The Good The Bad The Ugly

This post is long, with some rambling or a lot of rambling and some photos I found on my Nikon D3200 from September 27. A lot to read here and believe me it's all good, bad or ugly. I did not post last night because late afternoon I received my 34 page medical report from the hospital I had ordered. At the same time the postal clerk handed me my new Apple Watch Series 5, so I had that to set up and pair with my phone since I now have two watches that have me connected 24/7 JUST IN CASE I might have a medical issue living alone and need emergency services with my sister and friends to be notified.

Where do I start?

I think today I will put the description or commentary BEFORE the photo I am speaking of instead of under it. I've asked before but can't remember the answer, which do you like? I have seen it both ways on the different blogs I read.

This morning's sunrise was beautiful with cloudy skies and well after sunrise. After a restless night of sleep, after letting the hounds outside for their morning trip I went back to bed and they followed until 7am. I KNOW why I didn't sleep well and that will be explained under the Good and Bad categories.

So I'll start with the GOOD stuff and end with the UGLY stuff. How's that?

First of all the hounds are doing great during all of this lifestyle change. They have barely changed their routines while I am recouping from surgery. Yes, I have to watch when I open the pantry door which not only contains food but my ballcap hangs on the inside of the door and IF I WERE to put that cap on, that is a signal to Stella that we are taking HER walk. I don't wear that ballcap at all right now. So yes, Stella would like to walk ... I would like to take her walking but that is for another day.

I am getting stronger on a daily basis. The past two days I can feel my hip is much stronger as I move my leg sideways while laying in bed or walking to the left or right of me in the kitchen stepping sideways. No pain of any kind, no soreness later ... but I am still cautious how I make turns in the kitchen and when I walk.

The past three days I have been taking fewer steps for the day but have spent more time walking on my own WITH MY CANE IN MY HAND JUST IN CASE I NEED IT TO BALANCE !! I have made the long walk to my mailbox on Saturday and Monday. Based on the "workout" mode of the Apple iPhone Activity app ... that walk to the mailbox is a total of .26 of a mile. I walk slowly, short steps and am always aware when stepping off the curb or onto the sidewalk.

A few have asked "how do you feed your dogs if you cannot bend over more than 90°?" Even MJ the petsitter asked to see me feed them last Saturday when she stopped by. She too was worried I was breaking the 90° rule. That rule is set to prevent the hip from popping out while it's healing even though my surgeon told me there is only a 2%-3% chance of that happened and when it does it happens within the first 2 weeks after surgery. I am heading for my 4th complete week after surgery already. Time is flying !!

I have claimed "the grabber" as the best too EVER INVENTED !!!! You can see how I grip the food dish after they are finished eating. I use the same technique when sitting the dish down with kibble inside it. The large water bowl is a little trickier but when I lift that bowl there is never any water left in it. The hounds drink two of those bowls per day. To sit the half filled bowl of water down, I bend no more than 90° with my bad leg raised as I lean on the cane in my right hand. Since I am flexible that is not hard to do and is the same technique I use picking up dog poop to bag it and throw it in the trash bin outside.

I have also started reading books again. I need to read just one, finish it and then go to the next but I don't. I read multiple books at different times. I had two great books about IU basketball and IU football arrive this weekend from Amazon. Amazon Prime has been my lifesaver as well as Fry's Market grocery delivery.

I did get good news yesterday when I called the doctors office with some questions. I HAVE PERMISSION TO DRIVE AGAIN and it will be up to me which car I take considering that I don't break the 90° rule for bending over to get in or out of the vehicle. Also the seat cannot be adjusted where my butt is lower than my knees for hip reasons. I have not decided which vehicle I will drive first.
 

Why TWO watches???

With the latest heart issue that was found on my EKG at the hospital, or really the ultrasound photos of my heart they took Saturday night before surgery ... I thought I'd be completely safe. For once. I wanted fall detection protection 24/7 and I would not have that with just one phone during the 2 hours or so it takes to recharge the batter to 100%.

