Grow A Garden, It Makes You Happy

    I'm not going to bother talking about the moms tonight with the exception that it gets worse each day. I did have to go out today to pick up some samples of her medication which her doctor has dropped to a lower dosage again. That put me going out of the house twice this week and that is one too many times for me. I'm even avoiding going to places I would normally go, because I want my points of contact as low as possible. That means I'm forgoing the keto pizza's that I normally get. I'm sucking it up and eating non keto pizzas, but this week I got a cauliflower crust, which is less cauliflower and mostly rice flower, bad on keto. It's the compromise. It's just a crust, so I can put my own toppings on it, so at least they will be of a healthier variety.

     The workouts and meditation are going good, and I am feeling a little bit of the stress lessen today. That doesn't mean that it will stay that way, but at least today is good despite what has been going on in this house. I did want to share with you some garden pictures, cause those are relaxing, and I'm relaxed when I'm out there working in the garden. By the way, my tan is going to be awesome this year. Ok, first picture is of the Black Velvet Nasturtium. The color still isn't as deep and rich as I'd want it to be, but they are looking very pretty.

     That one's not even fully open there, but I love the deep rich red. It should be even darker in color based on description, but I'll take what I can get. The one in the backyard is a different color despite it being the same plant. It is more of a bright orange.

     Hard to believe those are from the same seed pack. The leaves are even a different color. They are a darker shade of green with a dark outline around each one. You can kind of see it in the picture. There is a purplish border around each leaf. Very strange.

     The next is Rainforest pepper. It has gotten a deep reddish orange color, so it may get even darker as it ripens. I'm going to pick them on Friday and give them a try to see just how they taste.

     I'm really looking forward to trying that one. Last garden photo for the night is of the Acoma Pueblo pepper. This is the only pod on this plant, and it has gotten huge. I finally have a pepper that has achieved the size that it is supposed to be based on the description.

     That one is supposed to be very mild, and is best for roasting. If it gets any bigger I may just do a single stuffed pepper on taco night and enjoy it. I'll see how it compares to poblanos. Oh, that reminds me, I nearly killed Pablo the poblano. I started a fire outside this week and the flames got a little too close to Pablo in his can. He doesn't look all that good, but he is hanging in there. It dried out a bunch of his leaves, but not all of the, so I believe he is going to make a full recovery. That plant was looking incredible despite that it is in a can.

     I did decide on just doing 20 hour fast until Thursday. It will give me autophagy, but no at the level that I had wanted, but it will also insure that I don't compromise my immune system considering that I am having to go out more this week than I want to. If I had a good 5 days where I wouldn't have to go out, I could have done the full 72 hours. You need a couple days after the fast to rebuild your immune system, when you are done, it will be much stronger than it was before, but you have to take a risk to do that, and with having to go out so much, I wasn't wanting to risk it. You gotta take the good with the bad, so I'll settle for a boost in the primary immune system and deal with the bigger boost in July, if we are out of this by then. Which reminds me, stay in your freaking house, there are far too many people out and about. Just because you aren't at work, doesn't mean you are on vacation, start acting like adults.

     Ok that rant is over. Speaking of the virus. I got my masks today, and they are even more awesome than I imagined they would be.

    These were all hand made by my buddy's wife. She did an amazing job and I love the variety in them. She is currently selling them on her Facebook page, and if she creates a shop for them, I'll get you a link. They are super comfortable and fit great. She makes them in adult and child sizes, and will try her best to do specialty orders, like adding a pocket for a filter, or wire for an even closer fit around the nose. I've seen a bunch of masks for sale lately on Instagram and Facebook, and they are all around $20. She is selling 3 for $25 or $10 each. I'm not sure, but I do think she has a 2 mask limit. This is more so that you will always have a mask available. You should wash these are disinfect them after each use, so while one is drying out from a wash, you will have another mask in the meantime. I'm particularly fond of the Jack & Sally make (Nightmare Before Christmas) and the Peppers of course.

