Spent the Day In The Kitchen

 Prior to my sudden health issues, I had been eating healthy all along. Since, the hospital stays and last surgery I have been eating even more healthy than beforehand.  In short, I like my cooking! While I was out yesterday and the weather has been good, when I got up this morning, stratus cloud cover was a surprise and it didn't burn off until almost noon. So, while it wasn't cold out, it had not warmed up to where I enjoy being out in the environs. So, I got to thinking and that is always trouble... I started out to boil potatoes for homemade potato salad. Somehow, carrots got in the pot, then green beans and onion; before I knew it, I had opened a can of tomato paste and I even got a bag of beef cubes out of the freezer. Things just came together. When the smell of homemade beef stew filled the air, I could not wait to taste the mix. Added a table spoon of light brown sugar, then four or five strips of green peppers chopped and dang-- it was on!  

When I ran a total calorie count, I came up with that magical number of 319. A Marie Callender Dinner is 550 calories now and I'll get two meals out of this, so that isn't bad. So, since I eat early anyway, sitting down to have a bowl of this latest venture at 2 o'clock was just what the Doctor ordered. The beef stew was perfect. Usually, I eat 5 small meals a day rather than three big ones. A snack follows my evening medication schedule. When I do eat at 2 rather than 3 or 3:30  usually  I have  something light. Tonight about 6 it was two sausage patties and three buttermilk pancakes. I'm still under my calorie count for the day of 2000. Close, but still under.

With the success of the beef stew, it now has been officially entered as a meal for cold or warm days. Last year, it was making home made chili. I put a lot of that in the freezer and ate chili as a quick meal when you want that warm meal in the tummy for the entire winter.

The past couple of years, I have stopped cooking a whole turkey. Those frozen turkey breast are much easier to cook and don't take as long as a full size turkey. In the past, I would alternate between a spiral ham and a turkey over the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays. Now, I might buy a ham slice and get two meals out of it--sometimes even three. Turkey breast will net about the same number of meals depending on what I put with it. Or, if I make turkey salad for hot sandwiches or chilled pasta.

I've lost 40 pounds watching what I eat. I have cut out most sugars, no pop, (drink tea instead) no bread, although I might get a small pack of hamburger buns for chicken tenders, and at that, there are more calories in one bun than there is in the 4 oz serving of chicken tenders. 

Several years ago, I learned that even regular wheat bread at Kroger's would change calories from one shipment to another. Then I started noticing cereal, like Raisin Brand, where calories changed from each box that I bought. It's a wicked game the grocery people play. You have to watch the labels every time you make a purchase. While there are things that I like to eat regularly, new technology tries to make it easy for you to purchase an item... the only problem with that is that the food people know what you buy and they try to sneak something in that looks like you normally buy but with much higher calories or more sugar or more fat content. Sneaky little guys. Some of my knowledge here came from living next door to a guy who owned a food brokerage business. In other words, I got smart quick from listening to what he would tell me. Sure enough, even today, they still pull the same trap door plays. They call that marketing. I call it being a schmuck!

Very seldom do I do this. 

I've got to much Scottish Blood in my veins to take that hook!

 

Two Post In One Day. It's Actually A Good Thing.

 Today, with perfect and delightful autumn weather, I set out at my bus stop. Riding it to the Spring Valley Train Station's Red Line, I then boarded the 402 to downtown Carrollton,Texas. I could have boarded it's partner and gone to the Irving Convention Center. That trip will be saved for another day, as the construction there is still ongoing around the north side of Los Colinas and their new entertainment district. 

Meanwhile at the Carrollton Rail Station, crossing Belt Line is best to stay on the platform and take the walkway several stories up and then either take the stairs or the elevator down to street level. The walk to downtown Carrollton's Historic Square is short, but packed with so much. I could spend the better part of a week there. But the interesting thing is that I found an old wagon that displayed a lot of pumpkins and squash and hay and sunflower centers with seed. Many of you have read my many post where I talk about my old shoot wheel that I used when I had my car. You know the old addage: a picture is worth a 1000 words. So, the ideal stuck and hence, the second posting of the day as I had made a post this morning shortly after my breakfast and while I was having my coffee. 

