Catch-up, Heating Pads, and a Cold Spring

 I have been reading a blog lately, by a sweet Christian woman who lives in a small town in the mountains of Vermont, very enjoyable. And I realized I have not blogged in five years! And I miss it! So much has happened since 2018. 

Foremost, of course, the pandemic, which was a little scary because of my age (76 now) and a couple minor comorbidities - overweight and high blood pressure. But I found some recommendations online for natural prophylaxis and treatment. When I did finally contract Covid, on Thanksgiving 2020, it turned out to be just a bad cold. No fever, no aches, just a sore throat and runny nose,  then a lot of mucus in my throat that was so annoying. And I lost taste and smell for a day. But I was still able to walk my dog 3 times a day, as always. And I gained natural immunity. So despite pressure from my daughter, I gave a hard pass to the vaccine. I'm now so glad I did, because it seems to have been causing more problems than the virus.

I did have a health problem last year, when I had a bad episode of vertigo, followed by loss of hearing in one ear, as well as related balance problems. But they haven't caused any real issues. I injured my knee, and though it's much better, it hurts at times, and I use a cane for both the knee and balance. I walk almost as much as before, usually about an hour a day with my dog.

Speaking of whom, Daphne is doing well, and has become almost civilized. She loves the three cats, but still tries to terrorize them at times. Bibi, the boldest of the felines, has taken to spending his days atop the refrigerator, where he can monitor the dog and my kitchen activities. He is so very funny, they all are a constant source of entertainment.

It's March and doesn't seem at all like spring yet. Today was a bit of an exception, as it got up to 60 degrees in the afternoon, a welcome change. We've had almost no snow, but warm weather seems slow to return. As always, I'm very tired of the cold but will be complaining of the heat before I know it.

A valuable discovery last year was how using electric heating pads when sitting or in bed does a great job of keeping me cozy without turning the thermostat above the usual 60 degrees (52 degrees at night). Much better than heating or warming blankets. I just place a heating pad over my legs or back, and it seems to keep me warm all over somehow. A big money-saver, compared to turning up the thermostat. I often used to feel very cold in the house, in the winter, when I wasn't moving around. It was very uncomfortable, despite layering sweaters, afghans, and so on. But since I started using these little electric heating pads, I can always feel cozy, and I never get into an icy bed.

I think the chilly weather is affecting many people. Several students and their family members are sick, a couple hospitalizations. All are OK so far, but I am worried about Mirta, who came down with a virus and then a kidney infection. Spring and warm sunshine, hurry up!

A Good Start to the DASH Diet

Again, almost a year without posting! I've been treading water, same old same old. But have just embarked on a major health push... lose weight, lower my blood pressure... again!

I've started the DASH diet, very mainstream but highly touted for lowering blood pressure, losing weight, and lowering the risk for most non-communicable diseases, including the biggies in aging: diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. 

I just began yesterday, and as of this morning my weight was down 1-1/2 pounds, and my blood pressure down 10 points (a total of systolic+diastolic change). A really encouraging start!

This Morning's Breakfast

I felt quite satisfied with the food, both quantity and quality. In fact, I was (unbelievably) unable to finish all the selections by bedtime! 

DASH reminds me of old-time Weight Watchers selection plan, but with more food! As far as I can tell, it is designed to (1) lower salt intake, (2) increase intake of vegetables and fruit, (3) control intake of fats, especially saturated fats, (4) control calorie intake to allow weight loss,  (5) control macronutrient (carbohydrate, protein, fat) proportions, and (6) ensure adequate intake of many micronutrients (vitamins and minerals, in particular). 

Yesterday, I had quThiite a lot of food. Breakfast was a classic: an egg fried in butter, with whole wheat toast and a sliced orange. Washed down with two mugs of coffee with almond milk. 

A quick lunch after returning from a mall expedition: a tin of sardines in water, alongside a plate of cut-up raw veggies topped with a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and whole wheat bread chunks to sop up the oil and vinegar. And an apple.

