Everlong

     Another early post this week. I woke up super early today and got everything done that I wanted to do today before 6 AM. I did take accountability photos, which are a complete and utter train wreck, but we will get to that in a little while. I did also get a good picture of the blooming desert rose, which I would rather hit you with first, because the other photos will scald your eyes.

    Only a few of the blooms have opened, but there are so many on it right now that will be open by the end of this week. It has grown a bit, but not too much. I think it is going at a nice steady pace right now. I'll see how big it gets before deciding if I want to go for a bigger pot. I like the one it is in right now for size and convenience of placement. It is sitting on the table between the outside chairs, which is a nice spot for it. I'm excited about that as well as how the garden is going. I may have to trim back the Lantana though, because it is beginning to take over the whole area. It's pretty impressive. Here is the picture from last week as a reminder. The Lantana is the yellow flowering plant in the middle.

     You have to remember those all came in 1 gallon nursery pots, so it has grown tenfold from when I originally got it.

     Oh, I kept forgetting to post this picture. This is the new chef at the White House. When this posted on social media it was quite the buzz. People could see a whole story of intrigue and action based on Andre Rush. See if this picture doesn't create a whole scenario in your head as well.

     I mean if that doesn't say undercover secret agent to protect the President, I don't know what does. I can see it now, and Independence Day type of movie where aliens come to attack the Earth and he walks out the front door to confront them and they just turn away and run back to space where it is much much safer. 

    Ok, time to burn your eyes out. I'm not happy at all about my appearance, but I also know that it's not as bad as I'm actually seeing it. I did weigh in and I was right about my weight (166.4 lbs). I also got a body fat reading that came in at 18.5%. Here is the thing though, at my low my body fat was at 15%, and that 3.5% is a massive difference. I can sit here an point out all the flaws in me that I see, but I'll just let the photos speak for themselves. I also need to state that this is an important part of my process in keeping myself in check.

     I'm going to stop beating myself up and start getting going again. I do know that my lack of a current tan (it has faded away from the spring) does have an effect on my appearance, but I look beyond that. There I go again, starting the beating. 

     You can also see from the photos that Ri Ri does not like to leave my side. She is an absolute sweetheart, but it is remarkable how quickly she has bonded to me as it compares to her cozying up to other people. It took her about a week to stop being freaked out by my mom. She is still unsure of her, but she has stopped the barking at her and just kind of nervously walks near her to make sure she isn't up to something. If anyone else comes around, she goes crazy. She is very much protective of me, a little too much, but she will settle. It takes time for rescue dogs to find their place and role in a new family, and that is all she is doing. This is that spot where I once again implore you, that if you are thinking about a new pet, to very much consider adopting and also to consider an older pet. Oh, I did get Ri Ri's information and she is 4 years 7 months old. Oh oh, I also saw that the dog that I was originally wanting to look at has been returned to the shelter. She is a beautiful girl named Jill, and if you live near me, and you know who you are please go to the Titusville SPCA and take a look at her, and if you do choose to adopt her please let me know so I can come over and give her all the pets. If they still have the same deal going on, adults dogs are free adoptions. That is the deal I got with Ri Ri, I only had to pay for a collar for her, since I didn't have an extra one. So that takes care of that excuse, now find a reason to get rid of all those other excuses you have.

      Before I get to Favorite Song of the Week which also is my Favorite Thing of the Week, I need to mention that my week was overly stressful this past week. I didn't hit my 48hr fast goal because that stress hit right in the middle of it, and I fell into confort food mode. This also has helped with how I'm seeing my physical self either. I'm just going to ride out today with more comfort foods, and then try to reset tomorrow. I don't know what this next week will have in store for me, but that is the plan as I move forward. Oh, one thing that did help relieve a little stress (part of it is coming from the state of this state and the overwhelming number of Covid positive people there are) was when I went to the local pharmacy to pick up some medication for my mom. There were several people there getting their first shots of the vaccine, and that made me happy. I talked a little to the pharmacist about it and he said they were up to doing 40 a day. For a small pharmacy that is really good. You have to consider that these were mostly people that were holding out for one reason or the other, but getting vaccinated won out. If you remember the last time I was there, they were administering a bunch of Covid tests, so to go from a ton of tests to a ton of vaccines is a big change. This is the place where I beg you to get vaccinated if you haven't already done so, and if you have please continue to wear a mask until this is at a much lower level. 

     Ok, now it's time for FSOTWAFTOTW. I threw you with that one didn't I. If you think about it you will get it. Anyway, earlier this week the Foo Fighters had a concert (yes they require vaccinations to get in or a very recent negative test result and everyone is required to wear masks) and at this concert Dave and the Fighters of Foo had a special guest come out for the final song of the night. If you remember last summer I shared at least one of the videos if not all of a certain drum battle that took place on YouTube between a precocious little girl (with all the talent to back it up) and Mr. Grohl himself. Well they finally met in person at this show, and Nandi Bushell was the special guest for that show closing song, and what a closer it was. This is the Foo Fighters with special guest Nandi Bushell on drums with "Everlong". 

