GREAT STIR FRY FOR DINNER

Not much to say today. I tried to lay low. Did laundry, took Lucky for a long walk, and that is about it. 

I made a fun stir fry for dinner. It had tofu, zucchini, squash, red peppers and tomatoes. 

I contacted Amazon about the leg on my coffee table. One of the legs has a problem. It is a bit crushed or has a defect. I took a photo and contacted the seller. They have already contacted me and are sending me two new legs. It was super easy. 

Until tomorrow...

HAPPY 8TH VEGANNIVERSARY

 Today I lugged my coffee table upstairs. I did it very slowly. First I took it out of the box. Then I used my slipper to inch by inch get it out of the garage and through my hallway. The hallway has the giant palate in it so there is not a lot of room. Then once I got past the palate, I put the coffee table on the dog bed and slid it across the room until I got to the stairs. My stairs are carpeted so I took it one stair at a time. When I to the top of the stairs, I had a towel waiting. I put it on a towel and pushed it through three rooms until I got to the living room where I leaned it against a chair. That is where I put it together. I only had to put on four legs and a handle. I was easy and would have been easier had I paid attention when I was putting the first leg on. I didn't look at the numbers and put leg 2 on space 1. This is why I could never be on the Amazing Race. That and a whole lot of other things like I am not a fast runner and I hate eating anything that isn't vegan. 

Anyway, the coffee table is put together and it looks amazing. I love it. I will admit it is not everyone's taste. It is a table made out of reclaimed wood. Wood that was painted previously, sanded down and then stained. The legs are some sort of metal. 

Here is the end table that I put together yesterday. This table has a crank to raise and lower the table. Like the old stools.

Today is also my veganniversary. That is the day you became a vegan. It is my 8th veganniversary. I celebrated by making chocolate chip and walnut cookies. I put a candle in them and blew it out. 

Besides walking Lucky, that was pretty much the whole day. Oh, I watched a movie called Jerry & Marge Go Large. Oh, man it was good. It was a nice PG-13 rated movie. It is on Paramount+ but I am sure it will come on other streaming channels eventually. It is based on the true story about long-married couple Jerry and Marge Selbee, who win the lottery and use the money to revive their small town. It had Annette Benning and Bryan Cranston. I really enjoyed it. I just happen to stumble across it because it just came out, I don't think it is in the movie theaters and I didn't see any advertising for it. I recommend it if you see it on your streaming service or if you have Paramount+. 

Until tomorrow...

COFFEE TABLE AND END TABLE ARRIVED

 I have been doing my physical therapy exercises the past two days. It is really hard. I am not flexible and getting down on the floor is really hard for me but I am trying. 

Today my new coffee table and end table showed up. The nice UPS man brought it right into my garage (for free). I opened the end table box and put it together. I will post a photo tomorrow. It was easy to assemble. I really like it. 

The coffee table is quite heavy so I may not be able to carry it upstairs by myself. I have to get it out of the box first. I am excited to finally have a real coffee table. It is shocking that I have lived in this house since 2004 and I never had a coffee table. I have been using my old trunk from college. It was supposed to be a temporary solution that never went away. First, I didn't want to buy anything because of the construction, then I had dogs that were jumping on furniture so I didn't want anything nice, and then I couldn't find anything I liked. Then I found this line of reclaimed furniture. I love the look of the reclaimed wood and it fits into my lifestyle. 

Until tomorrow...

RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS MEETING TONIGHT

My local arthritis group had a virtual meeting tonight. It was good to see everybody virtually. We had a guest speaker at our meeting who taught us how to do "tapping". Tapping is an ancient Chinese practice of acupuncture or acupressure, which teaches that the body's energy travels along specific pathways. Certain points on these pathways are stimulated to improve the flow of energy. 

