Dojo Mom

181128 I Did Not Mean To Disappear

2018-11-29T03:40:31Z

On Saturday, November 18, I finished my novel after a flurry of writing. I decided to wait before uploading it, because I needed to rest. Within hours, the pain became unbearable, and I stayed in the bathroom as blood poured out of my body. After a few hours of increasing pain and the losing of fluids, I dialed 911. I needed help getting my pants on.

My neighbors came out of their campers, so I gave my keys to one of them as the paramedics put me into the ambulance. She called my daughter and my sister. In the ER, they determined that the little hospital in my little town was not equipped to handle me, so I was transported into San Antonio. This hospital plans to release me to hospice on the 30th if all the paperwork is finished.

It has been a wild couple of weeks, but today I got my novel uploaded and validated. This one will be edited and revised until I can't do it anymore. I may not post here much anymore. I'm already tired.

181116 Woo Hoo!

2018-11-16T17:50:20Z

I have less than ten thousand words to go!

181111 Veteran's Day

2018-11-11T07:58:35Z

I'll start with a tribute to my Dad by posting a stock photo of his generation. He would not want any personal image of him on the Internet. I didn't tell him that his image is already there, because he has been in the papers...

As most of you know, I come from a military family, but was unable to serve for medical reasons.

Some of us are taking my dad out for steak today. I just had a chuckle, because it will be myself, my sister, and those who have served in the Military. The cousins who didn't won't be there! They would cause a scene anyway. Some people just don't know how to behave in public.

181110 Cold

2018-11-10T13:39:16Z

Winter is here... It might warm again a time or two, but it is cold enough for me to pull out my old sleeping bag which was rated to ten degrees Fahrenheit, and my little heater that keeps the cabin temperatures above freezing. Right now, it is 54 F in here. Outside temps are still dropping, and the sun is rising. The latest reading was 43 F. Our high is expected to be 50 F. Now, has that passed already, or can we expect a little warming today? Isn't this fun? (My phone app says that yes, indeedy, our temperature has peaked for the day, and it will just get colder from here.)

Yes, northerners laugh at southerners for their lack of ability to handle the cold, but I dare anyone who laughs now to spend a triple digit day with me as we walk anywhere at all. Parts of me hurt, and I'm getting testy. Time to quit.

181106 Vote

2018-11-06T15:10:28Z

I got out and voted. In a lot of places, who gets into public office seems to be a forgone conclusion, but there might be a few surprises. My district is expected to vote as it has for as long as I've been here.

181029 Future Disappearing

2018-10-29T10:59:47Z

Ha! Did this title make you think this would be some dark commentary on American politics? No! It's the annual NaNoWriMo warning! For the month of November, I plan to spend five hours per day, six days per week scribbling words on paper! I've done this often enough to know that this is what it takes for me to reach the goal of 50,000 words by the end of November 30th. Taking one day off per week also helps to keep the creative juices flowing.

Will I attend any of the meetups? Who knows? What will the subject be? Who knows? Will the final edit be another short story, or a real novel? Who knows?

None of the "real" novels have sold. I just do it because it's fun and different.

181025 How to Send Pictures...

2018-10-25T17:34:51Z

Perhaps my brain has atrophied, or perhaps I don't have the proper clearances. Perhaps, I simply need to upgrade my account in order to send pictures to people. I can post them, though!

To my friend, ba1126, here is the cartoon you wanted to post!

181024 For My Weather Friends

2018-10-24T15:05:15Z

Expect the unexpected. NOAA says mild for Texas, but God told me to pull out the winter clothing, and the Farmer's Almanac concurs. Also, it looks like I will need to upgrade my rain gear.

Actually, these maps don't look that much different, but the different organizations have interpreted them differently.

181019 Prayers Welcome

2018-10-19T10:50:07Z

Last night, I had the bright idea of massaging my abdomen. Last night was horrible, and I am anemic and cold this morning. I still have to travel.

181012 On This Day...

2018-10-13T01:43:12Z

According to Bing, on this day in 1979, the first book of a beloved "trilogy" was released. I bought it about then, and have owned several copies of the four or five or six book set. Currently, my copy of the four inch thick "More than Complete Hitchhiker's Guide..." is on my daughter's bookshelf. She slipped it out of my home when she left.

One year for Purim, I went to a dinner where each was to be costumed as a literary figure. I wore a plaid bathrobe, pointed at the ceiling, and in a fake British accent, yelled about the NMP field. Those who understood, whooped and hollered.

181012 Pain Complain

2018-10-12T10:20:39Z

Yesterday was a high pain day, and it was tempting to give up. I did get to the store to buy more coffee. My older daughter's supply disappeared with breakfast. Maybe today I will convince myself that coffee is enough. This pain is getting worse. Why can't I just fast? The monster in my gut cries out for glucose, and aches when I don't give in. Then it aches, or rather stabs and slices, when I do get it. Last night I wanted to curl up and die. My younger daughter yelled at me, because I was getting snappy with her for misplacing some important paperwork.

