Thursday, June 29

[gottawonder]

Today I am grateful for:

Lovely weather, though a little too hot for my taste.

I had a tough time finding the small hatchet that I mostly use for cutting down saplings, it was in the truck. This is what happens, I use things and I know where they are until my husband uses it for something, and he doesn't put it where I will find it. Then I have to look all over the place for it, and he no longer remembers where he put it.

Whenever this happens, it drives me NUTS. I have considered buying tools for myself and locking them in the garden shed so that I will always know where my tools are.

Anyhow, I did go clear a big area of poplar saplings. They were in the horse pasture, and in the last couple of years they have really started to shoot up all over the place. I did want one strip of trees in the pasture for shade and to be a barrier near the road, but I don't really want them anywhere else because wherever the trees take over, it isn't good pasture.

I think the people who lived here before took a big pasture mower out there every now and then and cut down everything, but we don't have one. So, I walk around with a hatchet and try to keep it clear. Especially anything that might interfere with the fence.

It was a pretty hot day for it, but I feel like I have to do SOMETHING useful most days.

My husband came back for his set of days off, and on his way home he picked up some movies from the movie store. We still primarily watch movies and shows on DVD, and this is just about the last place we can get newer releases. I like owning movies, because then you are not being manipulated by all of the streaming services, where movies may suddenly be no longer available depending on what studios will partner with which service, etc.

I did the usual letting animals out into their pastures for a while and watered the garden, watered potted plants, took out the compost.

We watched John Wick 4, and it was really good. I didn't care for 2 and 3 that much, but this one was really good. The first one of course, was awesome.

I learned that after the Korean War, hungry Koreans would salvage leftover food from US army bases and cook it into stew. “Army Base Stew” is still eaten as a comfort food and can include instant noodles, hot dogs, American cheese, and Spam.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budae-jjigae

Comments

[cf2princessawnw]

Sounds like a nice day overall.
Got to feel good to do work, but perhaps, yes, your own tools if affordable could make it more enjoyable a chore. If unsure, you could buy just a few or even one, and test out if it helps the situation.

[gottawonder]

Most of the time I find what I need, but it is so frustrating when you need to do a job and the tool is nowhere to be found, and the last person who used it (husband) doesn't remember where he put it.

There are a LOT of places a tool can be on our place! Anywhere in the house, the garage, the garden shed, in either of the two storage quonsets, the barn, or one of the vehicles. It just takes time to find anything that is not put back in the garage (even finding things in the garage can be tough at times).

I might not buy a lot of tools for myself, but I am considering at least a hatchet and a drill. We'll see.

I kind of hate cutting down nice little saplings, but poplars are almost like weeds, in that they spread incredibly fast and can take over an open space in no time. I try to comfort myself in the knowledge that most of these saplings grow up from the roots of a bigger nearby tree; they're clones. I'm not really killing the main tree, just "trimming" it.

It was satisfying to clear the area, especially since some were going to be growing up right by the fence, and you can't let them do that.

[cf2princessawnw]

I can only imagine. I hope that if you do get the hatchet and drill, you'll find that to be a good stress relief of the situation and maybe you can guide you as to what you may need to do next, or if that was simply enough to take the edge off.

[ratunderpaper]

I have heard about that stew. It sounds horrible - something that would cause an early death.

[gottawonder]

Well, it began when they were all starving to death during the war, so...slow death vs. faster death?

I know, they don't have the same excuse to KEEP eating it!!!

It doesn't sound bad, but you're right, not so healthy.

[ratunderpaper]

My friend just had a heart attack and is in hospital waiting for triple bypass surgery. He thinks his love of stodge, like chips and cheese, contributed to blocked arteries and he vows to eat healthier.

[gottawonder]

It probably didn't help. I hope he's okay.

[ratunderpaper]

Coronary artery disease is serious, so I hope this is a wake-up call for him.

I hope it's a wake-up call for several sedentary, stodge-loving people I know.

[gottawonder]

Yeah, people don't seem to take it very seriously until something happens, often.

There isn't much point as a friend or family member in mentioning the concerns, after all, it's not "your problem" (and it isn't).

I am still Facebook friends with a woman that I used to be friends-ish with many years ago in person. I don't know what she weighs now, but she was pretty big back in the day and likely is much bigger now. I know she has some issues with mobility and she isn't much older than I am.

Yes, she's had trauma in her life that apparently manifests in eating a lot, smoking weed, and sitting to play video games.

I don't generally say a lot about her choices, but sometimes she posts "fat positive" things, more or less along the lines of "being fat isn't a health issue", and I do say something.

Saying that people of all body sizes deserve to be treated like human beings is absolutely fair. To go on to say that it poses no health risks is irresponsible.

[ratunderpaper]

It seems unkind to say that I was surprised that Thomas was the first of a group of sedentary "at risk" men to suffer life-threatening health problems. I suppose I expected the obese, the junk food eaters, those who thumb their noses at doctors and nutrition, to fall first.

[gottawonder]

There can be hereditary factors, and people who are not obese can still have issues with high blood pressure and cholesterol.

[ratunderpaper]

They certainly can, and seeing a physician regularly will help manage one's, say, hypertension before a crisis occurs.

Some people are steadfast in their belief that they can overcome any health issue by circumventing medical treatment.

Oh, remember anti-vaxxers?

[lantairvlea]

I'm also a physical dvd/blu-ray person. Having it somewhere in the nethersphere doesn't settle with me because, as you said, it's subject to the whims of those who control the database.

[gottawonder]

Our collection is vast, and there are movies and series that you would have to subscribe to several different services to be able to watch them because of how the studios are all starting to have their own channels.

What gets me, is that streaming services will also STILL charge a premium to watch their newer movies, and have "premieres" that cost as much as buying the DVD.

If people stop buying the DVDs, at some point they will have no option, and it will only be streaming.

[lantairvlea]

We also have quite the collection. I hope physical media still continues to be a thing because having no real ownership of the media and it being subject to the whims of the companies what we can see or not just doesn't settle well with me.