So much updating….

 There are so many things that have happened in the almost decade since I wrote here regularly. Is it worth it to recount everything? I’m not sure I could remember everything if I tried =)

Maybe that’s not the approach….maybe meandering through my brain, things will come up, and we’ll leave it at that =)

Last night was fun. I feel like I’ve been running this whole week. One of my besties had her birthday last night and we had asked her what she wanted to do. She wanted to go eat gluten-free pizza and drive around looking at Christmas tree lights. Sold!

That’s me on the far left of the picture. We were out until almost 10, though, which is past my bedtime, so I’m sleepy this morning. I hadn’t felt much Christmas spirit this year, so it was cool to be child-like and roam around town, twisting and turning wherever it looked like we could see light displays. Still not a Christian, respect all belief systems, but tend more towards the solstices and nature-based stuff and generally eschew all organized religion. I like the season for what it is. I HAVE GRAND KIDS NOW!! Seven of them, to be precise =) It’s so much fun! I enjoy it for their sake, the looks on their faces. It doesn’t all have to mean something…or enjoying it for the sake of the magic it brings to our lives. I absolutely loathe rampant consumerism, so I tend to try to gift people experiences or less material things. Christmas is a cool time of the year.

There is a cookie exchange that I’ve participated in for about a dozen years that’s coming up this weekend. I feel sort of ambivalent about going, part of me wants to because this is the only time of year I see some of these folks, which in itself is sad. It’s also work. Baking six dozen cookies is no joke. Plus, just recently, I’ve started transitioning to a Keto lifestyle. There are conversations that go along with all this….I am basically making things I cannot eat for people I see once a year. Ahhhh, friendship…..hahaha…I will be glad I did it when we are all sitting around eating and laughing and wondering why we don’t get together more often on Saturday afternoon, but right now, it just feels like work.

So, about this Keto thing and the sad state of affairs for Americans. Our health care system is so broken. I know anyone who doesn’t have Congressional benefits knows this, but I got a very small taste of the degree to which it is broken this year and I’m so disgusted, I can’t even. I work for the state, so I have been pretty insulated with this type of thing and while I knew and advocated for things to become better, it was always at arms reach because I knew I had decent benefits. Then, this year, my insurance got into an argument with the large HMO provider in the area that covered us, and the HMO threatened to pull coverage. I saw the notices go by, but then they told us they had worked out their difficulties and everything was fine, we could still use our same providers and such. Except that was a lie. We can still use the same providers, but they have moved us from an HMO into some “premium preferred provider” service, which means nothing has changed….and everything has changed. They changed the pharmacy provider, because why the hell not?!? So, starting JULY 1, I had to start battling with the insurance companies just to receive medication I’ve been on for over five years. New provider means “proving” you need your medications again. I’m diabetic folks….I’m not trashing my liver for general fun and entertainment, I’m taking meds to try to stay alive. We need single-payer now. We need to take profit out of medical care, period. Ugggh….so disgusted, I cannot even.

So, basically, I decided if there were anything in my control I could do to not be dependent on this stupid, broken system, I had to do it or the medical establishment is going to kill me. I’d read about and done research on the Keto lifestyle and have decided to try it. I played around and slowly started cutting back carbs about a month ago, but went sort of hard core, 25-30 carbs a day five days ago. It’s kind of hard because changing routine behavior is hard. Learning how to cook differently takes thought and mindfulness. Reading ALL THE LABELS takes time and effort. It’s also disgusting to me how Americans tend to put sugar in ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING we eat. Regular, jarred spaghetti sauce? It’s made from tomatoes, it should only have the carbs of the fruit, but if you read the label, they almost always put a ton of sugar in it! So gross. I’ve often been lazy about what I’ve eaten and it’s easy to just not think about it. But we all should, because American’s, in general eat atrociously and with a mind towards convenience, not health. I hate preachy vegans or any other type of food person, but from my personal experience, so far, this is a way of eating that makes my body happy. This week is the first week I’ve had blood sugar values under 200 in a looong time, and it feels different, but good. That’s enough about that, for now.

That’s my immediate morning

Keto, week one…

 

This is more for myself and my tracking purposes. Last week, I started Keto pretty full-bore. I protest the disgusting state of health care in our country and I vow to do everything in my power to obtain optimal health so said sucky system does not kill me.

I have been a type 2 diabetic for over a decade. My mom died from complications of Diabetes, and I do not want to go like that. If I die when my mom died, I have 27 years left of life. I’d love to be around longer than that. I want to see my grand children grown with children of their own, I have lots left to do.

So, last Sunday I hit it hard. I knew this would be a challenging time because this last Saturday, yesterday, was going to be an annual cookie exchange I have participated in for more than a decade. I started out thinking I would make keto-friendly cookies for everyone, but once I got a load of the prices for ingredients for keto baking, I decided everyone got one keto bar and I would make the rest regular =) I actually did really well making the things and not eating them all =)

I chose lemon bars this year. Not something I’d done before. They looked super easy, then when I started making them, I remembered what a pain zesting a lemon was. All things considered, though, it wasn’t too bad. And I found a keto version. Then they all didn’t turn out the way I wanted, so I supplemented with chocolate chip cookies. I also have stuff to make keto chocolate chip cookies, but that’s another task for another day.