The dark side of serious illness lives in the emotional roller coaster that families endure. I don't want to guard my words. I don't want to spare anyone's feelings. I do want things to go MY way, because things in my body aren't letting me do what I want! I want to be free.

I watched *The Fasting Video* on You Tube. It came in three parts and covered everything from amazing health benefits when done correctly to the pitfalls of anorexia, which is the ultimate in how to do it incorrectly. I could use some of those amazing health benefits.

This year's NaNoWriMo might cover this dark subject...

180926 Oh, Yay

2018-09-26T21:39:29Z

Now, I am getting ads in Russian...

In other news, I can't really tell you why I am so happy, because of societal norms. On the other hand, they do have commercials about this stuff. Let me just say that soluble fiber is a lie, and insoluble fiber is a half-truth. Some vegetables simply have to be cooked! Also, Diet Coke is good for something.

Now that I can play the Hallelujah Chorus , I am going back to what keeps me happy and ignoring this strangling bit of advise from my doctor. I was doing quite well on this subject before the good doctor added fiber to my diet.

180923 Morning Scare

2018-09-23T11:37:11Z

Several times last night, I woke feeling a little nauseous, so wondered if I added the wrong spice or had too much activity yesterday or made too much change in my meds. Just now, I took my BG, and at first glance, it read 56 mg/dl!

Anything below 70 is cause for concern. I felt remarkably clear-headed for such a reading.

Well, maybe I was not as clear-headed as I needed to be. I had the meter upside down.

180920 Survey

2018-09-21T00:44:02Z

How big is your current place of residence?
I live in 180 square feet, and I love it. There is so little to clean, that I can do it in a few minutes. I utilize the outdoors whenever possible, but the recent weeks of rain have turned my concrete slab into a mud pit. It averaged about an inch. Today, I borrowed a shovel to move the mud from the slab to my compost heap. I wasn't able to get under the camper, so my ladder is still surrounded by a couple of inches of mud. No, I don't live in the Carolinas! Central Texas has been dealing with torrential rains for the last three weeks! I had a standard sized bucket outside. It overflowed with water, so I dumped it. Two days later, it filled again. I dumped it today. Someday, this rain will move on!

Do you prefer towel drying, blow drying, or natural drying your hair?
Natural drying works best for me.

Do you decorate the outside of your house for the fall?
Sometimes, we do the opposite of what our parents demanded. I never decorate. I do like to participate in the festival of lights because I'm partial to shiny things. My children just roll their eyes, because I was born again a long time ago. Hey, some traditions are simply fun!

180915 Short Survey

2018-09-15T08:22:06Z

Did either of your parents have any sayings they liked (aside from "Keep doing that and your face will freeze like that!" or "I'm not just talking to hear myself speak!")?
"All you girls do is read! Why don't you go outside and play!"

Seriously, my mom said that...

What calms your soul like nothing else?

Right now this song has a powerful impact on me, because Mark Hall wrote it right after he was diagnosed with cancer. Also, various passages of the Word help, such as 3 John 2 and Psalm 7.

Describe your perfect evening!
A quiet time with a friend or two, or a good book would be ideal. Usually, I avoid eating after 3 pm. A really good time includes a visit to the symphony. Symphony season is starting.

180913 Still Raining

2018-09-13T16:33:30Z

NOAA says it will keep raining, and raining here. It is raining now. There is a tropical disturbance in the gulf, but I don't think it is really doing much this far north. This has to be a separate system.

My children are in the projected path of what will remain of Florence as it marches into the continent. This morning, projection maps said as much, but I can't find one now. No biggie. My girls are more concerned by what their neighbors might do rather than what the weather is doing. They did, after all, grow up with much closer brushes with hurricanes, including a Category 5 that most people forget, because of the political brouhaha surrounding the smaller one that hit New Orleans a month earlier. Danger faced is much less scary with repetition.

I'm not afraid of dying, but I pale at the thought of living in pain. This pain has to go. Frankincense helps.

180912 Rain

2018-09-12T09:02:13Z

It has been raining for two weeks, and NOAA expects rain to continue through the 18th, which is as far as the weather grid posts its predictions. I live in a mud pit, and I am going to commit Texan sacrilege:

I wish it would STOP raining!

180830 Sometimes...

2018-08-30T22:25:43Z

Some days, I just freakin' hurt! Today, I cycled to the office for doughnut day, but I did not feel like buying any doughnuts for the group. Instead, I brought some leftover sugar-free candies, and I ate none of them. It is not unusual to hurt more after exercising, but today the pain has gone on and on. For you women, it is like the worst of cramps. For men, I suppose it is like being hit in the gut beyond tolerance.

