Soy and Sulfates

 My bad. 

I was wondering why I had headaches, ocular migraines, mild, but still present, every day. Ocular migraines cause temporary vision disturbances, such as areas of missing text when trying to read. The fix is to take two Headache Relief pills (Acetaminophen, aspirin and caffeine) as soon as I notice it. The cure is to stop consuming the offending product. I also thought I was coming down with a cold. My throat was scratchy. Having the windows open might have contributed to that. There seems to be mold in the air from the humidity. 

So I started looking at what could be "something new". Mushroom coffee? That seemed to keep me wired but not appear to contain anything that could cause headaches or a scratchy throat. As a caution I didn't drink anymore.

Next: new bottle of vitamin K2. I'm supposed to be taking calcium. Everyone knows these days you need to take vitamin D3 with it, and most bottles of calcium already have D3 included, unlike when my mom was on massive doses of calcium and she continued to have brittle bones and mini strokes (they said calcium deposited in her brain). But the new info is you also need K2 to actually activate the calcium in your bones. That's a non-informative explanation but I would need to link a long article.

So K2 is commonly made from fermented soybeans. In addition to the K2 being derived from soy, it just so happens the bottle I bought also contains Sulfites. Sulfites are a big no no for me but I never considered them in pill form. The issue for me is normally from eating dried fruit that has sulfites to preserve the color. 

In any case, I'm stopping the K2 pill because of the soy, meaning I will also stop the calcium pill until I can replace the K2 pill with the kind I can take. 

I did not take any K2 yesterday or today and I have no headaches! I also took a shot of asthma spray which cleared up the suspected mold reaction.

A Little of Everything

This post will be a little of everything. 

I bought some Mushroom coffee. I've been thinking about it, but how to decide with all the noise on the internet? I finally bought one at a Marshalls store. The reviews said the taste was good and not "mushroomy". It's ok, probably not something I will buy often, or even again. One thing I found out, don't drink a cup in the evening. I think I slept 2 hours last night. In fact, I just woke up from a nap about an hour ago, because my Fitbit alerted me that its battery was low.

 

The storms were bad in Appleton and Menasha, especially Menasha. A tornado formed a little south from where we used to shop when we lived in Greenville. From there it picked up speed and size. It swelled to over a mile wide F-3 terror that was on the ground for 12.1 miles. It plowed through Menasha and injured 63 people. Thankfully no one died. Downed trees and power lines paralyzed the area. Roofs were blown off and wrapped around overturned cars. Some older homes that weren't bolted to their foundation slid off their foundations and are total losses. People are still displaced there. Some company from Nebraska brought portable showers. People and organizations have been bringing food and water and donations. Someone organized help with washing people's laundry. Others are helping find people's animals. All the while the massive cleanup and reconnection of utilities continues.

The number of tornados in the formerly relatively safe upper Midwest is alarming.

I have a chipped tooth, upper front. I have a dental appointment on Friday. Hubby is off, so I can have the car. Nothing hurts, and it's the edge, so I hope no shots!!!! I HATE Novocain shots. 

Maybe you know we go somewhere every weekend. One day is to shop and the other is to just go somewhere, explore, and take a walk if the weather is good. We have been disappointed to find the South Woods here in Ripon are overgrown. No one is walking out in the fields behind the college this year, either. Maybe it's just been too hot. We can usually find some place within an hour or two away that looks interesting. We have found several beautiful, well maintained places to walk near Madison and also near Green Bay. Two completely different directions. 

Glacial Drumlin State Trail in Cottage Grove, WI

It smelled so sweet there

Rainbow in the clouds (this was on the way home, in Beaver Dam)

Baraboo downtown

Baraboo

Baraboo

Baraboo

Wayside stop in the Driftless Area

Driftless Area

Driftless

Fonferek's Glen near Green Bay

We were walking on the Niagara Escarpment

There is no improvement in the purple orchid.

Purple Orchid

 Some members in the orchid group on Facebook recommended liquid kelp to help my failing orchid. Here are some pictures to take you through the journey so far. 

First, here she is in her former glory, in case you needed to see why I want to save her.

It was some time after this I discovered root rot. Notice the severely wrinkled leaves and root loss.

Here are two root close-ups from June

I tried laying it on moist Sphagnum moss but it only developed mold, so I had to remove the black parts. I also removed the bottom leaf. Notice how the roots look petrified. They would not green up at all, even soaking in water.

I reported back to the orchid group that nothing was happening. A couple members recommended Liquid Kelp, so I ordered some.

Here are the results after only a day!

LOOK!!!! Green roots!!!!!!

Liquid Kelp is orchid crack.

I will update again after something changes, hopefully growth!

Random Stuff

This was not going to be my leading comment, but I decided to put it here. Hubby came home from work on Thursday. Many of the employees went home, too much smoke. My friend who lives west of Madison said factories closed because of the smoke. It's bad. The plant closed today, as well (Friday).

My string of hearts plant (Ceropegia woodii) is blooming, or was. I picked all the blooms off and threw them away. The apartment smells better. There was a strange smell I couldn't pinpoint until I sniffed a bloom. I never noticed how much they smell like pee. My hubby was noticing the weird smell when coming home from work.

