Running on fumes?

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Not from a lack of food, from a lack of fitness.  I have burned past my body's ability to function.  All good.

I blended the pate, half it ended up, plain.  Half with cream.  I think I generally prefer the cream, if the plain would be better as a braunschweiger sort of food.  The portion with cream is much more refined, more like a classical pate, or at least in that area.  I added butter on top.  I ended up with two jars of the rustic, three jars of the pate.  I will be trying it with carrots, celery, and keto breads.

Quite a little gig.  But I am tired.  I have collected the dishes, but just ran out of steam.  Food won't help.  And I had the furnace up to 70 earlier, but that was too warm, so toned it down to 68... which was still a bit warm, so turning things up won't help.  Cooling things off will just lead to a crash.  If... that isn't an option at this point.  A nice nap may see me fit to get back to it this evening.  Dishes... getting any remnants of trash out.  Packing if I can get to boxes, will be tossed.

Downstairs?  I may be a bit too warn to truck up and down the steps with pails of water.  Though maybe.  I just don't know, and won't until I wake.  Holy cow!  It's not even 13:00!  Interesting.  It feels like mid to later afternoon.  All good.  A nap may be just the thing.  I'll check the laundry before I go to bed.  Probably need to restart it, usually do.  Something about low humidity, perhaps, makes the machine not be able to sense doneness.  This machine is supposed to sense when clothes are dry, but it does that very poorly, always on the wet side.  Hmm... there... might be a fix for that?

Later.

Letting the liver cool.

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It came out well.  I tried one of the smallest pieces.  Very very good.  I skipped the wine vinegar and added garlic powder.  Out of fresh, but this did well.  As well, I melted a stick of butter, some for in the pate, some for on top.  While at it, I took the clothes out to hand dry.  Bah!  Snowing!  So, into the dryer.  Eventually they will be going out to air dry.  As well, I bagged the last bin which needed it.  So... all set for the week?

Well, when I finish dishes, I really will be.  I mostly cleaned up after, but there is always the stove.  I use a splatter guard, but that just does just so much.  The area needing washed is diminished, and how greasy it gets is diminished a lot.  The blending will be very quick, so no work while I do that.  But after, I'll have a dishpan of hot water and will clean everywhere, one more time.  As well, I will clean those counters which have been neglected.  One for a shorter time, one for a very long time.  Itching to get those done.

I'll probably need a break, maybe a nap, after that.  Then, when I wake, hopefully to the basement.  Not a bad day.  Not a fast day.  In smaller bits.  But still advancing pleasingly.  I am excited to taste the pate.  Perhaps it is rich enough to be a mousse?  Maybe, but will it be airy enough to be a mousse?  That may depend on how long I blend it.  I have been thinking about adding cream, but may add that to just half, or a quarter, see how that does.  I love playing with my food.

Oh... a cooking note.  If anyone suggests adding cooking sherry?  Don't!  It is heavily salted to make it unpalatable as a drank.  Which also makes it pretty much worthless as a food additive.  If you must, buy real sherry.  I'm only going to warn you once, don't do it.  Yes, sometimes they add sherry to things like this, or other drank.  I suppose, in some countries, they end up with an excess of some things, so find a way to use it in foods.  I don't have excess sherry, nor can I afford imports, so... butter, or maybe cream.

Later.

About time to get back to it?

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I didn't like the look of the laundry.  So... back it went, into a hot wash.  I hope that works.  Then out to the line, probably when I finish this break.  Instead, I sacked the trash and recycling cans and did a few other little things.  Gotta be flexible.  And, if I was going to do a little work, to get ahead, I... will do it.  Why waste, I was out there and couldn't do what I had wanted to do.

This time, liver first, into pate.  Some probably eaten right as it finishes... to try it warm.  Most will be jarred, half frozen (or more if there is a lot), half refrigerated.  Oh... I have to see what pate goes well with?  Hmm, for keto?  Probably vegetables?  I can't really see it on a salad, or one a burger.  In a ground meat crumble, maybe?  I could try that, and try just dicing and adding liver... to see which way is best, or which I prefer.

Oh, I remembered how hospital food always had a livery taste?  Now I know why.  I had to eat purees for... many months after the draino incident.  Yes, now I know.  Thankfully, mostly, I like liver.  I was wondering if they did it to be cheap, or for health.  I'm going with cheap.  Liver is so much less expensive, and easier to puree.  At least I have some idea of what I will be tasting.  Now, I am certain they mixed meat in with the liver.  What ratio, though, I couldn't guess...  If I had to guess, I would say they used a quarter to a third liver to mostly some sort of beef.

It is a slow day.  But it is so cool out there.  Cold, really.  It isn't just the temperature, it is the damp... outright wet... part of it.  Cloudy still.  It stopped raining, but the threat of rain seems to linger.  And, maybe, it is raining nearby... close enough to keep the air wet.  Very brisk out there, if... I sort of like it.  It just slows me down a bit.

Well, I best get back to work.  After liver?  And kitchen cleanup?  Then to the cast, at least a wash and reset.  Then to the the last counters, and the basement for cleaning.  Anything after that will be sort of a lucky shot in the dark.  Still, I am hoping to do more.  Or take a nap, then do more.  

Not moving quickly.

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Chores completed.  Litter sorted.  A few other minor things.  Struggling to do more.  Not in pain, I have focus and memory, I think what I did yesterday has worn me out a bit.  All good.  I think, if I work in smaller chunks, with longer breaks, if I can't do it all, I can do a... nice batch of things.  I am all but sure I will.  May need a nap.  Which... is fine.

Next, the liver, into pate.  That shouldn't take too long.  And cleanup after.

After that?  Dishes.  Oh... laundry is done from last night.  I may take that right out and hang it after this post, before I begin my official post.  It's... just a little thing, and really and pleasure.  Having air dried clothes is a bit of a treat.  I don't have enough clothes for another run, so... that will be that.  I'll bring them back in when I put the ducks up.

It was 28 F out earlier.  There was just a broken iced top, on the pool.  It either hadn't created an ice skin, or Herc had broken it up with a morning sip or more likely bath.  He gets out and has the yard to himself in the morning.  The others leave him to his druthers.  Being Rex is good, but terrible and lonely.  He wears it well.  It is up to 32, but that is rather cool compared to lately, and rather cool for the month, if not... totally out of character.  The weather, to be honest, is and has always been out of character as often as in it.  *wink*

Then, either working on cast... probably.  Or working on counters, and then going back downstairs to give everything open a once over, begin choosing what is to go and stay, and then letting that dry before taking more stuff down and arranging things smartly.  That will be quite a chunk of a chore, especially all together.  But a chore I have been dying to get to since this last fall... late summer?  That may be it.

Though, if I can, I will break down boxes, putting packing in sacks for trash tomorrow, and working on my room upstairs.  Beginning to reorganize and sort, moving everything to the west so as to powder then vacuum and wet vac the east side before... actually, I probably won't get to the west side until the boxes of discard are removed.  I'll bet there are thirty to fifty, stacked, in the west... as well as a similar number of keepers?  I may go through things again, if possible.  Maybe.

Oh, while doing liver, I will sack the bins.  Then distribute those where they fit the best.  Two take bigger contractor bags, four take smaller kitchen bags, and then there is the recycling bin which also takes smaller bags.  Often, the contractor bags are used to hold the little bags, especially if there is a leak.  More back up than full time use.  I tried double bagging, and more.  The cats cause problems.  Hmm... I thought I had hoods for some of them?  That might keep the cats out.  So I could double bag again.  The problem with double bagging... or quad bagging really, is the cats will knock the outer bags down in, when they jump in to forage.  Oh, they aren't starving.  They get fed two to four times a day, plus hard cat food on demand 24/7, plus treats at least twice a day.  Cats, like dogs, are just... dogs!

Oh, right... laundry.  Then a bit of a break.  Later.

Liver.

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I had to get to the liver.  Still, I wanted to taste some of it.  To track how well it does in the freezer.

The first batch was breakfast... a second breakfast.  And?  It was very good.  I used less butter, and less bacon fat.  The bacon fat was just that remaining from the four or five bits of bacon for breakfast, in which the eggs were also cooked.  Quite a nice lot, that.  As well, I used red wine vinegar, with the mother, to deglaze from the bacon and onion.  Which I cooked off... not wanting much vinegar taste.  That worked quite well.  I would guess using red wine, or red wine vinegar, to the point it was cooked off, would make little difference.

Yes, that was a very good little extra part to breakfast.  A bit grainier, due to freezing, but not a major concern.  I doubt if most would notice.  I only noticed because I was being extra perceptive, as is possible, while tasting.  It wasn't all of it, not yet.  But... on the edges, in the thinner pieces?  I can't be sure on that.  It was done to a medium rare, as before.

Now I will go make the rest of it.  This time for pate.  Which will be blended then jarred.  Some of it will go in the refrigerator, some of it will go in the freezer.  Experimenting with... this and that.  More butter will be used.  I will have to fry more bacon, probably for each batch, and there will be less onion per batch.  All good.  Richer.  As well, I will melt a bit of butter to cover the contents within the jars.  A... trick... to help with preservation.

I did reset the cast cookery to a fresh soak, but have done nothing else so far.  Though I did clean up my work station after slicing onions and liver.  Bleh, I have more onions to chop, so will have to clean up more.  So be it.  Back to it, I suppose.  And, while out there, I will bag the trash cans, and sort a few other things out.  Good to have a recycling and trash can already bagged, it makes keeping up much easier.

