A long time ago, back when I started blogging, I read a ‘what not to write about on your blog’ post written by someone else. The blogger said you shouldn’t apologize or even indicate that you’d been away from your blog in a post when you come back from a break in blogging.
No matter how many full moons go by, their advice was:
You should just jump right back in and write as though you planned it that way.
Hmm …
Okay …
Now what?
I mumbled to myself as my fingers fumbled as I tried to find words to type.
“Well, doing that feels incredibly awkward – I feel like I do owe my adoring fan club at least a tiny explanation since I have been gone for quite a while!”
Followed by:
“Who really cares where I’ve been or that I was gone for a while anyhow?”
And …
“There’s enough going on in the world right now, sharing what’s been happening in my little ol’ world seems like …”
Sharing a nonsensical photo. Why would I do it?
Oh, well …
“What the h*ll – In case you’re wondering where I have been …
I’ve spent plenty of heart-melting (warming) days thinking. And I’ve had bone-chilling moments that have been occupying my days too.
I’ve had thoughts about the revealing sh*t that’s happening in the world that we live in.
And, about my dad and his sweetheart – a quick update on that front. She did go home for almost 8 days before she had a stroke. Then she went back into the hospital for another 8 days and is now in a rehab nursing home for hopefully 3 weeks. She has not fully recovered from the cognitive changes resulting from the surgery. My dad’s Alzheimer’s hasn’t improved much with all the stress. But he’s back home, staying put with daily phone calls from me or my brother to remind him not to go out in public. Or not to go to the nursing home to visit – they’re in lock-down NO VISITORS.
“Yes, I remember dear … It’s lonely staying home.”
Needless to say, I’ve been on pins and needles a lot over the last month.
I’ve paused a lot to watch the snow melting away at a nice and slow pace – thankfully no flooding has happened in our yard.
We’ve been doing awesome remaining on our new diet plan. Mr. has been able to get off of all of his blood pressure and cholesterol medications! If I could shout from the top of a hill to every person I know I’d say,
“What we eat is the easiest thing to change to prevent the diseases that put us at the highest of risks.”
With all the time on my hands, I’ve done serious studying about the LCHF diets, the risks and, yes, biased mostly by looking at the benefits. And it makes me incredibly angry that the SAD diet and the DASH diet are so mainstream still after all the evidence contrary to them being beneficial to anyone. And about the ways that our eating so horribly is taking many of us on the slow and steady track to becoming those who are at the highest risks for death from COVID19.
Sigh – I went where I didn’t want to go.
Out on a bone-chilling limb here in my blog post.
If you’re into shocking things to watch – search for the Widowmaker Movie on YouTube. Or look up Nutrition Science – How did we get here? by Belinda Fettke. Both were quite the eye-openers to me.
Back to the diet food we’ve been eating – it has been delightful, satiating and we’re not missing any of the carb-loaded stuff that others cleared from the store shelves in panic mode. No pasta, or carb-age for us.
Bring on the whole fat butter, eggs, and bacon! And pancakes made from coconut and almond flour.
And we’ve even enjoyed home-baked gluten-free – keto-friendly bread!
In between meals, we’ve been taking lots of long walks outside. Talking often about life and mistakes we made in our diet all these years. We’re trying hard to not look back with guilt. Instead, we’re looking forward to healthier lives. And eerily liking some strange feelings as we walk – as in no pain in our joints and how much we kind of like not having so much traffic on the roads. Freedom from insulin resistance caused inflammation is a damn good thing to enjoy.
Oh, and, when I risk moments to peek at social media, as a gone-gray haired already gal, I did smile at the memes that say, (sorry if I offend you by doing so!)
“We’re just weeks from seeing everyone’s real hair color.”
Yesterday, craving a bit of comfort food – I baked low-carb cookies.
And enjoyed brief moments in the (36 F degrees) sunshine, as the air chilled our glass of low-carb wine.
Before I sign off today – Please know that I did miss all of you while I was on break! I want to say thank you so much for the kind and supportive comments you shared on my last post. I simply didn’t have the energy to reply – I hope you understand why I didn’t.