As I said in previous posts, I found out laying in the ER that Saturday morning with the watch on my wrist and my iPhone at home ... I could not supply the nurses and doctors with contact information (phone numbers) or call anyone to let them know what happened because my Series 4 did NOT have the 'cellular' feature. I was trying to save money last January when I bought it and thought I'd have my iPhone with me most of the time so why buy the 'cellular' feature?

I have both now.

Once the hounds are feed in the morning or afternoon, they do the same thing EVERY TIME ... rest and relaxation in the living room.

That does not mean later that Heidi doesn't come into the kitchen to look for any missed kibble that may have been dropped on the floor or maybe a dog treat. MJ had them addicted to treats because she would always give them a treat before she left after feeding them during the time I was in the hospital and at home recovering.

Before I did anything with my new Apple Watch,  I opened the envelop I signed for as certified mail for my medical report from the hospital ... all 34 pages of it. I read every page and every word. A lot of it was duplicate information but was recorded at different times during the day and night. All of the lab reports were there but was way above my education level to tell whether I had good blood or bad blood. They said everything was good.

I read in detail about the broken hip which more of a broken femur near the hip in multiple places as the hip joint stayed in place. I admit I could not finish reading the description of the surgery step by step with the long list of items they installed in my hip and leg. I felt slightly nauseous when I saw the list of items. I did not want to picture how wide that incision was spread so they had room to fit all of those new items inside me.

I moved on to their report on my heart issue "serious Aortic Valve Stenosis".

I read every word, then went back and read it again. I thought back to the questions I asked the MD when he broke the bad news to me, where he never gave me an answer. I NEVER experienced their 8 symptoms for AVS, ever, even after riding hard on those Friday rides that are recorded on the Strava app.

I kept reading and see the word NORMAL over and over ... almost too many times in their write-up. IF everything is so NORMAL than why is it labeled SERIOUS ????

I had read online about AVS before receiving the report and found out that it is categorized as "serious" when the valve opening is less than 1cm squared.  My valve is .1cm below that ... at .9cm squared. EVERYTHING ELSE WITH MY HEART IS NORMAL based on what they wrote. The word "Normal" stuck out in their written report.

Yet ... I WILL consult my new MD, then a cardiologist and another for a second opinion here in the months of October and November. My new General Practitioner is so booked up that he cannot see me until November 20th and other reputable GP's the hospital gave me to call are no better.

With the valve opening being so close to 1cm squared I felt much better than I would have to see it lower than .6 if you know what I mean. It also raised the question ... how long can I have this heart procedure or surgery AFTER this hip replacement rehab??

Just a week ago my surgical side leg, ankle and foot were so swollen I could barely put on the New Balance shoe I wore from the hospital. The more I rested sitting in a chair the larger they got. When I would lay in bed I'd elevate the foot but that didn't help much because it was not much higher than my heart. To elevate the foot on a different kitchen chair while sitting, hurt too much in my groin/hip area so I did not do it.

But the last of the good news ... the past few days when I wake up, the leg, foot and ankle are the exact same size as my left. From what I read in the pamphlet they gave me at the hospital and online information I was told the surgical side leg, ankle and foot could be swollen for up to 60 days after surgery.

Due to that estimate and the results I firmly believe the supplement I am taking for faster healing played a major role in getting that surgical side leg, ankle and foot back to normal size 20 days after surgery. I am only relaying my story with this product and IN NO WAY am I prescribing it to you ... but this was what was recommended to me to take.

When you have orders to sit only in a straight back chair, one with a slightly higher seat, those wood kitchen chairs can make your butt really sore after a few days. I went to Amazon and searched for an orthopedic seat pad and found multiple ones to choose from. My first one was just a square pad of memory foam 4" thick and it did the trick. Even this morning it might feel better than this seat cushion I bought over the weekend.

