Cold Weather Woes and Life Update

The older I get, the more I respect those who have taken this journey before me, and those who do so alongside me. It is so easy, when we are young, to take it all for granted, even if we don't consciously do so. We just assume we'll stay the way we are. 

My life changed when I hit 30, but it took 20 years for doctor's to finally give me answers. 

I put on over 140lbs in 16 months, and despite going back and forth to the base hospitals in both Little Rock AR and Sembach Germany, their observations were to do with me now eating American food and needing more exercise. Nothing had changed in my life. I still walked all over the place, danced, and cooked "English" with lots of veggies and smaller portions of meat, plus since I don't like butter, marg, oil, pasta, gooey sauces, and a lot of other foods that people trying to lose weight have to "give up", I disagreed with them but had no idea what was going on with my body.

It took my current doctor, back in 2004, to test me for thyroid issues and that was the answer. Medication followed but my body responds weirdly so we had to take down the dosage, meaning my metabolism stays slow, unfortunately. My resting heartrate is 45-50 bpm, but cold affects me badly and can take it down to mid-30s which feels very scary.

Winter also aggravates my arthritis, and I joke that it's a better weather forecaster than the meteorologists on tv. Last night's rain caused me a lot of gyp. Thankfully today the pain is less, muted somewhat, for which I am very thankful.

On a good note, today I made a step forward with the feral cat we call Roger (if he turns out to be a she then it will become Roja). He followed me into my laundry room when I put his food outside, so I closed the back door. He wandered into my kitchen and began yowling loudly, and I kept telling him he was ok. He came back into the laundry room, still yowling, and I closed the kitchen door. At that point, he started to get stressed, so I stroked him a couple of times and then opened the back door so that he could go out again. My goal is to try to get him comfortable in the laundry room so that he can come in out of the cold over the next few months. Then I can also get him/her shots and spayed. I have been able to put flea and tick drops on him with no problem so his life is a little less irritated.

My chickens are laying now, we are getting 2-4 eggs daily, and we let them out of their pen to roam free when we are outside with them. We have hawks flying around so I can't let them be free range all the time or they'll become hawk entrees. Their personalities have evolved, and Maybelline is def the boss now and "herds" the others. I love the feathering on her legs  Pollyanna often goes in the opposite direction to the other. Poppy tends to be the pain in the butt when we are trying to put them back in the pen, and Henrietta has lost some of her viciousness and settles more easily when being held.

Our 2nd birdfeeder, outside the bedroom window, is a winner with the smaller birds although the cardinals still tend to go for the large block feeder.

The sun is coming out now, so I'm hoping it'll dry up some of the yard before the next lot of rain.

Have a good day