Wayne Gray

Thanks, KayDeeMac! 😄

Thanks, Tonyr! Happy holidays to you and yours. You're very welcome!

Happy Holidays to you as well, Tom. I do hope it's a great one for you!

Thanks! 😄

Hahaha. Oh, fine. https://www.yummly.com/recipe/Sausage_-Kale-and-Potato-Soup-9108445?prm-v1 This one is very close. Corbin also chops up sundried tomatoes very fine and drops them in for a hint of sweet, and "what is that?" from partakers of the soup. Thanks for reading. 🙂

Thanks, Chris!

Merow! There's one running about now! 🙂

Thanks, Jeffrey. I'm happy you enjoyed it. And more, glad that you're enjoying Camp Refuge.

He's mostly honest. Mostly. 😉

Thanks for the comment! I'm glad you enjoyed it. 🙂

July 08 (Sunday, 8:22 a.m.) "My Don, you should see these." Vincent Costa turned his brown eyes from the ledger before him to his capo. The man stood across from his desk, and in his hand held some large, glossy papers. They all knew better than to disturb him without cause, but Vincent still wanted the fellow to know that he was annoyed. He stared at the younger man until he began to sweat, but his capo didn't waver. The Don of the Costa motioned at his desk. "Put them down and leav

I'm sorry, Sir. I shall not name my sources!

I can't imagine that, having so few options available when the news is dropped like a freaking bomb on you. I work in medicine, and that's probably my saving grace. I know a registered dietitian personally, and she is going to sit with me to go over some information I already dug up - either to give the nod of approval or send me into a different direction. I'm really thankful for my coworkers right now! Your lovely husband gave me some good advice. he said, "Be good 95% of the time." I think if I can do that, then I'll be all right. I'm glad you have tim. Someone to make sure you are eating good, satisfying, and different things. That's important. A man can't have grilled cheese every night. 😉

Thanks, Thorn! Oh, they'd better get him out of there before he goes crazy. You know it could happen! And yes, Oberon shares his name with a certain feline roommate of mine. Hehehe

Thanks, Fae. I had always planned to add it. It was time. 🙂

It was Christmas Eve in Hailey, Idaho. It wasn't currently snowing, but the ground was still crunchy with a four-inch layer of frozen, white snow that had turned to ice thanks to the low temperatures. Paul stood outside of the fire station. He still wore his jumpsuit and waved goodbye to his relief. "I owe you, Joe." The time just approached six p.m., and thanks to Joe, Paul could put his plan into motion. The man narrowed his eyes and shook a finger at Paul. His breath was visible in th

I'll be pissed if I die too. I have too much to do. Thanks, Thorn. 🙂

Thank you, Fae. My father died of a massive heart attack, but my mother is still going strong. Her heart seems to be made of some pretty stern stuff, and has always been healthy cardiovascularly. Maybe I'll luck out there. My sodium is fine, blood sugar too. So that's good. I'm exploring options for vitamin D supplementation through my diet, and I saw that mushrooms were one of the things recommended. They're cholesterol-free too, so win-win. They're going to retest my levels at the end of the ninety day period. Otherwise the insurance will see the repeated testing as unnecessary, and I'll foot the bill for the whole cost of those additional tests. As it is, I'll probably have to pay for the ones at ninety days (for those living outside the US, this is what for profit healthcare systems look like). I am feeling less overwhelmed and forcing myself to be more conscious. I have coworkers who invited me to lunch today, and I had to say no. They're going to go to have Mexican food, and that's just a minefield for me. Instead, I'm having a turkey wrap with cheddar cheese. It has 30% of my allowable cholesterol for the day, and is my first dose of the stuff. I have to put in the work. No matter what else I do, most of that is paying a lot of attention to what I eat.

It is still a shock. I'm thinking about everything. I stood at the counter of the coffee shop this morning, ordered my latte, then immediately changed my order to hemp milk vs regular. I need to take a hard look at anything with animal products in it now. Milk is an unnecessary dose of cholesterol, as is creamer. I also put in twenty minutes on the elliptical before work, and I'll be using the Smith Machine tonight when I get home. Thanks for relating your own experience. I value knowing that it can be done, you know? I realize our situations are different, but they're relatable, regardless. I love the willingness to try new things, and I'm lucky that I feel the same way. There's no harm in trying. You're right - this is another challenge. I've had them before, and this is something I can deal with. It's still new and a bit raw, but I'll get it figured out. Thanks, Mike.

Hahaha. You'll be happy to know that the parsnip fries turned out great. Crispy with a healthy dose of olive oil, salt and pepper, they're not all that bad. I'm trying to do the "mostly veggies and fruit" thing. Whole grain with a lot of soluble fiber, lean meats too. Thank you for the well-wishes. Maybe I should have just said yes to the medication. But, I have to know. I have to know if I can do it on my own first. I'm perfectly willing to accept that I may not be able to overcome genetics, even with a very strict diet and exercise regimen. If that's the case then so be it. But I really do have to try first.

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed Guarded! It was certainly a lot of fun (and work) to write. I hope you continue to enjoy my work.

Good question, thanks for asking! It has a base at the bottom. The tail portion is carved into the the largely rectangular base under the piece, then it grows upward into the body of the raven - rising from the base that sits on the ground. It's made to rest on the floor (a very sturdy floor!).

Thanks, Parker. Frankly, Elias is in quite possibly the safest place he could be, at least right now. Three police vets, one active cop, and a bunch of eyes and ears looking out for him. There, they can all support and lean on each other. That's exactly what Greg had intended when he created it. There's more on the way.

Thank you, everybody. I knew it could be high, but I didn't expect such wild numbers. My provider is concerned, thanks to my family history combined with the data. He wanted to put me on the meds immediately, but I convinced him to give me ninety days. He knows I'm stubborn, and that I'll make a real attempt to fix it. On the good side of things ... I've found a recipe for parsnip/carrot fries that looks great.

I recently went to the doctor. Had some routine blood tests done that I've not had in a long time. My vitamin D levels were low, while cholesterol and a test called CRP (c-reactive protein, a test that shows inflammation) were very high. Even though I work out hard, I'm predisposed to high cholesterol and heart disease. I have three months to knock my numbers down. If I can't do it on my own, then I go on meds for the rest of my life. I've always said that I won't do medication when hard work could fix something. Well, we're about to find out if I can do enough to fix this without meds. If not, I'll take them and be thankful that I get a shot at retirement thanks to the miracles of medicine. Ninety days. I have Ninety days. I'd better make 'em good.