Should We Move Somewhere Sunny?

French Polynesia has a nice ring to it. I wonder how one gets to live in such a paradise? Beautiful weather, sandy beaches, palm trees. All is idyllic… except for all the sharks in the water... But wow, what an address! The program we watched was focusing on diving and underwater creatures, but did venture onto the beaches... spectacular! Yeah - Polynesia, it has a good ring to it.

We had a few days of melting here, so now the snow has a thick ice crust on it – impossible for snowshoeing; the laneway is slick with ice – hard to walk on. And now it is cold again. Makes the sharks seem tolerable.

Thursday night we watched Tim Burton's "Frankenweenie". I love his movies, and this one didn’t disappoint. The theme however was a bit of a tear jerker for me. Luckily I hadn’t seen it right after Spikes venture onto the road… but even still it was fresh in my mind when Spike defied the gate again yesterday.

There is a certain dog (Buddy) that walks by once or twice a day that is the main attraction for Spike. I got a chance to talk to Buddy’s owner last night and told her that I’ll tie a leash to the gate and that if he comes out to please tie him to the gate. At least that way he won’t be following them down the road… We are also going to see about making the gate a little more Spike proof. I will admit to being an awfulizer; my imagination goes into overdrive, living all the potential outcomes – none of them happy.

We were into town yesterday to celebrate my niece Juliette’s 12th birthday. She is growing into a lovely young lady. Where do the years go? We didn’t bring Spike this trip as I met Mom at Costco. Some flameless candles were in the shopping cart as a Christmas gift from Mom. They are pretty neat, and even have a remote control, and can also be programmed to come on at the same time each day, and off 5 hours later! I’m not a big fan of having lit candles all over the house, a remnant from cat owning days I suppose. These will do the trick – they even look a bit realistic with a wax outer coating, and a warm, flickering light. They are the lazy girls candles!  Thanks Mom!

 

The stars are forth, the moon above the tops Of the snow-shining mountains--Beautiful! I linger yet with Nature, for the night Hath been to me a more familiar face Than that of man; and in her starry shade Of dim and solitary loveliness I learn'd the language of another world. ~ Lord Byron

All is calm, All is bright

I may never grow up...

With just the two of us for Christmas Eve, we decided on a diet splurge and ordered pizza and opened a bottle of bubbles. Not very fancy, but quite a treat nonetheless. Christmas programs had been specially saved on the PVR. First a bit of Charlie Brown; then, my favourite, “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer”! I hadn’t noticed in previous years, but I was suddenly struck by the fact that the background colour was the same shade as the green on our walls! How strange. Was that a pure coincidence? Or perhaps some sub-conscious choice that brings me back to childhood?

Christmas morning dawned bright and wickedly cold, –25C in spots. But the roads were good with not much traffic as we made our way into town for more family fun, and yes, feasting.

First stop was Mom &  Dad’s where we opened stockings and then feasted on Christmas Morning Wife Saver and leftover lefse & lutefisk. OMG – full.

Next stop was Carm’s sister’s. His mom and some of his nephews were there as well. As we came in the door they were just about to sit down to lunch – the table was groaning under the weight of all the food. I stuck with just a few of Carm’s mom’s homemade cannelloni and a bit of salad. And dessert. OMG – now I really couldn’t move! It was a fun visit.

Home… the dogs and Grace were happy to see us and get their dinners. And we were happy to change into some looser clothes ;-)

As soon as everyone was fed we opened the special presents that have been under the tree for a few weeks. We were touched to find homemade socks and scarf in the packages. How very thoughtful, and we’ll think of the givers each time we wear them.

 

The rest of the night was spent on the sofa, Skyping with my brother Olaf, Tammy and Freya, and talking on the phone with Kirsten. That’s the best we could do for the NZ folks. Watching the “Sound of Music”, another Christmas tradition, ended off our night.

Cue music or this one …

Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace

Our Norwegian Christmas Eve

 

Since we couldn’t all get together on the 24th, we had our Christmas Eve, complete with Norwegian dinner (lutefisk, lefse, gjost, lingonberries, etc.), yesterday.

It was a grey day, with the remains of Sunday’s freezing rain on the roads, but we made it in safely, with presents, lefse and Spike in the back seat.

In the morning I asked Spike if he wanted to get “puffed up” - he rushed right over – even though he doesn’t particularly like being brushed. He knew something was up! He loves going to Gramma and Papa’s house, and especially loves the kids.

Carm and Graham left almost right away for Princess Auto – a mecca for those loving tools and other boring stuff – Carm was looking for a new snow shovel. While they were gone, Dad made waffles, Mom and I (mostly Mom) started to get things ready for supper.

