Mistr

Yesterday evening ended up just being cooking and cleaning up after that. Elf did a load of dishes earlier in the day so I had the stove clear for cooking. 💓 I made @Heidi's yummy split pea soup. I already had the stock and peas cooked, so this entailed chopping and sauteing veggies. I also cooked summer squash with mushrooms, onions and fresh basil and garlic chives (from the garden). I felt good about cooking the summer squash and mushrooms before they got beyond hope (which would be soon). I was hoping for relaxation time too, but cooking took too long. I may get in a little knitting time tonight after aikido. This morning I opted for more sleep instead of exercise. I think that was a wise choice. At lunchtime I opted for sitting zen. Zen revealed that I am worried about a bunch of things. Okay brain, I get the message. I got a trip set up for later in October. Elf may come with me if they are feeling better. A recent change to their meds has taken all their energy. They are going to talk to their doctor about changing it again because the new meds are worse than the problem. I didn't either until two years ago. Inflammatory joint issues caused by food are well known in the medical world, but not in the popular press. Dairy is only one of several common culprits. If I still have random pain in November, I will try the low FODMAP recommendations.

You have lovely hair! I can see how it would be challenging to do fancy braids with that much hair to manage. You would need to use clips like a hairstylist to keep the tresses out of the way. I am sorry that the dietary recommendations are getting so frustrating. It is hard when it takes weeks to see results and you can't be sure which foods caused what.

Great job on getting all your things packed! Can you pack up some of the things you don't need immediately in boxes and have your uncle ship them to you when you find a job and a place to stay? It would not be too much work for him if they are already packed securely. @Jean may be able to give you some advice about places to go and job hunting in Switzerland. Absolutely give yourself grace about your other goals. Getting things ready to move was your top priority. I hope you find something that works well for you!

He missed a point for Crura impello. I have most of the graphic novels. We ordered them during Covid. They are mostly short stories that add depth to the main story. For example, one tells about how a haunted car came to be kept in the carriage house at the Folly. In a later novel, Peter mentions that his car is parked as far away from the haunted car as possible. You don't need to know the backstory, but it ties things together. There is more character development for some of the minor characters.

My new goal for the next two weeks is no dairy except butter. No cheese on anything, no buttermilk-based sauces, nada. No more of the yummy lasagna I made on Sunday. Yesterday I had a piece of lasagna for lunch, along with a piece of brightly colored dessert that turned out to be cheesecake. I had no regrets until my hip twinged. This time I remembered that joint pain is an inflammatory response, so i took ibuprofen right away. I took another 800mg before going to bed and that seemed to help. I want to see if the random aches and pains get better if I cut out dairy. In addition to cooking lasagna, I made stock and French green lentils. My co-op has four types of lentils: red, brown, green, and French green. No black lentils. I am going to try them all and see if there is any difference in flavor or texture. Elf cooked pot roast, so we do have other healthy food for this week. The weekend was busy, as usual. I went to aikido and had a CPR class on Saturday. On Sunday I went for a lovely hike with Dumbledore and did chores and cooking. Our big project was defrosting, cleaning and taking inventory of the chest freezer. I am happy to report that only a few items have been in the freezer for more than a year. I was thinking about the projects and fun things that did not fit in the weekend. Rather than being stressed, I cancelled on gaming tonight. I am going to take the time to cook two things (assuming the summer squash are still edible) and relax. Maybe even sit zen. The prospect of doing something fun gives me a lot of motivation to get things done quickly at work instead of whining about them.

^^^^^^^^^^^This I am so glad you are working in a better place. Good to know about the flax seed. I just picked up a bag of it to try increasing my fiber intake. I think it will go into granola bars first. We are rapidly moving out of smoothie season, but I might get a couple more this week and can try it. Muffins are starting to sound good too.

I am glad you had a good weekend and got to spend time with Vivian. Great job getting two of your class discussions out of the way early! Twenty pages of notes certainly sounds like a lot to me. I am impressed with how well you are scheduling your work and staying on track to get it all done on time.

I love your game reports. I used to play Moria back in the day. It was an earlier and simpler version of what you describe. I don't know that I ever won the game. It was fun, but I'm enjoying the graphics of my current game too much to want to go back to colored symbol characters.

I first read this as riding your bicycle to the dentist. I thought "wow, RES has not talked about biking as part of her cardio plan, that's awesome". Then I came to my senses. 🤣

I hear you on mixed feelings about the news at your job. In the perennial trade-off you will have more time and less money. It would have been nice if you could have made that choice instead of having it forced on you.

I can skip Monday or Wednesday class, and do when I need to. This week I had a work dinner on Wednesday, so I wanted to go to class on Monday. My aikido feels better when I go to at least two classes a week. I do my best to make it to the Wednesday class because my weapons partner is the instructor. Wednesday used to be my class (for teaching), so I have a commitment to being there as much as I can. I am feeling much better today. The sore throat feeling is gone. I also got nearly 8 hours of sleep, which makes a huge difference. This morning I sat zen and went for a walk before work. At lunchtime I washed the windows in the remodeled bedroom and washed some dishes. Tonight my first priority is to get the taxes DONE. Then I get to play my game in peace the rest of the evening.

Ouch, you have a lot to deal with over the next week. Good for you for going to talk with the psychiatrist in spite of the long travel time and feeling queasy. I am glad you got some good advice. Listening to the things you have told us, I think taking the medicine for a month would be a smart choice. You have a lot of real-world things to be worried about. Having anxiety on top of that is not going to make it easier. You can decide after a few days if the side-effects of the medicine are worse than the anxiety or not. Anything that helps you be more effective in implementing your plans will be good. As Kalitraz said, this is a temporary situation. You will be in a different place physically and emotionally by the end of the year. Once you have found your next landing spot, you can implement non-medicated approaches to anxiety.

I love your journals. 🥰 I'm glad to hear that you are taking care of yourself and being mindful of how you are spending your time.

I can report that I only felt like a capable adult part of the time when I was 55. Some things get to be easy, but other things are still hard. My sources tell me that most "capable adults" feel like they are just faking it convincingly, not really being adults.

Good for you setting boundaries around work and getting recognition for doing your part of the project! I have noticed that other people on my team often post that they started early and are leaving early. By doing what you did, you are a good example to others at your workplace.