The Man said our Wild Birdseed was low so I popped into the Grocer to get some more and exited with $106 worth of Groceries, how does that even happen?! *LOL* Yes, the Gourmet Brand Birdseed was on Sale at an incredible Savings too, but, what it cost me in shit I hadn't come to Buy was budget busting. *LMAO and Winks* Well, it all began with an Arctic Wind that suddenly blew in as soon as I arrived at the Grocery Store only a Block from our House! It had whipped up and was so bitter Cold and dumped the Temps considerably and immediately, I did not like it and had forgot my Coat. And so, when I coasted by the Meat Section and saw some lovely packs of Cubed Stew Meat on Sale, well, Stew seemed like Arctic Gale Force Weather Comfort Food to me, No? And so off I now went down that Rabbit Hole... and it was a Free Fall distraction to sticking with my List that just contained Wild Birdseed & Sodas! *LOL*
I got some Beef and Veggie Broths, bunches of Heirloom Colored Carrots with the Greenery Tops still on them, some Mexican Grey Squash, some Mexican Eggplant, Mini Baby New Potatoes and some Stew Seasoning called "Grandpa's Stew", so, we can blame it on The Man {Grandpa} if nobody likes it. *Winks* I was gonna put some Bicolor Sweet Corn Kernel Coblets in it too, but had no room left in the Crockpot, coz The Daughter went Wild chopping up the other fresh Veggies. We were down on Sodas and The Man's Peach Tea so I stocked up since all of those were on Sale as well. It didn't seem like that much Groceries for over a Hundred Bucks and especially since most everything had been on Sale that I bought, reduced considerably. Even the Seasoning Packets were BOGO Free, so I stocked up on those. I had bought Two packs of the Stew Meat to make another, but different Stew in a Day or so.
When I buy my Fresh perishable Groceries I only buy enuf for a Meal or Two, and prefer to shop daily for what's needed of Fresh items. You never know what will be on Sale or look really good in the Produce Section and I Wing it with making a Dish that will utilize what I buy on The Fly. *Smiles* The Mexican Eggplant is smaller and milder, often elongated, so one long one will usually do it, and the Mexican Grey Squash {above} I use a lot too, since it's a smaller Squash and always abundant here. With not focusing as much on the dire state of the Nation and our Politics, I can and am now focusing more on Healthy Living and Fresh mostly Plant Based Dietary changes we're making as a Family. Seems everyone is now on Board coz they're liking what I'm making and I haven't gone completely Vegan on them. *LMAOROTF* I actually like Vegan food, so have no opposition to eating it, just not exclusively.
I do find if I can make tasty enuf Fresh Foods that are predominantly Plant Based and quite flavorful, the Family is less inclined to want a lot of Meats in it, or Dairy Products in their Diet, or Junk Foods, and scale back considerably on consuming it. If you do get used to eating Fresh healthier Food you recalibrate pretty quickly to not having crazy Cravings for shit your Body just doesn't need and isn't actually nutritious or good for you. And you feel better and have more Energy, so, there's not any downside other than Shopping for perishables of Fresh ingredients more often, which, I don't mind at all. Or growing it yourself and harvesting it in Season. Which I also don't mind but is trickier. One becoz tho' we have a Year Round Growing Season, it is a Desert and keeping shit alive is challenging. Two, Wild Animals like your offerings too and raid your Gardens. They don't Care if they leave you any. *LOL*
I once had a Groundhog that took down all of my large Chocolate Mint Bushes like a Cartoon Character, by pulling the whole damned things down his Hole! His Breath must have been Minty Fresh, but I was distraught and had to change up planting them in the Ground to planting them in Pots. But, they'll still get to them if they want a Free Buffet Spread of whatever you're growing. So, tho' we do grow some of our own Food and Herbs, not an abundance of it coz it's a lot of Work for not a huge Harvest and cheaper to buy it Fresh from Local Grocers and Farmer's Markets, which, they pretty much have around the City every Weekend. The colorful Heirloom varieties of Veggies and Root Veggies are not only pretty and visually more interesting, but also contain a greater concentration of more phytonutrients and antioxidants.
The Daughter got used to eating more Fresh Foods and Home Cooking while in Mexico and learned to make a lot of the delicious Fresh Dishes. What is passed off as Mexican Food in America, is mostly an Americanized limited not so authentic version and not what you find in the Coastal Regions of Mexico she lived in and our Ex-SIL is from either in Central Mexico. They eat a lot more fresh Seafood, grilled foods, Goat, Lamb, Plantain, Pozole and such. Since, there's 32 distinct Regions in Mexico and even 65 Native American Cultures in Mexico, so the food is not monolithic. To say "Mexican Food" and limit it, means you've never been there and seen the incredible diversity of the Cuisine and Culture from various Regions. The differences are as varied as in various European Nations and Cultures. And you don't just say "European Food" when distinguishing France, England, Gaelic Countries, Italy, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Turkey, Eastern European and Scandinavian Countries.
The Stew turned out pretty good, I Loved the Broth the Spice Packet's made, I combined the "Grandpa's Stew" Packet of Spices with a "Pot Roast Stew" Packet of Spices to make the flavor profile we preferred. I found just the "Grandpa's" wasn't flavorful enuf, but combined with the "Pot Roast" one, perfect. The Veggies turned out awesome but I wasn't fond of the Stew Meat, but, The Man Loved that best, so, a matter of preference I suppose. It was Warm and Cozy to eat on a Cold Night, which was the main point of making a Comfort Food like Stew in the Winter. I like Crockpot Meals coz I'm no Culinary Jedi by any stretch of the Imagination. *Smiles* For the Daughter of a Talented Master Chef that is embarrassing to admit, but my Younger Brother Inherited the Natural Talent our Dad had with Cuisine, my Brother is an exceptional Cook. He just didn't make a Career of it.