Yet, this is also comfortable and has memory foam but is cut to fit those painful pelvic bones from sitting on hard wood a few weeks, forming exactly to my build. This pad can also be used for an office chair or a CAR SEAT !!!!!

So what is the last GOOD thing that happened ????

For the first time ever I ordered a pizza ONLINE last night, paid for it including the tip for delivery and ... used the coupon I received in the mail with Pappa John's pizza. I have now declared them the best pizza where I live by a long shot ... I'll not name here who was my previous #1. I took advantage of the 5 digit code for discounts and bought more than I should have but I can stretch it out into 2-3 more meals and I never get tired of pizza, cheese sticks or those double chocolate brownies that came with it.  Ha Ha

Yes .... I fell off my healthy way of eating ... but I thought after these past three weeks why not?  LOL

Yesterday was beautiful. I stopped on my walk inside my fence to take this photo. The mountains at this angle look so much different than standing on the patio while taking a photo.

Now .... the BAD stuff.

No doubt the leader of the Bad stuff was ordering my first pizza online. It was quick, simple and of course like any other business they gave me "reward" points and the only way to take advantage of them is to buy another pizza. It was at my door 23 minutes after I hit the purchase button on my computer. 23 minutes to the best pizza I've had since my trip to Mother Bear's back in Bloomington Indiana.

I called my surgeon's office yesterday to ask some questions. Those are always answered by his RN staff but yesterday's answers were a little different. Only because this RN didn't have the answer right off the top of her head. On two occasions she had to ask her supervisor. Maybe a brand new RN ???

Since I feel no pain when I bend over near 90° I was really hoping to get approval to bend normal. If I could I then could pet Heidi which is slightly over the limit when I sit in a chair and try to reach her. She needs some pets and hugs since she has a look of confusion when she stares at my skinned up knee which is healing or when I walk with my cane.

That rule would also give me a clear chance of sitting in either of my vehicles and I could drive. In one car I am just inside the 90° limit when I sit in the drivers seat. But it's enough ... no pain getting in or out of the driver's seat.

There was a great sunset last night. I was happy I was able to catch it ... only because the Monday Night Football game sucked.  Ha Ha

I have 7 more weeks before my first General Practitioner appointment. I have been told by various people he is THE BEST MD in town and this town is full of doctors and medical facilities. He is also the doctor my PT works for as he completes his studies to become an RN.

I've told a couple of friends these past three weeks have been worse than a 'caged animal' since I was getting in really good shape riding the bike. If any readers are runners, cyclists or athletes or ex-athletes .... you know how your body craves your activity once it's in shape. Your mind may tell you 'not today' but your body always seems to override that. That is the only reason I rode my bike that Saturday morning when I wrecked.

But since I cannot pace around the house like a caged animal, these three weeks have been even worse. Although I sat still a lot in Indiana during the winter months, that does not mean I like sitting still. I didn't when I lived back there during good weather and with great weather out here it's even harder!!!

That is the hardest part of all of this ... sitting still, resting and letting my body heal. The worst part is I cannot ride a bike even indoors right now and my brain is screaming for it. But listening to my body, it tells me to cool it, back off and let it heal. I will and I am doing that, but it's hard to do.

For many years before all of this happened I use to tell friends when they were alarmed that I did not have a regular doctor that saw me on an annual basis ... I don't do that because it would lead me to medical problems. Since I am over 65 years old I have always believed from what I have seen ... once medical issues begin at that age ... they don't stop ... it's one thing after another NO MATTER how good your diet was, how active you were or how good of shape you were in.

I've seen older athletes devastated after they turned 65 years old with medical issues, sometimes leading to their unexpected death. NOW ... I am NOT saying I am closer to dying but what I am saying or wondering about is ... have I hopped on the "medical problem train" and it's all downhill after this? My dad use to joke with me as he listed all of his medications and doctor appoints that were then part of his life ... he'd laugh and say "so they call these the Golden Years" ... he was a teacher/basketball coach, never smoked, never drank, was in good shape ... until his first Quad by-pass surgery. His next 30 years was filled with one medical issue after another.