Yeah, and chores.  I might do those right first thing.  The girls have already been fed.  As a last thing, out there, before I need a break, or after, their litter will get hit.  I refreshed it completely yesterday, so it should be... somewhat reasonable.  Always something, and more, and a bit more.  I am just glad to be able to be mucking with it all.  I like to work, even if and when it hurts.  I just have to be abled to work in order to work.  Later.

Surprising.

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I thought I would be in a bit of distress upon waking.  I really hurt when going to bed.  I did everything I planned to do, I think.  I didn't reset the trash cans, they were still wet.  But the shower, dishes, even that spoon, rinsing the tea jug and letting it air out, laundry, and... a few other things?  I pretty much got it.  Even the instapot is reset and ready to go.  But it hurt the whole time, and I was so very tired.

A handful of tylenol, I think, while allowing my hair to dry.  Sleep was fast and hard.  It was after 18:00 before I finally crashed... minutes or an hour after though?  I know hair had dried, mostly.  A fell into sleep, not to sleep.  Wonderful, quiet, dark, painfree, restful sleep.  I did start waking around midnight?  A car, or bird, perhaps the cats... something.  Then every hour or two until around 03:00.  I tried to sleep longer.  Next it was 03:30.  I still wanted more sleep.  At 03:45 I gave up, got up, but in good shape.

It was 55 upstairs... with the windows open.  It was nearly that downstairs, with the furnace off but no windows open.  So, I turned on the furnace.  A bit of an ache, more an echo, and mostly just the shoulders and neck 'roots', not the biting horror of pain which had been the whole of that area on up to the upper back part of my skull.  An easier day, but some stretching while working, will work that out.  I checked outdoors, it is 28 F.

The trash pails should be dry.  I'll bag those first.  Dishes should be dry and can be put up.  I can hit the dishes sometime soon.  As well, I'd like to do more cleaning downstairs.  A second wipe down of the areas.  I have been using both steel wool and an old cloth facecloth.  As well, I can go through things, sort.  Washing off what is still good, setting aside what is to go and beginning to dispose of it.

The other two things I'd like to at least begin, is going through boxes looking for two things... packing, to be broken down and put out... and food stuffs, to be collected and then begin taking that down.  As well, I would like to begin breaking camp... moving my bedding and picking up the bedroom, moving most of it over so as to soon begin vacuuming and steam vacuuming up there.  I will put down baking soda, and let that absorb odors as it wants for a few days, before vacuuming.  Plus, there may be cat goop to deal with.  They vomit, but hide it sometimes.  Ugh.

If I can, that will be the day.  In parts, pieces, spats, and parcels, as I can.  Oh, I would like to do the roast in the instapot.  I have soup, but... I really need veggies for that, which will have to wait until Monday.  I'll check on the kefir, see if some of it is ready for the fridge.  Oh, and have a cup of that shortly, while I'm messing with it anyway.  I don't think that is enough for hunger.  Hmm... two eggs and three or four small (thirds) of bacon would do.  Really, one or a bit more actual piece of bacon.  Cutting them in thirds keeps consumption down, but also makes them fry flatter, and makes them easier to manage in the pan while frying.  Bacon, eggs, and kefir, oh my!  Later.

Almost bedtime.

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At just about 18:00, I am about done.  It took nearly an hour and an half to finally get to things.  A shower, then cast put to a soapy soak, and then laundry started.  I missed the trim.  Which is fine.  I didn't need it terribly, it was just the point.  I even pulled the toilet seat to clean it and under, as well as see about the new retainer bolt kit.  That doesn't work, as far as I can tell, with this style of seat connection.  Bleh.

I haven't washed that spoon, but will before bed.  Oh, and I have to stay awake for another hour, to let my hair dry.  Spoon washed, a cutting board I had missed was put in with the cast, my tea jug was rinsed out, and a cap was put in the wash... I had missed that too.  Always, always, something else, more, extra, missed or forgotten.

Quite a load of work done.  My neck hurts like hell.  Down to the trunk of my upper torso, into the neck and shoulder region, then on up to the lower part of my head, from the back of the jaw to the third quadrant nearing my skull cap.  Sore, tight.  The price of work.

Tomorrow?  A few small things.  Maybe another cleaning downstairs, this time sorting things to go as well.  If I still have energy, breaking down boxes and looking for food which needs to go down.  I am done with laundry and dishes(?).  Oh, I suppose I could also clean the last two counters.  Trash is out, as is recycling.  Though, if there is extra space, I might be able to get packaging, from shipments, out.  Meaning more boxes can be simply broken down.

Is it... Saturday?  I think it is.  Trash is all ready to go?  Way early, but very good.  I may make a roast chuck.  I don't have vegetables to add, but I can have a few cans of some veggie or other, or something else?  I've been a good boy, I might try those pseudo mashed potatoes.  Those and either beats or peas... perhaps both.  I am thinking I will need some solid food after this run.  Uhrm, if I can do the work.

You know, if you walked into my cave, right now, you... wouldn't be able to tell I had done a thing, without looking at very specific areas.  It's pretty rough in here.  And, yet, I know.  From trash and clean bins, to dishes and a clean tub.  I cleaned it while cleaning everything else, and really hit it.  On to beginning to get my stocked items in order, if just by cleaning and temporarily arranging things.

I have no idea how much of what is down there is too old, but I'd guess a lot of it.  Some can stay, or some of it can stay, until I can replace it.  The rest will go.  I have maple syrup, some in glass, some in plastic.  I don't think I will keep the plastic container of it.  But the glass?  That should be edible and maybe nutritious for a decade to a thousand years.  Like honey, it just... has an incredible life if stored well.  But, like powdered milk.  I think that should go, save a few cans until it is replaced.  I won't buy as much of anything as I did before.  But some, new.

Wow, what a day.  I am hoping for a very good sleep.  Good night.

Ugh.

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I cleared off the stove, then washed it.  I also washed a counter and the freezer top counter as well.  That still leaves two counters, but... one... or three... things at a time.  Then I refilled the bucket, went downstairs, and washed the shelves I had earlier dusted.  They may need hit again, which... is fine.  I also have yet to go through the materials, and get rid of what is too old.  Which might take investigation.  Somethings are good well past their expiry, especially if stored in a cool temperate climate.

Then to dishes.  I did everything new and old, that I could find, save the cast iron.  That may get a soak, after a shower.  If... I can get a shower in.  I think so.  Quite a deal.  Oh, I put the stock/juice back into the main container.  It had rather more kidney runoff than I had expected.  Will see if that taints or embellishes that portion.  Wee!

As mentioned, a shower, then setting the cast up, and finally putting a load of laundry to run.  I think that is all.  It is definitely all I will do.  All I can do.  Quite a gig.  Gah!  A dirty spoon I missed!  Bleh.  I may just wash it up special for gits and shiggles.  Yea, I will.  Then the rest.  Hmm... trim the whiskers before I shower?  Maybe.  Good afternoon, day, and night.  It's about 16:00.  Nice.  Everything worked out today.  I suppose that means I am going to die?  :p

A strange compilation.

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Meaning?  Who knows.  Drawn, to a few things.  Mostly new, some old.  Enjoy, or not.

Still raining.

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Sprinkling?  Somewhat between the two, really.  I do believe it was needed.  Hopefully we get many of these through the next month or two.  Glad I decided to bring the trash cans in to dry.

I opened up just the front of the rabbit hutches, leaving the rain cover in place.  All are fed and watered.  Too bad the rain can't somehow water the rabbits.  I am sure there is a way, but... for now... just the conventional way.  I do enjoy, even when raining, snowing, cold, or hot, feeding and tending the little farmyard I have going.  Perhaps, in time, more.

I wanted a bit more to eat.  The kidney was a good portion, for an entrée.  But side dishes were lean.  A bit of kefir and a handful of nuts rounded out the meal.  The nice thing about keto is, at least eventually and that is beginning to happen, rather than gobbling, I can eat, wait an half hour to hour to see if I am still actually in want of food.  If so, then a bit more is added.  If not, I wait until physical hunger... or the notion I should eat... piques my interest in dining again.

I did refresh the waterers, and the girls' water container.  They love it fresh and cold.  As well, I fed them again.  I haven't had the furnace on for a few days.  It is 62 F, in the computer room, currently.  It was 66 in the main portion of my cave the last time I checked.  The rain might... bring that down, if I don't think it will get to freezing in here.  I doubt if it will get to the 50's.

A bit of a break, still.  I only broke that in order to do chores a bit earlier, when I realized it was getting on in the morning, day.  After, as mentioned, cleaning counters and probably the shelving downstairs while at it.  Since I will be using a dishpan and else needed already.  Then dishes.  I keep checking the waste receptacles, but they just aren't drying very fast.  Yes, I have dumped out all water which will flow out.  The rest will just take time.

I should have a fully clean stove top and at least two more clean counters, all the dishes clean, a shower, and the last load of laundry started.  I would do the laundry now, but it requires the clothes I am wearing to be full enough to bother with.  Quite a day.  A very good day.  Tomorrow?  Boxes, maybe.  And getting foods downstairs, possibly some of that gone through and brought up to be thrown.  I lost track and some of that stuff is way too old.  Sure, it is probably still edible.  It just might be off, and probably has little actual nutritional value.  Out... I have newer.  As mentioned, I am hoping to keep more on top of what I have and using that before buying.  But, it happens to the best of them.

Later.

As to kidney?

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I must admit, I feared, from the scent of it cooking, that it might... taste... a bit odd.  It has a bit of a smell of what part of it's purpose consists.  A bit of an odor of urine.  So, the closer it got, the more nervous I became.  Still, I hadn't purchased it, researched things, arranged things, and cooked it to just walk away.  Neither was I about to just sample a little bit, then run away.

