GOOD FOOD - THE FOUNDATION OF GOOD HEALTH

Since I love to eat, and consider food part of my "medicine" to keep me healthy, I budget higher food prices into my (very modest) budget. Produce is unquestionably the foundation of good health. When you enjoy delicious fruits and veggies because they taste great, then you will keep eating them. That's why taste matters.

  Starre Vartan

 

The quote above mirrors my experience. I have a modest income but most of it goes on fresh fruit and vegetables. I make all our meals from scratch, so as not to rely on chemical additives. 

 

Every Friday I visit the fruit market. We make a day of it. I take my mother and daughter, and Peter usually comes along for the ride. We travel a few suburbs to find the fruit market of choice - the Leisure Coast Fruit Market and Deli at Fairy Meadow.

 My weekly buy always includes sweet potato, cauliflower, lettuce, rocket and mushrooms and then whatever else I need for that week such as carrots, onions etc.

 

The truth is we don't know if cancer and other types of digestive diseases and health problems are connected to the array of additives and chemicals present in so many processed foods. (We do know that nitrates in processed meats are carcinogenic.) Since I had cancer recently I prefer to take a precautionary approach. 

 

Fruit and vegetables are the basis of good health. I love to eat and try new recipes. I like to buy good quality produce because it tastes better. I like to make all my meals from scratch so I know what is in them without the artificial colourings, flavourings, extra sugar and additives to give something a longer shelf life.

 

I have read various opinions about eating organic produce. At this stage I have avoided the extra cost as I am on a limited budget, and they are not available at my fruitmarket.  But this may change.

 

I lost 6 kilograms before Christmas. I managed to put it all back on again over Christmas when I stopped sticking to my Plant Paradox regime. I am back on my eating plan and gradually losing weight again.

 

This style of eating is based on promoting healthy gut bacteria and reducing inflammation. I saw Kelly Clarkson on TV explaining that she had lost a lot of weight following the Plant Paradox program so I decided to give it a try. Unlike other diets I have been on, there is no calorie counting which is great, although there are quite a few restrictions. But it is all healthy eating.

 

I plan to start a new blog based on the Plant Paradox program, providing recipes that I have tried, are budget friendly and have ingredients available in Australia. I'd like to try some of my recipes on this blog first. Maybe I could get some feedback.

 

A granddaughter's christening

(Please note that faces are not shown to protect privacy.)

Our little granddaughter was christened on the weekend. It was held in Helensburgh Catholic church.

 

The baby slept through the service, and barely stirred when she had water poured on her head.

Peter's daughter Megg made a beautiful carrot cake which was cut and shared at morning tea.

A walk by the lake

Peter and I took a walk by Lake Illawarra. The white spots are pelicans. There must have been fish out there. 

Another photo of a dandelion on Peter's front lawn. 

I just couldn't resist it.

Article in Medium

 

Photo source

I have written an article for Medium, Do You Feel Like Giving Up? Read This Now.

Interesting sites 

 

1.  Beautiful hiking cabin in Norway

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This cabin was made with 77 panels. Click here to read more. 

 

2. Why don't birds' feet freeze?

 

Photo source

 Birds' feet don't freeze in winter. Click here to read why.

3. This 'king' once ruled Antarctica

Photo source

This king once ruled the green, lush forests of Antarctica. Click here to read more.

THE JOY IN MOTHERHOOD AND OTHER SNIPPETS(February 2017)

The joy in motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times, but amid the challenges there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction.

M. Russell Ballard

I love quotes. Since I was a young teenager I have saved them and written them down. Now when I come across them in my reading, and I find they say something to me, I save them for my blog. I have a system of writing them up where I never know which quote I will come across on the next post I do, and now on my blogs, even though I consider it terribly self-indulgent, I have been commenting on them from a personal perspective.

This quote on motherhood made me really think about what it was like being the mother of two creative children, who just didn't fit comfortably into mainstream schooling or life.

