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.

Weather & Food A Factor Today

I forget sometimes that I cannot have great weather every day of the year. Especially when it's springtime in the Midwest or at least approaching spring. It's days like today that will remind me I will be mowing the lawn between rains this spring, just like I have every spring living in this house for the past 21 years. That didn't bother Stella, it was time to go this morning and she let me know.

Those skies don't look that bad but the radar shows a huge thunderstorm at the Illinois-Indiana state line. The rains should arrive here on the hill around noon since it's a slow-moving storm. The gutters and downspouts are clean and anxiously wait for the rain water they will have to process. For me, it will most likely be a day to read and squeeze in a few games of Mahjong. It's a rough life but someone has to do it.

It was late last night when I sat down in my desk chair to turn off the computer when I picked up the book by Joel Fuhrman, M.D. sitting on my desk. Before I knew it I had read almost two chapters about what to eat and about his "6-week Plan". I remember doing that plan for the first time in 2003. I felt great after the six weeks were up.

So why didn't I continue that?

It was harder for me then than now, to make changes to my diet and eat like he suggested for his plan. Back then I was in a job that was time consuming, fast foods when I had time to eat and business travel where we ate out all the time. I had the worst diet you could have and weighed more than any time I have in my life. Of course being 16 year younger, I didn't feel the need to make diet changes although I knew I was leading to major problems if I stayed on that course.

It finally dawned on my after reading two chapters last night, that the print in the book was just small enough that it was hard for me to read. I had to hold the book away from me for the words to really focus in. I then wondered if I could find this book online for free. What a concept? FREE.

Why did I wait so long?

I found and downloaded a .pdf file of the book, all 299 pages and when I adjusted the size of the page on my 27" monitor ... my eyes thanked me ... I continued reading for another hour.

So I am going to follow his "6-week Plan". It is going to be challenging for sure. Yet, after the way I felt yesterday and last night after eating more wheat and grains than I have been used to these past few months, I knew I had to do something. I felt terrible most of Wednesday.

Until I picked up that book last night I was seriously thinking that the Paleo Diet or the Blood Type Diet was my only choices for food.

Now I didn't start on page one of the book. I looked in the Table of Contents and cherry picked the chapter called "The Dark Side Of Animal Protein", page 68. By the time I read the next 23 pages there was no way I was going back to animal protein and trying the Keto or Paleo diets again.

I moved to the chapters on his starting plan that would not only reduce my weight but more importantly help get my body back in tune with fresh fruits and veggies plus adapt to my increased consumption of beans. Remember when I was eating somewhere between the theories of Keto and Paleo, I had cut out bananas, apples and blueberries because they were high in carbs. I had cut out almost all fruit except kiwi.

I had also cut out all grains and felt better since I have some sort of problems digesting them. Notice I have not mentioned dairy products because in the first six weeks of this plan, dairy is not allowed. THAT will be tough for me to get through.

It's not that bad because after the six weeks are up, there is room to add certain foods back to my menu. IF I can stick to the plan until May 3rd I am guessing a lot of the food I liked before, I will not have an interest in based on personal experience from years ago.

By the time Stella approached the turn to the far right corner of the field, the scent of deer was tormenting her nose and her will to move in that direction. Just to the right of that corner is a worn path that moves down into the gully. In the past I named it "The Deer Highway" in my blog posts. There were no sounds of cows like there were last week ... no, she was only analyzing deer scent today, as she sniffed the air.

Again .... soooooooo tempting to head back in the opposite direction to that far right corner where the deer have been. Are my words of "come on" ringing in her ears and preventing her from taking off on me??

Instead of filling this post up with what I read last night, I'll just give you the title of the book so you can search on the internet and get a free electronic copy if you are interested. I'm not an affiliate for his book, website or blog. I am just passing along information for those interested.

Eat To Live by Joel Fuhrman, M.D.

Just like the weather changing and letting me know you cannot take good weather for granted. I was reminded on Monday just how life can change in an instant. While outside with Stella and Heidi after lunch, I heard a siren off in the distance.

It is a normal occurrence on the highway with either police chasing down cars speeding, or the ambulance that makes more passes by my house than I think is normal. Only this time the ambulance slowed and made the very sharp turn into my neighbors driveway, going up a steep hill all the way to the front of the house.

My neighbor is married, and the same age as I am. He was born and raised here but that is about all I know about him. He had a stroke a couple of summers ago, and I was told he has medical issues ever since. Just like that he life has changed for him again.

It must have been a major issue because they turned south heading to the interstate. That would be the fastest way to a larger hospital 25 miles away. Their other option was turn the opposite direction toward the smaller hospital 12 miles away. That's not good news.

