Author: iagardener55

As earthquakes go, that was a doozy.

We were just getting Jesús, Liz, and Gabi settled in their room for the night, when they jumped up, off of the bed, and, said we were having an earthquake. (They could hear the dogs barking, and the people out front of the building. Their bedroom window faces the front of the building, with the laundry room window right next to theirs. Our bedroom faces the back of the building, so we hear nothing.)

Personally, I felt nothing; for about thirty second. Then, for the first time, we had to actually leave the building. Jesús had just finished saying that we needed to do the very thing. Not us, brave couple from the North! I asked why? This is no big deal. Well,

Seconds later, I was on my way to the laundry room, where we have our “earthquake alarm” wind chimes, and, sure enough, they were going crazy. We could not hear them because the sliding door to the laundry area was shut. As I tried to open the door, the whole building was trying to get out from under my feet, and trying to knock me to the floor. This one was so much stronger than the last one, it was incredible. We could actually see the walls of the building moving.

Of course, we lost electricity within the first few seconds, but, even without lights, we could see everything moving.

One begins, at about this point, to hope that this is going to stop, like right now. Alas, it did not. In fact, it went on for probably three or four more minutes. The building was still shifting as we were making our way down the steps. It was raining when we got outside, of course; nothing much, but enough that we were all wet within minutes.

We ended up making a few trips back into the building, for charging blocks, water, phones, flashlights, jackets, etc.; those important things you should have at the ready, but do not.

I am very happy to report that there were no casualties, human, canine, or feline, from our building. (All of the dogs were outside with their humans, carrying on something fierce. Another great earthquake detection system. No batteries needed)

I am also happy to say that we did not have a single thing break; none of the jars in the pantry, nothing from the living room, nothing in the bedrooms. Nothing. Period.

This building really was meant for us to inhabit. It is amazingly strong, and well built.

We are going to try to get some rest now. Hahaha. Right. Anyway, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hand, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

And, leave the building when you are told to; before Elvis.

I told you, in a recent post, about the new plants we got in Los Altos, that I would find out the names of all of them, once the internet was more cooperative. It is, and I did.

No, I am not going to identify, here, what each one is called, so relax. Suffice it to say, most of them are different species of Echevería, and we will leave it at that. Supposedly the easiest succulent to grow. Hah! They never met me.

One of the plants that I received, as a gift, from Alicia, mother to Lizbeth, has become leggy as it matures. When I researched that, it showed how to make a few changes that might help with its growth. This is what I did. (Turn your head away if you are at all squeamish about theses things.)

Yes, I cut its little head off. That is how brutal one must needs be when one finds a plant getting older, and, too leggy, and unruly; cut off its head.

Relax. I planted its little head, and hopefully, other plants will grow around the base of the original, and the top will root, and grow another of itself.

I just did this about five days ago, so it needs another day, or so, before I can water it, gently. It needs to toughen up at the area where it was severed from the stem of the main plant so it will be less prone to disease, and fungus. The two leaves that are just laying on top of the soil, in front, and back, will also, hopefully, grow into other plants. It will take months for all of that to occur, so I must be patient. (I have moved the above plant to a part of the window box where I do not see it every day.)

Here is another interesting plant, just the leaves, actually. The internet tells me it is a Swedish ivy; could be. What do I know?!

Do you see how the leaves grow out of the prior leaf? Is that not an amazing thing? That is why I bought it; I love to see, and appreciate how Nature makes amazing things like this. We just have to “see” them.

Be happy, be healthy, be safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones, will you?

(I hope you understood the Frankenstein referral there) 😉

The reason for such a title? I have found muscles I had forgotten I had! They must have been inserted, surgically, at some time in the past, when I was not paying attention. Possibly on a night of overindulgence, concerning my favorite liquid anesthesia.

As those days are gone, however, it is a mystery to be sure. The reason I am aware of said muscles is because I have had to, inadvertently, use those muscles while I, wait for it…

Exercise. There. I said it. I loathe exercising, as a general rule. It is time consuming, sweaty, and, usually, too difficult to maintain. Plus, it seems to take forever to see any results. Boo hoo!!!

