Walter Said We're Good

About an hour after last nights post it started getting a little exciting. Storm systems blowing in at 70-80mph changed what I said real quick. We were good up to that point. Luckily and once again, the system blew south of us a few miles across the Ohio River. Yet one system seemed to bypass my side of town and ended up in the eastern part of town around I-69 and headed NE.

So Far So Good

The weathermen and women have the hardest job in the world and probably face as much criticism as a coach, or politician. This photo is a screen shot of the current radar at 6:50pm CT ... a day or two ago they said we would experience a day of winds and rain, building up to the severe weather between 4pm - 9pm. Then the range last night was between 7pm-11pm. That time has not arrived yet and anything can change quickly in Midwestern weather but so far ... I like my chances of severe weather blowing right past our location. (the blue marker).

We're Alive And Well

 Hard to believe it has been 15 days since my last post but that is what happens when cold weather hits, in addition to "March Madness" and then this afternoon the first of three to four days of rain. Can you believe they have predicted 4"-5" of the liquid by Friday??? We might have to get a wave maker for the backyard if that prediction happens, so we can surf in the backyard. That photo above covers multiple times per day for the last 15 days, one photo does it all.

Calm After The Storm

I didn't realize until now that I had not posted here since our tornado warning last Friday. That is how nice the weather had been since then and none of us have been doing much, at least enough to blog about. I'm sitting here right now in the middle of the afternoon, windows open, birds singing and Walter snoring in 75° weather. A week into March that is pretty nice but still plenty of time to change into winter weather.

Teasing Us With Spring

With it raining most of the day yesterday there just wasn't any chance of taking an afternoon walk, otherwise all three of us might have floated away while walking the path. Heidi came out late afternoon but only to relieve herself and then headed back inside. The warmer afternoon temperatures are nice but those overnight lows make it quite cold first thing in the morning.

So when Stella and I went out for our first morning walk in two days, the "feels like" temperature was 23° !!! The forecast is telling me it will get up to 51° later today and that is fine with me. With the wide range of temperatures in a 12 hour period, Spring is teasing us. I want to feel the heat of the sun, not just see its brightness.

Cold temperatures were not the start to our day though. That happened in the dark bedroom a little after 5am when I thought I heard bloodhound toenails pacing back and forth on the hardwood floor in the bedroom. It's a familiar sound and I knew Stella was wanting to go outside. I could hear her stomach making those gurgling sounds again and figured she would eat some grass to settle her stomach

With it freezing cold outside I wasn't going to accompany her, even with a coat. I wasn't planning on getting dressed to go outside and figured she would be back at the door to come inside within 10-15 minutes. With the announcement of Apple updating their macOS, it was a perfect time to download that 2.5Gb of data while I waited on Stella. It would be a total of 5Gb for my iMac and MacBook Air and with the free data period (2am-8am) it would be the perfect time to do the update.

I have noticed Safari is faster than before after that update. There were some updates to their built-in privacy internet program. I found it interesting that I had to give my computer permission to allow access to Google Mail or the other way arround. I had not seen that before anytime since October 2010. I only use my gmail address to log into my blog on Blogger.

With the moon in the southern sky, I had a passenger plane flying from the north. When I see plane traffic I always wonder what their destination is and what model of plane they are flying. I am around 70 miles south of the Indianapolis airport so I do get to see a lot of air traffic, especially at night.  I forgot to mention that within a few steps of our walk this morning my face and hands were freezing as if the temperatures were in single digits.

One good thing about the freezing temperature this morning, the wet soggy path was frozen hard enough to walk on. Just the little bit of sun you see up ahead turned that frozen path into over saturated softness and as we approached the back of the field there was standing water on the path in the two to three usual places.

When you miss a day of walking due to weather you can count on the strength and number of scents will keep Stella more than busy. Just after she made that first turn I didn't know if we would ever leave that area. To get from this picture to the one below where she was on the right side of the path, looking in her direction, it took half the total time we used to finish the walk. She wasn't eating deer scat, just thoroughly investigating what her nose was picking up.

She darted across the path as if she was onto something but it was a false alarm. Within seconds of the sudden change in direction, she was walking toward me.

I did look at the different WordPress Themes yesterday. They have added quite a few new blog designs, or what Blogger calls templates. I've never gotten use to the word theme that WordPress uses. Either I was too lazy to really look for something different or I had lost my urge to make any changes ... nothing happened and I doubt I looked longer than three or four minutes. I decided a late afternoon siesta was the better option.

My own test with grains, beans and wheat bread continued yesterday. I am still eating some of those foods until they are gone. I hate wasting food and I wanted to see what combination caused indigestion. I have confirmed it does not matter if it is normal Jif Peanut Butter or one that is a different brand with "natural" on the label ... I can no longer eat Peanut Butter of any kind.