     Ok, if you've been reading this for any length of time, you know that I have a spot in my heart for ABBA. I also have a warm regard for the ukulele, and that brings me to my Favorite Song of the Week, which also is my Favorite Thing of the Week. I do believe that is a first in FSOTW/FTOTW history. You can't watch this and not smile, plus its a great song. This the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, with their social distancing version of ABBA's "Thank You for the Music".



     I mean come on. It's got a choir, ukuleles and cats. What more do you need for a perfect video. I really do hope that this brought as big a smile to your face as it did mine, because it is definitely a high point for me, and reminds me that I need to listen to more ABBA right now. They just lift you up. That's all for tonight, I'm going to sit back and watch a few episodes of Star Trek Discovery. That's the other new Star Trek show on that CBS All Access. I'm a couple episodes in and it's really good. I may just stick with this CBS All Access. Peace in and goodnight.

I Got Some Things To Figure Out

     I considered not writing tonight, for the simple reason that dealing with my mom has taken everything out of me. She is no longer the kind sweet old lady. She has become the mean and nasty old lady that dementia is known for. Yesterday morning she went to lie down, and that is my chance to take a shower. I had to cut that short, because she was screaming that she needed breakfast and hadn't been fed in days. This was an hour after I gave her breakfast. This is a new thing, that seems will never end. Every time she goes in to lie down, within an hour she comes out complaining that she has had any food for days. Sometimes I tell her that it will be ready in a half hour, and sometimes I just give in and go get her something. That seems to be the only time she does eat. Any other time she is trying to feed the imaginary people around her and leaving pieces of food all over the place. She has taken to thinking everything is a conspiracy against her, and then that leads to all the name calling. I honestly don't know how I'm going to get through this. I have to go to the grocery store tomorrow, and the only saving grace that I know she will stay in the house, is that I will look the screen door in the front and she doesn't know how to unlock it. She won't attempt to go out the back because the pavers are uneven, and they scare her unless someone is there to guide her. I will get the shopping done as fast as I can and get home, but I'm sure she will be screaming or crying or something when I get back.

     I am stressed out beyond any normal limits that I've ever experienced, and meditation isn't helping right now, and what workout I can get in, is no help either. It has been raining all day today, so that only leaves indoor activities, and since she has been all over the place, I haven't been able to do anything except run back and forth from the kitchen making food for her every time she comes out claiming she is hungry. Mind you, only small portions, and they are rarely fully eaten. I will figure this out, it's just going to take a few headaches to get around this corner.

     I'm currently in the middle of my quarterly 72 hour fast, but I may stop it early. Here is the thing, fast are great for building up your immune system, but with anything in the body that gets built up, it has to be broken down first. That is the case with an extended fast. In the short term you can be left immunocompromised, with a lower immune system. In the long run, you will have a much stronger immune system. During a shorter fast, you can get away with it, because it doesn't get to a point where your immune system is broken down. This is where I'm at right now. I'm actually on the line of the breakdown point. My goal for this fast was autophagy and body reset, not weight loss. It was for an overall better me when I was done, but with this virus going around, and having to go out tomorrow, I leave myself susceptible to catching it, especially with all the idiots that still aren't taking this seriously and hanging out in groups. It just takes one of the people to come into contact with me, and I would be done for. I'm beginning to think of just skipping this 72 hours until the next quarter, which I'll have to figure out when that is, but off the top of my head It would be around the fourth of July. I could still get in some good autophagy, with a series of 20 hour fast this week. I'm sitting at 25 hours right now, so if I'm going to stay on the safe side of things, I'm going to have to eat right after I'm done with this. So, it looks like I've talked myself into doing 20 hour fast for the next few days for a minor autophagy boost, and then preparing for the reset in July.

     Well, with all the rain today, and it being an apocalypse and all I had to break out the Real Deal Brazil hat. For those not in the know, it's the same hat that Woody Harrelson wore in Zombieland. No, he didn't wear it in the second one, and I was kind of bummed. Anyways, here I am ready to fight the hordes of Covid.