No.  I cooked it, right at about nine, perhaps nine and an half minutes.  I let it set on the cutting board... with a moat thankfully, for blood... hooded, to cool.  I let it set for ten minutes, then began slicing it, by the various bulbs or pustules?  Something like that.  A good deal of blood in there.  Anyway, it was easy to cut.  I plated about two thirds of it.

Along with the kidney, I added three small pats of butter and some of the cooking liquid.  I have traditional French soup bowls, which are rather shallow.  Not my preferred, for soup, but good for salads and items with au jus.  And so it went.  I did bring a knife, to further break it down.  And that was necessary.  It was somewhat difficult to cut apart, even so.

Still, that worked out well enough.  A bit of calm diligence, in both cutting and chewing, and I got through the first bite.  As to taste?  I would call it a cross between liver and a less fatty sort of steak.  There was no urine taste.  It is different, but good enough.  I can easily add that to my list of recipes, and begin exploring other ways of making it... if with the fat, baked.  I have heard of kidney pie... it would have to be adapted to a keto crust, but that is doable.

I do suggest butter, and the cooking fluids helped a bit.  I did salt it, while eating it only.  There wasn't much salt in the stock.  Still, with some practice, perhaps eating it just boiled would be fine.  I am calling it a success.  Next?  Heart.  I will explore various means of cooking that, from lightly sautéing as a sort of steak, to stuffing and roasting, as well as stew.  A bit of offal a week, I could see three to five meals.

Lungs will be difficult to find.  Brains impossible unless I butcher an animal myself.  And blood?  Maybe the asian market(s), but... we will see.  I am pleased with my exploration.  I just wish I could find fresh items, and on a more regular basis.  I had to ask for liver, but my store did provide, and quite fresh!  But, the others... might be... trickier.  Though they did carry the kidneys.  Hmm.  I may ask to be notified if/when they get these in fresh.  Oh, yes, I may do so.  Lungs, blood, and brains will be... as with chicken feet and the others, a bit more complicated to find.  I am truly interested in, eventually, crafting blood sausage.  Blood pudding?  Not... as a starter dish, but... maybe, someday.

Ah... a bit of a rest to digest, then back to work.  I'll clean off a few counters, then finish the dishes, hopefully wash what I have dusted downstairs, take a shower, set up the trash cans, and?  Oh, chores, right next.  Actually, right now.  Then back to digesting and thinking.  Yes, I'll... keep at it, for a while.  Something is truly different.  I really suspect it is the food.  Oh, a kefir, after chores.  Love that stuff.

Later. 

More, if I'm not sure how much more from now.

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I finished downstairs, bagged the recycling bin... the rest need more drying time, put one bowl and spoon in for a wash, on it's own.  As well, I partially cleared the counter.  I'm running out of steam.  I am still hoping to finish all the dishes now set, clearing and cleaning at least one counter before that, get a shower taken, and cook the kidney.  After the shower, I would like to set up the cast, for a run.  It will at least be clean when I get around to doing the garlic.

Oh, and next time I am in town, I plan on purchase red and yellow onions, enough for weekly use, and extra to experiment with fermenting those.  Hopefully more chicken feet, maybe a whole chicken or more hindquarters, tripe and hogs feet too.  With a keto roux recipe, I'd really like to try a second try at menudo.  I even have some dried red chili peppers.  I... have no idea how hot, but it's the red coloring I am really after.

As well, I now have a blender out, and a place for it, as well as a place for the instapot.  They take up a lot of space, but that space was just being wasted, as a temporary collecting point... which turned into a near permanent one.  I cleared and cleaned that area, and set up those machines, plus have enough room so that if I wish to put the waffle iron there, and use it, it will work without any fuss.  So, yeah, which will also help when making pate, or mousse.  Oh, yeah.

More still?

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Dishes were just reset, after else.  All trash cans were bleached and scrubbed, inside and out, then left outside to dry.  A few other things, I just can't remember.  Then I decided to clean out the mid and long-term pantry.  Ugh.  I had things to move, negotiate, rearrange.  And I just dusted.  I finished between half and two thirds of that.  I have things to go down there, and things to be removed.

I am hoping, as I fill it this time, I have a better idea of what I use.  I have many things to go down, things I know I have and do use.  Canned veggies to sugar free ketchup, among other items.  But, this time, I need to remember to look before buying.  Some of the items are for very long term, and really emergency, use.  While I wouldn't use pure maple syrup currently, in a bad one, I could use or trade it.  Though most of it is functional, including cans of butter and cheese (which aren't bad, if not as good as fresh).

Canned isn't my favorite.  Right?  But the freezer just isn't a safe bet, even for a regional.  Actually homecanned would be good, but I can't garden.  I keep thinking about finding the local non-farmers' farmers market (where you buy enough produce to actually can, without the fool label of "organic").  Tomatoes, green beans, who knows what else, but those especially... then learn to can or steam bath, is it?  Still, factory canned is what I can do, now, and so I do.

I went to check the trash cans.  On the one night, of the last month or two, I go out and... it's raining.  I put them under the porch, but they won't be dry by morning.  Gah!  Then I reset the dishes, and cleaned the tub a bit.  It didn't particularly need it, it just got it because I was there, was doing else, and... yea.  It was time, I am sure.  Bits and pieces.  If these were larger chunks, and several, all at once.

For my diligence, a bloody nose.  I am hoping to finish dusting down there, and I may yet get a dishpan of hot sudsy down to clean over what has been dusted.  There will be some areas, where the keeper items are kept for the moment, I will just have to get later.  Boxes of cans down, maybe a load or two a day?  Something like that.  As I'm digging out, I might as well put things where they belong.  If I seem to be creating their places as I go.  It's all good.

Oh, I cleaned off a tool case, which had been in the bathroom too long.  Men, and standing, and peeing... Anyway, it is cleaned, and will be put where it belongs when it dries as well.  It actually has a place, it just never got put there, then got partially buried.  I may sweep the bathroom as well.  I would like to clear and clean the counter, finish those dishes, take a shower, then sweep the bathroom.  Oh, I have a few items for the toilet.  Lid bolts, with leak-resistant parts... so when men, stand, pee, happens, the runners alongside  the tank don't get dosed.  Blah!  I've had them for a while, just... haven't had all the stars align so that they were installed.  After the next shower, today, tomorrow, whenever, would be best.

All of it?  I doubt it.  Things on my mind, while my body is running, with some possibility.  Now, later, sooner, later... a break first.  After the next batch of effort, I will begin the kidney.  Either as I break, or when I get up.  I am getting a bit tired, but... hoping for another run or two.  Sometimes, for no good reason, the engine starts up and runs as if it had never stopped.  I use it until it stops.  I just have to remember to feed it, including snacks.  Sardines aren't my absolute favorite, but they do a very good job.  Just get them in either extra virgin olive oil, or their own juices.  And with bones in, skin on.  If you have to eat health food, eat the whole of it.

Later.

Bits and parts.

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Cat litter, plus the area policed.  Swept anyway.  It could use mopping but... I don't have that yet.  Too much in the way, too much energy required.  Along with that, a bit more trash out.  Dishes were given a shot.  Rinsing, so I could do them, but there is still the problem with the freezer top.  I need to clear and clean that.  Next cycle.  Two trash bins washing.  I need to find long rubber gloves to clean those and the others out as seriously and fully as wished.  But... at least two are soaking.  Only one doesn't need washing, being generally used where non-wet trash is put.

Waterers refilled, and the cats water dumped and refreshed.  Oh, and a number of other little nothings and somethings.  Yeah, I am working.  Working enough that my body demanded energy... something.  A berry smoothie was made.  After the next cycle, I will consider the kidney.  I am sort of excited about that.  I wonder if that, too, as with liver, will make a reasonable pate?  I have jars for storing those, if so.

Yeah, actually did enough work to build a decent sweat.  And it is only 66 in here.  Doing well, if still, taking pretty long breaks.  What else tonight?  Finding the gloves, so as to finish the trash cans, all of them it is hoped.  It won't take long with the gloves.  Finishing the dishes, but that means clearing and cleaning the counter I use.  It isn't bad, won't take long, but... it involves this and that and other things.  It isn't a singular task.  Oh, I haven't checked laundry.  I might get to that before I relax too far into my break.  Just reset the timer.  Timer?  Well, I attempt to use it.  Sometimes I get going a bit early, if more frequently just at the time.  If, too, sometimes I just can't quite get to it when the alarm sounds.  Bleh.

What a rush.  Not enough for laundry.  I'll wait until after the shower.  Later.

Someone remembers.

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How to season a cast iron skillet without wasting?  Yes, I had posted this before, if not for that reason.  However, two birds, with one stone, is what someone seems to be suggesting... with my very own proffered stone?  I should think so.  And?  Absolutely.  My problem is, currently, I don't have fresh garlic.  I think, as things are going, I may be able to remedy that shortly.

What a crash.

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It was about noon.  Probably a bit after when I finally crash landed on my sleeping mats.  I opened up all the windows, if went without fans.  It was 62 outside.  I had, mistakenly, warmed the house in order to warm the waterers.  I think I am done with that.  It was 61 upstairs, with all the windows open, both when I went down and when I woke, around 22:30.  From now on, mostly, the windows will just be left open.

I finished the pot of soup I had parted out of the main batch.  I am trying to eat up the mass... meats... of the stew, saving as much broth for kidneys... probably tonight, as possible.  It truly is a very good soup.  The sausages, cut into bites, was a very good add.  I would like to add cheese, but haven't quite gotten around to making a cheese sauce.  I have the special ingredient, I just don't currently have cheese.  And the stimulus failed to arrive.  So... I'll wait on that.  Not sure it will work in soups, with all the extra liquid.  Only one way to find out.  Though, I am almost sure, if you can get dosing right, it... should work out.  At least be better than a glob of cheese at the bottom of the bowl.

