Month: November 2025

I spent a few hours today rearranging all of the rooms on the back side of the apartment.

The only rooms left untouched were the kitchen, pantry, and the guest bedroom. Those I’ve left for another day.

Briefly, I started by moving all of my clothes out of my much loved low, long dresser, and into a medium high dresser that used to be Ivan’s. I then moved that into the empty area in our bedroom, just next to Ivan’s glider that he always sat in. I originally bought it to put in the living room at some point but with the furniture that we currently have, it wouldn’t look very nice. I need to say that next time I move a dresser, it might be easier to move it empty, rather than full. Just a thought.

Next, I moved the dresser that I had been using, the low, long dresser, underneath the window of the spare bedroom, where the medium dresser used to be. That left a nice space for the metal cart from the living room. That was quite easy to move as it’s on wheels, but it had to wait until I swept up the broken returnable beer bottle that I forgot was on the cart. Duh!

That left me to deal with everything else left in the living room. The years of dirt on the floor, underneath everything that I wasn’t able to move over the years, was incredible to say the least. I vacuumed, then mopped, then moved the chairs out from under the planter box, and put the love seat under there. So much better use of the space.

I also got to hang the painting that was done for us, given to me by a coworker, that I’ve been waiting 5 years to hang. I’ll show you.

Now I can get to the shelves, tomorrow, and get them all cleaned off, good for another 5 years of volcanic dust residue. Can’t wait. I think I might be able to use the robot vacuum cleaner soon. If I can figure out how to use it. I will. I know I will. Just a matter of time.

The biggest thing I need to do is move all of Ivan’s tools out of the living room, and put them somewhere where I can find them if/when I need them. Back in the third bathroom-cum-storage area I think will work nicely. I’m going to move out any food left in there, and make that a tool storage room. That way all of the tools, and equipment will be in one place, like your basements, or garages. I don’t have either of those areas as my disposal and the storage area on the roof is not waterproof, so the bathroom it is.

I think, until next time, that’s all I’m going to tell you for now.

Stay happy, and healthy in the Lord.

Post script: this is my 2000th post. Thanks for staying with me.

I did a buttload of deep cleaning today.

Very therapeutic, I must say. Keeps me from thinking about

things.

Then, just like that, at the snap of your fingers, I found myself sitting in my chair, crying my eyes out. I know I’m still healing, and probably always will. It’s just a bit disconcerting when it comes out of nowhere.

Anyway, I vacuumed 5 years worth of dust from the tops of the wall cabinets in our bedroom, finished taking all of Ivan’s clothes out of the closet, putting them on the bed in the guest bedroom, and found all of the towel sets we have, (we have a lot). I’m keeping 2 of the blue/green sets for the guest bathroom as they go with the shower curtain, and 2 sets of the grey, and deep purple for our bathroom. The rest are going to go to Los Altos with me at the end of the year.

I found the sweater my mother knitted for me when I was about 14, and it’s as beautiful today as it was all of those years ago. I’ll show you. I’m going to give it to Jesús’s niece in Los Altos for Christmas.

I only wore it twice because it’s made from acrylic, and acrylic sweaters itch just like wool sweaters itch. The craftsmanship, however, is exemplary. This sweater is the reason I started knitting. I wanted to be able to make patterns like mom did, but nowadays we have much nicer yarn; lovely colors, strengths, textures that far surpass anything she had back in the day.

I also boxed up some clothes that I’m not able to wear at present, and may never be able to wear, however, I’m going to give myself until next year to see if anything fits. If not, out it goes. Of the clothes I have that are not bamboo leggings, and tops, they are classic in color, and design, ageless is what I’m trying to say. Even though they’re 6 or 7 years old, some older, they are timeless, and can be worn in any era.

I moved all of the DVD’s to the same closet in the guest bedroom, all of the batteries, chargers, etc, to the top drawer of the closet in the spare bedroom, (where they started out when we first moved in here), and the blanket that has spent 5 years on top of the cabinet in our bedroom, has been relocated to the top shelf in the same closet of the spare bedroom.