PS – I hope you are doing well and that you’re finding ways to take care of yourselves. And that you’re doing your best to help the world flatten the curve. I have faith we’ll survive! I’ll be back again sometime in the future – no promises when! Hugs to all of you – xxoo
It’s good to see you, Shelley. I’m glad we finally got the stupid notifications working so that I knew you were back – if only to say that you will be back, sometime. That’s OK. Take care of you and yours in this difficult time. Share what you can, when you can and take comfort in the fact that we’ll be here when you come back. And ignore that advice. If you don’t tell us in your post, you’ll have to explain it in replies 100 different comments.
I will add that I feel bad for your mom and dad. These things are hard enough without isolation being imposed on top of illness.
Take care.
It’s good to hear from you, Dan – I’m glad we got the notification thing figured out too! Thank you for your encouragement and great blogging advice. It is a challenging time for our family – we’re hanging in there as best as we can. I hope your family is doing well – I’ll be by to see what you’ve been up to soon. Take care too – PS I so appreciate your continuing blogging support!!
You’re welcome, Shelley. Hang in there and stay safe.
Ditto to you!
Welcome back, Shelley. The food looks so delicious! Sorry about Copper, ouch! Poor little guy. Yay for the snow going away, warmer days are coming soon, stay safe guys!
Thank you, John – so nice to hear from you!! Copper has been a trooper! Yes, warmer weather is a welcome change to life. I bet it’s weird on the LV Strip without all the crowds. I hope you’re staying safe too. PS – I so enjoy your Instagram photos!
Thanks so much on the IG photos! I don’t go near the Strip regardless but I bet it’s rather empty down there now as it should be. Store shelves are still empty of many items but people in my neighborhood have been out walking, jogging and dog walking. Supposed to hit 68 today…
You’re welcome! Yeah, the emptiness is everywhere. We saw an upsurge in walkers in our neighborhood too. We’re not quite that warm, but the sun is shining and the stir crazies feel better with a dose of sun and fresh air!
Gotta get some sunshine! My neighbors next door finally cleaned up their nasty overgrown yard, apparently since they’ve been laid off from work. Kind of the same thing across the street. They worked on the front yard a good bit yesterday and were at it again today pruning a short palm tree and cleaning up details. Good. I live in an HOA and expect my neighbors to keep things tidy! My place is always looking good…
Yes – sunshine is very important! Yard work – sigh – you’d kick us out of the HOA with the number Copper’s visits over the winter have done to the yard, it looks like a poop-bomb went off! LOL Your yard does always look great in photos!
The grass will recover but look different, I don’t show photos of the front yard. It’s really tiny and close to the road. My grass is faux so it’s always green, I was just out there warming my bones in the sun and scuffle-hoeing some tiny weeds down. Weeds are nasty! 😎
I’m looking forward to seeing green instead of brown in our yard. Faux grass must be easier to take care of. Weeding is therapeutic to me. I do agree, weeds can be nasty!
There’s zero maint. on it other than a leaf blower. I keep my yards weed free or else!
Hi Shelley. Good to see you back. I was wondering if you were okay – especially if your dad was as well. It is tough to be kept from him, but these days it is a whole new reality. Spring is here (supposedly) so hopefully the warmer weather (eventually…we are getting snow this week…ugh) will lift our spirits. Stay safe. 🙂
Hi, thank you – I missed hearing from you. I hope you and your family are well. You’re right it is our new ‘norm’ which feels quite awkward. Signs of spring here too – we haven’t quite had 3 snows on the Robin’s tale yet, so we’re due for more too. Stay safe 🙂
You are most welcome! We are doing okay here trying to take it one day at a time. It is very surreal though.
I’m glad you’re doing okay. It is hard and very surreal. One day at a time is the way we’ll make it through this.
Agreed. We are living through a unique time in history.
