Vlogmas Blogmas

I just became aware of vloggers creating Vlogmas videos, one video a day until Christmas. A sort of Advent Vlog king of thing. So I looked up Blogmas, to see if it was a thing, and indeed information came up on Google. Hmmm… I am not sure I could be jolly, festive, every day for 24 days. I might manage to type a few things in on the keyboard though, and since Christmas is not an extended family time for me, nor is it for many others, I think I will give this Blogmas a go, just to keep myself company during the holiday season.

I missed yesterday! It was a dull day, with intermittent rain, which happens frequently in December in Ontario.

Attila is working on the wiring in the garage, which is going slowly.

We went shopping for supplies. Attila is a sale hound, particularly when the sales pertain to food. We visited several stores in town, spent almost $230, which is at the very top of our range. It was trip that included a few Christmas presents for my daughter’s families, a case of pork n’ beans which was donated to the food bank, and was collected by paramedics parked just outside the grocery store doors, three huge hams for 100 lunches for Attila, four litres of olive oil, calcium tablets for me to last four months, and a lot of other single items. At the end of the day our points card was worth $40.00 for the next grocery foray. There will be two more trips for supplies before Christmas, and neither will be nearly so costly.

Homemade pizza was on the menu for dinner. A new dough recipe was attempted, but the search will continue, it wasn’t as good as desired, although it was very good. Baking without salt changes the game somewhat, but eventually it will be just right.

Today the house smells wonderful. Attila is making split pea soup with one of the ham bones.

Attila spent this morning carving the three hams into 21 small portions. I wrapped each one in waxed paper. Then it was time to learn how to use the vacuum sealer, to store the ham long-term in the freezer.

First I taught myself to make custom sized bags from a roll that came with the machine. That accomplished, four waxed paper wrapped packages of ham were added to each of four sealer bags, and then it was time to learn how to use the sealer. Instructions were read carefully.

I like the vacuum sealer, but I think at least two of the bags I sealed did not completely seal. The problem may have been moisture from the ham seeping into the seal area, or it might have been the bags were not positioned properly. An online instructional video mentioned putting a paper towel inside the bag, near the sealing edge, to prevent leakage, so that will be something to try next time. The failed seals were ignored, and the four bags of four packages of ham were labelled as to contents and date, then taken down to the freezer in the basement. One ham bone went immediately into the soup pot, and the other two were put into a plastic bag, and then into the freezer downstairs for soups in the future. Four packages of ham went into the refrigerator freezer for more immediate use. The ham won’t be frozen long enough to make the failed seals a problem, it will be gone before the winter wanes.

I baked pumpkin muffins this morning, for Attila’s lunches for the next week or so. But the highlight of my day was learning how to use the vacuum sealer, not a total success, but fun nevertheless.

I had a colonoscopy last week. The home preparation was a nightmare, I could barely walk at the end of the prep period. If I have to do this again I am buying a more comfortable toilet seat, and will wear a back brace for the duration! My back is still seizing. My last colonoscopy was horrendous, and I ended up severely dehydrated due to extreme vomiting, and was hospitalized before the procedure. This time I managed to keep my stomach from going nuts, a different purgative this time, and managed to drink enough to stay adequately hydrated, so it was a much better experience. This time the anaesthetic didn’t impact me to the same degree as last time, so I was able to get dressed and walk to the car shortly after the procedure, and had no trouble waking up.

Only one close call with my allergen during the whole hospital visit, juice was offered when I was out of it, coming out of anaesthetic, Attila caught it in time, the print on the label was too small for him to read without a magnifying glass, we didn’t have one with us, I got water. I don’t think I should ever be alone in a hospital, I need that second set of eyes and ears to catch things I might miss in the stress of the moment. They removed one polyp, and found some kind of blockage thing, no idea what that is about, so I have to go back in for more tests, this time to a different, more specialized hospital! Shit! Ha, ha, ha. The results of the biopsy on the polyp will take weeks, and I assume that if it is clear of issues I won’t hear a thing, and if I hear from them, then there is a problem. Another few days in the life, I won’t worry unless and until I have to. I have my fingers crossed that if there is a problem, and they can’t get me in for treatment before Christmas, that they wait until after Christmas to drop the bomb.

Worldly

Weather

6°C
Date: 2:00 PM EST Sunday 2 December 2018
Condition: Mostly Cloudy
Pressure: 100.0 kPa
Tendency: Falling
Temperature: 6.1°C
Dew point: 6.0°C
Humidity: 99%
Wind: S 10 km/h
Visibility: 24 km

Quote

“One’s dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but cannot be taken away unless it is surrendered.”
Michael J. Fox
1961 –