Do The Work

Estrogen BAD!

I came across the below warning on social media the other day, which is very troubling to me, as I've been a Keurig owner and user for many, many years now!  I've come to reply on it and use it, at least, once every morning!

This could very well explain the weird changes and sensations I've been experiencing of late - my bloating and puffiness, the desire to sit when I pee, as well as my over the top anxiety and over sensitivity!

Thinking I may need to consider moving back to the good old drip coffee maker or, perhaps, give up coffee all together.

I'm at a cross road here.  What to do 😵?

Think I'll brew up a cup of java and contemplate...

A Milestone!

I received the below American Red Cross email earlier this week congratulating me on my 73 lifetime donations, totaling 9-gallons!  Which is also equal to 36-quarts or 144-cups or 1,152 ounces!

Quite the accomplishment, if I can toot my own horn.

However, there's a bit of discrepancy here.  The American Red Cross Blood Donor app on my iPhone, is and has been showing me as being in the 6-gallon milestone and NOT the 9-gallon referenced in the email below, HMMM -

You can see in the screen shot below from the app, it clearly shows I've not yet made it to the "7 Gallon Donor" milestone.  Come to think of it, the app seems to have had me at this level for quite some time now, weird, otherwise all other information seems to be up to date -

I replied to the congratulations emails and explained all this and asked for their help in determining my actual milestone (the letter should be accurate) and how to fix the app.

Stay tuned...

#DonorForLife

"Potato, Potahto"

Not sure where I've been but apparently Cracker Jill is a thing.

Seems this was introduced back in early 2022.  HUH, who knew...

Apparently, inside the bag, both Cracker Jack and Cracker Jill are the same delicious snack!

Guessing the name change or introduction of Cracker Jill was geared towards inclusivity and racial equality, which is similar in nature to the renaming of Aunt Jemima (Pearl Milling Company) and Uncle Ben's (Ben's Original) to name a few.

Honestly, I've NOT eaten or purchased Pearl Milling Company and Ben's original since their name change and have NO intention to ever do so.  There are too many other options to chose from, instead of supporting this silliness. I grew up eating both of these and viewed them a more comfort foods, NEVER ever did I see them being or promoting racism.

To all the wacky left leaning libtards and racial bigots who assume the worst and hellbent on keeping that divide, I say shame on you!

Just Wanted To Share

The Draft King ads are exhausting and too much!  They inundate and take over my Internet, local television and my streaming services, UGH ENOUGH, STOP!

Draft Kings, Kevin Hart, Jim Mora and especially LeBron James can all go pound sand!  I hope they each get violent diarrhea and 💩 their pants!

Dads Don't Die

 Hard to believe it's been seven years since you left us.

I miss you and think of you every day.

Yes, your number is still in my phone, listed first -

Although, I talk to you everyday, sure wish I could give you a call to hear your voice, get your advice and guidance.

#Blessed

Trying To Give Grief A Shape

“Grief, I’ve learned, is really just love. It’s all the love you want to give, but cannot. All that unspent love gathers up in the corners of your eyes, the lump in your throat, and in that hollow part of your chest. Grief is just love with no place to go.”

-Jamie Anderson

I now realize that to lose someone we have lost (and not just in death) does not erase the love we have felt for them. It simply moves the object of our love out of reach. Grief is the space left behind, and it is the act of loving someone who is gone.

Getting Back On "Track"...

Another home repair project completed!

This one has been a problem for years, which I should have addressed long before now.  It's been a pain in the rump with the doors not closing properly and often popping open.

The washer and dryer closet track system for my bi-fold doors has been damaged to the point that it could no longer be adjusted properly.  This would cause the hardware to come loose at times, doors not hang vertical and flop open.

Well, no more!  I bought all new track and hardware and in less than an hour replaced it all AND what a difference!

Before - old rusted, base door bracket -

After - shinny new hardware -

New top track and door rollers AND you can see the perfect vertical spacing of the two abutting doors, which now stay closed without needing to lean on each other -

MMHGA - Make My House Great Again!

