quietly content

Carm was off golfing yesterday afternoon so I blasted the music blasting while I twirled around the house from distraction to distraction, leaving a trail of destruction and half worn clothes behind me. Half worn clothes? I've been trying on everything that I've purchased this summer for our trip! And since I really have no where to store them, they end up draped over chairs and beds! The spare room is a disaster, but only needs 30 minutes to be guest ready :-)

Today his golf game was early in the day so I slept in and then after a long leisurely cup of coffee, got walking… I felt good with barely a twinge in my back - hurrah!

I know that I go on about plant-based eating and trying to keep up with healthy eating but it's such a big part of my life that it's hard not to talk about it! I'm not trying to be superior or holier than thou… I don't feel that way at all, in fact I feel very much the opposite… but it's a daily struggle for me… and not a one and done thing! 

It's like if you got a new car… you'd talk about it for a bit then forget about it… unless you were having to deal with issues all the time in which case it would be a regular topic of conversation 🤣 pretty lame analogy!!! It's getting late 🫩 

I find it easy at times to just say to heck with it but then I remind myself that this is for long term health and vitality and get back to it. I've got lots of motivational videos saved to inspire me! Of course it helps that I feel great so it's hard to defend sitting on the sofa all day!

I read something about passion and discipline yesterday that really hit a chord - it's discipline that gets me to show up for myself everyday, even when I really don't feel like it. Oh sure, there are days when I can't get it together for much at all or maybe even manage just a walk, but I really want to try to limit those days. The last 2.5 weeks have been a setback but I'll pick up where I left off and get going again… soon.

"Discipline is what gets you out of bed when motivation is gone.

Discipline is what makes you practice when you don't feel inspired.

Discipline is what turns an amateur's dream into a professional's reality." unknown 

A few days ago I was feeling really great mentally and more like myself than I have for ages… it was wonderful but I didn't fully trust it which makes me a bit sad… it lasted for a few days then faded back to normal but I've had a few glimmers since… 

But what is normal? I've been medicated for over two decades and don't remember what it was like before. I do know that the meds flatten me out so that sometimes I barely feel anything but it's better than feeling like death! Hmmm, I'm going to rephrase that… I sometimes feel nothing but when I'm in a good space I feel quietly content which is actually pretty awesome and I'm grateful for that.

The weather has still been dry but has been a bit cooler. I'm sad to say that I didn't get myself outside at all today, it was breezy and a bit cool for sitting around outside… so other than a few trips out with the dogs I didn't venture out… oh, that's wrong! I did dunk myself into the 70F water this morning after my walk and other exercise.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm running out of zucchini! Yesterday I made 3 lemon zucchini loafs, today I roasted a bunch that I'll freeze to add to pastas in the winter, which has left me with just two small ones left! I might roast them tomorrow and hope that there are a few hidden out in the garden.

A few weeks ago I started following this fitness guy on FB - he's pretty fit and has some amazing fitness routines set to music which is all fine… however, the women that drool over him on his page are disgusting! Like have some self respect for goodness sake! And don't say gross things like 'he cured my menopause'... ugh… If he was a young woman that older men were gushing over everyone would be up in arms, but for some reason there's a double standard going on here!

Awesome!

"a full on walk"

"sunny summer days"

"freezing swim"

"a few days of feeling good"

"being happy with my life"

getting more mobile

Today I managed a full intensity hour long walk! The first in over 2 weeks. I even managed some extra weight bearing exercises as well! I feel like I'm almost back to normal… hurrah and finally, although I do have to protect my back a certain amount still. I just have to watch that I don't overdo it as I can push myself too hard at times… I don't know exactly what I did, but it sure put me on my back foot for days and days…

Yesterday I managed some time in the kitchen and came up with a few new 'recipes'... Pat was coming for supper and I wanted to zoosh up the black-eyed pea burgers that I already had in the freezer. I'd seen some things on FB that were basically a bit of grated cheese, some thin ribbons of zucchini, topped with a bit more cheese and then baked in the oven till crisp. That worked well so I stepped it up a notch and added some thinly sliced tofu that had been marinated in teriyaki sauce and then roasted with a bit of garam marsala sprinkled on (I'd skip this and use a different spice instead - maybe smoked paprika). I spread some chopped sun-dried tomato, red onion, garlic, la bomba spicy sauce, with a tiny bit of zucchini just to thin it out. The spread was pretty spicy so I didn't use much of it - next time I'll slather it on as the heat got lost in all the other ingredients.