I also moved the 4 printer ink replacement cartridges that are still in their boxes, that were up on top of the cabinet near the blanket, those I put in the same closet as the batteries, in the spare bedroom. That is going to be “the office”. In fact, instead of calling it the spare bedroom, I’m officially changing it, going forward, to the office. The printer is in there, the printer paper, now the ink cartridges, and with a bit of patience, I’ll take my whole set up from here in the LR, to the “office”.

The 2 dressers that are in the guest bedroom have mostly bedding for the 2 queen sized beds, and 1 drawer with some clothes of Ivan’s that I don’t want to give away. Then there’s the top drawer of 1 of the dressers that is full of cables, mice, (mouses really), suspenders, stuff I’m not ready to deal with right now.

All in all, a good day. I have actually done everything I put on my list of things to do. I lost my sleep about 2am, came out here to the table in the LR where my “office” is currently set up, and made a list of what I wanted to do today. I went back to bed about 4am, got back up around 8:15am, did my normal routine, took a nap about 10am, got up at 11am, and have been doing all of the above ever since.

I’m tired, and am going to watch a few hours of the Chosen, and all that entails.

Until next times, stay happy, and healthy in the Lord.

Have a happy, and safe Thanksgiving holiday. I’m going to enjoy a small turkey breast, with a sweet potato.

Have you ever left something in the back of the fridge, all alone, and forgotten for who knows how long?

Only to find it, bring it out, and open it up to

THIS!

Yes, I found that this afternoon whilst cleaning things out that I don’t want in the fridge anymore, but are still quite edible. The really good tasting stuff that isn’t helping heal my gut microbiomes.

The yogurt I make lasts only a few days as I make only enough to last a few days. The things I make no longer have sugar in them, no longer cause my belly to bloat to appear 13 months pregnant with twins. I make the absolute best water kefir soda. In fact I drink at least (2) 12oz bottles every day. I second ferment each bottle with 100% orange juice, blueberries, and apples. It is outstanding. I think I drink more of that than I do my water. And I love drinking water. Have for years.

Anyway, until next time, you might want to check your fridge and see what’s lurching in the back, unseen, forgotten, molding.

Stay happy, and healthy in the Lord.

Or, rather, the lack thereof.

The pain in my joints, as I have been describing for you folks for several weeks, is close to nothing. Since I have started on my Super Gut routine, the revitalization of my gastrointestinal microbiome, and now the addition of vitamins, and minerals, nutrients in which I was deficient, I am starting to feel aces.

I mean every word of that. Last night, for example, I was so tired by 10:15pm, (that never happens), that I went to bed. I slept quite soundly until about 2:15am, got up, went to the bathroom, went out to the computer until 4am, back to bed, and slept until 7:55am. That’s a first for me, even when Ivan was still alive. Neither of us slept more than 2 hours at a time.

Now, with the process underway of destroying all of the unhealthy bacteria, and fungi, in my GI tract, I’m more flexible, more alert, with much less appetite, (in fact, I some days have to make myself eat something before it’s too late in the day). I’m rarely bloated anymore, though sometimes that still happens. My twitching eyelid is only a hint of its former self. I have a bit of left sided abdominal discomfort that I’m praying is just everything settling itself into a more “normal” coexistence, but that’s the worst thing happening. I’ll let you know what comes of it.

I’ve listened to, and read, Super Gut about a dozen times now, trying to get it to sink in, and become second nature. Oh, only the chapters titled “Build your own super gut: a four-week program”. That has all of the info I need to do what I need to do. The rest is very technical. I also listen to, and read, the chapters on SIBO, and SIFO, (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, and fungal overgrowth), as I’m sure that was what started the genocide of my entire microbiome.

Until next time my lovelies, stay happy, and healthy in the Lord.

I do that a lot.

Not much else to do on a daily basis. Not that I seek out things to do. I don’t. I find, however, that it makes me very lethargic during the day, to not do anything. When I realize I’m just sitting, playing my computer games, listening, for the umpteenth time, to a book that I’m not really listening to, it’s time to get up, and do something.

Anything.

