August 21, 2026
I am still struggling with the humidity which decided to arrived on Tuesday. Though not quite as bad as the last round, it is still leaving me feeling tired. I am still emptying the dehumidifier every other day. The issue is still the air exchange system bringing in the humid warm air. The worst part is that most of the vents are where you sit or work and near the bed. The most annoying one is the one over the ironing board.
I spent some time weeding and have done a lot. I still have more to go but had to stop. The mornings were more humid than I liked to work in and the compost bin was full. It was emptied yesterday so I am ready when we get some cooler mornings. I have to get a shovel out to do the next round as these weeds are bigger. But, the lawn is getting closer to being ready for reseeding this fall. And the beds around the house look really nice not having weeds growing in them.
My eating was a bit better this past week though I did have a couple of bad days. One day I was dehydrated without knowing it and ate instead of drinking water. I have been eating more fruit and vegetables which is positive. But, I need to be more diligent at drinking more fluids once again.
I was out to a tea party at one of the quilt shops. A bag I made and entered into their contest won. I met some lovely ladies and one asked me to join their quilting guild which is held once a month. I am thinking about it. It is an evening group which is held about 30 km from here. My friend was the president of it.
My mental health has been better this past week. I do find I need to get out at least once a week and more often if I can. I find even going out to pull weeds is better for me mentally than staying inside sewing or doing housework. Though I am tired when I'm done weeding, I feel much better mentally as I have had a change of scenery even if it is my yard.
This week, I plan on trying to eat better and keep cool. Once this heat/humidity is over, I will get outside again to weed and go to other areas and snoop shop and enjoy time away from the house. I know we can have more heat/humidity and also know they will be shorter in length as fall approaches.
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August 14, 2026
This past week wasn't the best but it wasn't the worst. The heat and humidity did make me feel tired and almost sick. Towards the end of it, I was in survival mode which meant I wasn't eating the best. I was drinking a lot of fluids which was good.
I struggled with the humidity in the house. The air exchanger pumps in hot moist air and it can be felt inside the house. The heat pump was on dehumidifier, the air exchanger has a dehumidifier and I have a portable one in the basement. That one I was emptying every other day. It took over 24 hours after the humidity broke to get the house's humidity levels down so everything wasn't working constantly and the humidex was only 3C higher than the actual temperature. This was caused by tropical air coming up from the Caribbean.
Since Tuesday, I have been trying to get back on track. I have been tired but am pushing myself to do better each day. I have opened the house up in the mornings to enjoy the cool air. I have pushed myself to pull weeds every time I go outside even if it is only to get into the car. I am working on the front of the house and should have it done by tomorrow.
We have had a lot of rain fall. Tuesday and Thursday afternoons had storms roll in. It cooled down and the air was fresh and clean smelling. We really needed it after the heat and humidity we had.
I did not go anywhere while we had the heat. I stayed home and only shopped for groceries. I did a small shopping on Wednesday in another community which was lovely. I was also out yesterday to shop. I really needed to get out as I was starting to get "cabin fever".
I have not found anything I want to join to do crafts. I had thought about knitting but there is nothing local at the moment. I don't want to drive to another location in the winter or at night. Sewing for a day once a week is not my idea of relaxing. I continue to think on this and may do an at home retreat where I make my meals ahead of time and do something I want to do that day.
I had osteopathy on Wednesday and I am perfectly aligned and standing with equal weight on both feet. I do have tight muscles but that is to be expected. I am showing improvement and am grateful for that.
This coming week, I am going to work on:
Getting back to my healthy eating plan. Plan healthy meals which will include vegetables and fruit. I need to do a grocery shopping to get a few more things and may go out of town to do it.
Get outside and weed every day. This will include weeding some even if I am going out in the car and upon returning home.
Drink lots of fluids. I did well during the heat but cut back when it was over. I need to up the amount again.
Start doing yoga exercises if I can't get outside to weed.
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August 7, 2026
I had my check up with the doctor and it was a good one. He was thrilled with my blood pressure reading as it is "excellent". What we talked about was:
* I will have a blood test for uric acid to see if I had a gout flare up. He thinks it was my bunion flared up and I have a bunion corrector coming on Sunday. He told me if it flares up again I was to take pictures of it as my toe didn't look like it had a gout attack.
* I am to drink a lot of fluids so I don't have fluid retention. I am still drinking a lot of fluids every day. I can have water enhancers and some sparkling water and diet pop. I am also to monitor my sodium intake which I am doing.
* I am to continue to do my exercises. I am also to loose the weight I put on which is coming off slowly.
Eating Habits
I am eating mainly poultry at this time and I am craving red meat. I may cook up the pound of ground beef I have and use some of it in spaghetti sauce, make a hamburger patty and cook and freeze the rest.
I am weighing and measuring everything I eat. I have upped the amount of fresh vegetables I eat and have weighed the portions of meat I consume.
I am trying to find some herbs that give the food I am eating more flavour. I am thinking of adding a bit of salt to my food as I am a bit low on sodium and I am not retaining fluid.
I have been eating a bit after dinner as I am craving something with flavour. I am working on this so I won't have cravings in the evening.
Physical Activity
I am still walking in the house and around the yard when it isn't overly humid outside. We are under a heat advisory until Monday.
I have been doing the yoga exercises and am noticing a difference. I am not as stiff as I was and I can do a bit more each day. I do miss an occasional day due to having to be out the door early.
I have been doing the stairs a lot more lately. I am forcing myself to walk up and down them correctly. Going down them correctly is slow going for me.