While at the corner of Broadway and Main, I went into an ice cream shop to inquire about the gentleman that I had photographed sitting on the bench outside his shop smoking his pipe. It seems that the ownership of the shop has changed,but I found two big and soft chocolate chip cookies. And, I sat on the bench outside the shop and had my cookies watching people and cars pass the intersection. I was just about ready to leave when I spotted a planting at the edge of a parking lot.It was very near where I had photographed an amazing growth of prickly pear cactus in bloom in the past. But, crossing the street, I wandered over to the Calla Lilly bed. Just as I was ready to shoot one of the blooms, I noticed this very large grasshopper move on the stem. Getting a shot before he could fly off, he didn't seem like he was in that big of a hurry. A young man making deliveries to several buildings was walking down the sidewalk. When I saw him, I motioned of him to come over. He seemed to agree with me that  this old tobacco spitter (what we called them as kids because they chewed the leaves and would generate a liquid that looked like tobacco juice. They could spit it at you if they felt threatened). The picture is the one in our blog header tonight.

 Okay. The hub of the wheel is homebase. The spokes extend outward for 18 miles toward the rim (which is the boundary circle of the Metroplex). The distance between the spokes is 8 miles at the rim. If you shoot along one spoke, say spoke A, the next day you shoot along spoke B and etc.,etc., and you cover the full number of spoke you have, in effect, covered the entire Metroplex on a regular basis. This allows for construction projects to rise from the ground to the finished building and, basically, you also have a time table that the project took in building. 

When I decided to give up my car, I was a bit uncertain how I would cover the area that I had been covering for both Live News Feeds and for my portfolio etc.,etc.I would not know how this was going to work until I could get out on the bus and rail routes following my surgeries. In September I was walking up to 5-miles a day and began to explore bus and rail routes that would take me near to my formal shoot wheel. Then, the call from the surgeon that the last of the surgeries was going to be scheduled for October 15. Knowing the heal time required, I had estimated that I would be able to be back out and testing how much strength I had lossed with this final surgery. Much to my surprise, I was back to 3.75 miles last week end and this weekend, I was nearing the 5-mile mark again. Today, was the longest trip from start to finish and I was blessed to have no problems when I came in today after a 4-hour outing. So, visualize the wagon wheel (my shoot wheel guide) and it will help you appreciate the area that has been covered the past 15 years. Of course, there are things about the shoot wheel that are considered, "trade secrets" as part of copyrights and how we arrange content on line as well as the general outline of the shoot wheel theory. The Intellectual Property Police are watching! So don't get frisky on this old man. LOL.

 

 

Election Anxiety? It Will Be What It Will Be

 No, this is not another blogger offering expert advise. There are enough of those as is. But, I'm not one to dismiss the fact that there are those who are having high alert feelings in their bodies today over the elections last night. I learned a long time ago not to worry over things that you have no control. I did my civic duty by voting and now, my control is like water rushing under a bridge, mixing in with all the others that did their civic duties. Be thankful that we live in a country where we can vote. At least; I am. 

Now, the rest of this week will be mid to upper 70s with sunshine. The need to get out and walk a trail with my camera is growing stronger by the hour. The past couple of days has been spent getting ready for the cold snap that is coming next week. And, wouldn't you know it---I have two days back-to-back of doctor's appointments. That guy---Murphy-- who wrote the Murphy Law thing, is like a snowball rolling downhill. It seems that there are some days when you just can't outrun that on-coming snowball. I just have to make sure that if I encounter that rolling blob of snow, coming down that hill ,that there is an alcove or something that I can duck inside as it passes. It is also aptly noted that those laws were never penned by Mr. Murphy. Makes me wonder sometimes, just what side he was on---the snowball's, or mine.

This is one area of my old shoot wheel where I have not been able to access via bus or train. The irony of that! It is on both the BNSF and Union Pacific Lines. I'll have to work on this because I have found some interesting things on this out-of-the-way no man's land. Flora, Fauna, railroading things that hold some special interest, like new radar guns that count cars, read car numbers etc.etc. Hi-Tech stuff as well as some fun things like a BNSF engine on one track and a Union Pacific engine on another side-by-side that looked like the lineup of a quarter mile hot rod race. Imagine that!

 

The Discoveries Continue

 Now that the final surgery is behind me, I had wondered just how long it would take before I could regain what I had accomplished just before my surgery. As  I have reported,  my daily walks had increased and been maintained at 5-miles per day. Then, I got the call from the surgeon that I had been scheduled for the last of my surgeries that never got finished since last November because of the pandemic. As our great Governor had halted surgeries, it was costly to me in many ways besides financial. The absolute worse Governor Texas has ever had cost me something that can never be replaced. Psychologically, the damage has been a lot to bear and I am working to put even that, behind me, now. Missing part and all.

