It Was a Busy Friday - Shopping and Shopping and Visiting a Friend

It was a very busy day yesterday, I did a bit of cooking, but most of the day was filled with this and that. Errands, tasks, and a special treat for myself were on the agenda. My treat consisted of attending the craft show that comes to my City annually. (https://www.facebook.com/PeggysHolidayBoutique/) I missed it last year - schedules just didn't work. I had one year when I was there and the store computers crashed so I called it short, took the computer to my Guru, and ended up spending the next three days with him while he fixed it yet again. So the craft show and I have History - LOL. 

The qualifications for the boutique are the items must be 
handmade, and they have to be quality. This lovely pottery 
display had some really lovely things, but I didn't need 
any additional stoneware at this time. 

I found the perfect "Thanks for being such a great friend" gift for Claire, got DH several containers of excellent fudge and a brownie (because he's got a sweet tooth), got Sharon's holiday gifts which will be boxed up and sent on it's way within the week, and picked up a set of earrings for myself. I had several people comment on how pretty they were just while wandering the sales floor. And they are - cute! They're also unique, which is a requirement for my personal jewelry. I suspect I'll get a lot of wear from this set of earrings. 

Hand made soaps and lotions were the focus 
of this crafter. Absolutely wonderful, but I passed 
on them too - my skin is too sensitive for most 
of these products. But ... I loved them nonetheless. 

I wanted to get my friend Meg a gift. She broke her kneecap, or her dogs assisted her in breaking her kneecap while at the dog park a few weeks ago. She's my regular swimming partner - we share a lane for most of my time in the pool. Then she shifts over to take Rosemary's lane. She's a serious swimmer, and much better and faster than I am, but we're very compatible in the pool. When I was laid up after my cancer surgery, she came by the house with a blooming daffodil to help cheer me up. So sweet! So, I wanted to get her something nice. 

Doesn't everyone need a gnome or two 
in their lives? These wonderful 
Scandinavian-inspired gnomes were 
absolutely delightful. But they weren't 
my choices either. 

I got a great card, then got two different gift certificates for dinner - one at Pizza Luce (which even has cauliflower crust and lots of vegetarian options for people like me), and the other at Chipotle, because again, you can pick and choose to get exactly the meal you want. I dropped by her house late in the day. The dogs were being atrocious (I have to say, they're not very well trained at all), and Steve had his hands full getting them away from the door long enough to pass the card along to Meg. I think her daughter was also there. They were almost getting ready for dinner, so my timing was actually really good (for a change - LOL). I passed on the card, told her I'd put some food gift cards in there in case Steve didn't want to cook all the time, and told her how much we all missed her at the YMCA. She had a huge grin on her face - she was so happy to see me. It brightened my heart a bit. 

One of the two food gift cards was for Pizza Luce. This is 
their BBQ Chicken pizza. I love them because they have gluten-free 
options like a cauliflower crust, and everything is always made 
from scratch. It's one of the few restaurants that I can easily 
eat a meal at, and it's tasty. 

So, I'm wrapping this up. I had a good run this morning, but I'm running a little late. Time for breakfast and then off to the shop. Have a perfectly wonderful Saturday and weekend. I'll be back Monday morning. Slava Ukraini. 

Hobbits and a Recommended Book

Yesterday was a lovely "day off". I decided I needed to relax, so after general housework and a run to the grocery store, I made my weekly rations of "Ogre Juice" and settled down to the computer. I did a few necessary things, then set up my laptop and went back to playing my current "new" character on "Lord of the Rings Online". It's always fun to play new characters. You're not fighting a never-ending battle against the Dark, you're helping Hobbits and other free peoples of Middle Earth. Instead of going against the Servants of the Dark, you're just killing goblins and wild beasts. It's much more user-friendly at the starting level, and less depressing. 

The Shire, in "Lord of the Rings Online" is a lovely 
place of rolling hills, lots of houses and hobbit holes 
and green - very green and verdant. Things start 
changing quickly when you leave the Shire. Bree isn't 
nearly as green or welcoming, although it's still quite 
benign. I've been playing LOTRO now for 17 years, 
and I still love it - although I don't play it consistently. 

I think what always seems to stop me at the upper levels is that thought that I'm going against a Great Evil - the Dark Lord itself - so the lands are also dark and depressing, the dungeons are dank and filled with dark corners, and generally, that bright sunshine that I get in the Shire and the other free lands isn't there any more. I have enough darkness in my current world - battles here and there, wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and idiots who are horribly short-sighted in positions of power throughout governments. That's depressing, so seeing that I can do a little bit of good for a Hobbit's life is a positive ray of sunshine in my life. 

