Technology Is Now A Way Of Life For Me

My Technology Hub

I have a love hate relationship with technology. Having always heard people talking against it, yet they are the very people who use it. They depend on some form of it in their own lives. It is everywhere you go and even if you say you don't want to use it how can you not? Whether you admit it or not, it does make our lives easier. As a person with limited mobility I could not do all the things I have to do without it. Without it I would have to own a car or pay for transportation to do routine errands. When you think about it, all the tasks we think of as old fashioned were once considered modern technology of the future. Now we are saying the same thing about newer technology. I know, I do it too! 

The Energy System

I can honestly say I have lived without any modern conveniences as you know, if you have followed my blog for any length of time. It was not easy for me as I started having problems with my knees. At that time I did not know I had Lymphedema. Just thought it was menopause. I would get so hot I would turn red and my feet would swell. The first year I moved into my apartment, I was so thankful for the modern technology of air conditioning and running water so I could shower. The technology that people are complaining about though is not those types of things. Yet living without modern conveniences on my homestead was not truly old fashioned. I had a solar and wind energy system to run the computers, lighting and refrigerator. I admit that was not what I pictured my life to be when moving there. I thought it was going to be a real "homestead". With a propane refrigerator and cooking range. 

Nine Remotes!

I cannot count the many types of technology I use in my small studio apartment. I have so many remote controls I can barely keep track of them. Actually it is 10! But none of those things are connected to the internet or my telephone. Except for the television which runs off the Amazon Fire Stick. It makes living alone here easier for me. More affordable also. There are many people who may not know how to use the internet to do things they need to do. Like banking, paying bills, purchasing groceries to be delivered, entertainment, shopping for the exact item they want and can't find locally, ordering take out food from local restaurants, listening to music and most important....socializing. Yes, it is all out there waiting for you to discover it. 

CD Player & Television

If you do not want to learn how to do these things you are not only behind the times but stuck when you need it. Such as the changes in the way various things become more dependent on technology. I saw it happen with music going from vinyl records to streaming. Television is all different now. I have been using a computer since 1994 and never looked back. It is my lifeline to the world! I have friends who I have met online only and yes, they are real friends. I have reconnected with many friends from school and talk to them almost daily. I love them all and feel my friendship with all of them is something I treasure. 

My Kindle Fire

You do not have to take part in all of the new modern technology if you choose not to. I don't. I am not one for telephones. My phone is used for talking and some texting. I am not going to write a bunch of text messages to anyone. Mainly the text part is for deliveries and appointments. Some people only have a telephone and that is their internet connection as well as their camera. I don't enjoy it so I don't use it. The computer is my safety spot. I don't participate in "zoom" calls or "live" conversations if I have to be on camera. I don't play any kind of games. I do enjoy using a Kindle Fire for reading books. I do not want to accumulate a lot of things in my apartment now. Including books. I just purchased a new Kindle Fire 10 because they are discontinuing support for my old one that I got in 2011. But I will still use it as well as the new one. I keep learning how to use various technologies to improve my life. Not to keep up with anyone. Just at my own pace. 

Copyright © 2026 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2026 Kathleen G. Lupole

Learning How To Put Together New Products I Purchase Online

Living alone in your seventies can be challenging at times. No matter what, there are things that must be done and I am the only one to do them. Many times I complain to myself that I need help. Maybe an aide? Later after I have figured out how to do whatever it was I am pleased with myself. I accomplished that chore, job, project, etc. on my own. Learning to count on yourself establishes your independence. In life I have learned you cannot count on anyone else. When I order something and it is delivered I can't wait to start using it. I don't want to wait for someone else to come here to put it together. I need to do it myself. 

Mattress in the box.

In fact, I am tested every time I order something on Amazon that I have to put together. My son did help me with the mattress that came vacuum packed in a box. My bed was delivered by the furniture store so they put it together and showed me how to use it. Other than those things I have been putting my purchases together myself. I follow the directions that come with the product the best I can. My whole life before moving here I was never mechanical. I always had someone else in my life to do those things for me. When I was single it was my father who did those things for me. He kept my cars running and did all the preventative or repairs on them. 

