Doctor's appointment

I had my telephone appointment with the doctor yesterday to go over my blood work that I had done last week.  The one thing about getting blood work done through Life Labs here in Canada is that you can look up your results online, so technically you don't need the doctor to tell you the actual results.

So I already knew my blood sugar results were a lot better; so much so, that they are more or less in the normal rate.  The doctor was very pleased about that.  He did say my cholesterol levels are still a little high, so need to work on that.  At the end of the day getting my blood sugar levels back to normal is the whole end goal of all this.

I achieved my weight loss goal of 25lbs, I have actually lost 26lbs.  Now he was surprised about that and even more surprised when I told him that dh has lost 24lbs.  He did tell me that you should only lose 10% of your body weight at a time, then take six months off and not gain any weight.  Then lose another 10% of your body weight, then take six months off and maintain that weight, then repeat.  That way you will not gain the weight back. 

I am on a roll at the moment with the weight loss, so I do not want to lose momentum and lose interest in doing it.  So I am going to carry on doing what I am doing for the time being, as I am quite content with how I am doing it.

BUT....I have gone and pulled my hamstring and it is flipping well painful.  It was my own fault, I did not warm up properly while on the treadmill and with the incline I was doing the back of my knee is killing me.  I am hobbling around like an old women.  So as far as exercise is concerned one short walk after supper is about as much as I can handle at the moment.  It's been over a week or more now and is ever so slightly better, but this is going to take time to heal.

I keep meaning to tell you what I eat in a day as it is pretty much similar most days.  So for today I will be eating the following:

Breakfast: 1 cup multigrain Cheerio's with 1/2 cup 1% milk, cup of herbal tea (no milk)

Mid morning snack: Banana, large cup coffee with 1% milk

Lunch: hummus, rice crackers,  a pot of Motts Fruitsations unsweetened apple sauce, large coffee with 1 % milk

Mid Afternoon snack: Cup of herbal tea (no milk), mini package of cookies, click here to see them

Supper: Turkey Pasta stew/soup, (ground turkey with veggies, left over kraft dinner mixed in it, it will be my own recipe and will last a couple of days), sugar free jello with fruit in it and a fat free yogurt (40 calories) on the top.

After supper snack: 2 fat free yogurts and a granola/protein bar.

I also drink at least 32 oz of water.

Is my diet perfect, absolutely not!  However it is what is working for me.  I do make a lot of veggie soups.  Made a cauliflower one that I had for supper for the past couple of nights.  Cauliflower makes the most creamy of soups without using any cream or milk.  I have cut out a big chunk of carbs and a lot of sweet stuff like cakes and biscuits/cookies.

So my next goal is to lose another 25 lbs by the end of March, as that is when I am getting more blood work done and will go in and see the doctor in person (covid permitting).

I am in this for the long run, and I am of the mind set that slow and steady win's the race.  We shall see!

Oh I forgot for the month of December, I have been having my one chocolate a night from my Lindt advent calendar as well......I could murder a full size chocolate bar though..LOL  That will be my treat when I get my next 25 lbs off!!

(I will post a photo of my turkey pasta veggie stew/soup when I get it made)

Two weeks later

 no I have not left the blog world again!

I have been busy with one thing and another.  Which includes the treadmill and walking.  I did slip and fall last week on the ice, so have been cautious with my walking.  Luckily I didn't really hurt myself.  My knee is all bruised up, but really my ego/pride was more bruised.  So because of that I only logged in 25 miles last week, I normally log in around 30 miles.

I have decided to try the treadmill again and have figured out a way of walking, burning calories on it, without it trying to kill me...LOL  I start off at incline 5, working my way up to incline 7 then working my way down to incline 5 again.  I can burn 400 calories in 40 minutes and walk 2 miles doing that.

Anyway, it means I have managed to lose 24lbs in 11 weeks, so I have 1lb to lose before I have my telephone appointment with the doctor on December 21st.  Hubby has also lost 21lbs which is a bonus.  This 25lb goal is of my own setting, not the doctors.

Could I murder a chocolate bar.....of course!!  We both have Lindt chocolate advent calendars to help with my sweet tooth.  I look forward to eating my one chocolate every day.

(image credit)

I will say there are more mini chocolate balls in it, than anything else.  It's a bit of a disappointment when you open the day's door and all you get is a mini chocolate ball.  I had hoped they were all full sized truffles.....

