The spirea always has a second bloom. It’s not nearly as full as the first, but seeing those little pink blossoms again makes me happy.
I finished Knife by Jo Nesbø this morning. I’ve read a few of Nesbø’s books before and, for some reason, I always feel a bit distanced from the protagonist, Harry Hole. That may be because I haven’t read the entire series, in order, and haven’t given myself a chance to really get to know him. I’m not sure. Nevertheless, it’s an excellent read. I stuck with it and found myself applauding Nesbø’s skill. He writes honestly. All of the recurring characters have flaws and secrets. He is a true storyteller and knows how to plot an intricate mystery. I found myself reading non-stop this morning as I realized we were headed to the denouement of the narrative. I was riveted.
So, I suspect that the ‘distance’ had less to do with the story and more to do with me. It’s a wonderful mystery and I recommend it highly. Now, it’s on to Kate Atkinson’s newest, Big Sky.
I’ll be doing a lot of reading today as I’ve tweaked my back again. I don’t know how, something relatively minor of course, but it caused a fair amount of pain yesterday and last night. So I’m forced to take it easy. I’m convinced that it’s the same initial injury from last spring, not fully healed. Frustrating.
That’s Lonesome Dove at the very top of a very tall (and dead) tree across the street.
I’ve been meaning to mention that I’ve lost 12 pounds in the past 3 months or so. And that is because of two things: being more physically active in the spring and summer, yes, but mostly because I stopped eating any sugar over 2 months ago. I quit cold turkey, just like I did when I stopped smoking in the mid-eighties. I’m not dieting. I’m still eating the same meals I usually do. But I have cut out all sweets, all sugar. If I have a craving, I eat raisins or grapes. Raisins, especially, seem to help with any cravings. This isn’t to say it’s always been easy. When I’m down, or tired, or – like now- I’m in pain, I want some comfort food and for me, that’s chocolate or a piece of pie or cookies or hot chocolate. But I haven’t succumbed to the temptation.
Don, of course, is as supportive as the day is long and for a long time he didn’t want to eat chocolate in front of me, but that truly doesn’t bother me. I usually have some grapes while he’s having a couple of pieces of chocolate.
I did this several years ago and the weight dropped off then, as well. I’m convinced that sugar is not good for me. That’s where I gain my weight. And for the past few years, Don and I were apart a great deal of the time. We were lonely. We both ate sweets as comfort food. It took its toll on me. I couldn’t believe how much weight I had gained! I knew some of it would come off when the weather was better and I was out and about and mowing and gardening, but I knew I had to do something else, as well.
So far, so good. I’m just letting it happen. I don’t have any fixed goal in mind, but I’m very pleased with the results so far. Despite Don telling me that he could tell I was losing weight, it wasn’t until this week when I caught a glimpse of my face and upper body in the mirror that I realized I was looking thinner. And healthier.
So I’m determined to stick with this and since it’s been a while now, I’m past the detox part of the process. It’s all good.
Happy Friday.
Congratulations! It’s not easy to find the right diet. And I know cutting down on my sugar has helped very much. The powers that be in the 70’s, thought fat was killing us. They have cut so much fat out of our food and still cancer and heart disease are growing. I am convinced that the trouble is sugar. We could all cut it out of our diet and would never miss it. I have lost 30 lbs in the last 4 years. Not even a pound a month, but I am going in the right direction. In March I started fasting. I only eat breakfast and lunch and have lost another 5 lbs. I need to fast at least 13 hours between meals, so I am fasting longer than that, at least 16 or 17 hrs. This is so easy for me and I am sleeping much better too. Keep up the sugar fast. I may have to do that too!
Good for you, Tana! You are definitely going in the right direction!
We cut sugar about three years ago. We’ve both lost weight, our BP and cholesterol went down, the psoriasis I had on my knees since I was 16 years old went away, and we feel better in general. Sugar is not only addictive; it is poison to your body – it is the main source of inflammation! And inflammation is the root cause of most diseases. I’m not on a diet either, but I simply eat very clean and healthy (much like the food plan Susan Branch is on and has talked about). I’m at my lowest weight since I was in my 20’s! I also move a lot more, too. Walking is great. So back to sugar…I don’t know if you saw my post last on IG about “nice cream” but it’s a sugar-free, vegan dessert you can make in the blender. Just uses frozen fresh fruit (and avocado if you want a more creamy texture) and almond milk.
