Squirrelly Notes

A Vegan's Dinner

Black Bean Burger
Szechuan Greenbeans
Coleslaw

Yuuuum Yum. Very tasty and filling too!

A New Blood Analysis, Good News

Remember this picture from February?  Linked red blood cells overlapping, big chunks of plaque among other smaller indicators - it was bad, somewhat scary news for me. Having the tiniest drop of blood analyzed under a microscope they found poor digestion of proteins,  liver stress, plaque and fungus in my blood. The 'fix' they told me was pretty easy.  Take digestive enzymes 4 times a day, oregano oil for the fungus and probiotics to help with all of that. I was faithful on this regimen for about 3 weeks and then became less regimented - sometimes missing days at a time. Then something would remind me and I'd start taking them again. I didn't know what to expect this time, I was just hoping for some improvement - I didn't want to see that it had gotten worse.

WOW!  I was thrilled!  The red blood cells are free and moving around like they're supposed to. There was NO sign of plaque, NO sign of liver stress and the fungus was better, but not gone. He said there's more oxygen in the blood now and no sign of Iron deficiency.  I couldn't believe it! The guy kept saying, "This is pretty good really, it's looking good."  So I'll continue on the regimen and see what happens next time, but I completely expect even better results. Another possible contributor to the better report could be that I have not been eating animal products. Yes, I'm going Vegan! Not vegetarian, vegan.  I didn't know the difference myself until recently, but vegetarian refers to not eating meat, vegan means not eating animal products at all -  I.E., milk, cheese, eggs.  Truthfully, I will be an 'almost' vegan. I've decided I'm not giving up honey, which apparently vegans don't eat either.  So what inspired us to do this - you ask?  A friend named John who had started it a few months ago. John is thinner now, says he feels good and has more energy.  He pointed us to a couple great books, 'The China Study' and 'Thrive Diet'. 

The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, PhD & Thomas M. Campbell II

In a nutshell, this book covers 30 years of study revealing that many of our health woes, including all cancers, are magnified immensely by a particular protein, 'casien' - which comes from animals.  Proteins in plant foods do not do this, and in fact, do the opposite. Bottom line, we need to eat lots of vegetables, fruit, and whole grains and if we're smart, no animal products. I know from dentistry that our teeth were not designed for meat-eating.

So, there you have it. At 53, my diet is changing, and probably  just in time.

For a MUCH better description of the book contents, read John Vaughn's comment below, and click the link for his posting about it.

I Have Too Much Time - My Splash In The Kitchen & A New Car

I know by the title you must have thought  'huh'?  We'll start with the car. It's Ben's. It's nice. And it sucks that he's got the nicest car in the family. I am so jealous. But actually, we're proud of him. Apparently he's been saving his money and decided to take the plunge. He talked to people, researched and decided on a 2009 Hyundai Sonata. And, there was a manufacturer rebate of $3000 and a dealer rebate of $1800, so it worked out well. Anybody want to buy a 1997 Lexus that looks like it's been 'ridden hard and put away wet' (as they say) but runs real well?  Yeah, well, just let us know ok?

I haven't had any work recently so as you know, I've been doing a little painting. And one project leads to another sooooo....... You see this single color backsplash? Go ahead....click the picture.....there ya go. Well, we don't like it so I decided to change it. Can't afford real tile right now, so I had to go with the 'faux'. Treatment that is, faux treatment. I'd seen this particular treatment done on walls before but never on tile. So, new challenge - And I think it's going to work! It's basically done now except for letting the glue cure for a week, and then I'll coat it with polyurethane.  Take a look and see if you can tell what it is. Put your color-shock-proof glasses on because it isn't boring any more!

It was done with tissue paper. Yes, that flimsy excuse for paper and a product called Mod Podge - which is used for paper mache objects. 'What's next' you ask?  Hmmm, don't know. But I'll show you if I do something else. I think I need to finish whipping the backyard into shape.

FYI, I am scheduled to have another blood analysis on June 9th.

Former Interragator Rebukes Cheney's Torture 'Life-Saving' Claims

More Space in the Kitchen!

There's always been only two things I didn't like about this house. The master bathroom has no counter space - which can't be remedied without knocking out walls, and the kitchen hasn't had enough storage space, but this is now changed!  Since it's open to the family room, there are only three sizable upper cabinets in our kitchen and it's isn't enough!  There is a small pantry but it too is very small. Though Joe loved having the little bistro table in the kitchen to sit at, it now lives on the lanai and actually looks good there too. Only minutes ago, the countertop installer left and it is done!  I love it!  It has added atleast 50% more storage and 7' of added counter-space. I've already moved into it. I don't have to take all the spices out of the cupboard anymore to find what I'm looking for, or go to the laundry room to get paper towels or napkins, or go to the garage to get the canned goods I need. It's now all in the room it should be in. Everybody's happy.

