Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat
	01/14	01/08	01/09	01/10	01/11	01/12	01/13
Breakfast
	Waffle, Bacon, Coffee	Liver Pudding, Scrambled Egg, Whole Wheat Bread, Tea	Liver Pudding, Scrambled Egg, Polenta, Tea	Fried Apple, Bacon, Coffee	Oatmeal, Tea	Egg Salad, Bacon, Tea	Waffle, Bacon, Tea
Lunch
		Polenta, Chicken/Chipotle/Avocado Soup	Steak, Sweet Potato, Cabbage Slaw	French Onion Soup, Salad	Seafood Chowder, Salad	Chicken Caesar Salad	Hamburger, Baked Beans, Dill Pickle
Dinner
		Pork Chop, Salad, Steamed Cauliflower	Hispanic Chicken, Rice	Hamburger, Dill Pickle	Pork Chop, Cauliflower, Garden Peas	Steak, Asparagus, Sweet Potato	Seafooc Chowder, Salad
Snacks
		Bill’s Drink Mix	Bill’s Drink Mix	Bill’s Drink Mix	Bill’s Drink Mix	Bill’s Drink Mix
					Pomegranate Juice

Damn, that is frustrating! I had a rather extensive shopping list that I had built with categories such as Bread:, Meat:, Veg:, etc. and then the various sub items, such as Veg:Onions, Veg:Tomatoes, etc. The only frustrating problem with that list was that it didn’t keep my “alphabetize list” option and I would have to re-sort each time before I used the long list.

Then I started getting messages that My List would be switched to Google Assistant (I think that was what it was being switched to.). I didn’t think anything of it because it was a simple program that kept a list that I could sort easily. It was very useful! WAS very useful!

It finally was switched yesterday, and the new list looked different, and since there were so many items in the list, it was useless to have them unsorted (not alphabetized). But, I couldn’t find the alphabetize option. Instead of telling me directly that the new program couldn’t handle a simple sort (alphabetize), it cheerfully told me that I would have to copy my list and put it in another app and sort there, and then copy it back. Well, that’s moronic!!! That would make the new list app useless.

But I see they have a simple solution for that. I can no longer find my list. I’ll create something, or find another list app that works and leave this Google Shit behind.

NOTE [ 12/07/23 ]: I found another app quickly, and scheduled it to be installed. But, as I waited, I noted that the reviews for this new app stopped about 2021. So, I went looking for another app, but came across the option for a To Do List template in Google Sheets.

I saw that the Google Sheets To Do List should accomplish my needs and I entered a couple of items manually. I then looked for a way to import my old list into this Google Sheet. I managed to copy the old list into the new format. I then found how to change the font & font size once the old data had been pasted into the Sheet. I removed all the strikethrough text that had come over, and then used Search/Replace to clean-up the categories & some other existing ragged text.

I am able to use both the Google Sheets interface and the Google Sheets interface on my Android (Samsung) phone. It worked fine and I was able to check off the items, via my phone, as I put each in my shopping cart.

Okay, so if Google can screw up a simple app, what is to keep them from screwing up Google Sheets? Not a damned thing. I have seen this happen with other apps throughout my technical career. Not all later versions of a program or app were necessarily better, and depending upon the direction that the owner or programmer wanted to go, the useful functionality or even the whole program might be abandoned. Painter was a powerful graphics program, but after it was sold, twice I think, the last owner decided to abandon the graphics program to pursue their video interests.

WordPress took away certain functionality that made the pages less attractive.

Harry Bosch & the Lincoln Lawyer

Several years ago Wake County in North Carolina, Raleigh, discontinued school bussing based upon family income. I remember thinking that the students from lower income families would suffer by this decision.

Wealthy families, living in the same neighborhood, sending their children to the same school would be able to provide much nicer “extracurricular activities” for their children. If you have low income students mixed with higher income students, you’re not going to be able to send a group to New York City on a special educational trip.

At Southeast Raleigh High School, the total minority enrollment is 94%, and 45% of students are economically disadvantaged [USNEWS article]. “Southeast Raleigh High School grieves loss…” was part of the title for a story that WRAL TV had on it’s web site. This was regarding the recent knifing & death of a 15 year old, by a 14 year old, in the school gymnasium. *I wonder if better security would have already been in place, if the student demographics were more diverse.