Yesterday, I put on my pre-packed backpack and headed to the bus stop. Then, on to the rail station. As it turned out, I had planned to go North, but ended up going South. I had just missed a train. Getting off short one stop before where I had planned, there is a walk alongside the tracks (safely, of course) that goes into the new Trail System that tied into the Katy Trail. It is that part of the new multi-million dollar cable stayed bridge that crosses Mockingbird Lane and the SMU/Mockingbird Station complex. About two miles from where I got off at Mockingbird. The discoveries that I made along the way were very much like I have been making over the past years from my shoot wheel. Just before my surgeries, I had discovered that from the bus and the trains, I could pretty much match that old wheel that I had made from my car. Knowing now that I duplicate it, if not increase it, the joy that I get from photography was satisfied enough that I could pretty much count on it being sustainable. 

Sure, I ran into a couple of little detours that are part of a large construction project, but that was okay. I can live with those little short falls. When finally able to board the train, once again, I headed North. I was bound and determined to go to the Parker Road Station, the end of the Red and Orange Lines. Along the way, I also noted some places that I will return to---mainly, Downtown Plano. The others will be at the renamed Pres. Geo Bush which has been renamed City Line because of the State Farm Office Complex that is thriving with business, retail, restaurants and trail systems. I'm thinking already that the spring of 2021 should be good-to-go. Hopefully. One never knows today. 

On the way back South, I got off at my regular train stop to catch my bus home. I knew something was wrong from the very start. The buses were not hitting like they should and there seemed to be some kind of confusion going on. Even the platform clocks that announce the different lines arrivals had stopped, dead. Long story shorter, the bus that I normally catch was over an hour and a half late. On the way home, when I finally did catch the bus, we passed it sitting on the side of the road. It had, for some unknown reason, been emptied out and even the driver was gone. These types of things will happen on the bus and rail systems also. Just like a well maintained car can stop running for some unforscene reason. After all, it was Halloween.

                                                                               Beauty

                                                                             Mischevious

 

I Cannot Remember When....

 the last time the weather turned so bad, so soon. But I can tell you that I 'forecast' an early fall. Mind you, I never mentioned the ice storms, the 5 days of cold rains, winds and chill factors in the twenties. It seems that we were caught in the middle of two power house systems  406 miles apart. Winter storm warnings with snow accumulations in the Panhandle and Hurricane warnings along the Gulf. All I can say now is, "good riddance". Hurricane Zeta was, unfortunately, a killer with three people loosing their lives. We still have the entire month of November of Hurricane season to navigate through. 

While I can usually play dodge ball with the weather, I can not express it enough that the old human body needs time to heal. Ten days ago, I just wasn't making the progress that I needed, then along came these two weather systems and I made like an old bear and headed to the den burying myself under comforters and sleeping 10-11 hours a day. Now that the weather is finally moving out and the average daily highs in the 70's are slowly beginning to return. So, the next few days following the ghost and goblin event, finally, I will be able to get out with my camera and begin my 5-mile walks again. Frankly, I can't wait!! 

In other news, if you are new to Texas, tomorrow is the last day for early voting. If you don't vote tomorrow you will have to wait for the long lines of Election Day, Tuesday, November 3rd. And frankly, I can't wait for that to be over with either. This has been the most dirty election that I have seen in years. I'm not talking about the major figures of Frick and Frack. I'm talking about the congressional battles that have been just absolutely awful. I plan to use the good weather and the walks to de-tox my brain and get rid of all the negatives that have been seeping into my brain from all the PAC money ads. Normally, things like that don't bother me. I'm not saying that they are bothering me now. What I am saying is that there has been a lot of junk stashed by osmosis and it's toxic and I have to get rid of it. A walk, a camera, fresh air, sunshine, and the autumn scenes will go a long way to put me back together, both mentally and physically. 

 Early Voting Ends Friday, October 30th in Texas.