I highly recommend this book. It's got all 
of the medical information, but it's presented 
in a way that's VERY readable and interesting. 
I'm finding things out about nutrition that I 
suspected, but didn't actually know. Now I'm 
learning new things, and it's fascinating. 

I've been reading a book called "Grain Brain" by Dr David Purlmutter and it's fascinating, easy to read, but big on details. I can't put it down, and I highly recommend it to all of you. I know everyone reading my blog has times when they wonder if they are doing and eating the "right" things for their health - physical and mental. He goes into the science of what may contribute to "brain fog" and other brain-related conditions, and can tie them directly back to food choices. One of the major culprits is sugar. Are you aware of how much sugar you actually eat? I'm not just talking about the spoon in your morning hot beverage. There's sugar that you add to things, and there's natural sugars - both play into brain issues, and I'm amazed at how much mental acuity is influenced by sugars (and not in a good way). 

It's time for breakfast, then onward to the shop. I'll probably 
kill a few goblins in LOTRO before starting a day filled 
with entering and printing out price tags. At least I'll be 
busy at the shop - LOL. 

So, I'm wrapping this up, eating my breakfast "toast" and baked fruit, and then heading to the shop. I've been told that I have a LOT of price tags to enter and print out today, so I'd better get to it. Have a fabulous Saturday and weekend and I'll be back on Monday - at least, that's the plan. *Hugs* to all! Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל. 

It's So Good To Be Outdoors Swimming and Chickie Issues

It was absolutely glorious to be back in the outdoor pool yesterday. The sky was overcast, so no amazing sunrise, but that long expanse of water before turning around and swimming it again was beyond wonderful. I'll be back in the water again in about 1-1/2 hours and I can hardly wait. 

Chickie has some severe curvatures in her spine, 
probably scoliosis. The fact that she's probably at 
least 150 pounds overweight isn't helpful either. 
I know she's got a referral to Mayo Clinic, so we'll 
see what they have to say, but it basically will come 
down to possible surgery and spinal fusion, along 
with some serious weight loss. That'll be tough 
for her. 

Chickie had an exam and scan by a spinal specialist yesterday morning before coming in to the shop. Things are NOT good. There are curvatures where there shouldn't be, bone spurs which extend through several vertebrae, and generally, her spine is in terrible condition. They'll give her a lower lumbar injection of some type that will help with her pain, but that's just a band-aid, not a cure. Among the things they mentioned was that she HAS to lose weight. They have a follow-up very soon, and Chickie's sure they will talk about gastric bypass surgery, which she will not allow. BUT, she's been completely unsuccessful at losing weight for many years now, and that's a serious problem. 

I'm into Year Three of WildFit, and for me, it's been the 
perfect food plan. It's not a diet, it's a way of life and of 
thinking about food. I highly recommend it to anyone - 
it's an excellent food plan that works with what the body 
actually wants and needs. 

Of course I mentioned WildFit to her, as well as Noom which has been working very well for my oldest niece, but she shrugged them off. And, also of course, it's not my life, it's hers, and her own choices will have to be made. But, this is a problem. I'd say, off the top, that she needs to lose at least 100 pounds, and she doesn't eat a healthy diet. Too many carbs, too much processed food, too much sugar, etc. But, as the old saying goes ... "You can lead a horse to water ..." etc, etc, etc. 

My oldest niece has been using Noom for her weight 
loss and it's worked very well for her. She still has 
about 30 pounds to lose, but has lost more than 60 
over the past year. She's very comfortable with the 
plan, so that's also an option I mentioned to Chickie. 

Today I have errands to do, and I also have to drop some stuff off at the shop before starting the bulk of my day. I'm not exactly sure what I'll be doing today, I only know I need to make my meals for the week - 4-5 days of food for my dinners. I just haven't decided on what to make. Hmmm, I guess I'll figure something out on the fly. I do have some bacon-wrapped scallops in my freezer. That'll be one meal. Yum! 

I bought some bacon-wrapped scallops during Lent, but 
never got around to eating them. That might be my 
lunch today, with a light dinner - maybe just a salad - 
tonight. 

So, have an excellent Friday. I'll be returning here again tomorrow, if all goes according to plan, so until there, be kind, laugh and smile a lot. Slava Ukraini. Peace! 

I'll Give My Sunday a C - I Keep Trying for an A

 DH and I were doing pretty well yesterday, until he realized he forgot to pick up cole slaw at the store on Saturday, so he was missing a key ingredient for his dinner plans. All of a sudden, his mood altered and nothing would placate him. I offered to go to the store and get some for him (the store is only a mile away from the house, so it's not a major trip). No, he was determined that somehow, this small lack of ingredient was the fault of the fact that I refuse to eat unhealthy food. The rest of the day was strained, to say the least, and he ate a salad. 