#Blessed

So Close

Pretty much sums it up...

Cookies Cookies Cookies Cookies

I made my first Power Red blood donation of 2025 this afternoon!

Despite the snow, freezing rain and dropping temperatures, I braved the elements and made my way over to the Franklin Elks for my 2:00PM appointment.

I've been donating at the Franklin Elks for years now and have come to know the regular phlebologists that work there.  One in particular, Morlinda, surprised me today with a bag of her fresh homemade chocolate cookies!  It's an ongoing joke of ours and to my surprise she knew I was donating today and made me cookies!

I wolfed 3 down while hooked up to the apheresis machine! MMM so good!

I've already booked my next donation appointment, May 29, at the same Franklin Elks.

I dropped a couple hint with Morlinda that I'm a BIG fan of snickerdoodle cookies, so fingers crossed...

Not A Bird Or A Plane. Rather, A Plastic Bag...

You can't make this stuff up...

There was a cable TV wire that had come loose, perhaps from all the high winds we've been having of late, and it was dangling some ~7 feet above and across the neighbors driveway.

I noticed it one day last week when I was heading out on my walk. Upon my return, and being a good and thoughtful neighbor, I thought it best if I flagged the cable so it could be seen more easily.  I grabbed a white plastic bag and tied it to the lowest point in the sagging cable.

Fast forward to the other evening and the cable company dispatched a crew and fixed the issue!

Yes, they fixed the sagging cable but sadly, and yet another example of the poor workmanship, lack of professionalism and today's 'who gives a shit' work ethics and attitudes, the crew left the white bag tied to the cable!  All they did was pull the cable taut, shored it up and moved along.  Nothing more, nothing less.

So, now this unsightly bag, that now sticks out like a sore thumb, will be on display for years and years to come.

Sure would be refreshing to see folks start taking more pride in their job and workmanship.  After all, their shoddy work is a direct reflection on them!

Smooth As A Babies Bottom

Last weekend I finished touching up the paint in the master bathroom.  In anticipation of opening the paint can and dirtying the brush, I thought I'd kill two birds and tackle the below pine shelf unit as well before placing back in the bathroom.

It needed a good, deep sanding and to have the drab yellow color removed.

Success!

Before - and after I sanded -

After - with a new coat (two coats actually) of paint to match the master bathroom color -

It looks SO much better!

Find The Critter

Can you find the critter in the below picture -

There under the table lies Ms. Trixie sound asleep.

I usually move her bed onto the bottom rack of that end table when I can vacuum.  The other day after cleaning and vacuuming I forgot to move her bed back onto the floor in front of the table.

I got confused when I couldn't find her but God love her, she wasn't bothered at where her bed was and happily climbed on in and fell fast asleep.

She is without a doubt a Frye with her oddities...

#Blessed

People Suck - The Air Travel People

When are the airlines going to improve some of their processes and policies, e.g. boarding, carry-on baggage and overhead bin storage to name a few.

There's much room for improvements, long overdue improvements, for these items!

The boarding process is chaos since we're talking about dealing with people. Most people are only concerned about themselves; they're selfish, inconsiderate, they lack awareness and in general clueless, just big dickheads!  People crowding the gate waiting for their boarding group to be called and blocking access for those folks who've been called to board, STAND BACK!  Perhaps, the gate attendants can monitor this better and make announcements as needed to remind people to wait their turn and GET OUT OF THE WAY of those called to board, UGH!

When it comes to carry-on bags the gate attendants MUST do a better job of policing!

People push the limit of what they're allowed to bring onboard with them and seem to never get challenged.  See the pic below for an example - this douche had three items, NOT the allowed two, as did his travel companion! 