Yesterday, I saw my doctor. He was pleased with my progress and reduced one of my medicines. He approved of the oils I am taking. I need to buy more. I really don't feel like eating, but I haven't lost any more weight. Today's You Tube video by Dr. Berg said that people don't lose weight on weight-loss diets. Instead, they lose weight when they get healthy. My doctor sounds a lot like Dr. Berg. Maybe that's vice versa. I'm not sure which one came first for me.

180816 Chris Beat Cancer

2018-08-16T10:59:18Z

I am taking a video course by a man who refused traditional cancer treatments more than ten years ago. His mission has become teaching others how to do it, too. So far, he makes good sense. My only quibble is the one-sided diet advise. He fell into the trap of following limited studies that bypass entire populations and that ignore the effect politics have had on popular science. Not everyone is genetically predisposed to eat the same diet. On the other hand, I whole-heartedly agree that diet, exercise, environment, and stress have more to do with causing and curing cancer than genetics and expensive drugs. Sugar, and only sugar, feeds cancer. Cancer cannot live off of anything else. Get rid of all the sugar, and cancer dies. Almost everything has sugar, or what can be turned into sugar, in it.

What can I eat instead? Grass-fed, free-range, organic, wild-caught, home-grown anything that has no sugar in it, that's what. I grow my own greens. The monster in my gut has been growing for awhile, so I'll have to stay grain-free and sugar-free for a long, long time. My clothes are getting bigger. Some are way too big to wear, and I'll need to get new ones soon. Alterations work only so far. I've gone down two to four sizes depending on what body part I am covering.

180813 Still Raining

2018-08-13T11:54:23Z

It's still raining off and on. There is mud everywhere! Most of my plants are loving this, but the cacti may explode. NWS says that the rain will stop today.

In other news, the diet and the oils are working. I have not exercised vigorously at all. The rain kept me off the bicycle, so I walked around HEB. That grocery store is as big as a Walmart and twice as busy. It's a Texas thing. HEB is so effective that they chased both Kroger and Albersons out of San Antonio.

On the diet the discharge decreases drastically, and the smell is eliminated. I am using a cross between keto and the candida diet. Keto restricts carbohydrates and moderates protein, but the candida diet attacks fungus by restricting a whole lot more. Some researchers have found that cancer is more active in the presence of fungus, such as an overgrowth of candida albicans. This fungus normally lives in a person in small amounts, but in the presense of excess glucose in the blood stream, it will starve out the good gut bacteria and cause many and varied adverse autoimmune symptoms. (This is a very simplistic and short explanation of the complicated human biome.)

Cancer patients must learn that blood glucose feeds the cancer. When all sugar sources are restricted, the cancer starves. When the cancer starves, cravings escalate. This is where the fungus gets involved. The fungal overgrowth tells the brain what it wants. It is insistent. It is screaming in the brain for "just one bite" that will lead to the next twenty.

This is why I drink imported, mold-free coffee. It's expensive, but somehow coffee turns down the fungal volume and allows me to stick with the diet. This has been a brief summery of the massive amount of reading and viewing I have done on this subject!

180812 Woo Hoo!

2018-08-12T14:47:39Z

After some forty days of NO rain, we got about six inches overnight. Yep, that's how we do it here. It's nice to see green again.

180808 What I Can't Stand to Hear...

2018-08-08T14:50:56Z

“'We have to regulate every aspect of people’s lives.'”

"That admission came recently from Councilman Jesse Dominguez during a meeting of the Santa Barbara City Council regarding the criminalization of the use of plastic straws.

"While no one wants old plastic straws cluttering up streets, waste dumps or oceans, Dominguez moved far beyond the usual solutions, advocating for criminal penalties.

“'Unfortunately, common sense is just not common,' he said. 'We have to regulate every aspect of people’s lives.'

Translation: ‘We’ are smarter than you are, and we know what’s best for you better than you do.

If common sense is so uncommon, then teach it! Education works much better than enforcement does. Indoctrination is not education, because the backlash to indoctrination manifests itself as revolution. Experience and discovery provide the best education.

180806 Oh My Soul

2018-08-07T01:13:54Z

"There's a place where FEAR has to face the God you know."

Mark Hall wrote this the day he was diagnosed with kidney cancer.

180729 Tired

2018-07-30T03:33:28Z

Today was about as low energy as it gets! I woke in the early AM as usual, but went back to sleep for a catchup nap at about seven. Then, I slept until ten. I putzed around until lunchtime and took an afternoon nap. I watched a movie on Netflix. I watched a few episodes of NCIS, skipped supper, and slept some more. Now, at 2200, I'm awake again. I've had more sleeping hours than waking hours in this last twenty-four. Now that it is cooler, I may take a walk in the moonlight.

My neighborhood is safe, but I always carry a weapon.

180725 Video From a Filmmaker

2018-07-25T12:24:45Z

Saw this video today. It's pretty much a common theme among those of us who place the Bible over Tradition. As one of the 3%, I fact check Bible quotes. You can find Jason Dufour on Facebook. The video has had over a million views in a few days.

Facebook post