I'm not very good at blogging

I need to post more.  It is already Feb of 2023 and I haven't had much to say.  I need to get out more.  

I have been crocheting and knitting.  I just made a crochet shawl for a gift.  It's finished and all I have to do is weave in the ends but there are over 100!  It will take me a while!  

I've also been reading and enjoying that.  Sometimes I listen to audiobooks with audible and I love that.  It's nice to be able to do something else while listening, which you can't do when reading.  I've been listening to a book while walking on the treadmill.  

I changed my diet plan again and I'm no longer doing Noom.  I lost some weight but it was just up and down the whole year.  I ended up pretty close to where I started but I did learn a lot.  I really think the reading I did there helped.  I just have so many things working against me, including chronic pain, perimenopause and medications that cause weight gain.  If it weren't for those things I really think I would have had more success.  I started doing this app called Livongo, which my insurance pays for.  They sent me a digital scale and blood pressure cuff for free and when I use them the results automatically get sent to the app.  They also have blood sugar meters for people with diabetes.  It just depends on what medical issues your medical history shows you have.  I track my food and there are coaches that give me advice.  I like that I can also print a report to give to my doctor which shows my blood pressure readings and weight over time.   I talked to my doctor recently and she told me some useful tips.  I mentioned that I was trying intermittent fasting and she said that was good.  She talked about that and told me I should look for a book on it.  There is tons of info on the internet.   I took her advice and I've been losing weight finally.  I'm using the zero app to track my fasts.  

D

31st Anniversary

My 31st Anniversary was Sept 1st.  My husband and I had a great time.  It was totally unscheduled and easy going.  He took off work until today.  He mainly just wanted to golf so he went as often as he could on the other days since they will be closing it soon depending on the weather.  On Thursday we decided to drive out to this place called the Knotty Shop which is a touristy place with neat Alaska stuff to look at.  They have a great gift shop and an ice cream shop.  We both got ice cream but I didn't see anything I really wanted to buy.  I saw a lot of things I've already bought before.  We just enjoyed the drive and the fall colors.  On the way back out we watched some jets take off from Eielson air force base.  They are so cool to watch.  We stopped and had lunch at a place called Little Richie's Diner which is a 50's style diner in a silver trailer.  The food was so good.  Then my husband took me to a place to buy a pair of small hoop earrings.  He had already scouted out some places before hand.  He knows my style very well.  He knows I don't want anything too big or flashy and I hate pushy sales people.  I found just the right pair and I love them.  We looked for the Samsung Watch 5 I wanted but they didn't have any in town yet except for the cellular ones.  I don't need it to answer calls.  I'm just interested in the health tracking features.  We ended up ordering one from the samsung website and it should be arriving soon.  

After that we took a nice nap and then went out to eat dinner.  He made reservations for the Turtle Club.  We both had prime rib and of course it was fantastic.  

I really enjoyed the fall weather and it is so interesting how different areas have more or less fall colors.  Out at the Knotty Shop there were just small amounts of leaves here and there but mostly it was still green.  Out towards the Chena Hot Springs area it was more like fall with swirling leaves in the air and dancing across the surface of the road.  This is my favorite time of year.  I just wish winter didn't come after.  

I'm back

It has been over a year since I posted here and I decided I need to get back to it.  I have just had a rough time lately but I feel like I'm bouncing back now.  

I got a new doctor and I feel like she is going to be a good one.  I was so worried about that because it is so hard to find a new doctor that knows about Fibromyalgia and Psoriatic Arthritis and keeps up to date on those issues.  Some doctors just want to keep writing scrips for the same thing and never really think about if there is something new that can help.  My last doctor was great but she moved out of state, like they all do.  It happens over and over again.  My husband said he asked his doctor if she was staying in Alaska and she said she was.  This time when I heard the names of the doctors available I recognized her name and chose her.  The clinic doesn't do "meet & greets" anymore they said so you have to choose your doctor on the spot before being able to talk to them first.  She has a strong accent but I am able to understand her.  I've seen her twice now and when I told her I was having trouble sleeping because of my RLS she told me she would call a couple of specialist I'd seen to see what they said about this and get back to me.  She called me back the next day with a plan to change some of my medication.  I am hopeful.  