David's Bread is a high quality organic wheat bread with grain and seeds ... sometimes I can eat it without issues and other times I am reaching for a Tums. I am cutting out all grains anyway, so that will take care of that problem.

I went to the US News & Word Report where a panel of medical experts test, analyze and rank over 40 different diets. I've looked there before in past years. Their latest review was this past January. They have never had anything good to say about Paleo or Keto. This morning I had a different idea. I wanted to look at three kinds of diet and pull off their macronutrient percentages.

The diets I looked at were Mediterranean, Flexitarian and Paleo. For a man my age the recommended daily calorie intake is 2,200 grams per day. That is an US recommendation not the panel of experts. I wanted to see what percentages were recommended for Protein, Fat and Carbs. After writing them down so I could look at them to compare the three diets, there were some pretty interesting results.

For those that don't know how to convert a percent of those three topics into grams of food allowed per day ... the formula is this:  calories times the percentage, divided by the number of grams for Fat, Protein and Carbs. There are 4 grams of carbs and protein per calorie. There are 9 grams of fat per calorie.

An example for a daily intake of 2,200 calories would be:

2,200 x .29 / 4 = 159.5 grams of Protein per day in the Mediterranean Diet. It did recommend to eat only 1,527 calories per day for a man my age, so the amount of protein would be reduced.

As I looked at the different limits by each type of diet, it all fell in line with the way I have been eating for a year or so. I call it "My Diet" because I take a little from each kind, overall. I have tried enough of these diets since 2014 that I know which veggies to buy, which fruits to eat if I want to lose weight and those I can add back if weight is not an issue. I know that most of my diet has been and will be fresh veggies and fruits with more salmon, trout or halibut than chicken or beef.

Some of those days will be meatless, mixed in, not intentionally but because there will be times I will want to eat some veggie recipes I have used in the past, like Spinach Lasagna. Once or twice per month I'll lean Keto/Paleo where it's only meat and veggies. Pizza or burgers on special occasions I guess.

I was about to give up all dairy products because the short time I have eliminated them, my winter cough has decreased and my sinuses are clear of mucus. Yet, there are too many articles that overlap different diets that consistently mention cottage cheese and greek yogurt as beneficial for gut health.

I have to watch it if I add those two because I am addicted to both cottage cheese and yogurt.

Yesterday was my first day in a long time of getting on my road bicycle that is attached to an indoor trainer, where I can ride inside. I am still feeling the soreness after an easy 30 minute ride. Stella sat and watched me, not sure what was going on. Heidi slept through all the excitement. For a while I plan to ride every other day inside and hopefully be in good enough shape by warmer weather in April to take 25-40 mile rides outside. The 40 mile ride use to be the daily norm after work, then a 100 mile ride one day on the weekend.

I am probably past the days of riding those 100 mile rides.

So things are pretty well set up I think as far as eating. I have some new things I want to do besides the to do list. I need to get in better shape because just the short hour of climbing, leaning around the bank along the driveway cutting small saplings had me sore for a couple of days.

I didn't watch the Apple announcements yesterday. I never do but always read the day after articles to see what they are going to do. Since they don't sell software like Microsoft does they have decided they have to make their billions somewhere else. People like me are not upgrading or buying a new iPhone. Once I read that their new version of Apple TV would not carry prime time sports, there was nothing for me.

From what I have read the past year, Apple TV is the best streaming service of all, but if I cannot use it to watch live games in football, baseball or basketball, then this Apple customer will not buy their Apple TV services.

Speaking of sports, besides a day of bright sunshine I will get to watch a Reds game this afternoon in Atlanta and then an IU basketball game tonight at 7pm. Fit in an afternoon hound walk, some steamed broccoli and baked salmon ... that is almost a perfect day.

It's good to see the tables have turned in D.C. All I can say is, payback is a bitch and I hope they nail every one of them involved. I hope Lindsey Graham gets his request for a special counsel to investigate those involved with the real corruption and those whom directed this mess.

How many of you have lost friends due to politics since pre-election 2016 ??

It's trying to get warmer here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana and that's a good thing.

Where Did It Go ??

It's not quite 9am. Stella is still sleeping overtime and that's fine since there will be no morning walk this morning. It has rained all night and has continued the first couple of hours we have been awake. It is supposed to stop around 11am so maybe an afternoon walk might be in the plans, late afternoon.

I feel like writing though. Not ranting but writing. I can hear it raining as I do.

Some might remember how I was going to open up and be more transparent, as some would say, on this blog. It was going to be my one and only blog where I would write about all or at least most things in my life and those of the hounds. I did a few posts like that back in December. It felt okay I guess but I didn't catch myself jumping up and down with that much excitement. So here I sit this morning, writing about where that urge went ... plus it's still raining, and I feel like writing. Quesitons have been filling up my mind this past weekend.