So there you go, a bit of an update.  I have blood work done this week, so it will be interesting to see if my numbers have come down for my diabetes.  I am guessing so due to the weight loss.  You can tell now that we have both lost weight, so it is encouraging.  We just have to keep on with it.

10/5-3-30 Challenge Day 10

I managed 20 minutes at incline 10 this morning, before dropping it down to incline 5 and working my way back up to incline 7 for the remaining 10 minutes.  So things are improving.

It snowed again, so more shoveling to do; therefore more exercise!  Also managed a small walk in the morning.

Something interesting.  The other morning I did my blood sugar when I got up before I went on the treadmill.  I then did it again after I had been on the treadmill.  It went up for 8 to 10.  All I had done was that exercising.  Someone suggested it was something to do with all the sweating you do when exercising hard?  Is that true?

So all in all on Tuesday, I did my 30 minutes on the treadmill.  Did two walks and shoveled the snow.  Plus pottered around the house.

Fitbit Stats:

Miles walked: 5.17

Step's: 12,500

Minutes of Exercise: 93

Water 16 oz x 3.....this is my good place to be with water, so that I don't spend half my life in the bathroom😊

10/5-3-30 Day 9

Well back at it this morning.  Did my 30 minutes on the treadmill.  15+ minutes at incline 10 then dropped down to incline 5 and worked my way back up to incline 7 for the remaining 16 minutes.  I think doing this Monday through Friday will work for me and having the weekends off, just doing walking.

I also had to shovel snow.  I always count that as exercise, as depending on how heavy the snow is, it can be a good workout!

I didn't take a photo with how long I was on the treadmill for?  Took two of the distance instead?  I was on it for just over 30 minutes though.

Exercise today was 30 minutes on the treadmill, shoveling snow, 40 minute walk after supper, and walking round the mall.  Making up for the quiet weekend I had.

Fitbit Stats:

Exercise: 118 minutes

Steps: 14,200

Miles: 5.89 miles

Water 16 oz x 4

10/5-3-30 Day 8

It was a snow day on Sunday.  It snowed all day.  Exercise was only a 34 minute walk round the subdivision.  Even then I puffed and panted all the way, which was not normal for me.  So it was a quiet day for us both.  I plan on trying to be back on the treadmill on Monday.

Fitbit Stats:

Exercise 34 minutes

Steps: 6,800

Miles: 2.89

Water 16 oz x 3

10/5-3-30 Challenge Day 7 Weigh in day!!!

Change of pace today as I didn't get up until after 7am.  So I didn't do my 30 minutes on the treadmill before breakfast like I normally do; thought I would do it later in the day, but didn't.  So I have failed the challenge...not sure how I feel about that.  Maybe it should be a Monday through Friday thing going on the treadmill?

I did go for a walk in the morning.  It was cold and slippery but I was careful.  We then went for a walk after lunch, by then it wasn't as slippery.  We also had a walk after supper, so three walks all in all.

So the all important news for today, did I lose weight this week?  Yes I did, I lost 3lbs, so I have lost 20lbs in 9 weeks.

I have set a mini goal of losing another 5lbs by December 18th, which is a month away.  I have a telephone appointment with our family doctor on the 21st, so would love to tell him I have lost 25 lbs in the past 13 weeks.

Fitbit Stats for today:

11 k steps

4.7 miles

78 minutes exercise.

10-3-30 Challenge Day 6

I should change the challenge title again.  It should be 10/5-3-30 as I once again just did the inlcine 10 for 15 minutes then dropped it down to 5 for the remaining 15 minutes.

I was talking to a friend today and we were talking about exercising and due to a thyroid problem she has to exercise 5 times as hard as anyone with very little reward.  So she was saying life is way too short to be worrying about it all, and she will do the best that she can and eat that bar of chocolate when she feels like it.  I really do not enjoy those first 15 minutes on the treadmill, they are hard flipping work.  The second 15 minutes I can deal with.  It does make me question why I am putting myself through this.  I guess when I jump on the scales on Saturday we will know if it was worth all this hard work and sweat?

I guess on the upside I am nearly one week down on this challenge, so that is good.