Carm picked up some brioche hamburger buns which fit the burgers perfectly. All layered together, with a bit of ketchup, they were awesome! And much less work than the sandwiches that I made for Pat a few weeks ago… although the black-eyed pea burgers were already made, but I sometimes make a huge batch of them to have handy in the freezer…

Some zucchini salad with a lemon dressing and roasted radishes rounded out the meal. It was a good one and even better cause we could eat outside! Yesterday was a beautiful day, not too hot with low humidity. Unfortunately there was a smoky haze that blocked out some of the glorious sun.

We've had the sun shade up for a few days now!

Awesome!

"even more summer days!"

"black-eyed pea burgers"

"slowly getting more mobile"

zucchini 3 ways

I'm taking another day off from walking… my back is still giving me lots of trouble unfortunately :-(  The last few days I have walked a full hour but then end up gimping around the rest of the day so today I'll try another full rest day. It's gotten a lot better than it was almost 2 weeks ago but still isn’t great… I'm not sure what I wrenched but it was something bad!

Today is overcast and cooler, but the last week has had days and days of hot, sunny weather! It's been glorious, at least for those of us with AC… I pity the people without and especially those that have to work outside. We were able to have the shade cover up for several days in a row so I've been able to convalesce in paradise!

I did pry myself off the sofa on Friday to do some prep for Saturday's afternoon visit with Olaf & Steph. I kept it pretty simple but it still seems that everything took ages to make, especially when I had to lie down to rest often. 

Friday after his golf game, Carm dashed to Costco for a package of their awesome wings which cook up ‘real good’ in the actifry. I made Greek potatoes and popped them in the fridge giving the potatoes a chance to convert its sugars to a resistant starch which doesn't spike blood sugars as much. Saturday, I just heated them in a frying pan with a tiny bit of olive oil, and yes, more garlic! The leftovers have seen a few incarnations, including with lentils and roasted zucchini last night 😀 

I did an experiment with the focaccia… instead of just garlic and rosemary, I loaded it with sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, feta, and thai basil flowers. It was good and a definite do-over!

Olaf and Steph arrived sometime past 1pm on Saturday, just as the focaccia came out of the oven, so we had a quick snack and then went straight outside for the rest of the day! It was a gorgeous day and I was determined to eek every last moment of summer… 

Monday Carm played golf in the afternoon and the weather was still fantastic, so I sent a last minute invite to Mom and Kirsten for a ‘girls’ afternoon on the deck. It was another lazy day in the heat of summer :-)

Aside from those two social afternoons, I've done nothing… we've eaten a certain amount of take-out and easily made meals… I just can't stand at the kitchen counter for long, especially by the end of the day. It's incredibly frustrating! I was just getting back to my workout routine before I hurt myself… now I'll be back to square 1 (well maybe not 1 but not where I was!). I can't even imagine lifting a weight at the moment :-(

Yesterday I forced myself to walk for an hour, with a few breaks for stretching, which I think was a mistake… then after a stint outside and a bit of a rest I tackled a pile of zucchini. Some I made into a sort of fritter which I can heat up for supper one night, the rest is in ribbons ready to make the lemon zucchini salad, I just have to make the dressing which seems insurmountable at this moment… At the end of all that I could barely stand, let alone walk, so I just read in bed for a few hours. Ugh!

Over the past few days I did manage to get some garlic chili crisp made with the rest of last year's garlic, and sliced some lemons for the freezer. Carm got me another bag from Costco today, so I'll slice a bunch more, but also make some lemon zucchini cake for the freezer! Lemons and zucchini are a great combination!

Tonight we revisited an old favorite movie… ‘Moonstruck’ never fails to bring a few laughs as well as some tears… Carm's got some arias playing now - one of these days we must go to an opera in person!

Awesome!

“more summer days”

“focaccia with extra toppings”

“lunch with Mom and Kirsten”