Tuesday greetings. Three day weekend is over, and I am headed back to the center today. Didn't do much of anything over the weekend. Shopping on Saturday, cooking on Sunday, and yesterday, well aside from making some beans and rice, I did pretty much nothing. I slept late, went through my new recipe books, and read quite a bit of When We Were Vikings." In fact, I hated to put it down.
The main character of the book is Zelda, a 21 year old woman who was born with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. She lives with her brother, Gert. I'm not sure what happened to her dad, but her mom died of cancer. The two of them went to live with an uncle who turned out to be a pervert who was trying to get in Zelda's pants. Gert and the uncle fought, and Gert took Zelda to an apartment he found on the bad side of town. It's a struggle for Gert to make ends meet and provide Zelda with all she needs, including sessions with Dr, and socialization at the community, and he meets a few shady characters and begins selling drugs.
As you may guess by the title, Zelda is obsessed Vikings--their legends, loyalty, courage-- and sees herself as a modern day Viking with a sacred duty to protect her tribe which includes Gert, AK47 There is a set of 'rules' in the house that must be followed--fist bumps and jabs mean respect, a smile means thank you, strangers not appreciated, tomatoes must go in the middle of the sandwiches so the bread doesn't get wet. Her 'tribe' consists of Gert, AK47 who has an on and off relationship with Gert, her boyfriend Marxy, (although a male she thinks of him as her fair maiden), her therapist Dr. Laird, and her friends at the community center.
This is really a great read. I love the characters and although tragic, I have laughed allowed at some of the things Zelda comes out with at the most inappropriate times. For example, when Gert is stopped for going through two stop signs, Zelda gets out of the car and tells the officer, "My brother is a shit-heel who doesn't like to talk about sex." This after announcing at a dinner party that she wants to have sex with Marxy and has her period. These are such great and realistic characters. Haven't finished the book yet, but I am sure it will take me awhile to find another as good as this one.
This is one of my new cookbooks....like I need more. Just can't resist and I love the Mediterranean diet.
I also love Middle Eastern foods. They do share some similarities to Mediterranean foods.
Morning all. Hope you all had a great weekend. For some of us it's not over yet, though. I had a quiet weekend by choice. Had a touch of something that began on Saturday. My nose was running like a faucet. Non-stop from the time I got
up until I went to bed. Could of been a head cold, or my allergies, or sinuses. No other symptoms. Whatever, it' was still there a bit on Sunday but not
as bad....but you can call me Rudolph if you want. That's how red my nose is.
First signs of spring. The daffodils pushing through. Shame people have to be so messy. Walk by and toss their empty cups in the yard. Bunch of pigs.
Went shopping on Saturday and picked up a couple of Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers. Usually I eat half my lunch at the center and bring half home for dinner (that's how much they feed us), but sometimes, on days that I stay late, I don't bring anything home. If I don't eat it, I give it away. I don't like letting food sit out so long. So I checked out the frozen dinners and discovered the Cafe Steamers were much lower in sodium than the rest of the frozen dinners. I bought the General Tso Spicy Chicken and the Asian Potstickers which I ate on Saturday. Delicious. Looking forward to buying more. I see they have a whole line which I am hoping to try.
Spent yesterday in the kitchen. Made some pork chops and steaks for hubby....and grilled some chicken for me. Served it with
Broccoli Salad: Broccoli, cabbage, carrots, red onion, mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, raisins, dried cranberries, and a bit of sugar.
Sesame noodles: Noodles, soy sauce a bit of sugar, red pepper flakes, garlic, rice vinegar, green onions, sesame oil, and a wee bit of canola oil.
Another Friday has arrived. Had a busy one. Center on Monday. Nurses gave a talk on substance abuse and the elderly. I probably could have taught them a thing or two. Tuesday was party day. Wednesday was game day. An intern gets together with us and we play Yatzee. So much fun. Yesterday was my opthalmologist appointment and today will be morning Tai Chi and still in the air about jewelry class later.
A few of you asked about my newest addiction--sticker painting. It is so much fun and something I can carry around with me and enjoy any place.
This is the book. There are several kinds. I got this from Amazon. My next will be 'foods'.
The stickers in the back of the book.
Here is how they look before completed.
Working on this one now.
Didn't go to the center yesterday. It was pouring rain all day and since I had an appointment in the afternoon I decided to stay home and not get wet twice. This has been a pretty rainy winter but no complaints here. At least it's not snow.
So my eye doctor appointment went well. I am doing something right
because the macular degeneration and cataracts have deteriorated at all.
Good sign. I do have to go back next month for the dreaded field test
as I am borderline glaucoma and she wants to stay on top of it. So
many tests yesterday, and those drops. Not fun.
With a three day weekend coming up, I don't know what I am going to do. Just going to play it by ear.
Hope you all have a great weekend.
Thursday. morning greetings. Hope you all had as great a week so far as I did, especially on Tuesday. Had a wonderful time at the party.
My friends Marc and Mary. So thankful that she is now cancer free.
That's Henry at the far end of the table. My friends Beatrice in the blue jacket (a Catholic school teacher for 45 years) and Elaine from my jewelry class behind her. They are all lined up to get their sandwiches. Along with lunch they give us one every day.
This is after our snacking was almost done. I swear we ate for 4 hours straight.
Lunch was extra special that day. Chicken parm, spaghetti, salad, orange, and pineapple juice.
Let the dancing begin. My body held out enough to do the Electric Slide but the rest was chair dancing for me.
Dorothy and Angela.
