Ketchup and Bucket List

Hey folks,

First of all, those of you who are waiting for my bag pattern sale, it's on now at my Etsy and Ko-fi shop. No coupon needed. Until 3 December so don't wait ok?

Alright. Let's catch up. The year is almost over. So fast right? Doesn't time whizz by when you're not counting it? This is my second blog post for 2024, the fewest number since I started blogging in 2007. I kinda missed those days when I blogged about every little dem thing. It was nice but I don't have the energy for it anymore. Plus who's still reading blog posts nowadays huh? 

This year is sort of a special year for me. Special as in I officially became a senior citizen. In other words, I turned into an old lady. Yup, yup, yup. Plus, with me still stubbornly refusing to dye my super grey hair, I'm almost at Gandalf's level of old.

By Screenshot, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22187302

I've discovered there are a couple of benefits to turning 60. The supermarket (NTUC) I shop at gives a 2% discount on Tuesdays. I'm a bit pissed people who are older than me gets 3% discount at NTUC. Why is there a need for discrimination among us oldies? The other big supermarkets give a flat discount rate for seniors (3 to 4%). Unfortunately, where I live, the two supermarkets here are owned by NTUC. Pffft. 

The biggest advantage of being a senior in Singapore is the transport concession card. I'm not super clear what the exact discount is - something like up to 55%. But I've noticed I don't have to top up my card as frequently. Woo hoo.

Interestingly, volunteers (from Health ministry) paid me a visit. They were pretty persistent. The first time they came when I was out. The second time I was fast asleep. They waited a few hours and came back again when I was finally awake. They wanted to check on my welfare and to see if I needed assistance. Was it weird they took a wefie with me? Was it weirder I did a peace sign? It's kinda nice the government checks on the old folks. So comforting. The volunteers gave me material on managing my health, active aging and planning for future needs. 

They also wanted to check if I have dementia, lol. After I started getting older, I've noticed my short term memory isn't as good anymore. Also recently I saw a notice at my family doctor clinic that hearing loss is a risk factor for dementia. Since I've been deaf in one ear for 4 decades, I'm pretty screwed. When one of the volunteers said he wanted to test my memory, I was a bit scared. He gave me three things to remember. Apple, pen and table. Then they sneakily distracted me by talking about this and that and then out of the blue, the guy asked me if I remembered the three things. I could only remember apple and pen. What was the third thing? I searched my memory and there was a total blank. Then I remembered he pointed at something in my home when he said the third thing. Yes, the table! I was so happy I could remember the stupid table. So at the moment, I don't have dementia. What a relief. 

Bucket List

A couple of years ago, I started a bucket list. Unlike other people's bucket list, mine is mainly medical. The first few things on my list were to fix my lifetime struggle with gastric pain and migraines. Anyone else has endoscopy, CT Scan and colonoscopy on your bucket list? I had an endoscopy and a CT Scan last year and this year a colonoscopy. Have you done a colonoscopy before? The prep is no joke. Like you literally shat your brains out.

After my endoscopy and CT scan, my gastric doctor suggested I try a FODMAP diet. 

FODMAP are a group of sugar which does not get completely digested or absorbed in our intestine. These eventually end up producing gas which causes my stomach to bloat and hurt and I also get severe headaches. The doctor said people like me (with my symptoms) do benefit from a FODMAP diet. My endoscopy result shows I have multiple polyps which are possibly a result of long term use of omeprazole. Although polyps are mostly harmless, some do turn cancerous. Anyway, the best way forward is to reduce the use of omeprazole. With nothing to lose, I felt I had to give FODMAP diet a try.

The FODMAP diet is not easy. There's a lot to read up on . As it turned out, the FODMAP diet helped me a lot. I've discovered that cutting out the following from my diet has reduced my symptoms significantly. 

Food I cut out:

• Fructose
• Mushrooms
• Onions and garlic
• any ingredient that ends with ol

There is a method to figuring out your FODMAP tolerance. You can do it with a dietician or follow the Monash FODMAP's method. Everyone's FODMAP diet is different. What works for one may not work for another.

With the FODMAP diet, you can tweak it to include the "bad" food by using portion control. Like for me, 1 tablespoon of mango is ok, but nothing more. I decided not to eat mango anymore because who can stop at 1 tablespoon of mango?

There is a Monash FODMAP app (one time payment) which I find very useful. Being on the FODMAP diet requires a lot of discipline and reading of ingredients. I've been careless lately and just like that the symptoms come back. Eating out will always be a challenge. Still, compared to before, my wellbeing has improved significantly. I'm so glad the Universe sent me Dr Sara. Before I started the FODMAP diet, I was so miserable and forever second guessing which food gives me misery.

Sadly, as a result of poor gastric health for a few decades and the presence of polyps, I need to go for repeat endoscopy and colonoscopy in a couple of years. Fortunately so far all my polyps have tested negative for cancer and that is something I'm really thankful for.

I want to give myself a pat on the back for being persistent in searching for a "solution" for my gastric health. After years and years of being told there's nothing they can do and being continuously prescribed medication that hurts me, I'm so glad I kept pushing. I won't mourn the years of suffering I went through. I mean, you can't un-suffer, right? The battle is not over. The FODMAP diet isn't a cure. It helps you identify your food triggers. You also can't remain on a low FODMAP diet for life because you may end up with nutrition issues. It's a continuous process of finding the right portion of food to eat healthily that won't trigger symptoms.