Every night as I sit on that chair with the seat cushion watching ballgames, Stella sleeps right by my foot, sometimes on my foot until I go to bed. She never lets me get too far away.

I found these following photos on the card in my Nikon D3200 this morning. This shows what a beautiful day this past Sunday was in the Wild West. I zoom'd in on the Mule Mountains, Miller Peak and the Huachuca's.

I clicked on the green runner icon on my watch yesterday afternoon to record a 'workout' in my Activity App not just a normal walk. I turned left on the sidewalk and headed for the end of the block like I did Sunday afternoon. A lot of neighbors have dogs, large barking dogs ... all standing at their gate of their backyard fence. We all have concrete block backyard fences with a full size steel gate.

Yesterday that ONE IN A MILLION EVENT happened and it could have been ugly really quick.

As I was approaching a house where I had never seen or heard a dog, I hear a bark telling me that the dog was huge and most likely did not like anyone near his/her house or yard even if they didn't live there. I immediately stopped, slightly scared and my brain running through all of my options at the speed of sound. I wanted to keep looking forward just in case this dog made it to the sidewalk. I did NOT want to turn my back while heading the way I came from.

Nor did I want to walk backwards while looking forward to keep an eye out for the dog. I could stumble over those cracks you see on a sidewalk that is between each section of concrete. LUCKILY I hear this ladies voice calling her dog but that didn't help. As the dog, a big mastiff, walked on the sidewalk toward me ... she was there grabbing the dog's collar. Hard to believe a small Asian woman could control a large dog like that.

Needless to say I will NOT be walking that direction again. It was the same direction Stella and I use to take our daily sunrise walk. I never saw or heard that dog until yesterday.

In today's world of social media, texting, blogging and sharing files ... phone calls are becoming rare and emails even rarer. So like many of you probably, most of our communication is by texting or using Facebook Messenger ... or even email for some.

The danger in all of that electronic communication is "misunderstanding" what the other is saying or meant to say. It seems to happen a lot to me over the years, as far back as 2000 when I started a small online business that turned into a failed large online business 10 years later.

Those misunderstandings by both people leads to arguments, something I never like and don't have time for. But I just had a face to face argument with my neighbor last week so I HAVE self analyzed to find out if it is just me that caused that argument or past misunderstandings in electronic communication.

After I read my medical report yesterday, I was happy about the heart news. I KNOW ... GOD DO I KNOW ... until I have a professional cardiologist OR TWO look at my ultra sound of my heart, the EKG and the written report NOTHING can be determined UNTIL THAT TIME and ONLY FROM A CARDIOLOGIST !!!!

My friend did NOT understand that or thought I didn't know that ... she wanted to voice her UNprofessional opinion about it while I was in the middle of texting to her and the other two friends in our group discussion. We have talked in our 4 person group since iMessage was invented. So we all are familiar with texting and sometimes words might not be clear enough.

I was just relaying the information I blogged about here ... the .9cm compared to the 1cm, the word NORMAL scattered throughout the report ... I had not finished typing because I was typing on my phone instead of my computer keyboard, where I can type as fast as any madman.

She cut me off and went off on her own, to lecture to me how I was making my own decisions where a cardiologist should be making them. I had to ask her ... "do you think I am that stupid, really????"

Nothing I hate worse then having to type one key at a time on a small phone keyboard then being interrupted before I can even finish.  This person is notorious for doing exactly that and "hold on let me explain" has been used many times by me and others.

But it didn't stop there ... in fact that texting argument moved into my UGLY section of this post.

These last 4 photos were taken a few days ago with the infamous Canon G9 X Mark II camera that has the large black spot on the sensor ... at least sometimes it does. I only had to edit that black mark out of one photo out of the four photos taken.