I made this recipe for Mushroom soup.  Actually I used it as a base and made it my own.  If you read the comments you will get many ideas of what other people did.  Her recipe for Cauliflower soup is the best; and I did follow her recipe to the letter that time.

I didn't feel too good all day on Friday.  It took me until after lunch to realize why; I had my flu shot the day before.  It never normally bothers me, but for some reason I felt off all day.  I attempted to do this exercise class online, but only managed 20 out of the 30 minutes of it.  I was just too tired to do the rest.

We went for a quick walk after supper, once again though it was slippery, so pretty nervous throughout the walk.

Fitbit Stats:

12,500 steps

5.15 miles

93 minutes exercise

Water drank 4 x 16 oz bottles

10-3-30 Challenge Day 5

Day 5, a 6th of the way through this challenge.  I had one of those days ahead of me, places to go, people to see.  So I was on the treadmill before 6am today.  However I was tired.  It was a true struggle for the first 16 minutes while I was at incline 10.  I dropped it down to incline 5 for the rest of the time, not at all in the mood to try and up it.

With having it at a lower incline for half of the time, I didn't burn as many calories.

As I was away from home for most of the day I wasn't able to get any  walks in.  So the treadmill was it as far as exercise was concerned for today.

Fitbit Stats: 

38 minutes exercise

7k steps

2.78 miles

3 x 16 oz water

Should mention I post these the day after the actual day; if that makes sense?

10-3-30 Challenge Day 4

The whole idea of me keeping track here is so I actually do the challenge, and not bow out of it.  Saying that I wasn't wanting to do it this morning.  However knowing I would have to write that here if I didn't do it, made me go downstairs and do it.  I know in my heart of hearts this is doing me good, I am just not a fan of walking 30 minutes on a treadmill.  

So went downstairs, shouted at Google to put on Fat's Domino and off I went.

The photo above is taken before I press the stop button.  The one below is when I have pressed the stop button, that is why the calorie count is different.

As you see by the photos, I actually walked for 32.46 minutes, I wanted to listen to a song.

I burned more calories though, as this time I did 16 minutes at incline 10, then dropped it down gradually and the lowest I got was incline 6.  So obviously the higher the incline the more calories burned, I guess?

My numbers for today were:

1.64 miles walked

32.46 minutes on the treadmill @ 3 miles per hour

Incline 10 for 16 minutes, dropping down gradually to incline 6.

I managed to do another two walks, the morning one longer than the after supper one.  

My stats as per my Fitbit:

Steps walked: 13,665

Miles: 5.56

99 total minutes of exercise

Water drank 4 x 16 fluid ounces

I am struggling with the water intake.  It's cold and the last thing I want to do is drink water.  Still anything is better than nothing.  It was suggested that I add some sugar free flavouring to the water; that doesn't excite me either😏  I am still keeping my food and blood sugar diary.  I will share a page with you over the weekend.

10-3-30 Challenge Day 3

I have to admit, I wasn't as enthusiastic about getting up this morning, but I did.  Had a pee and jumped on the scales and discovered I had lost weight.  So that perked me right up!!

Took my phone and water downstairs and got too it!!  I started at incline 10 and managed 15 minutes before I dropped it down to incline 5.  Left it there for 5 minutes, then upped it by .5 every minute until I got to incline 7, then dropped it down to incline 5 for the remainder as I was pooped by then!!

I was enjoying a song, so ended up doing just over 30 minutes.  I had shouted at Google to put on Fat's Domino again for me, as that 50's beat is the best walking beat.

You can see in the photo below the yellow and orange cup.  It holds 16 oz of water.  I managed to drink 6 of those on Monday so that is my goal to try and do that every day.

So my numbers for today were:

Incline 10 for 15 minutes, incline 5 to 7 for the remaining 16 minutes.

Calories burned: 340

Distance walked: 1.569 miles

Time on treadmill: 31.20 minutes

We also had our first "real" snowfall of the season with around 4 inches of wet, heavy snow laying.  So set about shoveling that, so by 9 am I had logged over 5.5 k in steps.

I did another 30 minute walk after supper.  So all in all my numbers from Fitbit were:

5.06 miles, 90 minutes total exercise and 12.5 k in steps.

I only drank 5 containers of water, just didn't find the time to have more.  I did a little bit of shopping and put up the Christmas tree today so that accounted for the rest of the steps for today.