An afternoon snack; toast with peanut butter and a banana.

Finally dinner: A big skillet of broccoli, carrot, mushroom, red bell pepper and onion, with an ounce of chicken breast and a cup of cooked barley added in, plus a teaspoon of virgin olive oil. Then for dessert, a cup of low-fat yogurt sweetened just a little with stevia and red and green seedless grapes, a few chopped raw nuts for crunch. I sprinkled just a little light salt (sodium and potassium chloride blend) over this as it seemed a little bland.

This morning, my breakfast (pictured above) was again an egg, but this time fried in olive oil with chopped onion and green and red bell pepper, topping a warmed corn tortilla, and everything sprinkled with chopped cilantro. I added a sliced orange, and again had a couple cups of coffee/decaf with nonfat milk. Very tasty and filling.

Like I said, a lot of food, but all pretty healthy by mainstream standards. I prepared a little tracking sheet so I can check off the "boxes" for the food selections as I go, as well as write down a diary of my food and exercise for the day. 

I am reading The DASH Diet Action Plan, by Marla Heller, MS RD. The basics for the DASH (Dietary Approches to Stop Hypertension) are widely available on the internet, including a lot of recipes, but I like having a little book to look at. Heller's seem to be reliable and usable, with all the needed info, sample meal plans, and a lot of advice and tips. 

I mentioned "mainstream standards" above  for good reason. Before buying this book I read all the reviews for it on Amazon. Many people reported losing substantial weight and lowering their blood pressure. But there were a few who took Heller to task as "outdated" and/or "unscientific" for not following two of the dominant alternative diet paradigms of the day: paleo/low carb, or alternatively WFPB (whole food plant based), a high carb and very low fat diet. I have considerable experience with both of these, and for me, they don't work well. 

I have always felt better on a lower carbohydrate eating plan, but going too low always resulted in low energy and only a little initial weight loss, even after the initial weeks. 

I really, really wanted WFPB to work for me, and I've done it for months at a time in the past, but the older I get the worse I feel on it. It does lower blood pressure and result in weight loss. When I saw my doctor in October and discovered my blood pressure was quite high again, which I confirmed at home with my own meter, the first thing I tried was WFPB. I lost a few pounds and my BP readings started to come down. But... I didn't feel well. I started experiencing the mild depression and anxiety I"m prone to, along with mild intermittent nausea. I developed symptoms of what was probably fungus or yeast infection. My arthritis flared up, especially in my feet, knees and hands, so I felt achy most of the time, more so after a good walk. Cutting out the excessive carbs and using more protein and fat partially resolved most of those symptoms, but the BP readings climbed - not to initial levels, but higher - as did my weight. I tried upping my magnesium intake with easily-absorbed forms of magnesium, but did not see much change.

So I've gone back to a more "balanced" diet plan, the DASH, which controls carbs and sugars, keeps meat/fish/poultry and fat  relatively low, and makes sure you get a lot of micronutrients from abundant intake of fruits and vegetables, rather than relying on pills and supplements. It is the plan most endorsed by the medical mainstream, and seems to get good results with a lot of people.

So I'll give this a trial for at least a month... three would be better. It seems to be a kind of eating pattern you could adopt and make into a habit, just as I got used to the old Weight Watchers selection plan years ago (and lost a lot of weight, too, although the calorie level was too low, resulting in hunger at night.) The DASH is similar enough to that old program, including portion sizes, that I'm finding it pretty easy to slip into so far. And it's more in line with my calorie needs - I set it for 1600 calories, a lot more than the 1200 allowed by old WW. 

And I'm feeling well this morning. In spite of probably well over two hours of walking yesterday, the arthritis pain didn't show up. I slept fairly well and my mood is pretty good - no anxiety, depression, or nausea. And both my weight and blood pressure are down a bit. A good start!