Things like that puts things in perspective pretty quickly. I forget about all the 'noise' on TV news or if my team won the game or not and it's hard to complain that it's going to rain just a little today. I have been always thankful for my good health, that my hounds are healthy and I live in a pretty neat place. I chose a "tiny house" option before it was a fad, 21 years ago, when I downsized.

Yet, a life changing experience like my neighbor has had, makes me think about things in life. It's hard not to. Even though I am pretty sure I have a good 20 some years left in me, I am still aware of what might go wrong and will only show up when least expected.

Of course when you see a bloodhound walking up behind you looking like this, everything leaves my thoughts. Stella reminds me to relax, stop analyzing everything, quit thinking about literally everything that goes on in the world or here at home and just enjoy the day. That's what she does ... enjoys each day.

She doesn't change her routines much and will be 10 years old this summer. She knows how to enjoy life ... and how to increase my pulse rate sometimes with her stubbornness. :)

I had my coffee black this morning for the first time in a few weeks. I know that two teaspoons of sugar in one cup of coffee isn't that much but I sure do feel different when I don't use it. I'm serious. I don't have a full case of bloat after drinking coffee with sugar in it but I can see it and feel the difference compared to when I don't add that addiction.

Coffee is not on the "6-week plan". I am not sure I want to go though the four to five days of headaches if I were to eliminate coffee just to follow that plan. I did cut my quantity this morning to just one cup instead of two. It wasn't strong enough and I feel I still need that 'boost' from the caffeine.

The hardest part of all the change in eating plans ... tv commercials.

They do exactly what they are designed to do with their hidden high tech engineering. I am constantly attacked with a 55" picture of that double cheeseburger, every time a game breaks for a tv commercial. One thing I have noticed though is when I fell for those food commercials .... the sandwiches are never as big at the store as they are on tv. I ask myself "where's the meat?" (That question mark inside the quotation mark still looks weird and wrong to me. I don't like the look, although it's correct grammar.)

Nor are the burritos at Taco Bell as big as their commercials. Subway ??? Highway robbery. I could pay for a 'double' portion of meat for my 12" sub and still not have as much meat, veggies or cheese on the sandwich they give me through their drive-thru as what I see on tv.

Every time I drive by McDonalds I remember the blog I read a few years ago where the reader claimed he lost weight by eating at McDonalds EVERY MEAL ... lunch and dinner !!!!!

Now to really change the subject .... Vintage Audio.

I follow a Vintage Audio Twitter account. Not only are these 40 year old stereos still in operation, owners have kept them looking brand new and the rooms they have set up for their music and components are fantastic. Take a look and search those two words if you have a Twitter account. They are also on Facebook.

Which reminds me, tonight one minute after midnight my Facebook account will be officially wiped from all existence ... except on the Facebook servers I'm guessing. All it means is 30 days ago I clicked that "delete my account" button and they gave me 30 days to change my mind and fall back under their control. Yes, I know Facebook owns Instagram.

Stella was pretty popular on Facebook over the years, along with Sadie and Heidi and Winston. I am not sure if she understands her popularity here on the blog or my old blog on Blogger. Out of all the hounds I think Winston might have been the all-time favorite on the blog. You can read his page at the top of this blog

I know when she decides to go right of the bushes at the end of the walk, something is up. There is a small narrow path you can't see, that the deer have made as they either walk toward the highway or come from the other side of the highway into the field behind the house.

You can tell that something has Stella's interest and it isn't deer scat

What kind of scent could be that high on the pole that points out the property line. That depends on which survey you look at. I know that my survey is different from the owner of the field's survey and they were done by the same company !!!! WTF ???

A "Classic" Stella look ... LOL

She took her own sweet time but finally made it around the corner into the carport. It took so long I almost went back to the yard to see where she was or if she had decided to walk over to the neighbor's yard after being so close to her house.

I watched a little of the Cincinnati Reds spring training game last night. I am getting in the mood for Reds baseball. Things are looking up after 4 years of 'rebuilding' and losing more than 90 games per year. I think this team can win 90 games this year instead of losing that many. Isn't baseball a sure sign that Spring is almost here?

Right as I start to edit this post and then publish it ... it is so quiet in here I can hear my ears ringing. Both hounds are soundly sleeping, dreaming of lunch around noon. Stella does a lot more running in her sleep than she does in the field.

Will Heidi fit in a walk this afternoon if the rains really do show up? Forecasts are never 100% accurate, so she might have a chance.

It's a nice quiet morning here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana today.