In 2010, John Tedesco was a very visible proponent of ending the bussing.

I’m 69 years old, and grew up in eastern North Carolina near Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base. Now I’ve heard of many soldiers being stationed on Okinawa. But only tonight as I am watching an old “black & white” movie called, “Okinawa,” has it sunk in that Okinawa is an island, a part of Japan. I guess through all these years, I knew Okinawa was near Japan, but it never sunk in that it was Japan.

Oh, and Lejeune was always pronounced LEE-JUNE, never Lay-Jurn as it is now pronounced. My mother worked many years on Base, as did my Uncle Bob. She as a Clerk-Typist, and he, as a painter. *Maybe we could remind folks, that in North Carolina , Beaufort is pronounced “Bowfort” and in South Carolina it’s pronounced “Bewfurt”. If the man wants his name pronounced correctly, that’s one thing, but the Marine Base in North Carolina, where many “locals” worked for many, many, many years, it will forever be “Camp LEE-JUNE”. Well, unless the Government steps in and makes you change your pronunciation of “Fort Bragg” to “Fort Liberty.”

And most of the Christian Marines that I knew, believed that victory lay in the Hand of God, and not in the might of their Hum-Vees, Tanks, Bazookas or M16s.

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I’ve known and been good friends with Jeff Mitchell since 1985 or so, and with his family through the years, but only recently asked him if he ever travelled and saw the sights while he was in the Marines. He surprised me (although he may have told me this before), but he did go out exploring the various parts of the World he as travelling through. He said he visited many ornate churches and saw a bunch of wonderous architecture. He tells the story of one time, going in to play on a “what he thought was a public tennis court” but the caretaker came out enraged because Jeff had messed up the court (a clay or composite court I am guessing). Jeff was apologetic to the man telling him the gate was open and he thought it a public facility.

• 1 cans (6 ounces) light water-packed chicken, drained and flaked
• 1 large red apple, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 1/4 cup dates
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/8 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/8 cup Dukes mayonnaise
• 1/8 cup sour cream
• 2 lettuce leaves

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Originally I was going to make a Waldorf Tuna Salad. I like a good tuna salad, but at some point, I said to myself, “Maybe I won’t like tuna with a Waldorf Salad, chicken would probably be a good substitute.” I do like a Waldorf Salad. I use dried cranberries and coconut.

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READ makes a 3 Bean Salad also.

I was planning to make a multi-bean salad including green, kidney, and cannellini beans but I know from past experience that 3-15 oz. cans of beans makes far too much bean salad for me to eat, even refrigerating or freezing it, so I was going to use half a can of green beans, and use the rest of the green beans with some white potatoes & seasoning meat for another side dish. I took out a can of green beans and a can of pinto beans, and then I saw the can of READ 4 Bean Salad.

In the past, I’ve also used wax & pinto beans, and even added assorted other sweet pickled items, like peppers and curried cauliflower. Fresh Market has a delicious curried cauliflower on their olive bar. I see on the can that this salad also includes turmeric. I just opened the can and the liquid is a sweet vinegar. I like it! So no need to make my own bean salad.

NOTE [ 11/12/23 ]: I ate some of the 4 Bean Salad. It was okay, but I found that I had no desire for a second helping in the near future. The problem is that I can make a multi-bean salad that is delicious, but opening a can each of the different beans I might use, means that I end up with way too much homemade bean salad. I would use green, yellow wax, pinto, and kidney beans. I’ve also put in sweet pickles, sweet onion & some of the roquito (little red pearl shaped) peppers. I think it was an episode of Guy Fieri, at home in which he made suggestions of other items to add to his bean salad. I had already tried some of these extra items. I think it was Ryan’s Buffet that had a multi-bean salad that I liked.

Ryans was over about where the current Cracker Barrell Restaurant is located, off of Skibo Road and next to the Walmart. There had been another Ryan’s Restaurant across town, next to where All American & Raeford Roads cross.