During our meeting after having a bit of time to check in with each other, we practice this tapping technique. It is supposed to make you feel calmer and have less pain. Then we did a very quick guided meditation. I did feel calmer after the guided meditation. I'm not so sure the tapping did much for me. Almost every morning I do something similar to tapping when I wake up. I rub between my eyes on my temples and under my eyes. Those are three of the spots that you tap. So I guess I am stimulating those pathways.

My Amazon deliveries did not arrive today and are supposed to arrive tomorrow.

I heard back from my handyman and he is willing to take on the job of fixing by right side fence and installing the lattice. I am so happy about this.

Until tomorrow...

CUPCAKES AND LATTICE

 I needed to bake. So, I made cupcakes. They didn't turn out perfect but they are moist and taste really good. I made yellow cake cupcakes with chocolate frosting. I made half a batch and gave almost all of them away. two to one neighbor, three to my next door neighbor, and two to the dog walker. That left me four. One fell apart coming out of the cupcake tin.  

The lattice showed up a day early today. I got a text saying it would come in an hour and five minutes later a truck appeared. I used my $40 bribe and the guy helped me get the 250 pound wooden pallet into my house. I now have to figure out what to do with a huge pallet. Some of the wood that held it in place can probably be used again. There are some nice 2x4s and a large piece of wood that is nice. I have a ton of packing material that I will be getting rid of for weeks. The lattice looks amazing! I love it. 

It was a good day and I felt better. 

Until tomorrow...

I SUSPECT IT IS RA

 I felt a little better today but still not very good. Not sure what is going on. I suspect it is RA. I did take Lucky for two walks since she was home with me today. I didn't want to go for the second walk but she was crying because she was hungry (since her food was cut back by the doctor) and I thought a walk would quiet her down. There is nothing that grates my nerves than Lucky standing in front of me crying for no apparent reason. Sometimes she does it because it is close to dinner time or she is bored or she wants to play or go outside or wants to be given attention. It is hard because she doesn't tell me what the reason. 

That is basically my whole day. 

Until tomorrow...

STILL NOT FEELING TOO GOOD

Still not feeling too good. I'm not sure what is going on. No fever. No cough. Don't think it is COVID. I'm going to sleep. 

Until tomorrow...

NOT FEELING TOO GOOD

I am not feeling so good so I'll post again tomorrow.

Until tomorrow...

LUCKY GOT A FOXTAIL

First thing this morning I look at Lucky and I see this weird thing in her snout. I kind of saw it last night but I didn't really think it was anything. Since I had drugged her last night with painkillers she seemed docile enough that I pulled it out and it was a foxtail. If you live in an area where there are no foxtails you probably don't know what they are. Foxtails are really bad and dogs can pick them up just going on a walk. Foxtails can burrow into a dog's fur, ears, feet, etc. and it can get infected. When I pulled out the foxtail Lucky's snout it bled. I got nervous and I called the veterinarian's office. They told me that I should watch it carefully since I can't really rub alcohol on it or anything since Lucky can get aggressive. So far it looks fine and I think we're probably in the clear.

Today I spent a couple of hours moving furniture around in my bedroom. I've had a vision for a while to move the dresser that has my TV on it to another space. I wanted to do this years ago but I used to have cable and I couldn't have cable in that area. Now that I don't have cable it's easy to have the TV in that space. I also like it because where I had the TV prior the TV is on an angle and I find it hard to watch TV. Now the TV is straight on but I'm in bed. Also now the dog has a dog area where her bed and her "house" cage are located. I've created space to bring a chair for my living room down to the bedroom. I'm super happy with the results and how clean everything is now.

When I was part way through moving all of the furniture, the fence guy showed up. We looked at the area where the fence is and he says it's doable and he will get me a quote by Tuesday. So that made me pretty happy.

That was pretty much my whole day. We organizing and moving all the furniture and cleaning the bedroom took a lot. I sat down in my new chair and got a massage.

Unitl tomorrow...

