Food Hoarding

I was having a discussion with someone recently about hoarding.

Adoring Husband's mother was a hoarder and it took us a LONG time to clean out her house of 30 years worth of hoarding. At least she was a tidy hoarder and everything was stored in boxes which were neatly stacked against the walls, albeit six boxes high and three or four deep!

AH shows signs of being hoarder material, but isn't too bad. I must admit that I too have the makings of a hoarder, but tend to pull in the reins just in the nick of time.

I do admit, however, to being a food hoarder! I only just realised this morning that I do have this problem.

I guess it's worse because we live fairly remotely and we don't have instant access to 'uncommon' foods like the organic nuts and seeds, coconut in it's various forms, raw cacao, non-grain flours, quality himalayan salt, fermented foods & vinegars, some herbs and oils.

So when I buy it, I buy large quantities and store it in our increasingly shrinking pantry. Our pantry is not a walk-in and has very deep shelving, so when I need to find something, I'm often completely emptying it, to access the particular item I require.

I try to make a list of what we need, but sometimes, I'll see something and can't remember if we are running low or not, so buy it 'just in case', only to discover that I still have plenty at home.

This means more storage containers and more space filled and less room available and great difficulties seeing what I'm actually looking for at any given time.

My future plans involve renovating the kitchen to include a large walk-in pantry with enough shelving and power points to permanently set up my blender, food processor, dehydrator, juicer etc., so that I don't have to be dragging these things in and out of cupboards every time I need to use them.

I use my blender and food processor almost daily and I would use the others more regularly, if I wasn't put off by getting down low to drag them out of their storage spot, because they can be quite cumbersome.

I have many ideas, which simply makes it a jumbled mess in my head. I need to find a professional who can make ordered sense of my jumble and who can create my dream kitchen.

Anyway, I'm writing this in my study break, so I'd best get back to it.

Here is a photo from the archives. One that I have never shared before ..

Afternoon all.

Sleepy Me

I slept in.

I woke at 8.30am and stayed in bed until 9.30am.

Adoring Husband had bought my coffee and delivered it to my bedside, but I slept until it had gone cold. He was good enough to reheat it for me and I lazed around until it was study time.

I did go for a trike ride and I checked the mail before discovering that it was a public holiday for the Post Office due to the Fraser Coast show. That was a shame because I was expecting a parcel today.

I missed a birthday .. one of my boys celebrated his 78th birthday today and I thought it was tomorrow. I even have a gift for him .. I guess it will now be a belated birthday gift.

It's a chilly night tonight, so I'm off to snuggle down under the doona.

Nite all.

It's All About Food.

I'm going to try this on the weekend. My mouth waters just thinking about it!



More study today.

My first assignment (chronologically) is an 800 word essay about physiological processes that occur during neuron function, and I have to include stuff about action potentials, axon terminals, components of a neuron cell and describing how structure is related to function.

Yes, it's all gobbledy gook to me too!

Lots of research and youtube videos and google searches and text book reading and study site tutorials. Taking lots of notes and creating simple sentences to describe complex details. From what I've read so far, there aren't going to be too many simple sentences!

Anyway, I've created a time line so that I can study efficiently to make the most of the time leading up to each exam and assignment - hopefully my nemesis, 'procrastination', doesn't defeat me. I've made a late start to this semester already, so I have to run a steady race.

Adoring Husband is on SES duty again tonight and I am enjoying Masterchef on TV. I think that I'm a pretty good cook, but I would never make a chef, let alone a masterchef!  Their attention to detail is way better than I am capable of, and their final results mostly look like 'fine art' on a plate. The pressure is also pretty intense and on more than one occasion, I've shed a tear with one of the contestants, Georgia Barnes.

She's my favourite.

I have 1kg of almonds in the dehydrator as we speak, after soaking them for about 15 hours yesterday (activating them) and I will probably put them in the oven briefly, to give them that final roasted flavoursome crunch. AH and I just finished the chocolate tart that I made on the weekend with the last of my recent batch of almonds in a crumbly nut base. Very delicious.

I adore that crumbly nut base and I need to figure out what sort of filling I will put in the next tart!

Anyway, into bed early for me.

Nite all.

Just Briefly

I've been going through some old photos and came across this one from two years ago. One of my favourites.

