I was gone basically all day Thursday, leaving in the morning to get to SHARE by 9 AM, returned home by 1:15 with just enough time to scarf down a sandwich and head to my appointment for my annual physical at 3 PM. I really like my primary care doc which is why when the Memorial Hermann clinic closed offices here and moved to Sugar Land, I followed her there. In the past it has taken 40 – 45 minutes to get to the office because of highway construction and traffic and then maybe another 10 minutes or so to troll around the parking lot until I find a parking spot, usually the furthest away possible, walk to the building to arrive 30 minutes ahead of the appointment which they request. So I left at 1:30 for my 3 o'clock appointment. All the road construction has been completed and traffic was light and I made it there in half an hour and as soon as I pulled into the parking lot, a car pulled out of the first row right in front of the entrance and I slid right in. Great, now I'm an hour early for my appointment. So I sat in the car and read for half an hour before going in. Had already had my blood work done and everything was good, cholesterol a little high but not so much that she recommended medication, which I wouldn't take anyway. Too many problems associated with statins to suit me. I do have to schedule a boob squishing and a bone density test to keep an eye on the osteoporosis which I also refuse to take the medication for. Got home about 4:15 and then left again a little before 5 for yoga class and back home by 6:30.
The wind blew in another cold front Thursday giving us low humidity and a clear blue sky yesterday and today. This is the time of year when the rising sun isn't hidden by the leaves on the tree out my window and shines through the crystal faceted ball hanging there and throws prisms on the ceiling and walls.
Dipped down to 35˚ last night and then gets warm again. The next two weeks will be highs in the 60s and 70s. If it weren't for the arctic freeze before christmas we really wouldn't be having much of a winter. I finally got out there yesterday and cut the banana trees to the ground, the ones here at the house. Cut them up into manageable sized sections, used the garden cart to tote the mess to the edge of the wild space and tossed it all in as far as I could throw it, at least six cart loads and I'm glad to have that chore done.
Coming back across the yard I happened to look down and six 10 petal anemone flowers had opened up. These little wildflowers, about an inch in diameter, are always the first to bloom besides dandelions but they still surprised me. It seems early even for them.
Earlier yesterday I heard a loud thump and assumed a bird hit the glass in the door but I didn't get up to investigate. When I did finally look up I couldn't see the bird feeder and turns out the pole on which it sits had keeled over and all the bird seed had spilled out. This pole doesn't have a prong at the bottom for stability, just a pointed end you pound into the ground. Granted it was a little wobbly so I'm not really surprised it fell over. I have seen no squirrels so I don't know what caused it to keel over. Maybe the white wings doves that kept landing on the top. Anyway, I pounded the bottom section into the ground deeper and it seems pretty stable now. It was mobbed all day with cardinals, chickadees, sparrows, goldfinches, doves, et al and they did not let the spilled seed on the ground go to waste either.
Once again, my turn to fix dinner last night. I had a sort of meat pie/pastie planned. They're always a little different. This one had shredded leftover roast, onion, a leftover leek, celery, garlic, and potato.
Another trip in the Way Back machine, this one from 2010 about insects. It's a little different as it turns out most my January posts around this time of the month are about how cold it is and how I'm over winter or what full size drawings I'm trying to get done for whatever carved glass job or molds I was filling.
Your meat pie looks wonderful. A great way to use leftovers and make them new again.
ReplyDeleteAnd look at those darling anemones!
Good job on the bananas. Those damn things are heavy, aren't they?
This particular version of the meat pie was really good. And yes, dead soggy nasty banana trees are heavy. The biggest ones I had to cut in 6 or 7 pieces and I was done in by the time I finished. Still have the clump over at the shop to cut down.
DeleteDennis's doctor has been pushing statins for years now, He refuses, good thing too, statins will make you crazy-plus other side effects that are no fun. Dennis tried them for about a month or so and was nuttier than a squirrels dinner. i thought he had lost his mind entirely., Dementia, I thought- but it was statins. So ,yeah, eff that! Another reason I do not go to doctors, unless I am broken somewhere or bleeding to death. Your gay wall is a boost of light and color, needed!! Dark here.