GOOD NEWS ABOUT LUCKY

I got good news about Lucky. Her test results came back excellent! She is a healthy dog. She just needs to lose a pound or two and she will be back to her fighting weight. She was not too happy today after dinner when the food stopped. The doctor has her on limited food and veggies after dinner if she is hungry. I cut up carrots to give her. She seemed to enjoy that. Then we went for another walk. I might lose weight too as a bonus! 

I got an email the fence guy is coming tomorrow so that is exciting. Can't wait to get the fence completed. The lattice is being delivered next week so maybe I can talk the fence guy into installing that too. 

I ordered a coffee table and an end table. Now that I have a new chair I thought I would finally buy a coffee table. For 17 years I have been using my trunk from college as a coffee table.  I could never find a coffee table I liked and fit the space and dogs would scratch all up. I found one made of repurposed wood. 

I saw this flower on a walk. It was so pretty. 

Until tomorrow...

PRINCESS LUCKY TOOK A RIDE

Today I took Princess Lucky to the vets. She hasn't wanted to eat and has been a bit lethargic over the past 1.5 weeks. 

Here's what the doctor said: Lucky has gained 1 lb in two months. She needs to go on a diet. She is probably lethargic because she is carrying around more weight. She is also not so jumpy because she is heavier. It is going to be hard since Lucky is on steroids but strict diet and not too many treats. She said to give her carrots. 

They also too fluids from Lucky and I should hear back in a few days. I also need to give her the pain meds that she hates. The Dr. suggested getting it flavored so I called the company where I got it and asked if I can add the flavoring now and could they send it. They will send it. I got her cherry flavor. 

She also got her ears cleaned out (there was sand in one of them), her teeth checked and her nails done. It was a busy morning. She came home and fell asleep. 

I had a phone call about my ex-foster kid. I will be doing some work for him. You know what they say: an ex-foster mother's work is never done. 😆

I think that is basically the whole day. 

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED TWENTY-SIX OF COOKING COURSE

 The chair is together and it looks great. It reclines, heats and massages. The guy showed up early to put it together. I think he was a taskrabbit kind of person because he was reading the directions. He wasn't like a tech who puts these chairs together for a living. 

I have been sitting in it all day. It is really comfy. 

My landscaper came today for his final day for a couple of weeks. He dug out an ivy root that weighs about 70 pounds. It has probably been growing for at least 30-40 years. It had grown into the back fence and he had to cut a piece out of the fence to remove the root. I have a large rock that covers it nicely. 

Next comes the fencing people. I am happy to have some peace and quiet for a few days. I need to get some work done. It is hard to work and try to project manage all this stuff. 

Vegan Chickun Burritos made with Seitan. 

The seitan is in the wrapped packages where it is steaming. Then once it is done, it gets broken up and fried.  Seitan is essentially a dough made with vital wheat gluten, a high-protein wheat flour, and liquid. Here I used it to make chickun to put on the burritos. 

Update: I got my mammogram results and the Power of the Tiara worked again. My mammogram is clear. For those of you who don't know, I had a scary mammogram years ago and a dear friend bought me a tiara to keep me safe. I wear it to all my breast screenings. The Power of the Tiara we call it. That tiara keeps me safe and the women at the breast health center who have worked there a long time know me when they see me because of it.

Until tomorrow.

I HAVE CALMED DOWN NOW

 No there is no chair. I spent the day on the phone with Fed Ex talking to supervisors and managers and escalation services. Everyone assured me that the chair would arrive today. I called them all liars. I told them the chair is lost and no one is willing to confess. They told me the chair has been in a van for days and no one dropped it off. I said that was farfetched. No driver was going to drive around with a 50 pound box in their truck for days. Then they said that the box was at the facility and the facility was so behind that they didn't have time to deliver it. Really?? in four days they had no time to deliver one package??  I said if people have the box in their vision than talk to the driver who has the box in their truck and tell them to deliver it. No we don't need to do that it will, I PROMISE, be delivered today. Can I laugh out loud??? I have heard more promises in the last four days than I have shoes. And I have a lot of shoes. 