There were a few days after moving my main blog to my "photo blog', one that I started in November 2017, (yes this blog) where I was waking up at 3am or 4am and was wide awake. I had all kinds of thoughts that I wanted to write about and did. I guess it was okay but I didn't think about it that much. Besides, my blogging the past few years has been mostly about the hounds anyway. Especially during the winter months.

Still, just like chaning the design of the blog, I wanted to change the direction.

As I read different blogs I follow, I see a few bloggers that write in the open. They hold nothing back about what is going on in their life. Their life, good or bad, is an open book. This blog will never be that way because I can't write that way. I am personally not that way. It's more about privacy than hiding behind a wall. I've always leaned toward privacy, even years before the world knew what blogs were.

I also notice those that do post more in the open are also using their blog for some sort of income. For a few it is their only income if I believe what I read. This blog will never have advertisements filled with affiliate links. That's a hard game to play, one that I tried before I ever started blogging here. I will never put a button where you can donate to the dog treat fund, or to the hounds themselves. It has been suggested by a couple of readers but it's not really needed. Just having you stop by to look at their photos is enough for them ... and me.

All of us that do blog, do it our own way. That is what is nice about following a few of them. Every blogger is different with great information on some of them while others tell great stories, or detailed sad stories. Others have fantastic photos and that is all their blog is about, photography. Variety is a good thing.

I sat down ready to write about things in general because I felt like it and it was raining. (still is) Then I LOSE MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT !!!!! God I hate that. I am aware that I change my mind a lot and it is possible more than average. That's just me. I can't remember when it really started. It might have started when I retired and have more time on my hands. With a job my life was more structured. There was never enough time in a day to get everything finished, let alone mentally wander.

When I worked I can only remember changing my mind on life outside of work. Work focussed me and I was a workaholic on top of that focus. Time meant nothing then, only to get the work done. Until I neared my retirement decison, I don't remember spending a lot of time with questions running around my head. There was no mental chaos.

Now it's great to have the freedom to do most anything I want, when I want. Of course the hounds, past and present since April 2014, took advantage of that freedom and promoted me to "professional doorman" and "hound caretaker", thus giving them all the freedom and food they need. It's a good position actually since they are pretty easy to work for and meetings are not required. Nor do they have a lot of rules or regulations.

We don't have to be 'politically correct' either ... that's always a good thing.

I can see it too, just like you are thinking, as you read this. This post is going nowhere. I am jumping from one thought to another with nothing in order. It started out promising. Sitting here trying to write, I look just like Stella does in that photo ... lost ... but not as confushed as she is.

I look back on past blogs I have started over the years and then deleted them for one reason or another. Most of them were just impulse decisions or an idea that popped into my head. A spur of the moment type of blog. They never worked out really, had only a few readers and I was basically just talking to myself in a public form. I deleted them, some within 24 hours. Maybe it was just the design building I liked.

So why couldn't I transfer those thoughts to this blog?

For some reason this blog feels like it is made more for the hounds and not me. Of course it is winter and there is not a lot to write about since I am not involved yet with any house projects. Yet, I am not sure those kind of activities could be blog worthy. I have blogged about stuff like that in the past. I have a private blog where I can record house projects, maintenance, problems or ideas. Other's blog about stuff like that but in some cases that is the theme of their blog.

Here it would fall under the "Other Stuff" I guess.

I've also wondered lately where did that obsession of mine go from 2011 - 2015, to sell out, buy an RV, or a trailer or tent camp and travel full-time? I have the answer to part of that question. It's not an excuse but a fact ... a bloodhound(s) is hard to travel with. She (they) liked taking rides and could handle an 8 hour day in the car/FJ with no issues.

It's those times not driving that they are hard to deal with. The few short trips I took with the hounds were more of a hassle than enjoyment ... plus they like being home. How do I know that? In June 2015 as we pulled into the driveway after traveling for only six days, all three of them started barking with excitement. I had not even got to the top of the hill and they knew where they were. They were excited they were home.

Once inside they ran from room to room, tongues hanging out, more barking, smiles on their faces and eventually falling into their favorite spots to sleep. At the time I had two basset hounds and a bloodhound. Sadie was back in her element and loved the field. The two I have now like to ride but would rather keep their routines right here.

I can't say that I will travel a lot if I am ever 'houndless'  because I like my daily routine also. There is a chance that I'll take some trips but a bloodhound will not be included. A basset hound? They are much easier to travel with, no comparison. So trips west with a basset hound is possible I guess.

It will be like anything I've decided ... nothing firm, it will be analyzed to death, maybe even mapped out but in the end it will be mostly impulsive. Impulsive acts and I get along quite well. Always have.