This time ‘round, I do not care how long it takes, I am doing it. S#)t, or get off the pot!

As this is day two of climbing the stairs, I timed myself. (I also kept counting the stupid things, and kept getting confused, even in English. I have not had to count so high in quite a while.) 😉 Six minutes, and six seconds. That is the complete six flights, including any breaks. (Read gasping for air.) Not bad, to my way of thinking.

After that, I got out my yoga mat, and did thirty crunches. I thought, briefly, about sit ups, and decided, immediately, that that would just be insane. Crunches were difficult enough. I did fifteen each of the aforementioned torture, both forward, and reverse leg. Yippee. (It will be highly unlikely, however, that I will be able to move tomorrow. And, as tomorrow, for us, is Saturday, I really do not care.)

On Saturday’s, we do not have to change out of our pj’s; we can remain in them all weekend long if we choose. Come Tuesday, back to civvies. Reasons for said ritual are unimportant, but, it works for us. (Less laundry, too.)

I will continue to update you on my progress through this “ordeal”, as I am sure you already know. I will see it through. I am determined to look good, not just better, in my leggings, and Pico tops. Determined, I say.

Please, stay happy, stay healthy, and, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

So, I told you, yesterday, (your yesterday, my last week), that I was going to start climbing the ninety-plus stairs for some exercise. And, I did.

There are, however, one hundred three steps, not ninety five; I forgot the stairs up to the roof. So, a total of one hundred three buggers.

How do I know this, you ask?

I counted them; incorrectly twice, then, correctly the third time. You read that right; three times I counted them.

The first time was completely in Spanish. When I got to the PH floor, level five, however, and saw more steps, I realized I had forgotten about the roof. I went up said steps to the roof, checked on the gorgeous succulents growing in our neighbors storage unit, said good morning to Jesús, (and Liz, via cellphone), then went back down to try counting them again; correctly.

I also realized, that by the time I had gotten to the fifth floor, and had seen the rest of the steps to the roof, I had forgotten how many steps it had taken me to get to the PH level. Well, s#!t.

The second time I counted them, it was a mix of Spanish and English. The third time, however, was one through ten, in Spanish, but I used a finger for every ten. Aha! I guess I just needed to use my fingers. Who knew?!

So, three times, up and down the steps, and nothing happened. I can still breath; I sweat a lot, (that is good. It is a start); and I am definitely still alive; ready to do it again, actually. I did the walk twenty seconds, rest ten seconds business, which worked well. But, for this altitude, and, the stress on this overweight body, I will, tomorrow, walk two flights, rest twenty, then two more flights, rest twenty, ; until I become accustomed.

Winner, winner. Chicken dinner. Ready to go again.

I would, but I have to go to la dentista in an hour. I would prefer, (she would too, I will wager), not to smell like I just walked up three hundred steps. (Did I mention it was in less than ten minutes?) Yay!!!

Stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones, will you?

By the time you read this, things will be very different, here, at the apartment. Whether I am still here, or not, you will have to wait until tomorrow to find out.

Tomorrow, (for me, it is a week before you read this), I start a daily walk up six flights of stairs. I will be taking the elevator to the first floor, walking down one flight to the basement, then up to the penthouse level, on five. If I live through the ordeal, you will know by reading a post in the morning. No post, no me. 😉

Each flight contains fifteen or sixteen steps, as I recall, so, that will be quite a few steps for this old girl. (Ninety to ninety six steps.) I plan to treat this as a Tabata workout; twenty seconds of intense exercise followed by ten seconds of static rest. That means that I can, run, (read walk faster than normal), up one flight in time for a ten second rest. Repeat. Breath. Steps. Rest. Breath. Repeat.

I can do that. No big deal. I am not going to think about the slight change in altitude, from the basement to the PH, as that may be a bit discouraging. I like to breath; it makes me smile. I do not like being out of breath, and unable to recover said breath easily. Going up the stairs, here, even worse in Los Altos, makes me feel like an oxygen tank, and mask, would not go amiss.