     I've come to the conclusion that we truly don't deserve Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters, but I'm enthusiastically happy that they don't see it that way. I once commented on a post from someone that asked, "if you could sit down and talk to anyone alive or dead who would it be?" I commented Dave Grohl cause he seems like a really rad dude, and this video just reenforces that answer even more. I would love to just sit down and talk music with Dave. I want to point out for you to take a look at Taylor Hawkins drum kit above Nandi during the video. It's so rad that he just took the song off and let her play, but also the kid that is up there with him leaning on his drum kit watching is his son that has been on this tour with them all summer. Just rad people.

     I can't see a better way to end this post then you just rewatching that video again. Peace in and goodnight.

All About The Music

      I thought I would write this out a little early today. Honestly I was thinking about doing it a few hours ago, but put it off to listen to some music. Music is life after all, which really ties into a lot that I have to talk about today. 

     First off, I will say that I do have a Favorite Song of the Week, but that will come up a little later. So, really the first thing is going to be these photos of a bench that were posted by Iman. If you don't know who Iman is, I really have to ask you what is wrong with you, but then I will say that she is a supermodel that is widowed by David Bowie. This was an art bench, or a book bench made by artist Sally Adams. I've never heard of her before, but this is one fantastic work of art.

 

     The bottom photo is a plaque that explains it all. I just love that the bench is an open book, which just adds an extra layer of awesome to it. I had to share this with a friend of mine that is also a very big Bowie fan and they said I should make one myself. I think it would be fun, but I don't believe I could pull of those exact shapes. I can however do my own spin on it and maybe make it more of a traditional bench. I will have to come up with a good design. I do have ideas. Although building it will be fun, I think painting it will be the most fun and more than likely the most challenging part of it. I'm going to take some time and really think things out before I even pretend to approach this though, but I think it's going to happen.

     Alright, now it's time for number 2. In the very little free time that I have, I've been hitting a record store. It's the one that i went to on Record Store Day, and they have some great old albums in great shape for really cheap prices, which is an extra bonus. My find yesterday was The Police Synchronicity. I always wanted that album when I was a kid, but what I never knew was that it is one of the most variant albums there is. I knew that the cover art on the jacket had variants. This is the one that I got.

   

     The variants with the cover are this paint swatches. Different copies have them in different orders. Now comes the part I didn't know. The records themselves were pressed on different colored vinyl and you really didn't know until you held it up to a light. This is the one I lucked into.

     How cool is that. That is purple vinyl right there. The photo makes it look a little more blue, but in real life that sucker is purple, and I'm so stoked about it, after all purple is my favorite color. I've already given it a spin and it's in great shape and plays like brand new. That is a $12 score right there.

     Now for not music news, here is a garden update. I got two photos one of what the garden looks like now, and the new and improved Desert Rose.

     As you can see the garden plants are filling out all the area really well. I did trim the dead blossoms from the rose bush to help promote growth, so I'm hoping that takes off soon. If you look at the top left corner right were the little fence turns out for the Tibutina, that bundle of big leaves is the Turmeric. I'm really hoping it produces a flower this year, because it's really pretty, plus there is the fact that this is the third year it has made a comeback from simply just a root in the ground. I finally put the Desert Rose into a pot. It was one that I had hanging around the house. There was another plant in it, but I got rid of that one, and the Desert Rose is liking it's new home. I wanted a picture with all the flowers bloomed, but that is as of this morning, and they haven't opened yet, so next week I'll have the really good picture.

     I guess I should update you on Little Miss Ri Ri. She is settling in nicely. There has been the ups and downs, but it's mostly ups. She has bonded very quickly with me and spends most of her time by my side. You can clearly see that she is comfortable.

     She is still a little jittery and walks around a lot, but that is lessening each day. Right now she is sleeping at the foot of my chair. Since she is still recovering from hear heart worm treatment, I have to keep play time to a minimum, which is usually instigated by her. I simply call Morty in (they like to play fight a lot) and have him sit by my side which usually does the trick to calm everyone down. She just needs a couple more weeks of clam time before she can be unleashed. Oh, and not to leave Morty out, here is a picture of my Big Baby Boy in all his glory.

      Ok, one last picture before FSOTW. Since I know you are clamoring for Pokemon GO news, here is my current buddy. 