I hate it when a day that was going really well 
suddenly takes a U-turn and becomes a chore 
to get through. All because he forgot something, 
so suddenly everything becomes my fault 
once again. *sigh* Boring! 

I, on the other hand, had exactly what I had intended. A lovely salad and some of my Roasted Red Peppers and Tomato soup. It was a perfect meal, and I was quite content. I sure do wonder sometimes, though, what in hell goes on in his head?  Then again ... no. I'd much rather NOT go there at all. 

I love my roasted red pepper and tomato soup. It's so easy to 
make and tastes wonderful. This isn't a photo of my soup - 
but it's quite similar in appearance and a much better photo
than I could take. 

Today I'll be starting work on the next segment of my Swarovski master list. I'm getting them into a spreadsheet so that I can work with them and figure out how I want to sell down on them. Ir took me most of Saturday to do the first segment, and I was pretty happy with it when I printed it out last night. I have a LOT still do to, though. 

I have a LOT of old Swarovski at the shop, in a 
large variety of sizes and shapes and colors. I really 
need to see what I have in an easy format, and find 
buyers for them, so I'm getting that department 
codified and then I'll see about where/how to 
offer them for sale and to whom. 

So, I'm going to call this quick and done. Not much to talk about today, but that's OK. Not every day needs headlines, sometimes calm and even seas are even better. We'll see if my calm can last until noon - LOL. Have an excellent day and Slava Ukraini. 

An Expedition to a New Grocery Store (New To Me, At Least)

It's finally getting warmer again, so we're out of the deep freeze for at least another 7-10 days. We're above zero, so that's cause for celebration. It's currently 7 F (-13.8 C) and we'll be warming up to freezing (32 F/0 C) by late afternoon. From that point, we'll be in the 20's on average for the next week at least. I'm quite pleased about that. Going out and about my business yesterday in Arctic temperatures was NOT a fun thing to do. 

I was totally dressed for the cold yesterday in my boots, 
my long down-filled parka, my fake "fur" hat and my 
long "Dr Who" scarf double-wrapped around my neck and 
mouth. My split-finger gloves were the last part of my 
winter gear. I wasn't toasty warm, but I also wasn't freezing 
to death, and considering it was an average of -11 F (-23.8 C), 
I'll take not freezing to death as a real positive thing. 

I explored a new grocery store yesterday. It's been around for a long time, but I've never been in it. DH wanted a new bottle of a specific soy sauce that he uses, and I wasn't able to find it at any of my usual stores. So I went onto the manufacturer's website and found that it was  stocked at Dragon Star Oriental Foods. It's located several miles East of my shop, but not really too far - in between my house and my co-op. So I decided while I was out and about, I would take a stop by there and get the soy sauce. 

Obviously not my photo - it's a warm weather photo, but 
yeah - it's the entryway to the St Paul location of Dragon 
Star Oriental Foods (they apparently also have a Brooklyn 
Park location - that's a Minneapolis suburb). The actual 
entrance is unassuming, and I had no idea what to expect. 

It was quite the store. For one thing, it was really big. It had a smaller front section, and then a ramp or stair up to a much larger second building. It had foods I'd never seen in a store before - beef hearts packed in two-packs (they're astonishingly large), cleaned (but still with scales) tilapia fish, also packed in twos. A LOT of foods packaged with only Oriental labeling, so anyone's guess on what they were, but I had no clue. Two long aisles of kitchenware and dishes. When/if we break another soup bowl, at least I'll know a possible source for a replacement. 

The overhead signage isn't going to win any awards, 
but at least it was accurate and somewhat helpful. I was 
looking for one specific product, but I also wanted to see 
what they offered. They offered some fruits I had never 
seen in a grocery store before. I was starting to be impressed. 

I was on a mission, however, and still had my main shopping to do (minor compared to Wednesday, but still important), so I just took a guess on which aisle to check, and was actually able to find the soy sauce I needed relatively quickly. Apparently the store is well known for its' Mochi Donuts, but since I eat gluten free, no sugars and no dairy, I skipped trying them and just bought my soy sauce, returning to the cold and continuing my shopping expedition for the day. 

The most important thing is that they had the soy sauce I 
had traveled there to get. That's it - second shelf from the 
top, with the blue label on the left side. I quite happily 
bought my one item and headed to my next stop. I'll come 
back another day and spend some time walking all of the 
aisles. There's some interesting items at this store. 

