The Hobbit Hole III - Journey to the Cross-roads!

[HairOfTheDog]

Welcome to The Hobbit Hole!

Journey to the Cross-roads
The Two Towers Edition

Come on! Come in! -if you would like to have some seedcakes and a pint and relax a while. (If it is a special occasion, we still have a few bottles of the old wineyards left!)

Our first thread ( New Zealander builds Hobbit hole ) reached 4,100 posts, and we thought that was big. Our second thread (The New Hobbit Hole ) held us for over 48,000 posts, and we loved it dearly. We talked about moving to a new thread for the last 38,000 posts, but we are really slow to muster! Finally, the time has come. Tomorrow (at 12:01 am, to be precise!) The Two Towers comes out, and we start a new chapter.

[Wneighbor]

Far out!!! Congrats on your husband's report.

I'm having broccoli and cheese now. I have been doing Mexican food for over a week.... which I do love always.... but, I ate my last 2 tortillas this afternoon. So, am having raw broccoli (which I love) dipped in the leftover queso. trying not to get it on keyboard.

So, we're thinking there ought to be lots of good red meat off the bone at entmoot huh? My count is now, you, ecurbh and jen. We'll all just go along. Meat is good.

[Wneighbor]

Well, if ya'll happen to be ever driving through. And you happen off the beaten path and get to Wichita Falls and need a break - a lunch, supper, second breakfast, elevenses or so on - you can stop and say hello!!!! (i could even scrounge up a bed or two since i'm alone in a 3 bedroom house now.)

[Wneighbor]

last time i went on a contract job i like to have never got gone. they didn't want me to leave. i wanted to leave. the contract was 6 weeks. i stayed 22 months. i made a lot of money at that one though. all gone now but i didn't have to work for 6 months after that. which is about the time it took me to get over the job.

[SuziQ]

Were Big ol's cholesterol numbers down? SSQ is trying to get his down using diet and exercise. He doesn't want to go on meds, and his numbers aren't excessively high anyway.

[Wneighbor]

OH Suzi, I'm so glad you got a chance to check in!! Glad you're having fun.

You are right, the weather has been wet wet wet!!! Glad you got a little tan though.

I have never seen Greek Wedding either. It just didn't look interesting but I know everybody raved about it. I typically need action. violence is good. But, someday I'll end up checking it out.

Hope ya'll have a nice time at the casino? Are you going to the ones in Gulfport? I love Gulfport. Although, I've never been to the casinos there. It is beautiful. I have a really good friend living there now.

Have fun. Enjoy!!!

[Wneighbor]

Help me out here. I want to know what ya'll (or I should say your doctors) call high cholesterol? When I moved up here no one had ever said anything to me about cholesterol although it seemed my parents and living grandparents, and various aunts and uncles have to fool with it.

Anyway, I got up here and had to go for a physical the first month. They did cholesterol and it was 160. I got a letter from the doctor with big ol' red test at the top that said WAY TOO HIGH!!! Just like that - all caps with 3 explanation points and double underlined. My old doctor was happy with me. My mom and grama have trouble keeping theirs below 300. What's it really supposed to be? I haven't changed my eating habits because I truthfully know I eat healthier than about 90% of America.

[Wneighbor]

Oh that's okay...I wouldn't want to put anyone out. :)

NO trouble really, it's in my food intake maintenance plan. Just not every day. Give me half and we'll get rid of it all.

[Overtaxed]

Well this job sounds like fun so I think I'll apply. Found another one I'll apply for too. Only I've already had some hard lemonade. Maybe I should wait til tomorrow to write the cover letter. :)

[Overtaxed]

Ooooo...racing in Nashville: the winner gets a guitar.

[JenB]

You should ask your doctor. I don't really know what all the numbers are, but a month ago I had an appointment and all that stuff got checked and the doc didn't complain, so I suppose I'm doing well.

[JenB]

By the way - I'm usually good with spelling - is it "interregnum" or "interegnum"? Anyone know? I want to use it for a title.

[Wneighbor]

Why don't you write the cover letter now while you are motivated and in job search mode?

And then re-read it and send it tomorrow.

[Lil'freeper]

Were Big ol's cholesterol numbers down?

Total well under 200, HDL way up, LDL way down, triglycerides in the basement (won't say much more for privacy reasons). I attribute it to the diet. Atkins does an excellent job of explaining the biochemistry of how low-carb does this in his book. I couldn't do it justice from memory. It is definately worth looking in to.

It is good that SSQ wants to avoid cholesterol meds. The association between cholesterol levels and actual heart disease has never been proven beyond co-occurance. If his doctor can come up with a study describing the mechanism for causation, get his autograph 'cuz that bit of research will be worth a nobel prize. Also I've been reading of some harsh side effects from the cholesterol-lowering drugs. Definately worth doing some homework on.

[Wneighbor]

I'm thinking of things in Nashville I like better than guitars. I've already explained that I have no talent in that arena. I think in Nashville I ought to get lots and lots of CD's. Maybe all I want forever.

[Overtaxed]

*Hic* Job? Lemme at it. I can do the stinkin' job!

[Overtaxed]

Wow! It's not raining in Nashville!

[Lil'freeper]

First of all, my opinions always tend to be contrarian in nature. It boils down to a very snobby conviction of mine that 'if everybody else is doing it, there must be something wrong with it'. Hence I'm skeptical of the whole obsession with "high cholesterol".

1) Our bodies make cholesterol whether we eat it or not.
2) Cholesterol's complete role in the body is not completely understood.
3) Scab tissue is full of cholesterol- it has some kind of repairative function.

One line of thinking, that of course isn't getting much funding, is that 'high' cholesterol is the body's response to heart disease rather than the cause. And by lowering it, you hobble the body's ability to heal weakened arteries. It's a point of view that has a surprising bit of support, imo.

Some interesting reading when you have time, mostly from the Weston A. Price Foundation. I'm biased- I love this outfit, their traditional diet is the heart of our maintainance diet and they're very, very contrarian. LOL. Even if you conclude their work is too wacky, it's a good balance to what you'll hear from a doctor.

What Causes Heart Disease at the Weston A. Price Foundation.

The Skinny on Fats excellent background on fats in a diet as well as a brief history of diet fads in America.

Ask the Doctor: "High" Cholesterol also at the Weston A. Price Foundation.

The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics

[Wneighbor]

Business. I think I need to go into the herb business. Supplying plants to nurseries and such, I've wanted to do that for years and just never gone there.

Think about it. How bad do you not want to move?

[Overtaxed]

What? Move to Texas? I'd have to sell my house!

[Wneighbor]

It boils down to a very snobby conviction of mine that 'if everybody else is doing it, there must be something wrong with it'

Ditto.

And I have done absolutely nothing - didn't even go to follow-up appointments with this doctor. I pay attention to my food intake - which if anything has too much salt. But, he has no idea of those kinds of things.

I will surely read through these things you've pointed to.

I just thought it was very interesting that the doctor never even asked about diet but jumped to a bad conclusion with that number. And from the reading I've done, that number isn't bad. It certainly isn't bad for my family. I can't stand the notion that medication is the first answer for everything that happens without even investigating circumstances. I think that's why my grama has gone down hill in the last 3 or 4 years. She ended up in a large diagnostic center that has quadrupled her medications over 3 years.