... and a sunset photo, also from 2013 ...

I had a morning of study and then an afternoon catching up with the last season of Nurse Jackie, so it's been uneventful.

Time for bed.

Nite all.

Wishing I'd done that.

It's difficult to find 'short' stories from the people currently undertaking the paleo lifestyle. Most of them have so many health issues that their stories are too long and detailed to post here (I know you would be bored with them - astonishing as they are!), but here is a nice short one with obvious results.

*Note to self-smile when taking selfies (took me until week 5 to do so!). When I started the 10 week program, I was too frightened to get on the scales, so I decided to take weekly selfies to see if I could notice any changes. I rarely weigh myself as I prefer to go by my clothes and how I am feeling. I am starting week 12 this week along with my husband. We haven't been 100% but have made big changes to our diet/way of life and are gradually introducing it into our children's diet as well (aged 9 & 11). I am sleeping better, my severe headaches have all but gone, I definitely have more energy and most importantly FEEL better within myself

These photos were taken on weeks 1,3,5,7 and today at the start of week 12.*

I wish I'd thought to take 'before', 'during' and 'after' photos during my paleo lifestyle change.

Something that I found interesting today ...

A large study coming from researchers at the Uppsala University in Sweden found that drinking milk led to an increased mortality rate and actually made bones more prone to fracturing, not less.

The study was recently published in the peer reviewed British Medical Journal, and was specifically conducted to examine whether high milk consumption is associated with mortality and fractures in both men and women.

The study took place across three different counties in Sweden, and used data from two large Swedish cohorts, one with 61,433 women aged approximately 39-74 years old and one with 45, 339 men aged approximately 45-79 years old. They were all administered food frequency questionnaires. The study used “multivariable survival models” that were “applied to determine the association between milk consumption and time to mortality and fracture.

To see the results and more of this story go here.

Anyway, I got some much needed study done today.

My first assignment is to create a 'Materia Medica' .. I know .. right?

Materia medica (English: medical material/substance) is a Latin medical term for the body of collected knowledge about the therapeutic properties of any substance used for healing (i.e., medicines).

The first assignment is a Materia Medica on a given selection of Vitamins and the second one is on Minerals.

I like it and I think it will be very interesting. So far, the only vitamin I've researched is Thiamine and there is a lot to learn, and record, about each vitamin. Apparently, this will be a very useful tool to refer to in my future, if I choose to become a professional Nutritionist or Naturopath, so I'd best do a good job of it!!

Had a great morning tea with three of the girls.  Mardi was there to celebrate her new status as grandmother and we were joined by Cuddlepot and Cuddlepie. Cuddlepie has sold her house and will be moving away soon, which is sad because she is well loved by many people in our circle. She's a laugh and a half.

Maid Marian and the Leggy Blonde didn't turn up, so I will have a bone to pick with them next time I see them!! You know who you are!!

We had our stove top replaced today, so all is right with my cooking world again :)

The two psychotic dogs who partook of the bird that they caught in the back yard are seriously struggling with their digestion at the moment. I'm hoping that the trouble will pass and won't require a trip to the vet, but they are feeling very sore and sorry for themselves right now. I doubt that they will have learned their lesson, but I hope I catch them BEFORE they consume it next time!!

Nite all.

Loving the Fat

Big news out of the USA. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, which represents 90,000 registered Dietician Nutritionists (RDNs) have released the following statements in relation to the new US Dietary guidelines:

Saturated Fat: "the Academy supports the decision to drop dietary cholesterol from the nutrients of concern list and recommends it deemphasize saturated fat from nutrients of concern, given the lack of evidence connecting it with cardiovascular disease."

Sugar: "the evidence is strongest that a reduction in the intake of added sugars will improve the health of the American public. The identification and recognition of the specific health risks posed by added sugars represents an important step forward for public health"

Many of you will already be doing this but basically this means lower your sugar intake and enjoy cooking with butter or coconut oil. Yay!!

Here is our dinner from the other night with recipe and instructions (for most of it).

... and some more photos of my little Chicklet ...

I did a lot of cooking today (again). I packaged the second batch of chicken broth, made a chocolate cheesecake slice (paleo style), roasted some more vegetables to have with the leftover chicken and gravy (from the photos), made some chocolate energy balls and then cooked crispy skinned chicken with salsa salad for dinner.