     Ok, I'm going to go eat something now, and stay alive. I really wanted to do this 72 hours, but it's just not safe enough for that right now. Got stay healthy so I can do it in July. Peace in and goodnight.

Just A Little Chocolate Cherry Sunshine

     I'm starting to write this at a time that I'm sure I'm going to be interrupted. I can currently hear my mom off in the house talking to her group of patients, trying to coax them out of the room. This type of behavior has gotten progressively worse each day. She has gotten more angry and violent along with this type of behavior. Today I was the recipient of the anger. I was told that I was stupid and ugly, and that she hated me. I of course know that isn't how she really feels, but it still is a punch in the gut when I hear it.

     I foiled her effort of trying to escape the house today, but simply locking the screen porch door. Fortunately she can no longer figure out how to unlock it. She wanted to wander off on her own, but that isn't about to happen. Mind you, she went to bed for good about 30 minutes ago, and she has now made her way out to the living room sitting beside me, throwing a robe at me, and then being angry because I told her, "Thank you, but I don't need that." She is now talking to herself about wanting to call someone, I have no idea who, but I'm assuming it's going to be my nephew through ALEXA.

     I really hope none of you that are reading this, ever has to experience anything like this. It is equal parts sad, and maddening. The whole lose of identity of having someone tell you that you aren't who you are, and then telling you that you are several other people is one thing, but to listen to a constant dialogue with an imaginary person tops the cake in ways that you could never hope to know. Right now she is talking about how she wants to just go away and die, and that is maybe the hardest conversations I have to listen to. This is a woman that always said that this wasn't the way she wanted to go out. She did not want to lose her mind, and that is exactly what has happened. This once brilliant and vivacious woman has been reduced to a child with no mental capacity. It breaks my heart more and more each day to have to sit hear and watch this happen to her. I know this seems harsh, but I do wish for her death to be sooner than later, because it will release her form the prison that is her mind. She will be free and in some sort of better place in whatever form you choose to believe.

     Off the doldrums. Today was the first day that I was able to get everything done in my morning ritual. Cardio, meditation, simple torso exercises, reading, and then a workout a little later in the morning. I didn't wake up quite as early as I had hoped, but it was still early enough to get it all in. Just for reference, I woke up at 10 till 5. I will finish up the day with some cardio before going to bed, which may just give me that extra bit of weariness that I need to get to sleep early and then wake up just a little bit earlier tomorrow, so that I can start it all over again.

     Couple of pictures from the garden. The Chocolate Cherry Sunflower in the front yard is still small, even though it is the largest of all the CCS, but it has opened up, and it looks really stunning. It has that deep rich chocolate color that I was hoping for. The one in the backyard has more orange in it, which is a bit of a surprise color based on it's description from the seller.

     The Rainforest seems like it has fully ripened on a couple of pods, but I'm not sure. Every photo I've ever seen of them has a bright mostly red color. Their description says reddish orange, but this is clearly a bright pumpkin orange.

     I don't know if I should just pick one and try it, and then let the others hang and see if they darken in color or maybe change again, but seeing how they ripened getting a three tiered color going during that process, leads me to believe that that is the final color, and that one is ready to go. Let me know what you think. Should I pick it? Should I leave it to hang? If I do pick it, should I do a pod review video of it, so you can see the look on my face and my first reaction on eating a new pepper? I'll do whatever you want me to do on this one. Just let me know in the comments below. Oh yeah, I still can't respond to comments. I have no idea why, so if you do leave a comment, I will respond the next post, so keep an eye out for that when you do leave a comment.

