Sun With Teeth

 That's how hubby describes a bitterly cold sunny day. 

I am currently reworking stopping drafts on the windows. I found the bubble wrap idea, which seemed to work last year, was dripping wet. I think the issue was that last year I pushed removable window putty in the cracks first. That's very time consuming, so now I am trying a different approach. Every year WE Energies offers their customers a free energy saving package. This year my kit came with two rolls of door insulation. I used it on the windows, seems to be working. I have no idea how hard it will be to remove. 

Roll of insulation

You can see the condensation on the window

The front east window is done. There is still some condensation.

East window in spare bedroom is done. Excuse the box, I still have cleaning to do

South window is done. In winter the sun is so low it shines clear across the room onto the plants in the east window. I love that!

This wraps up November. I didn't do very well when it came to posting every day. I will post again when I have something to talk about. Hope you have a nice December! I'll be back soon.

Black Friday Was Just Friday

 We didn't plan on shopping, but we half-heartedly looked, just to get out and drive around. We bought a few groceries we needed. The wind was bitterly cold. My petunias are done. It's been in the teens at night.

Here is a picture of the bubble wrap insulation. I need to insulate more along the frame of the window. You can see the condensation, indicating a draft, which will just cause moisture that causes mold. Cheap windows.

We are not in much of a holiday mood, nor in the mood to watch politics, or any news for that matter. We are hoping and praying for good news regarding hubby's work. I'm not wanting to talk about it right now.

I am ever so thankful my daughter is better and her hubby is better. After loosing one daughter my brain goes haywire when someone is sick.

I got the message about the cell phones....it's the proposed stupid tariffs. We're good with our phones and TV. Computer will hold out for now.

I need to work on insulating my other two windows. A good project for tomorrow.

I watched "Attenborough's Life Journey", PBS NATURE Documentary. I'm glad hubby is taking a nap because I sat there and cried because I was thinking, "He's 98 years old and it would be like loosing a grandpa." Although he hasn't stopped filming yet.

That's about it for today. Hubby wants to watch TV for while when he wakes up.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 Also Happy Albania Independence Day! November 28 commemorates when Albania raised the Albanian flag in 1912 declaring independence from the Ottoman Empire. 

We aren't doing anything. Hubby worked last night so he is asleep for now. Later I will put a chicken in the oven. It's just the two of us and we aren't fond of turkey. I don't have anything major to write about so, just a list of odds and ends.

It's cloudy again today. My petunias are still green but no longer blooming. It's been in the 20's but will be in the teens at night for the foreseeable future. I think I will pull them. Poor things. They really hung in there!

Thank you to my friend for the compliment on my string of hearts. I have killed it in the past. I discovered why. This plant develops large potato-like tubers that hold a good amount of water. If the potting mix doesn't dry out quickly enough the tubers will rot overnight. My solution was to pot them in a shallow pot that was actually a plastic bowl that I made a bazzillion holes in. It fits as an insert into this beautiful ceramic bowl my daughter gave me.

This was some sort of food bowl that came with a frozen dinner hubby bought once.

Fred Ives, I'm done with you! (I still have the main "head") I'm ditching this and planting something else in this pot. Fred insists on growing HUGE and pale from not enough light.

Burrow's tail needs repotting and water! You can see Fred Ive's "head" in the background.

Miscellaneous Adromischus pot, the long-leaved one in the back is going to bloom. It's fussy. It will drop its leaves if it gets too dry and also if it stays damp too long.

Next I'm working on windows. These are double-pane windows with the worst frames ever. I need to line the lower 4 or 5 inches with bubble wrap to keep them from freezing. You can see how the moisture builds up and black mildew forms on the frames. Ugh. Every winter.

East window

South window has some bubble wrap but not enough. I will move the plants back a bit and add more bubble wrap.

Results tomorrow.