Excellent post. Breakfast looked really good … instead of gruel. thanks for sharing
Thank you, John – I don’t think I’ve ever tasted gruel – I think I’d go for your fried chicken instead ;-)! PS – I hope it’s okay, I’m sharing the link to your book – I love the 11 page sneak peek – I’m off to order the e-book for my files!
https://www.blurb.com/ebooks/717792-old-man-s-verse
Thanks for the updates, Shelley. The food looks delicious. I may have some pancakes myself this morning. Glad everything is going okay. Poor Copper. Walking Benny gets me out of the house twice a day and that is helpful, but truthfully I’m enjoying guilt free time in the studio!
You’re welcome Janet – thank you for reaching out to me, I so appreciate your blogging friendship and Instagram too! It was weird – Copper didn’t seem to be in any pain, he sure freaked out with the bandage on his foot, that was funny in a way. Walking the dog is perfect reason to get out and enjoy fresh air. I’m glad to hear you’re getting quality time in the studio!!! Take care and stay safe!
Oh, I know I completely understand. And, really, I think blogs with a consistent following can easily survive occasional breaks. I am happy to see you back and posting, but only write what you want to. I’m glad you’re healthy though this coronavirus outbreak. Ha–I’m still laughing about the real hair color comment. I had seen that on social media. You’re way ahead of everybody, Shelley!
Hi Rebecca – thank you for your words of wisdom. I enjoyed reading your post about rituals, thank you for sharing your insights. I hope you and your family are staying well during this outbreak too. We’ve had confirmed cases in our little ol’ town. It gets more real when it hits us locally. The hair thing is going to be one of the easy things to go through in all of this, I hope they all can embrace their sparkles! 🙂
Sparkles–yes, I need to remember that!
I’m glad some things are going well for you, and I wish the best for your Dad and his sweetie. I started going grey in October, so I too laughed when I saw the meme about finding out everyone’s natural hair color! 🙂 We have no snow left on the ground here in Michigan…but I’m sure it will snow at least once more before spring takes over. It always does.
Thank you, Dawn. We’re keeping our hopes up. I remember you saying you’ve been going grey – you’re a head (no pun intended) of the game then. After 6 months, I was feeling like there was no going back. At 9 months I chopped the old colored hair off and was relieved. Yep – we’re due for another snow before spring finally arrives. Usually happens when we can barely see remnants of snow on the edges of the yard. Thank you for sharing your thoughts – and for the TP perseverance you shared on your blog post!! Take care and stay safe!
I completely agree with everyone about the blog advice. This group has many “old friends,” and you are a big part of why we’ve connected so long and well. So welcome back. I didn’t realize your dad was struggling with Alzheimer’s, or that his lady friend was having such health issues. I wish you all the luck with him. And I love those photos, Shelley, as always!
Thank you, Ellen – your support means the world to me! You’re a dear and supportive blogging friend that I treasure. I’m blushing – I’m happy to read you enjoyed my break back into photography photos. I feel rusty blogging and grabbing my camera these days. Both are therapeutic. 🙂 Thank you for sharing your thoughts!! I hope you’re well and staying safe!
I go away from my blog every once in a while and, honestly, I imagine most people don’t notice. Many of us subscribe to so many (way too many in my case) blogs that our email inbox is usually chock full of new post notifications. That being said, it’s good to see you back and know that you are doing well. I know how hard it is to care for aging parents in the best of times. I can’t imagine the stress of worrying about them when contact is so limited. Hang in there!
I agree – it’s hard not to imagine most people don’t notice a blogger who takes a break. I know my inbox is certainly crammed full – I know there’s no way I’ll ever catch up on reading.
I remember you saying that you took care of your aging parents too. It is stressful, that’s for sure. I appreciate your encouraging words.
I enjoyed your post – full of wisdom and hope, thank you!!
Stay well – stay safe, and thank you for commenting, I appreciate hearing from you!
So happy to see your post pop up in my email and to hear that your well! Take care and hope to hear from you again soon!
Hi Priscilla!!! Thank you, I’m happy to see your reply too. I hope you and your family are doing well – are the kiddos safe? Are you able to work from home? This whole thing reminds me of the committee meetings at CHP years ago! Take care, stay safe, and thank you for commenting – it is great to hear from you :-)!
