10/28/2016

Weighty Matters
166.5 today
Got results back from the wellness screening; everything is good.  According to the height/weight/BMI schedule, I am still "overweight" but I expected that rating.  The cholesterol numbers are what I wanted to see...I don't believe in the big bad wolf of cholesterol myth--that the total cholesterol number MUST hit below a certain number or watch out!  --you're going to die of a heart attack in 2 seconds.  Years ago, I found a golden ratio formula, where you divide your triglyceride number by your HDL-C number.  Anything under 2 is where you want to be, and I am there.  Now, along with the screening results, we are bombarded with given tips and hints to help us get healthy, such nuggets as "eat more whole grains and eat more fruit".  Of course I ignore these messages; I know what works for my body, and grains/sugar ain't on the list.  

Other
We're still having some warm days here in Southeast Missouri.  Usually we experience our first hard frost right around now, the last week to 10 days of October, but it hasn't hit yet.  I have one stubborn tomato plant left that has 6 small fruit on it (everything else died and/or got taken over by weeds).  I'm rooting for it, waiting to see if the tomatoes ripen before the first fall freeze happens.  Then I've got to get the garden area put to sleep before winter hits.  I've got to pick up all of that cheap, black mesh I laid down that I thought would control weeds (FAIL), mow the grass & weeds down as short as possible, then I'm going to cover the whole area in heavy duty (thicker) plastic.  From what I read, this should kill everything, fingers crossed.  I need to do more reading on the mulch method, which would start in early spring--there's a book I have my eye on.  

Beyond garden things, the fall is always a time for winter stock-up.  We lay in basic supplies, along with some non-perishable food items.  For perishables, we're limited to what our chest freezer will hold, but it'll handle quite a lot.  This weekend I plan on defrosting said freezer and doing a general purge.  --More room for frozen veggies!!  And we need to check our supply of firewood, see how much we have left after last winter.  Need gasoline for the generator, too.  Those are just a few of the to-do things running through my mind right now.  Winter is coming and I don't want to get short-handed.  It's this time of year when I really wish I didn't work a full-time job that pulled me away from the farm every day.