Note----I couldn't find anything about cell phones. We got new phones in January because our old phones were 4G only. Apparently 4G will still be supported but 5G rolled out and is faster. If you need a new phone, buy one that is 5G so it can use the faster networks. 

Have a great day!

Winter is Here

 The petunias are looking sad but are still blooming. Our temperatures are taking a nose dive this weekend. The high today was 36.

I'm finally getting around to working with my plants. Some need transplanting. I'm trying to make my collection smaller because my plants keep getting bigger. I trimmed the dead leaves off my gold vein oxalis. They go to sleep once a year, sometimes in summer but maybe in fall. All the leaves fall into a dead heap. Many people think they have lost the plant at this point and throw it away, but actually it will grow all new leaves after it rests for a couple weeks or so.

One of my favorite oxalis and kind of hard to find. I bought mine from Glasshouse Works in Ohio. The owner passed away so they went out of business.

New leaves emerging in the rubble (they look like fuzzy white canes)

This is why I trim off the leaves instead of pulling them. The bulbs are very tiny and uproot easily. I think they reach the size of a pea.

String of Hearts. I'm so happy it's growing well for me.

I have trimmed it back a couple times now

Bulbs are forming on the stems

I zipped the babies off the leaves because they kept popping off. It was so satisfying!

I got this cute Christmas tree and stuck it here

My hoya are growing like crazy

Hoya Curtisii. I love the leaves

My mini white orchid is going to bloom again!

I fixed Burim's laptop. It's working well, could use more memory, but I would need to buy two 8Ghz chips. It has two 4Ghz now. I have most of the drivers upgraded. It won't upgrade to Windows 11, the processor isn't powerful enough. Microsoft is extending driver support until October 2025, meaning about 400 million PC's will be stuck in limbo. The good news is, they can still be used for some time. My desktop struggles. It's an all-in-one, and has a slow processor and slow harddrive. It does have a nice beautiful monitor. It will do for the time being. On the other hand, they are predicting next year will be a banner year for buying a new PC if that is something you are considering.

Getting sleepy. Happy Thanksgiving! We are cooking a chicken tomorrow.

SUNSHINE!!!!

 I forgot what it looked like. It seems we've been without it for weeks but maybe it was only days. 6am looked like midnight. 5pm looked like midnight. 10 am looked like 6am, heck all day just looked DARK. My succulents, which I forgot to water, because aside from the light hanging over them, they appeared to be living in the DARK, needed water today. Today in the glorious sunshine I enjoyed watering them.

Crowded in the sunshine!

My daughter told me she made a keto lasagna with deli chicken slices as noodle replacements. She said it turned out yummy. That made me hungry so I pulled out all the open cheese slices and some turkey pepperoni from the frig and baked my own. Waiting for it to cool now.

Smells good

Last but not least. 22 degrees last night and still blooming!

The lasagna is good. Very filling and rich.

It's Complicated

 What makes cells live or die. 

I need to keep this explanation somewhere where I can find it again. Part of the reason I want to keep this is because it explains insulin resistance. Doctors have known for years that type 2 diabetics are insulin resistant, but the mechanics of insulin resistance has been a mystery for years. The ADA is still unable to explain insulin resistance, however there are some signs they are accepting dietary changes as a positive step. It appears they still rely heavily on adding more insulin to treat insulin resistance.

Link: ADA Insulin Resistance

So now enters an explanation which I may or may not be able to fully explain.

In the past we have been taught to fear saturated fat. Some Doctors are still terrified of the saturated fat in red meat (Beef), eggs and butter. They tell T2 diabetics to stay away from these foods, and tell them to eat all kinds of grains, starches, complex carbohydrate, beans, rice, etc.

What these Doctors fail to understand is that excess Carbohydrate is very readily converted into a Saturated fatty acid, C-16 Palmitic, via a process known as De Novo Lipogenesis. People on very high carb diets can’t properly burn fat in the mitochondria. High levels of maloynl-Coa (from the constant high glucose-high insulin) inhibit CPT-1 which is necessary to transport the long chain fatty acids into the inner membrane of the mitochondria to be used in beta-oxidation, which leads to acetyl-Coa

They also don't understand that on a Low-carb diet, the saturated fat that enters into your mouth via the diet, is primarily used for fuel (energy), what is not used for energy is stored back into fat cells and is metered back out into the circulation.