Finally we were all together, gathered around the Christmas tree, to open our gifts. We had lots of laughs, especially over the gift I got Carm. I thought I was being all clever when I got him a book of Canadian Statistics, for what I thought was 2012. Dooh! The stats are all from 1906!!! Slightly interesting in passing, but not at all what I had in mind. Needless to say we all had a pretty good laugh over such a stunned gift (who would want a giant book from 1906?). Carm got me a book “Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing”, it will be like being back in school, only better.

We even got to spend a little time with Olaf, Tammy & Freya in NZ. The miracle of Skype brought them right into the kitchen for a visit. Too bad Kirsten and her family weren’t there as well.

In years past, the whole family used to gather Christmas Eve and morning. As people got married and started having kids it turned into a wonderful hub-bub of love and laughter. Then Kirsten, et. al. moved to NZ, followed a few years later by Olaf & Tammy. Other family changes have left us with just a few – still fun, but not the same. I miss those old days of togetherness, and I imagine my parents miss it even more.

Then supper! YUM. To say that I over-ate would be a huge understatement. I loaded my plate with lefse, topped with lutefisk, gjost, and little bacon bits. Pickled herring, and red cabbage with caraway were on the side. Oh my it was delicious, perhaps more so as it was so outside the bounds of what I normally eat.  Ah! It truly was Christmas Eve.

It was late (past 8:30) when we got home. Bella and Kabira were frantic with the need to get outside, hunger, and joy that we hadn’t left them forever. Kabira raced up and down the laneway, pausing only to poke us with her nose. She gets a little crazy sometimes.

And with that, the day was done.

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT! ~ By Clement Clarke Moore

 

2 Seconds More

Freezing rain and ice pellets welcomed in the longer day yesterday (Sunday). Just two more seconds, but trending in the right direction.

I woke up in the middle of the night Saturday to the sound of the wind thrashing freezing rain and ice pellets against the house. I didn’t lay in bed listening for too long before I got up and filled some buckets and jugs with water. The ice storm of 1998 is always brought to mind when the rain comes down as ice sheets. We were out of power for 9 days that time… Luckily all those buckets weren’t needed as the power held out, only  flickering from time to time.

It finally feels like Christmas – the decorations around the house didn’t do the trick, the lights on the tree outside didn’t really do it, but yesterday, with Christmas music playing, Carm and I made the lefse and then it was Christmas.

We made them in record time – just 1 1/2 hours for 44 lefse is a record. The griddler gave us room for 4 extra (I couldn’t keep up with Carm near th e end), which meant 7 cooking at a time. Carm mans the spatula, while I have the rolling pin. Of course we had to make sure they turned out alright ;-)  We didn’t have lutefisk, gjost (cheese) and lingonberries to go with them, so we made due with some brie and blueberry jam. Still good!

Sharon (from Odd Essay) asked the other day if we’d be having lutefisk with our Norwegian meal – I hope so! I don’t recall Mom mentioning that she’d gotten some, but gosh, I hope she did! (knowing Mom she found some somewhere as she is nothing if not resourceful).

Soon after we arrived in Norway that year, we participated in a tradition – either celebrating solstice or yule – where we went from house to house, perhaps singing (I can’t remember), and receiving cookies and other sweet treats. It wasn’t Christmas eve, perhaps a few days before. My memory is dim – it was 40 years ago, and I was only 11! I hope Bjorn can enlighten me.

This is one of 8 prayers to Yule, the longest night of the year:

O! Mighty goddess, in silvery ice,
watching over us as we sleep,
a layer of shining white,
covering the earth each night,
frost on the world and in the soul,
we thank you for visiting us.
Because of you, we seek warmth
in the comfort of our homes and hearths.

~ prayer to the Winter Goddess

Habitual Nourishment–At least I’m not Gaining

This past week has been a spiral downwards into bingeing (Carm says I am far from bingeing). I don’t know what happened – maybe some emotional eating, a bit of frustration, and a weakening of resolve led me away from good choices. I may not have lost any weight, but at least I didn’t gain any.

Looking over my food log for these past few weeks I can see that it doesn’t take much to stop the weight loss. In fact, it seems that any SAD eating derails... (must remember this)

Part of my problem is that I’ve gotten sick and tired of cooking all the time (this seems to happen every time I embark on this journey), combined with the colder winter weather which calls out for comfort food. I don’t have any quick to make, comfort food, healthy fare in my repertoire – I suppose I’d better make it a priority to find some promising recipes.

I did sit down and scour the internet for motivating quotes that I can pin on the fridge and bathroom mirror. My hope is that during the weak moments I can be reminded of why I am doing this, and that it is just a matter of changing my thinking to be successful. I tried to keep them positive and not guilt producing.