New Year's Resolutions and a Furry Family... Again

It's been over two years since my last post! I miss blogging! And many things have changed. A little over a month after I last posted, my little dachshund Petey got very sick, and right after the dawn of 2016 we had to say our forever goodbyes. I was beyond devastated, and then got rather sick myself with some mild-to-severe anxiety issues. Happily, I've since gotten past all that.

The biggest problem was loneliness without my best little buddy. My sympathetic nervous system just went on high alert for whatever reason, and I had nausea, trouble eating, and soaring blood pressure. Turns out that when the anxiety is controlled, so is the BP, so no austere, salt-free diet required. But it took quite a few doctor visits and prescriptions to get this all sorted.

I "somehow" adopted a high-energy older puppy from the local shelter at the end of February 2016. Her name is Daphne and she has been more delight than trial, though both are present. Then in August, Daphne found two tiny, black abandoned kittens in the ivy, and we adopted them, along with a an orange young feral male cat who had been hanging around and obviously looking for a family. Whew! The kittens are over a year  old now. Daphne and the larger of the kittens are well-matched in energy level, despite the difference in size, and it's been nice for Daf to have someone to romp and tumble with. Daf is a 45-pound Boxer-Pit Bull mix, and their seemingly rough play worried me at first, but they are devoted to one another and no harm is ever done.

Quality of life is something I am trying to focus on at this point. Between the anxiety and low-grade depression, and the increased work and energy needed to take care of my new brood, a lot of things have slipped through the proverbial cracks. Also, I realized that I need to form stronger bonds with other humans in my life. I had such a happy, comfortable life at home with my little Petey that I didn't feel the need for more than the casual friendships and acquaintances I had in my life. But when Petey was suddenly gone, I felt so bereft, and it was hard to fill the void. Putting most or all your emotional eggs in one basket, I've found, isn't such a great idea. This probably applies as much to husband-wife relationships, or any other close human tie, as it does to the relationship with a pet.

So, the things I want to focus on in the coming months are:

• Get my home organized again and take care of any deferred maintenance issues.
• Spend more time in the garden, culling out overgrowth and adding some nice plantings.
• Spend more time with friends and family, and make some new friends.
• Work on bringing more balance into my life.

My Best Purchase - A Fire 6

The very best thing I've bought in the last six months is a 6-inch Amazon Fire tablet. I find myself using it for so many different things! After doing a lot of price and feature comparisons, I consider it far and away the most cost effective tablet device available, especially for someone who uses Amazon a lot and/or is a Prime subscriber.

What I Do with My Fire

I've been amazed at how much I do with my Fire. It synchs with my Gmail and Google Calendar, so I can use it to check email and to enter or check appointments. It's really handy to check the weather. I like the Radar Express app (free) for seeing the current radar - can we squeeze in a walk before the rain starts? And the (free) Accuweather app is good for daily forecasts and weather news, including very good local weather news videos. I use the TV Listings app (free) to see what's on the tube. There's a decent calculator. And tons of other apps for whatever you want or need to do. Plus... games.

I watch TV shows and the occasional movie, almost exclusively on my Fire via streaming video from various sources (I've successfully used it with Amazon Prime, Hulu, Xfinity, Netflix, Youtube, and PBS). The case allows me to stand it up for hands-free watching, but I usually hold it. The picture quality is excellent.

I listen to all kinds of podcasts and out-of-my-area radio programs, mostly while knitting. There are free apps that will allow you to stream or download all kind of audio content. I personally use Beyondpod for podcasts and IHeartRadio for radio programs (both free) , but there are many other good apps for these functions.

I search for and read things on the internet, even doing some shopping. If you're as big an Amazon shopper as I've become, it's very easy to use a Fire to place or check on orders, or to do some browsing.

I read books from my rather large Amazon collection, and from the (free) Overdrive collection available through my library, and more free books from the Gutenberg Project collection (non-copyrighted classics). I listen to audiobooks - purchased in the past from Audible (I no longer have a subscription), free from Overdrive, and also free through Librivox (more non-copyrighted classics).

