Nice to see you!

Three major events occurred for me last year (2010), all in the space of about 2 weeks. I turned 50. The following day I got married. Two weeks later, my oldest daughter became pregnant with her first child and my first grandchild.

Most middle-aged people will tell you that in their minds, they still feel 20 something. It's the same for me.

Wasn't it only yesterday that I was planning a night out with guys from the surf club? That gorgeous new perm. Flaired, cuffed denims and the red t-shirt with the off-the-shoulder frill. Corked platform wedgies. **sigh**

Suddenly I'm looking in the mirror and wondering how 30 years can flash by so damned quickly!

So here I am in cyberspace, sharing my genuine shock and horror with anyone who'll listen and maybe I'll even meet some other over 50s who find themselves in the same predicament!

Welcome to my dilemna!!

Saturday, December 13, 2014

How Many?

Oh my goodness!

60 years?

My favourite Mother-in-love aka 'grannymus', and who is a regular reader of this blog, is celebrating her 60th wedding anniversary!!! That's her and her lucky husband, Grandpa Jim,  in the middle of their four lovely children.  (photo provided by my youngest daughter 'Bubbles')


Children, grandchildren and great grandchildren all gathered together to celebrate the occasion.

What a life. What a family. What a lot of love.

Congratulations to you Grannymus and Grandpa Jim. That's some milestone! I hope you enjoy every minute of having most of the family all together again.

Love and hugs to you both.

Nite all.

Friday, December 12, 2014

Easy Way Out

Today I studied :)

That is all.

Some facebook quotes for you to ponder ...









Nite all.

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Tis the Season

Christmas shopping complete!

Yesterday was not only a lovely date day, but it was also productive!

We watched the early showing of 'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1' and really enjoyed it, although we wished we'd rewatched the prequel beforehand because we'd forgotten some important details!

Later, while Adoring Husband was side tracked briefly by SES duties, I got almost all of the Christmas shopping done, and then finished it off in his company, before we had a late lunch at Aquavue.

I've spent this morning wrapping everything and writing out cards and will mail it all out tomorrow.

This makes me far more organised than in previous years. In fact, one year Adoring Husband and I realised 2 days before Christmas that we hadn't done ANY shopping and ended up transferring money into everybody's account on Christmas Eve!!

Some of our family are celebrating Hanukkah this year, so that's a whole new ball game! Time for me to learn a bit more about Judaism.

Anyway, today I want to share some information about Calcium.

No species, except humans, continue drinking milk past infancy.

In the human body, the enzyme (lactase), that digests the main sugar (lactose), in milk, stops being produced by our bodies between the ages two and five years old. So, as adults, the undigested sugars from milk, end up in the colon, where they begin to ferment causing gas, cramping, bloating and diarrhoea.

Being able to digest milk as an adult is a weird genetic adaptation that is still occurring, but being able to digest milk is so strange, that scientists say we shouldn't really call 'lactose intolerance' a disease, because what's really weird is the ability to continue to drink milk.

Somewhere along the line, 'somebody' decided that we should include milk/dairy as a food group and humans selected cow's milk because of the cow's docile nature, its size, and its abundant milk supply.

Consider for a moment, if it was possible, to drink the milk of a mammal other than a cow, let's say a rat, or perhaps the milk of a dog would be more to your liking. Possibly some horse milk or cat milk. Do you get the idea? In other words, human milk is for human infants, dogs' milk is for pups, cows' milk is for calves, cats' milk is for kittens etc. Clearly, this is the way nature intends it.

Milk is not just milk. The milk of every species of mammal is unique and specifically tailored to the requirements of that animal. We are not cows.

A glass of cow's milk contains acidic animal protein that actually leeches calcium from the bones. Over time, a flawed belief that humans are required to consume three glasses of milk daily to sustain bone health and strength created the milk myth. And now, the supposed "truths" about milk we were all taught to believe are being debunked by studies ranging from those published in reputable scientific journals, such as the Journal of Nutrition and The American Journal of Epidemiology.

Milk and dairy products are pro-inflammatory and mucus producing. Milk increases the risks of respiratory conditions and allergies. It has been linked to the development of arthritis due to joints becoming inflamed.

I want to clarify that unsweetened cultured or fermented dairy such as kefir or yogurt are actually acid neutral, and as long as they don't contain sugar, have health benefits. Ghee, which is clarified butter that originated in India, is also known to be very beneficial to the body.

So your next question is "if not from dairy, where should I get my calcium?". I suggest NOT from supplements...

“Beyond being ineffective for bone health, calcium supplements are associated with some pretty serious health risks. Studies on the relationship between calcium and cardiovascular disease (CVD) suggest that dietary intake of calcium protects against heart disease, but supplemental calcium may increase the risk. A large study of 24,000 men and women aged 35–64 years published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) in 2012 found that those who used calcium supplements had a 139% greater risk of heart attack during the 11-year study period, while intake of calcium from food did not increase the risk. A meta-analysis of studies involving more than 12,000 participants also published in BMJ found that calcium supplementation increases the risk of heart attack by 31%, stroke by 20% and death from all causes by 9%.”

To be safe, calcium should be consumed from food sources and NOT synthetic supplements or artificially fortified foods.

You also need to consider that if you are lacking Vitamin D and Magnesium, then your body simply cannot absorb calcium anyway.