I have to congratulate Mardi on the birth of her first (blood) grandchild, a boy, Cooper - congratulations to 'The Lifesaver' too! I can't wait to have a celebratory coffee with her tomorrow .. and eventually a wine or two and clink glasses in a big rejoicing cheers!! Lots of Love xox

We will miss 'Lady Lynn' at our morning tea tomorrow, who is hopefully relaxing and lazing about on a short beach side holiday. 'Beauty' is also gallivanting over the countryside on a long caravanning holiday. 'Maid Marian' is jaunting about for a couple of months as well, so our numbers are reduced for a while!

That's it. Must go to bed before I get involved in this movie that just started.

Nite all.

Late Call

I was just about to go to bed when I realised that I haven't posted here tonight!

An interesting day today.

I sat in bed for a good part of the morning .. til about 9.30am and then I spent the rest of the morning cooking.

I packaged the chicken broth and placed them in the freezer, then pureed the chicken necks with most of the vegetables from the stock for dog food. I prepped a chicken to roast in the oven and then prepared the vegetables (photos tomorrow).

Everything was running smoothly, so I put on another batch of chicken broth in the slow cooker, because I had some veg in the fridge that was almost ready to toss.

At some point, I needed the coconut oil, which always sits beside the ceramic stove top. Unfortunately, as I lifted the jar, it slipped out of my hands and the bottom edge of the jar landed on the stove top and smashed it!!

A lot of swearing was to be had! This is the second time in less than a year that I've smashed the stove top. This one was supposed to last until the kitchen renovation, when we plan on installing a gas stove. Ugh.

After lunch, Adoring Husband walked out to the kitchen to clean up, and discovered two of our psychotic dogs with feathers around their mouths, but one in particular, appropriately nicknamed 'the smiling assassin' by one of my cousins, had blood on her mouth and feathers attached to her fur.

We discovered a mass of feathers outside in the outdoor area, a trail of feathers through the house which led to a dog bed under my desk, which was also covered in feathers!

It was like a horror movie!

I wanted to edit the photos from my time down on the Sunny Coast, but had all sorts of trouble with the new editing program on my imac, so finally I used the old one on my laptop.

I only have one to share for now. My cheeky possum obviously not interested in having her photo taken!

Time for bed.

Nite all.

First Day

So much to do .. I think I need to channel my 'time management' skills from my working days.

My plans for today included visiting my boys at the Seat of Knowledge, grabbing my coffee, coming home to make bacon and eggs for Adoring Husband, bring out the slow cooker for a batch of chicken bone broth, prepare the vegetables for fermentation, make lunch and then spend the rest of the day studying before the football started at 3pm.

I was able to do everything on that list except the fermented vegetables .. the containers needed to be sterilised through the dishwasher and time ran out, so I'll put that on top of my list for tomorrow.

Our big breakfast of bacon, eggs, tomato, mushrooms and avocado was not enough to keep AH full for very long!! Three hours later he had a plate full of chilli lime chicken nibbles with a big salad of romaine lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado and cucumber with a tangy dressing. Finally, for dinner tonight, we had lamb's fry and bacon with mushroom and onion.

Today I studied the 'Central Nervous System' - the cerebral cortex, basal nuclei, thalamus, hypothalamus, cerebellum and the brain stem. The brain and the spinal cord are intriguing and I'm looking forward to this section of my studies.

We are experiencing beautiful cool weather at the moment. Excellent sleeping weather. It's 10pm and 17C. Tomorrow will only reach 22C. This is my ideal weather and puts a very happy smile on my dial.

I think I shall crawl into bed right now. A good night's sleep will prepare me for a solid day of study.

Nite all.

I'm Home!

Touching base briefly again.

Adoring Husband drove south to pick me up this morning and after spending about an hour playing hide n seek with Chicklet, we drove off to the sounds of her distraught cries. I spent 4 days with her, and AH spent a total of 2 hours in her presence, but it was 'Poppy' who she begged to stay!!

It was difficult to leave her but we did and I introduced AH to the Kunara Organic Market where we started with coffee and raw blueberry cheesecake before shopping at the supermarket and the butcher.

I love that place.

