Update on ME!

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
I'm doing pretty well. The weight loss is going WAY too slowly for me, but it's going. I'm down 9 pounds. OK, so it has been a YEAR. But it's something.

I lost another tooth this morning... drinking coffee. Just fell out. Coffee shouldn't CRUNCH. Ugh. I need partials.

I've picked up canning and dehydrating foods as my new hobby. My parents were skeptical at first, but now they're thrilled. My hubby rolled his eyes, till we combined his love for making hot sauce with my canning. Plus, he's getting to enjoy things I rarely made before.

Belle is out of state with her boyfriend and apparently doing okay.

Pat is in the midst of teenagery, with all the teen stuff hitting at once. But he's better than he was for a few months. I honestly think getting Belle back out of the picture helped.

Rose is so dratted smart she scares me!

Hubs is working on his anxiety with the VA, who gave him a beta blocker to reduce his heart rate. Treating the symptom instead of the cause. No wonder so many veterans die waiting for care.

The cats and dog are good... I cannot wait till the dog settles into Pyr mellowness. The crazy 9-month-old-puppyness is making me insane! Plus he chews EVERYTHING! ARGH! But he loves us, and we him...
 

Tanya M

Living with an attitude of gratitude
Staff member
I've picked up canning and dehydrating foods as my new hobby.
Good for you!! I purchased a dehydrator a year ago with all those great intentions but have not done anything with it. You have inspired me to get with it.:p
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
Patience? I wish I could make the TIME.
It's a very mindless process - a few steps, repeated over and over. Something so satisfying about getting up the next morning and seeing row upon row of gleaming results... to be enjoyed all winter.
 

AppleCori

Well-Known Member
Yeah on the canning!

I love to garden and can!

OMG the VA system is such a mess!

My mom says that its much worse since the so-called 'fixes' were put in place, at least for my step-dad.

True story--step-dad went in to his VA doctor appointment. and the doctor decided to take him to do a (what we think was) a liver biopsy. Then she quit, leaving no records of it ever having been done, much less results. My sister has tried to get to the bottom of the situation and has had no luck. It's scary.

Glad your boy is back home.

Does his room still smell?

My son's room as a teen smelled like a locker room sometimes. Sweat and dirty clothes.

My step-son's had a strange metallic smell the last time he stayed here. I think it was 'spice'.
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
LOL - yes, his room smells again, but nowhere near as bad. He's also getting with the program. I think.

I love canning, and really, it doesn't take that much patience... Or time. I can whip up a batch of jam in an hour. Meats take a long time, but that's to kill botulism spores.
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
Just about any kind, actually. It's usually a LOT more tender than the fresh... But so far I've only done ground beef. Probably going to do chicken and later beef stew.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
I can whip up a batch of jam in an hour.
I guess we're different... It takes at least 90 minutes to get everything set up, jars sterilized, etc. And another 30 minutes minimum to clean up. There's no way I'm doing that for "one batch of jam". It's more like... 8 batches is minimum, and I've been known to do 12 batches in a single evening (well ok, that went into the night). If I'm on a roll, I stop when I run out of goodies prepped to can, or when I run out of counter space for letting things cool down overnight. Once... had to stop because I ran out of sugar :eek:
 

Scent of Cedar *

Well-Known Member
How did you learn to can, Belle?

I used to do pickles, and jams. I still distrust the process when I do it, but I love the idea of home canning.

I think what it is, is that I am afraid of my pressure cooker. All that hissing and that little thing bouncing around. I will have to do canning with someone who knows how to do it and then, I will not be afraid everything is going to explode from too much pressure.

Someone should invent a pressure cooker that plays soothing music when the steam starts coming out. If the pressure is getting too high and we are in danger of an explosion, then the pressure cooker could play Ozzie Osbourne music.

Until they invent something like that then, I will just buy my pickles from the store. Not that I used the pressure cooker to make pickles. I have never actually used my pressure cooker.

***

You sound great Belle. Have you contacted your local VA representative regarding the liver biopsy? You can find a phone number online, if you look for the rep in your area.

Cedar
 

AppleCori

Well-Known Member
Cedar,

That liver biopsy thing was me--actually my step-dad.

Yes, my sister did contact the VA representative. No luck whatsoever. They claim there is no record of it ever happening. And the doctor who did the procedure quit with no notice and has taken all her records with her. There is much more wrong with this story than I have written. The VA is scary. Very few people understand how bad it is. Nobody could fathom how badly our vets are treated.

