Wednesday, April 17, 2024
SWEET ALMOND BUSH NEW PLANTS
Monday, April 15, 2024
NEW BLUEBERRY BUSH REPLACEMENT
You may remember that one of our blueberry bushes died last Summer.
Recently I went to the garden center to look for a replacement. We have two "Austin" bushes and of course the two, now one, "Tiff" bushes. We were thinking of getting another Tiff but figured we could try something else, there is not rule that says we have to only have two varieties. The store had Tiff and Austin and some others. I did a quick Google search for good varieties for our area and in addition to Tiff and Austin, they mentioned "Brightwell". I looked around and they had that variety that I was just reading about!
Sunday, April 14, 2024
GOOD FOOD AND HOBART SUNDAY
It's been a good weekend. Lots of little projects done and some resting. Oh, and good food with Hobart doing his share of resting too.
First, the good food:
2nd Man pan seared salmon (you know we're all into fish now, ha). This was so good. He seared it and then served it over these wonderful "harvest grains" mix that we enjoy (a heart healthy blend of couscous, split baby garbanzo beans and red quinoa). We drizzled it with coconut aminos (our new favorite substitute for soy sauce) and some broccoli microgreens.
DELICIOUS!
Hobart had no projects to do but he did a lot of resting for sure. This is one of his favorite spots...in front of the refrigerator (warm air blowing out from it) and he rests his head on the mat in front of the stove. Is he in the path of activity in the kitchen? Yes. Do we let him and step over and around him? Of course! Because...
Saturday, April 13, 2024
BONUS DEER PHOTO
Thursday, April 11, 2024
DEER ARE CREATURES OF HABIT TRAIL CAM
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
SO THIS HAPPENED WHILE MOWING AND ECLIPSE UPDATE
Saturday was a perfect day for mowing. I thought about skipping, but with heavy rain in the forecast, I figured if I waited, it would be even worse this weekend and maybe too wet to mow then.
So, it was a great day of mowing, cool breeze and just perfect weather. I was having a great time until a glitch happened that hadn't ever happened before.
I was mowing a trail and I went through an area where the branches were hanging across the path. I did as I always do, ducked down and drove slowly through them. However, on one of the branches (mesquite), a thorn caught my hat and pulled it off. I stopped the mower and got off and looked around to see where it landed and thought, "why are things so blurry?"
My glasses were gone as well. Oops!
I looked around, but let's be honest, if you need glasses to see clearly, looking for your glasses without said glasses, well, it just doesn't work, ha. I went over to 2nd Family (she was out mowing as well) and asked her to come help me look.
On the ground? No.
Under the mower? No.
In the brush? No.
Not sure if you can see in the photo above but they are there. In plain site.
Here is a closeup:
They were hanging in the branch!
Ha! I think we both spotted them about the same time. Hey, I kept my heart rate under control so that was good, LOL! I thanked her and we each went about the rest of our mowing adventures.
Monday, April 8, 2024
TOTAL ECLIPSE 2024
Texas, indeed all the states along the path of totality, is in full blown eclipse-mania!
In Houston, both of us will be at work when it happens, it will be at 94.06% of totality. So, not much difference between here and 45 miles closer to the path.
Sunday, April 7, 2024
GOOD FOOD AND HOBART SUNDAY
Another week and time for some good food and some sleepy Hobart.
We posted Monday about our Easter dinner, you may have seen one pic. 2nd Man made some lean pork loin with Herbs de Provence, mashed garlic sweet potatoes and garden peas. It was so good, but since we're all about portion control (this was all we had, one plate each), there were some leftovers.
So the next day, he diced up the remaining pork and mixed it with the peas with and some greek yogurt, kefir and seasonings (to make a sort of "cream of soup"), put it in a pan, topped it with the leftover mashed sweet potatoes and baked it until bubbly...
...and voila! Shepherd's Pie, our way! It was SO good! We had a nice salad on the side and were able to eat on this for two more days!
Shh! Hobart is sleeping today.
Because...
#notspoiled
Saturday, April 6, 2024
A GIFT AND A REMINDER
2nd Man bought me a gift after my cardiologist visit. We both agreed not to exchange birthday presents since we were heading to the Le Creuset Factory to Table event and knew we would spend some money. We're sure you saw THAT post, ha.
But he wanted me to have a little something as a surprise after my doctor visit the other day...
...and he found this great watering hose sprayer. It's designed to be like a firehose nozzle (and of course we had to have green to match our hoses, ha).
It's adjustable from a soft cascade to a super jet for power washing. We figured that could come in handy at some point down the road for cleaning something on the house, washing cars or even watering a tree from a distance, ha.
And always remember...
Friday, April 5, 2024
HEART HEALTH UPDATE
...it was good news all around!
No blood draw, he likes to do that at either 6 months or the year anniversary (unless I say I’m having issues or they see something).
They took my blood pressure, 105/78 which they said was spot on perfect.
Then they did an EKG to see damage and said he could see where I had the heart attack (it changes the rhythm), but added that it also showed there was very minimal damage, and my heart did an excellent job of healing. He drew on a piece of paper to show me how mine was and what a severely damaged heart would show and yeah, huge difference. When I went in that morning, they said they had a limited amount of time to save my heart from major damage and they succeeded!
According to the notes on my file, with everything he could see and my interview questions asking if and me saying I have had zero problems or concerns, I was doing 100% perfectly.
He said my stents are the 18th generation, I found out he was actually one of the first surgeons in Houston to ever put in a stent and that they have improved so much. I have the latest and it is infused with a drug that prevents scar tissue from forming. According to him, there is no reason I can’t go ten or fifteen years without having to think about them. He just wants me to get through the first year and then he’ll decide which medications to stay on.
I asked what my max heartrate should be when doing physical activity or yardwork, he said 140ish was fine. I’ve been getting it around 135 if I’m doing a lot of work outside, so that’s good. He said if it gets higher, just take a break on the porch and relax for a bit. No problem there!
I’ve lost 16 lbs since December 7th (when it happened). He said our change in diet and lifestyle has helped and I was a model patient and wished all his patients could be like this, ha. He said some just refuse to change anything and some don't want to take medications. I have things to do in this life, there is no time to mess around with my health!
Next appointment in three more months...
Now, onward to more important things, stay tuned! 😉