Game 5 of the World Series Clear Cut Fish Hatchery by ONCOR

 It's a good thing that the new $1.2B stadium in Arlington has a retractable roof. The temps have hovered at 39-41°F all day with gusty North winds and rain; freezing rain. Winter Storm Warnings were issued last night until 1 PM CST today, and that's just what is at the edge of the Metroplex. Go 406 Miles to the SE and you run into Hurricane Warnings. Hurricane Zeta is expected to make landfall somewhere around the mouth of the Mississippi.The direct hits that the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama residents have put up with this season is something else. 

Just when I was doing so well and walking up to 5-miles per day, got put on hold on the 15th with the last of my surgeries finally complete. It has been a slower recovery with an unexpected problem, but the doctors got it all worked out and just the past two days I have been moving more normal since the surgery. The only thing that is holding me back now is the cold wet weather and two upcoming follow-up visits to the doctors. 

The decree level of getting back out there with the camera has been elevated in the past two weeks. It appears that ONCOR, the delivery arm of TXU energy clear cut a 3 acre swath through the heart of the old Fish Hatchery, which is a sanctuary for wildlife, from snakes to coyote to bobcats to raccoons etc.etc., not to mention the waterfowl that find a safe haven in those old fish hatchery ponds. I've even seen beavers in there. Those hatcheries had their own eco-systems. Some of the ponds were filled with mulch according to one of my friends that has been out there since the cutting.

Of course, ONCOR was quick to say that they have the right to clear the right-of-way. That point is true. The dirty part was that they failed to notify the city that they were going to do it until they got caught. They have a history of butchering trees along alleys and even front lawns. It just makes me sick to see the images that D magazine posted. The area was a great get -away from urban noise where you could think--actually hear yourself think--- just a few miles from downtown. I know for a fact that wildlife and plants will be back. The problem is if nothing gets more established guidelines in place, the problem a decade ago has been revisited and will be revisited again. After a while, the wildlife even moves on looking for better places to live undisturbed lives. 

So, while I am looking forward to getting back out there, I'm not looking forward to what I will see that didn't have to be.

                                                                    Fish Hatchery Canal

 

The Absolute Best Home-Made Bologna Sandwich Ever Made in Dallas

 It must be explained that I have been going to the Parkit Market for 20 years for one thing. I would not dare go anywhere else and expect the same. In the 52-years that it has been open, it has won awards up this side of Lover Greenville area, down the other and around the Big D, especially according to D Magazine. The other thing is that the place is run by the entire Todora Family but the glue to all was  Mrs. Todora. Ann. She passed away this August at 98. She didn't accept second best. It was always top notch right down to the most keg beer business that they served to the student population of SMU over the years. Students went there for everything; food, pop, pretzels, chips and the like. And when you missed mom's cooking, you could always talk to Ann and some how, it got your though the year. 

One of the sons that I dealt with most of all was John. He brought Ann to places where I shopped like Sam's Club and that was where I saw Mrs. Todora mostly. She was particular and when it wasn't up to snuff, regardless of what it was, she let you know. Frankly, she was just like my grandmother, which is why that I think that I respected her the most. 

So, today while I am looking at the archive of pictures, I ran across an image that I had taken there several years ago. It started out in the lower portion of the third section of the Lower Greenville Avenue area. But it was clear very early on that it was going to end at the Parkit Market at Greenville and E University Avenue. 

The guy that I knew I had seen mostly in the Parkit Market but I knew that he lived in the lower Greenville so as I passed through the area that particular day, I ran across Alan.This is where I have to set the  stage once more. Just picture your college days in one of the biggest party area only several days from the big day, St. Patrick's Day. So when I saw Alan on his skate board with a Pony Beer Keg on his shoulder, I knew I had a future story that I could use later and that the images were going to be iconic for every and every in a day. So not to upset this safety and blind side on the board, I held back a bit and knowing where this trip was going to end, I could run up and down the side streets.  He spotted me and got into his silly mode. The guy had an outstanding personality anyway. But, I also knew that this was one of the last days to get your keg into the books for ordering a refill and the Parkit Market was the final destination. It was an annual ritual.for the older students. After the big parade down Greenville, the floats and units would break up and the party would get under way. 

Sure enough. I got a chance to wish  Alan a Happy Saint Patrick's Day, got my bologna sandwich and headed out. It would be about 4 more days and I'd be back on Lower Greenville again to shoot the Parade. I had an old man tell me once: "Kid, you got to think like the bird," referring to knowing what the bird was going to do before the bird did  it. It applies well to people too, Yes, sir, that is one of the most helpful hints I ever go when starting out. Think Like The Bird!