Harvesting my Brussels sprouts

I planted 8 plants: I had previously harvested 3 of the stalks and now three more. I assume the others are under the snow. I tried to keep them further apart so they would get more light. However soil conditions are not equal. Look at the differences in sizes between the stalks

This mahogany chair was in the trash along with a perfect mahogany mirror and the Santa Claus photo I previously posted. Not really my style but looks OK in the den

more blooms on the Xmas cactus

the red bellied woodpecker spends a lot of time here. I haven't seen the female. There is hardly any red on his belly

Before the snow got too heavy, I went out to grab some of my Brussels sprout stalks equipped with a saw.. I got a work out just trying to saw through the largest stalk. Today I spent at least 2 hours cutting them off of the stalk and cleaning them. I will roast them for The Chosen Sisters aka The Moms Sunday. Due to meat aversions, I will keep the bacon off of them. More snow is scheduled to come but it is not clear whether it will happen Sunday or Monday. Please hold off until Monday!

We had the first significant snow. Not too much but it was very slippery causing numerous accidents. I stayed put. The shoulders were salted on the big road near me so once the traffic cleared, I ran in strong winds along that. It will be a long winter. Meanwhile the so-called polar vortex will come next week. My plants can survive in the garage as long as it is 20 outside. At 6 degrees, I don't know.

I went more than a month without hearing from my dentist demanding to be paid. No news is good news? But yesterday I got a big bill with a note that the insurance still hasn't paid. Of course I thought this, after ten phone calls was settled. I begin another set of annoying phone calls. I got word that it will be settled in 7-10 days. We will see. Twenty times burnt; twice shy. I've wasted so much time dealing with the insurance

Our reverse osmosis machine works again! When the filters get clogged, they need to be replaced. Too many systems to go wrong here.

Steve's suspicious skin lesion he had on his ear turned out not to be cancer but pre-cancer. The dermatologist wants him back to do a thorough body scan. Why couldn't they do this before? Despite being Jewish, Steve's skin is similar to that of a redhead's being light and freckly. Despite my Celtic background and a red headed father (who had lots of skin cancers), I don't have the very pale skin.

And how is that diet going? Who tries to diet around the holidays? Well it is a 6 month plan .I am down 24 pounds. Every morning I hop on the scale hoping for lower numbers and get depressed when I don't find them.

There was a study recently comparing Fitbit wearers with those with no tracking devices. Guess which group gained more weight despite doing more exercise? They felt entitled to eat more. They burn off 200 calories and then eat 300 calories extra. I will keep this in mind next week when the weather will make it much harder for me to be out there.