ReplyDeleteIt's their association with dementia mostly that keeps me off statins. I did take them for about a year and didn't have the muscle pain that so many get but I'm just not a pill taker for things that are just a little over what the medical community considers ideal.
DeleteThe pasty looks great. Hmm. Noted.. And thank you for the anemones, lovely to see flowers.
ReplyDeleteI imagine with this warming for the next couple of weeks the yard will be littered with anemones.
DeleteOoo - buying pasties from a street vendor was one of my favorite things in Zambia. What do you use for your crust? I might have to try that.
ReplyDeleteGlad your dr. visit went well!
I used the ready made Pillsbury pie crust, the ones that are rolled up individually in the refrigerator case with the other doughy products. I like the brand name over the store brand because Pillsbury uses lard while the store brand uses vegetable oil.
DeleteI might have to try this with my left over taco meat, toss in some cheese and refried beans and voila! dinner! thanks for this... I need quick easy and filling meals...
DeleteLike everything else, your mileage may vary. If you have an urgent requirement to lower your LDL, which you don't, statins are a miracle drug. Some people tolerate them quite well, and allow one to avoid strokes, plaque build up and what not. Those poor, dead bananas look so sad.
ReplyDeleteI avoid statins mainly because of their association with dementia plus I'm already on a decoagulant and I don't think I suffer from inflammation which is what causes cholesterol to stick in your veins and arteries. But yeah, if it was really high I would reconsider.
DeleteI'm guessing a squirrel pulled your post over. My money's on that option! My cholesterol is high as well but there's no heart disease in my family and I'm not overweight, so I'm not particularly concerned. I know the doctor is going to try to put me on statins at some point and I'm probably going to say no.
ReplyDeleteMaybe so but I haven't seen any squirrels out there for a few days. Of course I don't sit in front of the window all day. I have no problem saying no to whatever drugs a doctor will recommend. I try not to go to pill pushers. My doc is a DO, an osteopath. She recommends lifestyle and food changes before drugs.
DeleteI have a bone density test in my future too. I have also chosen not to take the bone density medications. They all sound so crazy to me. I just try to be careful and hope for the best. We're having a real north coast winter here with huge amounts of rain. I wouldn't mind a day of temps in the 60s and 70s.
ReplyDeleteI did take it at first when I was first diagnosed because it scared me. Took it for less than two years and quit when I needed some dental work done. Then I met a woman who had lost bone in her jaw because of the medication and she made me promise to never take it again. Then I read up on it and discovered that the way it works is it prevents your body from breaking down the old weak bone. That's how it increases density, not with new strong bone but old weak bone. So I joined a gym, gained about 20 pounds (I was very skinny) and built up strong muscles to protect my bones. It's why I engage in physical labor and do yoga. Then they discovered that women who had been taking the med for 20 years were still having their hips break.
DeleteI always admire someone who is firm with a doctor, does her own research and is willing to decline medications she doesn't trust. Good for you.
ReplyDeleteMy father was a pathologist and did not think much of pill pushers so I guess I come by it naturally.
DeleteI just had my mammogram and bone density test last month. We are on the same schedule as we are the same age! I do take meds for my high cholesterol as it runs in my family. I take calcium plus vitamin D for my bones and that seems to be working for me. I walk a lot too...
ReplyDeleteAnd once we hit 75, no more mammograms! When my son finally went back to the VA after three years of avoiding covid his cholesterol was so high the doctor told him he'd never seen numbers that high and he is taking meds for it but my total was only 268. Not that far outside the recommended 200. I do take a calcium and D supplement.
DeleteI can't remember what your nearest town is. Wharton? East Bernard? Whichever, I need to head that direction to find anemones. If they're in your yard, they're surely elsewhere in the area -- although, if I were an anemone, I'd prefer your yard to a ditch!
ReplyDeleteWharton. Come visit.
DeleteFrom all that I take it you are healthy and fit. Long may it last!
ReplyDeleteWith all of the exercise you get, I am fairly sure your bones are as strong as they can get.Load bearing exercise strengthens bones and I know you do a lot of load bearing exercise. Blessings to you. Just keep doing what you're doing and all will be fine.
ReplyDelete