Ryans had a good buffet, although I recall chipping a tooth filling one lunch. I think I was trying to eat a pork cracklin (the hard fried skin). But, my dentist, Dr. Lewis was good about getting me in, maybe the next day, and re-filling the missing filling.

At some point, I had not been visiting Ryans every week. Seems I might have been out of town one week on a business conference, and had missed a couple of other weeks going elsewhere for lunch. So, I decide to go to Ryans for lunch that day. I turn in to the Ryan’s parking lot and then I notice there is only one car in the whole lot, and it is parked oddly, up close to the building, not in a parking space and running along the side of the building. I get out of my car and walk up to the front door. There was a sheet of paper pasted on the glass door and it said something about a group that was scheduled to meet at Ryans. They would need to go elsewhere because Ryans was now closed. Closed for good!

I talked to one of the waitresses I knew sometime later. She said that management had said nothing to the waitresses or staff, and just closed the doors one day. I later found an article online that said many Ryans had closed, but that not all had gone out of business. I’m thinking it was one of those towns over near Charlotte that still had a Ryans in business.

*I just found the Facebook site for the Fayetteville, NC Ryans from 2012. A post on the site says, “Located 1470 skibo rd Between Logan’s and Sam’s club.” Looks like the chain closed several locations in January 2012, and a later note says the remaining locations closed due to COVID.

25 grams of cashews are about 13 cashews. This is about 160 calories.

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NOTE [ 11/21/23 ]: I am hijacking this posting just because I can, and I didn’t want to start a new posting.

It may have been while I was still living over in Queen Ann Apartments that I last made a Broccoli, Raisin & Bacon Salad. At least that is the mental image I have, and I haven’t thought of the dining table in that apartment, perhaps ever since I left over 11 years ago. It was about this time that I also made a Bill’s 50 Salad that included kiwi fruit and black olives. Seems like the black seeds in the green kiwi fruit, were mimicked by the black olives, but I don’t recall the other items in this concoction.

However, the Broccoli, Raisin & Bacon Salad I fixed today was delicious and I added a bunch of stuff some suggested elsewhere, but probably not all of it together.

I added kiwi fruit, dried coconut flakes, dried cranberries, crumbled walnuts, with mayo, red wine vinegar, Splenda, and Agave Nectar. Don’t recall if I also added some diced celery, maybe not. I had bought a 6 pack of little boxes of raisins from Walmart earlier this week.

I fixed a regular salad and added some of my homemade Ranch dressing, but didn’t really like it. Earlier in the week I’ve enjoyed a homemade Greek salad made with my homemade Italian dressing. I guess it’s Italian. If not here are the simple ingredients: olive oil, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, Italian dried spices, and S&P. The actual salad ingredients include: salad greens, Kalamata olives (pitted), sweet onion, tomatoes diced and Feta cheese crumbles. I guess the term would be some of these flavors provide an “acrid” tone to this salad. *I order a Greek salad at Pharaoh’s Legacy when I order their Lamb Gyro. Those same acrid flavors, of the unsweetened vinegar, make the heavy lamb chunks pop.

• Round Bone Lamb Chop
  • Steamed Cabbage
  • Corn on the Cob
  • Salad w/ Homemade Ranch Dressing
  • Slice of Tuscan Boule Loaf or White Mountain Bread
• Round Bone Lamb Chop
  • Steamed Cabbage (flavor w/ margarine | bacon fat | toasted sesame oil)
  • Stewed Tomatoes
  • Polenta (waffle cakes)
• Zucchini/Shrimp/Beef Polska Kielbasa/Onion/Pasta Shells/Tomato
  • This dish includes red chili flakes, cayenne pepper, S&P and mildly hot peppers (if I have them).
• Greek Salad
  • Romaine lettuce, Pepperocini peppers, tomatoes, sweet onion, Kalamata olives, Feta cheese
  • Dressing: olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, Italian seasoning, sweetener, S&P
  • Savory Sesame Rice Thin Crackers (6)

Entrees

• Seafood Chowder
• Vegetable Beef Soup
• Pork Chop
• Roasted Chicken (Publix)

