THINKing ABOUT IT

TID BITS OF INFORMATION TO THINK ABOUT
~d

 

DON'T ROCK THE BOAT, BABY

I MAY BE SLOW, BUT I'M STILL IN MOTION! That means something.  Slow, but steady I go.  I did manage to get my walk in last night as it was growing increasingly darker outside.  I knew it was going to be dark by the time I finished my walk.  Hubby went to the track with me and even walked one lap around.  For someone with a bum knee, he did super well.

He hasn't been walking with me as he does other things with his time and has an injured knee.  I don't suppose he'll walk with me all the time.  That's alright as he is working on the rebuilding of the porch.  He has torn off the porch boards revealing the ground underneath.  He hopes to have this porch project completed before November 1st. 

I'm putzing about the COTTAGE rearranging two rooms slower than molasses as some say.  This is where I keep moving.  This week-end, I'll keep up the good work.  Pat myself on ze back.  Bills to write out and laundry as well.  Always.  This means we are alive.

This morning Hubby has traveled to the BARBER for a hair cut.  I have some quiet time to myself.  Checking the outdoor temperature to see if I can go walking or will have to wait until cooler temps.  The temps right now are 74 degrees and I figure around 7 this evening it will be about the same temp.  Picking this evening to walk.  My day energies need to go into the shuffling of the interior furniture.  That's made up.

MENTAL HEALTH UPDATE.  This will be a mixture of thoughts concerning a relative having issues with her husband and grown child plus being a mother in-law.  I've been having difficulties putting into words what I want to say.

I have been researching on how to deal with narcissist.  The husband is one and the wife is as well.  To help me process the dynamics of some relationships, I need some information to assist me.  I've had to come to terms with why I think I am suppose to FIX someone.  Losing some sleep over it.  Finally, I reminded myself that this person is very much a grown woman that will have to do the work herself to fix her situation and I am not her.  My issue is why do I think I can fix her?  Why am I entangled?  Yes, it is one thing to be concerned and lend a listening ear, but it becomes a different issue when the dumping does not stop for years.  Their inability to solve their problems needs work, but they are the one that needs to do it, not me.  They need help with resolving their problem.  I mean it's been going on for over 50 years.  The issues with her son has been going on for over 30.  She could use some professional help to teach her how to resolve problems instead of continually entertaining the problem.  She needs professional help.  

I do not have to be a dumping ground where the other person continually unloads on me about her troubled marriage and her issues with being a hurting mother.  I have listened to her for over 50 years about her hurting marriage.  Early on when this started to happen, I was young and not experienced with knowing I needed a healthy boundary so I wouldn't wear their problem.  I was lacking the experience on how to be a good listener and not wear the other person's frustrations. Truthfully, I can only do so much for another and they are the one that has to do the work in their personal battle.  Not me.  I wasn't trained how to do this and I lacked the insight.  

I can sympathized.  I can talk to her straight.  I can pray, but I do not have authority to be her and fix her issues.  I came to the conclusion that she wants to be the center of attention that just wants to whine and complain.  She does not want to change.  It is easier to whine and remain in the mess.  Finally she said she is going to go to a mental health worker.  Will she?  She needs to. SO does her husband.

My side of the story is why do I continually allow myself to listen to her complaining for entirely too long and not be able to turn loose of her pain?  I wear it.  I entertain it.  I run the reel in my head for days on end after the visit.  It's nonproductive.  It becomes destructive and time consuming.  Why do I allow myself to do this?  Am I allowing myself to have a victim mentality? YES.  She has a victim mentality because she stays stuck in her mess and I stay stuck entertaining the messy situation.  In order for me to be victorious and master this I AM STUCK MENTALITY, I have to release the mindset that I have been entertaining.  

If we went back to my upbringing, how the family dynamics were, what happened in my own marriage, etc.  I would be told that I need help processing with being a victim that had no voice. I felt I had no voice as a child and when this happens, you can begin to believe that you have no value.  You can become very insecure staying stuck with this mindset.  Something in the maturing process is missing.  It may not be the parent's fault at all.  It can be that the child is super sensitive and has embraced something they shouldn't have.  The need for excessive attention may be out of whack.

