gardening in Saskatchewan – Seclusion 101 with AnneMarie

This is Day 157 of my Daily Food Diary. 🤩

It is hard to believe that in less than 157 short days, we went from this….

**Walking around Waterfall Park with Molly**

To this ….

I am super happy about getting the garden in. We have some yard maintenance left to do, but it will happen.

This year, I added more perennials to the garden… strawberries, asparagus, and rhubarb. At this point, we are looking at what will work for our future selves – what will be sustainable and maintainable.

I love spring, I love our yard, and I love working in the dirt and seeing it come to life . But realistically, it is getting harder every year and we have to deal with.

My lungs are struggling to deal with what Mother Nature is handing out – especially these days. Humid days, smokey days, dusty days… Fresh cut grass, pollen and tree seeds. If it’s not one thing, it is another.

**Notice tree seeds around the base of steps and by bricks.**

After I finished the garden yesterday, I tackled the tree seeds. Our neighbours on each side of us have one big beautiful tree each (elm possibly). In the spring, they shed millions (billions possibly) of seeds, which land in our yard – in every nook and cranny and creating drifts of allergenic plant life on our patios. Besides the grief they cause my lungs, every seed that finds a speck of dirt will sprout. By the time we see a sprout, it has roots a foot long – each one a battle to uproot.

Yesterday, I dragged out the shop vac and vacuumed our patios and walkways…. (I do the garden by hand).

Shop vacs are not my friend. They do not follow, they come with long extension cords to trip over. And best of all, much like campfires – no matter where I am relative to a shop vac, the exhaust is in my face. In this case, the exhaust being fine dust and tree seed bits.

The good news is I got the bulk of the little beggars. The rest will ultimately hitch a ride on our large fluffy dog and come to live in our house – on floors and furniture and bedding.

While I feel like I am about one bad day away from respiratory failure, I am doing fairly well. My blood oxygen was 96 percent this morning. By the time I clear my lungs, I will be ready to do my aerobics and get on with my day. My rainy, humid day…😁

Daily Food Diary – Day 157

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1/2) grapefruit (39) (1 SVG)

(1/2) tsp sugar (8)

Lunch:

(1/2) c egg salad (118) (1/2 SVG)

(1) c Romaine lettuce (1/2 SVG)

(18) Onion & Garlic chips (232)

(60) oz water

Supper:

(12) oz carbonated water

(4) oz barbecue lean ground beef (243)

(4) oz macaroni salad (258)

(1/2) tomato (11)

(1/2) c onions (30)

(1/2) c mushrooms (23)

(1) tbsp horseradish (7)

*** Total vegetables (1 SVG)

(1) serving Apple Crisp (227) (1 SVG)

Total net calories: 1092

Net calories goal: 1238 – 1092 = 146 under 👍

Total Fruits & Vegetables: 4 servings

Fruits & Vegetable goal: 7 servings

That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! ☺️💕

It is 150 Days since I started my Daily Food Diary. 🙌

It is decades since I was first diagnosed with asthma and five years since being diagnosed with COPD and bronchiectasis. A few weeks ago I was diagnosed with my most recent bout of bronchitis. I was given and completed a round of antibiotics and Prednisone – which I completed as usual.

Follow up x-rays showed that I still had a fair amount of infection in my lungs – particularly in my left lung. My respiratory specialist assured my husband and I that it would continue to clear up.

Then we had a round of visits from grandchildren – all from my daughter’s family. Her son Rory came to work up garden planters, her daughter Genie (Genevieve) likewise came to spend an afternoon helping me in the garden, and her daughter Prim came by for supper and a couple of hours of Cribbage. All in all… I did way too much visiting – specifically talking – and I developed laryngitis.

Yesterday, the smoke from northern forest fires rolled in. It wasn’t noticeable when Dan and I walked Molly first thing in the morning. By lunchtime, despite staying indoors and best efforts (and two air purifiers) I managed to inhale enough smoke for it to be bothersome. Not only is forest fire smoke particularly bad for compromised lungs, I am allergic to trees and any part thereof. The smaller the part, the worse it is.

The bottom line is, I am not dying – I don’t even feel that bad. But, I am pretty sure this isn’t helping to clear up my lung infection and it certainly isn’t helping my laryngitis. 🤦

Until this smoke clears, outside work and walking Molly is off the table. I am doing housework, relaxing, and eating ice cream – for the second day in a row. Ice cream is high in calories and saturated fats – but it feels good and is helping my laryngitis to ease off. So… It is not poor diet, it is good medicine. 😌

*** Thoughts and prayers for all those who are in the midst of these forest fires, those who are fleeing for their lives, those who are losing their homes, cottages, and livelihoods, those who are caught up in forest fire smoke MUCH worse than what we are experiencing. I truly cannot imagine. Also, thoughts and prayers for those who have been fighting these fires and those who are on their way to join them in their fight. 💞

https://cwfis.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/home

Daily Food Diary – Day 150

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

Lunch:

(2) oz pork tenderloin (83) (.8 gram)

(1) sm. garden salad (100)

(1) tbsp Kraft French Dressing (60) (1 gram)

(2) tbsp dried fried onions (33) (1.1 grams)

(10) No Name BBQ chips (54) (.3 grams)

Snacks:

(48) oz water

(1) Smirnoff Berry Blast (90)

(1/4) c hickory almonds (186)

(1) c licorice tea with honey (21)

Supper:

(2) cabbage rolls (166) (4 grams)

(2/3) c French vanilla ice cream (183) (5.8 grams)

(2) tbsp caramel sauce (140) (.8 grams)

(9) pecan halves (59)

Total net calories: 1086

Net calorie goal: 1239 – 1086 = 153 under 👍

Total saturated fats: 20.9

Saturated fats goal: 13.75 👎

That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💕 🌞

Tag: gardening in Saskatchewan

Daily Food Diary – Day 157 of 365

Daily Food Diary – Day 150 of 365