Here are a few of the examples. The first one is mine, while the rest came from various places on the internet.

Nutritional Excellence is the path to good mental health.

Rule your mind or it will rule you.

I’ve done a lot of reading in the past week about both short and long term side effects of various medications, including on the Eat to Live web site. Dr. Furhman has said that he has had success treating bipolar patients with a nutrient dense diet (0 sugar, dairy, wheat, and extra omega 3s); many were able to reduce their medications, and some even get off them altogether. This is my main motivation to keep on track. This HAS to be my goal. Even a reduction is A GOOD THING.

All that said, I have given myself a few nights off: our family Norwegian Christmas, Christmas Eve and day, and New Years Eve. Then, no more excuses, at least for a little while.

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
Oct 20 (0)	21	22	23	24	25	26 (-3)
27	28	29	30	31	Nov 1	2 (-4.5)
3	4	5	6	7	8	9 (-6)
10	11	12	13	14	15	16 (-5)
17	18	19	20	21	22	23 (-8)
24	25	26	27	28	29	30 (-10)
Dec 1	2	3	4	5	6	7 (-10)
8	9	10	11	12	13	14 (-10)
15	16	17	18	19	20	21 (-10)

  = good day  = a small diversion from Eat to Live   = oh, oh (#) total pounds lost

 

Put all excuses aside and remember this: You ARE capable.

You say 'Potato', I say 'Potato'

Yes, it is snowing AGAIN! If this isn’t the snowiest December ever, it has to be in the running. I dug out my snowshoes this morning and took a little tour in the hay field. It was good to get out into that deep snow, but my bindings kept coming off so it was a pita.

Bella came with me, but I put the other two back into the house. Kabira was cold, and Spike… lets just say that after yesterday’s play he wasn’t in the mood to freeze. The poor little guy was COVERED in golf ball sized snowballs – the snow was packed onto his belly and between his legs. I had to help him get some of it off, but even still he was snow covered. I’m pretty sure he must have remembered as he was in the house like a shot when the door was opened.

Today we started the herculean task of making lefse for our Norwegian Christmas dinner. Due to family changes we’ll be having it on the 23rd, so I had to get cracking. First step – peel and boil 4 lbs of potatoes. Next, add in all the butter, salt, sugar, milk and mash until smooth and fluffy – that’s Carm’s job  - he’s the masher. Now it is in the fridge until tomorrow.

You know you’ve been on a diet (with no potatoes), when licking the masher (not Carm!) is a treat. Kinda like the beaters when making a cake or cookies. TASTY! All that creamy butter and salt… yummmm.

What I say is that, if a man really likes potatoes, he must be a pretty decent sort of fellow. ~ A.A. Milne

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

You guessed it! Tuesday we met Jo Ellen and Don at the theatre to see The Hobbit yesterday. Imax 3D was done justice by the big scenes and exciting action. We all thought it was better than the first one, and since it ended on a cliff hanger we are anxious for the third and final instalment next year! As always with these LOTR movies, the CG (computer graphics) was great and really brought the characters and setting to life. Of course we watched the credits to cheer involved family members!

The movie was good, but it wasn’t heavy like the Hunger Games movie, so I had a good nights sleep! Sure there is a message: bravery, fellowship, etc. but that message is not as thought (and anxiety) provoking at the message in HG. Plus HG didn’t have any cool dragons!

Speaking of cool: we got Erik a Hobbit Drink cup complete with Gandalf on the lid (thanks Don!). I’m not sure what he’d drink out of it as it the biggest cup on earth (that was filled with sugary soda – thank goodness I didn’t drink it! – again, thanks Don!).

We are getting into a bit of a habit with our Tuesday matinee movies, meeting up with Jo Ellen and Don. I hope we can keep finding movies that we all like as it is nice to get out of the house, and better still to see JE & D. There are advantages of being retired, and one of them is matinee movies! I’m not a big fan of going out after dark, with an afternoon viewing we can easily be home in time to make supper :-)

The arctic cold has dropped our part of the world into a deep-freeze. It is too cold to do more than take the dogs out quickly, then run back inside. Even Spike the adventurer runs full speed back to the house as soon as he has done his “business”. I was planning to give the poodles a full clip, but clipped their faces so they have thick hair for another few weeks.

We were at my parents for supper last night, I brought my own diet food, but when dessert was served, with my Mom’s shortbread on the plate, it was all I could do to not gobble it all down. But I resisted – I should have brought a few oranges to get me through.  On our drive home we got to see lots of lovely Christmas lights. I love how they brighten a cold winter night.

Legolas: It is not our fight.