We got a nice stash of organic meat and a couple of boxes of organic fruit and veg. We also bought some organic veg seedlings as well as a soursop bush to plant in our back yard.

We must have spent 2 hours at those markets and as we began to drive home, decided to stop at Eumundi and have lunch at the Bohemian Bungalow Restaurant and Bar. We partook of slow roasted pork belly with a wonderful salad drenched in the most delicious dressing. I enjoyed every mouthful.
Then we drove directly home.

It was great to get home.

Tomorrow, my plan is to finally get my kimchi started and another batch of chicken broth. I also have some organic lamb's fry that needs to be cooked because we bought it frozen but the esky didn't keep it cold enough (because we forgot to buy ice!).

I will also put in a couple of hours worth of study before the football starts in the afternoon.

I just want to mention Grannymus ... you are in my thoughts and I hope that you can build up your strength quickly so that you can head home to be with Grandpa soon. Lots of love being sent your way, along with positive strong energy. xoxox

I am feeling very worn out, so I think I will head off to bed right now.

Nite all.

Touching Base

Just a quick post to touch base.

Chicklet and I have been very busy playing all sorts of games from craft activities (decorating butterflies) to swinging on the swing, playing 'follow the leader', puppet shows, tag you're it, thief, watching dvds, reading books, hide n seek, dinosaur games, lining up the ducks and much more.

Yesterday we had almost the entire day together while Mama and Dadu went out for lunch and enjoyed a movie.

Today, we had a delicious breakfast at 'Sunspace'. I ordered a goats cheese omelette with caramelised onion, kimchi and avocado. It was served with gluten free toast and a tomato chutney. It was sooooo nice! The coffee was also delicious.

There is a huge open grassed area outside the restaurant where kids can play, with a circle of big tree stumps that kids like to jump across (and is very popular) as well as raised timber circles of timber boards to run around on. Child-sized chairs to sit in and timber blocks to play with. We made new friends and played around for almost 3 hours. It was a great way to spend a Wednesday morning!

I took photos but I won't edit them until I get home on the weekend.

Tomorrow is the Playschool concert (which I mistakenly thought was today). I'm really looking forward to it and we will be lunching afterwards.

This afternoon we drove to the local shopping centre where Chicklet chose a plush rattle snake from the toy shop. It seemed like an odd toy to choose, but it hasn't left her hands all afternoon!

We had a Thai dinner delivered for dinner tonight .. my Thai Green Chicken Curry was particularly hot and spicy, but oh so delicious!

That's about it so far. Perhaps I'll drop by for another catch up tomorrow night :)

Nite all.

I'm off!

I had a lovely Mother's Day yesterday.

Adoring Husband delivered my coffee, fresh and delicious, and then made bacon, eggs, tomato and mushroom which he brought to me in bed.

I stayed in bed until after 11am. It was a lovely cool morning, so I stayed under the doona and sat up supported by a few pillows. I got a phone call from my little Chicklet angel and Vegan Chickie and then I spent a lazy morning reading.

There is no better way to spend Mother's Day morning.

I got a message from Bubbles the night before and a text from Number One Son later in the afternoon, so it was nice to hear from all the kids, in some form or another. The age of technology hey.

I haven't edited any more of the photos from the party yet.

Tomorrow, we leave bright and early, so that AH can drive me to the Sunny Coast and then he continues on to Brisvegas for his third check up.

As you know, I rarely have the chance to post on here the first night with Chicklet, so you may or may not see me here tomorrow :)

Have a lovely day!

Nite all.

Happy Snaps

It's only two minutes ...

Healthy Sustainable Living: This Family ate Only Organic for Two Weeks... Watc...: This  powerful 2 min video shows a family who was not eating organic due to cost.   They switched as part of a study to see what would hap...

Here are a bunch of happy snaps from Mardi's party last night. I haven't finished editing yet, but these are pretty good.

Nite all.

Birthday Celebrations

This is just a short post to say that we had a really lovely time tonight celebrating Mardi's birthday.

About 32 of us gathered together at the Bowls Club restaurant where I enjoyed some gluten free salt and pepper calamari with salad for dinner.

I also drank one whole bottle of wine + one glass of wine and I was the least drunk person at the end of the night .. actually, Adoring Husband may have been less drunk than me.

