Wide Awake At 3am

I wake up in the middle of a dark bedroom with two sleeping hounds. It's so quiet that I hear nothing. I don't hear them snoring, breathing or running in their sleep. I hear nothing outside in the distance like I do sometimes. I'm not too hot nor cold like I was just a morning or two ago. The window is wide open and it's 66°.

It's 2:14am and something has woke me up.

I feel literally nothing in my hip, on the side of my hip ... it feels normal, zero feelings of any kind. Yet when I woke up I was just on the verge of rolling over on my ride side to sleep, the surgical side. Rarely do I sleep on that side and I can confirm I haven't for at least the past 26 nights. Was I dreaming or was I really about to roll to my right side?

I lie there for a second waiting for some sort of feeling or twinge of pain from that unadvised move ... there isn't any. I wonder how long my surgical side has been moving? From the hip all the way down to my foot ... what has been moving while I slept and in what angles? Did the hip, knee, foot or leg move outside the safety zone? Is there even a safety zone?

***********************
By 6:30am I had my answer from a friend that is a PT and works with a lot of patients from the same surgeon that I had. ---

"Dr. ********** is right. You need to listen to your body! Sometimes that comes through trial and error because everyone is different. If you’re walking a lot then the next day you can’t move because you hurt so bad, it’s too much. Cut back. If you’re walking a lot and don’t feel bad at all, then you’re fine! It really just depends how YOU feel! You won’t hurt the hip... only if you fell on it or really twisted it or something."
 
***********************
I don't know that there is ... the doctor never verbally issued one. So in a way the 'confusion' I spoke of a few days or weeks ago is there lingering in the background. It's also one of the things that come with writing about my health issue or rehab. I expect it and knew from the start when I decided to write about what I was going through ... there would be a lot of comments and different ideas from readers and Facebook followers.

It's hard to sort out at times because most people have a different idea or an opinion. That comes with blogging on any subject and it's also prevalent in my Facebook updates to friends, a few family that use Facebook but don't follow the blog.

I have no problem with the different opinions. I like reading them. I listen to what people say because some of them are more experienced with this "medical train" than I am. Others have had the same surgery or know of someone that has. Some readers have even taken care of someone that has had the same surgery. So there is a lot of information out there just from the feedback I get in blog comments, emails, Facebook comments, texts and information I find online from my own research.

At 2:15am, all of this is going through my mind as I lie in a dark room with an open window on the south wall in front of me that looks like a large movie screen as it captures the light from the sky. It looks bigger in the dark than it does in the daytime.

Since I woke Heidi up at 8pm on Thursday night to go outside for her last pee of the night, she is sound to sleep at 2:14am. I feel that's a good trade and keeps me from chasing her down a hallway at 1:30am hoping to get to the backdoor before her, to let her outside so she can pee. Getting old is a pain in the ass, even if you are a basset hound.

I hear Stella now running in her sleep. Her paws are moving against the wall she sleeps next to. Is she with Sadie chasing deer again in the field back in Indiana? That has to be it because she has not ran like that for years and out here in the Wild West she has only trotted during her walks but has never ran full speed anywhere.

By the sound of her paws rubbing the wall .... she is in a full sprint gallop after something.

I decide to take my own trip to the bathroom and the first thing I feel when I stand up has nothing to do with my new hip or a leg and foot that is back to normal size. It's my left shoulder. I must have slept on it wrong or it is still reminding me I threw too many baseballs when I was a kid decades ago. At one time I was playing on three different baseball teams and a few times pitched too many innings in a week. Yes, I still feel the damage done to a left handed pitching arm 50 years later.

Where's that Ibuprofen?

I feel good coming back down the hallway with the walker that now glides over the tile floor since I added those two Wilson tennis balls to the rear legs of the walker. That adjustment also makes the walker glide over the carpet when I am in the bedroom or computer room. Remember, I use the walker from the time I go to bed until I carry the first of two cups of coffee to my computer room.

This morning that happened at 3:54am !!!!