I tried to stop typing in this texting argument. Mainly because I wasn't and won't argue while texting or emailing. Two ... I was tired of typing on my phone and the voice texting makes things even worse with inaccurate translation from your mouth to the iMessage screen. BUT SHE KEPT RAMBLING... she was mad and was going to make sure I knew it. Friends huh ????

She finally stopped her madness when she realized I wasn't replying and I might not be reading them. As far as I was concern she had just embarrassed herself in front of me and our two other long times friends, friends as far back as our college days.

What did she finally decide and texted me so I would know ... I was at fault for the conversation turned ugly ME ... all because I was NOT going to let a cardiologist make a decision ... I NEVER SAID ANYTHING CLOSE TO THAT. That I was the guilty one in all of that mess.

So ... to let her cool off for a while I have blocked her on iMessage, phone calls, deleted and blocked her on Facebook ... basically I don't have time for that crap right now. Basically most things said over the recent years have been nothing but confrontational from the Cubs to IU sports.

Thinking back to that medical report, it was UGLY when I saw the itemized list of things inserted into my total hip replacement. I cannot even post that list here without being sick to my stomach. Luckily they sent me two CD of files and my x-rays but with them being in a Microsoft Windows format I will have to research how I can see them on my Apple iMac ... because recently Apple has basically shut off all Window files with their OS and iOS updates.

I can't wait for one reason to see my first cardiologist ... which is it ... NORMAL or SERIOUS??? Also which of the 4 options are you going to do to fix it?

I asked and was told to take the prescribed Bayer Aspirin Low Dosage 81mg for 6 weeks after my surgery. The original prescribed small bottle ran out last week so I bought my own large bottle. WHY DIDN'T THE MD OR THE SURGEON TELL ME HOW LONG TO TAKE THIS BLOOD THINNER ?????

Why did I have to call the doctor's office 3 weeks later to find out I MUST take that Aspirin for 6 WEEKS after surgery. To me that is just unacceptable when the MD cannot tell you that or at least write it out in the discharge papers where they listed the pills they had prescribed !!!!

No worries ... the ranting is over.

It's a beautiful day this morning, it's already late morning since the post took so long to write but I wanted to fill you in since I didn't write a post last night. I'll probably wait until tomorrow night to  post something again so I can get back on schedule of writing about what we did that day.

All things really are good and I consider myself very fortunate to be in the shape I am in now with a bright future ahead. I just didn't plan on being interrupted as I enjoyed life.

The hounds are loving the Wild West ... they like the sunshine!!

Such Weirdness & Food

I apologize for leaving you hanging Friday afternoon. Little did I know when I mentioned in crimson font color around 1:35pm that I was NOT even close to ending that phone call with my friend. We met at college in 1975 and use to have long discussions then about bicycles, bicycle racing and 35mm cameras. So really, long conversations are not new to us in any form. I'll get to my weird Friday but I want to just add a short Saturday update before I get started. The weirdness continues.

You know how you have your routines to start your day. While the hounds eat their breakfast kibble I make my coffee and I always glance out the large picture window in the kitchen toward my neighbor's house.  This morning it was strange because my neighbor's truck was still in the driveway ... after 9am ??? What's up with that ... he never misses work.

We had stayed up late last night, as I watch the first three movies of The Bourne Identity back to back to back. Then Stella woke me up around 5am, standing by the bed whining in front of my face .... I heard her stomach 'girgling' and knew she wanted to go outside. She would eat grass in the dark ... I've seen it before at that time of day but today I did not go outside with her.

Instead of staying up, I went back to sleep until 9am. It had not dawned on me what day it was ... but there was a 'strange feel' this morning. I did my normal routine of two cups of coffee and reading on the internet like always ...

As I glanced at the upper right corner of my computer monitor I see why I felt weird this morning and why there was confusion about seeing my neighbor's truck in the driveway .... it was Saturday !!!!!  I had no idea it was Saturday. He works Monday through Friday.