     Just so you know, you can get bonuses when you make a Pokemon your buddy. They walk around with you and give you rewards and even help you catch other Pokemon. This is a Shiny Kangaskahn, which I named Roo. A shiny is a variation on the normal pokemon where it has a different color scheme and they are generally much more rare. The only way to get one of these here is to be lucky enough to catch it after a raid. That is when you battle a Pokemon with a bunch of different people and once you win, you get to catch it. The Kangaskahn is a regional Pokemon that is exclusive to Australia. You can catch it there in the wild, but there is a special event going on now (well a couple of days ago) where you could find this one in raid towers. I was super lucky and this was only the second raid I did for Kangaskahn when I got that. You are allowed two free raid passes a day so I've made the most of them this time by catching that one shiny Pokemon. The one I really wanted I did not catch and now it's going to be even more rare. During the event, these two (kangaskhan and Heracross) were in raids with a 1 in 75 chance of getting one. Since they have both left the raids and Heracross is now back in the wild (here in Florida but not the rest of the country) it is a  1 in 400 chance of getting one. I should explain the spawn rate, or chance here. That 1 in 400 doesn't mean that for every 400 I see I should get one. What it does mean that each one I see has a 1 in 400 chance of being a shiny. It is all very random but some people are noticing trends where Niantic may be manipulating the shiny spawn rate at certain times. I won't get into all that, I just wanted to share that little, but rather big guy right up there.

     Ok, time for FSOTW. I got one other album at that record store and it's another epic find at least from my view of things. It's from a Fats Domino album. This is the Masters volume 1 which is basically a compilation of hits. For me this is the bees knees because of one particular song, which is the one I'm going to share with you, but first I must mention one other song, because it's one that my Dad loved and would sing quite often. It is none other that Blueberry Hill, probably Fats most recognizable song. I can remember my dad singing that song from time to time and it always put a smile on my face. He would do an over exaggerated deep low tone the "I found my trill" part. It was never not funny. Anyway, that's just a memory that relates to that song and this album. I should also mention that my mom loves it. I give to you my favorite Fats Domino song "Walking to New Orleans". 

     I also need to mention that this album has the song The Fat Man on it which is widely considered to be the first ever rock n roll song. Do yourself a favor and look that one up if you haven't heard it before, it's a lovely little piece of history.

     I know I promised some accountability phots this week, but I never got around to taking them, so hopefully next week. I can say that I've been keeping on task with my new fasting protocol, which this past week was 2 24 hour fasts. I'm shooting for a 48 hour this week. I think I'll go for midweek. With a longer fast, I will only do one fast that doesn't of course count my normal intermittently schedule of 18 hours or so each day. That has just been a normal day for me, and has been something I continued to do even when I went off the rails. I'm pretty sure that is the only thing that saved me from gaining 30 pounds or so. Let that be a lesson to you. You can eat anything you want (within reason) if you eat in a sensible way. That is only weight wise of course, eating a ton of garbage all the time is definitely not going to help your health even with eating sensibly, so do like me and get it together.

     That's all for this week. I hope have wonderful days going forward until the next post (really beyond that but let's take it a week at a time for now). Peace in and goodnight.

     

     

Is Another Dog In My Future

      It's been an unusual week. That's not a bad thing either. I did two fasts this week, a 24 hour and a 35 hour. I'm beginning to feel a bit more normal, and i'm owing it all to my latest fasting protocol. My sleep pattern has also showed a bit of a change as a result. I'm back to not needing as much sleep and although I still haven't gone to walk the lake trail, I have been waking up early and done 1 of 2 things or both. 1 would be getting Morty in the car and taking him with me to spin pokéstops very early in the morning. This also gives me a chance to clear some gyms and get Pokémon in there to earn some coins. You have the potential for 50 coins a day, and I think I only had 1 day I didn't reach the max coins. The other thing I've been doing is listening to some audible books. That was part of my walking routine and has suffered with not walking, so I'm pretty excited about getting the books going again. 

      I'm going to try to get some accountability photos this week. I don't think anything has changed much, but I'm well overdue for taking some. I haven't weighed myself in about 2 weeks, but I'm sure I'm in the 165-170 range. 

     I can't remember if I mentioned the whole thing about Niantics response to the pokéstop issue, or if I just told you what is going on. If I've already told you this, my apologies for repeating, but Niantic did respond to the open letter to them about the distance issue. Their response is a bit lackluster, but at least it's a response. They are forming a committee for outreach within the community and are going to announce what they are going to do moving forward on September 1. I'm hoping that they reinstate the extra distance, but I'm not holding out much hope that it will happen. There is your Pokémon update.

    Now for a doggie update. As I told you last week, I was ready to begin the search for a new dog. Well, that search hit a snag around Wednesday when I saw an instagram post form the SPCA that the dog I had been looking at was snatched up and found it's furever home. I'm happy but disappointed. Anyway, I made my way to the adoption center yesterday to look at dogs that might be favorable to being in a household with another dog. I was shown 4 great dogs, one of which immediately made up it's mind that it wanted nothing to do with me, so it was down to 3 and one of them was a dog I thought I had seen before. Turns out it was a different dog with the same name, but before I get to that, I should go in order of appearance.