This is how the wall used to look.

My Mother's Day Bouquet

 ...From Ben. Ben and Jaqueline were in an obstacle race in Orlando today called 'Muddy Buddy'. So we'll spend some time with Ben next weekend instead of this weekend.  But I was very surprised yesterday when the doorbell rang and UPS had left a box of flowers for me. I'm so lucky Ben is so kind and thoughtful.

I too, was in Orlando today but not doing something nearly as exciting. I went to a dental seminar. I can't say that I learned a whole lot but I saw a lot of dental people I know and got to meet the people from a lab that I just recently started doing some work for, they even bought me lunch! I also saw someone who claims he'll need a ceramist in a couple months and who says he'll be calling me. So if I get even one new client out of it, the trip was not wasted.

 Well, you all know how much I like to paint - at least until I'm in the middle of paint hell,  and then I have to remind myself that I like painting.  Do I?  Do I really? I decided to tackle the family-room/kitchen area. It was of course already painted but I wanted to tweak the color just a little -  a little more orange-ish as opposed to the yellow. Long story short, three walls were washed with a colored glaze. I couldn't get it the way that I wanted so I had to completely repaint with the original color, do the antiquing, and then do the orange wash.  When I was using the glaze (which is a very thinned-out color) I couldn't see it very well when I started out. So I added more! Then it dried. Dark. After living with it for a few days, we decided it was TOO orange. I have now redone all those walls AGAIN and they are finally done. Ay-yi-yi, I could have painted the whole house by now.

I think our summer is here. We went along for months in the 70's and 80's (perfect) and then all of a sudden it got hot. But it's been dry so it's really not even like summer yet because the humidity's low. There's a SEVERE water shortage here and they keep lessening our watering times. We're not even allowed to wash our cars anymore unless we go to a commercial place that recycle's it's water. We can only water our lawns one day a week in a four hour span, midnight to 4am.  The fine is $200 if you're caught watering outside that time. Needless to say, the lawns are drying up, as are the ponds, the rivers....... Oddly, the local energy company has been give the thumbs up to build two nuclear power plants that will each need ONE MILLION GALLONS OF WATER EVERY DAY. Obviously those that stand to make money don't care about water shortages.

We have some new neighbors who along with our friends across the street, and the people behind them, give us a nice social network right here in the neighborhood. It's very handy to be able to imbibe in some libations and then just walk home. I think mojitos have become the neighborhood favorite. When the new neighbors had a house warming/Birthday party, we gave them a lime tree and rum, and some other neighbors gave them mint

The cats are well, they even had a little fun with a snake in the garage the other day. It was just a black racer, nothing to worry about. But imagine my surprise when I was out there to grab a pair of the blue latex gloves for painting and a snake skin came out with gloves!  I'm just glad there was no snake in there!  I'm a little more cautious while walking barefoot in the garage now. (Monica, I know you're shaking right now :)

FYI: I have not yet had another blood analysis, so I have no update on that yet.

Nutritional Blood Analysis - YIKES!!!!

    At a local health food store I noticed a sign for an upcoming blood analysis clinic where by just from taking a drop of your blood, they can tell you about your nutritional health - or unhealth. The cost was $50, so I signed up! 'What could it hurt?... I thought. I have issues; digestive unrest, itchy skin, tight aching muscles - maybe they'll tell me something I don't know and can point me in a positive direction. So today was the day. I told Joe before I left that I was going to refuse to fill out a bunch of paperwork and then have them tell me things based on what I wrote. I was happy to find out the only thing to fill out was contact information. 
    So after a minor prick of the finger, smeared on a glass slide and put under a powerful microscope, Bubbles!!!  No, turns out those are my red blood cells - which I'm happy to report  I have!. But instead of being free-floating, they were all clumped together and in long chains. Right away he says those chains and clumps are from undigested protein making things hard on the heart, and can cause high blood pressue!  Amid all the clumping was a random white blood cell - a good thing. Then there were some random red blood cells that looked like cheerios (he called them donuts). Those, he said are red blood cells that didn't have enough iron to form completely, OR, it can be that I'm not digesting iron properly. (Did I mention that by age 50 our bodies produce only about half the origianl digestive enzymes as when we were  young - uh, I mean, younger?) There were some small irregular spots which he said is fungus. There were also spots of undigested sugar - which shows the inability to digest carbs and sugars. At that point, he asked me if I crave sugar. Ha! Silly question! There were some large jagged cells (which looked more like large islands) that they refer to as 'PAIN'  - mainly to muscles and joints - those are uric acid crystals. Ok, I know all about uric acid, or at least my left foot does!
    The good news in all of this is that a few supplements (some of them temporary) will undo this wickedness. Also good news to me, is that a lot of my physical complaints were answered today. But I've saved the best for last, which is not really good news, but sort of good news - shocking so-to-speak is this picture (click to enlarge).