That also explained why after 30 minutes of doing internet searches for Indiana High School basketball scores last night at 1:30am, that I could not find them. My local school is in the "Semi State" as well as the town 12 miles away. I wanted to find out if they won or not. The problem I realized while walking this morning .... duh .... the games are today, not yesterday ... I forgot it wasn't Saturday, until this morning.

How's that for a senior moment?

So when I left you yesterday, abruptly and a total loss of focus, it was early Friday afternoon and I had plans. Once my Best Buy delivery arrived (DVD Player), I was going to go grocery shopping for a couple of reasons. (1) I needed food. (2) I was changing my diet drastically.

Not diet ... but the way I am going to eat. I'll talk about the food decision later in this post.

This morning as I turned to catch Stella running ... she was already right behind me ... then slowed to a crawl right in front of me.

Little did I know when I posted yesterday that we were not even HALFWAY into our phone conversation. We had texted earlier and he was thinking like I was ... "if we have time to text, typing back and forth, why not call?"  He called me as I was walking to get my phone.

We always cover a wide range of tropics, from sports, politics, society, personal opinions, bicycles, getting older, our we insane, moderation in eating, road trips, past road trips, plans, my retirement living, his semi retirement and can't stop working, my hounds, his maple trees, my cynical view of the world, his agreement in being cynical .... you get the idea. We cover everthing !!!!

Ralph is also a big believer in the Apple Earbuds ... I never have been. He almost always talks while wearing them and if he is in the car he uses bluetooth, I don't talk at all when driving nor have I set up bluetooth in my car for my phone. In fact when I drive my iPhone gives out a warning that I am not available because I am driving.

One thing we both can do and do quite well during these long conversations, is fixing meals, working on projects in his garage and me in my yard or house, while he pounded on metal things in his garage I was opening my Best Buy delivery and installing my small DVD Blu-Ray player to my tv ... still talking back and forth nonstop.  :)

He doesn't have dogs but did not mind when I warned him "you are going to hear some loud barking and howling because I am going to feed my hounds, it will only take me a couple of minutes" ... I even let the hounds outside just like always while I talked to my Apple Watch outside and he continued while working in his garage.

He isn't one to watch the news. He has better discipline than I do. Yet, his wife will keep him updated on the political scene in D.C whether Ralph wants to hear it or not. She works full-time but still finds time to keep updated on what's going on in the world. He is also middle/left in his political views, she is a Republican true and true. THEY are ABLE to "agree to disagree" in a calm manner, both have told me. Something many cannot do.

When I had posted yesterday we were a little over 3 hours into our phone conversation. YES .... THREE HOURS !!!! I had no idea what lay ahead.

He also likes to "ramble" as much as I do but he doesn't  have a blog, is not interested in blogging in any way and doesn't even read blogs ... but he still talks as much as I do. IN FACT we both also continue talking as if neither of us suggested we need to go, or I have to go, or .... I can't talk anymore.  No, those suggestions, requests or whatever, vanish into thin air and the conversation continues.

At the 4 hour mark I told him I needed to go and that I needed to make a trip to the store for food, in fact it was around 2pm when I realized I had not had breakfast nor lunch ... just my two cups of coffee. He replied by telling me IN DETAIL about the project he was working on in the garage while we were talking.

My requests??? Zip ... went right by my suggestion or request that I needed to go. But that's Ralph and he has even done that to me in person ... so no big deal.

Well if he was going to continue talking nonstop I had to make something to eat ... I wondered if the sound of me eating a large salad would be heard on my very clear and sharp Apple Watch phone conversation???

During all of this weirdness, and I am not even close to finishing, the hounds didn't bat an eye and continued with THEIR daily routine ... our conversation meant nothing to them and they slept the afternoon away like always.

I swear it was not intentional .... really it wasn't ... it's just who we are.