     The first dog I met was the beautiful brindle coat mix that looked like it has some german shepard in it. It's name was Ian, and he was as playful as playful could be. I could see him giving Morty a run for his money in the energy department. The second dog was Rita who kind of reminded me of the dog in Our Gang. She was mostly white with black spots and one very pronounced sot over her left eye. She was a timid girl but you could tell that she wanted to be friendly she was just shy. She was a let go by her family because they were moving and she just had puppies and they had to let one go, so she was the one that went. She has been through heart worm treatment and still has the little shaved spots on her back from it. She reminded me of The Schnuggie a lot in her temperament and how she acted in that first meeting. The third dog I met was the aforementioned Mellow who wanted nothing to do with me. He came out and went up to me with enough friendliness but then had a turn and began barking at me. He made up his mind right away. The final dog was Jinx and she was the one I thought I had met before, but it was a new little girl. I should mention that all of these dogs are pit mixes. She was stunning with her red coat and beautiful reddish brown eyes. She was super friendly and loved giving hugs. She had a playful lovey streak that was top notch and she quickly moved up to my number 1 spot.

     After meeting them all, I had to get home and find out when I might be able to take Morty up to meet them. Jinx of course was my top choice. There was one problem with her though and that is that she is very picky about who she likes as a dog, that meant Morty had to be on his best behavior. I made arrangements so that I could take him up today first thing when they opened. I had to get Ol' Morty ready for his meet and greet. That meant a bath and a new collar that I had gotten him. He had to look sharp. The short morning trips have paid off and Morty is much better in the car now, but instead of anxious, he gets overly excited, which tires him out, so that was a bit of a plus, Jinx doesn't like overly excited dogs.

     The time had finally come. I was lead to the back play area with Morty so that he could finally meet Jinx. It started out well. It was told to me that Jinx would let you know immediately if she didn't vibe. She came in and was a little aggressive towards Morty, but he handled it well. She spent a lot of time dominating him and he also took that for a little while. She finally pushed one too many times and Morty checked her. He didn't hurt her, but let her know that he was done. That made them being a pair a bit risky. It wasn't bad but it opened a lot of doors to what could happen in the confined space of a house. Jinx wasn't going to be the one. Rita was the next one to come out, and she reminded me even more of The Schnugg with their meet and greet. She was playful, but Morty was so tired at this point that he just was a bit indifferent to her, which was really the right response. So Little Miss Ri Ri came home.

     She is settling in just fine. She's a bit spastic right now, but that's just her finding her place here. There was one moment when I went up to give Morty a hug and she came up to get in on the action and Morty snapped at her, but it was just a snap with no real intent and I calmed them both down quickly. For right now, she is considered a Weekend Warrior, which is a thing they do now where you take the dog home for a few days to see how they fit. I thing it's a great thing, but I can see her passing the test and staying. I'm fully expecting to call them up on Wednesday to tell them that she is going to stay. I'm going to have to ask them her age, cause I forgot. I think she is 5 but don't hold me to that. Besides that spot on her eye that really stands out. She is like Morty was when I got him, with one ear that stands up and one that flops. The stand up ear has a little curl at the very top that is super cute. Her is the picture from the website that really shows it off. 

     How could I say no to that face? She's a little smaller in height to Morty and I think she weighs around 50 pounds or so. Right now she is at the foot of my chair waiting for dinner, which I will be making as soon as I'm done writing this.

      Ok, of course Ri Ri is my favorite thing of the week, but I do have another clip from Mama Mia Here We Go Again, because it was on again this week. This is the boat scene. It takes place in the movie where everything is going wrong and this is the turning point where everything comes together for a marvelous conclusion that leads up to that Cher and Andy Garcia scene that I already shared with you. Of course this is ABBA's best known song as well. Here is the scene from MMHWGA with "Dancing Queen"

      Seriously, that scene makes me smile every time I see it. I really implore you to give that movie a chance at watch it. It truly is fantastic.

     Ok, one last thing. This week the new One Chip Challenge came out for this year. They got rid of the charcoal and the Szechuan peppercorn, which I believe toned the heat down on the chip, and only put reaper, scorpion and salt. I think it is going to be hotter and a much better tasting chip this time around. I do have to say that my tolerance is way down, so this one is probably going to do me in, which is why I got 2 chips each for me and my buddy.

     Even though my tolerance for heat is down, there is no way I'm going to let that chip beat me. I'm not sure when we are going to do it, but we will make a video that I'll share here when we've completed the challenge.

     On that note is time to go make some dinner. Peace in and goodnight.