Tauriel: It is our fight. It will not end here. With every victory, this evil will grow! If your father has his way, we will do nothing. We will hide with in our walls, live our lives without light and let darkness descend. Are we not part of this world? Tell me, Mellon, when did we allow evil to become stronger than us?

Habitual Nourishment–Just how nourishing?

I haven’t run my foods through the caloriecount.about website for a while to double check that I’m getting all my nutrients. I like to check now and again, mainly so that I can refute claims that I can’t be getting enough protein if I’m not eating meat, and where do my calcium and iron come from… A plant-based diet CAN be healthy, as long as you keep away from process foods and too many grains, especially wheat flour.

The amazing thing is that with such a nutrient rich diet my body is not hungry all the time, in its drive to meet its nutritional requirements. Sure, sometimes I think about a chicken shwarma, or bowl of pasta, but I consider those cravings more of an addiction, rather than the need for nutrients.

The results show that I’m on track nutritionally. Fats are a little high (too many seeds and nuts); iron is a little low, but just a smidge; sodium was higher than I expected, but since the doctor told me to eat more I guess it is okay – and it shows just how much sneaks into our food even when we are trying to keep the number lowish!

We were out of mixed baby greens and I suspect if I had them for lunch, along with the spinach in my smoothie (too frozen to add yesterday), then even my iron number would be well above the RDA.

 

If I had to choose a religion, the sun as the universal giver of life would be my god. ~Napoleon Bonaparte

Friend of My Youth

The last few days have been lazy, curl up with a book, kind of days. I’m still reading Alice Munro’s “My Favourite Stories”. As I read each story I can't help but exclaim how much I love her writing, and read bits to Carm. As I read the last words of a story, I am compelled to re-read the ending over and over again, pausing to think of her meaning and what it means to me personally. What comparisons can I draw between her characters and myself? What have I learned from her? There are always paragraphs and pages that have to be re-read and savoured, not just for the message, but also for the skilful way in which it has been imparted.

Yesterday I read "Friend of My Youth", a story told by a daughter about her mother's youth.

"What made Flora evil in my story was just what made her admirable in my mother's - her turning away from sex. I fought against everything my mother wanted to tell me on this subject; I despised even the drop in her voice, the gloomy caution, with which she approached it. My mother had grown up in a time and place where sex was a dark undertaking for women. She knew that you could die of it. So she honoured the decency, the prudery, the frigidity, that might protect you. And I grew up in horror of that very protection, the dainty tyranny that seemed to me to extend to all areas of life, to enforce tea parties and white gloves and all other sorts of tinkling inanities." ~Alice Munro, "Friend of my Youth"

Reading this I suddenly understood what the pill and better hospital care has meant for women – freedom from the overshadow of death. Of course I knew this, but I didn’t know it. I'm sure this is all obvious to you, but I had always taken these things for granted and never really thought about it, or understood. I thought the women from those times silly and foolish. Does this change anything for me? No, not really, but strangely, I do feel changed, even if just a tiny little bit.

The forecast of a snowstorm kept us home yesterday (missing out on decorating gingerbread houses with the niece and nephew). My day was brightened though with a showing of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these old programs – it isn’t Christmas until they have been watched. This one was from 1970 and had Fred Astaire narrating. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” is on the pvr for some other night :-)

Winter, then in its early and clear stages, was a purifying engine that ran unhindered over city and country, alerting the stars to sparkle violently and shower their silver light into the arms of bare upreaching trees. It was a mad and beautiful thing that scoured raw the souls of animals and man, driving them before it until they loved to run. And what it did to Northern forests can hardly be described, considering that it iced the branches of the sycamores on Chrystie Street and swept them back and forth until they rang like ranks of bells. ~Mark Helprin, Winter's Tale, 1983

Habitual Nourishment - 8 Weeks/2 months

Like week 7, week 8 has not been so great with no weight lost for the second week in a row, partially due to adding salt back into my diet as per doctors orders… I've mostly been eating well, but there have been a few derailments. I'm trying not to let it discourage me too much, or take it as an excuse for abandonment of the plan.