10-3-30 Challenge Day 2

So here we go day 2.  Still had a spring in my step when I got up just after 6am.  More organized this morning.  Took my phone down stairs.  Took my water, had a towel all at the ready and off we went.  My goal this morning was to start off at incline 10 and do that for 12 minutes, then drop it down to incline 5 for the remaining 18 minutes.  I did it 🙌  Still thought I was going to die, but I did it.

This time I shouted at Google Home to put on Fat's Domino as I figured the beat of 50's music would work and it did.  One song that has a great walking beat is Roy Orbison's song "Pretty Woman."  Another song with a good walking beat is Madonna's song "Hung Up."  I don't really like Madonna as a person but some of her music has a good beat.

So all in all my number's for this morning's are as follow:

Incline 10 for 12 minutes, incline 5 for 18 minutes.

Calories burned: 325

Miles walked: 1.506 @ 3 miles per hour

I do have a muscle that is complaining, it's at the lower end of my calf, above my ankle.  Will have to keep an eye on it.  Otherwise feel good.  It truly has helped that I had 8 weeks of prior walking, as I think there would be more muscles complaining!!

I started a food diary today so we will see how that goes.

I managed two walks today, so all in all I walked nearly 13K in steps, and just over 5 miles and logged in 95 minutes of exercise.

12-3-30 Challenge Day 1

Well woke up raring to go just before 6:30 am.  So this challenge is incline level 12, speed 3 miles an hour for 30 minutes on the treadmill for 30 days.  Sounds simple enough right?  I have been walking consistently for the last eight weeks, so I should do okay.

Went downstairs to discover my treadmill only goes up to incline 10?  Okay so I will have to rename this challenge 10-3-30 now.  No big deal, right?  Set everything up.  Shout at Google Home to put on Ritchie Valens on Spotify; as I figured that music might have a good beat too it and off I go.

Now to be fair, remember I am an overweight 57 1/2 years old.  I am not some fit and healthy 30 year old.  So when I say I thought I might die I am not exaggerating!!  I managed 11 minutes at incline 10 before deciding that if I wanted to finish this I needed to drop it down.  So I dropped it down to incline 5 and carried on.

When I finished I was drenched through with sweat.

(image credit)

Now I forgot to bring my phone downstairs to take a photo to show you what I did on the treadmill monitor.  I will in future though.

I walked 1.505 miles

Burned 320 calories

Speed 3 miles per hour

11 minutes incline 10; 9 minutes incline 5

Okay, so day 1 of the challenge done and I am still alive.  Big high 5 for me!!

I also managed a walk and in total 76 minutes of exercise, just over 4 miles and just over 10k in steps as per my Fitbit for Sunday. I have an Inspire 2 Fitbit watch, nothing fancy but does the trick.

Okay back again

It's been a miserable couple of weeks.  I went back to the dentist and my tooth was cracked.  So they put me on antibiotics for a week, then removed my tooth on Friday November 12th.  Now because I have had a dry socket before he decided to put a stitch in it to prevent that.  Naturally it wasn't pain free, but this isn't the first time I have had a tooth out.  However by Wednesday I had, had enough.  Got an emergency appointment and he took the stitch out (thank goodness) and packed my socket with medication.  It was swollen, but he said it was healing.  As I am writing this on Sunday morning, it is still sore but manageable.

Due to all this pain and a few other things that have gone on, I have had a personality transplant, and miserable doesn't even begin to describe how I have been....LOL  Poor dh has been ready to move out, but I do feel I am on the other side of all of this.

Adding to all this misery I have been dealing with an issue with my fridge.  It's a simple issue but it's a $200 part and warranty will cover it.  However dealing with the warranty folk is making me lose the will to live at times😏  Suffice to say, if you are thinking of buying appliances, DO NOT by KitchenAid they are not worth the money.  Our fridge is less than 3 years old.  I paid over $5 thousand for it and the ice maker bucket is rusting out.

Hopefully this will get sorted out this week, but I am not holding my breath.  Thankfully the fridge is operational without this part as this mess has been going on for over two weeks now.

The blog is going to change a bit for the next 30 days as I am embarking on a 30 day challenge on the treadmill.  So I will be posting daily and using this blog as a diary to write how I get on.