Having a victim mentality keeps us stuck within the bad situation and it may not improve.  That victim mentality can flow either way when the person continually complains as if they can not do anything to improve the problems and the one that is dumped on does not let the other person be the one to do the work to improve their situation.  

If I hang around and listen to the complainer for hours on end, I am a sounding board that when left alone cannot seem to turn that mess off.  The dumping zaps my energy and I cannot turn the noise off thus making me a victim.  I no longer want to be that victim.  I have to have a healthy boundary and know how to defuse their pain within my world.  I need to practice problem solving by turning their troubles off in my head.  I need to go to the cross and pray for them as well as to leave their problem with the Lord.  

We all need a voice.  Everyone one of us needs a voice and in order to have healthy boundaries, you may need to limit your time around people that want to be the center of attention and you aint it.  You may just be a warm body to dump on.  You do not have value to them other than you are a warm body to dump on.  You may have to excuse yourself from the relationship.  If you become their dump yard all the time when around them, you'll have to decide just how much of this am I going to listen to.

If you are around them, you have the ability to silence their message of despair.  If you are the unlucky one that continually listens to their same drama, then are they holding you captive and getting to be the center of attention?  You're allowing it by being polite and giving them full attention. Their need to be the center of attention is a mental health issue.  Are they emotionally disturbed?  Do they have personality disorders?  Are they a narcissist that has to have attention all the time?  Yes.  Something is terribly wrong with them.

To continually be the one complaining about the same angst for 50 years hasn't solved the problem.  The articles by experts that I have read say that sometimes you have to exit a relationship with a narcissist.  If that narcissist continues hurting you, you will need to acknowledge that you cannot change them.  They will not listen to you and you must look out for yourself which means leaving the relationship.  You have no worth to them.

What about myself causes me to continually get into relationships with narcissists?  I have to identify my weaknesses.  I am finding out where to draw the line and why would I personally want to be the scapegoat of their displeasure?  Why would I continually be willing to play the victim as well?  

Sometimes when we are a people pleaser, we get in over our heads to please and shouldn't, but we do.  We sometimes go along to get along.  Don't rock the boat, Baby.  My husband and I both have done this to keep peace in our childhood homes which has carried over into our adult relationships.  Strange thing is some relatives get away with rocking the boat because they can and have been granted permission to rock the boat with no consequences, but if you the victim says anything, you are belittled and told to hush.  Just take it.  When the one rocking the boat should be corrected instead of hushing up the victim without a voice they were allowed to keep rocking the boat.

Being an adult, I can decide just how long I will stay on the boat ride.  I don't have to buy the ticket.  I can stay off the boat, right?  That's correct.  AND I don't have to wear the narcissist's baggage either.  I believe I have made some progress dealing with narcissist.  God has helped me. Thank you.  

I am an adult.  I am able to make decisions.  

I can decide. 

~d 

Just pour egg over cauliflower, and the result will be amazing!

Watch on YouTube.

HOMEOPATHIC DOCS, EXERCISE and MISC.

I'VE GOT 30 minutes before I need to round up some exercise clothes and look for some shoes to wear to the STAY STRONG STAY HEALTHY exercise class.  So in the mean time I am sipping some ☕HIBISCUS TEA which is suppose to lower blood pressure.  

It's been 3 months since I went off the Olmesartan/HCTZ meds.  I've monitored my blood pressure readings throughout the day everyday and I am in a good range.  My feet have not swollen up as this was one reason I took the HCTZ was to prevent swelling feet.  I drink electrolyte water more often.  I believe the reason my feet swoll up in the first place was that I was low on electrolytes and instead of being checked for this, I was prescribed HCTZ which I have faithfully taken for ummm probably 15 years ???

With this medicine which is a diuretic more electrolytes are flushed out of your body causing high blood pressure.  I believe I was misdiagnosed and put on meds which was like placing a bandaid on a sore instead of getting to the root cause of the issues.  sigh.

HCTZ also contributes to higher cholesterol and higher blood glucose AND NOW the word is out that it contributes to skin cancer.  When I first mentioned the skin cancer link to my MD he said he hadn't heard this and he had always had good results with it.  I continued taking it for another year then I bailed ship.  Stopped taking it and doing well.  Soooooo, I am on a different path.  