So sorry about your back and I unfortunately, feel your pain. I’d been doing so well since going through PT this spring and then with Wednesday’s yoga class, something must’ve not been good for me because as of yesterday, my lower back and hips are really hurting, plus the sciatica is rearing its ugly head in my left buttock again. It’s very discouraging. Walking actually feels good and sitting makes it hurt more. But heck – I can’t be on my feet 24/7!
Well, here’s to a good weekend – and back healing – to both of us!
I, of course, and a vegetarian of more than 30 years, so my basic diet is very healthy. It’s just the sugary treats that were and are the problem. Thanks for the tip about the dessert. Right now, I’m trying to stay away from any and all desserts because it helps me to stay on track.
So sorry about your back! My feels worse when I am sitting as well – compressing the area makes it hurt more. Thanks, Melanie!
Glad to hear you eat healthy. Unfortunately, just because one is vegetarian doesn’t mean they necessarily eat healthy in general. I have two friends that are vegetarian; one eats a ton of junk food and is obese and has a lot of health problems. The other eats mostly the three P’s: Prepared, pre-packaged and processed foods and not many vegetables. She’s thin, but not in very good health.
Oh – my “dessert” was just frozen fruit, avocado and almond milk blended up in the blender. I only added 1 T of organic cocoa powder to make it chocolatey. One could leave that out and just have it be berry nice cream.
Hope your back is feeling a little better tonight. I’m going out on another walk now.
Well, I was a vegetarian when there were no pre-packaged foods. I was also macrobiotic for a while, so fresh vegetables, grains, and healthy food is the way we always eat and Don is a great cook.
What I meant about dessert is I don’t want to have anything that might seem like dessert. That’s why I’m going with grapes and raisins. Just fruit, but not in any form that might seem like ice cream or anything like that. It’s working for me right now and I’m sticking to it.
Thanks, Melanie!
I’d like to know that recipe for the nice cream; if it’s brief, could you print it here (I’m hoping Claudia wouldn’t mind [so many of us are trying to eat healthier!]; I don’t subscribe to instagram but I also wouldn’t know how you head it, to look it up). Does it use bananas? They all seem to use bananas! I’d prefer to not use bananas. Thank you!
Oh, I didn’t see the second comments to the conversation. I guess, because I’m so lousy at any kind of ‘cooking’, it would be helpful to have measurements.
Hi Vickie ~ I’m one of those creative cooks who don’t measure anything. I go by taste and looks as I go along. Sorry I can’t help you with exact measurements. I’m not sure if there’s any Nice Cream recipes that don’t use bananas. You could always Google it or look on Pinterest. Good luck!
Yes, I looked up a few; thanks. I’ll just experiment.
When endeavoring to find out your ‘recipe’, I scrolled thru a lot of your blog pages (for the first time). It’s a very nice blog; congrats! I love your House of Kitty. (I’m a dog person who also likes cats!)
I especially liked your beautiful illustration having to do with being an introvert (the one with the tree in the falling snow, and under the ground amid the roots of the living tree and in warm, safe shelter [each in their own little ‘pod’] is the fox on his comfy bed, the hibernating bear with a blanket over him, and the girl with her bunny, reading a book; she is so ‘me’ and this illustration struck me as poignant and comforting and beautiful and whimsical). I’m always trying to explain to my extrovert husband about what my needs are as an introvert. I have a really serious need for quiet time, down time, personal time (I say it’s how I ‘center’ myself); and it’s a challenge now that he’s retired and home all the time (deservedly so, yet in ‘my’ space; we’re trying to work it out; small house, no real girl cave or man cave options). Like you said, I can get cranky and anxious if I don’t have ‘quiet’ to recharge my batteries, whereas he thrives in lights-camera-action/NOISE; lots of activity, lots of people.
Also read somewhere when I was looking all this stuff up the other day (did you say it?) that research has found a large number of bloggers to be introverts; as Claudia says, solitary but chatty. Such a misconception that introverts are shy; we’re not; we just like and need our ‘alone’ time, no offense to anyone else, even our beloved spouses!
Thank you for visiting my blog, Vicki – I’m glad you enjoyed it! I know the illustration you’re speaking of – isn’t it beautiful? The artist is Jessica Boehman. I love her artwork.
My husband will retire in six years. We’re both introverts, though I’m obviously a different type (INFJ) because I need much more alone time than he does. He’s even said that when he retires, he will get a PT job – not only to keep busy, but so I don’t kill him if he’s at home FT! ha ha
I do believe I was the one who said that most bloggers (and I believe, writers in general) tend to be introverts.
The only time I’m shy is in groups. Otherwise, with just one or two people, I’m very chatty. Probably too much so!
