A WALK BY THE LAKE

Today is the last day of Winter. P:-) lives near Lake Illawarra  so we went for a wander along the bike track that follows the shore. It was very quiet with hardly any bike riders. Just a few ducks.

The lapping water was very calming in the late afternoon.

The photo below shows the view from Peter's place towards the lake.

My Primal Diet

My constant battle with my weight and dieting has lead me to the Primal Diet. Basically it means cutting out refined carbohydrates as well as grains and potatoes. Eating lots of lean protein, fruit and vegetables. The reason it is called a primal diet is because it mrrors the way people ate before farming began - back when we were all hunter gatherers. The first farmers grew wheat and rye in Syria 13 000 years ago.

The Primal Diet also known as  the Paleolithic Diet is based on the premise that modern humans are genetically adapted to the diet of their Paleolithic ancestors. This is based on the fact that our genes have hardly changed since the beginning of farming and therefore the best diet for us is one based on that of our ancestors before they took up farming.
I love bread and cereal but latest diet trends tend to follow the high protein road and anything is worth a try. In my search for the perfect diet (One where I can lose weight and not get depressed) I came across Marks Daily Apple, and proceeded to purchase the Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson.

A lot of it seemed to make sense. So I have been giving it a try. I'm sure it is very healthy. Each week day I eat 3 serves of fruit; five or six serves of vegetables; a couple of eggs; a tin of tuna; some yoghurt and milk.

Weekends are different because I cook dinner for P:-). On Saturday evening I tried Vienna Schnitzel substituting wheat flour with coconut flour and crumbs with almond meal.. Not good. Very soggy. I am allowed up to 150grams of carbohydrate per day so next time it will be back to the same old flour and Panko crumbs.

I did cook a tasty Moroccan Chicken in the slow cooker on Sunday night, which made up for it.

And have I lost weight? So far after a couple of weeks I can't say. I stay as far away from scales as I can. If I weight myself I know I will be depressed. But I do seem to have gone down a size in jeans. Meanwhile my diet is really healthy and low GI. This seems to have reduced some of the swings I suffer in energy throughout the day.

I will keep you posted.

MONDAY ALREADY

Monday already. The weekend was fairly quiet, but productive.

1.  I positioned the fairy door in my front garden.

This is view below is taken without the flash. It gives you an idea of how the light shines at night.

2. P:-) cut a vine down that was threatening to choke one of my trees.

 As you can see, my back yard is quite bushy.

Here are a couple more pictures to give you the idea.

3. P:) attacked the climbing fig threatening to take over my house.

It was beginning to worry me and I had tried to pull it down with little success. I love the look of it but I think it is bad for the brickwork. It is also climbing up the television aerial which I suspect would not do much for the reception.

Here is the before shot.

 Below is the after-shot

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There is still a bit more to do. P:-) will bring his ladder next weekend. He said if he pulls it now it will bring down the aerial.

4. We made it to church - a little late.

 A beautiful, shining white cross was projected onto the back of the stage. But it hasn't quite come out in the photo.

P:-) and I are members of  Figtree Anglican Church . The Anglican church in Australia is similar to the Episcopalian church in the US. We attend the 6 pm service called Fuse. It has great music.

FRIDAY AT LAST

At last it is Friday. The end of week 6. There are only 4 weeks left in the term. School was fairly quiet today. Below is a picture of the main teaching area.

 

This was once a church hall. It is a very pleasant teaching area. There is another teaching area in the church building itself.

Today I bought myself a fairy door for the front garden. It was in Woolworths, on special for $7.98. I had eyed it off for a week and finally decided to buy one.

It has a solar light. I haven't had a chance to put it outside yet, but i am looking forward to it.

I came across a couple of items that may interest you.

The first is a beautiful  apartment high in the sky of London .

http://inhabitat.com/gorgeous-garden-apartment-grows-above-a-warehouse-rooftop-in-london/

The second is a solar powered chicken coop that moves around the yard.

http://inhabitat.com/front-yard-coop-a-solar-powered-and-self-propelled-chicken-coop/

ZENTANGLING

ZENTANGLES

Today, at school, we have been drawing Zentangles. These are usually black and white images created from repetitive  patterns.They can be very beautiful. The students have been working on a program which will involve them designing Zentangles around their names or initials.

Later we will work on coloring our designs.

MANNA HOUSE

Thursday night is Manna House held at the Anglican Church. People are invited in for a free meal and some company. All types of people come - often people who don't have much money and really appreciate a free feed. Or sometimes it is people who are just lonely. I have been volunteering at Manna House for a few years and just lately P:-) has begun coming too.

 I usually provide puzzles for the clients to do - word-searches and crosswords based on something biblical. Everyone who completes a puzzle gets a chocolate.

SPORT WEDNESDAY

I love my backyard. It is a bush garden. Below is the view I have from my computer in the mornings.

 I feel as if I am part of the bush. Often there will be birds in the branches.

Wednesday is sport day at my school. We go to a  PCYC (Police and Citizens Youth Club) a couple of suburbs away where the students and staff have a few games of volleyball. A lot of my students are in trouble with the law and are under 18 so cannot have their photos displayed publicly. So I have taken some photos of the venue, so you can get the idea of it.

In the top photo above, if you look very carefully  you can in fact see some back views of the students sitting on the stairs outside. I am always the referee. I always err on the side of the losing team -especially when I don't have my glasses. We don't take it too seriously. (Well I don't take it too seriously - sometimes the students do!)

I have discovered Celtic Thunder . They are coming to the WIN Entertainment Centre  in Wollongong on the 15th February 2012. I have booked tickets for P:-) and I to go to their show. Only 6 months to wait! ( My big problem will be not losing the tickets before then.)

MR BRUSH TURKEY

My house backs onto a mountain covered in lush, native bush. One of the things I like about living here is the native birds and animals that I see. A very brave brush turkey loves to come up on my back deck. He likes to peck at my window

 Sometimes the brush turkey will startle me when I hear him pecking.

He must have a mound near by where he incubates his eggs. He seems very at home among the houses and sometimes ventures onto the road.