Things, Things, And More Things

      I'm writing this early today because if things go as planned (fat chance of that really happening) I'll be hanging out with a friend when I would normally post this. The hope is that we get to hang out and do some serious Pokemon GO free2play. If you don't know (can't understand why anyone wouldn't know what it going on in the PGO community) Niantic, the parent company of the game has made some changes that really have hurt and angered players. The biggest change was removing the distance that you had to be to a pokéstop in order to spin it. The put the added distance into effect during the pandemic in order for people to be socially responsible. The thing players found is, not only did it keep players safe, it allowed them to reach more pokéstops. The games main focus is to get people out to explore and hunt for Pokemon. Players were able to experience more stops because they didn't have to break laws or encroach on private property to get to previously unreachable stops. It also allowed more access to handicapable players as well. I'm not even going to get into the fact that this pandemic is not anywhere near being over considering Florida is putting up record numbers every day (yes, I live in the home of Covid now with over 100,000 new cases in the past 4 days). Anyway players went into protest mode with a whole bunch of them even just deleting the game entirely. Those that didn't do that have committed to playing the free scale of the game which means no event tickets or buying anything from the store. I'm still gaining coins by putting Pokemon in gyms and getting my hopefully 50 coins a day, but those are just going to be saved up until Niantic reinstates the distance for the stops. I'll keep you up to date, cause I know this is on the forefront of your thoughts.

     I'm just going to get to Favorite Thing of the Week right now, because I can't wait any longer. I came across this picture this week on Twitter from a person that posts stuff about 1960's California. I think they said this was Malibu, but I really honestly don't remember. That isn't the important part, the pure epicness of the picture is what is important, and as soon as you see it you will understand all.

     That Cesar Romero as the Joker with a surfboard and baggies on. Do you not see why this is my FTOTW? Just seeing that picture made me instantly happy.

     I decided to look up my Dee Gee's album just to see what it was going for. It is now going for $142. That is crazy. I don't have any intention of selling it, and I'm sure that starting price is for an unopened copy, but mine is opened and has several plays on it. I'm a little bummed about this, but it does make it so that I can play it in the car, but they did release the album on digital. It has all the same songs as the album which one side is the Dee Gee's and the other is a few new songs from the Foo Fighters. It really is a fun and great album, so if you want to give it a listen head over to your favorite music streaming service and give it a listen.

     I've been refocusing on my mental health this week and it's paying off, but I still haven't able to head out and walk. I'm still a little broken from losing the Schnuggie, so when Morty hops into my bed in the morning, I can't get out at all. This happens every morning, so either he knows I need the attention or he is missing her as well and knows that that is where she usually was in the morning. I am also starting to feel the need to have another dog around. For myself and for Morty. I think he needs a buddy to hangout with from time to time. The local SPCA just got a whole bunch of new dogs in from a transfer out of Texas. They do this form time to time. It's where they transfer dogs from their facility that haven't had much luck getting chosen, and take some hard cases from the other facility. I have been looking at a pup that has been in the system for 3 years now. She's a 5 year old mix, which is really what I like. I've grown very very fond of Pitties, and really can't see myself having any other kind of dog. I will have to find time to go down and look at all the dogs, and then find a time to take Morty down there to see which dog works out best with him. They have to both like each other, so even though I'm looking at that sweet little girl, she may not be the one that is best for Morty or vice versa. Truthfully, I don't see Morty having a problem with any dog, it's just his nature to like other dogs. Which brings me to something that happened this week.

     I don't know for sure, but there is a good chance that Morty killed one of the neighbors chickens. I really don't think he did it, but he did bring the carcass to me. Here are my reasons for thinking Morty didn't do it. I didn't hear any kind of commotion when he found it, the blood had already dried and Morty was holding it gently in his mouth when he brought it up to me. It had been beheaded and I could not find any sign of the head at all in the yard. All that being said, I didn't see Morty find it, so it's not out of the realm of possibility that it wasn't him. I felt horrible about it either way and offered to pay for a new chicken if they got another one. It was a silkie so not your run of the mill kind of chicken. The thing that is going to bum me out the most about this is that the neighbor boy might start calling Morty a bad dog for killing his chicken. If Morty did it he deserves some scolding which I did do to him, but him being called a bad dog is something that takes me back. Morty didn't used to bark at anyone, but the neighbor behind me would walk their dogs and those little dogs would bark at Morty Constantly. Morty would always rush the fence to see what was going on and they would bark. Well the neighbor would start yelling at Morty calling him a bad dog, and it infuriated me. They were the cause of him barking, it was learned behavior from their dogs. Before I finish this part I just want to say, I don't know if this will happen, but the boy is young and sometimes kids just say things, I just hope it doesn't effect Morty if he does start saying that to him. I understand what he is going through, cause he just lost his chicken, I won't be mad but I'll still be bummed. He's a good kid.

     The one thing that has really gotten under my skin is my lack of creativity. I should be drenched in it, but it has escaped me entirely. I really think I have one more story in me, and I did start it, but I hit an instant block which has let the story just disappear. I want to try and get that and the story back but I don't know how. I think one day I'm just going to sit down at this laptop and push until something comes. My goal is to have at least 10 chapters ready before I begin posting it. Right now I don't even have a full chapter. I really want to get this story out and to feel productive again. I haven't felt that in a very long time and that in itself is one of the things that is destroying my mental health. Feeling useless is overwhelming, and when you don't know what you can do to overcome that, the overwhelming becomes even more overwhelming. I'm going to try and push and see if that works. I'm hoping it doesn't have and adverse affect. I'm not sure how I'll deal with that.