     Ok, I really have nothing left to talk about, Oh, except on thing. I have to go to the bank tomorrow, and I'm freaking out a little. I have to go inside, and I always have to wait. That means prolonged exposure to an open place where people are in and out, which means more chances to catch a virus. I also have to take my moms with me. Since she has gotten as bad as she has, I can't trust her to just sit in her chair or stay in bed for 20-30 minutes, and with the lockdown in place, I can't have someone come over and watch her. That means she will have to sit in the car while I go in the bank. Here is the plan I have. I'm going to go in with nothing on, since I don't have a mask yet, and I don't want to waste gloves. I'm taking my spray bottle of alcohol withe me, and leaving it in the back of the car. When I come out, I will make sure to not touch anything on my body, then I will pop the back and spray myself and hands down really good with the alcohol before getting back in the car. Oh, and don't worry, I have a rag that I will soak down and then wipe the hatch before closing it all up. I'll still be vulnerable, but I'm going to do my best to snuff that virus out before it has a chance to take hold of me. Peace in and goodnight.

Future Baby

     I watched a long video today, that my buddy sent me, that made me feel much better about what I'm doing to avoid this virus. I'm not going to link the video, but I will summarize it. It's from a doctor in NYC that is on the front line there. It was talking about how easy it is to not catch the virus, if you do the right things. First thing is of course, wash your hands. He did add that when you open a door use Purell. I don't have that, so I'm sticking with my gloves and spray bottle of alcohol. Basically once I'm done with whatever activity I'm doing out in about, I spray everything down with alcohol including the gloves, take them off, and spray my hands down again. He also mentioned not touching your face. This is where I fail a bit. During this whole thing, I'm not wearing contacts, because the eyes are a sensitive area to contract the virus, that means I have to wear my glasses, which means that I'm constantly adjusting my glasses. I do keep it to using a knuckle to do it, so that it isn't a contact point where I've touched anything else, but it's still risky, and I don't touch my face until after I've sprayed down. Then biggest thing he mentioned is that you need prolonged contact to contract it, so just picking something up may not be enough to really transfer the virus, but still play it safe and sanitize after touching things. He did mention that a way to help you from touching your face was to wear a mask. I know, medical personnel really need the masks, but he says that it is actually a good practice to wear the non medically cleared masks. I have a friend making me a couple right now. They won't completely stop the virus, but they will help out greatly. It keeps moisture away from orifices which is key. The more you can keep from touching your face and keeping those orifices away from potential moisture, you will be safer.

     I may be a bit on the extreme side for wiping down door knobs after a delivery comes, and wiping down garbage and recycling bin handles before and after I wheel them down to the curb. I also wipe down the mailbox when I check the mail, and spray all the mail down and put it in quarantine for a minimum of a day in the garage. I'm doing every thing I can to not contract this virus and pass it on to my mother. Still, I see way too many people out and about. When I went to the grocery store yesterday, I saw far too many cars on the roads, and they were loaded with multiple people. The grocery store was rather mild and empty of people, so they were all going other places, which means that it was essential travel. Florida had a big jump today of over 1000 confirmed cases, and I saw an article yesterday from a local source where one hospital is seeing 1 new case every hour. These cases aren't being reported as confirmed, because there is no testing. They are simply telling the person that it is obvious that they have Covid-19 and then sending them home. That means Florida is vastly underreporting how many cases they actually have. If that holds true for every hospital in this county, that means there are over 500 cases a day. That article was written a few days ago, which means 1500 cases. Florida is only reporting just under 7000 cases statewide at this point, with the bulk of them in south Florida. Those numbers don't add up with reality. I told you the other day that Florida was about to explode with this, it may already have, but we don't have the tests, or the local government in place that is willing to do mass testing to prove the actual numbers. Once again, stay home people. The only way to stop this virus is to not be a part of the spreading of it.

     On to the garden. I did a bunch of repotting today. I used up the last of my grow bags, so I'm in need of more. I'll be ordering some in a few days. I can wait a while for now. I'm just about out of soil, so I couldn't fill the grow bags if I had them anyway. The nursery is open during this time and I could go and get some, but that would mean leaving my mom alone at home, and that is touch and go even for early morning grocery shopping. More on her and her constant talking to herself later. I do have one picture for you of the Aji Rainforest peppers. I finally have a couple of them starting to ripen and I'm really looking forward to tasting these. They have a unique look and a unique color when they are ripe. Most pictures show them as red, but it's a reddish orange, that is rathe pretty.

