Broccoli Surrenders

Recently I began considering new innovations in sprouting.  Behold.  I found the GEFU sprouting jar.  I mostly just liked the design.  The jar stood upright instead of propped at an angle in a bowl.  It looked neater and took up less space on the counter.  So I bought the GEFU.  I did think it was a little silly to spend money on a sprouter just because it was cute when I had lots of jars and lids for sprouting.  

The arrival day came, and I immediately put a tablespoon of broccoli seeds in it and filled it with water.  I had a little trouble with it because the lid doesn't unscrew.  It pops out like a stopper.  The lid has little legs on it that hold it over its little tray that it sits on and drains into.  Rather than screw off the lid, one rinses it through the mesh screen in the lid.  

The next day I drained the water and rinsed the seeds four times as per instructions.  I did this once a day for a few days.  

I was startled and thrilled to see how much the broccoli loved this thing.  The upside down setup seemed to keep the seeds hydrated and I saw that the sides of the jar were moist and a little foggy.  Wow.  The roots were going crazy with growth.  The position of the tray seemed to supplement the water supply for the sprouts also.  

So I was in business.  In a few effortless days I had lush broccoli sprouts.  I really couldn't get over it.  The jar seemed to be magical.  

I had purchased a couple of other sprouting items.  One was a set of sprouting lids for Mason jars. 

If you look closely you can see that the lids also have little legs so one can turn the sprouting jar upside down.  In the center is a deeper thingy for filling the jar with water.  So it works like the other sprouter that it isn't necessary to remove the lid to rinse the sprouts.  I liked the plastic better because in the past I've used stainless steel mesh lids and they rusted.  Stainless steel is not actually rustproof, just rust resistant.  So I thought after a while I would find it necessary to replace the lid on the GEFU jar.  The inside of the lid also has a nice silicone seal.  So it's a superbly thought out sprouting lid.  

I also bought a new sprouting jar, although it was also a silly purchase since I have Mason jars everywhere I can use.  

Here's the beautiful new sprouting jar.  

Well, how did it go?  This jar is nice because it's two quarts, although I do have two quart Mason jars.  I supposed I would use it for mung sprouts.  So guess what?  It does have a mesh lid for sprouting, but I was surprised to discover that the size of the mouth of the jar is not a standard Mason wide mouthed jar size!  So my new lids didn't fit my new jar.  How terrible!  And this lid didn't have the little legs on it.  Oh disappointment!  

Then when I harvested my broccoli sprouts, I tried my GEFU lid on my new jar.  Surprise!  It was a perfect fit.  So I put some mung seeds in the new jar and started some mung sprouts.  I put them on the counter and put a small black plastic bag over them.  I like this system better than my old one, which was to keep them in a cabinet so it would be dark.  Just like the broccoli, the mung sprouts were delirious with joy, growing like weeds, and I finally ate some today.  They were very good and had a better root system than my sprouts usually have.  

I did also put a new sprouting lid on a two quart Mason jar and sprouted mung beans in that too at the same time.  Those turned out beautifully also.  

I've been so impressed with the GEFU  sprouter that I bought two more. And I've been able to have more broccoli sprouts on a regular basis now.  So this makes me happy happy happy.  

My refrigerator is packed with sprouts now.  I must have eaten three cups of them today.  The broccoli sprouts are living in a quart and a half plastic container I bought take out soup in.  My, they're happy.  Days have passed but they're still fluffy and hydrated with no attention at all.  

So finally the broccoli sprouts have capitulated and started growing easily and abundantly.  Maybe praying for them helped.  

P.S.  Mason jars are fine things except that they're so austere and utilitarian.  So looking a sprouting jars took me to other possibilities in Mason jars.  I bought a set of four blue one.  I was about to buy a different brand and read the comments.  It turned out the seller didn't use blue glass, but painted blue decoration jars.  Yikes.  Who would have imagined the craziness involved in buying jars?  Anyway, now I have pretty Mason jars too.  The black things are labels.  