There were some mildly inebriated people at the end of the night .. ok there were some VERY inebriated people at the end of the night .. and I won't name names!! What happens at the Bowls Club stays at the Bowls Club!

I took lots of photos which I will share tomorrow, when I have time to sort through and edit them.

Anyway, a good time was had by all. Some dancing, some drinking, some eating, some laughing, some staggering and some hugging.

There may, or may not be some sore heads tomorrow.

It's past midnight, so I'm off to bed. Watch this space for photos tomorrow.

Nite all.

Week's End

At the Tuesday night monthly barbecue, I ate rice salad and potato salad ... something that I've avoided for about 5 months, meaning, I haven't had rice or potato for at least 5 months.

I woke up on Wednesday morning in extreme pain. My joints hurt .. today is Friday and my joints are still sore, but not to the same extent. I think I've learnt my lesson and will avoid both rice and potato in future.

Eating those two foods is the only thing that I did outside my normal routine, so that's why I place the blame there for my pain.

This is how my body felt every day before I changed to Paleo eating. It only took two or three weeks before the pain disappeared completely, but it only takes one meal that includes dairy, grains, sugar or carbs for the pain to return.

Most commonly, gluten intolerance or celiac disease causes the most problems .. even if you don't suffer from physical symptoms, it actually takes months for your body to recover from one small discrepancy, so if you take a risk just once every month or two, your body is constantly trying to recover and will never enjoy the benefits of being 'gluten free'.

The same goes for dairy/casein/lactose intolerance, and I guess any allergy.

Sleep is important for your body to recover from these things and I only have myself to blame for sleeping poorly this week because I haven't gone to bed until well after midnight most nights, and then had to wake up to work at 6-6.30am.

I can feel my body struggling. It's especially noticeable because I have felt so good for the last 4-5 months, sleeping well, eating well, feeling full of energy and being pain free, so it's a real shock to the system to be feeling so poorly this week.

It's a hard lesson learned and now I know to be more vigilant with my eating and sleeping habits.

Anyway, it's 9.30pm and I need an early night, so I shall sign off now and head to bed.  Looking forward to Mardi's birthday dinner tomorrow night.

Nite all.

Strike me Pink!

I just looked at the clock and it's almost midnight!!

Can't forget the blog!

Quick but informative :)

Nite all.

Less Hours

I watched Grey's Anatomy last night. It was a double episode and included the one where Derek dies.

It wasn't as heart breaking as I expected, but the next episode could be a tear jerker. I'll have my tissues handy.

So the show finished at midnight and by the time I finished my bedtime routine, it was after 1am, and then it was close to 1.30am by the time I finished reading, turned out the light and fell asleep.

Needless to say, it was very very difficult to wake up early and get out of bed for work! Thank goodness I had the added motivation of a bit of a photo shoot afterwards.

I found this little gem on the way ...

I think it's just the background bokeh that wins it for me.

I met Mardi and Kaz's Caz down on the beach for some photos, but unfortunately, 7am is just a little late for the best light and the sun was quite glaring.

One thing that was very noticeable in most of the shots, was the fact that they liked to chat! So mouths were in awkward positions and eyes were either averted or closed in a lot of shots. We can't blame them for that though .. there is always a lot to catch up on when you don't live in the same town!

Here are a couple of them ...

Luckily for them, they are gorgeous women .. the saving grace!

I am feeling decidedly tired, so I'm off for an early night.

Nite all.

Barbylicious

The Nellie news is pretty good. She's still frail and ill, but improved and well enough for Adoring Husband to return home. We know that it's just a matter of time, but right now, she has once again proven how tough she is.

Today was Tuesday morning tea with the ladies and we had a nice big group this morning. Everyone was bright and happy and talkative - we kind of matched the sunshiny weather with our bright and breezy chatter.

I spent the remainder of the morning and afternoon making a berry cheesecake for Mardi's birthday dessert, which we all shared tonight at our monthly barbecue.

... and she was lucky enough to have an extra friend visiting who was able to share today with her (yesterday was Mardi's birthday) ... I shall name her 'Kaz's Caz' ...