Mental Health
I struggle with my mental health when it is hot and humid. I don't go anywhere but to get groceries and I try to only go once a week. I am missing the time out snoop shopping, doing short drives, and getting away from the property and the community.
I have stopped worrying and stressing about the things I can't control. It has helped a lot as I am not taking on those things others should be doing on their own. I can give advice and if it is ignored, I don't worry about it. I have to say it isn't my problem.
It is almost 4 years since the Spousal Unit's death. I have dealt with most issues that come with loosing him. The only thing I still wonder about is what could I have done to prevent him getting Alzheimer's. I know I couldn't but I still wonder during August each year. I still harbour some anger that I didn't go to see him as the hospital made me feel like he was the victim. The anger is subsiding as I know more (there was no protection order in place so I could have visited him without being asked to leave) and it was a huge learning curve for both the hospital and us. We were honouring something that wasn't there to be honoured. I am hoping that what we went through will not happen to others in this situation. It is helping me to put it to bed. On the positive side that keeps me healing is that I told him I loved him every day I took care of him while he was at home.
I am trying to think of things I would like to do outside of the house. I could go to sew at the local quilt shop but I don't want to sew for 8 hours straight. I would like to join something that is an hour or two long but most of those groups folded during the pandemic and never started up again. I am thinking about it and trying to figure it out.
I am going to say that week 1 was a good week and here is hoping week 2 will be just as good.
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August 2, 2026
I usually don't report the day after I start a new page. But I have noticed a few things in the past 48 hours.
* I cut back on the amount of sodium in my diet. I was below the recommended amount yesterday. I did notice the food I ate wasn't as flavourful so will have to figure out what herbs and spices I need to use to give me the flavour I like.
* I upped the amount of fluids I drank for 48 hours. Most of it was water. Sometimes I added flavouring and some was a sugar free drink we had in Uruguay which I diluted even more than I had been. I made sure I was drinking all the time which was hard for me. I didn't know I was dehydrated and my body was retaining fluid for survival.
* I have done the yoga exercises the physiotherapist gave me for 2 days. I am stiff and I have lost core muscle tone. I am determined to regain the muscles and get more flexible. I am also pushing myself to do more walking in the house. I have done a lot more and want to do more. As it cools off, I will go out and walk to regain more muscle strength.
In 48 hours I have noticed a difference. I lost 4 lbs. Most of it is fluid. I have pushed myself to move and I don't feel sluggish like I did. I am monitoring what I am eating and if I feel hungry I grab a few cherry tomatoes to eat. At the moment, I have not set a goal for weight loss as I am waiting until I get rid of all the fluid I have retained. Then I will set my first goal.
I feel motivated and ready to continue on with this journey.
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August 1, 2026
I was good to myself in July and didn't beat myself up for gaining weight. I did some research instead. Research helps me understand why I can or can't do things.
Eating Habits
I am in the right mindset to loose the weight I have gained. It hit me the last few days of July that I needed to work on getting the weight off once again. I gained the last few days due to fluid retention and I did my research on what I needed to do.
* I have cut back on the amount of meat I am eating. My goal is to eat 3 ounces at noon and no more than 5 ounces at dinner. I am also going to try to have at least one noon meal with no meat but an egg instead.
* I can eat a variety of meat but am focusing mainly on poultry and salmon. I can add some beef and pork when I am tired of the other meat. What I am trying to avoid is processed meats.
* My quest for flavourful beef like we had in Uruguay is over. I won't find it as our climate is not right for it. Also we can't get the wood they use when barbecuing. I will have to rely on herbs and spices when cooking beef.
* I need to keep hydrated by drinking a lot of water. I can have sparkling water and some sugar free ginger ale. The more water I drink, the better it is for my body to get rid of retained fluids.
* Portion control is back in place. I have, once again, started to measure everything I eat. The scales, measuring cups, and spoons are out in use each meal.
*Reduce the amount of salt. I am slightly above the normal amount so it isn't hard to get back to where I need to be. I think the key to being slightly over is to drink a lot of fluids each day. Having fresh or frozen allows me to control how much salt I use when cooking.
Physical Activity
It is still too hot for me to be outside for long. I am trying to move more in the house. I need to up my game plan for that.
I am back to doing my yoga exercises as many days a week as I can do them. I started July 30 and am working on increasing the number of reps I do plus will add a few more moves once I am less stiff. At the moment, I am working on the moves that will help me loosen up, stretch the muscles and keep the SI joint in place.
I am also trying to do more cleaning but I seem to get caught up and have nothing to do. I am going to finish the upstairs and the start downstairs.
Mental Wellness
I am trying to loose the weight I have gained but it wasn't working. Instead of beating myself up, I started to figure out why the weight was going up. Some was fluid retention, some was over eating and letting snacking sneak in. I am now focusing on eating healthy, having portion control, and drinking a lot of fluids. When the weather is cooler, I will start walking once again.
I am trying to keep my stress level down and not worry about other people as much as I was. I have to take care of myself to make sure I am healthy and happy. One thing I am going to do is start using the therapy lamp at the end of August and use it until April. I need to start early so I am not starting after I really need it.
I want to continue going somewhere once a week. It is actually more than getting out of the house. It is leaving the community. Even buying groceries in another community is mentally healthy for me. Wandering around and not buying is mentally healthy. I don't need to limit myself to shopping locally if I don't want to.
I am working on taking small steps and adding something else when I am ready to add it. I have stopped a few things cold turkey but am mostly trying to do it slowly.
I am hoping to have a good August. I am setting realistic goals so I don't get discouraged. I am trying to get out of the house so I don't feel like I am trapped. I have my book out to write down what I need to do daily and to express my feelings if necessary.
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