Surprise Finding Yields a Possible Tumor Fighting Drug

https://clinicalconnection.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/surprise-finding-yields-a-possible-tumor-fighting-drug

Reversal of Aging

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/acel.13028

Fasting Update 7

Back in about the second week of September I tossed in the towel on my fasting plan.  I wanted to fast four days a week for 26 weeks.  What happened?  I suppose at the 14 week mark the level of muscle cramps had escalated to the point that I quit the fast.  The muscle cramps would be from electrolyte imbalance, which one ignores at their peril.   And worst of all I couldn't sleep either.  

Why would I do such a thing?  Because I had read a study published by Valter Longo and his group of researchers saying that mice that had been fasted weekly for four days for six months had regrown chemically damaged insulin producing cells in the pancreas to the point that they were once again normal mice.  These were mice that could not have survived their injuries more than a few weeks otherwise. This happened because the fasts caused the mouseketeers to cannibalize damaged cells for sustenance during the fast, then replace these tissues with brand new ones by producing stem cells.  It wasn't my pancreas that troubled me. It was my legs, especially my left leg.  The big problem has been pain.  I felt like I was walking on broken glass.  

On the theory that fasting four days a week for six months would  regenerate my legs, I set off to accomplish this.  

I had a friend who was traveling to Memphis to have stem cell therapy. Reading about this, I wasn't sure about the quality of stem cell therapy in the US.  Some have gone abroad as medical tourists to have this done, because regulations in some foreign countries allow newer techniques.  The biggest obstacle is the cost.  I would say at least $30,000 and that's for a maybe. 

Still, I wanted to try stem cell therapy, therefore trying to get my own body to do the work was an intriguing prospect.  

They, people who have had stem cell therapy and doctors and researchers, say that the stem cell magic happens in the days and weeks following the therapy, since it is a matter of waiting for new tissue to regenerate.  And so two months are usually required to gauge the level of improvement.  

At first I wasn't sure I had had that much success.  But two months after ending the fast, it's obvious that things have changed for me.  I would estimate my improvement  of pain levels at 75 - 80%.   I'm not sure how much pain relief translates into normal walking because so far I've just gotten to the point of noticing that I can do more chores.  I guess I would say that before my ability to keep going when I walked or stood was about five or 10 minutes.  After that it took me about an hour to be able to manage more effort. Now I have noticed that I can go for 20 minutes anyway.  Can I go shopping at the mall?  Can I go for a long walk?  I don't think I'm there yet.  I can go into the gas station on a trip and shop at the convenient store and powder my nose.  I couldn't do that before.  That caused me a lot of anxiety.  I can walk normally into a theater or restaurant.  I couldn't do that before either.  I walked into a field nearby and picked some pears a few days ago.  I couldn't have done that six months ago.  I stand at counters in businesses waiting my turn.  That was a nightmare in the past.  I carried a box outside to the postman.  That was something I couldn't do.  People didn't notice much that I didn't walk.  When they saw me, everyone was just sitting down talking and visiting.  Sometimes they would be annoyed because I would ask people to serve me at a meal, thinking I should get up and do it myself.  Buffets were impossible.  So the things that have changed would probably not seem like giant changes, but they have improved things a lot for me.  

What's my plan now?  Now I am trying the "one meal a day" (OMAD) plan.  I eat breakfast and then nothing until breakfast the next day.  Also, I'm on a ketogenic diet. I thought I wouldn't get enough food to survive that way.  Well, maybe not forever.  Just for the time being.  This hasn't been nearly as difficult as a fast.  The great thing about it is my ketogenic diet has worked a lot better on this plan.  I never seemed to be in ketosis, and I need to be in ketosis to reap all the benefits.  But with OMAD I was surprised to checked my ketones and see I was at the point I was at with a full fledged fast.  My fasting blood glucose has gone from 109 to 93.  And on this plan my weight is dropping.  

So that's life in the big city.  

Broccoli Wins Battle, Loses War

I really thought I had won with the broccoli sprouts.   I rinsed them and drained them for a few hours in the dish drainer, and the rest of the time I kept them in the refrigerator.  I went to the extent of rinsing them with chilled, distilled water for a while, but then switched to filtered, chilled water. Finally I was happy to see I had a crop of broccoli sprouts.  I ate some of them.  