We had to make a trip to a nearby town on Friday for me to get some blood pulled. Since it was a fasting blood test we left the house without coffee or breakfast… well, you can probably guess that the local greasy spoon, with their breakfast special of bacon, eggs and white toast, was too tempting to resist. Hopefully I learned my lesson though, as I didn’t feel so great afterwards, plus I could barely keep my eyes open the rest of the day! It seems that I am a slow learner…

 

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
Oct 20 (0)	21	22	23	24	25	26 (-3)
27	28	29	30	31	Nov 1	2 (-4.5)
3	4	5	6	7	8	9 (-6)
10	11	12	13	14	15	16 (-5)
17	18	19	20	21	22	23 (-8)
24	25	26	27	28	29	30 (-10)
Dec 1	2	3	4	5	6	7 (-10)
8	9	10	11	12	13	14 (-10)

  = good day  = a small diversion from Eat to Live   = oh, oh (#) total pounds lost

Thru the Gate

Spike got out onto the road yesterday and followed a person walking a dog about ½ a km down the road. By the time I got out to the road he was way over the bridge and up the hill. I couldn’t call him at first as there were two cars coming (my heart was in my mouth – or was it that I was about to throw up I was so worried?). Once they passed I called his name a few times and he eventually started running down the middle of the road. As soon as he got to me I scooped him up and brought him to the house. I will admit to being near hysterical. I can’t even bear the thought of anything happening to him... the rest of the day was filled with anxiety and near panic attack. I was on the verge of crying the whole day – I just couldn’t seem to calm down. That’s the problem with being bipolar sometimes, the emotion switch just doesn’t work very quickly...

A few years ago he had gotten thru the gate a few times so I had rigged up the electric fence so it would charge the gate. We dragged him on his leash and pushed him against the gate so he got a few shocks. Mean, but better than dead. He got the idea and didn’t go near the gate till now. So I got my coat and mitts on and went outside to recharge the gate. It took a while to track down all the shorts, and I never did get a good charge on the tester, but I could hear it. Again, I dragged Spike out there and shoved him against the fence, but I don’t think he got shocked, or if he did it was very mild. You need to be grounded to get the effect of the fence, and the cold weather and snow on the ground makes grounding difficult if not impossible...

I just hope I scared him.

All this while I was getting ready for guests. Carm was in town visiting his mother, so it was all up to me to get everything done. Just a bit of extra stress to my already stressful day. It was pretty hard not to just go back to bed and pull the covers over my head. But I knew that wouldn’t really help, so I just soldiered on.

I got everything done, and Carm got home in time to vacuum. I only burned the dessert a little bit, and only wrecked the sweet potato/brussels sprout dish (it was basically a mush), but everyone seemed to have a good time so I guess that’s what counts.

I of course ate and ate... Trudie brought homemade perogies (grrrr), which I cannot resist, so there went the diet... again.

 

Follow the path of the unsafe, independent thinker. Expose your ideas to the dangers of controversy. Speak your mind and fear less the label of 'crackpot' than the stigma of conformity. And on issues that seem important to you, stand up and be counted at any cost. ~Chauncey Depew

O half-lit Tannenbaum

I was going to post yesterday, but time got away from me… I spent a good part of the day recovering my fubar’d music folder. Either iTunes or my Zen software was re-arranging things, and making duplicates of duplicates. It was a mess, but luckily I had a backup elsewhere. Unfortunately it wasn’t in 100% good shape so I had to mess around with it for a few (several) hours. Now I’ll have to do some experimenting to see which program is doing what and why.

We got the rest of our Christmas lights up on Sunday. In the dark nights of winter I think the lights give passers-by (and me) a little brightness and cheer. We will have to shop around for a few more coloured strings, as the tree has grown so much we can only do half of it!

I can’t wait for “Charlie Brown Christmas” to hear the song.

With the colder weather Kabira has been asking for her outfit (pyjamas). The night before she milled around the side of the bed until I got up to put them on her. Last night I called to her that it was time for bed and did she want her outfit on? She raced down the hall and couldn’t stick her head into them fast enough. Although they make her itchy (her ridge), she likes to be warm.

She’s been on the liquid glucosamine/chronditin/msm mixture for 6 weeks now and she continues to show improvement. She is racing around outside like she hasn’t done for months. No placebo effect possible – it is obvious to onlookers that she is moving more, and more freely.

 

We see things as we are, not as they are. ~Leo Rosten

Habitual Nourishment – End of Week 7 Already!

The week was a bit more challenging than usual. I don't know if it because I passed the 10lb mark, or maybe 7 weeks is a long time... but I've been having a bit harder time passing up the naughties. We had two outings that involved eating, and I was having a more trouble mentally. I think I have that part back under control now. Bad news at the scale too – no weight lost this week.

Monday night we had supper with friends - everyone ate Chinese takeout, except me - I had leftover roasted vegetables and I'll have to admit that they weren't very good. In the end I had two deep fried shrimp things that were nothing more than a blog of gross deep fried stuff - but I scarfed them down... then there was that bite of birthday cake... and the few glasses of bubbles... little things, but they all add up.