I have lost 17 lbs in the past 8 weeks.  It's been a hard slog, but I am determined not to give up.  This challenge I am hoping will spur me on as I have a goal of wanting to lose 25lbs (total) before I talk to the doctor sometime during the week of December 20th.

My sugar levels are improving.  My clothes are fitting a whole lot better, some are even looking too big😁  I am trying to do two 30 minute walks everyday, and they are up and down hills.  I am trying to walk around 30 miles a week, as that is my preferred method of exercise, but the weather is getting worse as we head into the end of November.

So it will be interesting to see how this challenge goes.  I hope you can follow along.

Walking shoes

 I am very lucky I have a variety of shoes to go walking in depending on the weather.  When it's dry out and reasonably warm I wear my running shoes (right hand side).  When it's cold out and slippery, I wear my "old lady" zip up winter shoes.  These are from Land's End and I have had them for years.  (These ones are a similar one.) When it's snowy out, the hiking boots come out.

On Tuesday it was the "Old Lady" zip up shoes.  Which rubbed on the back of my heels and so now I have had to put a plaster/band aid on them (SIGH)

So here I am height of fashion in my zip up shoes and my jogging pants!!  My typical walking gear.  Comfort over style.

Best Nana EVER!!!!

I am seeing four of the grands this weekend, so got them a little treat.  The Pokemon are for the girls and he Justice League is for Liam.  I didn't pay the full $6.99 for Liam's.

I remember these first time round, now they are back in "fashion."

So a funny story about Pokemon and the girls.  Nora is in Grade 3.  The Grade 3's are banned from trading the cards at school as it's too distracting.  Paige is in senior Kindergarten, and the Kindergarten kids are in a fenced off area.  They are not allowed to go out of their area at recess.

Paige has been bringing home various Pokemon cards, so her mom has been asking her where she has been getting them from.  She said other kids have been giving her them through the chain link fence.

Sort of reminds you of a prison where folk from the outside slip the inmates contraband through the fence!!  Are Pokemon cards, the drug equivalent for kids?

Now I have had a heck of a job tracking down these Pokemon cards, and given that I know diddly squat about them, I finally got them from Fun Zone Comic and Cards.  Super nice people and but very overwhelming for someone though who isn't into comic books and cards.  He was saying Pokemon cards sell out as fast as they come in.  

I have a feeling I need to educate myself on these, as all the school age grands love them!!

It was bound to happen....

 It's November 3rd after all.

Went for my walk this morning and was greeted by this:

By the pond.

The good news is, it was all gone within a couple of hours with the sun warming everything up.

Toothache

 

(Credit image)

Since going for my semi annual checkup in September I have been to the dentist twice.  Both time for replacement fillings.  One of those times it was so minor, I didn't even need an injection.  I am beginning to think it's a money making thing with these dentists!

However, for the past month I had had a sore tooth.  At first I thought it might have been residual pain from getting a filling in the tooth above it.  A month later it is getting worse and worse.  Having anything hot or cold, sends me into a Kaleidoscope of pain!!

I have got an appointment on Thursday morning, and believe me I was lucky to get that!!  Already told them if it is cracked (the tooth), it's no root canal for me, they are pulling it.  I could do without it being pulled as this is my last bottom molar.

(((SIGH))) I am beginning to think I should have all my teeth pulled and have false teeth!!😀

Kicking and screaming all the way....

 

(image credit)

Saturday is my weigh in day.  I have lost 12 lbs in 5 weeks.  I would have loved it to be more but despite doing everything I can it feels as though each pound lost has had to be dragged from me kicking and screaming all the way.

I am not sure what is different this time round.  I have walked over 100 miles since October 3rd.  It is getting easier doing the walking.  I walk up and down hills, to elevate my heart rate.  My food intake is pretty good; it's not perfect but it's a whole lot better than it was.

My diabetes numbers are improving greatly, I guess I just have to be patient.  At the end of the day it's getting those diabetes numbers under control which is the number one concern.  I have blood work done the middle of December so that gives me another six weeks to try and lose another 12 lbs.  That should make a big difference to those diabetes numbers I am hoping.

I am having my physical at the end of November, so my goal there is to have another 8 lbs off by then.  That's with the nurse in the doctor's office.  I will then have a telephone appointment with the doctor just before Christmas to go over the blood work and the physical's results.  