Yes we are all ok and working. Taking it day by day like everyone else and home.
I’m so happy to read you’re all doing well! Yes, one day at a time is a great approach to all of this! Take care and stay safe 🙂
Wonderful catch-up post (I’m not as behind as others thanks to our FB friendship). We are doing ultra-low carb and have for some time. My hubby, like yours, came off three meds (2 for hypertension, 1 for type 2 diabetes) and his A1c has been normal for two years now.
There are times I think about stopping blogging for an extended period, especially since folks rarely comment anymore. But I am trying to at least post every Sunday on all my blogs.
Hoping your family stays safe during this crisis!
Thank you, Donna! I enjoy your Facebook posts when they pop in my feed!
That’s awesome feedback on your hubby’s success with medications. The diet does work. Have you also researched how it helps lessen the risk for Alzheimer’s? Dr. Bredesen discussion with Ivor Cummins – The End of Alzheimer’s is an interesting podcast to listen to.
I’m on the path of trying to figure out timing of posts that work for my topsy turvy life right now.
I hope you and your hubby stay well – and keep that creative mind of yours popping out ideas for us to smile at!
Who are you again? Did I follow your blog in the past? Goodness me haven’t you shrunk. It’s coming back to me now…..yes dog shit….how could I forget!!! And all that snow. Hmmm perhaps I should drop by again to see if there are more wonderful photos and tales from the other side of the world.
So glad that you and Mr are OK. All is going OK here from a self isolating expert 😀
Hi Brian – your comment went to my spam folder. I rescued your words of wit from there, ‘cuz I remembered you and your self-isolating expertise! I’m glad to read you’re okay too on the other side of the world. Thank you so much for stopping by to say hi again, I’ve missed hearing from you and I miss checking out your blog – I’ll be by there again soon! 😉
Spam!!! I was in the folder for pests!!! Oh dear Shelley, thanks for rescuing me 😀 missing you too. Hang in there and catch ya later
Yeah, I’m sorry – first that you ended up there, and secondly that it took me so long to rescue you, and last but not least, sorry for being so slow to reply again! It always fun to hear from you!
😁👍❤
Hi Shelly, im glad you’re back. It’s nice to take a break occasionally and recharge the batteries. I’m interested in your new diet. I remember your post about carbage – anyway, sounds like it’s a good thing. Good to hear from you.
Hi Geanie! A break did seem to help – I’ll probably put less pressure on myself by posting randomly instead of routinely for a while.
I’ve read lots of info and have a friend who is a wellness coach for it, and a couple blogger friends who have found much success with the diet. Search Low Carb Down Under on YouTube for lots of details on the diet and why it is beneficial.
It’s great to hear from you – I hope you are staying well and safe!!
Well, we now know where you’ve been and why you were MIA – somehow we did not think you’d slipped off to an island again. All these trials and tribulations make us stronger in the end, but they certainly don’t need to come at us in one fell swoop. The weather will certainly help to make your sagging spirits soar again. At least hopefully snow is not in your forecast like we have for tonight – nuisance snow only though. I saw that haircolor meme, and, as someone with highlights since I cover a few wiry gray hairs in my light brown hair, I counted myself in that group too – they shut down our barbers/hair salons/nail and tanning salons until April 13th so I will be cancelling my upcoming appointment too. Hope you stay safe in this C-virus crisis.
Hi Linda, it’s so nice to hear from you. If only we had slipped off to an island like we did last year. Just looking at the photos we took gives us something fun to think about.
The weather – well … this morning we do have snow. It’s the third one on the Robin’s tail so we’re okay with it.
As you know – I’m all for encouraging the silvers to sparkle – plus it saves lots of money. And it will unite us all in another way if we do.
I hope you’re staying safe too – and still able to get out and visit the parks for your walks.
Thank you for reaching out – it’s so nice to hear from you! Take care and stay safe!
Yes, island bliss – well, maybe next year when all of 2020 can be just a bad memory Shelley.