I have a small basket of my laundry to do, so I’ll go do that. Maybe something else will come up, and I can do that. If not, it’s back to games, and YouTube. Every evening is The Chosen, on the app, then the Aftershow, also on the app, then, lastly, the Bible Roundtables, also on the app. Then it’s probably time for bed.

Until next time, stay happy, and healthy in the Lord.

Post script: yesterday was our first granddaughters first wedding anniversary. I sent her a congrats, and she sent me a thank you. Excellent start.

It’s official.

I’ve listened to the book, by Dr. William Davis, I’ve gotten the hardback book from Amazon, and I’m ready to do this. Finally.

It’s something I wanted to do for quite some time now, so there’s no better time than the present.

All I need are the mineral supplements, and I’m on my way.

This first week I’m to be wheat, grain, and sugar free. That part I actually started last week, that, and being alcohol free. Seems like a better lifestyle for me. It has allowed me to be a bit creative in my “bread” choices. I’m a huge bread fan, and will miss not making bread, or eating a sandwich like I used to. I’m not sad about giving up painful bloating every time I eat something. So, there’s that.

I’ll keep you posted along the way as to how it’s working out for me.

Until then, stay happy, and healthy in the Lord.

I have none.

The further into this forced widowhood I traverse, the more bizarre my frame of time reference eludes me. I have found myself sitting in front of the “tv”, watching nonsense, on YT, or Prime Video, or Netflix, or whatever I happen to find to watch, for hours on end without even knowing that time is going by, and at such a rate.

When I do snap out of my trances, I immediately get up, and do something, like cleaning out a tote, and dealing with whatever happens to be inside the tote. Or, vacuuming the floors, again, as that needs to be done almost every day. There’s so much black dust coming in the windows, that it makes me wonder if, when I’m out, and about, should I still be wearing a mask? Lot’s of people do.

Most of the day goes by without my notice, unless I’ve made a commitment to doing laundry, but since it’s only my clothes that need cleaning, and the Lord knows I have tons of tops, and shorts to wear, that hasn’t happened much since I’ve been solo.

I try to have a good sized breakfast, that way, if I get caught up in the nothingness of another day, and I miss lunch, there’s still the possibility of dinner. I say that because last night I had dinner at 7:15pm. In bed by 9:30p, then up again at 1:30a this morning. I stayed up for about an hour, then back to sleep until 8a.

As I’m a morning person, I like being up, and moving by 7:30-8a. I take my shower, start my hour of reflection, do a 15 minute exercise routine, take a 1k walk around the park, then have my breakfast. I call it breakfast because it’s the first time I have anything to eat in a day, but it’s usually around 11a that I eat it. I try to get back outside around 2p to take another walk, then come back in, and am ready for a nap. No, I don’t actually take a nap, though I’d like to, I usually find something to do to stay busy for a little bit.

Anyway, I’ve got enough faith to know that I’m not completely alone, only physically. I know that soon, I’ll have Javi to spend a little time with, and that’ll be nice.

Until next time, stay happy, and healthy in the Lord.

I’m going to start growing herbs.

I know that doesn’t sound like much to any of you but for me, this is a beginning.

I don’t do well with herbs, usually, because they require just the right this and that, like water, and sunlight. Water, as you may remember, if you’ve been with me any length of time, I do overly well, in fact I usually drown my poor victims. Sunshine, that’s my biggest problem. Our apartment is on the backside of our building, and none of our windows face the East. A big thumbs up to the reflected light off the building behind us, which is the only source of light I have by which to plant. They painted it a nice, bright white this past summer, so there’s even more reflected light than ever before.

Herbs, however, require 12-14 hours of sunlight, and though I do the best I can, most of my plants become leggy, searching for more light. So, after much discussion with Max last night, he, and I have come up with what we think will work out just fine; grow lights. I bought 4 grow lights with specific types of bulbs to go with said lights a few years ago when I thought I could grow a jungle, but was shown that, decidedly, I could not.

I still have all of the accoutrements, the lights, (though one somehow got mangled- how, I don’t remember), the bulbs, different kinds of soils, soil amendments, etc., even worm poo. Now that, Max said, was gold. Don’t I know it. I believe it’s referred to, at least in Spanish, as humus.