     I have 4 plant with ripening peppers right now, so I'm going to have some good tasting sessions coming up. None of them are superhots, so I doubt I'll make an videos for them. I will let you know how they taste though.

     Ok, now for the moms. She is doing great physically, even her physical therapist says so. She went for a pretty long walk with her yesterday, and they even stopped half way and did some leg exercises, but her mind, is not doing very good. When she isn't focused on a task, she is talking to herself. In her mind, she is talking to a group of women that are there with her for treatment. She also blames them for everything she does or doesn't do as well. It's incredibly frustrating, because the chatter back and forth with herself is endless. It usually has to do with going to bed or not knowing what she has to do. a normal conversation goes like this. "I want to go to bed. Me too. I think I'll go, are you coming with me? Yes. Ok, let's go." She stands up and starts to move. "Where did you go? Aren't you coming with me? What is wrong with you? Why aren't you saying anything to me right now? Answer me. ANSWER ME!". I tell her that no one is there, and that she can go to bed if she wants to. That's when she will tell me that she was right there, I don't know where she went. She was just there. I may end up losing my mind. It's not fun to be around someone that has gone insane, and dementia is part of that. Since I can't take her out, she is cooped up in the house. When I explain to her why, she understands it, but it's only for a few minutes, and then the questions begin again. I may try taking her for a drive just so she can get out of the house, but I can't stop anywhere, and let her get out and walk around, it's just too risky at this point. I'll just keep dealing with it. I have slacked on my meditation lately, so I really do need to get back to that, but I've been still sleeping somewhat late, lately, and that needs to change so that I can have that time I need for all my morning activities, including meditation. It will be a massive help in the long run, in keeping me sane.

     It's time for Favorite Song of the Week. This is a song that just came out today, and I found out about it because of a recommendation for a sort of vlog video from this band. I love them because of how weird they are. They are from South Africa, and they are a rap singing duo. They've been around for a while, but I don't think they've gotten the exposure that they deserve, because they put out some really good music, they are just weird, and as I said before, I love that about them. This is Die Antwoord with their brand new song that came out today "Future Baby".



     Oh yeah, their vlog video was about social distancing and staying in the house. So if they can do it, you can to. Peace in and goodnight.

Things Are Going To Get Worse

     Dementia sucks. I'm sure you already know that, but the moms has taken a turn for the worse. She is no longer the forget 5 year old mental aged person that asks questions over and over. Now she is the child mentality that battles everything, and is talking to herself constantly. I'm talking full conversations, that I can't translate. I understand the words she is saying, but I have no idea what they are about, because they always pick up middle of the conversation. She has also started turning towards the nasty side of things, and yelling and accusing. The first time was during breakfast a few days ago. She argued that she had eaten everything and when I walked over and pointed out what was on the plate, she yelled that someone else already ate it and spit it back on her plate. That wasn't the case at all, but that is where she is at most of the time now. She has also decided that she wants to nap and sleep all day. Today was a bit different, I was able to keep her up, because she had to wait to see her grandson. He was going to hang out in the backyard on the other side of the garden, so he could visit with her. This also gave me a chance to get her out into the sun for a change. That is also something that she doesn't want to do anymore. No going outside. Her most common reason, is that it's too cold out there. If I tell her that it isn't, she usually laughs like she knows I'm lying about the weather, just to get her to go out and trick her or something. I honestly don't wish anyone to go through this with a family member. I can no longer feed her the way I was, because she doesn't want to eat most of the time, so I think because of the way they fed her out the facility, and even though I'm feeding her very healthy meals, they aren't the same for boosting her mental capacity, and it is sending her further down the rabbit hole. Remember people, sugar is the enemy. I'm not saying get rid of it all tougher, but try to limit sugar consumption to maybe once every couple of days. Once a week would be even better.

