Journal of a Perennial Optimist (again)

I am getting used to wearing the two watches, but I really, really MISS wearing my Apple Watch ! These study watches can be set up like mine, but I am not allowed to do that, so all I see on either of them is just the time, like a plain watch.
I am used to my Apple Watch reminding me to walk a little bit each hour I am up, let me know if I have a phone call or text message, give me any bad weather alerts, and all sort of other little things that it does every day.
After I have worn the study watches for at least the 12 hours, then I can take them off for the day, do the two nighttime BP measurements, and then I am done for the day.

I also volunteered for the blood tests, so tomorrow, we will go to Kroger, and then stop by the lab place on the way home to get the lab work done. I have no idea what they are looking for in the lab work, but they might have me do another one near the end of the study, they said.
We are supposed to have even colder weather , and possible snow, starting on Wednesday, so it is a good thing that i can get the bloodwork done tomorrow, in case we do get bad weather and snow.

You should be able to drink raw milk from your own cow, @Mary Stetler . It is only buying and selling it that is mostly not legal anywhere, and then only if you are selling it for human consumption.
Back when we used to buy raw milk from a neighbor lady that had a milk cow, she sold it as “milk for pets”, which was perfectly legal to do.
It looks like Kennedy is working on making raw milk legal for farmers to sell again, although it might take a while before that actually happens. I loved it when I had Cow Patty, my milk cow, and we had fresh milk and cream every day.
 
Ken Anderson said:
Most rural people used to have a cow, but I think there are very few milk cows anymore.
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Some states have now passed laws that farmers can sell their produce, meat, and even raw milk from their farms directly to the customer, the way things used to be (back in the “good old days”) and I am hoping that happens here in Alabama soon, too. Or, at least we can buy raw milk in the grocery store. It would probably still have more processing than just getting it fresh from the farmer, but better than the ultra-processed still we can buy now. Raw milk is one of the healthiest foods ever, but not after processing.
If they make it legal here, we might even be able to get it at the farmers market ?

We finally were able to get the kitty down to be spayed yesterday, and should be picking her up this afternoon. By this weekend, she should be fine to be out of her confinement, and then she can go outside again since the weather has warmed up a whole lot.
Whether she decides to be tame or feral after that remains to be seen, but at least she will have more freedom than just being loose in the house at night, and we don’t have to worry about her having any more kittens.

I am almost done with the fitness tracker study, and then I just have to do the exit survey and send all of the phones and watches back. It takes almost 2 months to get credited, and then another few weeks to get the amazon gift cards for doing the study, so it will be almost summer before I finally have the gift cards.
 
Kitty is back home and doing fine, mostly sleeping and recovering, but she came out for a while this morning and wandered around the house, and looked out the windows like she always done when she is “on patrol” at night.
She looked really relieved and happy to be back home again.
The kittens missed her, and they looked all over around where she sleeps and seemed to be wondering what became of their mommy.
When she came back home yesterday afternoon, they took turns going over to her to welcome her back home and lie beside her crate for a while.
She still growls at them, but they don’t seem to care……. She is Mommy, and they love her, growls or not.

I reordered the dwarf tomato plants because I just can’t find where I put the envelope with the new seeds in it. I imagine they will show up as soon as i get the new ones and start some in the aerogardens. They just are not in the container where I have the seeds stored, which is where they should be.

We have warmer weather around the 60’s on the forecast for the next 10 days, so things should start looking greener. I ordered some potting soil in my Walmart order, and I can start planting some things in containers soon. I am looking forward to being outside more !
 
Now that the seeds are re-ordered, I am sure that I will discover where I thought the perfect place to put that envelope with the seeds in a safe and findable place.
I also ordered some catnip seeds, since i was on eBay anyway. We have the little catnip toy mice and the kittens love those, and so does Mommy Kitty, so they will probably really like some actual catnip to roll around in and enjoy.

I transplanted some oregano, Greek basil and thyme in my new planter (from Walmart Reviews) and have it by Miss Kitty’s crates, so she now has a “landscaped apartment”. Once it warms up a little more, they can be moved outside, but right now they just have to get used to dirt instead of the aerogarden.
Miss Kitty is in her bedroom, Simon is checking out Mom’s new landscaping.