AI Overview

Yes, hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) can cause higher blood glucose levels and increase the risk of new-onset diabetes, particularly with higher doses or longer-term use, and in patients with risk factors for diabetes. The exact mechanism is not fully understood but may involve increased insulin resistance, impaired glucose uptake, decreased insulin secretion, and changes in the gut microbiota. Patients with a history of diabetes or prediabetes should be monitored closely when taking HCTZ. 

How HCTZ Can Increase Blood Glucose

• Insulin Resistance: 

  HCTZ may worsen insulin resistance, meaning the body's cells don't respond as well to insulin, leading to higher blood sugar. 
• Impaired Insulin Secretion: 

  The medication may also reduce the amount of insulin the pancreas releases in response to glucose. 
• Gut Microbiota Changes: 

  Some research suggests that HCTZ can alter gut bacteria, contributing to glucose metabolism disorders. 
• Hypokalemia (Low Potassium): 

  Decreased potassium levels, a known side effect of HCTZ, may play a role in reducing insulin secretion by the pancreas, though this link is not always consistent. 

InMyOpinion.  Allopathy docs are more likely to cover up the symptoms that are taking place with meds than get to the root of the problem.  

Even though John D. Rockefeller was the nuts and bolts behind getting synthetic meds made from petroleum products and change the mind set of the American doctors plus medical training, I heard he had a staff of HOMEOPATHIC DOCTORS for treating his own family.  The last 50 years of his life involved HOMEOPATHIC PHYSICIANS, SO WHAT WAS GOOD FOR THE GOOSE WASN'T GOOD FOR THE GANDER.  

DID JDR use HOMEOPATHIC PHYSICIANS?  Yes, John D. Rockefeller and his family used homeopathic physicians, which was considered a type of holistic medicine at the time

. This is a historical paradox, as Rockefeller also used his wealth to heavily fund the standardization of modern, pharmaceutical-based medicine, which systematically marginalized holistic practices like homeopathy.    

Details of Rockefeller's use of homeopathy:

• Lifelong believer: Rockefeller was a lifelong believer in homeopathy and relied on homeopathic physicians for the last 50 years of his life.
• Personal physicians:
  • Dr. Myra King Merrick: She was the first female doctor in Ohio and delivered Rockefeller's son, John D. Rockefeller Jr., in 1874.
  • Dr. Mary Belle Brown: When Rockefeller moved to New York, he was treated by another female homeopathic physician who was the dean of the New York Homeopathic Medical College.
  • Dr. Hamilton Fisk Biggar: A long-time friend and neighbor, Biggar provided homeopathic care to the Rockefeller family for decades. 

Rockefeller's contradictory role in medicine:

• Funded conventional medicine: While personally using holistic care, Rockefeller directed his immense resources through the Rockefeller Foundation to overhaul medical education.
• Promoted the Flexner Report: He and his organizations funded the implementation of the 1910 Flexner Report, which championed a standardized, science-based, and pharmaceutical-focused curriculum.
• Marginalized homeopathy: As a result, medical schools that taught alternative therapies, like homeopathy, were defunded and pushed to the fringe of American medicine.                     

The paradox of his public actions

Despite his personal faith in homeopathy, Rockefeller's philanthropic efforts laid the foundation for modern medicine, which actively suppressed homeopathy and other non-conventional approaches.

• Funded conventional medicine: Through the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (now Rockefeller University) and the Rockefeller Foundation, he heavily funded research and education for conventional, pharmaceutical-based medicine.
• The Flexner Report: Rockefeller-affiliated foundations provided funding to enforce the recommendations of the Flexner Report in 1910. This report promoted allopathic medicine and led to the closure of many homeopathic medical schools.
• Betrayal of homeopathy: Many homeopathic schools were unable to compete without the large grants from Rockefeller's foundations, which his staff, notably Frederick Gates, diverted away from homeopathy and toward conventional medicine.
• Personal conflict: Biographers have noted the deep irony of Rockefeller funding the dismantling of the very system of medicine he relied on for his own family's care, with his advisers even overriding his personal wishes to support homeopathic institutions. 

STOPPED TYPING AND GOT READY FOR EXERCISE CLASS.
How's 'bout dat!?!  Attended the class then left sweaty.  I almost went 

walking afterwards then talked myself out of it.  Figured that I will 

walk every other day and exercise on different days.

I think this class is helpful and I will benefit from it.  