FYI - on my recent trip to Miami I flew on JetBlue and here is their carry-on bag policy, as stated on their website -

"Each customer is allowed ONE carry-on bag and ONE personal item (purse, small backpack, briefcase, laptop, etc.). Carry-on bags may be stowed in the overhead bin or underneath the seat in front of you, while personal items must be placed beneath the seat in front of you. Closets for hanging garment bags are not available on our planes."

I'd like to see seats come with their associated overhead bin spot also assigned to them!  If I'm sitting in seat 3D, the overhead bin ABOVE my seat should be reserved for MY bag!  I shouldn't need to worry whether I'll have storage space for my bag by the time I board or if the only available space left for my bag is rows and rows behind me.  All too often I see people stowing MORE than their one bag overhead and\or people sitting at the rear of the plan grabbing an overhead bin at the front of the plane as they board.

This guy had THREE bags AND his companion also had THREE! Louis Vuitton, well pardon me...pretentious pricks.

I get anxious when I fly but not from a fear of flying perspective but rather for having to deal with the issues above AND by being in such close proximity to people - PEOPLE SUCK!

Another Tool In The Ole Toolbox

Well, here is the new tool of mine gifted to me by my germaphobe brother to aide in oral hygiene.

Without reading below and by looking at the pic, do you know what this tool is?  The hint is above -

I thought I was doing just fine with simply brushing my tongue as a part of my teeth brushing process. However, it was told to me that a tongue scrapper does a much better job.

So, that being said, I mulled it over and gave it a try this morning. 

My fear of gagging was not an issue. Several passes with this tool and YUCK! It removed more than I expected or thought was there after my tongue brushing!  Seems this might be a beneficial tool to use here and there to augment brushing.

The Google machine provided the following benefits to tongue scrapping -

"Regular tongue scraping may help reduce the buildup of bacteria and fungi that can lead to oral infections like gingivitis and thrush. Enhanced taste. A clean tongue might improve your sense of taste, allowing you to better appreciate the flavors of foods and drinks. Improved oral hygiene."

Lets see if my taste senses are enhanced with my next meal, stay tuned...

AH AH AH Choo!

I finally completed and submitted my results to the scratch-and-sniff smell tests.  I volunteered to participate, which is a part of the Parkinson's Progression Marker Initiative (PPMI), a landmark study from the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.

I've been a participant in the PPMI studies for several years now and complete quarterly online questionnaires focused on PD.

The test came in the mail the day before I left for Miami and I just now completed!

A set of (4) scratch-and-sniff booklets, each with (10) smells to identify -

This is what one of the individual pages looked like.  Using a #2 pencil that came with the kit I'd scratch the brown label, which released the odor, then sniff to identify the smell.  Then choose the odor (or the one closest) from the four options listed on each page.

It was comical that half way through scratching these cards, Trixie was roused from her sleep and was intrigued by all the odors.

I'm hopeful these tests and the PPMI study eventually lead to break throughs in eradicating the terrible disease that is Parkinson's Disease!

Sickly Ms. Trixie

A couple days before flying down to Miami I started noticing that Ms. Trixie just wasn't herself, she had vomited a couple times, looked off, lethargic, had no pep and no appetite but fortunately she was drinking water.

The timing was not good but my hands were tied. Thankfully, my neighbors who had agreed to watch Trixie and Oliver are the best!  They went above and beyond taking care of her and trying everything to get her to eat something, anything. Special trips to the market to pick up different wet foods, special cooking of eggs, extra time spent with her and keeping me up to date on how she was doing.

Eventually, deli sliced turkey was what she started eating and keeping down, which was a big relief that she was finally eating something.

I scheduled a vet appointment and took her the morning after I returned home.

The initial physical exam went fine, no issues, all looked fine.

The next order of business was blood work and x-rays.

Everything looked normal for both of the above mentioned tests with the exception of her liver!

Her liver was enlarged in the x-ray, see below, AND all three of her liver enzymes from the blood work were elevated, with two of them being SO high they didn't even register on their system, YIKES!

Due to her enlarged liver a CAT scan was also done to ensure there was nothing else going on that area - thankfully there was nothing, all looked okay.