     Ok, a couple of garden moments. This first one is a very small Chocolate Cherry Sunflower blooming. I wish it were full size, so you could really see how magnificent this flower really is, but these have struggled to grow to their full 6 foot size. This one is only about a foot and a half tall. The one in the front yard is about a foot taller, but it is starting to bloom as well. It will be slightly larger than this. I think it might be due to the uncommonly hot weather we are getting here. It's throwing everything off.

     That is just the early stage of the bloom, so it will get a little better, but it's still going to be undersized. The two next pictures are of scotch bonnets growing. The first one is this really cool looking pod, that I hope continues on with this shape. If it does, I'll get seeds from it and plant them in hopes that I can get a whole plant of this shape, just like the ones I'm growing now, are the from another pod from the same plant with a cool shape. The second picture is on the very same plant, which is the original scotch bonnet that I planted last fall. It is so odd, that these are on the very same plant. This one is on the pointy side, and really gnarly looking, with that spiky flesh. I won't get seeds from this one, but it will be fun to eat.

     Pretty cool huh? This is only two on the plant, there are others with all kinds of different shapes, but those two stand out the most.

     I forgot to tell you about a movie I watched on Disney +. It's called Star Girl, and it stars Grace Vanderwal. She was the young woman that played ukulele and wrote her owns songs winning America's Got Talent a few years ago. It's a real enjoyable family friendly movie, that is worth a watch if you are looking for something fun that is a little more family oriented than Tiger King. Yeah,  I watched that too, and it's a train wreck. I will not recommend that for the family, but it is also worth a watch.

     I'm 4 episodes in on Picard, and it's everything I hoped it would be. It is so good seeing my favorite Starfleet captain back on the screen. It almost has me wanting to keep the service for when the next seasons comes out, but with this virus going around, there is no telling when a new season actually will come out. Production on all new shows for everything has basically been halted until this is all over, so get ready for lots of reruns. I am going to give the other Star Trek show a try, it has a former member of The Walking Dead as the captain, so I'm very interested in seeing it for her. If you watched TWD, she was Sasha, the one that committed suicide so that she could bite Negan's face off when he opened the coffin she was in. Epic scene in that show for sure.

     Lots of artist are putting out tons of free stuff. NIN put out two albums for free, Jake Shimabukuro just released a download of one of his concerts. J.R. Richards released a free track for people, and I know there are others out there that I don't even know about. The artists of the world will keep us sane during all of this, so appreciate them for what they give. This is also were I get on my high horse and tell you to stay home again. Florida is about to explode with cases, due to things not being shut down, and the people here thinking that since they are off work, they can treat it like a vacation and just hang out on the beach all day. I have to run errands tomorrow, and I've been spending the greater part of the last few days figuring out just how I'm going to go about the day keeping things sanitized and myself free of the virus. I have a plan, it's not foolproof, but what it is if you don't have a full hazmat suit. I'll figure it all out, and stay as far away from people as I can.

     I'm out for the night, going to watch an episode or two of Picard and then prepare for The Walking Dead. Oh yeah, they have already announced that they can't finish their season finale, and that it will be a one off episode later during the year, so their current season will finish one episode early, which will be next Sunday. Just a little information for the brain. Stay home and stay safe. Peace in and goodnight.

Chili Chocolate Anyone

     Well, as things get better, they often tend to get worse. That is the rollercoaster of dementia. the lows are extreme, and my mom lost a lot from this latest stay in a facility. That period of time where she knew who I was is gone. There are tiny glimmers of memory, but they are very small at this point. The sundowners has gotten much worse, and makes the evenings very difficult. She is often confused when I wake her up for dinner, and always thinks it's breakfast, which she then picks at for a while and says that she ate everything on the plate. Mind you, she may have only taken one bite of food at that point. That's when I have to say that there is more there and point it directly out to her, then she will get into it for a few more minutes, and once again say that she ate it all, or that she is a little person and can't eat very much. That's when I have to put the food on the silverware for a couple of bites, which is literally half of what I put on the plate, and convince her to eat it. That is the only way I get her to eat half her dinner at this point. Breakfast and lunch are much better, but still a constant reminder that there is food on the plate. This is a typical breakfast for my mom.