I could even like snow if it was like what we had today, when I woke up to a snowy wonderland, but not on sidewalks or driveways and the rain washed it all away – poof. My kind of snow.
Our state went to a “stay home and stay safe” order today and goes into effect as of midnight. We are still allowed to go to parks; the governor is encouraging it. The 13 Metroparks are waiving the fee for admittance for now – I had a pass already but I’m trying to conserve gas – less trips for gas, less chance to need to go gas up and more germs. I hope that is being prudent, but won’t be fun. Luckily I can walk to my park on a daily basis, just one mile away.
Take care and safe safe as well … hopefully a sense of normalcy returns at your household as well as the world very soon.
Our state has the same orders – and parks too. I’m thankful the weather is warmer so walking outside has become more of a daily thing for us. How are your gas prices? Have they come down too? I think of you everytime Mr and I walk – especially when I see the squirrels running around.
Take care – stay safe and well and I’m with you on hoping for some normalcy to return soon too.
Our gas prices are incredibly low Shelley and one newscast said they might go to $1.25, even $1.00 by Easter but no one is driving anywhere to take advantage of them. I guess the people who ARE working on site are liking the gas prices. The squirrels must’ve stayed in their nests today as we had winds in the mid-30s mph and gusting to 45 mph – it is still blowing out there.
You stay safe too Shelley – this “new normal” is very unsettling and I look forward to normalcy once again.
Wow – that’s low for gas prices. Ours are at $1.39 and holding. I hope today’s weather is nicer for you, if not, tomorrow will be. It’s beautiful here today. The squirrels are running all over the place, as are the rabbits, and the chipmunks.
I think this is our new normal for longer than we both hope it will be. Stay safe and stay well!
Yes, our gas is going down, down, down and I’ve seen some memes that say “three weeks on a gallon of gasoline – not bad!” It was sunny for three days, but today got a slow start. I didn’t walk today – I’m trying to decide if it is safe … we have lots of COVID-19 cases in our City and County, not to mention the state and we are going to be at peak this next two weeks. Still dwelling on whether to take a “walking break”. You stay safe and well too Shelley. This is sure a scary time.
Our gas is staying steady at $1.39 for weeks. I was wondering how your area of the state was doing. Our area is slowly increasing up to what’s supposed to be our peak. I’m a firm believer that sunshine and fresh air is imperative right now. I hope you can find a safe place to walk. Stay safe and stay well!
I heard that a Costco was selling it for $0.99 for members – what a deal! When I got my first car, it was a VW Beetle and I used it for school so filled it up once a week – it took $3.00 to fill the entire tank! I miss the walks and have been thinking I may go to another more secluded spot – (but remember Memorial Park and the three homeless people there from last year?) Will think about that, but I hear all the time it is safe to go out and walk, just use a mask, so maybe I’m making a mistake. We have had rainy weather two days and getting very cold now for several weeks (20th they say). Going to dwell on it some more, but if I go out, maybe not use the camera as I don’t want it around my face. I have lots of photos in my picture file.
Wow – .99 cents? Ours dropped to $1.29 this week. I remember riding around town in my friends’ VW Beetle – it didn’t take much for us to fill up the tank with our collection of coins we all had in our pockets.
I hope you’re finding a place to walk. You’re right, I bet you do have plenty of stored photos so you’re not taking photos close to your face. Has the curve flattened in your area yet? Stay safe – stay well!
Yes, mine was 1973 when I first got the car and used it for school – I only worked a few blocks away at the diner and that was just on weekends, but did go out with friends, so I did well with a $3.00 fill-up. I did return to walking after the few days of angst, but we have some crummy days this week, the wind and rain over the next few days. I do have a lot of stored photos to use, and it’s a good chance to use them up. I thought I’d use them all Winter, but since we had a mild Winter I was able to walk much more than anticipated.