I know it sounds too strange to be true. But it is true.

My son in in the military and has had decent care, but then, he hasn't needed much. Most people I know that are eligible don't use the VA system.
 

Copabanana

Well-Known Member
I hope the liver biopsy results are found or repeated, Cori. My son has Hepatitis for which he is not taking medicine. I take livers personally. I hope so much he can secure adequate care.

I have worked in prisons and in our State prison health care was take over by the Federal courts on constitutional grounds and everything was overseen, monitored for 20 years or so.

Oh? The VA is the Federal Government? Those are constitutional violations, there, too.
I'm down 9 pounds. OK, so it has been a YEAR. But it's something.
Good for you, Annie. I feel better. 15 pounds in a year. I thought I was the only one. It will help me to think of you chugging along, too. Thank you for sharing.
I've picked up canning and dehydrating foods as my new hobby.
Wow. I want to too. I have a pressure canner but have been afraid to start. Where did you get your recipes, Annie?
I love the idea of home canning.
Me, too. Cedar, you do not have to be so worried about sugar based foods like jams and jellies (I think.)
I think what it is, is that I am afraid of my pressure cooker.
Me too. I plan to put one of those new burner type things outside that does not get hot, I forget what you call them. And cower inside watching through the window.

I have 2 new and working pressure cookers. I have not used one. And one that is missing a part. (I have be to complete in my answers and not withhold essential information.)
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
Me, too. Cedar, you do not have to be so worried about sugar based foods like jams and jellies (I think.)
Meats and vegetables may only be canned in a pressure canner.

Jams, jellies, and fruits in syrup may be canned by the "boiling water bath method" - which is what I use. It takes longer this way, but I don't trust pressure canners either. And I find it changes the taste or texture of fruit. Use a recipe - there has to be a balance between acid and sugar. Use "snap" lids - which make it obvious if the vacuum seal is there or not.

If Annie is using a pressure canner... then she doesn't have the lead time for preparation that it takes me.
 

AppleCori

Well-Known Member
It is strange--there was never any reason given to have a liver biopsy--of course that doesn't mean it isn't needed. (There is a huge Hep C problem with vets. Not sure whether they contracted it within the hospital system or elsewhere) But the whole slow process starts over. And he has so many medical problems. Don't know which are real any more. Original doctor had diagnosed him with diabetes and a skin cancer spot. New doctor says no to both. It is a disaster.

One of my step-brothers died of Hep C combined with alcoholism, so I know the fear of liver problems. I hear there is a new treatment for Hep C that is even better than the old ones, but costs $84,000 per person.
 

Copabanana

Well-Known Member
I hear there is a new treatment for Hep C that is even better than the old ones, but costs $84,000 per person.
Yes, my son has Hep B. I wonder what will happen with the Hep C treatment. It is considered to be almost a cure. I wonder if it will be available through public State and Federal medical funding, in Veterans Hospitals and in Prisons. It should. I think. For the public good.

Interferon is currently used in prisons. I doubt if it is cheap. Antivirals, which are currently available to treat but not cure Hep B cost close to a thousand a month. When you think of lifetime cost of care, it makes sense to me that paying the money to cure the disease makes sense. But maybe I am wrong.

I am interested in what you all think.
 

AppleCori

Well-Known Member
From what I hear, the new treatment is available through Medicaid and within the Prison system only for the people with severe liver damage. Others must wait. Not sure how this is distributed in the VA system, but likely to be the same situation, with people waiting quite a long time for any treatment.

Interferon works well on certain types of Hep C (there were 3 known types about 10 years ago, when my step-brother had it, maybe more have been identified now). One type has a cure rate of over 90%, the other two around 50%, at least that was the info from 10 years ago. It would make sense to use the interferon first, at least for the people with the types that respond well to it.

But eradication should be a priority.
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
LOL I take a few days off and WOWSA!

OK. I have TONS of jellies and fruits. I much prefer to raw pack... They don't cook as much that way.

I do pressure can my meat, broths, Hatch chile peppers, Ohio chili, and so on. Kind of required.

Recipes... I started with the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving and went a little ape. Now I tweak the recipes, following the ratio of acidity needed for whatever type of canning I am doing. There are tested recipes, then there's me. Mine won't hurt anyone, but the canning police would probably have a heart attack.

My Mom used a pressure cooker for years, then passed her old one down to me - so I was familiar with it before I got a pressure canner. The newer ones have safety valves...
 
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