     That's peanut butter toast with walnuts, and berries. That is a small tea saucer that it is on, so you can see, it's not a very big breakfast. I'm hoping that her appetite gets better, but I know that not wanting to eat is part of dementia, so it will always be a struggle.

     I made more of my chili chocolate last night. I used the moruga powder that my buddy gave me, and it's freaking hot. I'm not sure if I lost some tolerance from dealing with this cold, but this chocolate is on fire. It actually gave me the hurps today from two small pieces. I put a little more monk fruit than last time, since I didn't have much left in the bag, so it all went in. It was probably about 3/4 of a cup instead of the 1/3 I put in lsat time. That only made the chocolate a little grainy, but it's still good, and as I said, freaking hot.

     I finally got my black velvet nasturtiums to bloom. They each have a bloom on them, with one being bold and actually having two. I thought the color was going to be a lot more rich on these, but I think the flower is rather pretty regardless of not having that deep dark center that bleeds into the red.

     It supposed to be almost black in the center around the yellow, and maybe other blooms will have that as it matures, but the red is vibrant and really does stand out amongst the minty green of the leaves. Nasturtiums are usually pretty prolific flowering plants, so I'm really hoping this beings to explode with buds.

     Oh, the physical therapist and occupational therapist came to see the moms today. They both said she did really well. She's very responsive, but tires easily, so they are going to focus on her endurance. We did discover that what she is calling pain in her left side, is a confusion of weakness. The PT finally got to the bottom of it today when she starting saying that she was in pain while walking. The therapist asked where it was hurting and she could only say her left butt, and then when the therapist went more into it, that's when she confirmed that it is her feeling of weakness on that side, which is really odd, because her right side was the whole reason she is in this situation.

     Oh well, I'm going to go watch Picard now. CBS all access is offering a month free, so you can have a chance to see it, so I signed up to watch it all and then cancel before the payment kicks in. It's still a good price, but there is nothing else really on there that I want to watch, maybe the Star Trek that they made. I'll give it a chance after I watch Picard if I have enough time. Have a good weekend and stay home. Remember, my offer still stands if you want to go out and galavant around. Message me, and I'll give you my address so that I can punch you in the face for being stupid and putting me and my moms life in jeopardy. Peace in and goodnight.

I Will Punch You In The Face

     Things are starting to fall back into place in the house. It's still not the same, and probably will never be, but it's settling down. My mom visited with the therapist today, and she mentioned how strong my mom was, and that she was going to focus her energy on weening my mom away from the walker in the house. She said that it could be more of a hinderance and fall risk, since it is all new to her rather than an aid. She did say she would reevaluate that idea later on if it seemed like the walker was a definite need. Getting my mom to eat is still a challenge, but I've managed to get her to eat a full breakfast and lunch, and at least half of dinner. Still very small portions, seem too much for her in the evening. I do my best to load her up calorie wise in those first to meals, and focus on more nutrient dense foods in the evening. I did get some of the worst possible advice from the nurse that came yesterday to see her. We will only get one more visit from the nurse, but this advice was just plain bad. I mentioned the difficulty in getting my mom to eat, and how she had lost even more weight while in the facility, and she said to feed her lots of peanut butter, bananas, and ice cream. My mom does get plenty of peanut butter, but I refuse to make it every meal. Peanut butter has anti-nutrients that actually block nutrient absorption, so it can thicken the meat on you, but it will leave you very unhealthy if that is all you are getting. Bananas are pure sugar. She mentioned how good it was for healthy skin, which is just plain wrong as well. This was after commenting how good my mom's skin was. That is due to the diet a generally feed her. I've studied a lot about nutritional health, and what certain foods do and don't do. Trust me, bananas as a healthy fattening tool, is not a good thing. Ice cream was just ridiculous. I could feed my ice cream and she would be just happy doing that, but once again, pure sugar. Sugar will destroy your skin as well as a slew of other things within the body. I of course have a keto ice cream that has no sugar in it, but I keep it to nightly dessert. She also told me how this oncologist told her how she fattened up cancer patients, by feeding them anything they wanted. Listen, that is great if they are terminal, and you just want to comfort their final days, but if you want to try and turn things around, that is the worst possible thing you can do. Cancer feeds off of sugar. The absence of sugar in the body actually diminishes cancer cells. If I am ever unfortunate enough to get cancer, I will surely being doing a protocol of no sugar, and lots of intermittent fasting. I won't go into the ins and outs of that, but studies have shown great results for cancer patients utilizing these two eating habits.

