Enigma Uncensored

 Nick, my partner, is a Dungeon Master for Dungeons and Dragons. That means he makes up the stories and maps the players use to complete their quests. Hence, the title. We have a playful texting style, especially when talking about the cats, often attempting to see who can make the other laugh first. Yes, we text each other inside the house. Nick works long hours on his feet, I have a bad back, and neither of us wants to yell or walk down the hallway. It's just how we do. Besides, my hearing was the second thing to take a hit when I started aging, I'd never hear him no matter how loud he yelled.  I'm the Blue Bubble, He's the Gray Bubble As you can see, Nick won the laughter battle last night. The mini-series remark was Chef's Kiss. PS: The “mini series “ he’s referring to is “The Great” on Hulu. It’s a fictionalization of Catherine the Great’s rule. It’s not a mini series, I suppress my pedantry when we’re joking around. 

Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening Folks! You know what time of the week it is! It's time to saunter through our gardens and have a look at what nature with a little help from me has brought forth. As a reminder, I grow organically in Zone 9b year round. I started late in life and just began my fourth year gardening. I learned almost everything I know from Youtube, blog posts, and some gardening friends I've made along the way. Starting in the front yard, the lilies have bloomed! This is a swamp lily, scientific name Crinum Bulbispermum from the Amaryllidacaeae family from South Africa. We have these all over our front yard because they are super easy to maintain. In fact, I don't have to do anything and they reproduce new bulbs all the time. The roses bloomed and looked great, now the sun has bleached them to this interesting mauve color. The Pentas, another low maintenance plant, are also looking lovely. Harvest transition. I ate thes

To catch up new readers, I began Wegovy two weeks ago. I had a heart attack almost four years ago at the ripe old age of 51, amid the pandemic. As well as having high cholesterol and high blood pressure, I wrestle with chronic pain in my foot from too many surgeries and a bad back, knees, shoulders, and hips. Given the state of my body, exercise is limited. Something had to change. I took my third weekly dose yesterday. In the first and second weeks, I wrote this post on Tuesdays, but a good friend pointed out that Wegovy Wednesday had a nice ring to it. He was correct, the alliteration sings! From this day forward, this series will come out on Wednesday mornings. Injector pen. I just have to take off the cap and jab it in my thigh. A little yellow window comes down over the clear part to let me know when it's all in. This is how a typical week on Wegovy has worked for me so far: For the first four days (Tues-Fri) after I give myself the injection, I barely think about fo

Good morning/Evening/Afternoon Everyone! I hope you're having a good day! I apologize for being late, it was a tough week for my back. As a reminder, I garden, organically (no pesticides only organic fertilizer), in Zone 9B year-round. Though my work has been slowed by back issues, I continue to grow almost all the produce we eat. I started gardening late in life, only beginning three years ago. I learned everything I know through Youtube, websites, and some gardening friends I have made along the way. Starting in the front yard, one of my closest blog friend's favorite flowers in my garden has bloomed, Plumbago, which is native to tropical climates. Our subtropical weather suits it just fine. Now that we're well over the eighties during the day, it's a happy camper. The lilies are getting ready to bloom. The bananas are hanging in there. As a reminder, this is a dwarf Cavendish banana plant. It's the same kind of bananas you buy in the store, only smaller. As d

 This first week, I kept a little diary and am sharing it with you all. I wrote each evening before bed. I don't see myself keeping this up past the first week. Mine is only one journey. Based on my reading, some people have different experiences with it. Each of us are individuals after all. Day One: (Tuesday 4/9/24) My appetite is close to nil. I'm "forcing" myself to eat and find myself coming up with high protein options. I drank a 10 oz smoothie made with celery, carrots, sugar snap peas, papaya, spinach, mulberry, blueberry, and non fat Greek yogurt for dinner and felt like I'd eaten an entire Thanksgiving dinner. I'm still feeling full, half an hour later. The real challenge, I can see, will be getting the nutrients I need, especially protein. I have no noticeable side effects as far as I can tell. I, a true lover of baked goods and ice cream which sit in my house right now, find myself not craving such things at all. They no longer &qu

  Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening All! We are gathered here today to take a saunter through our gardens. As a reminder to all, I garden organically (No pesticides and Only Organic Fertilizer) year round and live in Zone 9B. I am just beginning my fourth year of gardening, and learned everything I know on mostly Youtube but some websites as well. Starting in the front yard, we have our roses blooming again. These are miniature roses which are true roses that were bred to stay small. Next, you’ll see our sunflowers are really starting to bush up. I can’t wait until they’ve bloomed. These are volunteer sunflowers. A volunteer plant happens when seeds are dropped and get into the soil, a plant will just come up on its own without help from anyone. There are more in the backyard, but I didn’t take pics of those today. Next is Star Jasmine. I can stand and linger by these flowers all day. Despite their small size, their scent packs a huge, sweet punch! Last on our tour of the front is the Mul

Wegovy. For those unaware, Wegovy is also known as Ozempic. It's a diabetes medication that has been found in studies  to reduce future heart events by 20% and acts as an appetite suppressant. Insurance companies in the US have begun covering Wegovy for use as a weight loss drug. My insurance company announced they would start covering it for those with both heart disease and obesity, and I started looking into it. Wegovy acts on areas of the brain which are involved in regulating your appetite. It increases feelings of fullness, reduces feelings of hunger and reduces the preference for high-fat foods. It also reduces blood sugar by promoting the release of insulin when blood sugar levels are high. I'll be honest with you all, I have struggled with this decision. It's not been an easy one. I have a complicated history with diet culture wrapped up in complex feelings about my mother. One of my biggest joys in life is baking, and then eating what I've baked. But I also kn

 Since reading Smarty's Desirability Differential  , I've been struck by this feeling of needing to explain my answer further to her and the wider AFF audience that travels through these blogs from time to time. Because I know that my answer sounds like hogwash to a lot of people. "I dunno, I’m not the type to even go for conventionally attractive men. I don’t even feel comfortable rating attractiveness on any scale because it’s all so subjective. Who I think is attractive rarely matches others. I have dated men younger and older, though none have given me any feeling of superiority or inferiority because of the age difference. Although, I don’t think I’ve ever gone beyond an eleven year difference. And I would argue the guy who was eleven years younger was more mature than me." Though my dating experience does include women and couples, the majority of it is men, so we're just going to go with the heteronormative stuff. It's easier that way.  If I'm on a

 I've talked about my relationship with Nick enough that I've probably put Nick on a bit of a pedestal. It's not that he's perfect, it's more that he's the most supportive person in my life. Whatever I need, if I ask, Nick will be there trying to help me achieve it. I do the same for him, we're kind of sympatico in that way. To be clear, Nick is one year older than me, born in Connecticut to an immigrant father and mother. The family moved to Florida when he was in his teens. Nick joined the Marines; became a Military Police Officer, Served in the Gulf War, as well as serving in the White House when Bush 2 was the president. He changed jobs, became a chaplain, and left the Marines.  He married his wife after leaving the military, they never had children, and she passed away in his arms on February 14th.   The house we are living in was the house they bought together, but she never got to live in it because she passed before they moved.  Nick, now, works as a

 I hope all are well rested and ready to see the sights of our gardens! As a reminder, I grow organically, mostly in containers, in Zone 9B. I taught myself through Youtube. I've been gardening since the Spring of 2021. We're starting in the front yard. First up on our tour, the Striped Barbados Lily. Isn't she glorious, folks? Next, we should probably check in on the bananas While we're here, we should stop to smell the Star Jasmine. Intoxicating, isn't it? Let's have a look at the Pentas, shall we? The mulberry is bursting with fruit! Enough that we've already gotten two bowls full, and still need to pick more. I'm thinking of doing Mulberry liqueur this year, anyone want some? Moving to the backyard, while we're on the theme of harvesting. I harvested a bunch of Radishes and tomatoes Then, I pickled some radish, carrots, and onions for a nice little condiment. The sna