.00 month. I'm working on building up walking distance, doing upper body work and general strengthening. Getting some regular, systematic exercise is what I really need. Something I can track and measure, and gauge as to how I'm doing. It will be hot soon, and this will be great when it's 110 outside! I did a full hour yesterday, and I'm proud of myself.