Before we left she was given an anti-nausea shot and a shot to stimulate her appetite.  We went home with (3) prescriptions - antibiotic pills to be given twice a day, an anti-nausea pill once a day and an appetite stimulant oral solution once a day, phew!

For a dog that was NEVER fussy about eating, she was now refusing most everything.  We tried a half-dozen types\kind of wet dog foods (even wet cat food), cooking her eggs, tomato juice, pumpkin, beef broth, crackers, banana and she wouldn't touch any of it.  Fortunately, what she did like and start eating was sliced deli turkey, so this is what we'd been feeding her for the first few days until the medicines kicked in.

I'm happy to report that she seems like she's back to her old self!  She looks SO much better, is more alert and has much more pep. Although, she's eating better and has eaten some of her dry food, she still refuses wet dog food and ironically many of the human-type food I used to share with her, weird.

We have a follow up vet appointment for blood work to check and make sure her liver enzymes are back to normal and where they should be, fingers crossed!

NO fun, for both her and ME!

The School of Hard Knocks

Lunch At The Barn!

 I finally got to meet Wisteria, my nieces wild mustang, as well as the farm where she is boarded!

What a great place!  The owner is very personable, friendly and seems accommodating, a nice person.  The barn, the grounds and all the other animals he has, e.g. horses, sheep, pig, quineafowl, geese, ducks, chickens, pigeons, dogs and cats, is super nice and a relaxing place to visit and get away from the daily hustle and bustle.

My niece, Alyssa, has done a remarkable job with Wisteria!  Taking her from a wild (literally) animal; one scared, petrified, confused and wild to one that is now the complete opposite!  She is calm, relaxed, trusting and smart as a whip.  You can now saddle and ride her, well Alyssa can.  She's trained and responds as a dog would to many commands, e.g. does 'fist bumps' with her front legs for treats, will lay down when commanded AND is infatuated with my niece! Alyssa has a unique gift when it comes to animals.  She connects with them unlike most and they all respond in kind, it's wonderful to see.

We stopped at Publix supermarket on the drive over on Saturday to pick up lunch, some delicious subs and chips, and ate with a menagerie of critters, both next to AND on the table, GRRR -

Now, if we can just get my brother to stop killing flies, which were incessant, with the noisy, high pitched  handheld electric fly swatter. Oh, it needed to be done but Wisteria wasn't too pleased with the high pitched zapping noise the tennis-type racket was making when a fly would get stuck and sizzle away.

All in all I enjoyed the two days I got to spend at the barn!  Getting to finally meet Wisteria, interacting with the animals, YES, I even road a horse named Blue, but more importantly getting to spend the time with my brother and my niece and seeing just how happy they both were in that environment -

Agalloping Alyssa and Giddyup "Gassy" Gus

#Blessed

The Devil Is In The Details

I'm still making a few small changes here in there to my bathrooms, which help make the recent upgrades, e.g. paint, look and 'pop'. It's a work in progress, as they say.  Here are some examples below -

Let me start by saying that the town of Franklin has very harsh water, which is evident over time on all things that the water touches and runs through, e.g. sink and tub fixtures, toilets, etc.

I stopped in at Lowes, and for relatively short money, picked up some new chrome bling for both of my upstairs bathrooms

Before - Master bedroom shower head trim -

After - Master bedroom shower head trim -

Before - Communal upstairs bathroom shower head trim - 

After - Communal upstairs bathroom shower head trim -

Before - Communal upstairs bathroom tub drain cover* -

After - Communal upstairs bathroom tub drain cover* -

*Apologies for the pics containing hairs!  I know EWWW!

Again, low cost and minimal effort to replace these items, yet they make a big difference in appearance.

Onward I go...

The Pooper-Scooper!

Saving the environment one turd at a time!

