Whisper's Diary

[whispers65]

Well you know what they say, when it rains it pours. Our deep freezer, washer, and microwave all went out. LOL. Oh well. We did replace the microwave. We are working on the washer. And the freezer just went out this afternoon.

I still got in 30 minutes of exercise today, but I don't feel like doing anything else now.

 

[Cate]

3 appliances at once failing? Wowsers! Did you buy them all at the same time? That sucks.
Getting in some exercise is better than none. Glad you're still here, Tom

 

[whispers65]

3 appliances at once failing? Wowsers! Did you buy them all at the same time? That sucks.
Getting in some exercise is better than none. Glad you're still here, Tom

nah they were all bought at different times. but as negative as I can be at circumstances sometimes, this is why. It gets old.

 

[Cate]

I hate having to buy new white goods They are so necessary though

 

[whispers65]

I hate having to buy new white goods They are so necessary though

They are. We went to the laundry mat this last weekend. It was nice actually. Everyone was very friendly. We just have to save up money. We're broke lol.

 

[Cate]

When our son was storing his stuff in a cabin at our place he said I could have his washing machine as it's a better one & he wouldn't need it, so I stored mine in the garden shed. Now his will probably last 10 years. That's the way things go, isn't it?

 

[Llama]

Oof, that sucks! Do you have problems with the wiring or power supply? I only have a tiny freezer compartment (as in: I've seen bigger books) but life without it would suck.

 

[whispers65]

Oof, that sucks! Do you have problems with the wiring or power supply? I only have a tiny freezer compartment (as in: I've seen bigger books) but life without it would suck.

The house is an old, decrepit, wooden frame one. It was built around 1930 and it's not in good shape at all. It just so happens though that the circuit breaker was replaced last year. That's they one with the freezer on it. All 3 items are on different breakers. We don't have much money. It'd be nice to win the lottery just to do normal stuff.

 

[whispers65]

I'm going to try something. Here are some photos. Let's see how this works.

1 - Picture of the house
2 - Looking out from front porch
3 - Part of the front yard. I take care of in front of fence and behind the fence.
4 - Part of backyard looking down the street
5 - Backyard looking up the street (I don't mow all of this. the neighbor owns part of it and they use a riding lawn mower.
6 - Backyard. it is a nightmare. I'm working on it. It was badly neglected when I took over. I'm trying to get it all into shape.
7 - The lawn mower I use. It's "self propelled" (mainly when I propel. It's not very glamorous.

I'm not proud of where I live. It's all disappointing. But I am trying to help my dad out and do the best I can to get it looking better. It needs repaired. I don't have skill in carpentry. My two brothers do, but they do nothing. When I came here, my dad (now 86) was mowing if that tells you anything.

 

[Llama]

I´m not a fan of large lawns but other than that it´s a nice-looking place! No need to be ashamed for doing what you can with the resources you have. And taking care of your father when he needs help in his old age is very impressive: being a carer is HARD.

 

[whispers65]

I´m not a fan of large lawns but other than that it´s a nice-looking place! No need to be ashamed for doing what you can with the resources you have. And taking care of your father when he needs help in his old age is very impressive: being a carer is HARD.

Thank you! It isn't always easy. I worked for a company for 34 years, averaging 60 hrs a week. Sometimes, I think this is much more difficult.

 

[Llama]

I´ve done a lot of home visits with family that had a frail elderly relative living with them and even when they had a full-time, live-in carer (quite common here because low-wage countries are close) it wasn´t easy. Kudos to you.

 

[Cate]

Huge kudos to you, Tom for looking after your Dad. That is a lot of yard work to have to do. We don't have any mowing to do as we have so much wildlife (& sheep). It always seems like a waste of time. I like the look of the backyard & the house looks really homely & has lovely features & the yard has some very pretty trees. I don't like big ostentatious homes.

 

[whispers65]

Huge kudos to you, Tom for looking after your Dad. That is a lot of yard work to have to do. We don't have any mowing to do as we have so much wildlife (& sheep). It always seems like a waste of time. I like the look of the backyard & the house looks really homely & has lovely features & the yard has some very pretty trees. I don't like big ostentatious homes.

It is a lot of yard at least for me. I typically mow the outside, take a break, and then mow the inside. I'm allergic to grass so even wearing a mask doesn't help that much and I'm usually exhausted and feel like the flu for two days afterward. It's usually hot and humid. My clothes are completely soaked from head to toe when I'm finished. I usually get about 4000-5000 steps in the process.

A lot of times I feel sick when I finish and it takes a couple of hours to recuperate. Sometimes, it is bad enough that I have to recuperate after mowing the inside before the outside. I usually split the duties up. I will mow one day and then weed eat and edge the next day. We haven't had a lot of rain lately so it doesn't grow as fast. Still I averaging mowing about every 7-9 days. At least it is getting cooler now.

Cutting the trees or traversing the jungle in the backyard is an entirely different story lol. I concentrate on the front part for appearances so we don't get into trouble with the neighbors or the city while I try and get control over the backyard. I'm hoping this fall I can get out in the backyard more. It's just been so hot and with mosquitoes and other issues, it's hard to work in the back yard.

