Random Acts of "Kindness"

Archive for September, 2016

LYMPH

I thought that one of the things I was doing might have been helping me to lose weight. Since I was doing at least two things at once, I wasn’t sure what was working. I was drinking organic apple cider vinegar in hot water — twice a day. A man at the veteran’s clinic suggested I increase the dosage to two tablespoons and add honey. It was good for arthritis. I was also drinking a cherry smoothie with protein powder and cocoa. I had read that it was good for pain.

Since I was drinking two concoctions, I wasn’t sure which was working. At about the same time, many of the woman’s magazines that I read, had the same subject line — our lymph system. It seems that as a woman ages, her lymph system thickens. Instead of moving nutrients smoothly through the system, the fat gets sucked into the cells and lodges there. One of the suggestions is to have the juice of half a lemon in hot water in the morning. I have heard this before, but I haven’t tried it.

We left home for the camper, and I had my plans in place. I planned to have a cherry smoothie for breakfast — soup or salad for lunch and a normal supper. My plans didn’t exactly work out. First — the smoothie — although I had one or two, for the most part we either went out for breakfast or I had a half English muffin with peanut butter. It was easier — my husband made mine. I did Tai Chi most mornings and my leg raises at night. Instead of Aging Backwards — I enjoyed water exercise. I didn’t use weights — just my arms but I thought it was good for my body, and I enjoyed the group. Since after exercising I was HUNGRY, for the most part I had some of my frozen soup mixes. I had read that walking 10 minutes three times a day helped lose weight. I didn’t do that either. I injured my foot and too much walking didn’t help. As a matter of fact — I seldom got more than 5,000 steps a day.

So I’m sure you are wondering what I an writing about. I’VE LOST WEIGHT! I have no idea how much I have lost — I used to look like I was 7 months pregnant. Maybe 5 months now — my husband says he is starting to see a waist. My fit bit used to be at the fourth notch when I woke in the morning, and I switched it to three as my wrists swelled. Today I hooked it at the 5th space and moved it to four as the day progressed. So not only is my belly shrinking — my wrist is also.

Soon we will go home. I’ll find out exactly how much weight I have lost. Hopefully I won’t regain the lost pounds. I won’t have my water exercise any more. I can still do my Tai Chi and leg exercises. Hopefully I will find other exercises that will help me.

Just HAD TO SHARE.

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PLAYMATES

I’ve been given a gift that I’m very grateful for. I neither see nor hear my friends in high places but I KNOW they are there. Are they always there? I have no idea but they make their presence known. If I’m having trouble doing something, if I send a “help” request up, it is often answered. The help might be anything from finding something lost on the floor or in the fridge or my glasses somewhere in the house. Now I try to keep the requests to a minimum — function through life on my own, but I have learned that it is very nice to have “HELP” that I can count on.

Sometimes the “help” comes without my asking — it usually is to remind me to do something or NOT do something. Recently I have been going to aquacize, exercise in the water. The campground has provided Styrofoam weights for us to use. I had arrived early and decided that I would bring a few sets of weights to the side of the pool. I picked up a set and immediately lost one. Retrieving the wandering weight, I picked up another set only to have the same thing happen again. It didn’t take many more wandering weights to remind me that I didn’t use them, I had too much enthusiasm and damaged my shoulder. I do the exercises without weights. Only after I loudly exclaimed: “I’m not planning to use the weights myself.” was I able to bring three or four sets to the side of the pool without any more trouble.

I opened Queen Of Angels to “Angels as Playmates and Confidants” one morning. It had been a chilly night and I wanted to see if our furnace was working. I raised the temperature on the thermostat and as soon as the furnace had finished its cycle, turned the thermostat back down. Going out on the deck later, I noticed a plastic bin that we had stored wood pieces left from the building of the deck was melted. It had been just fine the night before, I couldn’t figure out what had happened. It was only after some time passed I realized the bin had been in front of the exhaust of the furnace. The heat had melted the side and the top. It could have started a fire and I had all that lovely fuel inside. Needless to say “LESSON LEARNED” and the melted bin is no longer on the deck. As a matter of fact, the stored wood has now been burned in a campfire. I did remember to say “Thank You.” If we had left that bin were it was on the deck , and returned home. If the furnace had cycled off and on a few times, we might have had a fire.

I’m VERY GLAD I have “friends in high places.

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FIGHTING BACK

Miracle of Miracles the scale moved down, far enough that I was down into the next lower sets of digits. But only for a day. We went out to eat with friends and the scale must have recognized it made a mistake because it climbed right back up again. I tried to eat healthy so that my weight would stay down, but restaurant food is higher in sodium than what I am used to eating. Not only did I have chicken soup but I had bread too. OOPs.

