redpinemountain.com

Questions Answered

Vermont + hot weather = lazy Mountain Woman. These truly are the dog days of summer. In fact, my dogs haven’t moved in days nor have I. We have been undone by the high humidity and lack of air conditioning. Well, Mountain Man hasn’t. He’s still out there laboring away on the roof as I write preparing to install new metal roofing. But not me. I’m not moving until the humidity leaves.

I don’t think I have an original thought in my head at the moment so today is question and answer day. And, if you’re not up to reading, I’ll put in some pictures and videos.

Khyrsta:

Does Khrysta realize how lucky she is? No, as reigning Queen of Red Pine Mountain, she demands the finest of living quarters and service. However, our fosters who pass through are quite appreciative of what Mountain Man calls the “horse hotel.”

Here she is kicking up her heels when dinner did not meet with her approval.

Fly Predators:

What are they? They are a tiny insect that feasts on fly larvae.

Do they work? Yes, but the trick is to start them early in the season and not let the hatching flies get ahead of the predators.

Do they last? Yes, they last but one batch of fly predators can’t keep up with a summer’s worth of poop so I have mine shipped monthly. Compared to sprays, etc., the cost is minimal. Click here for their website.

I had some questions about bugs in general. For the dogs, I use garlic capsules. The trick is to use the stinky kind and not the “odor free” ones. They are also fed a natural diet which I prepare from scratch. We are a kibble free household. I also spray them with Neem oil mixed with water if there is a need for extra bug control. Mountain Man, in an effort to be tick free this year, started taking vitamin B-1. So far, success.

Mountain Man questions:

Yes, he can do anything but the one thing he won’t and will never do is work with hay burners. He’ll fix fences, he’ll hold a lead rope if I’m in a bind but beyond that, I’m on my own. He just doesn’t understand why I don’t get myself a nice tractor. More fuel efficient and dependable.

Yes, after he works all day, he cooks dinner. He finds it relaxing to spend time chopping, dicing and creating feasts while I once again sit on my bottom reading a book.

Yes, he’s going to make pumpkin pie with the pumpkins topped off with gobs of whipped cream.

Yes, he has the patience of a saint. He’s always even tempered and never gets flustered. With 7 dogs underfoot and me prattling away, he deserves an award.

Alan asked why the garage he’s building needed water. The main house is a camping cabin. No bathroom, no running water, no septic tank, zippo which meant the clients had to cart water to the cabin and that gets old especially when it’s below zero.

They had a well dug; a true Artesian well which means the water runs all the time. All that water had to be directed somewhere or it would create a muddy mess in the summer and a frozen skating rink in the winter. So, voila, Mountain Man came up with idea of the storage tank in the basement of the garage below the frost level. The water from the well runs into the tank and never freezes so they can have water at any time from the pump system he installed.

Now for weight issues:

How long did it take me to lose all that weight? About 7 months.

How did I do it? Exercise, not dieting. I spent my life at the gym. Lunch hour at work, I’d be at the gym, after work, I’d be at the gym and yes, I had to make myself go but once I got there, I was glad I had made the effort. Little by little, I found I wasn’t as hungry and I started eating less. I never actually followed an eating plan but I did cut out all refined sugar. I think key for me was discovering how strong I was becoming through all that exercise. Today, exercise is just a part of my day. But for us middle aged women, the most important thing you can do each day is to work on your balance. It’s the first thing to go but it’s key to our well being and the foundation for all other exercise. Here’s two of the pieces of equipment I use every day:

A bosu ball. Great for balance and then as you become stronger, you can use it for all kinds of exercises. Flip it over and it becomes an entirely different workout.
My balance beam. I spend lots of time on this trying to maintain my balance throughout different movements.
Toby uses it for relaxing.

Meal plans. I don’t have any. Mountain Man does all the cooking and he likes those big old working man feasts. I just take smaller quantities, chew very slowly and drink lots of water so I’m not done hours before he finishes. Thankfully, he’s a great believer in salads and veggies. I just don’t drown mine in dressing or butter.

The most serious comment I got was from Karen and my heart goes out to her because I was in the same position. I just wish I could reach through the computer and give you a hug. I was ashamed to go anywhere and I wouldn’t. I shopped through the mail (QVC) and ordered pants with stretchy elastic waists and huge tunic tops. I didn’t even want to go to the grocery store because I thought people were judging the contents of my shopping cart. It was a terrible, lonely life. All I can say is you are worth it, you are important to more people than you can imagine and you are also a child of God.

One of the hardest things I had to learn was not to keep a negative conversation going in my head about how awful I was or stupid or ugly because I was not and no one is. My only advice is if you can even eat one less bite a day, that’s a start. If you walk 10 extra steps each day that’s a start too. Then, praise yourself for that accomplishment. Don’t focus on the long haul, just on the small things each day and then reward yourself for the slightest effort. Take a bubble bath, watch a movie, whatever is fun for you. Small changes every day can add up into big achievements as time goes on. Sometimes when I used to look at all that weight, I’d be undone before I’d even start. But I know if I can do it, anyone can.

If you need support, I’m always here for you and will cheer you along.