Tuesday wasn't much better. I did manage to resist the popcorn at the movies, but by the time we hit Costco I was starving. Seriously - what was I thinking not bringing a snack - a banana blueberry smoothie for breakfast does not fuel me until past 4pm. A little bag of nuts and dried fruit would have kept me "safe" from the taste test offerings. PLAN AHEAD!!!

By the time we got home I was still starving, but had the sense to aim for the seaweed and raw veggies. Supper though - that is the question. I thought of just saying to heck with it and going for take out (I'm really not in the mood for sweet potatoes & brussels sprouts again), but on further thought that wasn’t really what I wanted. What did I feel like was (you’ll never guess) – A SALAD! So we had a giant salad with chickpeas, pear, pomegranate and pine nuts; and then a bedtime snack of chocolate peanut butter smoothie. All was not lost.

I debated over what colour the day ended up: should it be red because I deviated with the Costco stuff (just a few bites – really!), or yellow because I was close? In the end I decided on green because I didn’t go bad big, and didn’t let those slip ups turn into a red letter supper. Plus it never hurts to have a bit of encouragement.

---

Wednesday and Thursday had their difficult moments – I was in the mood for carbs – not the healthy vegetable and bean kind, but the flour and sugar kind. Luckily Carm helped me through those moments and both days ended up good.

---

There are sometimes that it just isn’t possible to stick to the plan. Friday was one of those days. We were going out to eat with friends, and I had a pretty good idea that I’d slip. I couldn’t very well bring my own food to the restaurant... and I’m really not good at choosing just a salad from the menu. As it turned out my choice wasn’t all that bad: enchiladas. They didn’t have a cheesy sauce, and were fairly light. Of course there was tons of salt so I’m up in weight today – but I won’t panic!

I made up for it on Saturday with healthy choices all around.

---

 

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
Oct 20 (0)	21	22	23	24	25	26 (-3)
27	28	29	30	31	Nov 1	2 (-4.5)
3	4	5	6	7	8	9 (-6)
10	11	12	13	14	15	16 (-5)
17	18	19	20	21	22	23 (-8)
24	25	26	27	28	29	30 (-10)
Dec 1	2	3	4	5	6	7 (-10)

  = good day  = a small diversion from Eat to Live   = oh, oh (#) total pounds lost

Ninja Santa

I was inspired to put up the Christmas tree and decorate the house yesterday. I had to make a special space for the two surprise gifts that were in the mailbox! no peeking…

 

We had supper with friends at the Bierstube last night – except it isn’t the Bierstube anymore! The new name is Sol di Acapulco. The waitress purchased it from Rudy, who was more than ready to retire. Alicia is from Mexico so it was only natural that she put a Mexican flair to the menu. Strangely, the menu has a selection of German and Mexican dishes. The new chef is Hungarian, so maybe a few Hungarian dishes will sneak on as well (Goulash anyone?). She also put in a lot of work on the decor – the place looks great! But more importantly the food was good.

Wednesday I was lucky enough to visit with a cousin from Kelowna that I hadn’t seen for decades. Pam is from my mom’s side of the family – we rarely see anyone from her side (except of course Uncle Ken, and even that is rare). Most of them live in BC – we just never get that far.

Thoughts of the Hunger Games still linger, but they aren’t as intense and are more easily pushed from my mind. My mood has been really stable since I started my eating plan, but I started getting some anxiety in the days following the movie. Would I see it again? I’m not really sure – it was a great, thought provoking movie, and I’d recommend it, but maybe not for me.

 

---

I’ve had my Ninja blender for almost 5 weeks and I have to say how pleased with it I am! I use it at least once a day, but usually twice, and often three times. It isn’t unusual to use the tall 72oz blender jar in the morning for my smoothie; the lower, rounder, food processor jar mid-day to chop vegetables for soup; and then the single serve jar at bedtime.

The food processer add on is great for chopping vegetables finely; I haven’t used it for a rough chop yet; but it doesn’t have a grater for shredding carrots or cheese. If it had that it would be perfect... but alas, I have resorted to the hand grater a few times.

My major complaint? This thing is noisy! I’m considering getting a pair of ear protectors just for when I’m running it. With my eyes closed I can easily imagine that I’m an on a runway with a jet taking off just above my head.

Would I buy it again? A resounding YES!

We must rediscover the distinction between hope and expectation. ~Ivan Illich

Hunger Games II

My dreams last night were a whirling, dizzying montage of weird images and violence. When I wasn’t asleep, which was a lot of the night, these same images imposed themselves on my brain. I lay awake thinking about the movie we’d seen yesterday afternoon: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire.  What did it mean, what was the message? Or was there even any meaning at all – perhaps it was intended to be pure entertainment. Other thoughts intruded, all confusing and without answers.