But I LIKED the lower number and I am determined to not only see it again but to stay there this time or go lower. We came out to the camper and I brought some of my own soup. Soup — salad — for lunch, I might make a dent in my weight. Tai Chi — Aquacize — walking — I might get my weight down. Good plans!

EXCEPT — we have friends at the camper — opportunities to EAT OUT. They also have MANY restaurants that serve the food my husband likes. The restaurants are more affordable than the ones back home. AND, as if that wasn’t bad enough, they have many festivals — specializing in their own unique foods. Somehow the food always tastes better there. Now I can pass on a lot of it — but some still calls my name.

I planned to do either strength with Jane Fonda or Aging Backwards. So far, neither DVD has made it into our machine BUT I have used the deck for Tai Chi most days. I’ve made it to aquacize two times. If the weather would co operate, I will be in the pool most of the days we are here. Sadly summer is making way for Fall and the pool will be closing. Even if it didn’t close, it will be too cool to get into the water. My Fit Bit had issues, luckily it was still under warrantee so they are sending me a new one. Without it, I don’t know how much sleep I’m getting at night or how many steps I’ve gotten each day. Lack of sleep contributes to weight issues. My knee is still unhappy, exercising in the water is so much easier.

Woman’s World magazine just had an article in which a woman was able to lose a sizeable amount of weight by walking 10 minutes, 3 times a day. The short intervals boosted her metabolism, which was better than a 30 minute walk. I might have to try a few short walks. Robin likes to go for walks but I don’t know if our speed or lack is beneficial to weight loss.

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ROOF

I suppose we knew it was coming — we knew we would need a new roof. We were using more tar on the roof surface each year. Every year, our skylight would leak and sealant would need to be used. Our shingles were starting to curl. Exactly when we got a new roof, we didn’t remember but it was after my father passed. A strong thunder storm caused water to cascade into our bathroom from the sky light. More water came down on the books in my husband’s office. It was time.

We called a roofer who was listed in the Best Pick Reports. After looking at our roof, they told us that they were unable to make the repairs but they recommended someone who could. We made some repairs of our own, but knew we had to get a new roof. I phoned the company which had been recommended. The fellow who answered the phone said he would be out that afternoon or the next day. He NEVER came! Nor did he return my phone call. A neighbor recommended a couple of roofers. Our son-in-law asked a roofer he knew to give us a quote. I phoned the roofers our neighbor had recommended. One was so busy they weren’t taking any more jobs. The second impressed me with their questions over the phone.

Our son looked outside and noticed two men looking at our building. When he went outside to talk to them, he learned they had been recommended by our son-in-law. After looking at our roof, they said they would give us a quote in a couple of days. Our home insurance adjuster came out to look at the roof. I had learned that the roof might be covered by hail or wind damage. Luckily it was just sliding under the 20 year mark for insurance help. The adjuster told us insurance would cover the damage and he would phone us that night. HE DIDN’T. Nor did he phone the next day. I caught him in his office during a thunder storm. The amount of money that we would receive wasn’t as much as we had hoped. I think that is why he didn’t phone that night. He suggested we should have our roofer call and negotiate a higher return. The third roofer came out for an estimate. Our son-in-laws roofer phoned to see if we had received an estimate yet. I wonder if he was planning to bid higher so he wouldn’t get the job. Thankfully the third roofer who had impressed me with their questions on the phone and their professionalism gave us an estimate that not only allows us to get a new roof but we could replace our sky light also.

A date was set for a new roof. We were at the camper when our son received a phone call at 6:30 AM that they were starting the roof that morning. ?? The date I had written down was two weeks away. I had mentioned that we would be in the city to have a tree in our backyard trimmed. The person who runs the office was able to reschedule their jobs in order to have the roof work done when we were in town.

I was talking to the son of the owner about our skylight when we spoke about other parts of the project. He mentioned that the insurance HAD to cover the plywood because it was a city requirement. He said they also HAD to cover the ice shield. I tried to contact the insurance without success. I got stuck in the loop of “hold on, your call is very important to us. It will be answered in the order that it was received.” After 20 minutes I hung up. Thankfully I found the name and number of a person who had sent us the estimate for payment. HE ANSWERED HIS PHONE. I was SO HAPPY to have a human voice he must have thought that I was nuts. Bottom line, there is a separate schedule for repairs required by city and state. Thankfully we had that coverage. He offered to contact the roofer and let them know what was needed. He phoned me to let me know the roofer was working on it.

A qualified company to replace our roof, a price that is not only affordable but allows us to replace the skylight too. THANK YOU is too small a word. I can see hands working on our behalf behind the scene. For that I am extremely grateful.
Roof,

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