Yes, I had been laying in bed awake all of that time trying to get back to sleep. My watch told my my pulse rate was 52bpm so there was nothing there that kept me awake. It was 66° outside, no wind and cloudy skies ... but my mind was working, sorting through all the latest comments I had read the previous 24 hours. I don't dwell on them but it's amazing the number of things I should or should do during this rehab.

It confuses me at times, just like it is at 2:45am.

I also think of my friend that just returned home after 77 days in 3 different hospitals after having major back surgery. He can stand up straight he said, for the first time in years. He is learning to walk again with is wife holding him up one step at a time. Last month he had to learn how to breath again on his own. His situation and recovery makes mine look like a day at the beach in sunny southern California.

I suggested to him last night to add the tennis balls to his walker for a smoother 'ride'. He replied my walker was the exact one he had been using in rehab. He is another old friend at 68 years old with major surgery to rehab. My list of friends doing that grows by one.

I start thinking about my situation again as I lay there. I can barely see the silhouette of the chest of drawers. I see the tiny green light of the wired in smoke/carbon detector. I feel how good my hip feels, it feels normal, like nothing ever happened. Do I dare move my right leg sideways to the point of a twinge so see how far it goes?

No, don't think so.

Honestly I don't know what is too much or not enough. The doctor didn't set firm guidelines with numbers of reps, or minutes for walks, or dates of the month ... all numbers that I like because I am and have always been a 'numbers guy' ... remember I have the addiction to spreadsheets even in my time of retirement.

I think back to that room 14 days after surgery where I had my followup appointment. My surgeon told me things look great and even said fantastic as he watched me walk across the room. Had he seen the x-rays they had taken before I was called into his exam room? Greg was right with his comment yesterday ... face time with him was about 10 minutes, it seemed rushed and he ended our consultation within a minute after reading a text on his phone.

But at 2:45am while thinking back to that appointment and double checking to see if I missed something he said, I only remember him telling me to walk as much as possible AS LONG AS I did NOT walk to the point of fatigue.

Although my neighbor told me I didn't know the meaning of that word 'fatigue' and I didn't know what my body was saying no matter if I rode a bike or not for many years ... I do know that if my leg muscle or hip would 'fatigue' I would collapse immediately, just as I did that Saturday when 3 people held me as I tried to stand up on the side of the road. I collapsed immediately then and I would now if I walked to the point of fatigue.

So ... I do remember "that limit" he set for me.

He also told me to rest so I could heal. He reminded me that he had sewn a lot of muscle with the new implant as well as muscle torn in my bike wreck and that I needed to rest. But ... he didn't tell me how long to rest. Sitting in a chair count the same if I am laying in bed? Probably not, but at least I am not moving ... so that has to mean some sort of rest.

He didn't give me the numbers my brain needed to know what is good or bad, what is good rest or not enough. He didn't give me a number of steps I need so I still don't know what is too much walking or not enough. "Don't push yourself, I know how you bicyclists think" ... "Listen to  your body and it will tell you how much is too much or not enough"

I understood his instructions ... but I'd like some numbers. 6,000 steps in a day too much? An hour nap not enough? The 'urge' to walk and keep walking ... is that listening to my body?

I don't know the answers to any of those questions really.  Ha Ha

So that is why some blog readers or Facebook followers say be careful after they have read what I have done that day or that week. That is why some friends on Facebook say 'back off' and do only what the doctor tells you.  LOL

I thought I was and think I am following those doctor's orders.

So .... around 3:30am as I am reading Ed Fry's blog that is linked on my sidebar ... I realize that I am not going to get back to sleep. I might as well get up, make some coffee and blog. Really, I have a big urge to write.

Yes ... at 3:45am as the coffee is dripping into the pot, the hound have gone outside then headed back down the dark hallway to go back to sleep in the dark bedroom ... I FELT LIKE BLOGGING !!!!

Just like the times last December when I had moved this blog to a Wordpress blog I had, I felt like writing at all times of the night so there were a few days I was blogging at 4am and was wide awake.

I am not sure what was worse though ... freezing weather outside in December or a cane handle sitting on my desk reminding me my new hip is only 26 days old as of right now and it needs to heal.

or ....