If you're an Amazon Prime subscriber, the Fire is particularly good for streaming music. They offer a huge collection of music of all kinds that you can stream or download for free. They have many good playlists, too, but I find the Google Music playlists quite a bit better, frankly.

Less traditionally, I use the Fire as an MP3 player. It's small enough to fit in most of my pants and coat pockets, or in my small handbag, so when I'm going to be out walking or using public transportation I just download a few podcasts or recorded books to listen to. Or for walking for exercise, I like to download a playlist from Amazon Prime music. As mentioned above, I don't find a lot of playlists I like there, but since they do have tons of good music, I just put together my own playlists and then download a few for use away from wifi. My old 7-inch Fire was just a bit too big and heavy to use this way, but the 6-inch is great. The battery died in my old Sansa MP3 player, but I won't need to replace it.

I've discovered that the Fire - amazingly - works pretty well as a phone, too. I have a phone number through Skype, along with unlimited calling in the US and Canada (a frugal  $5.15 per month for everything), so using that number I can both make and receive regular phone calls. I bought a headset (earphones plus microphone) designed for the Fire's single-plug input, and with that the call quality is usually superb. The Kindle works well for video calls, too... better than my Android tablet.

The Fire now has both a front and back camera. The front one is good for those Skype video calls. But I've also been taking pictures with the back camera and they're pretty good! Better than my phone, and because the Fire 6 is so small, I often have it with me. I usually share photos to Dropbox and then upload to my favored photo storage, which is Google. By the way, although Dropbox is not available in the Kindle app store, you can easily download and install it from the Dropbox website - it works perfectly on the Fire and is a good way to transfer photos and documents from one device to another.

Finally, since it's so portable, I have fallen into using the Fire as my alarm clock. The alarm is fast and easy to set. I bought the "official" case (highly recommended), so when I open the case the Fire automatically "wakes up" and shows me the time. When I close it, it turns off... a big battery-saver. I'm trying to learn to live without a wristwatch, so I often set an alarm for 5 minutes before I need to leave or do something. The clock/alarm app I use (free) is very fast and easy to set.

Why I Decided on the 6-Inch Fire

When my old 7-inch Kindle Fire stopped working, I was super-annoyed, but last August I decided to replace it with another Fire. Amazon has so many versions now, but I read all the specs and decided to take the plunge with a smaller, 6-inch version at $119. And I'm so glad I did!

They offer a 7-inch Fire now for an unbelievable $49, not a bad choice, but I chose to go with the 6-inch. First, the sound is a lot better. I use my Fire for virtually all my TV show-watching, as well as for video and voice calls, and the sound makes a big difference to me. I just don't like to have to always wear earphones. Second, I wanted the 16 GB internal storage, which is not available in the 7-inch, although this cheaper model does allow you to add an SD card to increase storage. I wish my 6-inch had that, but the sound outweighed the storage issue. 16 GB meets my needs since I keep most stuff in the cloud.

I shouldn't have worried about the smaller size... in fact, I find it preferable! It's lighter and easier to hold for reading. I learned that the 6- and 7-inch Fires each have the same total number of pixels, so the 6-inch appears a bit sharper, higher-resolution than the 7-inch. Pictures are gorgeous, print sharp and clear. The only reason to go with a larger, higher-resolution tablet (for lots more money) would be if you are far-sighted and it's not well-corrected.

And with the smaller size, I can stick it in my pocket or my little mini-purse and use it as an MP3 player, as mentioned above. It makes up for not having sprung for an expensive smart phone (still using my faithful old Blackberry Curve.) The Fire needs wifi for most things, but wifi seems to be everywhere now!

Bottom Line

For a total outlay of about $164, I have a complete entertainment and communication system that is extremely functional, including a good-quality case and headset. Here's what I got, if you're curious:

My Fire 6 16 GB With Special Offers was $119. The "special offers" are limited, inoffensive ads you see here and there. No way are they annoying enough to justify spending any money to eliminate them.