Bad weather always seems to bring out the thoughts to make changes. Blog changes, diet changes, future changes, or activity changes. Will any of them happen? They might or might not because it just doesn't matter. Really, it doesn't. I'll do what I feel like or may decide to make no changes. It's hard to say. Those changes could be nothing but passing thoughts.

A few thoughts on my diet or eating decisions.

I've done a lot of reading this past week, especially last weekend. I found some new things to consider, read some stuff I already knew and was reminded of what I had read only a few years ago when I went through the same process of deciding what to do.

Just like blogging, I will do what is good for me. In this case it's grains and dairy. Depending on which doctor you are reading, those are either good food groups or not good for you. I can tell which is good or not ... how my body reacts to eating from those two food groups.

As an example ... Paleo/Keto says no grains, no dairy ... Plant Based says eat grains, some dairy or no dairy. My digestive system says eat from neither food group unless I want gobs of indigestion and sleepless nights. Just like I blogged about three years ago, when I went to the Plant Based diet, my digestion problems came back tenfold this past weekend. I lived on Tums ... but following the Plant Based Diet rules of eating multi-grain bread, brown rice, pasta, some beans, lots of carbs .... that is all suppose to be good and healthy for you. My body was saying something different.

Past blog posts on the other blog will show that all of that went away when I followed the Paleo recommendations. They like veggies, fruits and meats. I also didn't spend all day feeling hungry. I also ate fewer calories per day. I didn't feel lethargic. My stomach didn't expand and feel as hard as a rock at 3:30am like it did Saturday night/Sunday morning.

So yesterday after I cut out all grains, no pasta, no breads, no brown rice, no lentils and no butter ... I had a full night of sleep and didn't take one Tums tablet. I felt full throughout the day. I bacon and one egg for breakfast with no issues later. For dinner I combined a large salad with Italian seasoned grass-feed ground beef, mixed in pasta sauce. I was expecting a little indigestion from that but found out when I didn't have any it must have been the pasta in the past that was mixed with the sauce.

It is just like anything else, from traveling with dogs, different diets, activities, or life in general ... everyone has their own opinions what is the best thing to do but none of us can actually experience what others feel doing the same things. Just like doctors and their books or their affiliate filled blogs or online products to buy ... they all justify why their way is the best way.

The fact is ... you can only decide what is best for you.

I can only decide what is the best way to eat based on what my body is telling me. I can read all the medical articles and books I want, look at all the different RV blogs and forums I want but I can only decide what is best for me.

I have always done that and always will. I also will always change my mind about things. I'll change what car I drive or whether to have two hounds,  four hounds or none at all. Life is constant change full of surprises. I probably think and analyse it more than most people but it's no big deal. All I can do is ride it, make adjustments and enjoy every day. Like Stella says ... kickback, relax and let it flow.

I was looking at the different lists of foods last night suggested by a three or four different diet ideas. I found myself moving back to my own diet, where I take each one of them and modify them. I mean can oatmeal be that bad for you just because Paleo says no grains, while a Plant Based diet said its a great breakfast? What about potatoes or sweet potatoes? Carrots? Bananas and apples ... Keto says no ... doctors say yes.

Do you see what I am saying?

So really it's just eating whole food, good food ... no packaged food, no salt, no soda, no fruit juice, stay away from pastries, and things will be okay. I just can't see how a nice thick piece of fresh caught salmon can be bad for you. Or even a pizza full of veggies and no meats. How can a banana and apple per day be frowned upon just because it throws you over the Keto 20g of carbs per day limit .... it's good fruit !!!!

It's just like blogging .. one post a day, multiple posts per day, once a week, once every three to four days or none at all. Or a modern looking blog vs the old style like I have now while losing interest in this design? A skinless chicken breast with steamed broccoli or beans instead because they are a major source of protein on a Plant Based diet ... and for me, gobs of indigestion?

Rambling or fact supported blog posts? Politically correct words or let it fly?

AIt never seems to end. All those questions make life fun. I am not as crazy as I sound nor some readers belive. It's just I type them out and publish them for the world to see. So in a way I am open when I write but I just don't have enough chaos to make things interesting.  :)

Some other weekend activity of the hounds captured with my iPhone ---

That is why it's another great morning here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Heidi's Walk Is Rained Out

It wasn't going to happen today for either hound. It didn't look like that much rain and didn't sound like it was raining hard. When I stepped outside the carport it was coming down harder than I would want to walk in and harder than Stella or Heidi likes. So Heidi's consecutive days record for walking is broken but she still has the consecutive walks streak. In the meantime I've been tired of basketball today. It was on the tv with the sound turned off as I read books. Maybe I'll change the blog theme (design) to have something to do.  :)