I've mostly been reading this summer and not doing much else.  I've been reading a lot more than usual but then this August, for some reason, I just haven't felt like reading.  I did have a while there this month when I had a lot of headaches and a few migraines but I think that is over now.  I picked up the book I started and finally finished it.  The book is When We Were Strangers by Pamela Schoenewaldt.  It isn't the type of book I prefer to read and the first half of the book is so depressing.  It did turn around though and finally got interesting.   I'm glad I stuck with it because I did enjoy the ending.  

I've also been crocheting.  I had been knitting more so when I decided to crochet something I remembered how fun it was and how much faster it goes.  I started and finished a blanket in a week.  I saw this yarn at the thrift store and it was so crazy soft.  It feels just like a rabbit but I'm not allergic to it.  It was Caron Latte cake in the color pink melon.  There were two of them so I got them thinking I could make something with that.  I decided to try the modern granny pattern with it but I needed another cake.  That color was discontinued so I got one in pepper ash to contrast.  It turned out great and I am keeping it for myself.  I think I might get more of the grey/white and make it bigger.  

~D

Feeling Sick

I've got some sort of cold I think.  It's not very bad so that's good.  I just keep getting a headache that lasts forever.  I can feel my sinuses but I don't have congestion.  I've also been really tired and I've been sleeping a LOT.  I have this feeling that my body is trying to fight something and I get a little dizzy at times.  I am just going to stay home and rest and read.  

I have been reading this ridiculous mystery series that's been in my kindle library for 5 years.  I got the whole bundle for free.  I figured I'd start reading the first one and see what I thought.  I didn't really plan on reading them all since they look like silly books and I prefer the more serious mysteries or thrillers.  It's a set of 15 books by Belle Knudson called the Mrs. Fix it series.  I've been reading through them pretty quickly since they are light and short.  They are pretty bad actually and full of typos and flawed logic.  I just keep reading them because I don't feel well and my head is fuzzy.  I'm having a hard time concentrating so it's kind of nice to have something that doesn't take many brain cells.  You may actually lose brain cells reading these.  I can't even link to them because they are no longer available.  They are that good lol  I only have 2 left and I've given all of the ones I've read 2 stars.  

I plan on feeling better soon since I want to go for a bike ride.  The weather man says the sun is going to come out and it will be nice this week.  I really want to get outside and enjoy what's left of the summer and sunshine.  I can feel winter drawing near and I'm not ready.  Are we ever really ready for winter?

D

Moving helps ease the pain

I've had this horrible low back pain for the past couple of days.  That happens from time to time.  I just wake up with my lower back hurting and it hurts to sit up in bed and even worse when I stand up.  I feel like I'm 100 years old and must look pretty funny walking around.  I think it's caused by tight muscles in my hips that connect at the top of my hips.  I get inflammation and arthritis in my hips so it must cause those muscles to tighten up and then it wont release.  It could also be a Fibromyalgia flare up.  I'm not sure.  The doctors don't really know for sure what's going on either and just tell me to take Aleve.  

I have my own little box of tools that I use though that I've found though trail and error.  I try different stretches to try to release those muscles.  When it's really bad I can't bend down very far so it's not possible to touch my toes.  I have to start off slow so I use a tall stool to support myself while I try to stretch my back muscles.  Then I move on to a kitchen chair and then to an large inflated exercise ball.  Eventually I get to where I can reach my shins or the floor.  Today I was finally able to reach my shins but not the floor yet.  

I also use an ice pack to help release tight muscles.  My Rheumatologist told me that you should always use ice to help relieve pain caused by inflammation and never heat.  Some people insist that heat makes their pain better and don't want to try cold packs but I've found that it helps me.  Heat may feel better for a while but cold actually helps it go away or makes a large improvement because it counteracts the inflammation.  I have a large ice pack that I bought on amazon.  It's for shoulders but when it's open flat it covers my whole lower back.  You can use the velcro strap to hold it around the front so you can get up and walk around when needed.  That ice pack stays cold longer and it is flexible and not hard like ice.  