At some time in the night Spike got on the bed and lay pressed against my back, his warmth grounding me and settling me into some semblance of rest. Did he do it on purpose? Or was he just cold?

I remember why I generally avoid movies with violence (but would still see the movie again).

The movie, like the first one, had a central theme of Hope, which seems to be the theme of my blogs these days. It’s not that I’m without hope, or even that I’m depressed (I’m not); maybe, it is the season. Winter – seemingly without life; but, under the snow and earth lies a special kind of hope: the seeds of rebirth and rejuvenation. Maybe it is my own attempt at renewal (eating more healthfully, losing weight and exercising) that is sparking these thoughts. Or maybe I just need more chocolate!

Bjorn’s comment on yesterday’s blog was very astute – there is action in Alice Munro’s stories, an internal action as opposed to the guns and bullets action that we are exposed to in movies and TV. And much like the action in the Hunger Games, it too keeps me awake, thinking, always thinking.

“I think it is a lot of action in her short stories, but it's an other sort of action. Most of it goes on in the minds of her characters, and then it rubs off on the reader. You remember me starting to dream strange dreams after reading her in large portions. I guess my subconscious continued working with things I had read. “ ~ Bjorn

 

Nature looks dead in winter because her life is gathered into her heart. She withers the plant down to the root that she may grow it up again fairer and stronger. She calls her family together within her inmost home to prepare them for being scattered abroad upon the face of the earth. ~Hugh Macmillan, "Rejuvenescence," The Ministry of Nature, 1871

The Beggar Maid

Yesterday I wrote about hope and laughter and being disadvantaged. I've also been reading stories from Alice Munro which gives me pause to think.

She is a brilliant writer. Her skill in crafting sentences into paragraphs is awe inspiring. But what she does best of all is write about regular, even mundane things. There is no action in her stories; no guns or knives or killing. Instead she writes about the internal life and how it relates to our environments, the past and the present. I often find myself stopping to re-read bits, sometimes several times; savouring, digesting, thinking.

In the "The Beggar Maid", she tells the story of a girl from a poor background that goes off to university on a scholarship. She finds accommodations with a retired professor. The house is filled with treasures from China and other places travelled to.

"Dr. Henshawe's house had done one thing. It had destroyed the naturalness, the taken-for-granted background, of home. To go back there was to go quite literally into a crude light. Flo had put fluorescent lights in the store and the kitchen. There was also, in a corner of the kitchen, a floor lamp Flo had won at Bingo; its shade was permanently wrapped in wide strips of cellophane. What Dr. Henshawe's house and Flo's house did best, in Rose's opinion, was discredit each other. In Dr. Henshawe's charming rooms there was always for Rose the raw knowledge of home, an indigestible lump, and at home now her sense of order and modulation elsewhere exposed such embarrassing sad poverty in people who never thought themselves poor. Poverty was not just wretchedness, as Dr. Henshawe seemed to think, it was not just deprivation. It meant having those ugly tube lights and being proud of them. It meant continual talk of money and malicious talk about new things people had bought and whether they were paid for. It meant pride and jealousy flaring over something like the new pair of plastic curtains, imitating lace, that Flo had bought for the front window..." ~ Alice Munro

You may wonder what this has to do with the men from the Shepherds of Good Hope. I'm not really sure myself, except that it has changed my understanding of what it means to be in their position. It seems to me, that it is wrong to impose my own experience and expectations on them, and judge according to my life. It would be like someone ultra rich seeing my life and pitying me for my poor circumstances. I don't pity myself.

Reading her stories makes me pause and consider my own preconceptions about others, and even to look at how I judge my own life, my own experiences. Should life be judged? Or should every experience be felt as it is, without a harsh eye? Judgement and mindfulness do not go hand in hand and are instead at odds with each other.

She inspires me to try to write better, but really what I do write is just a joke next to her prose.

Good Hope and Laughter

 

The sign outside the Shepard's of Good Hope proclaimed that Laughter was the best medicine.

I sat warm in the car and looked out the window. The tree in front of the building stood frosty and strong. Men? I couldn't see any, I expect they were around the corner, out of the wind, with the cigarettes burning, hands cupped against the cold.

And I wondered... what is there to laugh about when you are homeless, perhaps struggling with addictions, or mental illness, or maybe just bad luck?  What hope is there, other than for a warm meal at the end of the day, and hopefully a warm bed?

Where do they go from there? Is there a path that leads to better circumstances? How do you get from standing in the icy cold to a warm and loving home ringing with laughter?

Or could it be that they can find happiness and even laughter in their lives, and that it is my life, or appreciation of it, that is lacking?