Dishes from yesterday were set up.  I have, I think, only some cast iron to hit beyond that.  Then I can clean the rest of the stove, that side counter next to it, and begin a thorough cleaning in the bathroom.  I really am getting ahead, if it doesn't always seem like it.  Piecemeal, but steady work, is seeing things get lined up.  The big things, rooms rather than areas.  If it all begins with areas.  And bottlenecks.  It is like getting a vehicle unstuck from mud or snow, back and forth, some pushing, grunting, and cussing.

Most rooms are getting bits and pieces done, just because.  If I happen to be here, and can't get much beyond, then I will work here.  If I can get over there, I'll work over there.  Sometimes, on the way back through, I see something, and do something about it.  And the pace is fast enough that it doesn't just go back to what it was before.  I get to another layer before that happens.  It's still a trick.  It wears me out.  But having food, and really good food, on hand and at the ready is making a large difference.

Trash and recycling are managed and out already, tonight.  Dishes soon, then I'll check laundry... maybe a load?  And, perhaps, out on the line?  It is exceptionally windy out, but... maybe anyway?  Oh, it's dropped to 42, but nearly a quarter after one, that's pretty warm.  Oh, I checked on the rabbits, while putting the ducks up.  One waterer had been knocked off, by the wind I would guess.  So I put it back, then closed the tarp down around them.  They have a nice fur, but... small mass.  I don't want them sick or even too uncomfortable.  It is what I can do for them... for now.

I may get to boxes, breaking them down.  I did hit the bathroom, a bit, while I was pulling that pail and rebagging it.  Oh, I need to wash all of my trash cans, and the recycling bin.  Yea.  But that can be done right after the dishes and shower.  I'll hit them hard, fast, and with the hottest water I can.  Hopefully they will be dry and ready before morning... to be bagged and put back into play.

Cast iron cooking items?  I am hoping to get to those yet tonight as well.  If I can do it quickly and well enough, I will probably put them through a cursory, at least, seasoning process.  I used vinegar to deglaze a liver meal, recently?  Was it liver, or sausages?  Oh, no... it was the kielbasa and sauerkraut.  Right... but that... don't do that in cast.  Just... I knew that, but I wanted to see if it would strip it to base.  It... did.  I had some hope it would hold out.  And I didn't leave it in long, dealing with it right after supper.  So... no.  Don't do sauerkraut in a seasoned cast pot or pan.  Anyway...

That's a lot to do, but it's... possible.  Good food helps.  Oh, and, I may do the kidneys tonight... kidney actually... just one.  A slow low fry in butter, after a careful pruning of the organ itself... which I will do with liver from hereon out.  Learning is a process.  I should have plenty of stock within which to simmer the kidney.  Between eight and twelve minutes, I have it.  I'd go a little light, if not quite the minimum... learning curve along with known preferences.  I would say between nine and ten minutes, simmered not boiled.

Yes, I... am getting things done.  Maybe not much tomorrow.  A good day to cook pate, reset kefir, perhaps begin opening up the upstairs for vacuuming and maybe steam cleaning... one half of up there at a time.  I will just have to move all over, then sleep on the dry side for a few days.  All good though.  Yes, I think it is possible.  If I can clear that one side tomorrow, I can begin vacuuming and steam cleaning the day after.  Ugh, though.  It's going to be a bit of work.  Needed, though.  It will force me to clean up!  Then again, it probably won't be done tomorrow, finished, or the day after.  But by next week, it might end up finished.

Possible, though maybe just dreaming.  A good dream though.  Later.

Well? I did it, most of it?

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Dishes were put up, or set out to actually finish drying.  Plus, dishes from the soup, and eating recently, were set to a soapy overnight soak.  Soup was put up and in the fridge, as were thawed meats.  Oh, a few sundry beyond, little things which caught my attention while doing the other projects.  Waterers were refilled, and... else.  It took about an hour, but, actually, that is about right unless someone does sprint work.  Always misses things though.

I had thought more food might be good, but I am still absolutely stuffed from two medium bowls of that stew!  The mind can think what it wants.  But if the body says no, it's game over.  Still, I smelled the soup as I was putting it away.  I may not be able to consume, but I can enjoy in other ways.  That was rather amazing soup for just broth and meat.  Veggies really aren't always necessary.  I may begin cutting veggies more and more, save them for treats?  No, I think they are important enough, nutritionally, for continued consumption.

And... music.  And else.  Oh, I... hear you.  More.  I see some of you, in a way.

Back to bed?

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I don't really want to sleep.  I simply don't believe it is an option.  Which, I don't think, is a bad thing.  I have a bit of a headache, so I'll take something and give it a bit of time to ease the ache.  A neck and shoulder tightness which could turn into an headache.  And the soup should be cool enough to put in a container and refrigerate.

It was 36 out, when I brought the wash in.  It was 66 inside.  That with the furnace off and three windows upstairs open.  It was 61 to 62 upstairs, depending on which thermometer was checked.  The warmest was near my bed, so probably body heat throw-off.  Quite a strange thing.  It is getting warm enough out there, in the mid 50's during the day, to thermodynamically keeping the house warm even as it nears freezing outside.

Oh, and I had the fan on earlier, if I remember right (upstairs).  I will turn it on again when I go to bed.  I have shut the windows up there, and will keep them closed.  I have never lived in a place quite like this.  I do enjoy.  Though, when it gets to 90 and more out there, I still... I had best figure out more ac.  The ac's upstairs, even in shade, were having to work really hard to even just keep it mostly reasonable.  I may be acclimating better, but I have limits.  I... worry... just a bit, about this summer.

Well, I'll give it an half hour, see if the aches are relieved.  If I will probably go to bed no matter... and can't take more or something else.  Just giving it some time to work.  Soup away and?  I did fold and put the towels away, so nothing to do with that.  I fed the cats, but could do their litter.  Just trying to do a few last little things that mean I can do more other things when I wake.  Dishes?  I could check.  As mentioned, they were finished washing, well rinsed, and left to air dry.  They might be good enough to just put up.  

Then I could take a shower first thing.  That's always nice.  Oh, and clean out the tea sipping jug.  I think my problem with the last one was user error.  I would clean it nearly every night, then refill it.  Yea, no.  I think it needs to air out completely, overnight.  So far so good, if I would still like to get another, so I could alternate them, giving each a whole about thirty two hours to rest and dry before being used again.  A bit pricy, but they serve so well.  And this one has a cover, with webbing handstrap and over the should strapping for much easier gripping and general carrying.  And it washes easily, being dry every morning.

Yea.  I best get to a few things then head to bed.  Good night.

What a fantastic soup!

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The sausages, chicken, and broth is absolutely exquisite.  Imagine that, no vegetables!  If you have never had a truly homemade soup, from fresh homemade stock and home cooked chicken, you simply have no idea.  Campbells soups?  Chemical tasting, way too salty, and things are just wrong.  Even as I kid I realized it, but it was what I could do on my own.  Still, when mom made chicken and noodles, dumplings, or with mashed potatoes... or beef as any of those and more options yet...

It took a long time for me to find my way back to her cooking.  A domestic diva, she really could put out a super meal.  Still does.  Time has been hard on her, arthritis and else.  Weary, to the bones.  It is difficult, but she still is able to develop a plan.  Though, maybe, it takes longer, or she needs some help, or... sometimes... someone else has to do much.  I... understand.

For the moment, it seems, eating rightly is bringing me around.  As close as I have gotten to death, over that border and back several, perhaps many, times, I stopped giving up.  After that, I have paddled as well as I could.  With both, with a single, sometimes just with my hands and/or feet, in that cold cold river.  I have been paddling now for going on twenty years.  Getting nowhere, going backwards, but... I knew where I was called to be and made my way there as I could.

This food... it is magic.  Now I dropped vegetable shortening, I backed from as many vegetables and almost all grains, and I have gone long on meats and fats.  But that was sort of where she was.  Meats have always been pricey, and we haven't had a lot of coin.  Same today.  I just spend more of my personal allowances on better foods.  I still lack, a bit, but... getting there.

And it is showing.  My body is changing, healing, improving.  Work really takes it out of me, but I can work, and have almost every day for... a week... two... three?  Well, nearly every day.  If only a few dishes, a load of laundry, and making food, that is more than I have done off medicine ever.  I have done a nearly as good, for much longer, on medicine.  I can only imagine if I could combine the two.

Why not on medicine?  Every time I get near to being able to get on medicine, and drop out for a month if needed, something else comes up that keeps me needing to stay in the game.  Getting a lawyer, currently, is the problem.  But to do that I have to be awake in the day, and able to speak coherently.  I am... getting there.  Tomorrow, I hope.

I can only imagine what being acclimated to meds, getting their benefits, and eating so very correctly will do.  I have been able to... go astray, from time to time, and not have it be ruinous.  It's the portion and by percent.  Still, I am working even on not splurging in quite that way.  I am trying to making splurging a thing of fats.  Anyway... that was some awesome soup!

Oh, I will probably eat the meats out before consuming all the stock, and have been trying.  I will use that stock to cook the kidneys!  I love the way things work, some days.  Later.

I didn't make it ten time steps.

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I crashed almost immediately after posting that last.  Knees almost buckled.  I saw it coming, thought it was further away.  I don't remember sleeping, or much.  I finally started waking a few hours ago, every hour or two, until I was able to make a deal with myself to crawl out the next time I woke.  Which... I did.  Rested, if a little warn from efforts.  All good, a pleasant thing to know a bit of pain from work.