 UPDATE: As I was sitting here at 8:45pm and a Fed Ex truck pulls up and a guy jumps out. I go outside and ask if he is delivering a box to my house. He was. I asked him if he would carry it up the stairs. He hemmed and hawed about rules. I said would you do it for $40? He grabbed that box and put it up on his shoulder and took it right up those stairs. He did not come in my house but he put it down inside the door and then pushed it a few feet. 

So the chair is here and now I cancelled the appointment to assemble it that was tomorrow morning. 

By the way, the company I bought it from was no help either when I called them.

 Here are some photos from the other day when I made homemade tortillas. 

I am exhausted and I am going to bed. 

Until tomorrow...

OKAY NOW I AM GETTING ANGRY

 The chair did not arrive today. I got an email first thing in the morning saying the chair would arrive between 10 am and 3 pm. It did not. I called twice and I was promised it was on the truck and it would be delivered. It did not get delivered. Tomorrow I will be speaking to a supervisor and I will get answers. I think it is lost and they just don't want to tell me. 

So I sat again all day waiting for the delivery. I am tired of this. It is not worth it. Especially since I am not sitting on a new fancy CHAIR. 

The backyard guy showed up today. I met him outside and we had a talk. It turns out Friday was another miscommunication. I think he doesn't listen. He took the wood back and got my money back. I told him I hired a fence contractor and that he made a mistake in buying the wood and he tried to blame the buying of the wood on me. I told him that no, he was the one who said to buy the wood. After he returned the wood he proceeded to tell me that he now can't finish the shelf because I made him return the wood. I think I won't call him back after the fence project. He will work one more day and then he goes on hiatus while the fence gets built and then I will find someone else. I like him but this is becoming another job. 

Here are some food photos of some stuff I have made over the past few days. 

Top photo is a burrito and corn& bean salad. The bottom two are stir fry with tofu, green beans, mushrooms and black bean noodles. 

Until tomorrow...

STILL WAITING ON FED EX

 I do not have much to say. I spent the whole day waiting on Fed Ex. I took the dog to pee in the backyard and Fed Ex arrived to deliver my new cushions for the deck bench and left the box at the bottom of the stairs and didn't ring the doorbell. I only knew they were outside because I got a notice from the store saying they were delivered. I was lucky they weren't stolen! I even watched on my camera where the Fed Ex person just got out of her truck and dropped the box at the bottom of my stairs and got right back her truck. And people are wondering why I am sitting here all day waiting for the delivery of the other half of my chair! Fed Ex will just drop that heavy box on the curb and drive away. 

Is it too much to ask that they ring a doorbell? Are we mind readers that a truck has pulled up and dropped something off on the street? The box with my cushions was out there for 30 minutes before I got the message from the store. After that I carried my phone with me when I took the dog out to pee or I went to the bathroom. 

That was my whole day. Sitting here waiting for Fed Ex. A waste of a day. I have dishes to wash and I was afraid I would miss the truck pulling up with the noise of the water running. My usual Fed Ex guy whistles when he pulls up so I know to go to the door. I need to bake him cookies. He is really nice. He no longer throws my Chewy dog food box up the stairs. LOL. Pays to be nice to people. 

I am going to bed. It is hard to sit and wait for something that doesn't come. 

Until tomorrow...

WAITING ON FED EX

 The plan today was to clean up the living room so I can fit the new massaging and heat chair into my small living room. I put a plan in place where my friend's son would come over and help me get the box up the stairs. Suddenly when I woke up the cleaning plan became an urgent plan when Fed Ex said the delivery was changing from tomorrow to today. What? I was not ready. I was cleaning when a Fed Ex truck arrived with my friendly Fed Ex man and he delivered box 1. Box 1 was not that heavy. I asked him about box 2 and he said it would be much heavier. My friend's son was not coming until tomorrow. The friendly Fed Ex man said the delivery man with the heavier box may help me bring it up the stairs. It is now 8:30pm and it is still scheduled to arrive tonight. I wish it would either arrive or reschedule. I am tired. 