     I'm just going to stop right there and call it a post. Peace in and goodnight, even though it's pretty early in the day.

I Found My Peace

      I've been struggling with what to write this week. It has once again been a pretty miserable week, but I'm choosing not to write anything about that and sticking with some positive and fun things instead. I did forget last week to tell you that I completed the 72hr fast. I didn't make it to the 84hr mark, but I did hit 72. The extra time wasn't necessary, it was just a goal. I can tell you that this time was a little harder than the last time, what with not having fasted very much at all for the past year, but once I got to day 2 it was pretty easy. I did do two 24hr fasts this week, one at the beginning (tuesday-wednesday) and one at the end (friday-saturday). I need to implement more fasting in my routine. I nearly forgot how great it actually makes you feel. I'm shooting for a single 36-48hr fast this week. The weightless aspect is great, but these fasts aren't about that. It's all about autophagy and rebuilding at a cellular level. It's time to get back to what made me feel my best.

    Just wanted to share an update picture of the garden. As you can see it is growing well. The rose bush is just beginning to flower again, there are only small buds on it in the picture. You may also notice the berry cream in the front right. Remember how small that was. It has now blown past the caramel reaper in size and it has it's first fruit on it. I can't wait, because it is a really good pepper. Really hot, but really good. I'm still working on The Schnuggies paw print. It cast they made it from is very porous and just sucks up the epoxy. I'm ok with taking time because it will be epically strong when it is finally ready.

     A quick Covid story, or maybe two, since Florida is now the epicenter of the whole pandemic with an earth shattering 21,000+ new cases as of yesterday. While I was picking up medicine for my mom there were administering a Covid test to someone in the drive-thru. The first thing that hit me was that I hope that person gets through it. The second that my local pharmacy is doing testing. This is good since the only state testing site in the county is at the south end about 45 minutes away. I don't plan on ever needing to be tested, but if I need one, it's good to know I can just go to my pharmacy. The second story is about Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider. He recently took his family to Disneyland. He did so because they claimed that they had a bunch of Covid protocol in place, reservation only, proof of vaccination or negative covid test, masking and social distancing. He said they pretty much failed at all of it. Once people were in the park the masks came off and it was a free for all like normal, with no one social distancing at all. Well, Dee and several members of his family contracted Covid. He was fuming. The fortunate thing is that they were all vaccinated. His symptoms were very mild and only lasted a few days, but he still had to go through it all. Listen, the vaccine doesn't mean you can't catch it. I've said this all along. If you fall in the low percentage of people that aren't the 90-95% you will catch it. What the vaccine protects against is severe illness and hospitalization. It also protects against viral mutation AKA variants. So please, the only way out of this pandemic is through vaccines. If you choose not to get one, for whatever reason, at the very least do your part and wear a mask. I'm back to masking everywhere I go again, and it's not because I didn't do my part, it's because of selfish people that claim they will do all for this country except protect others that think differently than them.

     Ok, it's time for Favorite Thing of the Week, which just so happens to be Favorite Song of the Week. I've told you several times how I love the movie Mama Mia. I'm sure I've also mentioned the sequel Mama Mia, Here We Go Again. I actually like the second movie better. It's essentially the same exact story except they do it much better the second time around, and there is also the soundtrack of ABBA songs. One of the best moments of the film comes at the end when Amanda Seyfried is speaking with Cher, who plays her grandmother. They are talking about one of the other characters and Cher mentions how he has an unusual name, and Amanda says he is an unusual man, see for yourself. That's when the magic begins to happen. It springboards into ABBA's hit song "Fernando" which is done as a duet with Cher and Andy Garcia. Please enjoy this small scene from the movie and acknowledge the true greatness that is Cher and Andy Garcia.

     This scene just confirms to me that Cher and Andy Garcia would be the perfect couple, so yes I am shipping Cher & Andy. Let's not even get into how epic Cher is walking down the stairs on the downbeat. If you haven't seen either of these movies, do yourself a favor and do so. If you want to just watch Here We Go Again, you can, I think it does a pretty good job of filling in what happens in the first one, so you don't need Mama Mia in order to watch it. This is one of those movies that makes me really happy, and I truly needed that this week.

     I'm not going to explain the title, because that would entail going into what went down this week, just now that it is what it says, as cryptic as that may seem. Peace in and goodnight.

I'm Just Tired

      I'm a little late today for a number of reasons. First of which was my inability to go to sleep last night. I'm about to be very candid and I'm sure some of you will try to reach out but please read everything first. The main reason I couldn't sleep last night was because I was contemplating suicide and trying my best not to contemplate it. It was a pretty epic battle in my head. I would run through all the different ways I could do it, then I would come up with counterarguments about why that way wasn't the right way. I spent a lot of time thinking about writing about what was going on in my head just so I could get it out of my head, but I just couldn't get out of bed at that point which was probably for the best because exhaustion finally took over around 2 in the morning. Life one out this time and I'm in a good state of mind right now. I'm simply taking this one day at a time and I will work the problem as it arises.