Here are observations after one week:

1. This is the first time since the medication debacle began back in July that I’ve had consistent blood sugar numbers under 200! Yay!
2. I generally have a very hard time with leg and foot cramps at night. Since beginning a keto way of eating, I have not had any cramps.
3. I think I am starting to feel higher energy.
4. I know that if I come from a place of deprivation, I cannot succeed on a diet. Keto seems to have a lot of options and ways to make food that make me not feel deprived. I like this a lot.
5. It really isn’t that hard, it’s just a different way of eating. Honestly, the bread and potatoes thing is the hardest for me. I’ve always said, if there were a friend potato diet, I would be thing. The Irish in me, perhaps.

That’s about it.

I live in a beautiful place. The pic is a sunrise from a couple days ago. Taken by my friend Pinktini

Enjoy your Sunday, everyone!

The last scary decision…

(this was a transferred post from Open Diary, my first online journaling home. They used to do a "topic of the week" and that is my response to that weeks post.)

What was the last scary decision that you made?!

Wow. That’s putting things out there. There are a lot of scary decisions to be made, always. There are those that say that the definition of courage is being terrified of something…..and doing it anyway =) That’s kind of my philosophy, if you will.

In June of this year, I had an opportunity. I prior scary decision had paid off in spades. After Burning Man in 2016, I made a commitment with some friends that we were GOING to go to New Zealand….to attend a regional burn, Kiwi Burn. As time passed, all the people who had also agreed to go, dropped by the wayside, but dammit, I had decided I was going to go and was determined. I went by myself. I spent three weeks there and had an amazing time and made what have turned into friendships I still cherish and cultivate, hoping they will be lifelong.

Two of those friendships were with an awesome couple named Cody and Ally. She was from Scotland, he from Canada and they’d met globetrotting in Australia and I encountered them in New Zealand at Kiwi Burn. We’d remained in touch, mostly through Facebook. I knew they were getting married in 2018, but hadn’t really thought much about it . I got a message one day asking me about an RSVP, the wedding was to be held in Nova Scotia. Hmmm…never been there, might be fun. Talk to the happy couple and they offer me space in the lodge where the wedding is, so it will really only be plane fare and a few days of lodging, and I can see a cool place.

Aaaaaannnnd, GO!

Did it! Always glad, had an amazing time, would definitely go back, and I am again amazed at how, when you direct your energy in specific places, it’s so awesome to see how the universe works, with your energy, for things to find a way =)

2018 - Third Quarter, in pictures....

 I'd like to think I will have the stamina to finish this and catch up the past few years of my life. I want so badly to remember all these things! Right now, it seems daunting because there are so many, but I will just keep chipping away....

July

Here's a group photo from the MRS that was NOT in July, but that's where it fell, so there you have it

Cylus, baby.

A drink, with Kat, a friend....this was next to the Morris, I seem to remember we were disgruntled and commiserating about something. LOL

My grandson, Cash. He looks so wise, and like he's contemplating the question of ages, in that million mile stare.

In my town, in July, there is a month long arts festival called "Artown". One of the events they do is an annual fundraising event for the philharmonic. There is a theme each year, and this year was super fun, there was an Elton John tribute person who was one of the most fun performers I've ever been graced to be able to see. We sang, we danced, we wore awesome costumes and did outrageous stuff. It was a blast.

THEN, I got an AMAZING opportunity to travel to Nova Scotia, Canada, to attend the wedding of a couple of friends I met in New Zealand. Here's the flight over:

Before and after the wedding, I stayed in hostels to get a sense of them, and also because I LOVE hostels, there's always an adventure to be had in them! It used to be research, now, it's just fun. At this time, I was still saying it was research =) This was the first hostel I stayed in, the Halifax Backpackers. It was fun!

This was the wedding venue. Sort of a hippy, organic farm, eco-tourism place. I think the drive from Nova Scotia proper was at least an hour. It was beautiful and it was green, and traversed bridges, it was a grand adventure!

This was my little bed. I got to stay with the wedding party. I was overwhelmed with the generosity and kindness of these two families in including me for this event. I was touched in many ways, during this trip....

Beauty from the property 

This rooster. Angus (because there's ALWAYS an Angus....), who was the brother of the very Scottish bride, Ali, said, of below, "Ahhh.....just what any wedding needs. An alarm cock!" Quote of the day, for sure, perhaps of the entire event. LOL

The ceremony. There are so many more, but this was their day, I love my friends and they were both beautiful and I was beyond honored to be able to be there with them.

There is a Scottish tradition in weddings....where someone in the family concocts a bucket of boozy goodness, it is called the Cog. There are family recipes for this going back centuries and they are a source of secrecy and pride. There is always ale and whiskey involved. This one was quite potent, pretty darn good. It gets passed around at the wedding until it's empty, to send good felicitations to the couple being handfast or married.