Food will always be my enemy and every meal is a potential minefield. I have to constantly be vigilant and not let myself believe I'm cured when I feel good. (which I'm frequently guilty of) Discipline, discipline and more discipline. 

More health related stuff on my Bucket List - I've ticked off Bone Scan, Mammogram, twice yearly health checkup and dental checkup. Today I went for anti-shingles vaccine because the previous one I had - the efficacy had dropped to zero already. This vaccine is very expensive and you need 2 doses. In the future, there's a anti-pneumonia vaccine plus an eye exam.

I think when it comes to my healthcare, I'm very proactive. Although I always tell hubs I don't want to live a long life, I feel that I'm doing everything to ensure the opposite. 

Two outstanding things on my list are Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) and a will. There's a centre not too far from my home where I can get a LPA done so it really comes down to doing it. As for the will, I dunno why we keep putting it off. 

The final thing on my bucket list is to declutter. I'm having a lot of trouble with this one because I live with hoarders including myself and since I'm the only one doing the decluttering it's a lonely battle. And today I bought a bunch of 2nd hand craft books! I need professional help.

Hives

I don't know why I'm doing this but I feel the need to update internet strangers on my Hives situation. Have I become the typical old person who needs to tell everyone about all her ailments? Maybe. Anyhoos, I went to see my skin doctor 2 weeks ago and I got a different doctor from before. The previous doctor had told me my hives would stop after 2 years. So I've been holding on to that because my 2nd Hives anniversary is coming up next March. Guess what? The new doctor laughed when I told her about the 2 year thing and she told me there's no guarantee. Some people, she said never recover. What? I'm so sad hearing that. What if I'm one of the "some people". At the same time, I think to myself. I'm equipped to handle hives as I have 2 medication - one for daily and one for super bad days. Hives or no hives, life goes on. 

Sometimes I dream of a life where I have no pain, no itch and I can eat whatever I want. I hope I can achieve it while I'm still young(ish).

Youtube

In my last blog post, I told you about my youtube channel. I've been slowly adding videos and if you would like to show my channel some love, you can click here:https://www.youtube.com/@projectsbyjane/videos

Making videos is challenging. I've learnt so much since my first video. One big thing I've learnt is this: I record my video on my iPhone in 4k resolution. But why does youtube play it at a shat quality on auto. Of course viewers are free to change the video quality but that requires effort. I discovered that to get youtube to play your video at a decent quality on Auto, then you will need to export the video in 4k. Otherwise, the auto quality of your video on youtube will be shatty. The downside of exporting at 4k resolution is it takes a lot of time. Both during exporting and when youtube processes it. But that's not a big deal because you can easily do other stuff while it's being processed. 

My Makes

I haven't sewn much this year. I made a few bags for my youtube channel.

I've used these 2 bags to death. I'm still very into free motion quilting. 

This one had a lot of hand embroidery. 

And this one was insanely hard - I painted the fabric. The base fabric is calico.

And this pouch was for a video tutorial.

For a while, I was in the mood for free motion houses. This is my childhood home.

More houses.

And more houses.

And applique houses.

I wanted to practise my free motion plants. I got sick of it super fast. And then I had to colour them.

Travel

Since we started travelling last year, we haven't stopped. This year alone I've been to Hong Kong, Tokyo and Bangkok. Previously we rarely travelled because hubs hated to travel. Now? Hubs' a changed man. I think he was the one who kickstarted our Bangkok trip in August. 

I loved the window view from my Bangkok hotel. The malls are huge! I don't love the smell of sewage on the streets though. It was a very short trip.

Guess what? We're going back to Japan again next year. I think it was mostly hub's idea to travel again. Did he say he wanted to clear his leave? I forgot how it happened. 

There are many aspects of travelling that I dislike - the flying, the walking, the exhaustion and the bickering. Each time, I swear it's the last time I'm going anywhere. But then, I forget and get excited about another trip. I was telling hubs that if we intend to do anymore travelling, it has to be within these 10 years. Both of us are getting physically weaker. His knees are bad. Mine comes and goes. It's downhill from here on. 

New Obsession

I have a new obsession. A short while ago, hubs bought an iPad. I requested for the pencil pro instead of the regular pencil. Then I bought Procreate, an app for digital drawing/painting. I've been wanting to try this app for a while and I'm so hooked. I'm not super good at it yet and am still a bit wobbly. But it's a lot of fun. I've watched some youtube videos and a few skillshare classes (you need a subscription) to pick up some tips. It must be working because I'm getting better day by day. I don't have any big ambition with digital art. It's mostly for fun. But a small part of me was wondering if I could actually become a cartoonist which was my ambition when I was a teen. Probably not because I think the cartoonist gene is lacking in me. I also wanted to be a greeting card designer when I was a teen. Greeting cards are probably extinct by now so I'll just work on my skills first. Maybe next time I'll show you my digital art.

Thanks for reading till the end if you made it this far. I'll see you next year.