Today I'm going to enjoy the "warm" temperatures (it's all relative in the winter, you know. At least we're above zero - LOL). I'm going to wrap this up and start my day. I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend. We might catch some of the flag football on Sunday. It should be amusing and quite fun to watch. And maybe we'll watch another episode or two of "Vera". We're enjoying diving back into the series once again. I'll be back on Monday. Slava Ukraini. 

It Was a Day of Cooking - I Still LOVE My Blender - LOL

I'm getting a slow start to my day today, although I got in my meditation, worked up the energy to do my 2-1/4 miles on the treadmill, took my shower, made my cups of tea and had a fruit smoothie. So now I'm settling down for a few minutes to write my blog, then I'll eat a quick breakfast and head out to the shop. If all goes well, I can get started on the envelopes for my holiday cards early today since I received the supplies I was waiting for in an Amazon package on Thursday afternoon. 

I really love my 13-bean Chili recipe. It's hearty and warm 
and perfect for our colder (and cooler) temperatures. I 
enjoy a hearty soup that can be a complete meal. 

Yesterday I worked my blender to the max and it performed like a dream. I started by working on my chili - it takes an hour of soaking/simmering the beans before everything else can be added to them, so I got those soaking, then started the meat portion in another pan. After those were done and had a chance to breathe, I brought the blender out and settled down to make another batch of the Roasted Red Peppers and Tomato Soup recipe I had made earlier in the week. 

This time I flattened out the peppers so that 
more of the skin was exposed to the broiler. It worked 
out really well, and the skin peeled off pretty easily. 
The soup, which has quickly turned into one of my 
favorites, tastes amazing! 

I decided to change it slightly - flattening the red peppers as much as I could. They took more room on the baking sheet that way, but I devoted one sheet to the peppers and used a different, smaller one for the tomatoes and onion. I increased the number of tomatoes because I had four that had to be used before they went bad. After broiling the peppers, I put the tomatoes and onion pan into the broiler and worked on the chili until they were also ready. By that time I had the chili in a single pan simmering for an hour, and the red peppers had cooled enough that I wasn't going to crisp my fingers peeling them. 

I've ended up using the last two setting on the right 
far more than I'd ever thought I would. I use Puree 
quite often, and the Soup setting is getting quite a 
lot of use lately as I've been exploring blender soup 
recipes. I also use Manual a lot for my normal 
everyday use. I do LOVE my Wolf blender.  

The tomatoes cooled while I worked on the peppers, tossing them into the base I had already prepared in the blender. After the peppers, I added the peeled tomatoes (which peeled like a dream) and the onion and put the blender onto "soup" setting. That's an automatic 6+ minute cycle so I had a chance to clean up and put that set of cookware away before starting the next item. The soup finished, I put it into containers and washed and dried the blender. 

Alkagizer recipes include a BUNCH of green things (but 
I've never had it come out of the blender looking as 
green as the bowl in the center here. I suspect that's 
some photoshopping and maybe some green dye as well. 

The second task was a batch of my alkagizers for my upcoming week. Back to the blender with a bunch of assorted veggies, odds and ends, different spices and flavors, shredded garlic, chopped green onions and, for a change, some cinnamon and a large dollop of raw honey. I haven't added any sweet to my alkagizers in the past, but it seemed like it would be a nice change. After a puree, it filled the four storage containers I have reserved for this mix, and they were in the fridge. 

I bought a fresh pineapple before my last 
Orthodontic appointment, not realizing that 
spacers would be put between my back 
teeth and that I would have my eating patterns 
altered for two weeks. I wasn't going to waste 
a good pineapple, so I whipped it into a smoothie, 
along with two apples that were nearing 
their "eat by" date. 

Looking at my kitchen, I realized I had a pineapple that needed to be cut up and used, I also had two apples that were on their last legs. So, I cut all of those up, put them in the cleaned blender, and made a batch of fruit smoothies. I just had one of these for a quick liquid breakfast and it's excellent. It does separate a bit in the refrigerator, so I did a quick whip with my immersion blender's whip attachment and it was perfect!. 

I haven't used my immersion blender very much, but 
it's a handy tool to have in my kitchen. I've mostly 
been using the whisk attachment. It moves at a 
much greater velocity than I can produce by 
hand-whipping. 

By the time DH came home, the kitchen was pristine, the soups and chili were in containers in the refrigerator, everything was back in its appropriate location, and I had a feeling of accomplishment which lasted for about five minutes - but at least I had a good day, so I was pleased. I hope your Friday was a good one, and that your Saturday is also great. I'll be back on Monday, so be good, stay safe and spread kindness. Slava Ukraini. 