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With the warmer weather, I think that i am starting to come out of my almost-dormant winter hibernation stage. I have more energy, moving around more, and looking forward to going outside again.
When it is so cold, my body just does not warm up, even when the house is warm, and the only place I have felt truly warm for the last few months was when I was tucked under the electric blanket and cozy comforter in the bed.

The last few days, I have been using the vibration plate more, since the bedroom is not as cold now for me to be in there. I turn on my oldies channel on Pandora and sing along, and dance on the vibration plate for my 10 minute session, and I feel SO much better afterwards.

It is even time to start thinking about having protein smoothies again, and since I am a “Blender-holic”, I ordered a new blender.
Yes, I really did !
I gave away my Vitamix to my Daughter-in-law when they were living out here, because it was just too heavy for me to carry around anymore, and takes up a lot of space if left on the counter top.
I have been using my smaller Oster blender, but now I wanted one of the cordless portable blenders, that is just the right size for making a green smoothie or a protein drink, and can live on the counter without taking up a lot of room.

The cheaper ones would be fine for just a protein drink, but if I am going to be adding in fruit or greens, then I need a better blender; so after researching, I ordered a Ninja Blast Max.
It has 3 settings, holds 22 oz, and the blender top detaches off of the base to use it as a cup to drink the smoothie.

 
Yvonne Smith said:
Now that the seeds are re-ordered, I am sure that I will discover where I thought the perfect place to put that envelope with the seeds in a safe and findable place.
I also ordered some catnip seeds, since i was on eBay anyway. We have the little catnip toy mice and the kittens love those, and so does Mommy Kitty, so they will probably really like some actual catnip to roll around in and enjoy.

I transplanted some oregano, Greek basil and thyme in my new planter (from Walmart Reviews) and have it by Miss Kitty’s crates, so she now has a “landscaped apartment”. Once it warms up a little more, they can be moved outside, but right now they just have to get used to dirt instead of the aerogarden.
Miss Kitty is in her bedroom, Simon is checking out Mom’s new landscaping.

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At one time, I had a large catnip plant outside and the hood cats loved rolling in it. There was one cat that was always chilled after his roll in the plant. They were funny to watch.
 
I am all done with the Apple Watch study, and today we had all the equipment (2 phones, 2 watches, Omron BP cuff, charging cords) packed back in the original box with the new return label on, and took it back to Fed Ex .
For some reason, the Fed Ex place (in Walgreens) where we went to pick up the box in the first place, said we can’t ship it back from there; so we had to go and find the regular main Fed Ex place for Huntsville and send it back from that store.

I enjoyed being part of the study, and from what I was able to find online, it is to help the Apple Watches be able to detect when a person might be going to have high blood pressure, kind of like they can detect a-fib.
They sent out the watches with those horrible silicon bands, which are not only uncomfortable to wear, but also hard to connect up properly on the wrist, so I am really glad to not have to do that every day, and just wear my own sweet little Apple Watch again.

I really enjoy testing out products and doing these surveys and studies. The next one I am doing is an hour webcam survey on sarcopenia, and I think they are going to talk about protein supplements to help with muscle loss as we age, because they asked about that in the qualification questions.
If anyone is interested in doing surveys like this, I can give you the links to sign up. If you qualify for a study, then you get points which can be cashed in for gift cards.
 
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Yvonne Smith said:
I am all done with the Apple Watch study, and today we had all the equipment (2 phones, 2 watches, Omron BP cuff, charging cords) packed back in the original box with the new return label on, and took it back to Fed Ex .
For some reason, the Fed Ex place (in Walgreens) where we went to pick up the box in the first place, said we can’t ship it back from there; so we had to go and find the regular main Fed Ex place for Huntsville and send it back from that store.

I enjoyed being part of the study, and from what I was able to find online, it is to help the Apple Watches be able to detect when a person might be going to have high blood pressure, kind of like they can detect a-fib.
They sent out the watches with those horrible silicon bands, which are not only uncomfortable to wear, but also hard to connect up properly on the wrist, so I am really glad to not have to do that every day, and just wear my own sweet little Apple Watch again.