Salads

Greek Salad

• Romaine lettuce, Pepperocini peppers, tomatoes, sweet onion, Kalamata olives, Feta cheese
• Dressing: olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, Italian seasoning, sweetener, S&P
• Savory Sesame Rice Thin Crackers (6)

Soups

• Chicken, avocado, Chipotle pepper, chicken broth, cilantro, S&P

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Sides That Work

Cabbage, Steamed (flavored with margarine, bacon fat, toasted sesame oil)
Cabbage, Slaw
Zucchini
Brussels Sprouts
Spinach, Creamed
Cauliflower, Raw
Cauliflower, Steamed
Cauliflower, Roasted
Broccoli, Steamed
Green Beans
Lentils
Onion, Yellow
Black Eyed Peas
Onion, Sweet
Pork Chop
Chicken, Baked
Kielbasa, Beef
Shrimp
Tomatoes
Tuna Fish
Pomegranate Juice
Blueberries
Strawberries
Leeks
Carrots
Celery
Okra
Lamb Chop, Round Bone
Avocado
Pepper, Poblano
Pepper, Jalapeno
Pepper, Bell
Olives, Kalamata
Pickles, Dill
Olives, Castelvetrano
Dandelion Greens
Chard, Swiss
Eggs, Boiled
Apples, Raw
Cherries, Raw
Pears
Peaches, Raw
Apricots, Raw
Kiwi Fruit
Oranges
Limes
Lemons
Grapefruits
Potatoes, Sweet
Cucumber
Lettuce, Romaine
Spring Mix
Oats, Quick – Oatmeal
Asparagus, Steamed
Tomatoes, Stewed

Chicken Salad w/ Dried Cranberries

• Shredded chicken
• Diced celery
• Dukes mayo
• Sour cream
• S&P
• Sweet pickle relish
• Sweet onion diced
• Dried cranberries
• Lettuce mix
• Cherry tomatoes cut-up

I’ve already found that I like to wear my gaudy suspenders underneath my shirts. But, a problem with that is what to do when I go to the mall for a massage. I wouldn’t want the suspenders in the way for the masseuse, and I wouldn’t want to take off my shirt to get to my suspenders before the massage. Just thought of the solution (till now, I think ahead and wear a belt instead of my preferred suspenders) this morning. With the colder weather arriving today, I’m now thinking of wearing two shirts (previously I wear a long sleeved shirt & a short sleeved shirt on top of that. Well, I could wear the long sleeved shirt next to my skin, and then my suspenders, and then on top of that put the short sleeved shirt. That way when I get to the masseuse, I take off my upper shirt, and drop my suspenders, but leave the bottom shirt on. *My glasses and keys normally go into a little plastic bin that the masseuse puts beside the chair. I keep my money in my pants, and almost always don’t take my phone/wallet.

Oh, just noted this in the last few days after talking with the Humana representatives regarding a different Medicare plan (which it was decided would be best for me to stick with my current group plan)… there is a deductible for chiropractor visits. I think it said $20 but not sure if this is for a one hour visit or not. *Also there is a $500 a year allowance for hearing aids (which I need). I’m definitely going to explore the chiropractor & hearing aids. I spend $25 for a 20 minutes massage, or $35 for a 30 minutes massage (not including a small tip, which I may not always give any tip). If I could get a 30 minutes or hour massage and only have to pay $20 each time, hey once every week buddy!

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I really do like these suspenders instead of trying to deal with a slipping belt. Once you understand them, they are easy to use, and they do their job. Just leave them on your pants if you plan to wear those pants again. Slip them off each shoulder and unfasten your pants. And easy to put the pants back on, and then place the straps back on each shoulder. No need to unfasten the suspenders from the pants.

I weighed 258.2 lbs. this morning, which in looking at my stats for the last quarter or so, is the least I have weight during that period of time. My BGL was 137, which also was a low number.