If I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes I wouldn't have believed it.  My brothers infatuation with bagging and scooping feces wherever we went was on full display.  He even wears a special pouch on his belt to carry poop bags, latex gloves and disinfectant on his travels - YES, weird I know!

We were out on our daily walk and he just abruptly stopped, fetched a green poop bag from his utility belt and without hesitation and in full control of his gag reflexes, bent over and grabbed a fresh, full size load of dog poop like he was picking up something priceless, so gentle and caring. He carried that full bag with pure pride and chest out until we came upon a trash can where he could safely dispose of it!

Here is again this time eagerly scooping up horse dung, all the while humming some upbeat tune -

And once more, but this time tackling and raking the seemingly endless pebbles of goat excrement scattered all over the barn area, stables and pens -

Honestly, I can't make this shit up 😂 (pun intended)!

I'm fortunate to have had my camera handy to capture and share with you ALL these special moments!  He sure is "special" alright!

I am one proud brother!

#Blessed

What The Flock (Pun Intended)?!

Here are some pics of the featured critters I encountered while in Miami -

White Ibis and Muscovy Ducks, which are plentiful.  Actually, the Muscovy are invasive and although cute, they're messy -

Egyptian Geese and White Ibis.  The Egyptian Geese are a unique and beautiful bird, however, they too are consider an invasive species.  They're known to cause significant damage in suburban areas, such as parks AND, like the Muscovy, their feces can be a major problem -

A Muscovy hen with her little brood!  One of several hens with ducklings loitering about - 

An Anhinga, sometimes called a snakebird AND not to be confused with the familiar Cormorant, preening itself while drying out after a swim -

Chickens and Guinea fowl -

A Salmon Faverolle rooster, so handsome!  The Faverolle is a French breed of chicken and one of only 5 breeds that have five toes on each foot!  Now you know -

Something about wildlife that you just can't beat!

Homemade Bread

I made myself a loaf of fresh bread yesterday and I'm gonna toot my own horn here and claim, for my first attempt at bread making, a success!

Nothing fancy, a 3-ingrediant recipe I came across on Instagram.  Although, I did adlib a bit, I also added some chia seeds, sesame seeds and garlic, yum!

I will be making this bread more often and will even kick up the creativity too.  I believe it's a much better and healthier alternative to the mass produced breads available in the market today and all the unnecessary ingredients and chemicals typically added to them.

I find myself salivating a bit as I write this <as I also wipe a bit of drool off my chin>!  Think I'll go toast me a piece now...

Miami Here I Come!

Flew down to Miami a couple weeks ago to visit with my brother and my niece, Mel too!

Up at the ass crack of dawn to get the Logan Express bus out of Framingham, then onto the airport, yawn!

The bus was on time, TSA security check was quick and painless and I was at my gate with plenty of time AND without the need to rush!

It was a VERY chilly morning but a beautiful one, as you can see in the below pic of the city of Boston - clear blue skies -

The flight wasn't too bad, except for the typical herding of selfish, inconsiderate people both getting on and off the plane, but it landed on time!

First order of business upon my arrival, and being picked up by my brother, was a frosty wobbly-pop or two and some chow, a delicious burger -

Now for a week of warmth and just hanging with no agenda or care in the world, priceless!

#Blessed

One Person

A Fresh Coat Of Paint Makes a Difference III

I've completed painting the master bathroom, hooray!

The ugly lilac color is no more and has been replaced with a light grey called "Etched Glass".  I like it SO much better and it brightens the room up too!

The shower has a new, more appealing curtain (yes, it needs to be ironed, just too lazy on my part) and I've replaced the light switches from almond to white. I even sanded and painted the baseboard heater to match the wall color.

I still have some decorating to do.  I'm mulling things over and in no rush.  Leaning towards a wall mounted, over the toilet farmhouse style vanity, new throw rugs and perhaps, even a new light fixture over the mirror and sink.

Before -

After -

Before -

After -

Before -

All the shelves and stuff were removed from the walls, all the holes patched and sanded before I began painting

After -

On to the next project...