String of Hearts bloom, smells weird and a bit like pee

Wild fires in Canada and Minnesota are producing a dense layer of smoke that has plunged most of Wisconsin into unhealthy air. As if the heat wasn't enough. I do not like summer heat and humidity.

I ordered some products I needed. I ordered Leca clay pebbles and kelp seaweed concentrate fertilizer for orchids to help save my struggling purple orchid. The kelp is supposed to be a root booster. The Leca will be combined with moss in an attempt to provide it with an airy, moist atmosphere to recover in.

I am excited to be repotting orchids today, possibly three, because they are new (to me) and done blooming. I have been soaking the orchid bark for two days now. One day is enough but I just didn't get around to potting yesterday.

I need to make tags for them all. Currently I have folded sticky notes taped to plastic picks. I like to keep track of the color, when and where I bought them, when it bloomed and when I repotted it.

I re-arranged my succulents. Previously I had my Haworthiopsis and Haworthia stuffed in a corner shelf with a bright light that was also producing about 85 degrees of heat. Fine for winter. Here is the new arrangement. They get daylight and afternoon sun. 

I also added a small light to the left because that side gets no sun, and I placed my hoya there on the shelf where the succulents were

Two of my succulents are making me very happy. Well, three. Lavender Steps, always. Adromischus Little Spheroid, a cutie that sort of looks like split peas, and mother of thousands, which is finally growing after languishing for over a year. I found out it does not like to be transplanted . at . all. 

I also shared some others.

Lavender steps

My darling Little Spheroid

Mother of Thousands. Two plants here. Not even going to try to transplant until the pot is falling over and the roots grow out the bottom.

Some of my other succulents

Haworthia batesiana

Not doing a good job of trying to live

Adromischus cristatus. I love the hairy stems.

Adromischus triflorus. Has nice dots on the leaf edges if it gets enough sun.

Adromischus cooperi. This one will be darker with more sun. There is a white version on my wish list. Common name, Plover's Eggs

Gasteria cultivar, some offsets are variegated with yellow

Haworthiopsis fasciata "Alba"

Haworthiopsis fasciata. This one was Chrissy's

That's all for now. I'll post again after I get the little purple orchid set up.

This and That and the 4th of July

 First of all, belated Happy 4th of July. A lot of people celebrated but a lot of other people are holding their breath, wondering if our country can survive the idiot. We will, but so much damage has been done. 

Leave . the . cherry . trees . alone.

Kosovo celebrated our 4th in a big way. They always celebrate our holidays, because we saved them. 

Update on the UTI. My healthcare comes with MDLIVE and it was free! I filled out the information and received a call from a doctor. After several more questions I was prescribed an antibiotic, which my hubby picked up at our local pharmacy. I started feeling better after the first dose. I only take it for 5 days and I'm not having any bad effects, so I'm happy.

I felt well enough to go shopping later that same day. We went to Oshkosh. Hubby bought me another orchid. I have now scored two new birthday orchids. I think we are at a limit for now.

It cooled off! The noisy A/C is OFF and windows are OPEN!! What a wonderful day. We are staying home and enjoying a "do nothing" day. Hubby has the rest of the week off (company July shutdown) so we will probably do something, maybe tomorrow.

Here are my new orchids:

We bought this one on a trip to West Bend. This was my birthday gift from hubby.

Huge pink flowers atop a small plant. I didn't know I could love pink!

Yesterday we went shopping in Oshkosh and we found this one at Pick 'n' Save. The flowers are Peloric. Look at the extra petals in the centers of the regular petals! It gives the effect of jewels because of the added sparkle. Unusual!

Amazing flowers

It has 3 flower spikes!

And mottled leaves!! It is some kind of hybrid from a cross between Phal. schilleriana and something else. It might be scented.

It makes up for my sadness of this dying one, that may or may not have this name, but it might, so I gave it the name to give it hope to live. It's the purple one.

That's it for today.

The Number Must Be Wrong

 It's not possible that I am 76. The number must be wrong. Although the mirror keeps showing this odd person with wrinkles. I think the reason our eyes get bad as we get older is so we can't see them. And then we get glasses and we wonder what the h*** happened.

My daughter sent me flowers. My hubby had to work. But he will be off for a few days so we will go do something. I still have the UTI. I guess I need antibiotics. Ugh.

Here are my flowers. The vase is a party in itself. 

Here I am at Lion's Den Gorge. My daughter and I had a "grow our hair long" thing going. Hers is past her waist. Mine turned to frizz at shoulder-length. I have since trimmed it.

Here I am with my daughter and my hubby on the bridge in Omro

The heat has been exhausting, especially for people who need to work in it. Right now it has cooled off since it rained, so I am enjoying the quiet with the A/C off.

Well, I am going to go drink more water and take more D-mannose. 

Repotting My Tiny Orchid

I bought this tiny orchid on April 26, 2026. It is reaching the end of its blooming season, so I decided to repot it.

April 2026

Close-up of the blooms

The roots look good

Growers pack the tiny ones in moss, which I will gently pull away from the roots

The reason growers pack the moss so tightly is to prevent the plant from falling out and to help prevent overwatering. Moss holds a lot of water, even more when it is fluffy. Never reuse old moss.

Potted up with fresh bark and a few strands of fresh moss, in a slightly larger pot. The moss helps with moisture, because bark dries out fast, especially in a small pot.

Done

Bloom study