The case I use is the Amazon Standing Protective Case for Fire 6. At $24.99 it seemed a little pricey, but I've found it well worth the cost. It has the magnetic feature that allows opening the case to turn the tablet on and off, a big advantage in doing things like doing a quick check of the time or notifications. You can listen to your audio with the case closed, and the volume-adjust buttons work nicely even when the case is closed. I got the red, but I'd get a darker color next time. I've had to scrub it because it gets dirty more easily than I'd like.

I like this Headset for Kindle Fire, Chromebook, Android, etc. quite a bit. At $19.99 it was a good buy, and handy to use for voice communication on my Kindle (as well as my Chromebook and Android tablet). You can spend way, way more for headsets, but this one works just fine. It also gives me good sound when I have to use it for streaming video that, for some reason, is set at too low a volume to hear well, notably PBS Masterpiece Theater shows (free, and there's a nice Kindle app, too.)

Falling Leaves and a Six-Month Update

It's been a long time since I posted to this blog. We were moving through spring and into summer, and I back then I was thinking about staying cool without air conditioning, as I've done for eight summers now. Turns out not to have been an issue. Happily, the shrubs and trees along the south-facing side of my lot have grown up enough to do a good job of shading the house and keeping it MUCH cooler. I was thinking it had been a cool summer until I checked the weather stats. It was actually a little hotter than normal. So it works! I had zero days last summer when I was uncomfortably hot.

My currently sodden pile of leaves...
and this is not all!

But... there is a downside to all that shade. Leaves. And now in mid-November, FALLING leaves. Lots and lots and lots of them. Fortunately my city does leaf collection, so I just need to sweep them over the curb, but they keep blowing back onto the sidewalk and I keep having to rake them back into the street. Inevitably, on the day the city leaf vacuum trucks come around, one or more of the neighbors will have decided to stay home and will be parked on part of the leaves, rendering them uncollectable. It's become one of those shrug-your-shoulders things... I've learned to stop fretting about it.

Many of the trees in my neighborhood are bare now, especially the tallest, and with the grey, gloomy, damp weather we've been having, things are taking on that dour, dreary, charcoal-drawing look that characterizes late November. Even though temperatures have remained fairly warm. My furnace has come on only a couple of times. I need to remember to change out the filter, though, before the cold weather hits later this month. Clean filters are worth the money and effort, since clogged filters cut down on air flow from the furnace, causing the furnace, and especially its fan, to work harder, translating into additional power usage.

I'm still tutoring (as a volunteer) too much - one of the reasons I've not been updating the blog - and have been increasingly conscious of a need to better balance my life. I have realized that while I still make time for my knitting and gardening and walks, I've been spending a lot more of my time with students than with friends and family. And students aren't really friends. They are nice people, and I enjoy them, but our relationship is not one of mutuality. I give and they mostly take. And I've noticed that while the newer students seem fairly cognizant that having a free small class and weekly one-on-one tutoring is an amazing privilege, students who have been in the program for a longer time start to take it, and me, for granted. You sometimes hear that people don't value things they don't pay for, and I see that being true in this case, at least for most. And I have to examine my own motives in spending so much of my time on this project, teaching newcomers to our country how to speak and write the language.

So I guess that can be a project for the coming months... restoring more balance to my life. Without the structure of a job to go to every day, I suspect that many of us retired folks do have to work at balancing the home, family, recreational, social, and volunteer parts of our new lives. I know I spent decades working too much and rarely finding the time to have an even marginally balanced life. Maybe, since that's practically all I knew, I found it comfortable to somewhat recreate it now in my retirement. And awareness is the first step towards course correction.

Well, the cozy inside days of late fall and winter are a perfect time for contemplation and planning. I turned 69 this year, which sounds very old to me, and I still have so many things I'd like to do. And I don't feel like the tutoring is really part of any of them. I need to deal with that.