     This all stems from the fact that I'm clearly a burden on the majority of people around me. I asked someone to give me a days notice and a time frame of when they would be picking my mom up and they just won't do it. I'm asking for too much and the only way in my head to get around that at this point is to leave this life. With my mom being in the high state of dementia that she is in, she won't miss me at all and in fact wouldn't even know that I was gone. I won't be missed. With the Schnuggie gone it's only Morty left and if he goes I honestly don't see myself far behind. He is the glue that is holding me to this realm right now. Will that change and more will hold me here, I don't know but I'm tired of burdening everyone with being me. I'm just really tired.

     I did make a point today to go see a friend of mine. One, like basically all of my friends, I haven't seen him in months. Once again, I'm a terrible friend because I just can't go out and make time for my friends, but I did today, which is another reason why this is late. I had no idea of what amount of time I had to hang out, so I just decided that I would hang until someone contacted me saying I needed to be back. It was a good visit, and I'm glad I went. I was also thankful I could go without giving him any notice. I would have been great to plan something like a cookout, or to go someplace, but I had no notice that I was even going to do that, and if I did, I wouldn't know how much time I had to planning anything would have just ended in disappointment. This also makes me tired. I'm just really really tired.

     On to a little update. I'm slowly working on the paw print mold of the Schnuggie. The epoxy is taking much more time than I expected, but it is looking good.

     You can't tell from the photo but there is a clear gloss epoxy on there, that makes it shine. I'll get a better picture when it's all done. Oh, I nearly forgot. I was checking the mail earlier this week and got an envelope from the vet. Inside was a condolence card signed by all the employees from the vet, it was a very nice surprise. Inside of the card was a smaller card. I didn't think much about it while I was reading the little notes from everybody. When I was done I pulled the card out and turned it over and was punched in the gut. It was an ink paw print from The Schnuggie.  I completely lost it and nearly collapsed to the floor in the kitchen. I was not expecting that. I immediately walked out and hugged Morty for about a half an hour. I don't have a picture of it for you because I haven't been able to bring myself to look at it again, but when I do, I'm thinking of getting a small frame so that I can hang it near my chair. The Schnuggie used to always lay right next to my chair so that I could reach down and pet her. This will be my way of having her near me again.

     I'm just going to call it a day here.  Oh, I'm editing this right after I posted because I did forget one thing. If you subscribed to the email list this will probably be your final email. Google is no longer going to send them out after this month and unless I right a new post before the 30th, this is it. I do post a link on Facebook but if you don't want to go that route (and I don't blame you), I will always try to have this posted every Sunday by 5PM eastern standard time. There is no Favorite Thing of the Week for me this week. Once again, I'm going to take each day as it comes and do my best to fight through it. I still have Morty and that is a lot Peace in and goodnight.

Surprising Week

      Although this week started out with the potential to be a complete disaster ( I know, what's new with that ), but I'm finishing it off in a good state of mind for a change.  One reason may be because I made it to Record Store day despite the person that was supposed to come and allow me to do that was a no show. I contacted a couple of local record stores to see if they would even be getting in the Dee Gees album Hail Satin. One of them wasn't getting it, but the other told me they were going to have 7 copies and that the doors opened at 8 AM. A little bonus if you were there early, they were doing a raffle for anyone in line at 7:30 for a $50 gift card. Turns out they threw in a second place price of a $25 dollar gift card. Before you ask, no I didn't win. I missed the $50 by 2 tickets. Doesn't matter though, I got what I wanted.

    Behold the glory that is the Dee Gees album Hail Satin. I have not listened to it yet. I'm waiting for just the right time for that. I also scored an old ABBA album Super Troupers. That happens to be my favorite album by ABBA and since it was old stuff, they were having 20% off yesterday. Still probably cost more than it originally sold but $14 isn't bad for some good old school vinyl.

