I picked up a pile of fresh produce from my farm CSA. They frequently have extras of certain things where you can help yourself, so in addition to my regular haul, which today featured kale, beets, eggplant, apples, acorn squash, and peppers, I was able to help myself to some freebies that maybe my mother could use (2 Japanese eggplant, more red bell peppers, a small watermelon and a head of celery).

I blanched and froze the celery leaves from another head of celery for winter use. They couldn't have been more fresh, and I didn't want to just let it sit in the cooler drawer for a week before I got around to doing something with it. I also blanched and froze some kale. But now I have another bunch of kale!

I made a big pot of vegetable soup for the coming work week lunches. After it cooled, I ladled it into 5 different glass lunch containers. Last night I was also making another batch of baba ganoush with some eggplant which is good slightly warmed with pita bread wedges.

It's all I can do to keep up with the fresh produce and not let any go bad. There was one handful of pole beans I had to throw away but I think that's it. I am getting awfully tired of beets, which are so messy to peel, along with the kale and eggplant.

Yesterday I went to the town's health fair and had my cholesterol checked. Total was 182 but my HDL (the good cholesterol) was very high, at 85 and the triglycerides were in the normal range. So the largely vegetarian diet is paying off. Although to be honest, I have never had high cholesterol.

After that I went and picked up 2 lunches at Boston Market and brought them over to my mom's. A non-vegetarian meal, but I am fond of Boston Market. Because I used my Discover card on a $15 tab, I'll get $3 back as a statement credit. I didn't even know about that deal, but they sent me an email. (I did know about a different deal that earned me a $5 credit after using my Amex card at Walmart, which is where I always buy my cat food.

I'm beginning to see that it's really worth my while to be aware of the various deals they make available. With Amex, you have to "select" the deal you plan to take advantage of. I never bothered to do this before and was content to just earn my upfront bonuses of $100 or whatever it was.

I helped my mother with some more bills. She had 3 more ambulance bills (from when she called 911 this past spring!) Oh, I called the senior center and they told me i don't have to pay them, my mother said. Well, umm, that is true if you fill out the coupon on the back of the bill with your Medicare number and mail it in so they can, umm, process it.

My mother had to sign each one. Along with the signature was a date line. She could not remember what year it is. Her memory is totally shot. I worry about her living alone all the time, but she doesn't want an aide or anyone, mainly becus she doesn't want to spend the money. She did grow up during the Depression. It's sad, but I'll have to wait for a health crisis to make some changes.

Last night while I was making my baba ganouch, a friend of mine called. I hadn't talked to him since the start of the summer; we had reconnected after probably 10 years apart, and we had agreed to do all sorts of fun things this summer, but then after spending some time with him, i didn't hear back from him, even after I invited him to do something. I kept thinking about it and assumed he decided he didn't want to spend time together anymore and that maybe it was something I said. The last time I saw him we picked up a bunch of koi fish to restock his pond, and I remember I was worrying about the fish staying cool in the hot car while we went to lunch and maybe I mentioned it a few times too many. I can't help it, I'm an animal lover.

So anyway, he called last night and it wasn't that. The reason why I hadn't heard from him is becus he has a recurring and persistent digestive problem where he can't leave the house with diarrhea and cramping, etc. He's had this for years and estimates he's spent $15,000 trying to figure out with his doctors what it is. He had told me of this before, but I got the impression it was all behind him and not an issue anymore.

I was glad he wasn't mad at me about the koi. I thought I had lost a friend. But felt very bad becus this definitely affects his lifestyle in a very big way.

Years ago he and the people from the bike group he organized were planning a trip to Amsterdam and he had to cancel out at the last minute, losing several thousand dollars for the airfare, etc.

So I encouraged him to 1. start taking probiotics every day and 2. make an appointment with a naturopath. He seems to have exhausted every other avenue so he has nothing to lose. In the past his doctor felt he had some sort of bacterial bug, so what does he do? He puts him on antibiotics, twice. It didn't make sense to me since antibiotics wipe out everything. Without restoring balance to the digestive tract.

I took down screens in 3 windows and cleaned the windows so I have a much nicer view all winter long. Put the screens in the basement for storage. They'll need a good cleaning come spring. (I don't usually really clean them before putting them up.)

Today's a very warm, humid and damp day. I would like to get out and do some yardwork, but am not really feeling motivated.