Day 311...Another Cold Day...

[shadowkat]

Another cold day on the meridian or walking it - and not for that long. My bones do not like the cold - apparently.

I may have to keep that in mind - when I determine where I'll retire. Hopefully by the time I do - we'll have a better interstate train system in place, since I can't stand driving.

Either that or move to a place in which its not an issue.

Auntie D suggested on FB that I replace the almond milk and cow's milk/cream with soy milk in the quiche. I had to remind her that I can't drink soy milk or digest soy well - in fact I've pretty much eliminated it from my diet, at least for the most part. I did drink soy milk from the age of 36-46, with increasingly bad results. It plays havoc with the hormones, among other things - or so I discovered. And switched to almond, coconut, and cashew milks. Also, I will occasionally use organic milk and cream to cook with - but rarely. It doesn't tend to agree with me either - so I use it sparingly.

This is one of the many reasons I can't be a vegetarian or switch to a pure plant-based diet. And I know the people who swear by plant-based vegetarian diets don't understand that - it's very hard to explain it to them. I've learned over time that people aren't very good at understanding things that are outside of their perception or experience or knowledge base. Particularly things that go against it. I can't digest legumes (beans, peanuts), soy, wheat, glutens, rye, most grains (brown rice, rice, corn), and very rarely quinoa (I do it rarely), also issues with buckwheat. I also
can't do most diary and eat it sparingly. So, too much cheese will do me in.

So, I have to get my protein from somewhere, and there's not enough in the greens to tide me over. Also magnesium (I take supplements), and other vitamins, etc - which come from meat, poultry, seafood or the items I can't eat.

What my dietary issues have taught me - is everyone is different. There is no one-size fits all diet. And how to be tolerant and understanding of diets different from my own. It's taught me a lot over the years. How not to judge folks on what they eat, or judge their body type or weight etc. You don't know what someone else's body requires, unless you are inside that body. Everyone is different. I found that out the hard way.



Today, I felt lonely. And kind of restless. Although I did get some stuff done. I put away one of my tiny Christmas trees - the decorated one not the one in the window. I like the one in the window - it doesn't look like a Christmas Tree - just a regular snow tipped evergreen, with little lights. I find it comforting - it can stay there until March.

Also, did the robot vacuum. I may need to get a new one, I'm procrastinating and seeing how long this one lasts - I got it about four or five years ago, so it's doing pretty well considering.

And I've been working on this new story...which may or may not go anywhere. I finished the romance novel - which I've not yet decided to revise and pretty much rewrite. But my focus keeps jumping about.

Mother...sigh, I wish I was more like my brother. I think she does too at times. Mother-daughter relationships are always interesting, particularly when on has a younger brother, who in turn has a family, bakes bread, and owns a house. I don't think my mother completely understands my life choices, although to be fair - she's never really said that nor does she judge them. I've never felt any pressure to have kids or get married - my mother isn't like that. She's too much like her own mother - with a deep belief that people should be allowed to pursue their own course without judgement.

Other than that, she's doing okay. Switching over from 24/7 home health care support to periodical support, which is admittedly cheaper. Someone will come in the morning to help with a shower and breakfast, and for any appointments she needs to get to, that sort of thing.

I don't understand it - and can't do anything about it, so I listen and try not to fret. She still can't get the vaccine, nor can my father. Nor can I, or my brother, sisterinlaw or niece. I qualify, as do my parents, but we can't get it yet. The vaccine distribution across this country has been...less than stellar. Also, most everyone who has got it, outside of health care workers, had to go through some kind of mitigated hell to do so.


When I took my walk, I realized when I got home that I put the batik cloth mask on upside down. Doesn't matter - didn't really come in close contact with anyone. Those I saw were more than six feet away or just in passing.
(I'd say I didn't see anyone - but kind of impossible - since I live in a city.)

Kind of envy my niece, who gets up before dawn, takes a walk and watches the sunrise, while sipping tea, then gets into the hot tub, and goes back to bed, sleeping until 12 noon. I wish I could do that. I'm not a morning person. And while I debated taking early morning walks - it's not quite the same in a city. Greenwood Cemetery doesn't open until 9 on the weekdays, so that's out of the question - unless I want to play hooky from work to walk in the cold - and uh, no.

Church was a kind of salve via Zoom. Lovely music, and I enjoyed the dueling homilies. Our music director is out sick with COVID, it is reportedly a mild case, but he is recuperating, so not taking calls or messages at the moment.
(I'm not all that surprised - every time he popped up - I'd see him with family or friends in that small space playing. Or he'd go in and out of the church. Without masks - when playing. In short he was gallivanting around and doing some risky things. But I do feel for him.)

Mother interrupted this post or rather rambling letter ...with a phone call. (Just when I was thinking of giving her a break.)