So, this morning, bright, and early, (it’s actually 6:45am), I am up, moving the plants in the planter box in the living room, and recouping the 4 plastic planter boxes that I’m going to use to plant the herbs. I still have to mix the soils properly as they are just a bit different for the delicate herbs, basil, chives, cilantro, dill, and oregano, as opposed to the more woody herbs, sage, thyme, and rosemary that I’m praying will grow.

This is something I have wanted to do since living up North, but only played at doing. I’d really like to have a small amount of each of those herbs to learn to cook with on a daily basis. As I will now have to learn to cook even smaller amounts of food than ever, I feel this might be the time to learn how to do this. Say a prayer for me, will you, that I can get a handle on this? Thanks.

Until next time, stay happy, and healthy in the Lord.

I think that some of my resilience after Ivan’s passing is due to all of the sunshine I get daily.

I make it a point to go out twice a day, and walk around the park in front of the apartment. I usually go at 10:30am for the first go round, then 2pm (ish) for the second go. It takes me about 12 minutes for the first walk as my muscles are somewhat more loose than later, when that second round takes upwards of 15 minutes, and with considerable more discomfort.

The sun is the important part here though. It gives me a bit of energy, and it makes me smile. Our apartment is lovely, bright, and welcoming, however, it is missing a key component.

When I’m outside I don’t have all of the memories of our times shared inside the apartment. I try to stay busy, in the kitchen, in the spare bedroom, anywhere where I don’t see

him.

I don’t know how to tell you what it means to be widowed, but what I can tell you is that, if you love your spouse, as I love Ivan, it’s not something you want to experience any time soon, if ever.

I will say that it was better that he went first as there would have been no way that he could have dealt with any of the things I’ve been left to deal with. The bills, the cars, the cooking, cleaning, buying groceries, taking out the garbages, washing dishes, washing and drying clothes. He wouldn’t have been able to do any of that.

The Lord had His own timeline for us, and it was decided.

Until next time, stay happy, and healthy in the Lord.

Post script: happy 40 something birthday to our son tomorrow. We love you with all our heart. (Of course I know how old you are, but I’m not sure you want me to tell the others.)

Today, I ate the best pork chop ever.

Well, it was close to the best ever. Best that I’ve ever made for sure.

I bought what is called a Rib Eye de Cerdo, or a rib eye of pork from Wild Fork, and cooked it for an hour in my sous vide set up.

I spritzed both sides with a bit of olive oil, seasoned it on both sides with S&P, garlic powder, onion powder, MSG, (if you don’t use this you need to research it because it’s amazing), along with a sprig of fresh rosemary that I happened to have in the fridge. I put it in a Ziplock bag, got rid of the air by immersing the bag, et. al., in the water of the sous vide set up, closed the zip lock, and let it cook slowly at 140ºF for the aforementioned 1 hour.

After all of that, I took it out of the bag, and patted it dry, all the while heating a small cast iron skillet to a medium high heat. When the pan was smoking, I added a tablespoon of both olive oil for cooking, (not EVOO, as it has a lower smoke point), and unsalted butter. I added the chop, seared it with the oil/butter combo, for about 2 minutes to form a nice crust, then added the sprig of rosemary that I used in the sous vide portion of the recipe. I basted the chop for about 30 seconds, maybe a bit more, removed the rosemary, took ahold of the chop with tongs, and stood it up on its side to sear the fat cap.

I plated the chop with half of a prior baked potato that I reheated in the microwave and covered with my homemade fermented ranch dressing, then added a side salad of Romaine lettuce having multiple spritzes of EVOO, and Balsamic vinegar.

The chop was huge, about 180g, and yes, I ate it all because I usually eat only twice a day, and I was getting hungry at this point. The potato was 140g, before the embellishments, and the salad was 120g. Nirvana.

I have to tell you that immediately after removing the chop from the bag, I added a 500g. pork belly to the same bag, and am now slow cooking at 76ºC for 15 hours. So, tomorrow afternoon, another pig fest.

What’s not to like?

Until next time, stay happy, and healthy in the Lord.