Entries to Win Afghan

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Tuesday, February 11, 2025

See Me Walk a Mile

 I was determined to find out if I could do it. I had to run one errand that gave me a place to park on a side road, so I set out to walk a mile. I guess the snow was surprised to see me out there again. I was pretty tired, but I did it!
snowdrift with eyes


I can't decide if this looks like a swirl on a cinnamon bun, the letter 9 with a decimal point, or a comma and a period.
swirl of snow on bark


It was really lovely during the time I was outside.
blue winter sky


Doug plowed our driveway, which is good because it was getting bad and we are supposed to get even more snow tomorrow.

Today was fairly energetic. The walk and bell choir practice. About 90 minutes of screen time, but bell practice is a lot of eye use, although not as stressful as the computer. I feel as if I'm really making progress, although I still have to take 5 ibuprofen a day. Hopefully, I can cut those back soon.

See Cottage Cheese Blueberry Bake

Monday, February 10, 2025

Cottage Cheese Blueberry Bake

 Back in the heyday of blogging, there was a blog entitled "I Do Things So You Don't Have To." In my opinion, this fits perfectly under that heading.

You may have seen a recipe making the rounds of Facebook for a Cottage Cheese Blueberry Bake. It looked somewhat intriguing, so I decided to try it. I used this recipe.

Here's what it looks like.
cottage cheese breakfast bake


The primary ingredients are cottage cheese, eggs, blueberries and oatmeal, flavored with cinnamon, honey or maple syrup and a little vanilla. Sounded pretty good. Sweet things are still tasting wrong to me, so I cut the honey in half. Taste is OK... nothing wonderful.
cottage cheese breakfast bake


The real problem in my mind is the texture. It's very rubbery. That's a deal breaker in my book, coupled with the fact that I'd rather just eat the cottage cheese with some blueberries or cook the eggs, or make some oatmeal and add the fruit to it. A lot less fuss, no messing with the oven and dirtying multiple dishes.

On the plus side, it holds together well, and can be eaten hot or cold or reheated. So if you wanted to bake a week's worth of to-go breakfasts to take to work, they could be packaged up and grabbed from the fridge each day. Other kinds of berries can be substituted, or chopped apple. And if one used gluten-free oats, it would be safe for people with that issue to eat.

However, I'll pass on making it again.

I wish I had grabbed this graphic when I saw it today. Maybe I'll see it again. It was a typical British farm family menu for a week in 1912. Pretty bleak. A lot of bread and butter, suet pudding, one roast of meat. Tea, cocoa, and milk to drink. I was surprised at the lack of eggs or foods that could have been gathered and prepared like jams or home canned/dried vegetables. Perhaps the wild foods were much more available on our side of the pond.

I slept almost none last night, but felt pretty good today anyway. I managed over 2 hours of work screen time, but I think I've had enough now.

See Hungry at Last

Sunday, February 9, 2025

Hungry at Last!

 I'm starting with a lovely glimpse of blue sky behind clouds. That is always good to cheer a Michigander in February!
clouds


The health report for the day is mixed bag. I sat up more than I have any day since Janary 4. I set a goal to get groceries and walk a mile outside. However, by noon I realized that I was going to be just too tired to do both of those. I did get the groceries.

And, I realized that I was actually hungry! A few foods are still not tasting right, but most are. I came home and made some "glop." That's what I call it when I put some sort of tomato sauce on macaroni and add stuff. Today was onion, green pepper and mushrooms.
macaroni in tomato sauce


I also cleaned my vegetable tray that I keep stocked with things to add to lettuce for salads. It was getting pretty gross. So a picture of it all sparkly and colorful is in order.
vegetables in tray


All in all, I did quite a few things and about an hour of screen time, but I was also very tired in between the accomplishments.

I still consider it to be moving in the right direction, but things don't seem to go in a straight line. The neuralgia is just weird- little, intermittent flashing pains through my face and eye, and the bones still itch.

I am listening to a 1922 audiobook mystery. It's moving impossibly slowly, and it's read poorly, but I seem to be drawn like a moth to a flame. Almost at the end where I will FINALLY find out "who-dun-it." Hopefully, I can find something a bit more engaging for the next audiobook.

See Snowy Riverside Walk

Saturday, February 8, 2025

Snowy Riverside Walk

 I am determined to do a little bit that will help inprove my stamina. I went for a short walk today at Scottville Riverside Park. I was hoping some of the paths would be plowed but nothing was. I managed to walk around for about 15 minutes, but the snow was crusted and uneven, so I settled for that.

This is the view up the Pere Marquette River that I often take while at the park. The pictures are gray and fuzzy because it decided to start to snow fairly hard after lunch.
Pere Marquette River in winter


I took all of these pictures from the same viewing platform. That's how close all these features were to each other. Sloppy, loose ice floes were gliding down near the center of the river.
loose ice floes


Near the bank, some of that slushy ice was being swirled against the edge. It ended up looking like clouds or a reflection of clouds in the water.
slushy ice


Just upstream from these, where the river makes a sharp bend, the current has cut scallops into the icy bank. This seems odd to me, that the scallops point into the river.


Again, I managed 90 total minutes of work computer time before my eye began to hurt. But I seem to be able to look at words on paper for a little extra time. I did more light work tasks that don't require much of my eyes. (Things like cleaning the bathroom- exciting, right?) Medicine is down to the eyedrops and 5 ibuprofen a day. (I will keep trying to cut it, but right now, the 5 is borderline). And I'm still sleeping with an icepack on my face. I think it is helping to promote the healing of the neuralgia.

File this under the heading of "good to knoe." I learned that you can only borrow 8 books a month through Hoopla. I've got a couple more free audiobook options, but the selections aren't as good. I was in the middle of a series I really like, but I'll have to wait till March to listen to more.

See P is for Pere Marquette River

Friday, February 7, 2025

"Just" a Sunset

 This is tonight's sunset. Nothing "special." Well, except that being granted the privilege to see one more sunset is certainly pretty special!
sunset through trees


I managed 90 minutes of work screen time today before my eye said "enough" and did over an hour of light work around the house. I wanted to show you part of what I worked on, but I can't find a critical piece of it. I'm rather baffled as to where it could be.

I felt pretty good, but I can tell that I'm allowing about the correct amount of "up" time because I begin to get tired after a while. It's all good. Just need to work to incraese my stamina.

See Windy