SAM!  Oh, right!  Sam was outside.  It had to be freezing!  She snuck out while I was taking clothes to the line?  Something.  And she refused to return.  Cool, but I thought I would be awake earlier.  I was hoping for a short nap.  I had heard her, through the night, but inside or even out it seems, she sounds pretty much the same.  She meowls no matter what, late at night.  Door open, door closed, inside, or out... a strange thing.  When I go to her, she always looks... confused.  Or afraid?  But I have never swatted her for that.  I assume she is looking for her kittens.  Kittens she hasn't had for... plus or minus two decades... probably... eliminated when still very young.

Anyway, she ended up being just fine.  She had a bit of a hollowed, distressed, look.  But came right in and made herself right to home again.  All good.  Silly girl.

I checked the bone broth.  All good.  So I strained the bones and bits out, added the chicken, and decided a bit more meat was needed.  Having a couple of sausages which needed use before they timed out, I sliced those into rounds and added them.  Before that, though, I added a few packs of gelatin.  Too much?  Too little?  I'll... find out.  I have the whole pot of meat, goo, juice, and other simmering.  Hopefully in an half hour I will have a bowl.  Hmm... kefir, though.  A big glass of raw.  Oh, I... am almost addicted to that stuff.  Not quite, as I can go a day or even three, before remember... I am ADDICTED!  Ha.  One of the better "addictions" with which I have tarried.

Dishes are basically done, and dry.  Technically, I don't think they need another rinse.  They may be a bit streaked, from not having been hand dried, but... I may just put them up as is.  Then a shower, more dishes, and a check on any last laundry that can be done.  I put the ducks up, then brought in the towels and else.  Everything seemed dry.  The towels weren't as harshly scratchy as summer heat will make them, soft, pliable.  More moisture in the air, and the breezes fluffed them a bit.  I will still like them, I do believe.  And they should smell darling.

I am hoping to get to bed early tonight.  We will see.  Have you ever drowned in hope?  That has been this week, to a degree.  Bleh.  Later.

Oh yes, a bit more please.

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The bath sheets, socks, and dish towel were put out on the line.  The posts are definitely leaning.  I need to, eventually, get those pulled, and put in cement.  The foam just doesn't work, not with pulling toward the center.  Though, could I have missed something in the directions?  Sure.  Still, they will work for now, and so it was.

The chicken was pulled.  So easy!  And, working with slightly warm meat is so much nicer than working with cold meat.  The bones, skin, and odd little other bits were added back to the stock, and the whole mess set to a couple of hours.  The chicken is slightly overcooked, but will do in a soup.  I'll improve.  Next time, twelve minutes.  That is so fast!  All good.  Oh, and I used a tablespoon of white vinegar this time.  When I do the beef roast, I will use red wine vinegar, with the mother.  That won't help much, the mother, but I think it will add to the flavor of the vinegar to start?  Will find out soon.

Then I hit the dishes.  I finished washing them, then rinsed them, but then drained them and am leaving them dry.  I... I am out of energy for all that.  As well, I need to do a spot clearing and cleaning of the counter I am using.  It isn't bad, it's just... I've used it for a few minor things.  Either job would be doable, but both together is a bit too much.

I did call, and reach, my mother.  Just a short call.  I am doing enough better with calling, I might start reaching out to a few cousins, aunts, and uncles.  Just... little hellos.  Rejoining the family a bit.  I have neglected my duty, even if from health.  It's a thought, anyway.  Oh, and I would like to make a few other calls today, among them another family member.  I have been trying.  Well, and his mailbox is full.  Pulling a me?  Bah!

So... a good round.  More rounds, in time?  I don't know.  I'd like to get the dishes done, take a shower, make some calls.  I just don't know.  Oh, it was 36 earlier.  It is up to 50 F currently.  But it feels so very cold out there!  So strange, I don't understand.  Moisture is in the air?  Inside, it is reading 41% humidity... which isn't much if higher than usual.  Outside though?  It feels like water is thick in the air.  Snow or rain, or coming?  Anyway... I can handle it, just... seems rather chill for the temp.

A very good evening, if I have had to work slowly, infrequently, mildly.  The headache is gone, the bloody nose is gone, and I just had a berry kefir smoothie.  Plus, I am hoping for a bit of chicken soup in a bit... right about bedtime if the cooktime, cool time,  and actual prep time are standard.  I might have to early release the steam again, though.  It just isn't cooling as it should.  Ah... but it is rather full of water... that might be it.  Later.  Or... good afternoon, day, and night? 

Quite a little run.

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Chores, if in parts.  Waterers needed warming, it was 36 out this morning. Everything else was done right when it was considered.  Between breaks, and working I got much of the other things on the list.  Unsure about the towels, though, I gave them a fresh hot wash.  They should be done, or shortly.  Dishes were given a first wash.  

Chicken... I got tired of waiting for that to cool naturally.  It was almost there, so I did a vent.  Then separated the meat.  That will be very easy to debone.  And the broth is pretty good.  I will only add one or two packets of gelatin.  For as mildly as I spiced it, it sure tastes good.  I imagine the bones, with a touch of vinegar, pressure cooked for a couple of hours, will turn out quite well.

A few other things, between this and that.  Doing well, as things go.  I am hungry, but have eaten the last of the casserole.  I could make another, but... not yet.  Sardines?  maybe.  Don't knock it.  I don't eat sardines, or such, purely for flavor.  Those are for a bunch of vitamins and minerals, including iodine which I have stopped attempting to consume through salt.  I am guessing a lot of people, who get no iodine through salt, or anything else because they think it is icky, will soon have troubles.

Yes, quite a bit.  I actually did most of it in short order.  Getting pretty tired though.  Not much I can do more, for the moment.  A bit of a rest.  The goal is to get the towels to the line, finish the dishes to get a shower, remove the meat from the bones and put the stock back to pressure cooking, if I might take a bit of just juice and chicken for a small soup?  Sure.

I would then very much like to sleep.  But I am trying to stay up, to around the time I went to bed yesterday.  I don't know if I can make it, but I will try.  Oh, maybe a few phone calls.  I wonder if my mother is up today.  Or... willing to answer.  I... make her angry, from time to time.

An experiment.

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I lost track.  The chicken hindquarters are thawed.  So, I had to find out how long to cook it thawed.  For as many thighs as were in the package, the suggestion was twelve minutes.  But I have drummies with those.  So, fifteen minutes?  Though, that isn't the experiment.  No.  I wasn't sure how thick the stock would be.  I could add chicken stock, but that... won't tell me.

So, of course, I will cook it, let it cool, and then see how thick it is.  I might refrigerate it, after pulling the meat which will be allowed to cool to room temperature before being deboned.  I want to see if it will gel at all.  If not, I may heat it back up, and get on the experiment.  If it doesn't gel, I have clear beef gelatin.  The same stuff one makes the dessert, jello , from... minus any flavors or sweeteners, or anything at all really.  Just the stuff that solidifies.  And, actually, the same stuff that does the same in bone stocks if made potent enough.

So, if it doesn't gel, I will add some amount of the raw gelatin.  How much?  I have no idea.  But only if there is enough flavor.  I will be putting the bones back in, as well, and pressure cooking those.  I will probably not put the gelatin in, while that pressure cooks, but after.  Ugh... trying to think this through on the fly.  But, yes, it would be nice to have a little self-contained soup and stock in one go.  Will see.

Oh, the keto bread I made?  I did, then, crisp it a bit in the oven, buttering it after.  It was... okay.  It held together well enough.  It just... I was hoping for a bit more?  No complaints.  I think the vinegar might have helped.  I think the salt, while I couldn't taste it, also helped... or the flavor would have been tinier?  More one-dimensional?  I also didn't try jelly on it.  I do have raspberry and strawberry, sugar free.  I just... I was tired, wanted to eat, had fussed enough.  Still, it will work for a quick add.  I would like to try others, mix, match, change, figure.

It will take time to get the foods sorted.  But, too, I may be looking for a flavor or texture or sensation while or after consuming that just won't exist with non-wheat breads.  I get that.  But we are all looking for something for nothing.  It's in our dna.  Not a terrible thing, just a basic truth.  We want what we want, and we want it without paying for it.  Still, I'll... keep trying.

Oh, as well, part of what is holding me back, slowing me down, is a terrible bloody nose.  It started, without me doing a thing, shortly after waking... I think before that first post this "morning".  I keep checking, every few hours, but it just won't stop!  And it is a very heavy bleed.  If I don't change the plug from time to time, or if I move too much, it soaks through the tissue.  I, oddly, am not getting it kicked back into my throat and down.  No swelling.  So it must be a simple lack of clotting.  The plug is just keeping it in the vein or lessor, and from there is just flows on.  Very odd.

Later.

Well, not at speed, but... yes.

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Dishes have been started, meat has been set out to thaw, the instapot has been partially filled with water... more when the jug fills, "brunch" was made... brunch by my time, and little bits of else are in the process or... such.  Just a bit, here and there, I am tired.  Fighting through it, but not quickly.  Giving more than what I thought I had, often, at a given time.

The chicken is getting a hot soak.  I couldn't get the blood sponge off the parts, nor get the parts separated.  I am giving it about as long as it takes the jug to fill.  I now keep three half gallon jugs of water in rotation, for everything from tea to soup.  Will probably continue that even if the r.o. tank is refilled to the proper pressure.  It just gives me instant fresh water, more than even a full tank really will.