Directions for computer chair

Last year I purchased a good set of screwdrivers. I have been making use of them. Now I am thinking I need to buy a toolbox. The first year I moved here I had a time assembling a shower chair I had bought. Even following the directions that came with it. Was not easy but I did it. I am still using that shower chair and it is sturdy and safe. In the last 3 months I have purchased at least five products that needed to be put together before using. Presently I have a new brake cable assembly to put on my rollator walker. I just have to get brave enough to start on it. It looks easy but if I can't get it to work the walker will not be usable. This walker is my lifeline! It is the first one I got. I purchased a second one but the newer models are not as good as the older ones. So I am hesitant about taking it apart. Yes, I had to put the second one together myself. 

This is not to say that I never put anything together before. I did. In fact, when I first got my pet house rabbit, "Rabbit" I purchased an a-frame cage for him. I had to put that together because I was eager to start using it and did not want to wait for my husband to have time to do it. That cage is still standing and as good as it was when I first got it. Some products come with good directions and others with nothing at all. If they at least have all the parts, including the screws, I can figure it out now. Sometimes I have to find a video on how to put something together. There are usually a few on most products. It is not easy at times but I have to at least try.  

Copyright © 2026 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2026 Kathleen G. Lupole

I Bought A New Adjustable Bed

Adjustable Bed Frame

I recently bought an adjustable twin size bed. This bed has a remote control and the head and the foot can be raised or lowered. Whichever you need. I need to be able to raise the foot of it to get the swelling down in my feet, ankles and calves. Though I also need to raise the head because I cannot sleep flat and have not been able to sleep that way for a long time. I had been studying them on Amazon for quite awhile. As it turned out I did not buy it from Amazon because I would not be able to get it from downstairs in my building to my second floor apartment. I ordered it online from the local furniture store, Scholet. It is the third item I have purchased from them. The delivery men brought it right into my apartment and put it together and showed me how to work it. Perfect! I didn't have to figure it out on my own or get someone else to help me. It was worth the cost to have it delivered instead of ordering online. 

My son unwrapping the mattress.

The mattress though, I did purchase from Amazon. It was delivered vacuum packed in a box. I was able to get it upstairs by pushing it with my walker into the elevator. Then pushing it to my apartment. My son, Jeff helped me with getting it out of the box and opening it up. He kept telling me to stay away from it while he removed it from the packaging. As soon as it is free it starts to inflate on its own. If you are too close it can knock you over. Yes! It can do that! 

Notice how high the legs are.

One mistake I made when the delivery men set it up was having them adjust the legs as high as they would go. They warned me that when I put a mattress on it will be even higher. I wanted it high because I have a problem getting out of low chairs. Putting the mattress on it did make it too high for me. Eventually I had to take the mattress off and turn the frame upside down to take the legs off and make them lower. Otherwise I had to use a step to get in the bed. Didn't feel safe being that high in bed.

Mattress on the frame.

The other mistake I made was judging the mattress as too hard as soon as I laid on it. So I bought a topper from Amazon. It was nice but I still felt too high in the bed even with the legs lowered. I hadn't slept in a bed since 2020. Just my recliner. This was like a new experience for me. I ended up taking the topper off, but sadly. It was a really nice topper and I did not want to store it downstairs in my storage locker. Instead I rolled it up and put it between the bed and the wall. I will keep it and maybe use it in the future. 

Bedroom Area

I created a little bedroom for me in a corner of my studio apartment. It is private and even if someone comes in they can't see my bed or the bedroom due to the dressers set up as a partition. I bought new lavender sheets and pillows for it. Put my comforter on to add bright colors to that space. I was comfortable on it except my neck and shoulders would hurt after I laid in it for any length of time. I recently bought a pillow made for people with neck problems. What a difference that made! I love it! 

My new bed all set up!

Now I am still transitioning to sleeping in my new bed the whole night. Presently I am spending time in bed during the afternoon so I can put my feet up for a period of time. I am not a napper so I am reading while doing this. Gives me some good reading time and doing what I need to do to combat the swelling in my feet, ankles and calves. I am happy with this bed and glad that I spent the money on it. I especially like the adjustable options for making myself more comfortable. A good night's sleep is essential for good health! 