See that very large splotch in the middle? That is arterial plaque!  OH MY GOD!!  He said THAT is what causes heart attacks and strokes when those cells are bigger than a red blood cell. As you can see it's WAY bigger. The good news is that getting the digestion fixed will dissolve this free-floating plaque. So $165 in supplements later, I'm ready to heal!  Hopefully I won't drop of a heart attack first!
    I had read in another health book that once you hit middle age you should take digestive enzymes with every meal - good ones! Today I learned you should take one at bed time too. Who knew?

Guests Visit, Bamboo Disappears, A Peaceful New Years

A post Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!
As the clock ticked closer to Christmas, we anxiously awaited Will (Ben's adopted brother), and his girlfriend Tracy's arrival. They flew into Orlando Xmas eve. evening and Joe and I picked them up because unfortunately Ben had to work late - (long story). Will and I texted back and forth while they were on the ground two different times before ending in Orlando. It was obvious we were all looking forward to seeing each other again. Because of an unfortunate fiasco at Ben's work-place requiring him to put in over 80 hours Xmas week, Will and Tracy ended up staying at our house 5 nights. We watched movies, drank and played Catch Phrase until wee hours in the morning - good times! 
Toward the end of their stay we had dinner down at the Hurricane restaurant in hopes of catching a good sunset, however there was a pretty heavy bank of clouds out over the gulf and we only got a little bit of color - which was quite pretty anyway.  This first pic is Ben and Jacqueline, Will and Tracy, and on the left, Ben's room mate Josh. I love this picture! It was really fun getting to spend time with all of them. (They even invited us to join them for another dinner the next night).

 

 

Joe had the week off and so we did what any two derranged people would do with their time off, we dug out the rest of the bamboo - which I now think of as bambooboo. Poor Joe did the hard part - cutting a slice (about a foot deep) through woody roots and down the two sides between the roots and steel flashing. Then he got to ("got to" - ha!) dig and pry that peice loose so we could pull it out! Then he got to carry it to the wheel barrow and come back to do it again! What did I do you ask?? I held the canes so they didn't poke Joe in the eyes. It was quite gruelling, really. After two days of that, we rented a truck and hauled it all off to the recycling facility. It was quite a site going down the road.

Will and Tracy are on their way home as I type. When they left here I cried telling Will goodbye. I wasn't planning it but he feels like family. I know how uncomfortable it made the three of them feel, but ya know, I felt a little awkward myself. I look forward to his next visit!

World Peace Christmas Wreath

So I've been wanting to do this for a couple years and finally got around to doing it. Good thing I didn't have any work to do this week (not really a good thing) or I'd STILL be working on it. This was one of those build as you go projects. I made the framework with PVC to start, but it snapped, not flexible enough. So I used flex water pipe, wrapped it with green duct tape (in hind-sight I would have spray painted it), put the garland on with wire, the lights on with wire - and tape in places and lastly, put the cloth map on with lots of strands of nylon rope. Have you ever done something you were so excited about and so sick of by the end you could hardly stand it? I am so glad it's done. But I'm pretty happy with it. Europe isn't the best representation, but oh well! Now let's see how well it holds up outside. Peace.

No More Digging for Earrings!

As you can see, there's not much counter space around our bathroom sinks, in fact, that's why my lighted makeup mirror has lived in the closet since we moved here. All my earrings have been kept in the little blue box in the left corner. Many times I would dump the whole thing over by the tub so I could spread it around and find what I was looking for. Well NO MORE!!  I've been brainstorming for awhile how to resolve this problem. Take a look.

It finally dawned on me. (click on pictures to enlarge) I bought some aluminum angle iron and drilled many holes along one edge 1/2" apart. Starting with the top rack I drilled a hole where I was certain there'd be a stud in the wall (since it's a corner where two walls come together), but no, the drill went right through. On the other end near the mirror, the drill also went right through. No problem I thought, I'll hammer in a sheetrock plug and screw into it. But there must have been something metal in there because the plug could not be hammered in all the way, and I really didn't want to break the mirror trying. So after I filled the hole and painted it I decided to use those 3M sticky things and that worked great!  Why did I wait so long?  And what is holding our house up if there's no studs in the corners? Tomorrow Ben will come over for Thanksgiving, Joe will grill the turkey and football will be watched. We may even indulge in some whiskey and eggnog. Mmmmmmm whiskey. :) Gobble Gobble

Finally, a President to be proud of!!!!