Food sources of calcium are:

Bone broth - is an excellent source of Calcium and many other minerals. My recipe for bone broth using either chicken carcasses or the back bones of beef is for the slow cooker (or on a very low simmer on the stove). Add an unpeeled carrot and onion, a few garlic cloves chopped, a stick or two of celery, 2 T Himalayan salt and 80ml of Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar (which helps remove the calcium and minerals from the bones). Cook it on a low simmer for at least 12 hours (I usually keep mine simmering for 22-24 hours). Either drink it on it's own or use it in stocks, sauces, soups and gravies.

Even a tiny amount of calcium from bones is easily absorbed, making broth one of the best sources of calcium.

Fish with bones - Fish with bones are an excellent source of calcium. An easy and inexpensive way to consume fish with bones is in the form of canned fish like salmon (with bones) and sardines (with bones). The bones become soft during the canning process so they can be easily chewed and consumed with the fish.

Because these foods are also a good source of Vitamin D, they enhance digestion of the calcium and make it more usable.

Egg shells - Keep your eggshells. Wash the insides of the shell so that all the egg white is gone and when you have enough, boil them up for about 10 - 20 minutes, then lay them on a baking tray and dry them out in the oven (about 20 minutes at 160C). Put them through a grinder to form a powder and store it in a container in your pantry. I add a teaspoon to my morning smoothie or you can sprinkle it over your cereal, add it to your sweet potato/cauliflower puree. It can be added to just about anything.

Dark leafy greens - Dark leafy greens are another great dietary source of calcium, though some are better than others. Collard Greens, Turnip Greens, Bok Choy, Kale and Broccoli all ranked really well for being absorbable sources of calcium while spinach and seaweed ranked low on the list.

Other good food sources of calcium are figs, beans, blackstrap molasses, almonds, sesame seeds, oysters and seafood.

The big advantage to using these foods for your calcium requirements, is that they have so many other beneficial vitamins and minerals as well.

I hope all of this makes sense. I tried to condense it as much as possible and put it all in the simplest terms.

Christmas lights photos still to come. There are storms headed in our direction again this evening, so I doubt I'll have any luck tonight.

I'll be glad when storm season is over - even though the rain is lovely and very much needed, the uncertainty of every storm and it's intensity is quite stressful - especially for those of us with PTSD from the tornado last year.  It's always nice to chat with fellow victims of that night, just to know that I we are not the only ones panicking a little every time we hear thunder.

I'm off to watch some cricket. Go Aussies!!

Nite all.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Decorated

Well, the tree is up and decorated ... I will attempt a better photo tomorrow night, to show the different colours ...


... but it's raining tonight, so I couldn't take a photo of the outside lights. Maybe tomorrow night.

There is still lightning and thunder about and still plenty of rain on the radar, but the weather is nice .. not scary.

As for my day, nothing much to report, other than a lovely morning tea with Kaz. Just the two of us, because everyone else was busy .. it's that time of year.

Tomorrow is date day, so I'm off to bed to get my beauty sleep.

Nite all.

PS My apologies .. I wrote this last night, but forgot to publish it!

Monday, December 8, 2014

It's Christmassy

Due to SES commitments, Adoring Husband has only today, been able to decorate the outside of our house with Christmas lights and decorations ... just in time for a nasty storm to hit and almost wipe the whole lot out!

The tree is also up, but not decorated yet ... I'll do that tomorrow ... and we have other inside decorations that need to be hung tomorrow too.

So it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I'll take photos when it's all done.

Meanwhile, I spent some more time in the kitchen making an Apple Caramel Coffee Cake ...


... and a Cauliflower Crust Stromboli ...


... and Battered Fish (GF) with Sweet Potato Rosti and Snow Peas, of which I don't have a photo to show you.

So, we've eaten well today, although dinner was a bit late tonight, because AH was involved in an SES callout for someone who got some damage in the storm this afternoon.

I must try to fit some study in tomorrow because AH and I have a 'date day' booked for Wednesday.

Time for bed now.

Nite all.

Sunday, December 7, 2014

TV and Food

A lazy kind of Sunday for Adoring Husband and I.

We bypassed the Seat of Knowledge this morning because the town's problem resident was there and I didn't want to start my Sunday with a dose of negativity, so AH and I went straight for our morning coffee fix instead.

A short sharp morning storm hit while we were there and after AH rushed home during a break in the rain, I got myself another coffee and sat with a friend for a catch up.

When I got home, AH and I watched a movie starring Michael Douglas and Dianne Keaton called 'And So It Goes'. It wasn't as funny as I expected, but still quite enjoyable.

I made an omelette for lunch, which turned out to be a cross between an omelette and scrambled egg .. I've never professed to be a great omelette maker. I seem to struggle with omelettes and ANZAC biscuits for some strange reason.

AH and I spent the rest of the afternoon watching Season 7 of Big Bang Theory which was a good giggle.

I made some energy balls with a list of ingredients so long, I don't even think I could remember everything to list them here, but they included maca powder, raw cacao, grated dark chocolate, hemp oil, coconut oil, dates, cranberries, raisins, almonds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pistachios, coconut, tahini, nut butter, maple syrup and that's all I can remember.

There are about 30 of them, they are pretty tasty and very healthy!

Lamb rack with veggies and gravy for dinner.


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There was some sad news in the neighbourhood today, our neighbour in the rental property next door passed away during the night. He had been ill for a long time with emphysema, requiring an oxygen bottle to help him breathe and a wheel chair to get around. I spoke to his wife just last week, who told me that she didn't expect him to last much longer.

RIP Ray.

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Nite all.