This morning when I got up I ran to see how my broccoli sprouts were doing.  They had not been put in the refrigerator overnight because I had forgotten.  I thought it would be OK because the weather was cooler and it was night.

I took some broccoli sprouts out, thinking I was going to eat them.  

And then.  Pandemonium.  

There was a centipede in the broccoli sprouts.  My first reaction was to scream.  Then I decided it must die.  As you can imagine, it sensed trouble and managed to escape.  

I am getting upset about the broccoli sprouts.  It has occurred to me that I left out something.  Did I pray for my sprouts?  No.  I forgot.  

This made me think.  One day I saw a video about protecting your property from evil.  The message was, "Walk around the perimeter of your property and pray over it.  As you walk around and pray, take olive oil with you and anoint the ground." I thought, "Why not?"  I had a gallon of olive oil and I walked around the whole edge of my property and prayed for God's protection.  I also anointed my car and prayed for it.  

Is there evil lurking in the bushes?  I actually think there is.  One day I was sitting on the back deck, reciting verses.  

Suddenly I saw a man in a hoodie directly before me.  He was turned to the side so that I couldn't see his face.  Weird.  

It was in the fall, and a lot of the leaves were brown, but it wasn't a chilly day.  Even if it were, who would show up standing in front of me with his hoodie up apparently trying to hide his face?  

I stared at the man and he began to very slowly walk away, as if he were trying to move slowly enough that I wouldn't notice.  He made no noise as he walked on the dead leaves, even though he was only a few feet away.  

Who was he?  Why was he standing in front of me?  Could he not have noticed me there?  I had been reciting verses aloud not far from him.  How long had he been there?  I was very unsure about the wisdom of approaching him, so I watched carefully to see where he went.  I couldn't think of a good explanation for him, or the strange way he moved ever so slowly, as if he were a cloud drifting across the sky.  

Eventually, he approached the far edge of my yard, still though, not very far away.  Then...poof!  The man was gone.  Where did he go?  It looked like he became less and less distinct until he wasn't there at all.  

Was I frightened?  I was a little spooked, especially after his weird way of leaving.  

But if it were actually a ghost or spirit, I did notice that it never came on my property.  It walked along the property line where I had walked and prayed for protection.  

Therefore, there is some reason to believe that evil lurks in the bushes.   And also that it can be warded off with prayer.  

So if evil lurks in the bushes, maybe it is after the produce.  

Oh??  I'll pray for my broccoli sprouts.  

UPDATE

I am still puzzling over the man in the hoodie.  He was very strange and hard to explain.  I told the neighbors about him.   They explained that he was probably a hunter.  Well, it wasn't hunting season, and hunters don't wear khaki.  They usually wear orange so no one mistakes them for a deer.  And he didn't have a rifle.  Besides that, his appearance in front of me, and then his disappearance as I watched made me wonder if he was a ghost.  Or maybe an evil spirit.  

But wait.  One final possibility.  He could have been an angel.  I was reciting verses from Scripture when he appeared.  I saw an angel story recently of an angel that came to help a man in a car accident that walked out of the woods dressed in a hoodie, and climbed into the car and assisted the man.  The man never saw his face because of the hoodie.  That's a similar MO to my experience.  

Why would an angel walked slowly along the perimeter of my yard?  Hmmm.  I don't know.  They are mysterious.  Maybe he was guarding my property.  That would be nice.  Besides that, evil spirits are averse to Scripture, so it wouldn't make sense for an evil spirit to appear when one is reciting verses. Then was the man an angel?  That's one explanation.  That's the one I like.  

The other explanation is that it was my neighbor wearing a hoodie and wandering around near my yard.  Maybe he just didn't notice me. Maybe when he walked off his clothing made him harder to see.  Or was I just imagining this?  No, this wasn't my imagination.  

Maybe he was a clown playing head games with me. 

Who was that man anyway?

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and the Four Beasts of the Apocalypse Part One

Revelation 6 Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV)

6 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. 2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. 4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and seethou hurt not the oil and the wine.

7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. 8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 10 and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? 11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; 13 and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Are these the days of fulfillment of the prophesies in the Book of the Revelation?  There is reason to believe so.  One of the intriguing events described is the coming of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.  