Tomorrow, 

I'll get a mile walk in.

Hubby stayed HOME and worked on the porch.  Napping now with a rain storm going on.  

MAYBE after he wakes up he'll help me shuffle some.  I'd like to move the TV and the buffet out

of the pink room into the living room.  I'll be shuffling as I go to switch out the two bedrooms.

BRAIN AEROBICS are necessary as I think through the best way to make this shuffle a successful 

reality. 

I HAVE PLANS TO SHUFFLE THE FURNITURE and it's going to take an effort in 

this tiny house.

~d

FITNESS, THE CLEARING, and DECORATING IDEAS

WE MADE IT TO THE FITNESS CENTER THIS AFTERNOON.  This was our goal.  Success for us.  Each week, we'll aim for going there.  The house is a priority over any fitness center so finding a healthy balance has to take place.  

After lacing up my athletic shoes, I bellowed that I need slip-on walking tennies.  I will be on the look out for some later in the week.  Maybe next week would be better.  I also need to make a special trip to the Optometrist to look at eyewear.  New glasses are needed.   

We made a day of it.  Post Office stop.  Medicine pick up.  Drive to Manhattan.  Lunch. ALDI/Grocery Store stop.  Fitness Center, walk and shower.  Drive HOME to put groceries away and rest.  Supper.  Clean-up.  Check on the news.  TV movie.  Lights out?  

~THE CLEARING~

The Clearing (2004 film)

This crime thriller film stars Robert Redford, Helen Mirren, and Willem Dafoe. 

• Plot: When a wealthy executive, Wayne Hayes (Redford), is kidnapped by a disgruntled former employee, Arnold Mack (Dafoe), his wife Eileen (Mirren) must deal with the FBI while trying to secure his release. The film is loosely based on the real-life kidnapping of a Dutch businessman. It follows two timelines simultaneously, showing Eileen's ordeal over a week while revealing that Wayne was murdered on the day he was abducted. 

IT WAS A THRILLER!!!  Thriller.

🎥🎥🎥🎥🎥🎥🎥🎥🎥🎥

Tomorrow, I am going to an elderly person's exercise class.  I've done this before about 7 years ago and I was the youngest old person in the class.  This will be interesting this go round as I am 70.  Looking forward to this for 8 weeks, two times a week.  yippee.

HOME FRONT.  Progress on the HOME FRONT.  The front of the COTTAGE has a blue tarp hanging over it as my hubby tears out the porch.  Crossing my fingers that this will progress rather quickly.  I have the inside of the house in a shambles as I am slowly swapping the bedroom furniture.  Tis a mess.  Making very slow progress. 

DECORATING IDEA.  So pretty.  One of these wreaths would be lovely in my Dining room.  I'll keep this in mind. 

  AUTUMN DECOR.  The lights and foliage add a lot of charm.

BEAUTY IDEA.

ARE YOU HAPPY?

~d  

Bringing Faces from History Back to Life | Gallery 02

The #1 Best Meal to Reverse Heart Disease & Type 2 Diabetes

THUNDER HEART, FRONT PORCH REBUILD and PUMPKINS ON A BENCH,

THUNDER HEART.  The 1992 drama with Val Kilmer, Sam Shepherd and Graham Greene is an enticing movie that I have seen before, but once again couldn't remember the film. Like a new movie.  I'd say it's for mature audiences due to violence.  

The movie is loosely based off of what was known as the SECOND WOUNDED KNEE in 1973. Unbelievable what our government is capable of doing not honoring treaties.  I would have been a Senior in High School when the Second Wounded Knee was taking place. 

WORK IS BEGINNING ON THE FRONT PORCH of our tiny fixer-upper cottage.  It has started.  Hubby put braces up to support the roof while the columns began to sink into the wood slates.  Not what you want to see, but it does happen.

Braces up and the work begins.  The spindles and columns are disappearing. 

I predict it should be finished come November.  We'll be THANKFUL come THANKSGIVING. As the porch gets a facelift, I'll be shuffling and rearranging the two bedrooms.  Slowpoke here. I can only do so much, but if I stay in motion I'll be further along than the day before.