Tuesday morning. Today we have our monthly party at the center. The theme for this month is Valentine's Day. What else. We all usually bring in some decadent treats for our parties. I bought some nuts, chocolate covered raisins, chocolate covered peanuts, dried fruit, etc. and plan on putting together a trail mix. I also have some Lindor Chocolates. I usually buy a couple containers of homemade cookies at the place where I get my iced coffee, but the baker has been on vacation. It's a family owned deli and the dad is the baker.
(This was my first one.)
This is my new addiction besides Dot to Dot for Adults. This is so much fun.
Going to be tested for food intolerance. I really feel I have a problem with gluten. Maybe not as bad as some, but every time I eat more than the usual amount, my tummy acts up some. I'd been doing fine since my illness until Sunday when we went to Olive Garden for dinner. I was going to order the gluten free rotini, but the rigatoni looked so good. Well, I was up at 4 am to go to the bathroom and then 3 times after that. I noted that this sort of thing happens when I eat gluten, not every time, but when I eat a bit of it.
Today should be a fun day. Valentine's Day Party. Made my trail mix and have my candy ready. Looking forward to some great socialization. And good food. Chicken parm, spaghetti, and Baskin and Robbins for dessert. Hoping to get some good pictures to share on Friday.
Monday morning greetings. This looks to be a fun one for me. Tomorrow is the Valentine's Day party at the center, and I am looking forward to it. Hoping to get some nice pictures for you with my new phone. Well, it's not actually new. It was hubby's, but it is still much newer than mine was and takes better pictures.
So as I said on Sunday, I managed to continue attending the center despite being so sick so I was there for the election. Guess what. I was voted in as the new secretary for the senior council. What an honor....as well as a lot of extra work. But, it gives me a say in things that happen at the center and makes me feel like I am giving back some of what they have given me.
We have a great new group on Friday's. It's called Connect and Create. The facilitator is an intern, but not meek and mild like the other interns. She was a school teacher in one of the worst areas in Brooklyn and knows how to control the group. No one is allowed to monopolize. In the group, we are given a series of questions, and each of us takes a turn answering. This week's topic was childhood.
When completed we are each given a piece of paper to write down a sentence or a word. Then these are put together in a poem.
Last week's completed poem about generations.
See what old age does? It makes you a forgetful fool. Went to the bank
and deposited some money, did a little shopping, had a new protector
put on my phone, and came home to start paying a couple credit card
bills. It was only after paying a couple of them that I discovered I
had left my debit card in the ATM. Thankfully I discovered it and put a
stop on it before anyone used it. With the chip it's so much easier to
use in a store than if one needed a pin number.
And yesterday I went shopping. Got halfway to the bus stop when the store called. I had left my wallet on the counter. Had all my money in it and a credit card. This stuff is really starting to worry me. I've been blessed so far, but who knows what will happen if I continue making these careless mistakes.
The topic of last month's box was legendary creatures of myth, and such a fun box it was. The box contained items to help one tap into the magical energies of a few of the creatures. What a fun box.
The unveiling.
Unicorn Horn Carved Gemstone in Adventurine.
Gargoyle House Protection Blend.
Mythical Witch Deck Expansion Cards.
Phoenix Votive. A blend of cinnamon and clove.
Leprechaun Good Luck Coin
Mermaid Perfume Oil. Apricot kernel oil, Jojoba oil, Esential Oils of--Ylang Ylang, Patchouli, Orange, French Lavender, Sandalwood and Jasmine.
Mythical Creatures Altar Coloring Cards set.
Fairy Kisses Organic Lip Balm. Hibiscus and Pink Grapefruit.
Saturday morning greetings. I know, I have been among the missing. I do apologize. I have really been having a rough time of it. It seems I picked up a bad tummy but, and when I say bad, I mean bad. It started on Friday, 3 weeks ago. I went to bed with lots of painful gas, and when I was just about to fall asleep, I had an episode of explosive diarrhea. It followed with a couple more episodes, the latter of which I was unable to make it to the toilet in time. Sorry for being gross.
Finally the imodium kicked in, and I was able to sleep a bit. Woke up with the same tummy pain and gas. Had to go shopping so I took more imodium. The same tummy cramping all week, and I took more imodium. I didn't want to sit home and think about how sick I was so the imodium got me through the days at the center. It's hard pretending you are fine, but you really aren't.
All came to a head Friday a week ago when the imodium could no longer protect me, and the explosive diarrhea began again. This time it was so watery. 4 episodes in 45 minutes, the last one again I didn't make it. Time for the doctor. I really thought it was my IBS out of control.
Well, it turns out I had picked up some kind nasty bug, and I was only prolonging it by using the imodium on a daily basis. The bug had to come out of me, but I was holding it back and for a full week it was growing. No more imodium. Lots of water, crackers, dry toast. No spices. In essence, no food.
Well, I am happy to say I am on the mend. Doctor gave me permission to eat again on Thursday morning and after a horrible bout with painful gas Thursday night (which probably came from the return of fiber) I have been on the mend slowly and steadily. Wouldn't wish what I went through on anyone.
On a plus side, I was only 4 pounds over goal when weighed at the doctor's office. It also opened my eyes to the way I have been abusing my body lately eating things I shouldn't have been and now I am back to seeking my healthy self...which will include lots of vegetarian dishes. I will be posting some tried and true recipes over time.
I'll close with a note of caution for all of you. Beware of those pre-washed bagged salads. That's the only thing I can trace mine back to, and I read an article that they have found lots of nasty bugs in these bags. I was washing before using, but guess not good enough.