Copyright © 2026 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2026 Kathleen G. Lupole

Limit Doing Too Many Things In One Day

Today I came to the realization that I have to limit doing too many things in one day. Something as simple as taking a shower is now more complicated. Before I can shower I have to use dry brushes and brush my skin to move the lymphatic liquid under the skin. Then I can shower. After the shower I apply the Goldenseal Myrrh ointment to the skin on areas of my legs that had rashes from the Lymphedema. Then I can apply my normal body lotion. Takes longer than twenty minutes now. Okay, I can live with that as long as it is helping me........which it is. Some mornings I will have to shower later than the first thing due to other things going on. I need to be flexible. 

On the day I wash my laundry that is all I can do because I sit downstairs in the laundry room while my laundry is in the machines. Our apartment building is not one that is safe to leave your laundry alone and come back later. Sometimes you come back to nothing left in the machines. I cannot afford to do that. Usually I bring my adult coloring book and gel pens with me so I can color while waiting. Doing laundry tires me out. What tires me out the most is when I bring the laundry back to my apartment and have to put it away. That is because I have been letting it back up. Now my rule is to do small loads maybe twice a week instead of once every two weeks. Make it easier if possible.

Grocery deliveries is another chore that I like to do on a day when I don't have other things to do. I usually order early in the morning and then wait. Wait some more. Waiting for hours for them to delivery my order unless I pay for fast delivery. That makes it hard to do chores that take up more time and effort. Now I order the groceries and then while waiting I work on my computer or some other chore that I can do in my apartment. I also order groceries for my son but on a different day than when I order my groceries. 

Then there is the big chore day. When I do vacuuming, mopping, cleaning the bathroom, dusting and cleaning the counters and appliances in the kitchen. Maybe I should break those chores up into different days but once I get going I want to do them all. So it is over and done with. Turn the music on and get to work! 

Presently I am going to therapy for the Lymphedema three times a week. So on those days I am not doing much at home. I can do some little chores after I come home but these days just leaving home is a big job. Pretty soon I will not be going that often. Once a month when my Social Security check is deposited I have to do errands. I am the "Payee Representative" for my son's money so have to do errands for him also. That is another day that I am wiped out when I get back home. Not doing much on that day either. 

I don't expect to always be doing these same things for years. Who knows? Maybe not or maybe I will. Life is like that. I accept what I need or have to do. Not going to get myself down over struggles in day to day living. Try my best and carry on. I do my best to stay positive no matter what is going on. I lived with negativity for many years and I refuse to let it in my life now. When people start talking negatively I am out the door! Dwell on the good not the bad.

Copyright © 2026 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2026 Kathleen G. Lupole

 

A Lifetime Of Changes

 

There comes a time when a person has to accept the reality of their life. Some goals you had planned are never happening. As I think back on my own life I remember goals or dreams I had at one age and then changed them at another age. They were not in line with what I was doing at that time. You are not a failure if you failed to attain that goal. A goal you may have had as a teenager might be something you can never even try to do as you got older. The influences of television, magazines or books sometimes will cause you to have a dream that is not ever going to happen for you. 

Parents may influence you as well as your siblings or friends. What they might want for you might not be anything you want to do but accept it and try. Failing at whatever it was will affect you and the way you think about yourself. It was not right for you to begin with. Aging gives you another outlook on your life. Doing something one way for a number of years and then suddenly you want to change it. People around you may not encourage you or some might. It is up to you in the end. What do you want to do in your life? It is your life. It is your journey. 

I have made many changes throughout my life. Different ages meant different things were happening to me and around me. A lifetime of changes is inevitable. What I was doing at twenty was completely different at forty. I look back at those years and wonder what was I thinking back then? Today I feel they were bad or wrong choices. Maybe though, they were just different and the outcome was not what I wanted or needed. At age fifty I dealt with changes that were the most difficult of my whole life. Yes, even now and the changes that have happened to me at ages sixty and seventy-three were not as difficult as fifty was.

2002 was the year I turned fifty. Along with that came the accident that almost killed my husband. Having to have one of my Parathyroids removed (not that big of deal). My mother's health became much worse and she died later that year. I was also in the process of menopause. It was a very stressful time and I don't know how I got through it. I was living on my Peaceful Forest Homestead at the time and it was a lot of work. I made it through it in one piece. By the time I left there in 2018 my life had taken many changes and continues to this day. 