     I do have to tell you about my experience there, because it is worth telling. My plan was to wake up super early, get ready and head to the store by 6 AM. I was figuring that if I got there and was within the first 7 people in line, I had the album in the bad. Well, I was number 5 in line. Oh yeah, I should tell you the need for having to get there early for the album. The woman that I contacted also said that a lot of people were asking her about that particular album. It was a last minute addition to RSD (Record Store Day) and people that knew about it, knew it was a pretty big deal. Fortunate for me, the people that showed up early in line didn't even know about it, but I did make 2 extra sales for them on that day. The people in line were great. They were all vinylphiles, not really sure if that is a term, but I'm going with it. They weren't the super snobbish people you've heard about, they were all really cool and had no judgment. It didn't matter what you were there for, it was all about experiencing music in it's best actual media format. I say media, because an actual live performance will alway be the true best, but vinyl is the pinnacle of sound. There were some people there with targeted tastes, you know the ones that only want one particular genre of music, but even they were all about the experience of music. There were also a few collectors there that just wanted whatever had the best chance of inflating in price. I heard them talk about a Taylor Swift album that was released for the June 12 RSD that is now going for over $300. The shop let 6 people in at a time, so I was the second person to pick up a copy of Hail Satin. The first was one of the guys I was talking to about what it actually was. The next person to pick one up was behind me in line. I was talking to the woman about it and she was telling me about how it was that last minute addition to the RSD lineup, and that most stores weren't getting it in. I told her about how I contacted other stores and that she was the only one in the area with it. She also said she was limited to those 7 copies so it's going to be a pretty rare album. When the dude behind me heard that, he grabbed it as fast as he could. He was a big metal guy, but one of those sausagefest metal guys. I'm not trying to slam him for that, it's just some people like an aggressive form of music that only attracts crowds of dudes. You know, Metallica, Megadeth, Disturbed, Avenged Sevenfold. All talented musicians with some great songs, but those people normally turn their noses up to the Foo Fighters, saying that they are pop rock. I'm sure he grabbed it as an investment potential, but maybe, just maybe he will give it a listen and enjoy a new type of music.

     Another reason for me being in a good mood is that I'm right in the middle of a 72+hr fast. This is the first one in a year. I've missed these fasts. They do make me feel really good, not to mention the health benefits you get from it. You know, the whole reboot at the cellular level thing. I took this screenshot just as I was sitting down to write this.

     That is of course from my Fast Habit app. I don't pay for the app, so I can only go as high as 24 hrs as the set point, which is why it says that it ends at 5:02 PM. The plan as of right now is to break my fast on Tuesday morning. That would put me around the 84 hour mark. That is if I ate at 5 in the morning, but I will probably wait until 8 at the earliest.

     I have done it a little different than times in the past. Normally I would load all my water up with salt and then take a magnesium supplement in the evening to help with sleep. This time I've skipped the majority of the salt and went with cans of Liquid Death as my primary source of water. I have taken a few more essential supplements because I haven't been getting in the electrolytes from all the salt, so I've thrown two different magnesiums in the mix, with some zinc and GABA. Don't ask me what GABA stands for, I really don't want to look it up, but it's good stuff and doesn't break a fast. The major benefit of that is that it helps prevent muscle breakdown during a fast. Now, the amount of muscle you can potentially lose from a fast depends on how long you have fasted how hard you treat yourself during that fast. All that being said, it's still not a great deal of muscle to begin with. The length does take a toll on your body, which is the main purpose of doing it. Putting your body in stress can create some really exciting results later on. Remember the affects of any fast aren't really finalized until days and sometimes weeks later. Back to that length thing. the longer you go the longer your body goes without building blocks, aka protein. That will cause the body to want to use it's best source of protein for that protein and that would be your muscle, but that takes a very long time, much more than 3 days. The harder you treat your body takes a toll as well. If you go out and do wind-sprints several times a day and lift super heavy, you are going to cause that muscle breakdown even faster. Fasting workouts should be low impact. That will stimulate everything, keeping it active and ready to go when it starts getting fed again. So, don't think you are doing yourself any favors by doing very difficult workouts when you are fasting, because they are going to take you backwarrds. Save those for short term intermittent fasting days, and do them at the end of your fast to get the most out of them.

     Ok, a few pictures form the garden to show you how things are exploding with flowers.

      

      The first one is the completed garden. I do need to get some lights for it, and I need to get that epoxy on the Schnugg's paw print. The second is a plant called meteor shower, which is just an awesome name. Number 3 is Blue My Mind, and it lives up to its name, and last is a plant I can't remember but the flowers are so pretty.

     Now this picture is I believe the Turmeric making another comeback. if you remember last year that plant came back from nothing and it appears that it is doing it again. I really hope I can get it to flower this year, because the flower is pretty epic. 

     Two photos of food items, because I consider these a pretty good score. The first aren't exactly great for you, but better than a sugary snack, and they taste remarkably like the original.

     I was expecting them to have some kind of chemical taste to them, but these were down right delicious. I have limited myself to only 1 a day, which breaks down to around 33 calories and 1 net carb.. The bag says 0 net carbs for 1, but that is rounding down, and that doesn't really work in nutrition. Anyway, if you want a tasty treat, with very little quilt, give these a try.

     Next comes a meat treat. Yes, I'm kind of like a dog and I need a meat snack from time to time. Found these today, so I haven't tried them, but I can tell you that it is very difficult to smoked sausage sticks that don't have sugar. They usually use cane sugar, which if you are going to have sugar, that would be the best natural source for it. I've always like Tillamook so I'm expecting these to be pretty good. I can tell you that their ice cream and ice cream sandwiches are out of this world, and their cheese is fantastic as well.

     Favorite Thing of the Week is of course that album up above so I have nothing else left to tell you today. Peace in and goodnight.