I am determined, however. I will prevail. The challenge is on, and the game is afoot.

Here goes nothing. (Except a few pounds!!) 😉

Stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Actually, this will post on Saturday, the fourth of September, and we will be in Los Altos for a few days. Please, give me until Monday, the sixth before you begin to worry. Or, congratulate me; either way.

A HUGE thank you to my sister, Nancy, for sending me a video from rumble.com on an antiviral medication called Ivermectin.

I will attempt to add it here, as a link, but, if it does not want to work that way, go to rumble.com. If you have an account, look for Temporarily Grounded, as a website, then scroll down to the video. They have only two videos posted at present so it is not difficult to find, once you find the site. This video is overwhelming.

Here is the link to the video. I hope it works for you. The video is twenty four minutes long, but I think you will agree with me that it is worth every second. https://rumble.com/vlpecw-the-story-of-ivermectin.html

I am not going to say anymore than I hope you stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones. And, if you can get ahold of some Ivermectin, take it. Live long, and prosper.

Figuratively speaking, that is.

This afternoon, I went to the bedroom, to lie down for, what I hoped would be, a short nap. Three hours later, I am finally up.

I went to lie down because every muscle, joint, square centimeter of hair, and skin hurt. This came out of nowhere. One minute, I was sitting at the dining room table, working feverishly, (no pun intended), on one of my online puzzles, and, before I knew what was happening, I had all of the above, along with a headache I could not shake.

I made it back to the bedroom, took Ibuprofen 800mg, drank a half quart of water, and went to bed. Five minutes later, I got back up, put on two thermal shirts, over my PJ top; added the PJ bottoms, over my thermal bottoms, put on a pair of socks, and tried again, to warm up.

About a lifetime later, I felt as if I was starting to warm up, however, the muscles in both of my shoulders were so uncomfortable, I had to keep moving my hands, and arms, over my head, then down to my sides. Finally, that too went away.

After the second hour, I asked Ivan to put another pair of socks over the original pair, helping a bit. Sitting at the table here, they are still cold. WTH?

I am going to tell myself that this is a blip, a temporary nothing, and that it will be gone before I go to bed tonight. The power of positive thinking!

See you tomorrow. Until then, you know what to do. Stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Post script: after consuming Acetaminophen 800mg, about twenty minutes ago, I am happy to report that I am starting to sweat. In this case, sweating is a good thing. On a normal day, I try to avoid it. Gonna have to get out of all of the extra layers, too. Thanks for any concern. All good.

Post script: 9/2/2021- I spent a night of jumpy legs that would not be quelled, but without fever, or chills. This morning, I am back to “normal”. Whatever that means. 😉

A friend of mine, a surgeon I used to work with, contacted me the other day regarding a picture I posted on my Instagram account.

It was this photo, of my sourdough starter, bubbling away after two months in what I called fridge prison. He wanted to know of what the photo showed. I returned his message, telling him that it was my sourdough starter. Then, I sent him a message of my own, suggesting he read some of these posts, if he had the time, and was interested. I told him I had been posting here for almost two years.

This morning, after a cup of coffee, I checked on the administrative portion of this website, and noticed that I have been posting here since my sisters birthday, two years ago; August 9, 2019.

I have not posted every day, lately, because, well, when one is incarcerated, there is, frequently, very little to relay. Am I right?

For example, yesterday, late in the afternoon, I received my package from Amazon, containing our new exercise resistance bands; complete with handles, ankle straps, door cable, and resistance bands that total one hundred and fifty pounds worth of resistance. I am telling you now, that I am going to regain some muscle mass, and strength, if it is the last thing I do.

I do believe Ivan is interested, as well. That would be fun. We used to go to the gym six days a week, for close to twenty five years. To regain some of that would be perfect. I am thinking it will help some with my back pain. Who knows?!

So, that is a perfect example of why I have not posted every day in the past year. Quarantine is a bitch.

Now that our friend Liz is probably pregnant, again, I am going to restart work on the baby blanket I am knitting for the baby. I am praying that, if she is indeed pregnant, she can deliver of a full term healthy baby. Plus, Gabi needs a sibling.