I really enjoy testing out products and doing these surveys and studies. The next one I am doing is an hour webcam survey on sarcopenia, and I think they are going to talk about protein supplements to help with muscle loss as we age, because they asked about that in the qualification questions.
If anyone is interested in doing surveys like this, I can give you the links to sign up. If you qualify for a study, then you get points which can be cashed in for gift cards.
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Great that you participate in these studies. I did years ago, but don't want to mess with it for a gift card. I don't want to get involved with anything that requires being dedicated and timely. 🤣
 
Ken Anderson said:
I planted three of them a few years ago, and Ella didn't go nuts with it, but she did like sit next to the plants. However, only one survived the first Maine winter, and that one didn't survive the second.
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I used to grow catnip almost every year, and Socks, our old barn cat just loved it. She would roll in it, chew on it, and generally enjoy her High for as long as it lasted. Not a perennial here and was always planted as an annual.
 
Don Alaska said:
I used to grow catnip almost every year, and Socks, our old barn cat just loved it. She would roll in it, chew on it, and generally enjoy her High for as long as it lasted. Not a perennial here and was always planted as an annual.
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It wasn't a perennial in the sense that the plant remained alive above-ground, but one of them re-grew from the roots in the spring, while the others didn't.
 
I am not sure if the ones we had in Idaho when I was a kid were perennial or if they just reseeded themselves and came back each year. They always came back , one way or the other, and no one planted themselves, they just came up. I don’t really remember our cats paying any special attention to it, but maybe I just didn’t notice .

I planted some of the catnip seeds in a container outside, and then put the little plastic bag in my pants pocket and totally forgot about it, since it was so small. Not until I found it in the wash machine did I remember putting it in my pocket, and by then it was too late.
The bag seemed to sty sealed although the seeds were damp and clumped together, but not gone altogether.
So, I went out back and found a couple more containers that had dirt in them from last fall, and planted themselves rest of the catnip seeds as best as I could . Hopefully, at least some of them will sprout and grow !
 
Yvonne Smith said:
I am not sure if the ones we had in Idaho when I was a kid were perennial or if they just reseeded themselves and came back each year. They always came back , one way or the other, and no one planted themselves, they just came up. I don’t really remember our cats paying any special attention to it, but maybe I just didn’t notice .

I planted some of the catnip seeds in a container outside, and then put the little plastic bag in my pants pocket and totally forgot about it, since it was so small. Not until I found it in the wash machine did I remember putting it in my pocket, and by then it was too late.
The bag seemed to sty sealed although the seeds were damp and clumped together, but not gone altogether.
So, I went out back and found a couple more containers that had dirt in them from last fall, and planted themselves rest of the catnip seeds as best as I could . Hopefully, at least some of them will sprout and grow !
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When I had my cats, only two so don't judge, I planted catnip and spearmint together in a special place in my yard where filthy rodents liked to congregate. They both came back every year and I don't think either ever went to seed. I even had a skunk that came in to enjoy the cats salad bar. I used to like to rub the spearmint and catnip leaves together, and enjoy the aroma.
 
It appears that the cat situation is resolving pretty well. We have slowly been integrating Mommy Kitty with the kittens, and letting her have more freedom , and letting her outside in the nice weather.
She didn’t panic and run off which is what we were most concerned about, since that was what she was doing before we trapped her and brought her inside last fall.

She is now free all the time, can come in and out through the cat door/window just like the other cats , and seems to be happy doing this. She comes in and eats, and if the other cats are outside or sleeping, she is comfortable, snoozes on the bed or chairs and acts like a happy house cat again.
For a while, I am going to keep her in overnight, so she does not wander overnight, plus she is on mouse-duty then. She is even starting to play with the kittens again, although I don’t think she looks at them as her kittens; but she has accepted that they are also cats who live here.

She is actually lying on my chair with Garfunkel (front) and Mommy Kitty (back). This is such a big improvement !

IMG_1557.jpeg
 
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I am totally worn out tonight ! It has been a busy day for us, and a good day. I got a nice TV stand from the Walmart Reviews, and we decided we needed to rearrange the whole living room to give us more room , and move some other furniture to fit in the new one.
Bobby has done all of the hard work, moving the heavy furniture and then putting together the new TV stand console, but we both worked hard, and I got about 7,000 steps today, which is about double what I usually get, and a lot more than when I was in hibernation mode all winter.

We moved my exercise bike out on the front deck, so I can sit out there and ride that and enjoy the nice weather, and it is under the covered porch, but we can cover it if need be in bad weather.

I found the seeds I lost, so that is good, and I have been moving some of the growing small tomatoes out of the aerogardens and into planters, and have them outside while the weather is so nice and warm. We are supposed to get rain in another day or so, and that will have everything outside really growing good.