HE SUGGESTED that we needed to go an hour later, that he had to run some errands before going to the gym to swim. JUST LIKE HIM hours before .... it was like I didn't hear him and continued my ranting about illegal immigration !!!!  LOL

That didn't bother Ralph, he never brought up the topic of ending the call again and joined right in my ranting but talking much more in a civil tone than I. He laughs but never gets animated with his voice or hands when talking in person or on the phone, like I do. So by this time my Apple Watch has just passed 3pm ....

When I mentioned to him, "Ralph we have set an all-time record in phone conversations and for the first time in 44 years we have talked non ******* stop for 4 hours and 23 minutes !!!!!

What did that do to two similar older men that still think they are young as they use to be .... we moved the conversation back to 1975 ... up through the 80's, barely touching the 1990's .... when he veered off the tracks telling me about the three years he and his family lived in Germany while in the Air Force. He was an Air Force Dentist.

That had me coming back with stories of Washington and Whidbey Island, the time they all visited me and we hung over the edge of Deception Pass Bridge as he wife kept saying "come on kids, you're scaring me, get back on the sidewalk." We were both only 41 years old at the time.  LOL

So you can see how we tie-in our different subjects and possibly how a conversation can pass 5 hours long without it even noticed.

At time or story from the past "activates" our brain cells and we keep rambling !!!! Or a "sudden thought or sudden idea" ... activates our brain cells and we keep rambling !!!!

When I told Ralph "Jesus Ralph we have gone over the 5 hour mark I really need to go" ... he proceed to tell me he thought of our long conversation and those in the past, while he worked on projects wearing his Apple Earbuds ... was just like the times I have visited while he worked on his projects or needed a 2nd man to help move or lift something.

He equated our long phone conversation to us spending all day talking while he worked in his garage or we drove around his town doing errands. Yes, that has happened every time.

I told him "it's much more like insanity to me"  ... ******* insanity !!!!

You won't believe it .... IF you have even lasted this far in this post.

If you would have told me at the 5 hour mark of our conversation I had 3 more hours to go I would have told you that you were certifiable crazy and I don't have time to waste 8 hours on a phone of any kind, iPhone, land line, flip phone, megaphone, loud speaker, yelling or even screaming ... no way !!!!! .... NO WAY !!!!!<

By this time I am walking around the kitchen looking for something to eat for my 2nd meal of the day. My Apple Watch was on the charger so I was able to click the speaker phone icon on the iPhone and continue talking.

I cannot remember what we talked about during the 5th and 6th hour ... seems like a distant memory this morning.

That might have been when we talked about retirement life, how he can't seem to fully break away from part-time work to retire. He travels the midwest to eastern states giving dental exams to future dental technicians. He does not need the money but as he says it "gets me out of the house AND I still feel attached to the dental field in someway."

That leads into person finance, more stores of the past and a lot of laughing, then the 22 Trillion dollar US debt, dragging us back into the politics discussion. Oh ... a slip of the tongue and we are back talking about bicycle racing, his son's racing and the drug culture of professional cycling in Europe. Europe ??? ... leading into traveling to Germany, Italy, and France ... maybe even Spain, as we can both travel Military Standby and fly anywhere in the world for $10 and showing our ID cards.

We ended our last hour and a half on the current and future of the USA and many topics inside that topic. We both laughed nonstop when we realized we HAD TALKED FOR OVER 8 HOURS !!!!! EIGHT HOURS !!!!!

It was already past 6pm my time, he is on Central time. While talking he had texted his wife at work telling her we were setting all-time records on the phone ... she laughed he said and she told him to tell me ... "your both crazy, insane ... as always"

He headed to the gym as he said bye, while talking through Bluetooth in his car. I told him "I'm mentally exhausted, I cannot believe we did this" !!!!! ... as Stella stood next to me in the kitchen wanting her afternoon walk. With the fantastic time change we had plenty of sunny daylight to make that walk after 6pm with no problems.