Kidneys and liver are out.  Kidneys for a meal, directly.  The liver is going into pate, which I will store... some refrigerated, some frozen.  I want to see how it does, for how long, and how well.  Thusly, I was required to pull bacon.  It goes with liver, almost necessary for a balanced meal.  I wonder if lard or tallow would do similar?  Those are far easier to add on a whim.  I'll check.  I'll probably have a little of that liver, as is, to see about frozen liver, and how it tastes after periods of time.  Learning as I go.

As well, a beef chuck roast has been pulled.  I plan to make a instapot roast with it, see how that works.  That should keep me in vittles for a rather long time.  I do need a few fresh veggies, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem.  Half an onion, garlic, cabbage of something similar, and some root vegetable.  I am beginning to pull back from carrots, and potatoes are a rare thing.  I'm getting better, if perfection is probably anything but.

Oh, pretty soon, I will get pull the waterers.  It is cool enough that they will probably freeze tonight anyway.  And I want to put things out on the line anyway.  Might as well get several things done.  Ah, and, I'll get a fresh pail of water, in order to refill the waterers and give the girls cold and fresh water.  They like that very much.  Fresh milk or a hard cheese better, but... fresh cold water has been a true treat for them since I started doing it.

A bit of tinkering, then... to real tinkering.  Later.

A few small things.

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Food is needed, however.  Before I do more, I must eat.  I will have a slice of egg casserole, a small portion of kalamata olives, and bread... keto bread.  I finally found all my ingredients and am ready to try this.  Actually, it is all together, just resting.  I will micro it, this time, though may try to figure out actual baking time in the future.  Tired, still, so... microwave.

Ouch.

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Well, okay, it isn't even that bad.  A minor stress headache, from having pushed to noon, then pushed even further until midafternoon.  It would mostly pass if I just left it, but I am taking a pain pills to see if it will completely go away and more quickly.  Still, since I haven't hurt for... a while now... it hurts the more.  Difficult to imagine when that was a minor side pain that actually would bring me comfort in that it distracted from the half to full dozen other things which were ripping me apart.

Life has improved.  While I don't hurt as much, by vast levels of difference, magnitudes... four to seven given the day, I am still stuck.  Though, even that has improved.  I am doing... many things each day.  Little things, often.  Just cleaning after a meal prep and consumption, while small, really opens up the future.  When I go to prep food later, it's there for me.  I don't have to clean, take a break, decide on food, get it out, prep it and cook it, then eat.  A new world of opportunity opens up.

But it is more.  Catching up on dishes, then finding ways to sort it.  I purchased shelving in shelving to help with cupboard clutter.  It works, but not to do more.  They really overcharge for those chinzy, cheap, often weak (though not always), items for helping stack and sort serving or refrigerator bowls, and else.  I may have to begin looking around, now that the mask isn't being pushed so heavily.  I have never shopped at the dollar store, or else, might have to start?  Chinz, but... it's... all chinz at this point.

I guess businesses found out that without foot traffic, they have no business.  And the little fish, who were both willing to mask up and shop out were... not good spenders.  Then again, I wonder how many people were just paid to walk around with a mask on, faux shopping?  Seriously, it became ridiculous there for a bit.  Absolutely full of people buying nothing.  Don't believe even propaganda on the hoof.

Anyway... sorting, trying to find a place for everything, so everything has it's place.  It makes life easier, if it isn't perfectly possible.  I am getting ahead, if, over the whole house, and even at this rate, getting caught up would take a decade or more.  If... I might suggest... this is only the start.  I think spring and summer will be good, given my ability to acclimatize to weather... unless it spikes either way too quickly.  Then again, getting a downstairs ac in, plus the two upstairs, along with that ability, I might be able to better control the ups and downs.

Yes, looking up.  Some think I am optimistic.  They should know better.  I don't believe until I see the holes in the hand, the wound in the side.  Have I seen those, in my life?  Lets just say I... am seeing... things.  How about I see the wounds, now I am... hoping to see some healing.  :p  Or... am seeing healing but expect more, but from what I have seen?  Aye.  It might be a near miss, or a one-off.  But that I think it is based on good food, and I am racing into that more and more?  I... do expect more.  It isn't optimism, it is understanding.  Of course, there will be limits.  Now, to get on medicine too.  Food and medicine... could almost do magic.

A bit of a waking step, then something to eat?  Chicken will go in the instapot, if frozen, shortly.  Another shower... gee I love those, more so when I can do them daily for a bit, then dishes started.  Oh, perhaps the towels out?  What else?  More boxes out of the kitchen.  A few broken down in this room.  Cleaning trash cans, and bagging what doesn't need cleaning.  Yes, it's... starting up again.  Later.

Definitely bedtime.

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A shower, food, and a few other minor things.  I would have been in bed, but the neighbor stopped by to change the plow for the mowing deck on the mower.  I was in no shape to help him.  Still, I haven't seen a human in... well?  It's... been a rather longish time.  I keep trying to get out, but it hasn't happened.  I tried to stay out of the way, and not talk too much.

It is 55 F, out, so I turned off the furnace and opened everything up.  I think.  I'll check before going to bed.  I fed the girls again.  All other critters should be happily fed and watered.  It just hit 15:00, so I have done well.  Totally exhausted, but... good.  No great pains.  If my eyes are burning from the need for sleep.  I'll head there rather shortly.

I have the instapot ready for chicken tonight.  Perhaps I can clean the rest of the stovetop and the counter on that side while cooking tonight.  Oh, I did put laundry in.  There were enough whites, but not really enough darks.  I am hoping it is clear, so I can hang them to dry when I wake.  I truly love those air dried.  They take water off the skin, and scratch any itchy patches, the way a cat strips things with it's tongue.

I may try to call my mother one more time.  The rest can hang, if not all yet.  :p  Good afternoon, day, and night.

Beyond expected.

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I did do a small load of dishes, from start to stop.  As well, I cleaned off another counter, and half the stove top.  Cast iron is in the way.  Plus I am very tired.  I am still hoping to take a shower.  I had a small extra kefir.  I am hungry for more, but... I just don't want to... wait, I could have another slice of egg casserole.  That really is rather good.

I called my mother. No answer.  Perhaps, after a meal and shower, I will call my brother.  I can't do business calls, I can't think well, or remember things.  Family... understand.  Oh, chores were done, much earlier.  The waterers had begun to freeze, but they had been mostly used through the night.  Ducks are still a bit surprised to be let out.  While the sun is up, it is a bit chill as well.  Still, they eventually all get out, eat, and enjoy fresh water.

Oh, I seem to, slowly, be hitting other areas.  Including around my seat at the machine.  Bit by bit, a lot is being done.  A few boxes here, a few items there.  Very slowly, but it is beginning to show.  Still, so very tired.  Hmm... with the heat off, I may open the cave back up.  While it won't get so cool these days, it sure makes for a pleasant sleep.  And, I am up later than noon, almost 13:00.  With what else I hope to do, if I can do it, it might be 14:00 by the time I get to bed.  All very good.

Good morning, day, and probably night.

No sleep.

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It just wasn't available.  Rest was available, and had.  Potentially that might be enough.

Supper, shortly.  A small meal.  But what?  Ah, perhaps a rectangle of the egg casserole.  That actually ended being a soufflé casserole, to be honest.  A very good one.  Not too many ingredients, not too much meat or even cheese... plus the cheese was in differently places, or some was inside, some was on top... much as the bacon was on top while the peperoni was diced and inside.

A bit of kefir to go with... I keep trying to call it breakfast.  It IS a traditional breakfast food.  And, really, at 05:00, in a minute, it IS breakfast time... as most would account it.  However, no fast will be broken with this meal, so... anyway... kefir with supper.  Anything else?  I am probably hungry enough for two, but I'd rather have something else with it.  I finally found my coconut flour.

I am thinking, maybe, a keto bread, made, then baked?  With cream cheese and butter on top, as well.  I think I have sugar free strawberry jam... unopened, in the fridge.  It might still be good.  Should toss anything that is opened though.  Ugh.  Oh... that jam, if actually unopened, would be good in a smoothie.  I won't use it this time, but maybe in the future.  I have a difficult time using jam fast enough, as bread, even keto bread, is a rarity.  Yes... a subplan is now in play.

A shower, after, and setting up dishes, plus starting laundry.  It's not a lot, but... it might help revive me for the day.  A bit after supper, that is.  Later.  Probably.

Oh, right.

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I'm not going to do anything, save go on to bed.  It is later than I had hoped to get to bed, but... I just... lost track.  Doubt if I could have slept, might not be able to now?  I'm not sure if I put the ducks in, either.  That is one thing I will check.  Oh, and I had about an ounce of mixed nuts... either raw or roasted without oils.  I don't even think any are salted.  That and tea.

I'm not sure if I needed more food, but it felt like it.  It would have been around "lunch", by time since I ate breakfast.  So, probably not a bad deal.  The kefir and such filled me well enough, earlier.  These just topped that back off.  I am trying to avoid so many nuts, and mixing which types I eat.  They are higher in omega six, while I need more omega three.  Sardines and such help with three... I think I have that right.  I need to find more foods with higher fat and higher omega three.  Bleh... always a trick, or imbalance, to sort.

Yea, I'll set the alarm and try to rise.  Getting a shower right off, then setting up dishes, and finally doing laundry.  If I can wake early enough, I will make a few calls.  Check on a few things.  And get the chicken started in the instapot.  It'll work out.  I hope.  If the temp is low, since I am going out anyway, I may pull the waterers, clean and fill them, so they are all clean and fresh for tomorrow.

Good night.

How to do food?

