Just Help Out A Little

     Ok, I have a lot to talk about tonight, and I just want to get this out of the way first. I mentioned last week that a friend was making masks and selling them, and I even shared a picture of the masks that were made for me. She doesn't have a shop, but if you have Facebook, you can check her out at this link Awesome Masks She is selling them 3 for $25 or 1 for $10. Trust me that is a great price for a quality mask. She will make them somewhat to what you want, depending on what material she has. She will give you a choice (first come first serve) to get the material of your choosing, and she will even customize it for a filter sleeve or a wire for better squeeze around the nose. There will be added costs for that, but you can discuss that with her. I can tell you, that the masks fit great, so I see no need for the extra wire. That may just be a little overkill. Thats up to you though. She is making them and sending them out as fast as she can, so be a little patient with her. It is only herself doing these masks. so it takes a little extra time than if you just ordered some crappy ones off of Amazon.

     Ok, there's my sales pitch for you to get an extra awesome mask. Now it's on to the postal service. The American postal service is under attack, and is being threatened to be left out of all the bailouts. This will leave the USPS belly up sometimes during the summer. I don't know about you, but I love the fact that I can send a letter for $.50 although across the country in a couple of days. The USPS is one of the largest employers of veterans in the country, and they will all be without a job, and you won't get your mail on time. How about that Amazon package you ordered? It will not be there in two days, and you may just have to go pick it up at one of the other parcel services offices, since they don't always do final mile delivery.  They usually pass that off to the USPS. See where this is going. The goal of those that are doing this, is to privatize the postal service. When that happens that 50 cent stamp will be something of the past. Get ready for $3.00 letter delivery. Here is what you can do directly to help out, and it's real simple, and something you probably need anyway. Go to usps.com and buy a sleeve of stamps. They have a large assortment of stamps to choose from. I pre-ordered the Earth Day stamps. You need stamps anyway, why not buy them direct from the source to help fund them to keep them going through this pandemic. It's simple, something you need, and a great way that you can directly help a veteran.

     Second rant out of the way. Although, those really weren't rants as much as PSA's. Here is a rant. For the past few weeks, I've been doing something called Carb Cycling. It's supposed to be a really good way to lean up even more than what I've been doing. What you do, is eat higher in carbs for a couple of days, then have a low carb day. On the carb days, you go low fat, and on the non carb days you eat Keto. I can tell you that I do not like it, and I'm glad that I only have 1 more week of doing it. My weight is holding steady, but fluctuating a bit more than normal. My normal weight fluctuation is between 2-3 lbs, where as now, I'm fluctuating from 4-5 lbs. I also have carb bloat that has changed my waist measurement by a full 2 inches. That is a lot. The uncomfortable of the bloat, and the retention of water is just not in what I want to do. I will be going back to my low fat Mediterranean Keto eating as soon as this is all over. It may be, that the after effect is what this is all about, and I'll let you know what happens, but this discomfort is not worth it for whatever the end result is. I try these things out, so I can tell you about them. This is definitely not for me, but it may work out for you. Oh, and when I say higher carbs, it's not like I'm eating the way I used to. I'm only jumping up to around 150-200 grams of carbs on the high carb days. that is a far share lower than the 400-500 grams I used to eat. I have enjoyed having rice again, but once again, it's not worth the bloat. One cup of rice equals bloat city, and I can say with a matter of fact now, that what I used to say was that full feeling is simply bloat. When I eat that low fat Mediterranean Keto I can eat twice as much food at a meal, and not have any bloat at all. My stomach is still flat as can be. That truly tells me everything I need to now about what carbs do to my body. It's not a good thing.

      It's garden time, and I got pictures. The first is of the tiniest sunflower ever. I can't confirm that is true, but I'm going with it. This is another Chocolate Cherry, and I'm quite shocked that it's alive much less that it bloomed. It has been through the mill, but it has survived. Here it is.

     Even though it's tiny as can be, it's still pretty awesome. The next is the Aji Ayuyo. It is finally beginning to ripen, and I just wanted to show you how cool peppers can be. It starts off a deep purple, when the flower drops, then it grows and gets that cream colored section, that is on that one to the right. It then begins turning orange and then finally finishing off at red. This is right in the middle of the process, and it's still not red today. This was taken a day or two ago.

     They are great looking pods, and I'm really looking forward to tasting them. I plan on picking a ripe one and one that is still purple, so that I can see exactly what the difference flavor and heat wise. It's going to be a fun little experiment. I don't think these are supposed to be all that hot, so it should be an easy pepper eating day for me.

     I don't remember if shared this flower with you. This is a random one that popped up in a window box, and I had no idea what it was. My buddy finally found the answer it is called a Torenia. I made the decision to take care of it, and it has thrived, and recently has exploded with blooms. It's a real pretty flower, and I'm glad that I lucked into it.

     Ok, maybe I didn't have that much to talk about, but I have plan for something to talk about on Tuesday, and don't forget I got my Favorite Song of the Week already picked out. Stay safe, and stay home everybody. Peace in and goodnight.