Carrot Top Proothie

This morning I made a proothie and added the carrot tops. It tasted faintly of carrots. I will add twice as much tomorrow and see if I can get a stronger carrot taste.

 

After I wash out the blender, the sponge looks like it has problems. The chia seeds get stuck and make it look like there is mold growing in the sponge. So I sent a photo to The Roommates so they wouldn't get grossed out at having to use a moldy sponge!

Before.

After.

I weighed myself this morning before I drank the proothie. I'm hovering close to my weight at the end of the contact tracing training back on 09/04. For the WGKBT Unicorn Challenge I will be weighing myself on the day I start (Monday 10/12) as well as taking measurements and photos. I will also be weighing myself at the middle of the Challenge and at the end; those are the only times they require you to weigh yourself. In fact, they say you should not weigh yourself daily; which I don't. I weigh myself every Friday morning, or try to; sometimes I forget. During the Challenge I will weigh myself on the days they require plus Friday mornings.

I have not walked for almost 2 weeks now due to the abrasion on my lower leg just above the ankle. I still haven't figured out what that part of the leg is called, but I think the underlying muscle is the extensor digitorum longus. Even when I put a band aid over the abrasion it hurts if I walk even for 15 or 20 minutes while grocery shopping. And the tissue around it has gotten inflamed. Not sure what to do about it.

September 28th.

Today. Ouch!

I did a dry run to Omnitrak; it's in downtown and I rarely go to that  part of the city so I wanted to know where I need to go tomorrow for the interview. It turns out it's close to where The Potential Most Favorite Roommate works.

On the way back I stopped at Don Quijote; I decided to get another bottle of the Microban 24 since I had not seen it around anywhere else. I was able to get one bottle each of Microban 24 general purpose cleaner and also the bathroom cleaner; I gave The Roommates one bottle for their bathroom.

While I was at Don Quijote, I got a call from Moani at University of Hawaiʻi Federal Credit Union; papers for my new credit card were ready for signing. I get points for this credit card and can use it for miles as well as other things. I decided to do more purchases on this card rather than the Hawaiian air miles card; after Dad passes I will be flying to Seattle from Kona most of the time and Hawaiian does not fly that route. FYI Moani is interested in getting back in to learning Hawaiian so I have been sending her information about the classes I have been taking. Our goal is to be able to hold a simple conversation in Hawaiian when I am at the credit union.

Ballots for the general election arrived today! We are an all-mail-in state; have been only for a couple of years so this is the first presidential election that will be all-mail-in. I am sure there are a lot of nā kūpuna that are glad they won't have to go to the polls in person to exercise their right to vote. They are also probably glad they did not have to try to figure out how to get an absentee ballot sent to them.

The ballots are color coded by County.

Ballot (top) is put in yellow secrecy envelope then in return envelope (bottom).

I remembered today to do the Tabata HIIT-style kettlebell routine before lunch. This was a regular calorie day so for lunch I had 0.3 ounces of misoyaki salmon from Don Quijote, arugula salad with bacon bits, and potato salad. Not sure what the macros are but according to the Warrior Goddess Kettlebell Training nutrition guide, if I follow the Rule of Thumb, and match my eating to my workouts, I should be okay. I guess we shall see how that works.

For dinner I had a square of Pizza Topping Casserole, arugula salad with bacon bits, and potato salad. It's really not as boring as it sounds.

My friend Judy posted a photo of the autumn crocuses coming up in her yard. I had a bunch of those in my yard, too. I also had saffron crocuses. They bloom at different times of the year so it is difficult to harvest the wrong one; but I am sure someone has done so at some time in the past and likely in the future as well. To me, as a biologist, there are so many differences I can't understand how someone could confuse the two! Auē! 

Cousin Tomiko posted a photo of going paddleboarding to help maintain her sanity! She is a professor of photography at University of Wisconsin and this photo shows it!

My friend Tricia posted the humorous item of the day! I shall try to find something humorous every day and insert it here, before the more serious stuff.

I subscribe to Cook's Illustrated magazine, its kinda cooking meets science; it is put out by America's Test Kitchen. I get emails from ATK about product tests they do on kitchen appliances, ingredients, and recipes. Today I got one for something that I did not expect, reusable face masks. They tested 13 different brands and types of masks, much like what they do when they test ingredients or appliances. And they were just as thorough. They examined the materials, the use of a filter, how the mask attaches, and its shape & whether it is adjustable. They also did several tests including the candle test, thermal imaging, and breathability while at rest or running. They also examined neck gaiters, demonstrated how to properly remove a mask, and provided tips on washing reusable face masks. In the end the top-rated mask was the Mandala Antimicrobial + Fluid Resistant Face Mask. Like the rest of their product reviews, they also have a list of other recommended masks that list the pros & cons of each. They also give details about the 6 masks that they do not recommend and why they failed.

There was a news piece on contact tracers on KHON today. It talked about how they are having trouble with people responding to the contact tracers. I hope they put out more information like this so people see the importance of answering the call. Several of the contact tracer training teams made a PSA about answering the phone when a contact tracer calls.

Several people who knew I had taken the contact tracing training have asked me this question: how long should you wait after exposure before you are tested? Here's an article about the best window for the testing to catch it as early as possible.

There were 155 new cases of COVID-19 today, bringing the total up to 13,300 known cases. There were 2 new deaths reported for a total of 166 deaths statewide. For Oʻahu the 7-day average was 76 with a 3.3% positivity rate. There were 2483 active cases statewide.

Hauʻoli lā Hānau e Paula & Lori!