SFA Ceramides

What needs to be measured is the amount of Saturated fatty acids that remain in the blood, that remain in the circulating triglycerides, in the lipoproteins carrying the cholesterol in your body. Measure the difference between both diets, Low-Carb and Low-fat. You will find a big difference.

Excess saturated fatty acids in the blood, in the circulating lipids, make endogenously produced Saturated Fatty Acid (SFA) Ceramides. Excess SFA Ceramides do 3 main things inside the human body. SFA Ceramides are fat-derived molecules, They're signaling molecules.

-Excess SFA Ceramides cause insulin resistance in all cells/tissues.

-Excess SFA Ceramides cause inflammation, they are pro inflammatory.

-Excess SFA Ceramides increase the rate of cell death (Apoptosis).

S1P Rheostat

There is a Thermostat inside the human body known as The Ceramide/Sphingposhine-1- Phosphatase (S1P) Rheostat.

S1P is also a fat-derived molecule, it has the opposing effects of the SFA Ceramides.

-S1P molecules are very insulin sensitizing.

-S1P molecules are anti-inflammatory.

-S1P molecules are pro-survival, they slow down the rate of cell death.

The hormone Adiponectin controls this Ceramide/S1P Rheostat.

There are 3 different molecular weight forms of adiponectin, low (LMW), medium (MMW), and high (HMW). You need enough of the high molecular weight form (HMW) to activate 2 adiponectin receptors, AdipoRon 1 & AdipoRon 2.

Once these 2 adiponectin receptors are activated, they activate a Ceramadise activity which converts the excess SFA Ceramides to the opposing fat-derived molecule, Sphingposhine-1- Phosphatase (S1P).

Hyper-insulin-emia (excess levels of insulin circulating in the blood relative to the level of glucose) causes an increase in the intra-cellular biosynthesis of SFA Ceramides (bad---pro-inflammatory, increase cell death rate).

One more thing....Hyper-insulin-emia, constant high blood levels of insulin, changes the molecular weight of total adiponectin from high to low. You will not have enough of the high molecular weight form adiponectin in the plasma to convert the excess SFA (bad) Ceramides to S1P (good).

*Explained by Jeff Cyr from the Facebook group "Way of Reversing Diabetes - WORD"

References:

Adiponectin is the most abundant hormone in our body, it's made in our fat cells, and secreted by our fat cells. It is produced mainly in the high molecular weight form. It is made in 3 molecular weight forms, low-medium-and high.. https://www.scientia.global/dr-philipp-scherer-adiponectin-bodys-fat-controller/"

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28271033/

Link: Cell Metabolism

I feel like I understand this even better now. I can see how adding insulin to an already insulin saturated body that is insulin resistant causes cell death. I have a friend who is on insulin. She eats carbs to balance her insulin, and takes insulin to counteract the carbs. Her health is going downhill. So much to learn....keep learning!!!!

Hartland Wisconsin

 We wanted to take a walk yesterday but couldn't decide where, so we chose to just drive around Hartland, about 15 miles to the south.

Having only been to the very small downtown in the past, we never realized what a beautiful town it is. Picturesque houses with lovely yards everywhere. I don't like to take pictures of people's homes. We did park by the middle school and walk by the river. There is a lovely riverwalk through town but we couldn't figure out where to park. Here are some pictures.

Those apartments on the right are $1500+ for a one bedroom.

There were several paths and bridges in this park but it was cold so we made it short

We walked along the river behind the school

Walking around the track/ballpark area

By now we were cold and hungry so we went home.

Today is Sunday and hubby works tonight, so we won't be doing anything special.