[04/27/25]: Funny. This morning when I weighed, I was at 250 lbs. again. I’ve been as low as 243 just a little over a week ago. And, my resting BGL was 139, but I had just drank some hot tea with milk, so that may have been up because of that. I have been recording very low (for me) resting numbers for a couple of weeks (under 120 mostly). [end]

Not sure, but I drank a lot of Pomegranate juice yesterday. I don’t recall exactly where in Sprouts it was located, but it is a Sprouts bottle. One thing I find unusual is that the juice is a dark color. It says that it is made from Pomegranate Concentrate, but I recall what the seeds looked like and each little seed was surrounded by a clear gelatinous flesh. *Unusual, but when I was growing up diagonally across from the old Swansboro High School (1960s & 70s) on the corner of Highway 24 and Queens Creek Roads, we had a Pomegranate tree in the backyard next to a deep drainage ditch. Mom nor I ever figured out how to make this edible. If you could strain the juice and put a little sweetener with it that might be good. But the little seeds were little pulpy things. Not quite as irritating as trying to chew watermelon seeds, but not pleasant for me either.

I checked online regarding Pomegranates and diabetics. Surprisingly, pomegranates & their juice are a positive for diabetics, in moderation.

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I started to write this posting because I have been struggling with organizing what I eat, especially over the course of a week. That would be 21 meals, not counting any snacking I would do, of which seven of these would be breakfasts. Lately, I have three favorite breakfasts… fried apples, bacon and either tea or coffee; egg salad, bacon, slice of bread, a few small grape tomatoes, tea or coffee; or a waffle with sugar free syrup & Agave Nectar, some margarine, tea or coffee.

[04/27/25]: I’m planning on fixing a waffle this morning. Haven’t had them in a couple of weeks. I haven’t been paying as close attention to what I am eating, and that is why I have been going up. I basically have 14 meals (lunch & dinner) to coordinate. My breakfasts are locked in as to the basic ingredients. I either have fried apples & bacon, or an egg salad with bacon, or avocado, and some toast, or a waffle and bacon. I do substitute polenta for the bread, and the bread is usually either a sourdough from Publix, or “Knock Your Sprouts Off” from Aldi. If I have half an avocado for breakfast, it will turn brown if I don’t use it for lunch or dinner, latter that same day.

The problem with lunch & dinner is that for instance, I broiled two large thick cut pork chops yesterday. That will be at least 4 meals, if not 5. But, I also have some chicken thighs, which need to be cut up for stir fry and most of it frozen. And then what if I slip in a steak (usually cook enough for two meals) or have a ground sirloin burger meal? [end]

When I have fried apples, I put some Splenda sweetener on the apples and then sift the following spices: cinnamon, cloves, coriander, ginger, mace, nutmeg & Pumpkin Spice (which includes several of the previous). I guess I could have mashed sweet potato for breakfast, because most of these spices would go well with this also.

Finally, what I wanted to get to. So, there are 14 meals in a week, 7 lunches and 7 dinners. I’m probably going to eat one dinner from Taco Bell; a Beef Burrito Supreme, a Bean Burrito and a Crunchy Taco. I might leave off either the bean burrito or the taco, and a few times I might not order the burrito supreme. I will sometimes make salsa at home. *I stopped eating a meal at Taco Bell quite a few months ago. I may get one bean burrito, but that’s about it because of the high calorie count.

Last night, I roasted several peppers in the oven and then added them to some diced roasted tomatoes, chipotles, and some sweet onion with sweetener, Agave Nectar and some lime juice. I also chop up some sweet onion separately, and also put some sour cream in one of my “three footed” bowls. My favorite bowls are yellow and lime green, made of plastic. *Having a few of these bowls is a necessity, if for no other reason than using them as salsa bowls (maybe guacamole too).

So, day before yesterday, I made both spaghetti sauce and some vegetable soup. The soup was about 4 helpings and the spaghetti sauce was about 2.5 helpings. I had a bowl of the soup yesterday.

Now, I like to have my Polska Kielbasa, Shrimp & Zucchini dish, but when making it, I end up with two helpings. One to eat immediately, and one to put in the refrigerator. I came up with this meal a few years ago, and I have continued to love the flavors. Not a lot of ingredients (I’ve added some raw peppers, mild & hot, lately.), but consistently satisfying in flavor. *Odd, but I haven’t fixed this meal in quite a while, and I have at least one zucchini and the Kielbasa. I am out of frozen shrimp, but have it on the grocery list, and plan to try the HT frozen shrimp instead of the Publix. HT sells a 12 oz. package compared to the 16 oz. Publix bag, but HT is cheaper per ounce than Publix.