I decided to relax after all that cleaning. I accidentally sucked something up the vacuum and spent 20 minutes getting it out. It was the nylon strap that sometimes comes around a cord.  Well, those get to be a foot long once they get into a vacuum. Luckily I turned the vacuum off immediately before it got too far in the machine. I used all sorts of pliers, scissors, screwdrivers and grabby things to get it out. The vacuum works fine now. The nylon strap is toast. 

I am going to move furniture around once the chair gets here. Or maybe before. It depends on my energy level. Right now I want to go to sleep but I can't until I know for sure Fed Ex is not coming. 

Until tomorrow...

I'M GOING TO HAVE TO FIRE THE LANDSCAPER

The landscaper did not show up for work today. No phone call, no text, just didn't show up. I had texted him yesterday reminding him to show up at 10:00 this morning, no response, no show. So that was strike one. I then called the Trex company to find out about finding a Trex contractor.  I found out that the landscaper had not read the directions on how to put up the Trex fencing. He had gone and bought a bunch of wood posts and Trex fence cannot use wood posts. Strikes two. 

After the fence is installed maybe he can come back and finish the landscaping part but at this point he needs to go. 

So I spoke to this Trex representative who in less than 2 hours found me a guy in my area, a contractor in the area who said he'll do this very small project and will come within a week to give me an estimate and possibly could do the whole project in two to three weeks. 

I went for my mammogram this morning. It was a very early appointment. The woman was very nice considering I have inflammation in my chest and back. I was in and out in 20 minutes and then I went to run to some errands including picking up my mail from the post office. I hurried home because the landscaper was supposed to be there and waited for an hour for him to show up.

I got a notification that my heated massage chair is going to show up on Sunday and the person who's putting it together comes on Tuesday. I need to spend the weekend figure out where this chair is going to go in my living room.

I went online today and bought new cushions for my deck bench and a new bistro table and chairs for my lower deck and a new little teeny tiny table for my upper deck. I decided that if I'm going to have a nice backyard the rest of my stuff is all going to look shabby since it is all 15 years old. I still need to buy a new umbrella to go with my table. I'm trying to decide whether I want yellow (which I am partial to) or teal (which would be a new color). Decisions. 

I made vegan beer mac and cheese again. It came out better this time around but still not the way I wanted to be.

I'm going to go rest now.

Until tomorrow...

NO TEST RESULTS YET

No test results came back from my trip to the lab yesterday. Maybe they will be available tomorrow. 

I ordered a new chair. It is a recliner that has heat and massage. I never considered buying one but with my current health concerns it was brought up the heat and massage might be good for my RA. It is a very generous early Christmas present. 

I made a taco plate for dinner. I used the corn & bean salad, spicy red rice, pineapple salsa and the leftover beans to fill the tacos. 

It made a delicious dinner. 

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED TWENTY-FIVE OF COOKING COURSE

 I made something really good today. Spicy Red Rice. I could have eaten the whole pan. It was that good. The recipe called for it to be made from fresh garlic but you know I can't eat garlic. Instead I added sriracha. If you don't know what  sriracha is it is a hot sauce made from hit chili peppers and garlic. The emphasis is on the hot chili peppers. Interesting story: the factory is in CA and the people that live near the factory are not happy when it is hot outside and the wind blows in the direction of their homes because the fumes are so spicy I hear it makes their eyes water.  I hear they took the company to court over it. 

I used a small amount in my spicy red rice to give it a little kick and make it spicy. 