They said today that in Detroit and Wayne County (the hot spots in Michigan and the two places which keep Michigan as the 3rd or 4th highest incidents of deaths/cases in the U.S. – it fluctuates between #3 and #4 daily) (Wayne County is where I live) that we had a very narrow flattening of the curve today, but not to get all excited about it and do something today that would cause the stats to raise again. We have a very strict order in place – no trips to Summer/off-season homes, no trips to other family members not in your own house, no visits to your neighbor. They have cordoned off areas of the grocery stores or big-box stores that are considered non-essential. People are complaining that they cannot get yard waste bags, string trim for weed trimmers, things like that. There are Twitter sites about impeaching the Governor. Hope it is getting better in Wisconsin – stay safe too Shelley.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Linda. Our gas prices dropped again this week, now down to $1.19/gallon. We still don’t need to buy any, so feel weird when we walk by the gas station and see the prices.
I hope we continue to remember the good ol’ days when this is all over. I thought of you this past week when I saw in the news the rally at the capital in Lansing. I think WI is going to have one this coming Friday? People are getting tired of this whole ordeal. Our Governor extended the order, but did open up a few businesses so supplies like you described could be obtained. Our area seems to still have some cases, but not the big increase they predicted early on. Time will tell I guess. Stay safe too! xx
🙂 Shelly, my viewing audience expects to see a blog post from we weekly. Therefore, going on an unannounced hiatus is out of the question.
Do enjoy the rest of your week!
Hi Renard, thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Way to keep up with your commitment and schedule. 🙂
Enjoy your week – stay safe and stay committed to your goals!
Well that blogging advice is nuts. It’s rude to not tell your readers you’re going away and to pretend otherwise when returning. Just goes to show you that you have to be careful about any information source– regarding any topic.
That being snarked, I’m happy to see you here and am awaiting that day when I find out who is really dying their hair! Gotta find a bit of levity in all of this. Hence I keep on writing my blog following my usual pattern, trying to add some light in this dark world.
Stay safe, be well.
I agree with you, Ally! Thank you for your encouragement for us to keep looking at things in life to notice and to blog about.
I should’ve read a post about how to come back and not feel so darn rusty instead of what not to write about. Anyhoo – slowly but surely, I’ll find a groove again. I’m thankful I’m not trying to adjust to going gray at the same time. Been there, done that, lived to tell about it!
Stay safe, be well!
Welcome back to blogging, Shelley! I am sending good wishes for your Dad and his sweetheart! I went through something similar with my mom. It’s not fun.
I also had a cholesterol issue last year and I tried to address it with diet because I did not want to start taking statins. At first, I lowered my fat intake, then a friend (who is a biologist) told me to cut out sugar. I eliminated all added sugar from my diet but kept the carbs. I just had my cholesterol retested and it went down 50 points this year! I also lost 8 lbs. The new diet takes thought – there is sugar in everything – but it was worth it. And I do cheat every once in a while.
Sorry for the ramble! Glad to see you writing here again.
Thank you, Laurie – I appreciate your warm welcome back. Even if it took me days to reply – please know your comments mean a lot to me!
Yes, sugar is bad! Hidden sugars are every where. Glad your cholesterol numbers changed with the changes you made. Isn’t it amazing how sugar adds pounds to our girlish figures?! 😉 Thank you for sharing what has been working for you.
And – thank you for stopping by! Stay well, stay safe, and keep on running! xx
Hi Shelley, Welcome back! It is YOUR blog, to share or not to share, to explain or not to explain. I appreciate a smile and a nonsensical photo. This has definitely been a challenging month and I am sorry to hear about your extra family challenges. Great photos! Yummy photos. I peeked at the Keto friendly bread recipe. Looks good. Take care and we will stay connected.🙂
Hi Erica – thank you for the encouragement and words of wisdom. The bread is delicious – let me know what you think if you try it out. Take care and stay safe and THANK YOU for staying connected, I appreciate you!
Very informative and interesting. This was a good read. I have recently written a post on a similar subject. It would be great if you could leave a feedback. 🙂 https://thelifestyleleader.wordpress.com/2020/04/07/to-blog-or-not-to-blog/
Thank you, Dolly, I appreciate your feedback and for sharing your post. Great tips you shared!