Stage Two of Orthodontics Accomplished - Stage 3 in Two Weeks

Maybe my "Winter weight" gain wasn't as much the knowledge that winter was coming, as much as the knowledge that my orthodontics would be changing my eating habits. After yesterday's session with my Orthodontist, I can quite certainly say that at this point my eating habits will be changing quite a bit. I can also see where they will be able to return to a more "normal" state after the actual braces have been installed, but that's two weeks out, and I'm sure things will still be changing and shifting then too. 

Ideally, the spacers should all have been these 
blue rubber bands between the tight teeth. Of 
course, I always have to throw a kink in there. 
Two of the spaces they needed to create just 
weren't accepting the rubber bands, so for those, 
she had to go with metal spacers. So, I have 
several blue spacers, and two metal ones, 
one on each side. I can hardly wait to get the 
actual metal bands and the braces so that I 
won't have to worry about losing my spacers 
while I brush my teeth. 

Yesterday's appointment went quite well, though. The first thing that happened after I checked in was seeing Holly again. It's got to be more than a decade since we last saw each other. She's still not remarried, although there's a person of interest in her life - an old High School friend. She has a photo of her son, Ian, my grand-nephew prominently placed behind her desk, and said that he was at her house that very day (the schools were closed for some sort of administrative meeting). 

Holly trained as a Dental Assistant many years ago 
at one of our local community colleges. She's worked 
for orthodontists ever since and has been at my 
orthodontist for more than two years now. It was 
nice to see her. We were never great friends, but 
we had some good times and she's a family 
outlier in a way. When kids are shared, you're never 
truly 100% out of the family after a divorce. 

They run a very well-oiled machine at that office, but they are kind and effective and thorough. I haven't met anyone there I haven't liked, and Dr DeVoe is very to-the-point but happy in his work, which shines right through. I had another series of X-rays, this time with a piece of equipment I've never seen before, and had several mouth/teeth impressions and bite impressions made. Then Nikki, my tech for the day, inserted several "spacers" between the teeth I have with gold crowns. They can't glue the clips for the braces on to the gold, so they'll have to put bands around those teeth. I think I have five teeth with gold crowns, and they can be an additional problem for braces. 

So I now have either two or three of the blue rubber 
spacers, and two of the metal spacers pushing my 
teeth away from each other. These stay in 1-2 weeks 
(2 weeks in my case) and will give just enough space 
to insert molar bands on those teeth that have gold 
crowns. We're talking millimeters or less here. 

So, spacers - preferably rubber, but my teeth are stubborn and I ended up with two rubber, and two metal spacers. These will be in place (ideally) until the 2nd of November, when I will get my braces installed. I spent the rest of the day with a variety of tasks (mostly the remainder of my four loads of laundry for the day), and tried a few food tests. Nuts - they don't work. Even the softer nuts like cashews just aren't edible with the spacers in. I have no idea how they'll react with braces - hopefully a bit better because I do enjoy my nuts. 

The bonding cement used for the braces won't adhere 
to my gold crowns (my porcelain crowns aren't a 
problem). So, for those, we're using spacers and then 
he'll put molar bands over the teeth to allow the wires 
and bands to be placed properly. That'll probably 
irritate my gums for a day or two, but I'm sure I'll 
get used to them quickly. Flossing is key, and I'm 
working on figuring that out safely. I have almost 
everything I need already in hand, and the one item I 
still needed is on its way from Amazon. 

I didn't bother trying my grain mixes/granola varieties. Hopefully they'll work down the line, but I can tell they're off the table for two weeks, for sure. I ended up with a dal for dinner, with my chicken cut into small pieces mixed in, and 1/2 avacado cubed also stirred in. It was actually very tasty, and I have a lot of dal varieties in my pantry, so that should work well. I'm not sure about the lobster we were planning for Sunday. I might have to bow out on that one. 

I enjoy eating Dal, and have at least six different 
varieties in my pantry right now. I'll probably 
increase my selection of those. I also have lovely 
gluten-free noodles in the pantry that I can cook 
up with a sauce. That'l always an option as well. 
But the Dal is quick, easy and doesn't make a mess. 
Win/win - LOL. 

So, I'm exploring edible foods. I know it will be a bit different between the spacers and the actual braces, but finding foods that fit into my food plan and still are edible will be challenging with a food plan that relies heavily on vegetables. I might be using my blender a lot over the next two weeks - LOL. Have an excellent Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow. As always, be kind and Slava Ukraini.