Kaz's Caz is a special kind of person who sees the greatness in everybody else, but doesn't recognise the greatness in herself. Just my opinion ... but Kaz's Caz is GREAT. *waves at Kaz's Caz*

Anyway, for the barbecue, I also made smoked salmon cheese wheels (I just made that name up because I made the recipe up) for pre-dinner nibbles and I made lime, honey and chilli chicken wings to take with me for dinner.

Everybody else prepared amazing and delicious salads which we all shared before lighting the sparklers that we placed in the pretend silver gift box that Lady Lynn made, (so that the sparks didn't drop stuff on the cheesecake) and we sang 'Happy Birthday' to Mardi.

We always enjoy our monthly barbecues at the park and the sunset was another stunner, even without cloud. Good friends coming together and feeling the love.

Once again, it's after midnight and I have an early start tomorrow, so ...

Nite all.

Slightly Improved

The news of Nellie has marginally changed to 'slightly improved' and she has now been returned to the nursing home. She is still very ill and very fragile and with her dementia, doesn't recognise Adoring Husband.

We still 'wait and see'.

Today, I read some introductions to my 3 new study subjects and I must say, they are looking pretty intense, and I have a lot of work ahead of me.

One of the wonderful teachers has even provided a study plan to help us work our way steadily through the semester, helping us reach our 3 assignment dates without stress. She seems to be very hands on and has organised an assistant so that she can mark our assignments in a timely manner. So far, she is my favourite.

I hope to use the word 'procrastination' a lot less this semester and I plan on honing my focussing skills. Wednesday is my start day - head down, bum up!

Share time ...

Nite all.

A Testing Time

While Adoring Husband was celebrating the birthdays of two of his grandchildren on the Gold Coast today, he received a phone call from his Mother's nursing home in Sydney to advise that she had fallen last night and had been taken to hospital in a very bad way.

AH then spoke to the doctor in charge who advised that Nellie's condition was serious and she may not return to the nursing home. The doctor also verified the level of care required as far as the DNR was concerned.

So the celebrations ended early for AH. I became his secretary/personal assistant for the day and at short notice, booked his flight and hire car online and he drove to Brisbane, booked his car into security parking, and late this afternoon he flew to Sydney where he is now driving in a hire car to a motel in Miranda, and preparing to face whatever emotional challenge is coming his way.

Nellie turned 98 last birthday. She has been a strong woman for her whole life, and even more so in the last few years, because at this age, we expect her to be at her most fragile, but she has proven many times that she is physically healthy and strong enough to overcome the health challenges that have tested her.

I would not be surprised if her toughness pulled her through this particular challenge as well, but at the same time, we need to be prepared for the worst. I'm certain she would be aiming for that letter from the Queen for her 100th birthday!

While she is generally physically strong, her mental state is a different matter altogether and her Sundowner's Dementia makes it difficult for AH to communicate with her. It's concerning for him that he may be saying his goodbyes to a woman who doesn't even recognise him as her son.

A difficult time for him, and adding to this stress, he has spent about 7 hours on the road today already, starting at 5am. He will be in need of a good solid night's sleep tonight so that he can be strong enough to cope with whatever happens tomorrow.

From me to you AH ... make sure you keep your body nourished and hydrated ... at least physically, that will get you through the tough times.

Nite all.

Ever Dutiful

Tonight I was a dutiful wife.

A gathering of SES leaders, associates and wives for a business/social dinner at the pub. It was organised at the last minute, giving me no time whatsoever to think of an acceptable excuse to get out of it!

So I began getting ready nice and early, so that I could at least feel good while I was out and I wore my new shoes too!

If you know me well, I dislike meeting new people .. dislike it with a vengeance. I face it with dread and I suffer internally for the entire experience from beginning to end.

There were eight of us. It was a pleasant enough evening. Dinner, as is usual at the pub, was average. I had a couple of glasses of wine. We had a few laughs and we were home by about 8.30pm.

There were two highlights to my evening. The first was checking my keno ticket from Friday night and winning $81!

The second was having one of the bar attendants telling me that I looked really nice and that she could tell I had lost a lot of weight. That's nice to hear when you're feeling vulnerable and nervous.

It's now already after midnight and I need to be up bright and early to see Adoring Husband off on his trip to the Gold Coast tomorrow. I was thinking about heading down to the beach for the sunrise, but I have a funny feeling that I won't be leaving the comfort of my warm bed after less than 5 hours of sleep.

Nite all.