After our walk ... I decided to check this out, my latest purchase. I had lost all desire to go to the store. I had lost all desire to talk in the phone again, possibly forever.  :)

As you can see it has a lot of apps and features in a very very small package. I'll probably not use any of them as I only wanted to watch DVDs, some in Blu-Ray but still wanted to have the ability in the future to take advantage of those apps or the WiFi depending what the future brings to my tv viewing options. List price was $99 before my $40 in credit with Best Buy's Reward Points. It worked FANTASTIC !!!!

Now to the food.

I mentioned the other night I had found a great blog about eating ... I have also been in contact with the blog author who is a chef, owns a restaurant I believe and lost over 200 pounds going to a Vegan Diet without oil. He has many great articles linked on his blog, click here.

I've done Vegan before. Here I am discussing that diet along with other diets results back in December 2016. Reading through that post again I wondered if I had made the right decision. There is still room to change my mind today since I have not gone grocery shopping yet and it's already 12:03pm.

Even as far back as March 2016 I am still going through the same thought process as I am now in 2019, and posting about it. The more I read this older posts the more I think I need to read old blog posts to see what I was finding when trying different diet plans back in 2016.

You will have to excuse my many deer hoof print photos. It was like this deer was walking right down the middle of our path heading home

I would love to know if it's something Stella is hearing or smelling or both. Mysterious field cat ??? Or food ??? She stops and looks toward the neighbors every morning walk in the same spot.

After just glancing at those two old blog posts from 2016 I am going to have to fix the hounds lunch, fix me some lunch (a large salad) and go back to my old blog and read about my results with the different diets. Was the indigestion I had when on a Vegan diet or even a Veggie Diet just part of the process of my body getting rid of toxins?? Did I not wait long enough for the change to take place?? Or were those foods just foods that I can no longer eat???

Right this minute ... I still think I am going back to the Vegan way of eating and here's why.

In the Keto and Paleo Diets, just like anything else there are pros and cons for following that type of eating. Just like on the Vegan diet, IF you don't pay attention to your foods it could be dangerous because you are not getting enough nutrition. 40 years ago I knew someone on a strict Vegan diet that fell into that range. Hospitalized.

Yet ... when I read medical reports or reviews, the disadvantages of the Paleo and Keto meat, fat high protein policies ... the disadvantages are ALWAYS HEART DISEASE !!!!

Even this latest announced medical research on eating eggs ... click here ... has me OFF the bandwagon for eating eggs. NOT that it's going to happen to me but I have always been aware of my familys history of heart problems on my dad's side of the family. I am reminded when seeing the grease from bacon or a steak, maybe sausage links left in my cast iron skillet as it cools. THAT stuff is in our arteries after we eat it !!!!

The thought of arteries, fat, meat, gross chickens and mercury found in seafood has always bothered me a little and lingered in the back of my mind ... making me wonder if I was doing the right thing with Paleo or Keto ... or was I killing myself and not knowing it ... just because I was losing weight ????

I'd rather take the chance with Vegetarian or Veggie diets, where I know there is a chance of poor nutrition ... but I always track what I eat, know what I eat and know about B-12 requirement and D3, etc. I spent 8-9 years as a Vegetarian in my 20's. I remember all the reasons I did that. I know about what foods do but I have also read recent information to get the latest on what to eat and what the current research has found.

I will go back to Vegan and see what, if anything causes me indigestion. I DO KNOW that once I stop dairy products this winter cough will go away because there will be a decrease in phlegm production by NOT eating dairy products.

Well Stella is whining for lunch since it's 12:44pm and it's been almost 4 hours since her breakfast. I think she was "free-fed" by her previous owner. If I did that now, she would eat the whole 40 pound bag of kibble.  LOL

Ralph tells me he and his wife have gone through the same research in what to eat. He is a colon cancer survivor. They both agree to eat all foods but in moderation, very little red meat if any ... enjoy some ice cream occasionally ... a burger from 5Guys ... or a pizza.

Moderation.

Well that's about all I have this morning. It's beautiful bright sunny day here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.