Sitting in a chair reading a book or laying in the prone position in bed with my eyes wide open wondering what in the hell happened that beautiful Saturday morning on September 7th?

Don't take what I said about blog and Facebook comments wrong. I want those comments from all different ideas and beliefs. I have gained a lot of information from comments on the blog and Facebook as well as private emails and texts. The good stuff out numbers the questionable stuff. It more of the "TONE" of how it's said that upset me the other day NOT what she said. She wasn't the first nor the last person to say the same thing about seeing a cardiologist.

It was the 'tone'.

So I guess I will classify this post as rambling, no photos.

I will add that once Stella saw I was blogging she walked from the bedroom to her corner on the right side of my desk and has been sleeping every since with the room light on ... at least she didn't let out a bloodhound howl wanting her breakfast served at 3:56am ... that will probably come later this morning. She LOVES food, I've never seen anything like it with my other hounds.

After all of this ... I only know one thing ... what the doctor told me "listen to your body" and that will tell me what I'm doing today.

It's still dark outside but with the windows open and no cold air blowing anywhere, it's a great morning here in the Wild West ... I need a 2nd cup of coffee.

I'll blog later tonight with some photos of the day.

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.

It's Thursday Morning Rambling !!

That little 'puddle' of water in the field always gives me an idea just how wet the field will be when we take our walk. You'd be surprised how accurate it is. As the title says this morning I'll be rambling while you take a look of Stella's
FridayThurday morning walk.

It is what happens during a day of bad weather when I cannot get outside for some fresh oxygen. I'll be covering sports, news, scrambling brain cells thoughts and for those few that like to send me emails ... politics. You always show back up on Politics Day here on the blog.  :)

With it being fairly warm this morning I was a little surprised to see Stella not moving. I thought I felt a few drops of rain but my jacket sleeve didn't show anything. Would Stella decide not to walk?

As we slipped and slid over the wet leaves with a slick wet ground underneath I was back to internally listing what I wanted to blog about. I could tell that Stella was going to be in the eating deer scat mode this morning and I can't stop her nor can I watch ... so I hid inside my mind while we walked.

I was reminded yesterday that the DNC and the RNC are NOT government agencies but private 'clubs', with their own rules, policies and plans for 2020 election. The blog I read, which I cannot find the link because I don't want to dig back through my internet history from yesterday to copy it, feels that the DNC is pushing all of the democratic candidates out into official announcements TO GATHER DATA !!!

The serious candidates will announce sometime in April or May. I found that interesting because based on a poll on CNN yesterday (yes I watch both CNN and FOX but nothing else). It showed someone who has not even announced his candidacy, leads with 28% and Bernie coming in second at 20% ... all the others are nothing more than a rumor when it comes to popularity .... But that is where all of the 'funny stuff' is coming from.

I admit it is enjoyable to watch. I just saw this morning that an advisor for Biden suggests he choose Stacy Abrams as his Vice-President running mate. She would check the democratic box for "a woman of color" since it is most likely Harris' past is going to be ripped to shreds before the first democratic debate.

Some people have accused me as an idiot with 7th grade level education, possibly inbred, so maybe those readers can help me out on this next political dream .... Senator Gillibrand wants ALL ILLEGAL ALIENS (not from space) to get Social Security payments. WTF is that about? Currently Social Security should be flat broke by 2039 ... let's speed up the process and pass out the f****** checks as they cross the border !!!! Add in a "Welcome Aboard" packet too.

Out of all of the wild ideas the democratic candidates have proposed, including the 'dingbat AOC' Green New Deal or is it the New Green Deal ... I have never heard any way to pay for all the free money and free services they are going to give away. They don't care if you are a US LEGAL citizen or not ... EXCEPT TAX THE RICH ... TAX GOOGLE ... TAX AMAZON ... TAX FACEBOOK ... TAX f****** TAX .... tax the shit out of anyone successful, it's not their money, it's the democrats !!!!

So when I saw Andrew Yang last night on tv telling me and millions of others he want to give us a $1,000 per month spending money for FREE , I admit I was pretty damn excited. That buys a year supply of dog food for the hounds and a little left over for me to buy broccoli and sunflower seeds. WHO IS GOING TO PAY THAT $1 TRILLION PER YEAR ???