While I love my children more than anything in the world, motherhood has not always been easy. It has been a long, long road. Dealing with childhood depression in both my daughters in their early years was very difficult. Seeking and fighting for professional psychiatric help for my children, in the early 1990's, when there was far less awareness, became a way of life. My husband and I home-schooled our younger daughter right through high-school. In year 9 my elder daughter was the only child in NSW to be enrolled in High School part time and home-schooled part time. We knew this because at the time my husband worked in head office for the Department of Education.

I don't remember ever falling out with my daughters, even in their teenage years, although we did have occasional disagreements. They are both artists and we fostered their creativity as much as we could. With depression raising its ugly head in both my daughters at an early age, I made the commitment never to give up on them.

Thanks to their genes, every day is a battle. I know because I share some of these genes.

Motherhood has held many moments of joy for me. There have been hard and frustrating times, and there still are. But now my daughters fight their own battles and I will always be their to support them.

For me, 'the shining moments of joy and satisfaction' come when I see the caring and compassionate individuals my daughters have become. I am very proud of them and I admire them greatly for not just giving up. I would like to think that their father and I have played at least some small part in them becoming such wonderful women.

Last Sunday Peter and I went to a 50th wedding anniversary. The beautiful cake below had a photo of the bride and groom 50 years ago. It was edible - made of icing.

Peter's elder sister and her husband have been married for 50 years and it was lovely to join other close family members and friends to help them celebrate.

A trip to Helensburgh on Wednesday to attend a medical appointment, saw us driving through quite a bit of fog on the top of the mountain.

January, in New South Wales,  Australia, has been a heat wave month, and it looks as if February is going to be the same. It is great to have some cooler weather for a few days.

On Friday morning I had coffee with my lovely friend J at Wollongong Harbour, or Belmore Basin as it is officially known.

Again, it was a grey day, but lovely sitting outside to sip coffee and catch up. We met at church a few years ago, and although J has moved on to a new church, we have a lot in common and keep in touch.

She brought me some resources for tutoring and some other bits and pieces which I really appreciated.

Tutoring has started again and I love working with my students. A year 11 student is beginning Ancient History and when I worked with him yesterday I was surprised how much I could remember from my teaching many years ago. I will enjoy studying this again to keep up with my student. 

Craft

I have begun crocheting this cardigan with some wool I have had for years.

The cardigan is growing slowly.

You can find the pattern for the cardigan here. 

It is an American pattern so double crochet actually means treble in English and Australian crochet.

In the Garden

Decorating and gardening have taken a back seat to some other things so far this year, but little by little things are taking shape.

Blue glass containers were ideal for some potted succulents at the front of my place. I plan a colour scheme of blue and grey out here.

My container gardening has been spurred on by an article I read here.

On Saturday night I plan to cook a vegan dinner for my family. It is to celebrate my daughter's birthday and she is vegan. Her birthday was actually about a month ago but she wanted to spread the family occasions out a bit, after Christmas and New Year.

I make sure there is plenty of vegan food at all our family get-togethers, but once a year, for Jade's birthday, I make the meal completely vegan. Jade has been vegan for over 20 years so I am quite skilled at vegan cooking, but this time I will try some new dishes - vegan lasagne, potato and rosemary pizza and Golden Rice Pudding with Turmeric, Ginger and Pink Peppercorns. I haven't quite decided on the rest except for a chocolate tart with an Oreo crust that is requested at every meal.

The plan is to have an evening playing a new version of Trivial Pursuit, but at the moment another heat wave is on the way and the forecast for Saturday is a maximum of 39 degrees and a minimum of 28 degrees, so I am not quite sure as to whether we will postpone the evening for another night when it is cooler, as I don't have air-conditioning.  We shall just have to wait and see.

Interesting sites

1.

How to choose plants for your home

 

 Click here to see a video with some useful information about how to choose plants for your home.

2.

 Ice in Northern Canada is breaking up

Photo source

 One of Canada’s most northerly communities reinvents its relationship with a thawing landscape. The ice around Nain is breaking up. Click here to read more.

3.