I often move through my days as if in a fog, numb to what is going on around me; it is only jarring contrast that moves me to wake up and appreciate what is around me.

So maybe the Good Hope and Laughter is a reminder for me, just as much as it is a beacon for those frozen men.

Regardless, I wish them all Hope and Happiness, and marvel at the human spirit.

 

Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul - and sings the tunes without the words - and never stops at all. ~ Emily Dickinson

Habitual Nourishment–6 weeks done

I’d like to say that it was a perfect week with all green blocks, but alas, it was not. Tuesday’s outing morphed into supper out with a hamburger calling my name. Oh well, all was not lost, and I was back on the band wagon again for the next meal. For a few days… Friday I made Chocolate Chickpea squares (recipe to follow) which had to be tasted. Saturday we had friends over for supper. And while the supper itself consisted of all healthy things, the dessert did not (those squares again), and chocolates, and worst of all a few glasses of red wine…

I’m pretty pleased though, as even with all those hiccups I managed to lose another 2 pounds this week, for a total of 10 pounds lost in 6 weeks. That puts me at just 3 pounds to my first goal :-)  Then the yardstick moves into uncharted territory. I’m looking forward to the challenge!

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
Oct 20 (0)	21	22	23	24	25	26 (-3)
27	28	29	30	31	Nov 1	2 (-4.5)
3	4	5	6	7	8	9 (-6)
10	11	12	13	14	15	16 (-5)
17	18	19	20	21	22	23 (-8)
24	25	26	27	28	29	30 (-10)

  = good day  = a small diversion from Eat to Live   = oh, oh (#) total pounds lost

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Our destiny changes with our thought; we shall become what we wish to become, do what we wish to do, when our habitual thought corresponds with our desire. ~ Orison Swett Marden

Gluten Free Chocolate Chickpea Squares

1 can of chickpeas drained & rinsed well

½ cup all natural peanut butter (or other nut butter)

1/3 cup maple syrup or agave

2 teaspoons vanilla

½ teaspoon salt (optional – if canned beans are salted skip this)

¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup + 2 T vegan chocolate chips

Prepare an 8 x 8 inch baking pan with parchment. Set aside.

In the bowl of your food processor pulse together: 1 can of chickpeas with nut butter, 1/3 cup maple syrup, 2 teaspoons of vanilla, (1/2 teaspoon of salt), 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda. 

Puree until batter is smooth.

Mix in chocolate chips. Spread into pan and top with remaining chips.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. (in my oven I  needed to bake them for almost 30 min – your time may vary).

 

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Next time I make these I will try substituting ripe bananas for the maple syrup. From what I could tell from reading on the internet 1 cup of mashed banana = 1 cup of sugar. How many bananas make a cup? I’m going to guess 2, so in this recipe I replace the maple syrup with 1 banana. If that isn’t sweet enough I’ll try addong a date or two (all chopped up of course).

Who was that?

Yesterday (Wed) was a snow day for us. We don't normally watch TV or movies during the day, but a snow day is an exception. We had the Dr. Who episode "Day of the Doctors" on the pvr and were anxious to watch it. So we shut the blinds, fired up the sound system and snuggled under blankets with our giant bowls of leafy greens. The program was all we expected and more! Very entertaining with twists and turns in the plot everywhere. We love time travel!

We got about 9 or 10 inches over the day yesterday – the trees were groaning under the weight of all that snow – pretty, but deadly for them. There are too many trees to go around shaking them all off, so we hope that Mother Nature takes care of it with a bit of wind.

 

I wonder how many grey photos like this I’ll be posting over the winter? Thankfully today is bright with sunshine and wintery blue sky. The dogs had a bit of fun playing in the snow, but it wasn’t too long before Kabira and Spike were keen to go in. Bella is always happy to be outside and bounces around like Tigger! (no photos of her – she is a black blob in this sort of light).

Several months ago we noticed Kabira being a little stiff in her movement. It was most obvious getting into the truck – she seemed to have difficulties. On talking to Ruth about it she suggested some glucosamine, in case it was the start of arthritis. We started her on a powder and after a month or so did notice a slight improvement. But it wasn’t enough to be satisfied. I did some research online which suggested that adding MSM and possibly other herbs might help more. I was about to order something, but decided we’d look to see what Costco had first. As it turns out they had a liquid with glucosamine, chondroitin, and msm. She’s been on it for just shy of a month and the improvement is striking. She’s prancing around again, and seems to have no trouble getting on the futon anymore. We haven’t done the truck test, but it is too cold for that just now. Our fingers are crossed that it will do the trick, as she is far too young to be suffering the effects of arthritis (she’s 7 1/2).

Time changes everything except something within us which is always surprised by change. ~ Thomas Hardy