So until then I just have to keep on doing what I am doing. At the end of the day I have lost over a bag of potatoes, plus a bag of sugar.  My clothes don't feel as tight and I don't feel as though I will die trying to walk up the hills anymore😊

Slow and steady wins the race as they say!

Wednesday is a bit busy for me........okay.....

So I pick up this little guy after daycare once a week. He comes back to our house and stays for his supper:

The first week I picked him up on a Tuesday.  The next week it was Wednesday, because I had a dentist's appointment.  That day we walked to the pond, and this was how the conversation went:

Me: "I'll pick you up next week on Wednesday."

Liam: "No you need to pick me up on Tuesday."

Me: "Why?"

Liam: "I am a bit busy on a Wednesday."

Me: "Okay; so Wednesday's a busy day for you?"

Liam: "Yes."

This from the mouth of a 3 year old who generally doesn't know what day it is!!!  So Tuesday it is then!

Then this little guy is already 4 months old!!

He's going through "I love Mommy the best of all," stage!!  We all love him to the moon and back; even when he is grumpy!!

Teaspoon Fairy

Will get to the teaspoon fairy in a minute.

Been busy with trying to get the outside all "put too bed," for the winter this week.  Have to say I am nearly there.  The one major thing that still needs to be done is all the leaves raked up.  There is only one problem though, due to the weather being unseasonably warm, the leaves are still on the tree!

We finally got a little bit of frost on the ground the other morning, so they are starting to drop.  Had the sprinkler guys round yesterday for 20 minutes to blow out the sprinklers.  $113 later, but hubby's compressor isn't really big enough to blow them out in one fell swoop.  Also paid for next years feed and weed lawn service, $350 later.  They are supposed to be coming round with a Fall fertilizer application that I got for free when I pay up front for the next year.  Also got 10% discount for paying before the end of October.  Every little helps.

Now for the teaspoon fairy.  I was talking to my mother the other day and she had just come in from grocery shopping.  I was telling her I had just popped to the store to pick a couple of things up and had spent $40 and had only one bag of shopping to show for it.  Though one of the things I had bought were some teaspoons.  It turns out I am not the only one who has the teaspoon fairy visit their house and take a few teaspoons with her when she leaves.  My mother has the same one visit her.  

Teaspoons seem to disappear in a poof of smoke around here.  My mother was agreeing as she has the same problem.  When I was looking for an image to add to this post I came across this book:

I would have bought this book, but it's in Spanish and only on Kindle over at Amazon.  I neither understand Spanish, nor have a Kindle.  

Do you have a teaspoon fairy visit your house?  Or is it a knife, fork or other utensil fairy?

Busy bee, but with nothing to show for it!

Isn't it always the way, you feel like you have never stopped, but honestly have nothing to show for it?

One thing I was doing today was putting together a box of food to send up north to a food bank.  During the month of October, Canada Post has had a special where a business can send a box under 5kg anywhere in Canada for free on a Tuesday.  So the last couple of Tuesday's I sent a box of Evan's new born clothing up that he had grown out of.  They were in perfect condition; in fact a couple of the pieces I am sure hadn't even been worn.

This week I decided to put together a box of food.

Now it may look like an odd combination of items, but there is a reason behind the things I popped in.  I had the cake mixes and frosting in the cupboard.  I won't be using them before they expire next year.  They cost a small fortune up north; I think around $9 each, so they are classed as a luxury.  I popped some sprinkles in, because who doesn't love a cake with sprinkles!!  They always need spices, and sugar.  Due to the weight, I just popped in the small packets of sugar.  I also had a can of condensed milk, that I know some people put in their coffee, so figured that should go as well.

If anyone has a business account with Canada Post and wants to send a free box up north and would like a contact address please let me know.  You will have to print out a shipping label tomorrow to take advantage of the deal.  I will give you details of where to send too and what they would like.  Tea and honey are things they love.

Pretty cute.....

I see this caravan on my walking route.  It sleeps two, but can sleep three.  One thing though in this photo and the following one makes me shake my head.  Can you guess what?

People are decorating for Halloween and a number of people put these fake spider webs on their houses and bushes.  Yes it looks nice, but how on earth are they going to get it off those bushes after Halloween?  Unfortunately a number of people won't bother removing them and then I think it looks tacky.

No idea what the title should be of this post

you can decide.