I hear what you’re saying about some husbands & wives; I have a friend who just retired after years of being a pilot/captain for a major airline and her husband, who still works (in the medical profession), said that he supposed the success of their 40-plus-years marriage was because they had consistent, long breaks from each other (which had nothing to do with their love for one another) and which is why he told me that he has no plans to retire, at all (“as long as I can stand on my feet and still make an accurate diagnosis for a patient”); not just because he likes what he does and needs to feel productive and ‘get stuff done’ but in large part because he’s got legit concern of 24/7, day-in/day-out compatibility with his wife in one smallish bungalow as empty nesters. (Like me and my husband, they’re opposites; but I guess this isn’t unusual as I think I did also read that an introvert will often marry an extrovert.)
(So diff from my own parents who had a home-based business and lived together/worked together [in a small space/small house!], side by side, for years and years, having been a couple since their teens, married over 60 years and dying within a few years apart in their 80s. [Saw this quite a bit in The Greatest Generation of course.] They did everything together as if attached at the hip and my mom never spent a night alone in her house til she was 84 years old and widowed, having gone straight from her parents’ home into one with her husband as a newlywed. I talked to my dad about it once, discussing the healthy rhythm and comforting routine of their life, and he said of the two of them: “We just understand each other. Always did.” They grew in the same direction. I told him, “You realize you hit the jackpot, Dad.” And he nodded, saying “I know not everybody does, which is why I thank God for your mother every day of my life.”)
Thanks for saying hi, Melanie; have appreciated the ‘conversation’. And, Claudia, thanks for allowing some side talk here, reader & reader. Will move on now to your 8/6/19 post and new comments!
Congratulations on losing weight. know it will make a difference in your life!
It already is, Cara!
Great news, Claudia. Good for you!! I’m not a sweets person myself [my own addictions are Savory & Salty] but my Mom was a health food nut before it was fashionable & she always called sugar “white poison.” She was ferocious in keeping it away from us when we were little and consequently none of my sibs or I are sweets people. I’m sure Evolution knew what it was doing – I’m sure sugar is on the planet for some good reason – the food of choice for some creatures. But I know it’s not humans, that’s for sure. It’s great that you’ve been able to wrestle it to the ground, so to speak. I’m sure that’s improved your health in other ways too, in addition to the weight loss. In the last few months, I’ve started taking a teaspoon of honey & cinnamon every day – just for general purposes. I know honey is a relatively “healthy” sweet but also that it’s important to keep sugar consumption of ANY kind low. You might enjoy that – a lot of literature says we should have cinnamon daily – lots of anti-inflammatory & anti-oxidant properties evidently. Anywho, congrats on your weight loss & keep it up. It’s a great feeling, isn’ it? I wish I had it more often myself. Have a terrific weekend.
❤️🌿🏡
#Resist
#ImpeachTrump
Thanks, Janet. I do have honey occasionally. I should bring in a fresh supply!
Sorry to hear about your back! I’ve had the same problem…resuming activities before I’m fully healed. Congrats on the weight loss. I’ve significantly reduced my sugar intake, and managed to lose 7 pounds. The important thing, is I feel so much better, and much more energetic.
Guess you better rest up this weekend…no heavy lifting or vacuuming. I’ve been told that vacuuming is very hard on your back. Take walks, read, and above all…take time to smell your flowers! ;)
This started in the spring. So it’s been a while since the initial injury. But it clearly isn’t completely healed.
Thanks, Donnamae!
Just sending along congratulations on keeping excess sugar at bay and well wishes for your back!
Thank you so much, Grace!
Sorry about your back. Congratulations on the loss of pounds. You have a strong will power. Hope your back is better soon.
Marilyn
So do I! Thanks so much, Marilyn!
I’ve also been cutting back on meat, finding the whole idea of factory farms repugnant. Since you are an experienced vegetarian, would you mind saying what a typical breakfast/lunch is for you? Thanks.
Breakfast is usually oatmeal with fruit and raisins and almond milk. Lunch? Maybe a veggie burger or cheese and crackers or leftovers from the night before. Since all our meals are vegetarian and often vegan, any leftover is the same.
Do you have a good vegan cheese to recommend? What is your cheese with the crax? I’m asking because I’ve been revamping my diet; I know some of the vegan cheeses are pour ‘melters’.
Claudia, do you have a good dinner/evening meal you could share, like what’s your fave? I appreciate all tips. I know you’ve said Don does a lot of the cooking. Anything simple from him or you that I could try (I’m one of those who struggles to boil water)? I didn’t realize Don had gone total vegan/vegetarian as well. It’s always intrigued me that you-yourself have been a vegetarian for so many years; I really applaud it. I have to eat and completely cook separately from my husband as he eats really, really unhealthy and has done so his entire life, yet when the doctor does blood draws, he has perfect/’textbook’ scores (so, while I’m happy for him, it’s SO frustrating for me as I have a completely diff metabolism; I just LOOK at a cookie and gain five pounds).