Hoping for the best in this flipping of the rooms.  I do work extremely sloooooow.  Looking at finished rooms encourages me that it can be done.  It can be done.  Look what someone did.  I can do this massive shuffle and be pleased with the results.  It's not the end of the world being a mess before the order takes shapes.  It's an inconvenience for a short time and then it will be a memory in the past.

The closest thing to decorating with our pumpkins is placing them on a bench in the front yard.  It'll have to do.

I dared to step on the scales to see where I was at after shying away from weighing myself for about a week.  I'm holding my own and the weight isn't climbing, but it's not declining either.

Still reading about reasons for obesity.  The latest is that the sugar and fat aren't getting into the cells for energy and go to the liver to be stored as FAT.  What am I to do to correct this dastardly deed?

All the best to you,
~d

SUNDAY ON THE PRAIRIE

A FRESH START TO A NEW WEEK.  Amazes me how quickly the past week went finding myself sitting on a SUNDAY morning in my recliner in the TV room.  Tomorrow, the month of September is half over.  Oh no.  Can't be.  Yes, it can be and is.    

Though I missed my window of time to walk this morning in the cool of the day, I will move about the house for my exercise.  Trying again tomorrow to walk a distinct mile in the out of doors. 

Somewhere today, I will lift some light weights for my arms, do two loads of laundry, box some books, write out a bill to place in the mail.  Church.  Pray.  Rest.  Deal with some dishes.  Watch some late night tv.

🥗 Breakfast was late meaning it was more like Brunch, so we will have our traditional SALAD early for SUNDAY SUPPER.  SUNDAY SALAD was coined a while back which I willingly embraced.  It's a reminder for me to eat more greens as I have a tendency to want to eat the STANDARD AMERICAN DIET.  SAD it is.  At my age, I have to remind myself to do the right thing because it is the right thing to do in our age of knowledge.  How quickly one can look something up on the internet bypassing the news.

Over the last few days, I have found myself watching Charlie Kirk reels and videos.  He was quite witty and fast on some facts.  The vids are entertaining to me with a chuckle or two taking place, but then I am reminded that he was murdered last Wednesday with a funeral coming.  I don't believe he knew what hit him before he passed away entering eternity.  His admiration for Biblical MARRIAGE is firm.  This is an attractive approach to me for marriage.  

I find it very sad the way Charlie died having been murdered.  Incredibly sad.  Incredibly sad. His life was relatively short dying at 31.  He knows what is on the other side of earthly life.  

 🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀

Finding peace in my Jesus, I must carry on.

Living on the Prairie has taught me a thing or two.  As I go about doing my daily chores, I am thankful to be where I am.

~d

  

PINECONES, SHOPPING AND POLITICAL POISON

JOURNEYED BACK TO KANSAS CITY to check on a proof print of artwork that hubby has done.  The trip there went very well.

Checking on the print went well.  Very pleased with the results.  Ordered a stretched canvas print and a larger paper print to start out to see how they will look to sell.  Excited about this adventure.

Because we were in the neighborhood, we went to GILLHAM HOUSE to see if they still had oversized pinecones at diebolt's which is Mary Carol Garrity's shop.  When we were there 2 weeks ago I noticed the pinecones, but didn't price them.  In hopes of getting some to hang from the dining room chandelier, I returned to check for them.  

Purchased 6 of these oversized pinecones.  I will hot glue hooks on the end of the pinecones and hang them from the chandelier for a more natural looking decor.  Greenery will go up first then the gorgeous pinecones.   

In 2013, we visited MC Garrity's home in Atchinson, Kansas in which she had oversized pinecones hanging from the dining room chandelier for the Autumn Tour.  I have Christmas in mind for my pinecones.

LAST SUNDAY when returning from Des Moines, we bought a couple of Monax American Sweetheart dishes from the ENCHANTED FROG and I knew when I did this that I should have bought all 8 of them but didn't SOOOOO when we returned to the KC area we returned to the antique shop to get the rest of these dishes completing a service for 8 people.  Very happy to get these.  Circa 1930.  They are beautiful when held up to a light.  

On our way back to KC what did we see but a STROUD's at lunch time.  Hubby suggested we eat lunch there where we could bring the leftovers HOME with us for supper.  So we did.

Ate lunch in Stroud's log cabin then traveled back to TOPEKA to buy some BLUEBONNET BLOOD PRESSURE SUPPORT from Natural Grocers.  Also to SAMS for bottled water, butter, hearing aide batteries, eggs and salad greens.