Enough for today. I am washing our white quilt this morning; how I ignored the discoloration on it yesterday, I cannot say. Today, it is in the washing machine.

I want to make a dozen jalapeño poppers later today; been a long time since having done so. Of course, I will have to sprinkle them with a bit of brown sugar, just to take off a bit of heat, dontcha know!

I am also going to vacuum, and mop, the floors. Since Liz left me, the floors have been vacuumed, but not mopped. The floors do not look dirty, but, after spilling a bit of water, in the dark, on our bedroom floor last night, and wiping it up with a handy face cloth, well, it definitely needs mopping.

I think I am going to need a bit of chocolate to boost the coffee caffination. The coffee, alone, does not seem to be doing much. Onward, and upward.

While I slave away, here in paradise, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Be skeptical of the CoVid vaccines they are trying to foist on you. They are unproven, and have more side effects than should be tolerated. Follow your instincts; stay away from people who are ill, wash your hands, cover your mouth, wash your hands again, be cognizant of your surroundings, you should be able to get through this and remain healthy.

Oh, and, do NOT forget to wash any washable masks you wear, frequently. We have purchased about two dozen cotton, multilayered masks that we use, and have given them to those closest to us. We put them in a bin, after we come in from the outside, and I wash them, all together, several times a week.

Thus endeth the lessen. 😉

If you think you are about to vacuum up a tiny, misplaced diamond earring, misplaced weeks ago, and, cannot, in time, stop yourself from doing so, check the vacuum cleaner head after you do.

Words to live by, I say.

Last week, Liz, and I, swept the bedroom floor, but did not find the earring. In fact, I had forgotten all about it. After sweeping the entire warren of dust bunnies that were hiding behind the headboard, I got the Shark vacuum cleaner head out, to finish cleaning up the mess.

I noticed a few stray bunnies, hopping around on the floor, under the headboard, so, I bent down to vacuum them up, to their deaths. Just as I started vacuuming them, I noticed a tiny glint out of the corner of my eye. At the same moment, I wondered if that was my missing earring. Did I stop vacuuming?

Of course not, silly. Only a sane person would do that. Needless to say, however, I quickly stopped vacuuming, and, opened the cleaner head onto my small dustpan. Sure enough, there it was; under a small pile of powdery debris. Yay!!! The lost was found.

Where all of the rest of that crap came from, I am not even going to venture a guess. For now, it is gone; to be forgotten as soon as I save this post.

Stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Ugh.

Let me first wish the happiest of birthdays, to my soulmate; and, to many, many more of the same. Thanks for your help in my life.

I am working my way around to the chore of changing both queen size beds of their linens. Not something I enjoy doing much, though the results are usually worth the time, and effort having been made.

Maybe, if I keep typing, they will magically change themselves. I believe in magic.

I do not mind the washing, drying, folding, or putting away of said linens; I just despise the removing of said linens from the beds. Why? I have absolutely no Earthly idea.

It is a quick thing to accomplish, to be sure. So, after all of the above, I am off to do the very thing. See you sometime later, alligator.

I have discovered why I dislike removing the sheets. It is because, usually, I have to do it myself. Today, however, Ivan helped me! What a difference when you can share the load. Again, a simple thing, but meaningful, as well.

He saw me bringing in the clean sheets, and, got up from his settee. I asked him, just out of curiosity, where he was going. He said he was going to help me.

I about fell over! But, help me he did, and, the deed was done in record time. In fact, it gave me the time, not to mention impetus, to clean around the head of the mattress; on the bed frame. Yikes.

The mattress is twelve inches high, with a two inch topper, so this whole area is almost completely covered. No one knew this was there; except me.

I knew it was there; I see it every time I change the sheets. Have I, really, ever felt compelled to clean it? Hell no! Who does? Now that Liz is helping us, however, I finally felt compelled to clean it. So, I did.

After removing, and replacing the lines on both beds, with Ivan’s help, this is what things look like.

However, after one completely changes the linens on two beds, one is left with a pile of linens, of which needs to be addressed.

While I am off, addressing said pile of bedding, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.