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My goal is to cut consumption, along with the control of certain aspects of that consumption.  The amount of macros, of which there are three, carbs, protein, and fat.  Consumption is a two edged thing, as it involves quantity and calories, perhaps even satiety... how full I feel.  It's a tricky game, and while heading into keto, it is a sliding scale sort of thing... meaning I can go from having no hunger to all of a sudden being hungry no matter how much I eat.

If feeding the right amount of macros, especially getting in fat initially, the body has to relearn, or just plain learn, how to consume fats for it's energy needs.  It doesn't want to do that.  So?  So, no matter how many fats you eat, your body will balk at being satisfied with it.  Sometimes you simply have to go a little hungry.  Other times, if you are leading up to failure, it is best to add more fats.  Eventually the body figures out that it won't get what it wants, so will make due.  On the good side, when it learns to make do, it actually is much easier to satisfy, the energy returns on less food is better, and a lack of appetite can, does, occur.

Though to, there are two types of hunger.  Perhaps others?  One is purely physical.  It means your body is hitting an energy issue, needs food to continue.  As well, there is a mental hunger.  The body doesn't need anything, but the mind wants it.  Or...  All of it's history leads it to believe that more food is or will shortly be needed... wanted.  It isn't as logical as the physical need category.  But it can be much more severe.  Further, there isn't a mechanical means of ending that sort of hunger.  It isn't satisfied by food... but by some emotional sensation which food might bring, often going well beyond satiation.

I am at some weird stage of keto.  Sometimes I am not hungry, until I drop into starvation mode (if I am not careful), sometimes I am terribly hungry... though as often physically and mentally hungry.  Mirages, in every direction.  The answer?  To a degree, I have to determine what I am facing.  Real, physical, hunger has to be fed.  As lightly as possible, but reasonably.  Mental hunger has to have it's emotional satiation found... often I used tea or other drinks.  Or filling but low calorie and low carb foods.  Or very high fat foods, and just splurge.   As to feeling no hunger?  I must eat, figure it out and eat several times a day... slightly blindly.  Aim for the macros if also try not to graze.  Tricky damned business, but it does pay off.  As well, sometimes I just have to go hungry.  Which to do at any given time?  It's a puzzle which needs figured out each time.

If I am hungry, as I was after dinner, my first objective is to figure out what sort of hunger I am dealing with.  If it is psychological, I attempt to use tea to pacify.  If it is physical, I still attempt to resist, for as long as possible.  If those methods don't work, I attempt to just allow for the hunger, offering it to God much as I do pain.  At some point, however, I act on it.

In this case, I waited between an half hour and hour, letting the hunger be, ignoring it as much as possible.  After a certain time, I realized tea and patience wouldn't cure the problem.  So, I had a kefir berry smoothie.  Nothing fancy, not too much, but slightly, mostly, satiating.  I am, oddly, still hungry.  I will not eat again for an hour or more like two.  Drinking tea in the interim.  Not sure what the problem is.

Even so, that is as good as I can do.  I have recently gone a bit on too little food.  Perhaps this is a price for that, or it is just my body not wanting to go into keto.  I will do my best to keep fat heavy, and if I must splurge, to keep extra fat heavy.  I am finally really beginning to try to nail keto.  I will have to fight for it.  But I think it might work extremely well this time.

Bone stock and kefir are the backbone of keto, currently.  Homecooked, from scratch mostly, though with room for a small potato a week, a small portion of carrots here or there, and a few other not absolute keto foods.  I don't believe in absolutes, just simple to vast majority and minority situations.  It may be a bit rough, sometimes.  But I think this is the way I will work things.  I think I can.

Still slightly hungry, but I can... wait.  Not sure what I will have later, though I think carbquik pancakes, a few fried eggs, and maybe one of the remaining sausages.  I cooked half the sausages, need to use the rest in the next week.  Or... if I get to cooking the chicken, that chicken cream dish, though I might add a sausage in with the carrots at the beginning.

Just offering how I am doing keto, trying to do it.  Each time I have done a run to it, it has gotten smoother.  I have more of the ingredients, more practice, experience, skills, tools...  I will always fall, from time to time, I know that.  But... when you get tight in it, a fall is... almost a boon.  And, sometimes, it doesn't even toss me out of keto or kill my diabetes.  Just not every day, again.  Good luck with your projects, plans, hobbies, and such.  Later.

Hitting the wall.

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Chores done, cats fed and water refreshed... litter managed earlier this evening.  My food, of course.  A shower in.  I am not starting laundry, or setting up dishes, that is that.  I did clean the prep area.  It is ready for a meal later.  I will take the hindquarters out, pressure cook them frozen.  I am just... curious... how well that works.  I want to see if the meat tastes funny... or not so.

A few other things done, if nothing fancy or much.  It has been a good night.  I probably ate a bit too much, but my body is doing weird things on keto again.  Fully keto?  I would guess so.  But just.  Going through the odd phases.  I ought to have some electrolytes.  Hmm, maybe pickle juice?  A bit of both.  I have a powder additive, for electrolytes.  Still, pickle juice or vinegar and water etc works well.  The problem with a vinegar concoction is that I don't have lemon or lime.  Really, that is quite needed for that, for me.

Not a bad go.  I still have some things I'd desperately like to do, but I just... I can't quite make it.  Soon, very soon.  Phone calls.  Business and family.  As well, I need to get to town.  Things to check, do, maybe.  Having some food at the ready, more with soup if I can get that going, and life is easier.  Then it's just snacks and small meals with which I need tarry.

I may have to try to sleep, nap longly, tonight, in an attempt to overwrite my current protocols.  I need to be up at this time, until about 14:00, but be clear of mind and awake enough of body.  Currently, I am crashing, hard.  Twitching.  Not that I have done too much, more that I have simply used my day, and well.  It is coming time to sleep.  Sleep isn't an option.  I am doing well to finish this up.

Good morning, day, and night.

Finally!

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It took forever for the potatoes to finish.  I put it in for 45 minutes, then 15 minutes, then 15 more, at 350 F, and it they still weren't done!  Hard.  I opened up the packing, added butter, hoping a bit more moisture might work?  I then gave it another 45 minutes, turning the heat to 415 as well.  It... was mostly done at that point.  There was enough made for two meals.  I kept it to half.  The rest will be for a soon meal.  I will just put it back in the oven, for an half hour, 45 minutes maybe.

Really?  Not at all bad.  One of the sausages was hot, but that was good.  The andouille, I think, were not as hot.  Perhaps it was comparatively less hot, spice wise?  Though some levels of heat I simply can't always taste anyway.  The onions, garlic, and carrots were very nicely done.  The sausages were definitely done.  But the potatoes were just this side of still being crisp.  They did seem done, if just barely.

Satisfied.  Almost too full.  Sleepy.

Even so, I want to get a shower, then put dishes in, get laundry going, and as soon as it is light... or at least day proper, let the ducks out and do else chores.  It has been a pretty good night.  Working in spits and spats, eating as needed, feeding and enjoying the girls... usually.  Can be such beggars!  Reading, thinking, and... just... enjoying the evening.  So very tired, but I so want to stay up... perhaps to early afternoon.  Or... sleep and wake early?  No, would never happen.

After I digest dinner a bit, I'll get that well needed and deserved shower.  Good morning, and day.

A wrapped baked meal.

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I had several forms of sausage.  In case I didn't care for the kielbasa.  With the sauerkraut gone, I decided to try the two types.  One is a Cajun type, the other didn't really have a name.  Unlike the kielbasa, these aren't cooked.  Anyway, I very coarsely chopped a potato, then chopped onion, garlic, a few carrots, and rolled it all into aluminum foil.  No spices, or fats.  I am hoping the sausages will tend the that, and the moisture released.

Nothing fancy, but different.  I wish I had more sauerkraut, though perhaps heated on a pot, then added at the table?  Still, a nice little meal.  Hungry now, though.  Strangely.  So, a few slices of munster and a sip of kefir.  So hungry, sometimes.  This time it seems to be bodily.  Oh, and a few smaller carrots, with peanut butter to dip in.  A decent snack.  A bit much, but I really am hungry, oddly.

The barrels were brought in.  It looks to be about 35 outside last I checked.  Sometimes, often, it gets cooler in the morning.  Though, often, just before sunrise.  The wind from the mountains, down then up, or some such.  Though, sometimes, it really does just get colder through the night.  Never can quite tell by any leads... necessarily.

After the meal, a shower, setting up more dishes, and perhaps getting the chicken going.  As well, I'll check the kefir which has been fermenting out of the fridge... probably topping that off with milk and putting it in to chill.  I think the jar of kefir I use now will need to be refilled and set out.  Everything requires something, and more, and just to keep dead even.

Not a bad little go at it.

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Dishes, done.  I forgot to clean the counter off, but got to it while I was rewashing the last of the dishes previously set up.  Then I washed and/or rinsed everything to warm, and dried it.  It went quickly.  Further, as I would dry in batches, about when I'd finish one batch, I considered the previous batches done and put them away.  I finished, and put up, all of the dishes proposed.  As well as the instapot lid.  It had gotten lost in the shuffle.  Done, now, too.

Then I reset waterers for tomorrow.  It was noticed, that having sanitized, then cleaned and well rinsed them, they stay much cleaner, needing little but specific effort.  Shake the old water, dump that.  Refill it.  Clean the spout, and shake it under water.  Put the spout on and set them in order, in the carry bags.  All done, easily and quickly.  I can tell they are clean by how good the spouts feel.  When they are even a bit gooey, it's time to sanitize again, or every other week or four?  I'll do my best.

Finally, I got fresh water for the girls.  Their litter was hit a bit earlier.  They are being fed a bit more.