After the wedding, I was returned to a second hostel. This one was in the Gayborhood! Yay! And right around the same time as Pride! SO FUN! The welcome board at the hostel is the second pic. I thought that was a tremendous idea, to be inclusive and make everyone feel like they had a place. And if someone's place or language wasn't there, they were invited to add it. 

On one of my days back in Halifax, I went on a cruise on an old style ship, around the harbor. It was a blast!

August

When I got back home, bestie and I went to a foodie event pre-Burning Man. It was at the Children's Discovery Museum. 

Before Burning Man this year, I was able to host a lovely friend from Australia, as she came to the big burn. I'd met her when I went over to New Zealand for their burn. Susanne! We went to visit my sister, then we all went up to Virginia City.

This old miner lives in VC, and his mule knows the owners of the shops. If they give him treats, he will stand in front of the shops and bray until his treats are brought to him. It's one of the most adorable things ever! 

On the way to Burning Man!

A sign on the road in to the Burn

Galaxia as she was being built.

Yes. 

The playa never disappoints.

Sunrise

This was an exceptionally awesome year for me. Chance encounters EVERYWHERE. This lovely lady was a campmate of mine from Kiwi Burn also. I hadn't spoken to her since Kiwi Burn and magically, we happened to pass each other at Burning Man! If you understand that there are 70,000 people there and we had made no plans about how or when to meet beyond, "See you on playa!" you will know how amazing this is. And if you've ever experienced "playa-dipity" you'll know how magical it is and of course it happened!

I invited my bestie on a Regional outing and this, too, was pretty magical.

A good friend from Phoenix who I've been friends with for a very long time....over twenty years in 2024. Scotto! This was a somewhat planned encounter in that he is the mayor of a village, but sometimes I'm able to catch him, and sometimes not. This year, the odds were in my favor!

Amazing playa vehicles

Another Kiwi Burn friend encounter. This is Troy. We also met there and have tried to stay in touch.

Checking out the art in Center Camp Cafe.

One of my co-regionals, Dale and our friend Nikki

On the mentioned Regional Event art car. This was one of the best!

I try to always capture one sunrise and one sunset. This might be a rise, looks like it's from Ranger HQ, and I generally work the early morning shifts. Beauty!

Happy Birthday Husband!

September

My friend Sten-Erik. Actually met him working an event in Costa Rica, he's also a gem. 

One of Sten's campmates wives CROCHETED or KNITTED LEDERHOSEN for all the male members of their camp. The level of awesome this is cannot be over stated LOL

Cylus baby.

Susanne had some time to stay after the Burn, so it was super fun to be able to take her and share with her the Great Reno Balloon Races!

Kat and Elvis and me and Susanne. When I think back to times like this, I appreciate Elvis' friendship and I miss him. 

Bestie and I also took her to Tahoe. 

This is a photo someone made of Galaxia burning. It is very striking. 

We got a different tractor from a wildlife rescue. This is us getting ready to cross the highway at 5mph in the 1941 Ford 9N Tractor!

ANOTHER Kiwi burn connection. Bibo has his bus at our off-grid property and is also a dear friend. LOVE this man!

Also went to the lake with these two awesome friends. This was when the lawsuit settled after getting creamed in the Pontiac by a semi. Dan was injured pretty badly. This was pure celebration! 

We got a UTV because that seemed important for the property.

THEN, I got to go to Phoenix to spend a bit of time with my brother. My relationship with my brother is complicated, but the bottom line is that now, in 2024, he's the only one I have left. This was a great little vacay and sort of a "dream come true/do everything we want to do" visit to Phoenix. We went to the Children's museum....this was taken there.

The notable thing about THAT is that they have a HAM Radio station, staffed with older retired-guy volunteers, IN the museum! This is SO COOL because HAM's are mostly older people, but HAM radio is an amazing experience and a valuable skill to have! These are the guys I talked to when I was there, and it was a great time! I'd LOVE to do something like this in Reno!

We went to the Zoo, and we had a great time. We got there first thing so we could get through and then get into Air Conditioning before Phoenix became hot as Hades. We fed the giraffe's and rode camels! The reason I say this was a bucket list trip is because the tickets for this Zoo excursion were free, through my brother, and the local Phoenix library. What a great idea! So, we "upgraded" and did ALL of the fun things at the Zoo. I was one of those kids who often KIND of got to do the cool stuff, but it was often all my mom could do to get us IN to whatever place we were visiting, so I always appreciated her doing that, but we often didn't get to do all the "extra" fun things, like feeding the animals or riding them. I sort of feel like it was a tribute to my mom, to have that "bucket list" Zoo excursion with my brother. I imagine her smiling down on us and enjoying us being adult kids. I love you, Mama!

That's it for quarter three! Only one more quarter left of 2018! Revisiting these memories has been good for my soul!

Peace, returning!