I was out walking on Wednesday morning and on one of the streets were two police cars parked.  In itself that was unusual.  A guy was stood on the sidewalk so asked him what was going on and he said the house was empty and he thought it was an attempted break in.  I said okay and went on my merry little way.

A bit further on I met a woman walking her dog and I knew she lived on that street, so asked her the same question.  Now her answer was a six cd length answer, so I will give you the condensed version!!

Yes the house is empty; it is rented.  However the gist of the situation is someone who does not own the house is advertising the house for rent on various social media sites and scamming people out of money.  They are also opening bank accounts using that address.  Now the story got very convoluted at this point and led me to believe there is more going on than she knows about.

However, we both agreed on a couple of things.

1. How do people come up with these sorts of scams?  I would have never have thought of doing something like this?  As I said to the lady, these types of people have too much times on there hands!!

2. One thing that is all over social media in our area (Barrie, Ontario), is the price of renting a house/apartment.  It is as pricy to rent somewhere here as it is in Toronto and people are complaining about it and rightly so.  It is not unusual to see a whole house for rent for over $3,000+ a month.  To rent an upper part of a house $2,500+ and the basement apartment $1,800+.  If you click on this link you can see what various places look like to rent.

For those of you who don't know, our basement's are not the dark and dingy places, they can be lived in.  Our home has as large family room, a bedroom, a bathroom and a large storage/laundry room.  It is not a separate apartment; it does not have a separate entrance ours is a one family home.

3. We couldn't decide how on earth the younger folk are able to get on the property ladder?  Unless you want to live in a condo/apartment there is very little under $600,000 where we live.   Also if folk are having to pay stupid amounts in rent, how will they ever be able to afford a deposit for a house, without the help of the bank of mum and dad?

Worrying times ahead for the younger folks that's for sure.

Afternoon Treat

 I have a sweet tooth.  I love cake, cookies, muffins, candy & chocolate.  However with being a diabetic I have to watch what I eat.

One way of getting around that sugar craving mid afternoon is to have a cup of this:

I know it has 7g of sugar but in the scheme of things I can live with that.

A steaming cup of coffee to sip on while reading my book!

What is your afternoon treat?

Lesson Learned

I decided to make some bean and vegetable soup on the weekend.  I forgot to get my soup beans out the night before and soak them.  So I put them in a pan covered with water; brought it too a boil and then took it off the heat and let them soak for an hour.

I drained and rinsed them and went on to make my soup.  I simmered on a low heat for the rest of the day.  I had a dish for supper on Saturday and it was so good.

A couple of hours later, my stomach began to cramp up and the flatulence began😮  I went to bed with a horrible cramping stomach, believing that I would be fine on Sunday.  Nope, just the same.  Went on two walks on Sunday thinking, things would "move."  Nope, woke up on Monday still had a cramping stomach.  Went on a walk and this time things "moved," when I got back home.  As I am writing this on Monday evening, my stomach is still not right.

So raw beans contain compounds known as lectins. These are glycoproteins found in all kinds of plant foods. Although some glycoproteins are not harmful, others can be toxic, including the ones found in raw beans.  Now my beans weren't raw, but I have a feeling that the larger ones may not have been fully cooked, though everything tasted fine too me.

Now my stomach has become more and more sensitive the older I get.  So in future I will soak my beans!!

(image credit)

P dot S: I so hope by the time you read this everything is back to normal!!

To dye or not to dye?

When Paige started school back in September of 2020 she was 4 1/2.  She came home one day and said to her mother, "where are the eyes in the back of my head?"  After a discussion it turned out her teacher had said she "had eyes in the back of her head."

Her mother told her that only grow up's had eyes in the back of their heads!!  Honestly these kindergarten teachers also need the patience of a saint, and have arms like an octopus.  It must be like herding cats trying to control 20 odd 4 & 5 year olds!!  Rather them than me.

Now why I bring this up, is I went to get my hair cut the other day.  After they have finished they hold up a mirror at the back of your head to make sure with how it looks at the back.  I got quite a shock when I saw how much grey hair I had at the back.  As I don't have eyes in the back of my head, I never see what's going on there, hence the Paige story.