Mother: I called your father and he informed me that he could talk to me right now, because he was talking to your brother. (Pause). Your brother apparently was sitting in the room with him and talking to him.
Me (I burst out laughing): Well, that's karmic. (Mother is always telling me she has to call me back because she's on the phone with my brother.)
Mother: Yes, well, I called your brother to inform him that he was currently in the room with his father having a conversation. In other words, that somehow he'd managed to be in two places at the same time.
Me: So basically my brother is either time-traveling or my father is being visited by ghosts?
Mother: I also got them to put on the Chiefs, so he can watch them. (I'm privately rooting for the Buffalo Bills. Mother is going to watch them as well.)

Anywho...not much more to report today. I watched THIS via elsi, and it basically is a guy explaining the divide between the Trump Supporters and well, the rest of us. Which to be honest, Heather Cox Richardson explained in her email this morning - and I already knew. It's simple - the Trump Supporters are fascists. They like fascism. The idea of a militaristic country that supports strong traditional family values, the flag, and targets the bad guys, with no conscience. Scapegoats anyone who doesn't agree with them. I don't understand them. I've tried. I've tried to make them see sense, I've tried to argue it rationally. Now - I'm trying not to hate them.

Good night.

Comments

[atpo_onm]

What my dietary issues have taught me - is everyone is different. There is no one-size fits all diet.

Absolutely. My dietary issues are nowhere near as involved as yours are, but I have a number of things that I simply have to deal with / work around. Ironically, my diabetes (type 2) diagnosis a few years ago has helped with some of them, because what I tolerated modestly before has to be closely watched now. I have varying tolerances for nuts, mild lactose intolerance, love beans but get very gassy/crampy if I eat too many, love salads but if I eat them everyday it sets off my irritable bowel syndrome. Wacky stuff like that. Had to give up sodas decades ago, were really driving the IBS, same with beer to a lesser extent.

Always kind of envious of the folks who can eat just about anything, and nothing happens adversely. Oh well.

Wasn't aware there were reactions to soy, but-- why not, I suppose?

ETA - Oops... forgot to add, really like the last pic!

[shadowkat]

Thank you.

Here's why I can't do Soy.

"Soy can cause some mild stomach and intestinal side effects such as constipation, bloating, and nausea. It can also cause allergic reactions involving rash, itching, and anaphylaxis in some people. Some people might experience tiredness. Soy might also affect thyroid function."

I get constipation with it, bloating, and it screws up my hormones. I can have it sparingly, but honestly for me it's no better than cow's milk. So I might as well do cow's milk. Both are about the same.

I did try it for a long time - and when I went off, I felt so much better.

My brother is one of those people who can eat practically anything, damn him. LOL!

[atpo_onm]

I can have it sparingly, but honestly for me it's no better than cow's milk. So I might as well do cow's milk. Both are about the same.

Interesting. I can tolerate dairy, as long as I don't do too much of it. (Dairy for me is largely cheese and yogurt, occasional ice cream). I may try your experiment and go off the soy for a while just to see what happens-- I really only use it to put on cereal, or more rarely to make mashed potatoes. I quite love the latter, used to eat plenty of them, but as you know, they're a carb, so... so only occasionally these days.

[shadowkat]

Almond milk - oddly enough? Tastes better. Also you can make your own, all you need is a handful of almonds, about two to three cups of water, a blender, and filter bags to pour it through and catch the refuse.

And it has none of the side-effects.

I'm not lactose intolerant. But cheese and dairy will clog up my system if I have too much, and I am somewhat sensitive - it causes gas and constipation, if I'm not careful. But I can eat a cheese crust pizza - just have to be careful about how much. It's not like glutens. I can do it sparingly.

In short, I'm like you are with dairy - I can tolerate it, as long as I don't do too much of it. So supplement with almond milk - for cereal, tea, etc. Best brand of almond milk that I've found? Unsweetened Califa. All the others seem to have sugar added for some bizarre reason.

[jesuswasbatman]

The one that pisses me off is extreme locavores who live in places with Mediterranean or subtropical climates, and happily preach "eat nothing that isn't grown in your local region" without considering those of us who would in that case be stuck with nothing but root vegetables and winter brassicas for a large chunk of the year. Plus my personal allergies to orchard fruit would mean that I would only be able to eat fresh fruit for about a quarter of the year.

[shadowkat]

Agreed. The folks who state they only eat things in season or local - and live in the Southern United States, and have access - I want to kick. Also, they can handle root vegetables, and orchid fruit - which not everyone can.

I've stopped bothering with clinical nutritionists - they are horrible. The last one listened to me for about ten minutes, spent most of her time talking to her intern, and then proscribed the Mediterrean Diet which she believes is the best (she happens to be Greek) and ignored the fact that I can't do potatoes, yogurt, and various milk products well. Or rice.

Primary care has been more helpful.

I've learned not to take dietary advice from anyone except my current doctor at the moment. People are weirdly judgemental of others dietary issues.