it's a toss up

"I never graduated from Iowa. But I was only there for two terms - Truman's and Eisenhower's" --  Alex Karras / Iowa

I’m in the minority again.  Soooo I could be wrong. My next door neighbors have dogs (i.e. one has one plus a cat and one has two). My neighbors across the street each have dogs (i.e. one has two and one has one; there must be something wrong with me; I must be missing something!  Take that into consideration when reading this It’s Saturday.

Most dog owners feed their dog(s) the best possible ration soooo they can be healthy at any cost.  They also feed them just the right amount soooo they don’t get fat. They even take them for a walk every day because it’s good for them. Flip the pancake, many parents feed their children all the worst foods and high amounts and let them spend hours on their electronic devices. What! When I was a kid at a mile and quarter south of Roseland, MN, our dogs got the table scraps and they seemed to do quite well but us kids ate the good stuff first, they got the leftovers if they liked it or not! Actually, we ate a lot of stuff out of the garden. The reason was it was cheap food and my Mom, Anna, worked very hard and was frugal!

Flipthepancake!  A friend who is a retired small animal veterinarian told me that for many senior widows and widowers a pet is a very good companion, and the cost is small for preventive good mental health. He said he would ask them—do you see your kids much—hardly at all; they are too busy with their lives to come and see me. Sooooo their best friend and family is their pet. What! Saturday question—How often do you see your parents or how often do your kids come and see you? A pet will show constant and unconditional love. It is said that some folks say they love their pet more than their spouse! Yikes!

It’s a toss up folks!  A friend is in a book club and one of the gals makes great pies soooo they decided to have her teach them how to make this rhubarb delicious pie.  She sent them the ingredients they were to bring along and one was one stick of butter flavored shorting a.k.a. lard which is very high in calories and latent with fat.  My friend and another of the book club won’t eat it as they think it’s not good for them as one slice has more than their daily intake of calories (i.e. mainly from sugar) and so much fat/cholesterol that it would kill a horse, soooo they gave the pies to friends as a treat!  Their friends loved them! Did you get that, gave it to their friends who get the calories and fat!  haha

Is it a toss up in our minds or do we know it?  I recently had a conversation with a friend who shared some insightful thoughts with me.  I thought this thought was very good for me, maybe you might not. It’s a toss up!!  haha  He said—"If I share the gospel and someone rejects God is that on me? Or if someone accepts the gospel is that because of my smooth talking or because of Gods work? We need to keep Christ at the center of it all and be willing to do what he has called us to do, even if it is difficult.” I took it to stay humble and don’t think we are soooo important, ervie is not in charge of the universe!

I had a conversation with a friend who knew a person who I now know when they were in college.  He sorta kinda mentioned that this person always wanted to be in charge and thought he was better than the rest of the class.  I didn’t say anything, but I get the same impression of him today and he’s probably 60 or so (i.e. and maybe he is better than the rest of us, that could be).  Huh, interesting. But it could be a toss up.  haha

Suggestion but suggestions are a toss up in that you might not even listen to it at all.  I understand you folks! haha I’m Mr. Irrelevant! Brock Purdy was drafted the very last player two years ago in the NFL draft and that position is called Mr. Irrelevant.  He won 5 games at the end of the season last year as qb and got the 49ners in the NFL Championship Game and has won 5 games this year.  From Mr. Irrelevant to Mr. Relevant.  My suggestion might save your life.  Does that make any difference to you? It’s a toss up to some of you. I understand you folks! haha The suggestion is free soooo take it or leave it. I asked my primary physician when doing my Medicare physical if there is anything I could do to be more proactive with my health at my age (i.e. I need another 53 years to do the things we want to do)—he suggested having an EKG and also a chest calcium scan. I accepted). They did the EKG immediately and scheduled the chest scan that gives an amount of calcium a person has in their arteries in determining if there is maybe blockage or potential blockage to prevent a heart attack or death. I asked the technicians if this scan is quite popular—it is more and more all the time, but many folks still don’t want to do it, and some can’t afford it as it costs $150 and it is not covered by insurance.  My score was high soooo my primary doctor had me see a cardiologist for a consultation. He told me that this is only an indication and can be higher with age but quizzed me a lot and since I have not had any symptoms of blockage, he suggested I should have a stress test. I did and it was ok. My doctors tell me to make sure if I have any symptoms of blockage to let them know immediately and they can do a more advance test and if there is blockage, they can put in a preventive stint(s) to prevent a heart attack or death.

I read this while eating my oatmeal with half a banana on it—"The eggs of a potato bug hatch in 7 days. A canary’s eggs hatch in 14 days. A hen’s eggs hatch in 21 days. A goose egg hatches in 28 days. A mallard egg hatches in 35 days. The baby parrot comes out of the shell in 42 days. All are divisible by 7. There are 7 days in a week. Seven is a number of completeness.”  Does that mean anything to you folks? Where does the perfect number 7 come from? Huh, interesting. Maybe just a toss up!

It’s a toss up maybe!  I made shepard’s pie, one of my favorites.  I make it in a casserole container which I can have 3 or 4 meals from.  After I had the first meal, I didn’t put the rest in the frig as my Mom, Anna, never did until it was cooler.  I never did understand why she did that.  It never made any sense to me soooo I googled it. It said—USDA suggest you don’t refrigerate it until it cools off but it’s unclear why!  That made me laugh; I put in the frig.  Soooo I asked OneSmartFriend why we can’t put it in the refrigerator right away.  She told me it is probably because years ago the hot food melted the ice faster in the ice box soooo they waited to put the food in the ice box until it cooled off.  Makes sense. BUT sense grandma did it, the next generations still do it.  Aren’t we something? Soooooo the Butler County farmers don’t do what grandpa did, oh no.  They change.  The reason why is if they can make more money and make their life easier, they change. haha

It’s a toss up! Dr.J wrote—"We sometimes discover that a friend had a need that he or she didn’t make known or went through a time of trouble without asking for help. And we say, ‘Why didn’t you say something? Why didn’t you call me? You know I would have been there.’ And the answer is often, ‘I didn’t want to bother you. This was my problem, and I needed to solve it myself.’” Suggestion—Give the gift of teaching a person “to ask for help” and then helping them!  WorldClassLarry says—Here is something to think about: make a huge massive effort to help someone who needs a boast! C’mon folks, get with it! Maybe help the poor and needy with their problems; the elite a.k.a. financially rich can buy help if they need it but the poor can’t.  BUT remember, it might be harder to help the poor (i.e. usually it’s more complicated)! It’s a lot easier to give $5 to a mission agency and let them take care of it and besides, it makes us feel like we are really doing our part! Such is life!

"Snakes Alive!" "Great Balls of Fire!" We are in Branson to watch some Christmas shows, enjoy life, and explore Jeanne's early life's history as her early childhood was in this area (i.e. near Red Top, MO). There are many white hairs and guys with no hair here spending some of their retirement money!  It reminded me of a story my mentor told me about himself many years ago. He and his wife where here in Branson going to a show. His wife went to the bathroom and he was waiting in the lobby for her. There was a group of mentally challenged folks being lead by several leaders going to the show who were in the lobby as well. One of the leaders came up to my friend and told him he needs to get in line; just follow Betty Lou.  He tried to explain to her that he wasn't part of the group. She said--I understand but just get in line and follow Betty Lou!  My friend told his wife--It was a toss up if I belonged with them or not; obviously the leader thought I belonged with them! Such is life in Branson!

Have a FUN day my friends unless you have other plans. (-:

erv

MyFriendJean said--Be too busy to worry in the day...you'll be too sleepy to worry at night.