Well if you look at his website it has some pretty good ideas about who will foot the bill .... BUT ... hold on ... NONE of those points were on his tv interview last night when he said ... TAX Yahoo, TAX Google, TAX Microsoft, TAX Apple ... I'll look again at the link here to see if those companies are mentioned. They are not listed anywhere on his website. :)

Getting back to those illegals, I see they are now stealing the barbed wire off of the border wall down in Tijuana. Is that a tax write-off for the US government? Are they using it for their own protection on their properties? Recycling it? Selling it for pesos like copper wire?  LOL ... unbelievable.

This next bit of illegal immigrant or alien news ... I don't know if I should laugh my f****** ass off or puke .... Illegal alien arrested for having sex with A COW ????

Is that real or fake news???

Since I have gone back to checking in on the news either on tv or surfing the internet, it's good to see this next bit of info. It's not new. The CNN ratings or lack thereof are announced every quarter so their stockholders will have a nice 'warm and fuzzy' when they go to bed at night. I HAVE tuned into CNN at times and within minutes flip the channel because they have stopped being a news channel and are nothing but anti-Trump.

I am not saying everyone has to like Trump but give it a break. Almost two years in and we are seeing the same CNN reporters, analysts and guests bitching and moaning that Sleazeball Hillary didn't win the election ... LOL ... NO WONDER YOUR RATINGS ARE SHIT !!

I don't watch everything Fox either. At least on their news and business channel you can see news that is never reported on CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, MSN ...

The closing of the GM plant in Ohio has to have the democrats just jumping for joy. After all it's Trump's fault that people don't or didn't want to buy the Chevy Cruze. It's his fault that everyone wants to take out a MORTGAGE LOAN to pay for their new SUV or Pickup Truck. Just remember democrat readers, in less than 2 years that idiot Trump has brought in 500,000 new manufacturing jobs. The economy has improved in less than two years what Obama did to tear it down in his eight years.

Oh yes ... Obama is the reason the economy is so good now. It started before Trump was elected. Have you ever heard that? Well in a way they are right but they just have the period of time wrong. YES, during Obama's term the economy did improve but that was from a starting point in 2008 to 2012. It was on the downward slope a few years BEFORE the 2016 election.

The further back in the field we walked the wetter it got. I still have not figured out why land at a higher elevation is more saturated than the land behind my house that is approximately 47' lower. Remember though, I am not a smart blogger ... :)

In today's world of YouTube, and social media ... anything you film, or say, or post, or type is there FOREVER. For those famous people who have deleted their tweets or posts after they decided to be the meanest baddest f****er in the world because they are on a keyboard, was a bad idea ... well within a minute when I see something like that I can do a quick 'Shift, Command, #4 and then slide that x around the tweet or facebook post and it instantly saves to a photo on my hard drive ... FOREVER !!!!

I don't do that much and never tweet them out because I don't have a following in the millions, thousands or hundreds of people. I let the other big tweeters, social media posters do that for me. Even some news agencies will help me out.

My point is ... the closer we get to the Presidential Election in 2020 most of those if not all of those democratic candidates will be destroyed by past things they have said in the Senate, in a Town Hall meeting, tweeted as a teenager, yearbook photos from high school or paid informants, etc etc.

For example ... this morning they were showing Joe Biden speaking in the Senate about the Supreme Court in 1983 !!!!! ... 36 YEARS AGO !!!!

The democrats are in the process of spending $2M to get 200,000 new people registered to vote, I believe in Florida. They are trying to get illegals registered in California and Texas. They are trying their best to steal the 2020 election and will continue to push for non-citizens votes to count like they have done since the Reagan years in 1980's.

But the fact is ... people will vote once again for Trump because "He has delivered", even against a stacked Congress, people in his own party that are against him. If you think the polls are going to be accurate this time ... think of all of those millions of 'silent' voters that shocked the world when Trump was elected. They will remain silent this time too. They don't care about poles ... they're deplorable remember.

