Sjogren's Syndrome

Once a year in April, I blog about Sjogren's Syndrome (it's SS awareness month). I fight the battle against Sjogren's every day of my life. Sjogren's Syndrome is a systemic disease that causes extreme dryness; basically my moisture glands don't work properly. The dryness starts with the top of the head and goes all the way to my toenails. It is an autoimmune disease, and those who have it are one of the groups that are in the high-risk zone for complications from COVID-19. Sjogren's patients need to do all of the same things that everybody else needs to do to keep themselves well; they just need to be more diligent.

I realize wearing a mask, gloves, and sneezing into your elbow can be annoying, but I personally want to thank all of you who are taking extra precautions not to spread the virus. It is essential that we not only consider ourselves during this pandemic but also consider the health and lives of those around us.

My daughter came over to the house the other day; we visited outside in the front yard. We both wore masks, and she stayed more than 6 ft away from me. "I want to make sure you are safe, Mom. As far as I know, I don't have it, but you never know." She said. I work very hard to keep myself healthy; I know what a respiratory illness can do to me.

I've heard many times, "You don't look like you have anything wrong with you. I would have never known." This just goes to show, you should never judge a book by its cover. The person you walk next to could be fighting a battle every day, too, and if you knew their story, you might understand what it means to them when you are a little extra cautious.

Stay safe, be well.

https://www.cdc.gov/

Purple Carrots Bleed

Oh, my, gosh!! There are some super crazy things you learn only by experience. I learned one of these super crazy things today.  I love multicolored vegetables, but then again, I love lots and lots of color — so it’s only natural that like to see lots of color on my dinner plate.

For dinner, I baked chicken breasts with potatoes. The vegetable I prepared to go with this was sliced multicolored carrots: orange, white, and purple. There were some leftovers, so I put everything in the same bowl in the refrigerator knowing it would make a great lunch in a day or two.

Today when I went to warm them for lunch I quickly learned that purple carrots “bleed”! I learned this because all of the carrots were purple, the potatoes were purple, and the chicken was blue. I warmed them up anyway and ate them and they were good.  I suppose that there is an analogy in there, like: never judge a lunch by its color or pull out the purple carrots before you put leftovers in the refrigerator.

That’s my story for today.

It is National Vanilla Pudding Day

Today is National Vanilla Pudding Day. Did you know that vanilla pudding had its own day? I didn’t. It is also National Solitaire Day. Who knew that solitaire needed a day, too? Maybe Vanilla Pudding Day was created to support Solitaire Day… obviously, you eat vanilla pudding while you play solitaire. Also, it is National Buy a Musical Instrument Day. So, you go out and buy an instrument after you are bored from playing solitaire and eating vanilla pudding? I like to look up National Days; I find them amusing.

What’s the story behind them?

Who registered Vanilla Pudding Day? Why was that so important to them?

How about solitaire? Who came up with that?

I don’t know the real stories behind these “special” days, but I do believe they are the start of a great tall tale.

Have a good day. I think I’ll play some solitaire, eat some vanilla pudding, and go buy an instrument.

What are you going to do today?

Recycled Raised Beds

Several months ago my bonus son (son-in-law, his name is Abe) and my daughter, Genette, made a gate for me out of wood pallets. They still need to come and help with building another gate for the other side of the house.

In the meantime, I have a pile of pallets sitting in my driveway, and it is more than will be needed for the gate, so I am using some for other projects. I wanted some raised beds for my vegetables, and there the pallets sat, so an idea flashed. I could make raised beds out of the pallets in a matter of minutes! The result was good.

To make the pallets sit flush on the ground, I took off the bottom slats and used the wood and nails to close in the sides. I had some black plastic to put on the ground to help with weed control. I put the pallets down on the plastic, filled them with good, rich dirt and planted my cucumbers and swiss chard.

I wanted a protective dome over the plants to keep the birds and bunnies away (hopefully), so I checked my “stash” to see what I could use. My “stash” is discarded items I’ve saved that I use in my garden instead of purchasing new ones. Last fall a friend moved into a different home and there was fencing and chicken wire left there by the previous owner, so she asked me if I wanted it. Of course, I said yes, knowing that I would use it in my garden, though I didn’t know how at the time. I added it to my “stash.” I also had a metal grate (that I kept from an outdoor wood grill) along with some metal display baskets (from a shelving unit in a large store). These things combined became my protective dome.

In a nutshell, I paid nearly nothing for my raised beds, and in a few weeks, I’ll have vegetables on my table! I’ve got one finished now, and two more ready for the dirt. One will have lettuce and the other will have, probably, some herbs. I’ll post some more pictures later as my vegetables grow and I fill up the other two pallets.

From discarded into useful. Tell me your own stories about recycling and reusing.

Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit

I remember my mother saying “Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit,” on the first day of each month for good luck. I have friends on facebook who post rabbits on the first of the month in recognition of the phrase; ok, I might do that too. I’ve always known repeating rabbit three times was for good luck, but I don’t understand why it is supposed to be lucky. Carrying a rabbit's foot is supposed to be good luck, but it’s not so lucky for the rabbit. There is a rabbit in the Chinese horoscope; I don’t know much about that either. There are rabbits in my back yard and they eat my vegetables, so that’s not lucky for me, but the rabbits enjoy it.

Wikipedia, the mecca of all knowledge, says the phrase originated in Great Britain and North America. Was that simultaneously? Did a person on each continent have the same revelation at the same time and announce, “We must say, ‘Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit!’ on the first day of each month or we shall not have good luck!”

I read that President Roosevelt said it on the first day of the month. Was it lucky for him? I have no idea. The Energizer Bunny just keeps going and going… why is it pink?

In the end, sometimes we say or do things because of tradition, a touch of superstition, an element of hope, or maybe just for fun. I say rabbit, rabbit, rabbit because of all of those things — it certainly isn’t going to hurt and what if it does bring good luck?

So, on this first day of May, join me in saying, “Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit,” and have a very Hoppy Month of May!