Monday...AGAIN ????

This last week has gone by so quickly. Busy of course. And some emotional/mental struggles. And some health issues.  lol  That big old wheel keeps on turnin'...

  I did get the pumpkin all done finally...in the wake of dental appointments and sore throats and stomach issues.  Almost 3 gallons of assorted spiced and salted seeds, all tucked away in the pantry. The rest of that pumpkin (2 water bath canners full of chunks)  cooked, dehydrated and pulverized into powder (less than a quart jar for all of that.  YIKES !!   Picked up another big bag of spearmint that will be mostly an experiment in oil infusion. (Part of today's list, if I ever get on with it).  The usual cleaning and cooking and lots of napping.  It's a miracle anything got done.  OH--AND...finally this---

http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/annies-green-tomato-salsa-recipe-for-water-bath-canning-zbcz1411.aspx#axzz3IJFDVSLV

So I've been alternately buzzing on Cloud 9 and napping, okay ? lol  

Isn't this a pretty picture? This was in the sink still, I think...

 I just loved the look of the form and textures in this...lol

Yesterday I roasted a chicken for supper and so the carcass and another small carcass that I had in the freezer have been in the small crockpot all night  simmering away. Smells really comforting in this house.  There's just something about the smell of chicken soup/broth, isn't there ?

Tonight the Irishman is going to the discussion group so I will have a sandwich or something for him to eat on the road. I'll eat leftovers probably. I am sitting this discussion out I've decided. It's just not that interesting to me and I have been so tired lately.  It's easier for me to not go. Next time I'll be back at it and rarin' to go...we usually take a short break at the end of the year, since the holidays get a little whacky for everyone. So, that will be a nice long break for me.  Next year will be busy...

I have had a curious experience at the dentist office and am kind of in limbo right now.  I have talked about this on Facebook and gotten all kinds of great support and advice (lol).  I went to a new (to this area) dental office at the end of October for an abscess in my jaw.  They got me right in, rushed me through 10 kinds of xrays and exams, rushed me through to the office and told me I needed to have all my teeth pulled and it was time for dentures. I was stunned, to say the least.  Not that I haven't thought that at some point in my life this would happen. I have a long history of bad teeth. Family bad teeth. Childhood bad teeth,  I had about 10K dollars of work done on my teeth about 13 years ago.  This abscess occurred at the base of a tooth that had a lot of saving work done on it back then, and has been loose since the car accident in May.  I fully expected a course of antibiotics and having it extracted. But for them to come at me with pull them all and wear dentures...well...that knocked me for a loop. My teeth aren't the greatest, but I don't think they all need to go. I tried to discuss this with the dentist (a young Chinese woman) and she wouldn't hear of it.  At least that's how it felt to me. Granted, I was in a lot of pain at the time...  Long story short, I went in for what I thought was the extraction (after several days on the penicillin)  even though I had tried to call several times to see if I should still come, because I have developed a sore throat. I couldn't get ahold of anyone and it was time to go or miss the appointment, so I went. When I got there, I talked to the girl at the desk and she said she had just gotten my message.  They whisked me back and instead of doing the extraction, they started fitting me for the denture mold.  I had a sore throat and kept gagging and she kept saying Breathe thru your nose...it was awful.  When she was done, I asked about the extraction and she said, no, they'll pull them all at the same time. I was shocked...I was supposed to go this morning.  I called and cancelled last night.  I started reading online reviews through Consumer Affairs about this group IN GENERAL...not the local office, which is brand new...and it scared the beejeezus out of me. I'm going to get a second opinion.

Lovely surprise...I just took some bills and Netflix movies down to the mailbox. Apparently I had not picked up the mail on Saturday (I coulda sworn...)  and it was full. Including a package for me. It turned out to be the 2015 Creativity and Parkinson's Calendar  that my good friend Tim has a watercolor drawing in.  How awesome is that ???

So, my today (I slept until almost 11 o'clock in the morning after going to bed at 2 !!!!! )  is waddling along at a duck being carried by a snail's pace.  I did get dressed right about noon--I am not a heathen, people !  lol Now I'm having a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast and going through the mail. I poured the last of a quart of milk that I had bought to make some pudding and then never did...and as usual, it's already giving me a stomach ache. When will I accept the fact that I simply cannot drink cows milk ?  Sheesh...

Alright. I should do something productive...like make a dentist appointment or something.  Or clean house. It is really beautiful out there today. A last ditch effort by Mother nature to  say she loves us before all hell breaks loose. Tomorrow's daytime temps are supposed to be 20-25 degrees lower than todays  and continue to plummet, with nighttime temps in the low 20's.  

  I guess it's really here.

Namaste.