Working the computer can be stressful

     I thought for a while I didn't have my  "antivirus" gizmo working. I am not the most computer savvy and  and was worried I could get a virus and ruin the computer and what was saved to it. Then, I bought a version and it didn't do squat. So I went to "find" it on the computer, opened it, put in what I thought was the "license" info and it seemed to activate. Then I restated the computer and it said it had no antivirus protection! In state of stress I contacted the company and in the meantime it seemed to straighten itself out now "I think" it's working! Phew.

Did some walking yesterday

     Here I am, lollygagging when I should be working on my writing. I tried to follow a member blogger's advice on how to do a caption and I guess things have changed and you can't do that anymore. I want to put a caption below this picture of the mountains and yet, there is no "draft" function that allows me to insert a caption. Anyway, these are mountains in Virginia and I walked, for health and to help my Master Naturalist organization, at a place in the Jefferson National Forest called Glen Alton. It is a farm in the middle of nowhere in the woods! Very scenic, with some interesting paths and wetlands too.

Virginia mountains

"FOOD Inc", "Planeat", Being vegetarian

    It  has been a busy semester. I have had an extra class and we have looked at the theme of food. How interesting could "that" be, you might ask?
   Food today in the US, perhaps in other Western countries as well, is mostly mass produced, on a scale, I and my class learned, that is really not so healthy. We read part of Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma and  saw part of the movie Food, Inc. Both about mass production of food in America. So, putting food on an assembly line is not so bad, right? Well, the assembly line doesn't help, but before the food hits the assembly line, the way it is produced is, well, not so healthy. We feed cows and chickens grain that is mostly likely genetically modified, and put antibiotics and growth hormone in there so the beef and chicken grow big and fast. In Food, Inc. a woman farmer showed how the chickens were "so heavy"  for their frames that they could only walk a few steps and then sat down. And they were always inside and didn't see the sun or grass. Is this natural? (Should we care?)
    If we don't care about the animals we should care about the end product -- food that is very manipulated, at least where meat is concerned. Vegetables conventionally mass produced have a lot of immune system compromising pesticides on them. Organic vegetables are better. Organically raised meat "can" be better (depending on what USDA laws are followed). But my students saw our mass produced food is not all that healthy.
  And a fellow teacher showed the film Planeat  and it provided info on studies following vegetarian protein (nuts, beans, lentils), unlike animal protein, will not increase heart disease or cancerous tumors. Vegetarianism can prevent tumor growth! Wow, what an idea, enough to make me a full fledged vegan! 
    But I do like meat. I don't need steak but I need to eat some meat. But I am going to try for some vegan days (no milk either) each week. That will be a challenge. Hey, if studies show vegetable protein is healthier, then why not?
    

Intestinal Issues, Enjoyed having my "gran kitties"

          Well, you never know when it comes to health issues. Someone I know in her forties had a stroke the other day. The last time I was at the doctor it seemed my blood pressure was borderline high. I hope it doesn't continue that way, though it's likely as my father had high blood pressure many years. But, unlike me, he got his weight down to where he was very thin and lived a number of years like that (till last summer, when he passed on). We all wonder what exactly is coming next, but I 'm told by a very spiritual friend that the monarh (?) butterfly that flitted by me in October was his way of saying he was in a better place.
           A few weeks ago I had a pain in my side and thought it was intestinal blockage. That weekend oldest Son came for his cats. At his apartment they said he had to get rid of his gray and black kitties and he wasn't going to do it. So he brought them to our place to "cat sit" while he hoped they would inspect his apartment and say all clear. After a month they finally told him they were coming over on one particular day, and so they didn't see the kitties!
           I call them kitties but they are long and thin, the length of full grown cats, at least. The black male, Sirius, would come and stay on my lap over an hour at night as I watched TV. Jean, the gray one, would stay on my lap 20 seconds and jump off! She would also jump around if she bumped into something and knocked it down. They knocked over pictures, DVDs, and ran after things that rolled, from balls to spools to cat toys. They were entertaining, though cleaning their big litter box was not. The closest I am coming to grandchildren, it seems.
          Right after Zeb left I went to the doctor and found out that pain was from a pulled hip muscle. His prescription? Oh, pain medicine. Nothing about putting cold/ heat on it and easing into using it again. Typical doctor. I was also constipated. Took the "Miramax" 4 days and this week it seems to all be coming out! I hope I can be regular again. That stuff comes from petroleum (!) so it can't be too healthy, me thinks!
           While here I took Zeb to both the "peace garden" and nearby "Stadium Woods" of VA. Tech. They need to preserve that small woods. It has oaks in it that are maybe 300 years old, so old you can't put your arms around them!

Busy With School, Coats today aren't heavy

      During  the hectic "Black Friday" day my son got me up at 4:30 A M! It was insane to get to Burlington Coat Factory that early, but everyone else was doing it so we thought why shouldn't we? We missed our exit and had to turn around  and got to the store at 5:30 A. M. There were maybe 4 people in the store! What was the rush?
      It took me awhile to find a decent coat. It seems that nowadays, coats are so much thinner and have less of a lining than when I was a lot younger. Do the manufacturers think there will be 'global warming' and it is therefore healthy to wear thin coats in winter? Can you survive in a thin coat in the northeastern states?
     Even in Virginia it  can get cold. I tried on a goose down (I assumed it was goose) filled coat, but it had no real lining and  it seemed paper thin. I bought it and wore it outside. My son said, well, you have a month to decide to bring it back, but I didn't want to "come" back. So we shopped next door in Big Lots and then I brought it back. And bought a different coat, that was very furry on one side. It "seemed" warm anyway, and had a better style but the down filled one. But it was a little big -- guess I could line it with extra sweaters if I need to. Is it healthy to make winter coats so thin nowadays?
      School has kept me busy and soon the grading and classes will be over for the semester. Then I have to work on "another" new course, and finish my satire. My mystery novel is seemingly going nowhere just now.

Great Head Cold, Ordered Juicer, Weather from climate change

    Is it just me or is this crazy weather a  little bit, well,  crazy? The other day tornadoes hit in Virginia and elsewhere and it is November, for pete's sake! When is the weather going to settle down, and I don't mean get down in the twenties, like they are predicting for tonight? Man, when is the weather going to be at least a little predictable? In the last 4 days we have had 70 degree weather during the day, then cooling rain, then it spitting snow flakes and freezing temperatures!
This isn't good for the planet OR the average person.
    It is no wonder that I have a head cold. I exercised, (Sat. it was early) and now I have a full blown head cold. I was out in the cold temperatures. I did have a hat  ( a French beret) on but I guess it wasn't heavy enough. And I just spoke with one of my students, who's thrown up and been sick for over a week. She came to the door in a pullover sweatshirt, no hat or gloves or real coat, it's 40 degrees out and  she wonders why she's sick! I gave her extra time to work on her paper (nice me :).
    I wish I were thinner as it would help keep cancer at bay. But I am taking Vit. D3 and I need to get some more iodine tablets. My body I know is deficient-- my hair is still thinning out, even after going off Femara, the anti-estrogen drug. Well, when I get that Jack LaLanne juicer I ordered in the mail I will do some serious juicing a few times a month. I need the extra nutrients a juicer would provide!