Sometimes overlooked in this discussion are the Four Beasts, or "living creatures," described in Revelation 4:7, that introduce each of the Four Horsemen.  I'll make this easier to refer to with a chart:

Beast 1  A lion                 Horseman 1  A conqueror

Beast 2  An ox                 Horseman 2  War  

Beast 3  A man's face      Horseman 3  Famine

Beast 4  An eagle             Horseman 4  Death and Hell

It all begins with the Lamb opening the first seal in the Throneroom of God.  The Lamb is Christ. What are these seals?  The Book of the Revelation is about the judgments of God on the earth.  The judgments are divided into Seven Seals, Seven Trumpets and Seven Bowls.  The first four seals are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, which are each introduced by one of the Four Beasts.  

Do the Horseman arrive individually or concurrently?  The text introduces them individually, but they may arrive all at the same time.  I would guess they are not far apart. Who are these Beasts?  Who are these Horsemen?  The Beasts are cherubim that stand before the Throne of God.  The Horsemen are earthly entities.  

When I say the Horsemen are earthly entities, I mean that they are personifications of either literal people who will be in the world, or else of categories of earthly events.  For example, when we speak of the Grim Reaper, do we speak of a literal person?  Most of us understand the Grim Reaper to be a personification of death.    And while many commentaries struggle to identify the Rider of the First Horse, is a literal person even being referred to?  I don't know.   Not so much ink is spilled trying to identify the Rider on the Second Horse - War.  No one asks, "Who is War?"  "How can War ride a horse?"

Why is prophesy so hazy, like dreams?  This is a mystery.  




















The First Beast is like a lion.  He introduces the First Horseman, who rides a white horse and holds a bow.  He wore a crown and went forth conquering and to conquer.  A lion introduces  a man with a crown, military weapons, and is a conqueror.  Who is he?  Why does he ride a white horse?  Does he speak of an actual person?  He could be a literal person, or he may represent the political theater of the time.  He could even represent the final empire.   Why is the horse white?  I'm working on that.  

The Second Beast is "like a calf."  Why did I use "an ox" on my chart then?  Because the translation of the original text could mean calf or ox.  More on that later.  The Second Horseman rode a red horse and carried a sword.  The power to take peace from the earth was given to him.  Is he a literal person?  He is usually thought to  personify war.   Why is the horse red?  I would guess that the color represents the color of bloodshed.  

The third controversial figure is the Third Horseman riding a black horse.  He is introduced by the Third Beast, who "had the face of a man."  The Third Horseman is usually said to be famine.   He holds balances in his hand, and a voice is heard saying, "A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny, and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine."  A measure of wheat would be what a man would usually eat in a day.  A penny would be the amount a man would earn in a day.  Connecting the dots, one sees that food is expensive, because it would cost all one could earn just for food.  On the other hand, does this Rider represent famine because food is mentioned?  Money is also mentioned.   This may be the personification of economic turmoil.  While there may be food, it may become exorbitantly expensive.  Why is this horse black?  Is he somehow juxtaposed with the white horse of the First Horseman?  

The Fourth Beast was "like a flying eagle."  He introduces the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse, Death and Hell, riding a pale horse.   Why a pale horse?  I think this suggests a corpse.  This whole quartet describes the atmosphere ushering in the earth's darkest days.  

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.  

to be continued.  

More Insane Parcels of Ginger Ale

This is what is ordered.  What I received is a priority mail parcel that I haven't opened.  It was soaked with ginger ale that had been bashed to pieces in shipping.  The box had been opened and torn to bits and taped back together high and low.  The cans had been removed, then replaced, with all the ginger ale cans opened and poured out into the box.  

Why?  As I have said before.  It says ginger ALE.  This is a dry county.  It has been impossible of obtain ginger ale or root beer at this address.  

The tattered remains of the box had a label, "Received Damaged."  Really?  I would never accept a parcel in this condition.  I found the parcel outside.  

That's how crazy it is here.  

Oh, it's "Not eligible for a refund."  We'll see.   Anyway, I don't like ginger ale anymore.  I like  Orange Crush.  

My Lettuce Arrived Over at the Aquatic Center

I made my rounds today at the Aquatic Center and the Post Office lobby.  