Now back to the title of this post.  I normally dye my hair on a regular basis, as I am not fully grey yet.  For some reason I didn't do it after I got it cut in September.  As my hair is short, the dye will be fully out of my hair by the time it is cut twice more.  Maybe even the next time if I get a good chunk cut off.

So I am thinking of biting the bullet and not dying my hair and seeing what my "real" head of hair looks like?  I am just concerned that as it is not fully grey yet, I will look old, washed out and tired!!

For the more mature ladies out there, what age did you stop dying your hair?  Or do you just keep on colouring it?

Garbage, recycling etc.

 For us garbage day is on a Thursday; unless there has been a holiday and then it's a day later in the week.

One week we have garbage, recycling and green bin pick up.  The next week we have yard waste (though see what I write about that further down the post), recycling and green/organic bin pick up.

This week it was the yard waste, recycling and green bin pick up.

In the blue bin we can place:

Acceptable items for blue containers box:

• Empty aerosol cans.
  Remove the lid and dispensing nozzle (if possible) from the empty can before placing in your Blue Box. Aerosol cans that are not empty must be taken to the Household Hazardous Waste Depot.
• Empty, dry paint cans.
  Remove the lid to allow the remaining paint to dry & place both can and lid in your Blue Box. Can sizes are limited to 4 litres & under. Paint cans that are not empty must be taken to the Household Hazardous Waste Depot.
• Plastic retail and grocery bags.
  Bags must be clean & empty. Remove any receipts or materials from the bags, put all bags inside one plastic retail or grocery bag or a clear plastic bag, and tie shut before placing in your Blue Box. Please do not use dark garbage bags as the collectors cannot identify if the bag contains recycling or garbage.
  
  Tip:Do the stretch test! If the plastic stretches when you pull on it, it's acceptable in the Blue Box (exemption: plastic – clingy / film / Saran – wrap is not accepted).
• Aluminum trays, pie plates and clean aluminum foil
• Tetra Pak boxes Juice and milk cartons
• Plastic food and beverage containers, bottles, jugs, tubs, styrene trays and lids
• Glass food and beverage bottles and jars
  No need to remove labels
• Food and beverage cans
  Push lids down inside, no need to remove labels
• Spiral cardboard cans
  The plastic strip around frozen juice cans is not acceptable but please include the metal portions
• Bulk packing styrofoam providing it fits into a standard size blue box
  No styrofoam peanuts

In the grey bin we can place:

Acceptable items for grey (paper) box:

• Telephone books and magazines
• All household paper including newspapers, photocopy paper, hardcover books (without the cover) envelopes, gift wrap, cards and paper bags (without foil or plastic coating)
• Boxboard and egg cartons
  Remove all plastic wrap and food liner bags, flatten box, place inside another box
• Cardboard
  Flattened and bundled no larger than 75cmx75cmx20cm. Place in or beside recycling box, limit of five bundles per week for each business establishment, no limit for residents

In the green/organic bin we can place:

Acceptable items in the green bin:

• All food scraps and leftovers
• Meat, bones, rice and dairy products
• Vegetables and fruits
• Pastas, breads
• Cooking oils and grease
• Coffee grounds and filters, tea bags
• Microwave popcorn bags
• Dryer lint, dust
• Hair, pet hair
• House plants
• Soiled newspaper, paper towels*
• Paper plates, napkins, tissues*
• Paper egg cartons
• Fast food drink trays
• Paper cups
• Popsicle sticks, toothpicks
• Wood wine corks
• Wood ashes (cold)
• Dried flowers
• Pumpkins, garden fruit & vegetable waste
  
• Eggs and eggshells
• Muffin paper cups

We are allowed 2 garbage bags/bins every two weeks.  We are lucky if we fill one bag/bin.

The yard waste has to be put into yard waste bags.  As you can see mine are from Home Depot.  Now just to confuse everyone depending on the month we have a variety of times when yard waste is collected:

Weekly Collection	January, April, May, June, September, October, & November
​Every Other Week Collection	​July, August, & December
​No Collection	​February & March

I will say when I go walking, especially on garbage day a lot of folk do not understand the rules of recycling?  You have to have your garbage out on garbage day by 7am.  We seem to be first on the route for our subdivision, so I tend to put out the night before.  Mind you there is no rhyme nor reason about what time they are going to turn up.

All the info came from our local city website.

Do you have garbage pick up?  Do you recycle where you live?