The "We Saw a Rainbow As We Passed The Rainbow Liquor Lotto Store onWednesday", edition

iPod shuffled to "Stay", The Temptations. Yes, we did see a rainbow as we passed the Rainbow Party Store.  We agreed it was a sign, but we passed it by and bought the lotto tickets at Joe's. We didn't heed the sign. We didn't win the Powerball.  That'll teach us to ignore obvious signs. ;-)

Potassium.  Before my kidneys failed, I had (and still have) acute intermittent porphyria, AKA porphyria. This required me to keep my potassium levels up.  I got to the point where I had my fill of bananas. However I could get my potassium in orange juice, potatoes, broccoli and avocados.  If I started cramping, I'd drink some orange juice.  Well now, I can't even think about these foods. I admit I had a glass of fresh squeezed Florida orange juice when I was at Disney World.  ***Side story.  When I was pregnant, Brian and I went to Disney World (reservations were made before I knew I was pregnant).  Breakfast at the hotel restaurant had unlimited fresh squeezed orange juice. Apparently I'd never had real orange juice prior to that. I couldn't get enough of it. ***End of story.  I was going have a glass this time. I did and it was delicious. Yum. 

Potatoes I can have with conditions.  If the starch is leached off, I can have them.  Leaching is basically peeling the potatoes and soaking them for an hour, changing the water and soaking them again...rinse and repeat a few more times.   Although I've read recently that soaking for ridiculously long hours isn't necessary, just peel and soak for about 1/2 hour.  The biggie is no skin.  Do not eat the skin.   I can live with that.  The cool thing is, the longer you do without, the less you want something.  Although a good French fry is good every once in a while. :)  "I Only Meant To Wet My Feet", The Whispers.  Lol. Is there any wonder why I was at every.single.concert they had in Detroit?  "Giving you, baby, my all and all".  I still grab Brian for a dance when the Whispers start playing. :-)

Avocados. Sigh. I love guacamole. I'm not willing to have my numbers rise. Bye bye my tasty old friend. Spinach, I was just learning to love you, but now we must part.  Kale, I was willing to try you, but when I looked you up, I realized that  i'll never experience your delights. See, these three foods are called super foods. They are also very high in potassium.  "Sing a Simple Song", Sly and the Family Stone.  I wore out the grooves in that album. Larry Graham. Nothing more to say.  

So we know not enough potassium makes me cramp up. Did I tell you that I'm typing with one hand?  My right arm is immobile, with 2 needles in it.  My left hand is typing, basically my left index finger -- my arm gets tired. And then here comes time to take the blood pressure, choking off my left arm.  I have to stop when that happens :-/   What happens when you have too much potassium?   You get tired, nauseous, muscle fatigue....guess what's a muscle?  The heart. Too much potassium can lead to a heart attack.  Sigh.  Sometimes I feel like I'm going through some kind of health gauntlet. At least my levels are monitored.  Blood tests every two weeks. I wonder how much it costs to have End Stage Renal Disease?  I suppose that's another topic for another day. 

It's Friday.  My living room is full of Shawn's stuff. I hope we can get it into 2 cars.  Signing off with "What They Do", The Roots. "Never do, what they do, what they do, what they do...."    

Attempting to give you a link to my nutrition go to site, a few photos of high potassium foods. http://nutritiondata.self.com/