      Speaking of eating habits, mine have been very odd lately. In an effort to preserve food during this whole isolation and quarantine, I have been fasting more, and sticking with 2mad and omad for the most part. This has lead to me losing more weight without even trying. I can tell you the numbers, since I did them this morning. I've been missing my weigh ins lately, since I really don't see much of a need for them much anymore. I weight in at 147, which is a 4.5 lbs loss from my last official weight. The worry of that would be that I'm losing muscle with all that fasting I've been doing. That is where the other two measurements come into the mix. My weight to height ratio is out of this world now. I've destroyed the .48 measurement that I was craving. I pulled a .477, by losing an entire half inch on the measurement. I checked body fat with the calipers, which of course aren't as accurate as I would like, but that's all I have. I'm still hitting that 14.9, which I'm labeling as in the 15% area. Even though it's reading the same, the appearance is quite a bit different, with much more definition in my midsection. I still need to add more muscle, and that will come. Today was the first day that had a semblance of normalcy for working out. I still have a nagging cough, but this is something that has always happened when I've gotten colds or flus. I get a persistent cough that is triggered my an irritation in my throat whenever I eat or drink. Colder foods and fluids are worse than warmer ones. That's where I am now, but it doesn't affect my physical ability anymore. The muscle will start packing on soon.

     Ok, garden time. I've failed at the broccoli, but it isn't all my fault. The natural environment has gotten in the way. I noticed this morning that my broccoli had buds on it, and sure enough, they bloomed. That is a bad thing. The hotter temperatures are what did them in. Broccoli likes it to be in the 60's and 70's, and it was of course a much hotter winter here in Florida than ever before. That has spurred the florets to flower. The good news, is that I can harvest the seeds from the flowers and try again in the fall. The bad news is, that the flowers make the florets unpalatable. It's a bit of a bummer, but they are pretty little flowers, so there is that.

     I'm not real sure if I'm going to try and harvest the seeds though. I may just let them run their course and pull them and plant more peppers. I have much better luck with peppers and tomatoes. I already have new tomatoes on the new plants. It's an exciting time in the garden, despite the few failures. You have to take the good with the bad, and that's how I'm taking it.

     Let's get to this virus now. I'm hearing rumblings that the self isolation is going to be lifted around Easter, which no expert agrees is the right time. They all say much more time is needed to beat this virus, so please stay at home, and don't listen to the people saying that sacrifices of loved ones lives need to be made. If you choose to leave the house and spread this virus, please, contact me, I'll give you my address, and since you are going to kill my mom and myself, I want you to come to my house so I can punch you directly in the face. I want to get my shot in before you take me out entirely. Don't be selfish, and save yourself the black eye or bloody nose, and just stay home and listen to the medical experts on all matters pertaining to this virus. I thank you in advance for not having to hurt my hand on your face.

     Alright, Favorite Song Of The Week time, and this one goes back to one of my all time favorite bands. It's really just one guy, but it's a band in name. This was the first industrial song that I ever heard, and gave me a love for the genre of music, and began my whole goth phase. This is by none other than Nine Inch Nails, and the genius talent of Trent Reznor. I give you one of the greatest songs of all time. Here is Nine Inch Nails and "Head Like A Hole".



      Yes, Trent has changed quite a bit since that debut album, but haven't we all? Remember to stay at home and stay safe. Peace in and goodnight.