Now?  Well, a shower remains.  Laundry after.  A meal of some sort.  Perhaps a nap, if the urgency of sleep seems to have passed for now.  Perhaps other little things as time passes, as I do other things and notice.  Oh, bagging bins.  And bringing back the barrels from the curb.  Lots still  to do, but I am making headway.  Always more, on top of more, so you have to do a lot more to get just a bit ahead.  Later.

A bit more.

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About 2 cups of a fruit kefir smoothie, with an ounce total of mixed nuts, my appetite was well handled.  I couldn't do much immediately.  Since, I have reset the rinsing dishes, set up supper dishes from last night, and sorted cat litter.  It's a start.  Not much of one.  Still so very exhausted, tired too.  

I may end up taking a nap after I finish dishes.  Most are rinsing, just need to cool a bit.  And dirty dishes from last night are few, so I will just push them through while finishing the rinse dishes.  Though I really need to clean off the freezer top, but that should be very easy.  I didn't make a mess, it is more just a courtesy thing.  Still, I like to wash before I put out dishes if I have prepped food on the surface.

A nap, yes.  Then, when I wake, trash.  Hmm, a shower... or take that before the nap?  I'll think on that part.  When I finish the shower, then to laundry.  A load through, another started, and I may nap again.  Trying to get back into days.  I keep hoping I can cheat my way through.  Sometimes, rarely, I can.  Sometimes I  can't.  I... need to do so.  Bleh.

The girls have been fed twice today, and given treats.  If they are that hungry, I won't mess with them.  Sassy will put on weight, while Sam, somehow, will get skinnier.  She is already bones.  If it were worms, Sassy would become skinny too, so... just Sam's style and nature.  I've been letting them sleep with me lately.  Not every night, but every other.  Sam doesn't seem to visit often, except when it's daytime.  Even then, only once or twice in my cycle.  Sassy is up there all the time, sleeps with me, sneaks out for a few hours, then returns almost every other two hour section of my sleep cycle.  Strange.

I really am thinking of a few pancakes tonight.  As well as a few eggs.  I am out of bacon, but I might have something else.  Either that or bratwursts or another type of sausage, some veggies, and else, cooked in a foil pack.  An easy dish.  I don't know, something.  I am, with food and drink, trying to stay as far from satisfied as is manageable.  An odd thing, but... it works better.  So long as I don't mess up and go too far beyond either.  It is not of the daemonic.  It's just a portion of my nature, believe as you must.

Anyway... I have the timer set.  Dishes then, a shower, and filling the waterers.  More food after?  I have to stay up a bit, in order for my hair to dry.  So I might as well eat if hunger, even if just psychological, has returned.  But a small meal.  Just... a few of this and that.  Hmm, carrots, a small potato, one of the types of sausages, and... some other meat?  Garlic and onion, as well.  I truly enjoy garlic and onion, or variances of those... chives, green onions, shallots... whatever is in season, or I can afford, is available, or might even be a hunger which is worth spending a little more for.  Smaller purchases, better quality, it can work.  As little waste as possible.

On to something, to pass time until the alarm and work.  Good evening.

Slow.

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Typical, for "mornings".  Brunch might help.  A portion of the egg casserole.  That really is pretty good.  Along with a dose of kalamata olives.  Too big a dose, I need to downsize that by half.  A learning curve.  No, they are wonderful.  Salty though.  Smaller bites, on some things.  And, half would be quite enough I think.  I am... dosing food with my old eyes, the eyes which didn't understand, and were always hungry... in too many ways.  Now I am almost to the point of eating merely for nutrition, sustenance, if enjoying playing with the food as well.

I found a recipe for pancakes, using carbquik.  I plan on make that for dinner, or supper.  And, if chicken gets going, perhaps a minor chicken meal even yet tonight.  Nothing fancy, not much, hopefully good.  The pancake recipe makes 20 cakes.  They say those can be frozen.  I could halve the recipe, but that would still be, at least, double what I would eat.  So, might as well make the twenty, freeze them, and try a few along with the casserole every other day to see if they do well frozen then thawed.

My body is not hungry, but my mind still is.  I don't want to eat too much, or the wrong things.  Leaving the mind to it's own devices, it will go astray.  Better, as mentioned, to eat a bit too much fat in an attempt to satiate more rightly toward keto, than else.  I'm thinking a small portion of a fruity kefir smoothie and a handful of nuts.  Not a lot, just enough to tip the balance.

Ducks are in.  I am leaving waterers out again... they were still flowing this "morning", and had been happily mostly used.  I need to refill waterers from two days, tonight.  I've been stumbling, if not too terribly.  As well, dishes, rebagging trash, a shower, and chicken set to cook.  I think that is pretty much all I will try to do... wait... laundry... one or two loads.

I've been dragging a bit.  Not quite falling behind, if not advancing.  Hmm, dishes from cooking yesterday need cleared, and the freezer top needs cleared and cleaned wholecloth as well.  It's all possible.  And it is a pleasant night.  I was up to... past 11:00, nearing noon.  I have reasons to try to be up in the day, so will push tomorrow, as well.  Maybe a nap tonight.  Airing the place out won't every quite do it, unless I can clear and clean the whole house, but it helps a bit.  Ugh.  

Well, on to... a bit more to eat, then what else is doable.  Good evening and day.

A very good sleep.

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Being warmer, and probably getting warmer still, I opened a few windows, downstairs and up, and turned a fan on.  It was 61 F upstairs, when I woke, and that pretty much every time I woke and might check.  the outside is up to 55.  While that doesn't make sense, wouldn't for most homes, mine is a stone home.  With roots going deep.  Now that the ground has thawed, and the lower soils are regulated by some thermal equation, temps stay a certain minimum inside.  It's sort of neat.  Plus, airing out the place is very good.

No pain, and I think the body is simply better.  I am trying to learn how to control... certain aspects of my life, so as to cut to one water pill.  I am getting used to being slightly thirsty... to drink less... and figuring out ways to pee more.  Sometimes I can get so tired, from my seemingly minor tasks, that I can't get up to go to the bathroom.  There... is a trick for that.  Yes there is.

As well, as I am beginning to eat keto again, and fairly well, I am beginning to watch not just carbs, or carbs and proteins, or carbs fats proteins calories and frequencies, but also watching things like salt.  Cutting every so slightly.  In part by making a masala of sorts.  Actually, two.  One with hot spices, one without, depending on my mood.  And, actually, with the egg casserole, I used a mix of the two.  The hot is... very hot.  I didn't quite want it that hot, but I didn't want it purely plain.  Picky!

But, yea, things are improving.  I still can't work all that much, for all that long, on any given day.  But I... am working, at least a little, every single day.  I sometimes hit things I fear, because I don't know if I can, or quite how to do it.  But I get through that quicker.  Sometimes I was not getting through it.  My current fear bottleneck is an excessively dripping faucet.  Hot water, in the tub.  I know... turn off the house water feed, plug the drain so I don't lose anything, disassemble that faucet, and probably just tighten something.  I am sure the gasket it good.  I know why it leaks, that was planned to a minor degree, but it has gotten a bit much.  Still... I... am stuck.  Just an example of what can freeze me.

But dishes, food, laundry, cleaning and filling waterers, chores, cats, my personal grooming, things that would go untended for extended periods, are being handled.  Not perfectly.  And sometimes I get a bit exhausted from just doing the basics, though certainly doing extra to a lot extra.  But, every day, beyond the basics of chores, cats, and usually myself, I find room to do a few dishes, clean a small area or three, find a few things I am seeking, and else.

I am slowing digging out.  I am sure medicine would help.  But that, too, is a thing that has me stymied.  If I take it, I could lose a month.  A month while I am trying to figure out legal representation and fighting the ssa.  A time when I need to figure things out for the rabbits.  A time when I have things started, and would hate to fall back.  Eventually it has to happen.  Perhaps, if I find legal representation, I will just take the plunge and hope all else works.  Doing well for being off medicines, that's for sure.  If I am positive that medicine, once acclimated to, will help a good deal more.  Ugh... the... difficulties of being partly to mostly dead.  Later.

One last report.

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It turns out, the waterers didn't freeze.  Further, the rabbits drank almost all of them dry, save for Hazel, the eldest matron.  Further, they hit the waterers as soon as I put them out even so.  It is warmer, but not that warm.  You just can't tell with critters.  Oh, and Henry had to work to get his hens out.  Ah... this is earlier than usual.  They were probably tucked in somewhere?  He raised a ruckus until they followed.  Though, for a bit, I was worried I had left them out and something had gotten them.  Nope, just sleeping in.

Food has helped.  Trash and recycling went out.  Chores are done, all of them, and feeding the girls.  They are as hungry as the rabbits are thirsty!  I have fed the girls four times.  The normal is twice, and they have as much hard food as they want, plus treats a few times a day.  Very strange.  Perhaps it is warm enough that they have chased the mice out?  Driven them out with their relentless pursuits, so having nothing on which to dine?  If Sam's bowl, the eldest, isn't very well emptied, I don't feed them more.  But it has been as clean as Sassy's.  As well, usually I give Sam less.  Lately I have been splitting it.  Strange.

Perhaps not perfect, but at least I can sleep knowing the critters are all fed and watered, out if allowed, inside or caged if need be.  It makes for a better sleep.  I have food, for when I wake.  Though, actually, kefir is my usual actual "breakfast".  But, when I am hungry for more, it is there.  And more beyond, after getting chicken going.

Not a perfect life.  But painfree, fed, and with happy little critters here and there.  It's not bad.  At this point, it's about as good as it will get.  Always hope for a good woman, but that's another story.

Good night.