I have never seen so much lettuce in my life!!  I was ready with my brown bag and took six heads.  

Besides that there was an amazing amount of cauliflower.  I went home and put away the lettuce and came back for the cauliflower.  I really have never seen so much produce.  There was a woman there who left empty handed.  "Don't you like cauliflower?" I asked.  She said it had been out since yesterday evening and wasn't fresh.  I was horrified to realize my timing was off.  I could have gotten my goodies yesterday evening.  Well, good to know for future reference.  But she didn't want this cauliflower.  Really?  It looked like Walmart cauliflower.  True.  "Where do you like to shop?" "Kroger." "Me too."  Walmart really should go to Kroger and see how it's done.  

But I was thrilled with the cauliflower.  It was in big plastic milk crates, well, twice that size.  I toyed with the idea of loading a crate in my trunk, but besides the fact that I think they wish I wouldn't do that, I'm not sure I'm that strong.  So I staggered away with all the cauliflower I could carry.  Another lady was there, just ecstatic over the gift of cauliflower.  She told me she loves cauliflower.  

I'LL NEVER BE HUNGRY AGAIN!!!!   😊😊😊🥦🥬🥒🍅🌶

My New Mailbox Has Been Screwed Onto the Post

The big mailbox day has arrived.  It should be declared a holiday.  And how did it go?  Well, I guess I meet Post Office code.  I managed to screw the screws into one side.  When two of them were about halfway, that little voice in my head started saying, "Start two screws on the other side before you screw those in all the way."  Ignore this voice at your peril.  But I ignored it.  

One side was secured and I went over to the other side.  Uh oh.  The little shelf didn't reach all the way to the other side.  Did I start over?  No, I tried to screw the screws in on the other side anyway.  They went in about a third of an inch.  I tested the door and the latch.  It was working.  

It looks pretty good.  Yay!

The Broccoli Wins

First, I'll admit, I've been puzzled with my many broccoli sprout successes over the summer.  There's nothing broccoli hates more than hot weather.  Was it the quality of the seeds?  I don't think so.  They were seeds I've had for a long time and had lots of trouble with.  Was it the number of cosmic rays?  The broccoli grew like weeds all summer for no good reason.  

But suddenly I realized I had a crop failure.  Why?  I have read what others think.  I didn't rinse them often enough.  How often?  Hourly.  Get up twice at night and rinse them.  Grow them in the refrigerator.  Drain them endlessly, which they will need because you keep smothering them with water.  Even suggestions that you speak words of encouragement to them.  I'm afraid to do that.  They might get sassy and rebel.  

They have rebelled in fact.  You don't want that.  If you've ever decided not to clean out the refrigerator because you can't face what you might find, you'll know the sort of dread I faced when the broccoli decided to head south.  

So I puzzled over quelling the broccoli rebellion.  Meantime, more broccoli sprout triumphs in the war they have decided to wage against me.  

What to do?  I took them into the bedroom once and tried to grow them there.  The bedroom filled with gnats.  I put them in a clear plastic bin with a lid.  The gnats loved it.  

I put them in the refrigerator.  I turned up the air conditioning.  Grow lights?  No.  More sunlight?  No.  Less sunlight? No.  Take them out to the shed?  Pamper them?  There is no amount of pampering that will satisfy a broccoli sprout. Build them their own little climate controlled house?   Someone is selling a tray for about $200 with little replaceable pads ($35 each) for growing "delicious, nutritious" broccoli sprouts.  Has it come to that?  Maybe a regular old plastic tray with paper towels on the bottom to anchor the roots.  

If it weren't for all the cauliflower the health food charities gave me, I would have gotten no sulforaphane at all yesterday.  

The broccoli won again today.  The alfalfa is growing like weeds. 

Mailbox Houses

I would never have thought the mailbox issue could get so complex.  I used all the tender loving care in the world getting my post ready for its marriage to the new mailbox.  Yes, it's beautiful.  OK, the post is cockeyed.  It occurred to me that when it was put in the ground, no concrete was used to ensure its stability.  I'm pretty sure I'm correct on this because I've scrutinized it and there just isn't any concrete holding the post in place properly.  