Now I feel most of the changes in my life have to do with my health. I have had to change the way I do things due to mobility issues. Due to my knees and to Lymphedema and how they affect me. I will go more into those issues in a future post. My whole life I had a car of my own and once I gave that up I felt like I lost my independence. When I moved here to my apartment I chose not to buy a vehicle due to all the expenses associated with it. It was the right choice for me but it is also a burden for finding rides to appointments. I am finding my way through it and doing what I must. A lifetime of changes never ends. I believe change is a daily activity for me. 

Copyright © 2026 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2026 Kathleen G. Lupole

 

Which Diet? This Diet or That Diet? No Diet?

Everywhere you look you see this diet or that diet. Whatever diet someone else is following, is the one you need or so they will tell you. Do you though? I have been following many different people who promote a zillion types of diets. Or food plans, as I call them. I am following one particular plan, keto or ketovore, and I might do everything they say or do. Next time I turn their next video on it is all different. At times I can tell they are going to change before they actually say they are or did. I learned over time that the reasons they may have changed has nothing to do with their followers. You see what you eat, like to eat or hate to eat, is all very personal. That is why some people will never give up sugar or grains. They have been eating them their whole life and not all of them are sick. Another thing that happens within the YouTube channels is after they have achieved their goals they want to move on to other topics. Not food so much. Maybe not even health. Actually they should just start a new channel but they don't want to have to monetize a new one when they already have one that is making money. I can see that.

For someone like me who has a difficult challenge to make any progress at all, be it my health or weight, it is easy to give up. I am always thinking nothing ever works for me. That is the story of my life not just my diet life. Some doctors don't know anything outside of what they were taught years ago in medical school. I ask them questions and they cannot answer. Especially about Lymphedema! I was fortunate to have a doctor write an order for me to go the Lymphedema clinic (about 35 miles away) and work with the therapist there. The therapist told me the doctors don't know much about it. I had changed doctors since then which was back in 2022, I think. Since that time the Lymphedema clinic had added a couple of therapists to the physical therapy clinic near my home. I have started going there and I will write a post about my experience soon. 

Compression Sleeves

My new doctor mentioned that I am not retaining fluid, but lymphatic fluid and I probably will not be able to lose weight. I am not letting that set me back because I find doctors to be wrong about me most of the time. I am trying my hardest to stay prescription free and sticking to my food plan which is based on a meaty 20 carbs or less meals. One of the things I had stopped doing was wearing my compression stockings. They cause my knees to hurt so bad which has nothing to do with the Lymphedema. After I came to the realization that my knees hurt whether I wear the stockings or not I decided to try them again. Wasn't able to wear them. I think I need the wraps. 

Half of my hall

The next thing that I have to start doing again is activate myself. I have been sitting at my computer for most of the day. I need to get back into walking. I used to walk laps on my hall but had stopped doing that. So I am starting to do it again. Right now I am limiting myself to do one thing at a time. I plan on walking outside in the parks and on the streets after I get up to that speed. I did walk a few blocks the other afternoon and did pretty good. Often I have to push myself to do something and then find it to be a good thing. 

Bacon, Eggs & Chaffles

Back to the diet or food plan. One reason I have so much trouble with this is everyone tells you to do something different. I finally found a YouTube channel that says to do what works for you. To try different things till you find your answers. My plan may not look like your plan. That is okay. My plan used to be only two meals a day and the first meal was after eleven. Now it is an earlier meal at whatever time I get to it or am hungry for it. Usually eggs with bacon. Sometimes a chaffle that I make without cheese or almond flour. I felt like changing it because I think I was not eating enough food. I like to be done with all eating by five. So I needed to start earlier to get that breakfast in. Often I still end up with only two meals for the day. Still having difficulties getting enough protein in unless I have the Keto Chow. 

Keto Chow Ice Cream

Normally my second meal is around one and I have a Keto Chow replacement shake as ice cream. Yes, even if it is below zero I am making ice cream! Keto Chow is one thing I will not give up. It has kept me on track. Since eating it as ice cream is like a treat it is always something to look forward to. Which I do. I worked it into my budget as I think of it as food since it has the nutrition of one third of your daily food requirements. Oh yeah, did I mention how good it is? Better than store bought regular ice cream! Then for supper I usually have some kind of meat. Cooked simply in the oven. I might have a can of Zevia soda (sweetened with stevia) after supper then I am all done for the night. 

Copyright © 2026 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2026 Kathleen G. Lupole