Today when I got up it was still hurting but was not as bad.  I've been stretching some more and then I took my bike out.  I started out pretty slow but as I went my muscles loosened up more.  I went down 3 blocks and then around and back home.  I'm glad I did that because it helped more than walking.  

I was finally able to walk like normal again and my husband look me out for lunch.  It was so nice to get out of the house for a while.  It's a nice day with some sunshine but also a little cloudy with a breeze.  My flowers are looking pretty good considering I haven't done anything at all in my garden.  I only have perennials so they come back on their own usually.  

D 

Happiness is...

Nothing makes me happier than finding the perfect book for the perfect person.

I had a hard time when my dad remarried 4 months after my mom died.  The woman is very nice and it wasn't about her but it just kind of felt wrong.  I was still grieving and he's talking about getting married.  

They were visiting us one time and she saw a book on my shelf and said she loved that author.  I realized that she liked to read too.  She mostly read Christian nonfiction books.  As I got to know her better I started to get an idea of the kind of books she liked.  I was reading this one series and this one particular book really seemed to be the perfect book for her.  It's a faith based mystery series but the books don't have to be read in order and each book can really be read as a stand-alone novel.  I sent that book to her and she loved it.  

Later on I was reading another one and it had a picture of a crocheted angel on the front made with thread like a doily.  It looked so familiar to me but I didn't know where I'd seen it before.  I crochet so I searched all over the internet trying to find the pattern for it and wasn't having much luck.  I just felt like I had to find it so I could make one and put it in the book and send it to my step mom.  Then finally I saw a mention of it being in an old magazine.  I checked and sure enough, I had that magazine.  She loved it and the book.  After that I sent her all of the rest of the series as I read them.  She's happily reading them now.  Now I need to find another series like that so I can send them on to her.  

D

Rolling Along those Emotional Hills of Life but still Jamming

Life is full of surprises and they are not all good.  I just lost another family member and was shocked because he was so young.  42 years old and suddenly gone.  No, it wasn't covid or cancer or a freak accident.  I guess I don't even know exactly what happened but It was a shock for sure.  I saw a post about him going into the hospital with trouble breathing and next thing I know he's going to hospice.  I am still reeling from losing 4 family members in the last half of 2020.  

So I kind of fell off the diet wagon but I'll get back on.  

For now I seem to be keeping myself busy with reading and making freezer jam.  I had never made freezer jam before but I remember watching my mom make jelly and know that seemed way too complicated.  A friend of mine mentioned that she was making freezer jam and I googled to learn more about it.  She created a monster and now I just want to keep trying different flavors.  I really do think I'm addicted.  

I didn't realize when I first started out that they had a low sugar or no sugar version of Sure Jell.  When my friend mentioned Sure Jell I remembered the yellow boxes that my mom used for making Jelly and that is what I bought.  I was grabbing stuff in a hurry so I didn't notice any other options.  I made dark Sweet Cherry Jam and it was good but it was very sweet.  I made strawberry next and it tastes like strawberry candy.  I finally got some of the low sugar version and just made blue berry freezer jam using this recipe.  I will definitely be making it again.  Next on my list to try is peach jam.  

It has been rainy here so I have spent a few days in bed.  I am doing okay though and just reading when awake and able to think straight.  I picked up one book that I've had a long time and started reading it.  That book is These High, Green Hills by Jan Karon (Book 3 in the Mitford series).  I'm enjoying that book and love the other two I read also.  That is definitely an inspirational series and I'm surprised I haven't read all of these books already.  

Then I happened to pick up another book, Darkhouse (Joe Lucchesi #1) by Alex Barclay, and started reading that one.  I often read multiple books at once and switch off depending on my mood.  I'm doing pretty good keeping it to these two actually.  This book is so good I quickly read half of the book.  Alex Barclay is now a new favorite and I'm already looking at her other books.  

D