The asparagus that I ordered from Starks comes next week, and Bobby is making us a dedicated asparagus raised bed for it, so we can hopefully have asparagus eventually. I got some of the regular green ones and some of the purple ones, so it should be colorful when they come up.
I am just so happy to finally have some warm weather again !
 
Warm weather is back………YEA ! ! I got the 2 stevia plants yesterday and already planted them in containers this morning. I am going to be in and out , puttering in the yard and garden today.
I enjoy working out in the yard, but I wear out pretty fast now, and have to take a lot more breaks than I used to need.

I have been doing the Walmart Reviews and we have gotten some nice little things to review; so that is turning out to be something I am enjoying a lot. I should be getting the gift cards for the Apple Watch study before too long, and I am browsing Amazon to see what i want to spend the gift cards on.

Pretty sure that one thing will be the miniature freezer to keep our Ninja Creami containers in, and then we can have the ice cream ready for when we want some.
We never seem to have much room in our regular freezer in the fridge for more that 2 containers, so having a dedicated small freezer would allow me to make several kinds of ice cream batter at once and have it ready to go for when we want ice cream.

I did my first virtual doctor visit this morning, and i am really, really happy with this plan ! I like it much better than I ever expected to , and we have doctors who really seems to care, instead of the foreign ones who just put us through for the $200 doctor visit , and don’t really have any interest in our health.
 
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Yvonne Smith said:
Warm weather is back………YEA ! ! I got the 2 stevia plants yesterday and already planted them in containers this morning. I am going to be in and out , puttering in the yard and garden today.
I enjoy working out in the yard, but I wear out pretty fast now, and have to take a lot more breaks than I used to need.

I have been doing the Walmart Reviews and we have gotten some nice little things to review; so that is turning out to be something I am enjoying a lot. I should be getting the gift cards for the Apple Watch study before too long, and I am browsing Amazon to see what i want to spend the gift cards on.

Pretty sure that one thing will be the miniature freezer to keep our Ninja Creami containers in, and then we can have the ice cream ready for when we want some.
We never seem to have much room in our regular freezer in the fridge for more that 2 containers, so having a dedicated small freezer would allow me to make several kinds of ice cream batter at once and have it ready to go for when we want ice cream.

I did my first virtual doctor visit this morning, and i am really, really happy with this plan ! I like it much better than I ever expected to , and we have doctors who really seems to care, instead of the foreign ones who just put us through for the $200 doctor visit , and don’t really have any interest in our health.
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Virtual visits are nice for follow ups. I don't like them for diagnostic purposes. We are lucky that all our foreign doctors are specialist and very good. Virtual visits with the specialist doctors, nurse practitioners, really works out here, because so many specialist are only here one week a month. They usually serve two other mid sized hospitals, a week at a time. It is nice to have the virtual follow up and not waiting a month until they come back to discuss results.
 
I am sure that there are good things and bad things about the virtual doctor visits. And for diagnostics or any kind of actual physical care, we need to be seen by a live person face to face.
When all we did was go in and get a referral for lab work, and no other interest in our health except what Medicare pays for, it is just as nice to do the virtual visit. This doctor asked good questions, made good suggestions, and i felt like she was actually interested in having me stay healthy. If it turns out not to work, we can just go back to a local doctor, so I have no worries about that part.

I have been outside working in the yard, raking up the old leaves and pine needles that accumulated over the winter months. I got a small kiddy wading pool and set it up in the front yard and I am filling it with the mulch that I have been raking up. Once it is full, then I can add dirt on top and have a little 5 foot round garden out in the front yard.
I used little kiddy pools before and it worked good, so I am going to plant a mixture of greens and flowers out in this one, and it should be pretty if even part of it grows.

I have a bunch of old seeds that I am just going to mix everything together and plant in the flower garden, and just let them come up however they do. It should be nice with the greens and flowers mixed in together. At least, in my mind, it looks nice. We will see how it turns out.
I have been moving plants out of the aerogardens and into planters and still have more of that to do, which is a break from the harder work of the raking and moving the mulch to the flower garden area.

Bobby is working on the rototiller, and it is not being cooperative. We might end up finding a small electric one if he can’t get this one going. Once I get the amazon gift cards for the Apple Watch study, I will have enough to get another small tiller.
 
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