Today I went to see my primary physician. It was good to see him. It has been since Jan 2020. I don't think I saw him in March 2020 when I got sick because of COVID. He sent me to a lab for tests. I am waiting for the results. He thinks my chest pains are from my rheumatoid arthritis. He thinks it is inflammation in my clavicle and back. The pain is radiating to my chest. He thinks the fact that I have not been able to stay on Orencia for any length of time is causing me problems. He said my heel/achillies problem should be solved with my new sneakers but if it isn't I should let him know. He checked my swollen lymph node and said it is still sore but looks almost back to normal so he isn't going to touch it for now. He also looked at my throat and it is probably yeast that has been so bad that it is down in my esophagus. He sent in some meds for that. He sent me to a lab for tests and I am waiting for the results. It was a lot to talk about and a lot to deal with. I feel better now. Unfortunately he announced that he is retiring in 9 months. 😪 

It was a full day and I am tired from all the rushing around. I rushed to get some gasoline in my car before my doctor's appointment. It was the first time I put gas in my car since December 2021. I have a little car and I don't drive it very much. Yes, it still hurt to pay $6.59 a gallon. 

Until tomorrow...

DAY NINE OF THE LANDSCAPING PROJECT

 The guy showed up today to work on the backyard. Then he went to buy some wood. He spent the afternoon cutting large pieces of wood. We had to have a discussion about buying Forest Certified Wood. That is wood that is not from old growth forests. I have to live my truth and if I am putting in a fence made from recycled products, I have to use wood that is certified.  He bought the correct wood in the end. 

I talked to someone at Home Depot and I have hopes that I have a lead on getting the fence delivered. I will find out tomorrow. 

I did some cooking. Corn and Bean Salad and Pineapple Salsa. 

Until tomorrow...

GOING TO SEE MY PHYSICIAN

 My backyard worker did not show up today. Funny story. Well, funny as a story but not funny to him. Somehow he lost his keys or they were stolen. The person used them to try and steal his car. His car is rather old and either the key snapped off in the lock or the person broke the key off in the lock. Also his phone was in the car. So, this morning he didn't show and he couldn't call me. He spent the whole day getting into his car and then going to the dealer to get a new key without a car. He contacted me as soon as he got to his phone and charged it and then contacted me later in the day to let me know what was going on. He is coming tomorrow to work. Normally I would question this type of story but these types of thefts have been happening in our area. 

I basically worked all day. 

Yesterday I emailed my physician and asked him to order me a few tests since I can't get an appointment with him for months. I need to figure out what is happening with me. I can't go on like this for months. I told him I had to be my own advocate. I got an answer from him a few hours later. He said Of course I should be my own advocate and if I felt I needed all these tests, I should come see him this week. 

Today I called and the front desk said oh no there are no appointments. Then I said but the doctor emailed me, then she said oh, you are XYZ, hold please, the doctor will see you Xday at 10 am. I guess I am seeing the doctor this week. I have a list so I don't forget anything. 

Until tomorrow...

GREEN BEANS AND MUSHROOMS IN TOMATO SAUCE

I had a lovely visit today from my friends kid. He turned 21 years old this week. I have known him since he was 16 years old. He is very sweet and we have a good time together usually doing things but since COVID it has been difficult. Today he brought some vegan snacks and we sat masked out back. We hung out for four hours talking. 

I made green beans with mushrooms in tomato sauce. It was super tasty. A tip I tell people is if you don't have fresh mushrooms, canned mushrooms are good. I drained and sauteed the mushrooms. You would never know. 

Until tomorrow...

JUST AN UNEXCITING SATURDAY

 I spent the day doing laundry and cooking. I am doing the last "meal" in the North American chapter of my cooking course. I still have a few odds and ends to finish up but I really wanted to finish this meal this weekend. First, it would be one thing off my plate and second it would give me something to eat this week. I will unveil later on.

I am not feeling well so I am going to go to bed early and this is going to be a short post today. 

Until tomorrow...

DAY EIGHT OF THE LANDSCAPING PROJECT

 I got the results of my stress test. Basically it was all normal. The test said one thing was abnormal but since no one called to explain it to me and only a nurse called me back, I guess it was all okay. They are going to have someone call me on Monday. 