We spent election night at a restaurant that was reserved for Democratic groups. It was tons of fun and totally exciting watching the many tv screens pouring in election returns. Everytime good news appeared, the place went wild. You can only imagine the shouts whenever Florida results were shown - as Florida stayed blue for the whole election. We were thrilled!! On Thursday night at our Drinking Liberally meeting the celebration continued. I had brought an Obama cake and another person brought cookies. We toasted with a shot (B-52) and ate sugar. It was another fun night. We also learned that our corrupt incumbent elections supervisor had been beaten! All the more reason to celebrate. Viva the "Radical" "Unamerican" "Marxist" "Muslim" "Socialist" "Communist" "Unpatriotic" "Terrorist"!!!!! (and all the other ridiculous names he was called) The campaign of fear lost to the campaign of hope.

2008 'Wassup' Ad

Stealing America, Vote by Vote

STEALING AMERICA: Vote by Vote from Concentric Media on Vimeo.

A Few Things......

I hadn't posted in awhile so I thought I'd share a few pictures of things I've been doing.

Backing up to mid-September, Joe Biden's sister was here in Brandon and Joe and I went to see/hear her. It was in a small pizza shop and I managed to get a picture with her. She told some good stories of the Biden household when they were growing up. She was very energetic and had a fun sense of humor.

Our flimsy black plastic firepit cover had holes in it from getting brittle in the sun, and from two creatures who were apparently bored and poked holes in it. I bought heavier fabric-lined vinyl and made a new one.

I recently decided to make a gift-wrap paper holder from an instructional page I'd torn out of a magazine about a year ago.

I spent the better part of a day organizing (as best I could) the work bench. I should have taken a before picture because you couldn't see the surface of it at all. I drilled holes in the back for screwdrivers, put a big hook on the end to hold extension cords, hung the box units on the back which made room for more storage underneath, and threw away a lot of junk. It always feels good to have another piece of life in order.

At our Thursday night 'church' meetings we put some laminated placards on the tables to make it easy for newcomers to find us. But we always sit outside and if it's even a little breezy they blow over. So I found plastic wine-vinegar bottles that resemble the shape of beer bottles and painted them with the Drinking Liberally design. Then I filled them with white sand from my sandblasting unit in the lab. They're nice and heavy and far more visible. BTW, we did not drink the wine-vinegar :)

Michelle, a friend of ours who hadn't been to a DL meeting in awhile, came and brought me a gift. I was a little perplexed but she'd told me earlier that I'd understand when I saw it. Imagine my surprise when I see that it's a bag of pre-packaged shots of rum!!  SUH-WEET!!!!!!!  She knows I like rum and felt she had to get it for me. I'm thinking this is the answer to airplane travel. Since they don't let you bring liquids on anymore, but you can bring liquids in containers less than 3oz., WooHoo!!!!  Load those pockets up! And enjoy the flight! Thanks Michelle and Howard! I promise, this is one gift that wasn't a waste of money.

 

Financial Crisis Again, Keep McCain Away

This short video is a mini education on the Keating Scandal that McCain was directly involved with. You'll notice a certain sense of dejavu, why do people keep voting against their best interest?

Bad Economy Not Bad For All.....

McCain Camp Sinks Lower

The election ads the McCain camp keeps putting out make me laugh and amaze me altogether on just how low they can go. Truth is as far from script as can be, and new spins on Obama's words blow me away - so Christian-ly of them! (Jesus would be proud wouldn't he?) But personally I think Obama needs to start acting more Republican - fight fire with fire some say. God bless him for trying to stay on the high road, but it isn't going to get the job done. Obama should have fired off an ad immediately in response to  McCain's ridiculous remarks about calling Palin a pig (which he didn't of course, anyone with an IQ over two knew he was talking about president Bush's failed policies which McCain has supported almost 100% of the time). Joe thought Obama should have said that he was actually talking about McCain himself, kind of like Chevy Chase in Christmas vacation, who with chainsaw in hand is scolded by the neighbor who's wife was at his side, for talking to him with disrespect, and Chevy Chase says, "I wasn't talking to you!"  Though humorous, it's still too high-road for Republicans to understand. What he should have said as a Republican-esque attack goes something like this:  "John McCain has serious issues. He's forgetful, admittedly uneducated on economic issues and said himself he doesn't know enough about foreign affairs. At least with Joe Lieberman as his running mate he would have had someone to whisper the answers into his ear, but with his Gov. Palin pick he doesn't even have that! He's even called her a pig!" Now THAT'S how the Repubs. would have spun it.  Too bad, I would have loved it. Use their bullshit, spin spin spin. I hear an old song in my head, "Goin' round in circles....."