I don’t know what to share with you. Don wings it and he’s very good at winging it. I will say that there are frozen entrees by a vegan company out of Canada called Gardein. We often incorporate them into a meal. We eat lots of brown rice and steamed vegetables, baked potatoes or sweet potatoes. We love salads and kale and stir fries. Sometimes we’ll have an omelet. Don usually does one crockpot meal of brown rice along with a lot of other ingredients and we eat that off and on for the rest of the week.
You shared well. This is all good info for me. Thanks, Claudia!
xo
I haven’t found a good vegan cheese yet, which is why we still eat regular cheese.
Yep, that’s about where I am on it, too. We really only have one grocery store in my town where I can buy the stuff I need and its selection on vegan foods is a joke.
I also don’t have a good way to withdraw from egg. It’s a good protein source for me; they’re also low carb. (I don’t know if I could ‘handle’ your cloud biscuits with fake egg, Claudia!)
Yes, it’s a good protein source for me, as well.
hope your back feels better and fully heals soon! glad you have some books from your list to read while resting.
congratulations on avoiding sugar and the shedding of pounds. glad you are feeling better that way.
there was a time that i managed a very fancy chocolate shop in minneapolis. one requirement (unless you had a medical condition against it) was to taste three pieces of chocolate every day for freshness, etc. … yummy, yes, but very contrary to my upbringing and after nearly two years there, i had a craving for sweets that was hard to kick. gave up the job and the chocolate, then most other sweets … but not all. been hard to not sometimes have something, you know? but i’ve been avoiding sugar for a while and am determined to stick with it … the effects of sugar are just too scary! best wishes to everyone on that or other health journeys!
hope you have a nice weekend!
kathy in iowa
Good for you! Sugar is addictive and it isn’t easy to break the habit, Kathy.
Claudia, good for you not eating sugar. I’m tying to eat more healthily and have a kale salad with lots of veg and blueberries at least 4-5 times a week. I also have a shake made with non-fat milk, non-fat Greek yogurt, oat bran and some fresh fruit almost every morning. I have type II diabetes, diagnosed at the age of 6, but was diet-controlled until about 10 years ago when I was put on oral meds. My parents were strict about my diet. I’m pretty good about avoiding sugar now.
Good! I’m vowing to be the same, Wendy.
Have you been following Susan Branch’s weight loss journey since March or so? Very interesting, what she eats. Her most-recent post is all about her efforts. I believe she’s over age 70 now.
Congrats, Claudia!!! I’m impressed with how many pounds you’ve lost; it’s an inspiration to some of the rest of us and, yes, sugar is so bad (but oh it’s a shame, ain’t it!).
No, I haven’t been reading her blog lately. But others have mentioned it. Susan eats meat, however, and I don’t.
I wish sugar wasn’t bad! Because I have a real sweet tooth!
Do you eat eggs? I know some vegetarians do; Susan’s pretty heavy right now on veggies but, yes, she eats seafood and some meat (not every day, though; I don’t think so anyway; but, like you, she has withdrawn from sugar and white flour).
I am not a candy person; I know it sounds odd, but I could live forever without chocolate.
My downfall is the cobblers, puddings, fruit pie, fruit bars (like date bars; I’m crazy about dried fruit of any kind but it is very concentrated sugar), coffee cake (not even frosted; I just love the cake-like taste; it’s that darn white flour addiction). I like a lot of stuff with fruit in it but, thing is, fruit even in its natural-raw state is also a sugar (bananas have a lot of carbs), so I’ve cut ‘way back on fruit (and especially fruit juice except in smallest quantities) and am trying to ratchet up the veggies. I only eat fruit in the morning. (Something that helped with the amping-up of veggies in my diet is that I purchased several diff kinds of no-salt/low-salt sprinkle -seasonings [not a great selection in the big grocery store, so I went online; hello Amazon] and it doesn’t take much from those shaker bottles to make a HUGE diff in the vegetable flavors [the ones I don’t like, such as broccoli].)
Anyway, eggs? (You’re lucky you can eat oatmeal; I can’t. Doesn’t agree with me. I never know what to eat for breakfast. I do eat eggs occasionally, but not for breakfast. I’m on a quest to know what other people do! Of all things, I collect recipes and cookbooks!)