The guy working on the backyard showed up today. I met him outside and we had a talk. I was not mean. I was straightforward. It turns out there was a communication issue mostly on his part. He misunderstood my text (he read it back and clearly didn't read it right when he got it) and then didn't see my follow up text which would have clarified. He also didn't tell me (he thought he did) that he was taking this week off to go up to see his nephew. So there were a bunch of miscommunications. He agreed to send me a text if he was going to go somewhere again and not just tell me. Sometimes we are a floor apart and I can't always hear what he is saying through a mask. We are all good and today he and his friend went to the store to buy somethings but there was a snafu. The things they wanted to buy would not let me buy them online. But while they were there they scoped out the items he will need and got prices and such so it wasn't a wasted trip. 

The backyard doesn't look like much progress was made but digging out 30 year old roots of vines is hard work. Plus he had to measure out the distance for the new posts and dig those holes. The fun never ends. 

I made the rest of the ribs today. It was only a few small pieces. Enough for two meals. On to the next recipe this weekend. I am also going to remake the Beer Mac & Cheese. The dog walker donated another can of beer to the cause. I am going to make it the right way this time.

My neighbor just texted me to see if I smelled smoke outside. I did so now there are fire trucks rushing by. Such excitement. Hopefully it is nothing but someone with a fire pit. We had some young neighbors burning plastic a few nights ago and it smelled horrible. People....

Until tomorrow...

GOT A NEW CLIENT

I was referred to a person and low and behold today they hired me. It is a short term gig but it could turn into a long term gig. I was surprised he hired me on the spot. Contract signed today and everything. This is good news 

I listened to the PT today and worked on my new desk and chair. I think it made a little bit of a difference. It did make a difference in Lucky's life. She is relegated to a dog bed on the floor behind me. She is not happy. 

I really liked how my office was set up but now I think maybe I need to move furniture around. I don't like looking at a wall. I don't know. I am not a very spatial person. It is hard for me to visualize what furniture will look like in spaces. 

My neighbor came to help me fix my pride flag. We took it down again and fixed the clasps. Then I hung it back up again. I hope this is the final time for awhile. I have such nice neighbors. 

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED TWENTY-FOUR OF COOKING COURSE

 After such a day yesterday, I had physical therapy first thing this morning. I really wasn't in the mood but I am sure you have me figured out by now that I went in with my usual sense of humor. The physical therapist thought I was funny. It is good someone does! I am usually funny in awkward, stressful and tense situations. Yesterday I was funny too. Get me in an emergency room and I am hilarious!  

 The physical therapy was just mostly an intake so there was not much activity. I was given exercises to do and I will start them tomorrow. I was also told to stop sitting on the couch all day and to use my new expensive ergonomic desk and chair and to start using my stationary bike every day. Gosh, what is this some sort of reeducation camp!  Trying to get me to change my lock down ways. 

I am also ready to show you the exciting thing that I have been working on for a few days: Vegan BBQ "Ribs".  Of course they aren't real ribs but they are sort of similar to BBQ. I used jackfruit as the base and then put in some flour and seitan. Then a load of spices. Then mix and mix. Then sear it and simmer it. Then I refrigerate it overnight in a broth. Then the next day I put it on a baking pan and lather it with the whiskey BBQ sauce and bake it. 

That is completely vegan. Amazing isn't it! And it tastes really good!

I am really tired from the excitement (read it trauma) of the day. I am going to rest up and watch some TV. 

No news from the tests yesterday. I am on pins and needles. 

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED TWENTY-THREE OF COOKING COURSE

Today was an exhausting day. I had my stress-test. So I take a taxi over to the place. First they do a EKG. Then a echocardiogram. Then another EKG while you are standing. Then you get on a treadmill and you walk. On mine the different stages were called by the different streets in the area that were more and more inclined. I wanted to get to the street by my house at stage 4 but I didn't get that far. I only got to stage 3. I did get to my heart rate. Everyone is given a heart rate that is determined by some calculation. Mine was 127. They also take your blood pressure at intervals and are watching your EKG while you walk. 