But that's not the worst of the way the job was originally done.  I guess I can live with a cockeyed post except for the thought that concrete would have protected the part in the ground from the elements.  

But the real mischief was seeing the way the mailbox was attached to the post.  It definitely wasn't screwed on or nailed on, even though someone had put predrilled holes in the little shelf to attach the box with.  No, no.  It was glued on.  The glue was still to be seen on the bottom of the box and the top of the shelf.  Probably just Elmer's glue. It's hard to wrap your head around.  

And so I've been left to figure out the installation of mailboxes on my own.  What an education.  

Driving around the local roads I've been more aware of the mailbox efforts around here.  Desperate little nods to the Post Office.  Mostly no one goes to very much trouble with them.  To speak plainly, they are pathetic eyesores, unworthy of the US Mail.  And maybe this explains some of the strangeness that happens to mailboxes at night, around the witching hour.   Sooner or later one goes out to check the mail and finds the mailbox smashed to pieces with a baseball bat, maybe by someone who just couldn't take the scruffiness of it another second.  One might wonder if it was someone that was angry with them.  Was it a message from an enemy? Usually it is blamed on "kids." Did I ever bash up any mailboxes as a kid?  Goodness no.  If I had I would have been torn limb from limb by my parents.  

But once your mailbox has been taken out with a baseball bat, it makes you think.  And that's why you'll sometimes notice that some of the mailboxes have little mailbox houses built just for them.  

Hey.  Nice.  Try taking that out with a baseball bat you little witches.   I wonder what new level of terror they'll come up with to defeat this fortress?  Someone put a squirrel in a mailbox once.   There was a panic when the mailman opened the box and the squirrel lunged at them.  This is illegal btw. 

I've turned the whole problem over in my head.  How to protect my mailbox.  Well, at the whack of a bat, the top of the mailbox flips off springing a hidden giant mousetrap.  Or maybe the whack trips the pit next to the mailbox to open causing the "kid" to plunge into the abyss as a net tangles him up and ensnares him.  Heh heh heh. You come out to get the mail, notice a baseball bat lying in the road and a whimpering voice saying, "Help me. Please. Help me."  "Do you swear by all that's holy never to hit my mailbox with a baseball bat again?" you ask.  "Yes, anything..."  

I hope in a day or two I'll be back in the good graces of the Post Office and have my mailbox installed on the post.  I tried already to screw it on, but I haven't been able to get the screws in.  Mother wants to try to do it.  I just can't seem to get them started.  I know, there are predrilled holes, but they aren't in exactly the right place for this box.  I imagine a hammer would start the screws better.  

More pretty mailboxes:  

Fasting Update 6

Some may have realized that the fast has ended.  For now.  I have to rethink this.  

I am really happy with my results.  The main purpose was to heal a leg injury because it was painful.  Is it all healed?  I am happy to say that for several days I am to the point of at least 65% improvement.  Maybe 70%.  I am unbelievably encouraged with this.  

Some people have told me that only the "gullible" believe the studies about the effects of fasting on health.  OK, color me gullible. 

Are my fasting days over?  Am I content with my level of improvement?  Well, I think things happen in stages. I was having too many problems with the fast to keep going for now. It's not my first experience with having to stop a fast early.  The length is just a guesstimate anyway.  

After fasting the body in its wisdom starts to proliferate stem cells to regrow some of the areas it had weeded out in the fast.  This is the point where amazing things start to happen.  It's called the refeeding period.  Be careful if you fast.  Refeeding is also when one can run into trouble.  Refeed slowly.  

Besides reduction in pain to a wonderful degree, I have noticed that my blood pressure is down to perfection:  111/72.  This has happened for more than a week now, in that vicinity.  

My weight?  Oh well.  Maybe a little improvement.  

For the time being I'll probably go on one day fasts about once a week and let it go at that.  

New Mailbox Nears Completion

The mailbox recovery program has moved  along.  Astonishingly rapid progress has been made.  

I don't remember how the mailbox ever arrived when it was first put up.  I remember it was somehow put on the opposite side of the road and the Post Office ordered us to move it across the street.   

I really thought that was the end of the mailbox journey and I would have a mailbox indefinitely.  It was not to be.  