Even if you hate the guy, you have to admit he has passed some bills and did some things that are good. He has helped the people of all beliefs and colors, it just depends on which tv channel you watch. There are a few things I have never liked about him but I understand him and his ways. Like I stated in pasts posts ... I use to work for a boss/owner of a small family owned business, that acted just like he did. He did things or said things on purpose to get things done.

Just remember those that doubt or bitch and complain ... while you sit and stew, cry or moan about what is happening and how Congress is stopping Trump's wild ideas ... that wall is being built every day ... EVERY DAY and has been since he was elected. The wall building business is good !!! Especially if they have to replace the stuff that is being stolen.

Last week I mentioned that a 13 year contract for #$330 million dollars was utterly ridiculous and that comes from a baseball fan. Well for those that don't know, that contract was beat this week by the Los Angeles Angels. They didn't want their superstar to return home in two years when he is a free agent and signed Mike Trout to a 12 year contract for FOUR HUNDRED AND THIRTY
THOUSAND MILLION DOLLARS !!!

He will be 40 years old when that contract is up.

Yet, it kept him from going to the Philadelphia Phillies to join the $330M man Bryce Harper, who had been illegally, and publicly, recruiting Mike Trout to join him.

Those kind of contracts never work out ... Alex Rodriguez and the Texas Rangers were the first to open the door on that type of contract many years ago ... 10 years for ONLY $250 million.

Stella had to shake a little to get the cobwebs out of her ears.

A few weeks ago when I was losing data thorough some kind of leak, or whatever, I changed from Google Chrome to Safari. I never liked Safari as a browser on my iMac that much because it was slow. Plus the bookmark tabs were not in separate tabs with color, nor even separated. They have done some updates that proved valuable.

It is much faster and has all the built-in security features as well as automatically blocking advertisements and keeps from videos on sports or news websites from playing automatically. I have never stuck this long with Safari as my default browser on my iMac.

This diet stuff doesn't seem to be over with me ... I continue to read information and think about what I am doing. Yet I am a little surprised that I don't feel hungry like I have in the past when trying a plant-based diet. Before I was hungry all the time. I've been overloading myself with fresh fruit and fresh raw veggies. I eat those as much as I want.

I gave my cooked chicken breast to Heidi and Sadie, no bones of course. They loved it and Stella must have set an all-time record for the longest drool ever seen. I swear it almost went from her jowls to the floor. (where's that drool rag?) Sorry but I couldn't take a photo of it, some things are best not seen .... like the illegal immigrant and the cow.

My life will slow down now for the next four days. The NCAA tournament really starts today at 12:15pm and the last game will not start until 9:57pm my time. I'll use DishNetwork's feature with four screens on my tv at once to keep an eye on the four games being played at the same time. For the first time in 30 years or more, I'll not have even a dollar bet on these games or the brackets. I will not be one of the 8 million viewers betting over 45 BILLION dollars these next three weeks.

I will still be blogging though. Stella and I will still get in our two walks per day as long as it is not raining. We hope Heidi will continue her explosive aerobics every other day and join us.

Where did those thoughts on my diet go ... you know just a few sentences back?

The blue skies are trying their best to break through.

I started RE-reading all the information I had on Keto and Paleo. Do they plug arteries? Do they cause heart attacks? Fat or no fat? Which one to try? Fad or not a fad? What is the best diet? Vegan, Plant Based, Keto, Paleo, Dash, or Mediterranean ???

See what I mean? I've read so much over the past week I have paralyzed myself and still wonder which direction to go. Yet in the short time since my change I can see a slight difference and feel a slight difference. I wonder how much water weight I will lose by no longer putting good old salt on my food? Just in the last two days I have radically reduced the grams of fat and protein in my diet. I believe low FAT percentages is the key to good heart health.

I had forgotten that Paleo says NO DAIRY and but a lot of fruits. Keto says FAT, and Dairy are good but not many fruits. I honestly do not know how Keto followers stay below 20 grams of carbs every day. Amazing.

My desert last night was 1c of Silk Almond Milk Unsweetened, with frozen blueberries, raspberries and blackberries ... I tossed in a handful of fresh spinach. Good stuff.