One thing I really hate is there is grass growing in the sidewalk. Other than pulling it out by hand I'm not sure what else to do. In the past, people would use roundup but there was some sort of law suit or something about cancer causing agents and lymphoma. My nephew had Hodgkin's lymphoma (unrelated), but I'm trying to find something that helps kill the grass in the sidewalk and that's okay for everyone and anything to be around. If I'm pulling out by hand, I'll have to sit on the curb and scoot my butt around while digging it out with a hand tool. Definitely have to wait until it is cooler for that job. But it will be a big relief once it is done. now to keep it gone that is the question. I've used a weed eater on part of the sidewalk and now notice that what I cut down has spread. Ugh. It's a nightmare. I lived in an apartment for 20+ years and never had to worry about this. Those were the days lol.

 

[whispers65]

I´ve done a lot of home visits with family that had a frail elderly relative living with them and even when they had a full-time, live-in carer (quite common here because low-wage countries are close) it wasn´t easy. Kudos to you.

I never have much time. Before they get up is the only time I feel like it is for me. I never go anywhere, not that I have money to go anywhere. I rarely leave the house and when I do it's to run errands. Like they drink a lot of cokes and have run out, so I will go out to the store and purchase more. That's about the extent of my wanderings out.

 

[Llama]

One thing I really hate is there is grass growing in the sidewalk. Other than pulling it out by hand I'm not sure what else to do

My dad burns it off these days. Not sure what he uses: it looks like a flamethrower to me but I'm sure it's really a generally useful farm tool...

I lived in an apartment for 20+ years and never had to worry about this. Those were the days lol.

I'd kind of like to have a small garden but it's great not to have to worry about shoveling snow and all that.

I never go anywhere, not that I have money to go anywhere.

For me, looking in from a socialist state, that's mind-boggling. You wouldn't get a LOT of support from the government if you were in the same situation here but if you didn't have to pay rent you'd still have a bit of financial wiggle room.

 

[whispers65]

My dad burns it off these days. Not sure what he uses: it looks like a flamethrower to me but I'm sure it's really a generally useful farm tool...

I'd kind of like to have a small garden but it's great not to have to worry about shoveling snow and all that.

For me, looking in from a socialist state, that's mind-boggling. You wouldn't get a LOT of support from the government if you were in the same situation here but if you didn't have to pay rent you'd still have a bit of financial wiggle room.

It rarely snows here, maybe once a season. But I've seen years go by without any snow so shoveling isn't much of an issue.

We're not getting any support from the Gov. We live off what we make. Since the house was built, there wasn't a loan involved so we are good there, but still have taxes each year. We barely get by, but we get by.

 

[Cate]

Not getting support from the government is mind-boggling. Is there no old-age pension? Your garden sounds like such hard work, Tom.

 

[whispers65]

Week 20 Update:

Start Weight: 268.8

Last Week - 244.1
This Week - 245.6

Lost this week: +1.5 lbs
Total Lost: -23.2 lbs

Achievements This Week:

Exercise:
Additional - yard work and walking Total Minutes: 260

I was up 1.5 pounds, mainly in the last 2 days. I know I'm retaining water as usual.

I tried a few things this week.

1) I deliberately ate more calories a couple of days. In the past, if I've done real good for a length of time, then I would get discouraged and have a cheat day and magically I'd drop weight. I was hoping it would kick in this time, but alas it didn't.

2) My sister looked up a diet for her. It is based on body type and makes plenty of sense to me. The goal is to vary the diet to trick the body so it doesn't get complacent. Like one day is higher calories, higher carbs. The next day is lower calories and low carbs. It moves the total carbs, fat, and calories around. I can't eat really good on it because it requires a lot of protein and I just don't have the money for it. I am trying to limit some carbs though, but carbs are cheap. I changed out the white bread in the mornings with either oatmeal or Ezekiel bread. Ezekiel bread is supposed to be lower in carbs and lower glycemic so it appears to be a win-win and I'm compatible with it.

3) Record my exercise so I know what I'm doing as opposed to thinking I've done. This week I had 260 minutes. Granted, they wasn't strenuous. So even if you count them as all light, that's still 260 minutes. Even if you only count half of them, that's still 130 (150 is generally the recommendation of minutes a week). I'm not sitting on my keister all day. But it didn't seem to make much of a difference either. Note - these exercise minutes are continuous, like walking. I'm walking the whole time. I'm not starting and stopping and saying I'm exercising. These exercise minutes are deliberate (I guess that is the word of the day. I've used it twice now). Walking around the store, going to the bathroom. None of that counts. It's not counting steps.

This week, I have no idea what to try. I'm going to clamp back down on calories. If nothing else, it keeps my weight to the lowest point I've lost down to.

Oh well. I feel like I am in the twilight zone all of the time now.

 

[whispers65]

Not getting support from the government is mind-boggling. Is there no old-age pension? Your garden sounds like such hard work, Tom.

There is social security, based upon what you paid into during your working years. But I'm not old enough. I think I still have another 6 or 7 years before I can claim at the earliest. The company I worked for didn't have a retirement. I worked for the same place a total of 34 years, but there was some buyouts along the way. Still it was a long time for basically nothing.