Kind Of Says It All, Doesn't It?

Paris Hilton's Mom Speaks Out

(Geez John, you'd better be a little more careful abut those big bucks people are giving you!)

Responding to McCain’s use of Paris Hilton in an attack ad, Kathy Hilton reponds via The Huffington Post:

I’ve been asked again and again for my response to the now infamous McCain celebrity ad. I actually have three responses. It is a complete waste of the money John McCain’s contributors have donated to his campaign. It is a complete waste of the country’s time and attention at the very moment when millions of people are losing their homes and their jobs. And it is a completely frivolous way to choose the next President of the United States.

 

McCain Is One Confused Old Man

From Carpetbagger

McCain expresses concern over Iraq-Pakistan border — which doesn’t exist

Remember, the entire premise of John McCain’s campaign pitch is that he has an unrivaled expertise in foreign policy.

For those of you who can’t watch clips online, McCain appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America” a few hours ago, and Diane Sawyer asked if he believed “the situation in Afghanistan is precarious and urgent.” McCain, carefully avoiding Sawyer’s adjectives, responded, “It’s a serious situation, but there’s a lot of things we need to do. We have a lot of work to do and I’m afraid that it’s a very hard struggle, particularly given the situation on the Iraq-Pakistan border.”

And in apparent attempt to win the electoral votes of Schmuck Town, McCain added, “And I would not announce that I’m going to attack Pakistan, as Sen. Obama did when he was during [sic] his campaign.”

Watching McCain humiliate himself like this is just painful. For one thing, Iraq and Pakistan don’t share a border. They’re not even especially close — Iraq and Pakistan are separated by 1,500 miles and the country of Iran.

For another, Obama did not “announce” that he’s going to “attack” Pakistan. Obama said he would authorize pursuit against high-value terrorist targets if targets slipped into areas of Pakistan where Musharraf has limited control. If John McCain seriously wants to tell voters that he would not pursue terrorists in this area, perhaps he should stop lying and start acknowledging the weakness of his counter-terrorism policy.

Regardless, the comments reflect a larger problem for McCain and his surprisingly incoherent perspective on the basics of foreign policy.

Look, I know it’s easy to make a mistake on live, national television. But Diane Sawyer had just asked about Afghanistan when McCain started talking about the Iraq-Pakistan border. Indeed, in context, it seemed as if McCain was so anxious to falsely attack Obama on U.S. policy towards Pakistan that he changed subjects in mid-sentence, leading to a gaffe that didn’t make any sense at all.

And if McCain were generally coherent on matters of foreign policy, it’d be easier to overlook minor errors like talking about borders that don’t exist. But the real problem here is that McCain’s constant confusion seems to be part of a pattern.

* McCain continues to believe Czechoslovakia is still a country.

* McCain has been confused about the difference between Sudan and Somalia.

* McCain has been confused about whether he wants more U.S. troops in Afghanistan, more NATO troops in Afghanistan, or both.

* McCain has been confused about how many U.S. troops are in Iraq.

* McCain has been confused about whether the U.S. can maintain a long-term presence in Iraq.

* McCain has been confused about the source of violence in Iraq.

* McCain has been confused about Iran’s relationship with al Qaeda.

* McCain has been confused about the difference between Sunni and Shi’ia.

* McCain has been confused about Gen. Petraeus’ responsibilities in Iraq.

* McCain has been confused about what transpired during the Maliki government’s recent offensive in Basra.

* McCain has been confused about Gen. Petraeus’ ability to travel around Baghdad “in a non-armed Humvee.”

* McCain has been so confused about Iraq, in November 2006, he couldn’t even do a live interview about the war without reading prepared notes on national television.

* McCain has been confused about his vote on the Kyl-Lieberman amendment on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

* McCain, following a trip to Germany, referred to “President Putin of Germany.” (Updated)

And this only covers McCain’s obvious incoherence on his signature issue.

I honestly don’t know what happened to this guy. John McCain used to be a sharp, reasonably honest politician. And then he decided he desperately wanted to be the Republican presidential nominee — and he threw it all away.

Maybe it’ll work out. Maybe just enough voters will be fooled by McCain’s bizarre con job. But it’s hard to imagine how.