When I got off the treadmill I was dizzy. Once you get off the treadmill you have to immediately get on the table and they do another echocardiogram. 

I will get the report tomorrow. I was told that since I was not sent to the hospital and 911 was not called, it was a good sign that nothing serious was wrong. 

I made vegan whiskey BBQ sauce. I will be putting it on a surprise in a day or two. It is so tasty and delicious. The whiskey burned off but the flavor remains. I had to bribe my neighbor with cookies for a couple of cups of whiskey to make this. 

I am super tired and I am going to bed at 7:30pm. 

Until tomorrow.. 

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

Happy Independence Day. What a day. No equal rights for women and a mass shooting. 

I stayed inside and baked cookies. I wanted to give my neighbor who helped me with my flag some cookies. Would you believe when I got home from dropping off the cookies at their house the flag had come off the hook again? I ordered the correct item to keep it on the eyelet and it will arrive on Wednesday. 

I ate these salads for my BBQ. Coleslaw and chickpea pasta salad. So delicious. 

That was all I did today. 

Until tomorrow...

VEGAN CHICKPEA PASTA SALAD

 I had leftover bow-tie pasta and leftover chickpeas. So what do I make? Vegan chickpea pasta salad. I used my small food processor (best thing I bought during a Prime Day) and chopped up the chickpeas and the celery. Dumped them in the bowl with the pasta and added vegan mayo. Then I added some spices and salt and pepper. I put some celery seeds on top. 

It made a delicious salad for the holiday weekend. It goes really good with the coleslaw. 

I spent the day cooking but it is something that has to sit overnight. I will have to see how it turns out. 

That was basically my whole day. I had planned on doing other things but they didn't happen. Tomorrow I need to bake cookies because I owe my neighbors some cookies for helping me. 

Until tomorrow...

PRIDE FLAG MISHAP

Yesterday someone pointed out that my pride flag had started to come off the pole. One of the clasps was not very strong and it failed. I texted my neighbor thinking this would be a quick fix. This morning he came over and we attempted to fix it. 

First, a few years ago I had to move my flag holder higher because someone attempted to pull down my "Resist" flag. So now my flag holder is about 8' off the ground. This makes it tough to take out the flag pole because of the ladder situation. Yes, I have a ladder that tall but I live on an incline and it makes it tricky. That is why I need help. 

We tried with my long ladder and that didn't work. Then another neighbor came by and said she had a better ladder. That ladder was broken. Then my neighbor got his ladder and we tried with him reaching. He was just a bit too far away. 

Then as he was on the phone with his dad asking about a taller ladder, I thought of another plan. What if we took off one of the window screens and I hung out my window. I could take out the flag and then he could fix it. It worked! For about five minutes. The thing he used to fix it failed. We had to reverse the process and take the flag out again and he found another clip to fix the flag. Then I (now I was getting good at it) put the flag back in the holder and tightened everything up. The flag looks great! Something that I thought would take 15 minutes took over one hour. 

That was pretty much my main activity of the day. 

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED TWENTY-TWO OF COOKING COURSE

 I made vegan coleslaw from scratch. Meaning I didn't use jarred mayo. I made my own dressing to add into the coleslaw. I used green and purple cabbage and carrots. Then I made a dressing and added parsley and roasted sesame seeds on top. It tasted fabulous! Just like something one should eat on a holiday weekend in summer. If only it was summer here. It is 50 degrees and overcast here. Not much like summertime. 

I have enough coleslaw for the weekend. 

Not much happened today because my worker for the backyard has gone AWOL. I am hoping it is just a long weekend thing and not something more serious. I guess I will find out next week. No sense in worrying about it now. 

Until tomorrow...