Yes, I eat eggs and cheese. I use half and half. I tried vegan options for half and half, but I absolutely hated the taste. We don’t eat a lot of eggs and I try to limit my cheese as well. We do eat a lot of fruit. Natural sugars are fine. It’s white processed sugar that is really bad for you.
Don is into having plain yogurt and blueberries/raspberries and raisins with a bit of maple syrup – a natural sugar – for his breakfast.
Thanks for sharing this info. I know it’s not your norm. But I’m taking it all in! And your weight loss is impressive. Again, KUDOS to you for your commitment to shed a few pounds. It ain’t easy for aging, menopausal women (according to my doctor[s]).
I come from four generations of green grocers dating back to the 1800s and I was raised on fruits and vegetables. My mother was an ‘earth mom’ before it was ever later ‘hippie fashionable’ in the 1960s & 70s. But on my own from my earliest 20s, living alone with no desire or ability to cook, I began to rely too heavily on processed/fast foods, not homecooked ‘slow’ food. And I am by nature a couch potato. And a worrier. It all begins to add up with age. Stress; poor food choices; poor life choices. I became less disciplined. I gained too much weight.
But what I didn’t want to write down here is that I have been stricken with Type 2 diabetes and I have to watch ALL fruit sugars and white sugars (and honey); although a little bit of maple syrup is a-okay, for a diabetic (although in my quest to ‘beat’ this thing in terms of the glucose readings and wanting off meds, I’m not even doing THAT).
What you and Don are doing is being smart about what you eat so that you never even have to worry about PRE-diabetes and of course you both are also quite active which is excellent. You are living right and you are living well (save your sore back; it’ll heal; oh, I do feel so badly that your back is killing you, Claudia; I know what it is and it just destroys the days and nights).
I try to keep in mind what the foodie Michael Pollan has said (he keeps it simple; I don’t think he actually likes the word ‘foodie’):
Eat food. Mostly plants. Not too much.
I love raisins. But a small box of raisins is 34 carbs and that’s too many carbs for me when struggling for glucose control (and I have a limit of carbs for each meal and snack). A half-cup of grapes is better for me; just 8 carbs. (I used to work with a woman who was in perfect shape for her age, healthwise; and her go-to snack at work were frozen grapes; her little treat. They take longer to eat when frozen!)
Every diabetic is different, but cereals and bread shoot my glucose level sky-high. As does fruit of any kind if I eat it later in the day (my readings in the morning will be awful if I eat fruit after dinner).
With diabetes, you can eyeball your food (the plate method; portions, like fill up half the plate with veggies) or you can follow the glycemic chart but what my health team is wanting me to do is watch carbs. Carbs can spike your glucose (spikes are bad), so a diabetic (or anybody, really) has to/should concentrate on good carbs, not bad ones. Good carbs of course include the veggies, unsweet yogurt (I can only do nonfat Greek), unsalted/no-oil nuts; the better grains/whole grains. Brown rice is good! Oatmeal, too.
I’m learning. I will always be learning. I will now always have diabetes forever even if I get my blood sugar in the range of a non-diabetic. Diabetes is complicated and is disaster on the body. Just don’t go there! Keep being active, drink a lot of water, try to get good sleep and ratchet down the stress, eat smart (the rainbow of color and variety with fruits/veggies). Try to live on a schedule so that your foods fuel you at good intervals, and watch portions.
For me right now, I’m eating a near-cup container of plain yogurt with seven berries and a sprinkling of unsalted nuts; mid-am snack of a small apple with a teaspoon of no-salt peanut butter; a green lunch salad with leafy greens and shredded cabbage/carrots sprinkled with a healthy seed mix and a quarter-cup of cooked beans; mid-afternoon snack is celery sticks with hummus or some avocado mashed on a one-half slice of Ezekiel toast; a good dinner is the scrambled egg with a small side of asparagus, broccoli and green beans sprinkled with a tiny amount of sliced almonds or maybe brussels sprouts and cauliflower rice but I can sometimes add half of a baked sweet potato (and I like to put a quarter-cup of diced tomato in with the egg, a sprinkle of shredded cheddar); a small side of steamed spinach is also good. If it’s a lot of hours between dinner and bedtime, I have to succumb to a quarter-cup of nonfat cottage cheese sprinkled with a few raw walnut halves.
I saw a thing on TV (sorry I can’t quote the ‘expert’; I think it was on PBS):
Breakfast EAT LIKE A QUEEN
Lunch EAT LIKE A PRINCESS
Dinner EAT LIKE A PAUPER
Thanks, Vicki.