It was just two days ago after I spent a short time cutting saplings down, shoveling wet gravel and climbing around the bank along the driveway ... that I was going insane for my first Dairy Queen medium size cone with plain vanilla, for 2019. As I fought through that craving, Stella was drooling as she was looking at me. She must have known I was thinking of a Dairy Queen trip ... or did I say something out loud?

Honestly I still don't know how strict I will be with this diet change. No matter what I will always track my food on Cronometer so I can see the nutrients breakdown. I will say with the change a lot of those bars in red (not good) are now green (good) but one thing that was surprising since I stopped using salt ... the amount of sodium in the fresh food I have eaten. It might have been the brown rice and lentils I added last night ... but throughout the day of eating meatless meals and no salt ... ~1,800 mg of sodium showed up.

That is below the recommended limit of 2,000 mg and way below the 3,000 I use to get daily.

I still think it's not a bad thing to have some fresh caught halibut or salmon with a meal. Or an occasional Saturday morning 'pig out' with a stack of pancakes, with real butter, peanut butter and maple syrup. What about a pizza if I were to change from ordering a large to a small?? What about having a nice New York Strip steak once or twice per month??

Does it even matter?? I honestly believe no matter what I do or eat ... I'll be checking out of Hotel California (Eagles song) when the time is right. I have had just too many close calls with death over the years to think otherwise. How many??? My friends have told me I have more lives than a cat. I just think I have one underpaid overworked guardian angel.

It was over an hour ago, around 10:20am when Heidi started barking, which got Stella to start howling .... THEY WANTED LUNCH !!!! Before 11am ??? Sorry but that is NOT going to happen. I say that now because it's 12:04 pm and Stella just quietly walked into the room and snuck up next to my chair .... ah there it is ... the signal it's time for their lunch ...

She nudged my arm with her nose ...

So with that I am going to end this rambling, and feed the hounds then move into the next phase of the day.

I don't think there is anything better than a cleaned, spotless kitchen.

For those Anti-Trumpers that always show up when I ramble about politics ... I want to assure you that your emails sent to me bypass my junk folder and go right to my inbox so I don't miss a word you send me. I enjoy your bullshit ... it is laughable at best. How do you show up all of a sudden? Are you notified by the Tags on my blog?

How???

It has felt like Friday all day today and I just see it's Thursday as I glanced up at the right corner of my monitor. I turned in my 32 gallon of recycled material. All mixed up as allowed. They sort it all out in Indianapolis from what the local recycling center told me a few years ago. I wonder how much is really recycled and how much they put in their landfills???

I can't stop thinking about that extra $1,000 per month Andrew Yang wants to give me ... I could do a lot of damage for the economy with that. OR .... I could play more craps at the French Lick Casino, the hometown of Larry Bird, Boston Celtic fame.

What would Stella do with an extra $1,000 per month, or Heidi???

I ALMOST FORGOT !!!  One more story.

Since it felt like a Friday, on my way back from the recycling center I turned on the radio up loud for some good old rock and roll. I remembered that yesterday was the first day of spring but that did not make any of my memory cells come to the forefront of my brain. This morning was a different story ... it was a song that threw me back to the first day of spring in the early 80's ... Carlsbad California ... right on the beach living on Carlsbad Blvd.

The song was Billy Idol's "White Wedding" and the time was our annual first day of spring bash. It started with a few friends and went only for a couple of days. Each year it became more popular, bigger and longer. Where we started with cases of beer with our first party  by the time I moved to Whidbey Island, WA, the last party I attended it was many KEGS of beer ... delivered by Carlsbad Liquors when we called for more.

It built up to more than a few days ... nonstop partying around the clock. While sitting in the front yard looking at the Pacific Ocean across the street, the crowds filled not only that part of the yard but the large patio area in back. That was surrounded by two other small apartments. Eventually my friends built a cabana, installed electric for the blenders and plenty of room for multiple kegs of beer.

Basically ... a bar.

Isn't it funny how just one song can make a memory clear as day ... even when I can't remember what the day of the week it is???  LOL

It's warmer, overcast and "feels like a Friday" here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

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.