Since I was not involved in erecting the mailbox in the first place, I was not aware of the difficulties one faces making them happen.  

The old mailbox was hauled away on Monday and a new mailbox bought at Walmart with the stickers you need for your address.  

Fine.  The post was a wreck.  The area is so shady it was covered in algae and damaged some in places from cracks and the start of decay.  Well, might as well clean it up.  

Yesterday I sanded the whole post with sandpaper and then took a gallon jug of Clorox/water and scrubbed it with that.  It looked much better.  It was ready for paint as soon as it dried overnight, which I thought would keep it in good shape for a while.  

Sanding didn't seem easy.  I had planned to hire someone to sand it and paint it, but the man that was going to do that somehow was too injured and wouldn't be able to help.  Oh no.  So I got the sanding done.  That took me most of the afternoon yesterday.  Yuck.  That's no fun.  

Surely help was on its way today.  Nope.  Oh no!!  So I got some dark green paint with algaecide in it and painted it.  Then I waited for it to dry and gave it a second coat.  Oh it looked pretty.  Christmasy.  

I was exhausted but I was content in the knowledge that mine was the most beautiful mailbox in the neighborhood jungle.  I really couldn't believe how much work it was to paint the mailbox post.  

I drove away and looked at the neighbor's mailboxes as I left.  Oh, they were grim, almost shabby old things.  Boring grey metal boxes on posts that looked like black fence posts.  Then my post, and the soon to be crown of a beautiful new mailbox.  The joy of Christmas.  Ho ho ho. Was the post not quite straight?  I didn't care.  It was beautiful.  

I drove down the road and just before I passed the fire department my heart stopped.  What was this?  Why hadn't I noticed this before?  Competition with my glorious mailbox.  On my right was a lovely home, a newer home, white, with a stunning red metal roof.  And?  On my left a brand new white mailbox with a nice perfect address and and......  a gorgeous red newly painted post.  It was as pretty as pretty could be.  

Well, I comforted myself that I was in an elite club of those with Christmasy mailboxes in the neighborhood and hopefully the other neighbors will come up to speed and do something about their frumpy mailboxes cluttering the road.  Maybe I should put notes in their mailboxes.  

Maybe I'll discretely include images of mailboxes that would improve the local drive down the road, rather than the embarrassment that is.   Anonymously.

  

The Return of Post Office Day.

Every day is Columbus Day for me!  Every Wednesday at least.  Time for the Post Office haul.  

It was Wednesday and I rushed to the Post Office lobby to see what St. Christopher brought me.  Chayote, tamarind, and radishes?  I recognized the radishes, and since I am a salad lover, I took a few.  I went ahead and took a chayote and a basket of tamarinds our of curiosity.  

My dear mother showed up a little while after that with a head of lettuce.  She likes to go swimming, and said they give away produce on Wednesdays at the "aquatic center."  I rushed off to the aquatic center.  

When I got to the general vicinity of the aquatic center, I realized I didn't know where it was.  

I drove around a little and saw an imposing structure on a hill.  Well, let's go see.  The sign said, "County Senior Center."  I wasn't sure, but I went in.  I saw a big room that looked liked a cafeteria, and several ladies "of a certain age" sitting at one of the tables.  "Is it lunch time?" I wondered.  I wish I had asked.  Instead, I was relieved to see boxes of produce on one table and asked if I could have some.  They all looked at me curiously, and their leader said yes.  

I wasn't seeing lettuce.  I saw celery, cauliflower, and radishes. 

I took one celery, two cauliflower, and one more radish to add to my Post Office collection.  I tried to take one more celery.  They had quite a bit, and no takers around.  And plus I'm selfish.  Suddenly the leader of the ladies at the table said, "You're only allowed one." "OK," I answered.  "Do you have any lettuce?"  "No sorry. Just what you see."  "OK THANK YOU!" I smiled and waved and dashed out with a brown paper bag of goodies. 

Wow.  This is great.  

I took the goodies home and asked my mother where the aquatic center is.  It seems she didn't know about the goodies over at the senior center.  She told me it was next to the senior center.  So I drove to the aquatic center and found out that the lettuce was gone! Oh no!!!! 

I'm happy anyway.