My Dad taught our Mom everything she knew about Cooking and Baking, she became exceptional at it. But she joked that before meeting Dad, she couldn't even boil Water right. *LOL* Our Nanna said the only time Mom could Cook was when she was Sleep Walking. Yes, that's not a Joke, it's the Truth, Awake she couldn't Cook worth a damn. But our Nanna said she Slept Walked and could Cook anything during a Sleep Walking Episode, isn't that Weird? Nanna said she'd caught her many times in the middle of the Night Cooking but not really Awake, and she'd have made entire Meals she couldn't have made while Awake. She quit Sleep Walking in her late 20's and never did it again. The Daughter used to Sleep Walk too as a Child and quit doing it by her Teens. Anyway, I guess some things could be Hereditary and some things seem passed along via Genetics. The Culinary Jedi thing skipped over me. *LOL*
I binge watched more of LOST, learning more about the Character's Back Stories before they got stranded on the Island. Still in Season 1, so I have many more Binges to go to entertain myself. *Smiles* I never did get any Chores done I thought I would, I've been out of breath most of the day and really couldn't physically exert myself. I'll be Interested on Monday's Cardiology Appointment to hear what the Heart Monitor might reveal about what's going on with my Heart? Pretty sure something isn't Right coz I've never been this out of breath or fatigued in my life. Of coarse it could be Stroke related more than Heart related, I've Dr. Googled all that, of coarse. *Winks* Apparently Stroke can disrupt the Brain's Control Center for Breathing. Which can lead to abnormal Breathing Patterns, weakened Respiratory Muscles, and potential complications like aspiration Pneumonia. All of which can contribute to Shortness of Breath.
I don't know if it will get better or improve, I Hope so. When you're really fatigued and having Shortness of Breath doing practically nothing, well, it impairs function a lot. It means not a lot is getting Done by me anyway and I'm having to Nap so often that I Sleep a lot of Day away and need major Rest even if I do something minor. It's frustrating and has caused me some depression about it, I ain't gonna Lie, when you can't do what you want or need to, then it is a Head Trip for sure. My Head Space is sometimes not great due to it. But, I'm adapting to how it just is for now and realizing getting Down about it isn't particularly Helpful. I will talk to my Cardiologist frankly, just like I did with my Neurologist, the latter said I'm doing remarkably Well, so that was very Encouraging to hear, since, he sees a LOT of this kind of thing, it's his Specialty. The Cardiologist too, and he seemed to think I'm doing remarkably Well so soon after the Stroke. I'm just Impatient. *LOL*
The above is an Old Pix of my Animal Hide and Leather Club Chair, when I first laid Eyes on it. I bought it from my Friend Big Kenny many, many, Moons ago, and made Payments on it. We've been thru a lot of Chairs, even expensive Quality ones that just didn't last, but, this one has. It seems to get better with Age like the old 1920-1930's Style Club Chairs, which, are hard to find and usually too expensive when you do find one. My Friend Robert has had many Gentlemen's Club Antique Chairs For Sale from that Era, but, were out of my League to be able to afford to purchase. I can be a Player at a certain price point. *Le Sigh* So are 19th Century Chesterfield Leather Sofa's, which, I always wanted one of those, an Antique one preferably. But, our Grey Leather Contemporary Sectional was the Top O' The Line of what I could actually afford to Buy on a payment program from the Seller. It's held up and seats more too. A Chesterfield can command well over Ten Grand. Not a Player at that price point.
We Love our Media Chairs, but have had to replace them fairly often, they just wear out. I feel we get our Money's Worth out of them, but the replacement keeps getting more expensive as the Years go by. The Two we have right now are in Fair shape. The Grey one I bought secondhand at Nan's Antique Store for about half the price it would have cost Retail. The Black one we got from a large Furniture Store Chain, MOR. The Black one will probably need replacement first, so I'm keeping my Eyes peeled now. Even tho' there's no budget for any major purchase at the moment, or perhaps for a long moment, or ever? *LOL and Le Sigh* You do get to the place where you know you are gonna just have to Make Do with whatever you have and that's about it, no wiggle room, and, that's where we stand this far into Retirement now. And me being too Sick now to Work any Side Hustles properly and more Medical and Home Maintenance expenses piled up to the hilt. It happens.
I feel Fortunate tho'. And am reminded of Dear Friends who've had it ever so much worse the way Fate just played out for them. Above is a Pix that reminded me of that. My Friends CeeCee and Charles Owned this Historic Property in Downtown Historic Glendale. It was not only their Home, but their Business. It was a Quaint Restaurant and Antique Store on the Lower Level and they Lived Upstairs. They ran an Occasional Sale out of the Garage Section, and this Home used to be Lovely and Charles was a Master Gardener. So the Grounds were fabulous and they Hosted Wedding Parties and such on the Front Lawn. Well, CeeCee got Sick. She lost her Sight first, then became Wheelchair Bound, Charles was Devoted to her and Sold Off everything, which meant along the Journey they eventually they had to Close the Restaurant and Shop.
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