Drove HOME, unloaded the spoils and rested.  Now I am very tired.  Had a super good day though.  Super good.  Will focus on laundry and packing up the contents of pink room so the shuffling of rooms can take place.  Here it is Saturday already.

Sadly midweek, we'd hear about Charlie Kirk's assassination in Utah.  My heart sank.  His poor wife and children.  As this unfolds, I am troubled that the hatred between political parties will increase instead of our President focusing on running our country where everyone is well represented.  More fuel to the fire of advancing a political party and increasing military rule in our cities.  Are we losing our freedoms?    

As I study about politics, I now believe our Presidents are selected by a cabal instead of Presidents being elected by the everyday person.  

AND the Epstein Files should have been released as President Trump promised on the campaign trail.  I don't suppose this will happen.  A mystery for now.    

At the 911 Memorial program, it was noticeable that one side of President Trump's mouth was slightly drooping which gave the appearance of having a mini-stroke.  His speech was slower than usual.  Is he having mini-strokes?  My husband's Grandmother went through this as well as a friend's Mother which resulted in having debilitating strokes leading to death.  

Should I pray for our country?  
Yes, and then some.

~d  

LOOK WHAT A LITTLE MAKE-UP AND FIXING HAIR CAN DO FOR A LADY

I'm in,

~d

HEALTHY BOUNDARIES

I HAVE BEEN ON QUITE A JOURNEY.  Tis exhausting at times to hear all the information that I have been presented.  Mental exhaustion can be overwhelming.  I am in my housecoat still muttering that I will go for a walk and not stay in this 'ole chair all day.  

I need to be a healthy listener and not get overwhelmed by family issues that are very overwhelming.  How does one do that?  By praying and speaking out loud how to combat the issues.  Putting things in perspective. 

I need to deal with these issues by keeping a healthy boundary.  I have been getting better educated on the way of the world.  Difficult to hear.  I'm not to wear others problems thinking I am their healer.  Jesus is.  I cannot solve other's personal problems when it is theirs to work through.  I can pray for them, listen to them, give a kind word.  When a discussion is taking place, it shouldn't be a dialogue where one person does all the talking or it becomes a monologue with core dumping.  Are you there to be entertained by their core dump?  Are you just a warm body to dump on?  A captivated audience?  They may feel better unloading on you, but then what does the listener do with the information unloaded on them?  Are we to cast our cares on the Lord?  Yes.   

I remember a minister that had to take a break from being a pastor because he was not a good listener and began to get sick with the burdens overloaded on him because he was the pastor. He'd return to the ministry after a long break where he learned techniques on handling heavy information dumped on him day after day.  Even the pastor is human.  Caretakers have to take care of themselves as well and it means taking breaks from others and know how to keep a healthy boundary with other's serious problems.  Jesus took breaks by going into the hills to be alone.  Alone time.  

I will go walking to get some exercise and release some tension. 

The weather is pleasant outside so a mile walk would be possible.  Think I will go to the track this morning instead of walking the neighborhoods.  I know that at the track after 4 laps that I made my mile.  I can cool down then do my chores.  Hubby wants to go to MENARDS for purchasing some tarps to help with the porch rebuild.  I could drop our phone bill off on the way and mail a package to my childhood scout leader who turned 90 years old.  

The day will be used wisely.  Some laundry done, some packing dishes for the shuffling of furniture, some bills paid, some praying uttered, some healthy eating, some exercising.  

HEALTHY BOUNDARIES even with food.  

LAST NIGHT, I fixed a large salad for supper.  The green base of this one was KALE.  I used a method on the KALE to tenderize it and make it less bitter tasting.  You cold water rinse the kale then remove it from the center stem.  Pour lemon juice in the mixing bowl and tear the kale into pieces putting the pieces in the lemon juice.  Mix it then pour olive oil over it.  Massage the kale pieces with your hands mixing the oil into the pieces.

From here I added the additional veggies/fruit into the bowl adding spring greens, scallions, hearts of palm slices, cherry tomatoes, sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, celery.  Salad dressing was drizzled on top then the salad was sprinkled with Italian croutons.  Pretty good meal for us. The kale was tender and not bitter!  How good is kale for you?

Blessings,

~d