Sailing through garbage

Photo source

I sailed from LA to Honolulu with Danish nonprofit Plastic Change to finish a global survey on ocean plastic. Short answer: The Pacific plastic problem is probably worse than you thought.

Read to the end of the article to read the scary information about microplastics.Click here to read more

THE BEGINNING OF THE FIRES

The true secret of happiness lies in the taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.
William Morris

 

 

P's little granddaughter turned one recently. She had a beautiful birthday party held in the back yard of her grandmother at Helensburgh. All the food was pink and white.

 

 

The party girl was given the top layer of the cake to attack  and various play stations were set around the yard for the children attending.

 

 

P:-)'s daughter M is very talented  and created a beautiful atmosphere with lots of fun food.

Adults and kids had a great day.

 

This was the view from P:-)'s house last Thursday afternoon. This was just the beginning of the bushfire crisis in NSW over the past week.

 

Stories of the bush-fires dominated the news over the past week.

Bushfires in the Southern Highlands and the Blue Mountains caused a pall of smoke to hang over Wollongong. This is sunrise a few mornings ago.

 

 

The fires seem to have died down a little although there are still fires around. 

It takes me back to 1968 when I was in high school and fires ringed the city of Wollongong. I remember coming out of school at Corrimal, and pieces of ash were just falling out of the sky.

 

Of course I am always a little concerned during the bush fire season as my house backs onto the escarpment and my back yard is full of trees.

 

 

I must buy a new hose. P:-) washed my car for me recently and I discovered the hose had numerous leaks. If there did happen to be a fire it wouldn't be of much help.

 

 And have you ever seen a kettle like this? This is my daughter's kettle. It actually lights up and looks quite spectacular when it boils.

 

 

I have to get one!

 

 

 

 

Interesting sites

1.

Visit to the Abbey of Boyle in Ireland

Photo source

This is the newly renovated Abbey of Boyle on Ireland. The Abbey was finished around 1226. It is is the design of a Latin Cross. Click here to see some interesting photos and a description by a visitor.



2.

Beautiful bird silhouettes

Photo source

These are some beautiful silhouettes of birds. They are lovely photos. Click here to see them.

3.

6 tips for a new life after loss

Photo source

This article is by a woman who has been devastated by divorce. She has ideas for moving on. Worth a read if you have known loss. Click here to read it.

AFTERNOON TEA AT BULLI

It is difficult to bring people to goodness with lessons, but it is easy to do so by example.
Seneca

 

The days are going so quickly. I am so far behind in where I should be organising my house for sale. A friend suggested it was procrastination because I really don't want to sell it and he is probably right. I do love my house and it holds so many memories. I was 25 when we moved in here, with only one child. I am surprised at some of the things I am finding as I go through everything. Full of memories.

 

 A few days ago P:-) and I drove up to the town of Helensburgh. This flock of Sulphur-crested cockatoos was in the park. These are Australian natives.

Sunday was the first day of Spring. It was also Father's Day. We had afternoon tea at Bulli Beach with some of P:-)'s children and grandchildren. It was a beautiful, sunny day and there was a plethora of mini cupcakes which the little ones devoured.

 There was a great view of the mountains up north and of the beach down south.

 Below is some information on Bulli taken from Wikipedia.

BulliWollongong, New South Wales Australia
Aerial view of Bulli
Coordinates	34°20′03″S 150°54′48″ECoordinates: 34°20′03″S 150°54′48″E
Population	5,453[1]
Postcode(s)	2516
LGA(s)	City of Wollongong
State electorate(s)	Heathcote, Keira
Federal Division(s)	Cunningham

 I am really enjoying having Jasper, my daughter's dog. I will have him for another fortnight.

 Jasper has spent much of his time curled up in front of the heater.

 

 

 

It is really nice having someone to come home to in the evenings, even if he is a bit on the doggy side.

Interesting sites

1.

Photo credit

This is a beautiful house!! Click here  to read all about it. Be sure to click on the thumbnails to have a good look


2.

 Adapting as you go

 

Photo credit

You have freedom when you’re easy in your harness. – Robert Frost (one of my favourite poets.) Click here to read more.