How about a salad with the spaghetti? I could make some Catalina dressing, or use some “store bought” Ranch. In this salad: cauliflower, tomatoes, sweet onion, baby spinach leaves. The homemade Thousand Island dressing is for my Pastrami Rachel sandwiches. These also come with some extra sauerkraut, a spicy dill pickle and maybe even some wavy potato chips. Satisfying, and I now have a process that generates a delicious sandwich, with toasted margarine on the outside and toasted Swiss cheese on the inside, sauerkraut & Thousand Island dressing, but the sandwich doesn’t become messy. *Way different from my first attempt.

Now, I like a Round Bone Lamb Chop (London Broil in the oven.) with maybe some mashed potatoes (add some chopped asparagus to the potatoes), maybe some cabbage slaw, and a few sliced small tomatoes, and a slice of White Mountain Bread. Oh yeah, how soon I forget: corn on the cob, fried okra & onions, or a tomato chutney.

I like a Greek Salad with the lamb chop too. What makes it Greek for me is using a few Kalamata olives, some Romaine lettuce, tomato and sweet onion, and the dressing is basically some mustard (with seeds), red wine vinegar & olive oil. This dressing isn’t sweet.

I haven’t made any carrots with maple syrup & butter (margarine) on the stove top in a while. I just bought a new bottle of Cary’s Sugar Free Syrup. I don’t think I would buy an old bottle. But interestingly to me, you can pour some of the sugar free syrup into the pan, with the carrots, and also add some margarine. Unlike sugar or Karo Syrup, when you heat these they thicken in the pan and sometimes burn black. The sugar free syrup does not thicken. It remains thin and cooks the carrots well. The margarine makes a good sauce with a sheen on the carrots.

Some polenta might be good. I haven’t made that in a while, and it sops up gravy really well.

NOTE [I’ll probably come back to add more to this…]:

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A traditional Greek salad consists of sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, green bell pepper, red onion, olives, and feta cheese.  Greek salad dressing is a simple mix of olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic, and dried oregano.  *I don’t usually add cucumbers, and normally don’t have any green bell peppers, but do have red/orange/yellow bell peppers, but don’t add these either. I do like cucumbers and bell peppers, but just don’t put them in a Greek Salad. I like the cucumbers diced up, with some sweet onion, and maybe diced bell peppers, with a little Red Wine vinegar & sweetener. The colorful bell peppers, which are normally milder & sweeter than the green ones, I like to use in my spaghetti sauce, or my Mexican chicken dish, with tomatoes, onions & the peppers. **One other, more exotic thing, is that I might chop some bell peppers, sweet onion and tomatoes and add Red Wine vinegar to a small Tupperware bowl, and then add a bunch of Turmeric. Let this sit for a while and hopefully the Turmeric will leech into these veggies. The result is a pleasing, acrid taste. You might even add some Kalamata olives to this. And, this would go well with some homemade hummus. ***Hummus is easy to make, and you could have a “veggie” meal including: sliced small tomatoes, sweet bell peppers (various colors), some chopped sweet (Vidalia) onion, sliced carrots (for some reason I don’t like celery stalks with hummus, but I do like celery). Not vegetarian, but I’ve found I really like to open a can of Smoked Oysters and include this with my hummus & veggies. Also, Fresh Market has an olive bar which includes red pearl peppers in vinegar, some curried cauliflower, roasted garlic, those smallish hollowed out peppers in sweet vinegar, etc. I normally don’t do cheese with hummus. Castlevetrano olives or some of the green California olives (which taste like black olives) would also be good. And, although I don’t think I’ve ever done it, maybe some guacamole (mashed avocado) would also add interestingly to this mix.

Why was I thinking of a Greek Salad today? Well I have a couple of helpings left, of spaghetti sauce that I made a couple of days ago, in the refrigerator. A salad would go well with the spaghetti.

But, I also have several helpings of vegetable soup that I made at the same time as the spaghetti sauce, and they need to be eaten also. Okay, unusual, but I might just have soup for breakfast this morning.