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Elderberry Syrup Recipe
My recipe is no secret. I've had a late start on my syrup this year, because it's just been so dang nice out. Well, the weather has caught up with the season, and last week I caught the cold that's been going around my office. While I had no syrup on hand, I was given daily doses of master tonic by my mum for the duration of the illness--around 5 days. Each year, I dig out the old recipe book for a reminder on what goes in. Finally it's fully committed to memory. One little change is this, the preservative: I use wither Vitamin…
Mindful Eating: Day 4...
How to mindfully eat a hamburger and fries...or not. On the one hand, I was not looking forward to mindfully eating my weekly hamburger and fries from Five Guys. This is because I wasn't sure I could do it. This meal is quite often scarfed down, book-ended by a handful of salty roasted peanuts. Questions in my head: Will I be able to do it, eat a succulent burger and too-many-delicious fries slowly? Chewing and swallowing the bolus before taking another bite? If so, will I enjoy this meal more than in the past? As with others this week…
Bob Mortimer Cured my Scuirophobia
A lifelong crippling phobia, gone. I'm free. I read a book that retold--practically verbatim--the story of my first meeting a new friend in a London bar, it also engaged squirrels in new and interesting ways, and eventually solved a murder mystery...all while making me laugh out loud every few chapters. People on the bus no longer sit near me. The Satsuma Complex is written by Bob Mortimer, a comedian from Middlesborough, who has lived a colorful life and pissed in more than one teapot in hotels across England. The germaphobe and tea-lov…
Mindful Eating: Day 3…
Finding the time for mindful eating…Breakfast is a challenge. First, because it’s muesli. I’m not a fan of oats, so I must to doctor them up special to make them palatable. Practical DINK Muesli recipe: (random amounts of) Oats, unsweetened dried coconut, dried cranberry or currants, unsalted pepitas, raw sunflower seeds, cinnamon, and a scoop of raisin bran cereal. Next, I have grown accustomed to standing for breakfast, and shoveling it in (again because I don’t really like oats) , and I have rarely sat down to eat breakfast. So, Today, I…
Mindful Eating Day 2...
Today's mid-morning snack consisted of mixed nuts and a date...not tossed in by the handful Day 2: Not a full post, but a few observations, as I have just finished an afternoon snack: Recognize when I'm hungry. Rather than sticking to a habitual eating routine (based on the clock), I have opted to eat when I feel hunger. So rather than nibble may way through a mid-morning snack at 830, and then lunch at 11, I waited to feel hungry. Finish one bite before starting another: this seems silly, but It occurs to me that I rarely do this…
Why I’m Trying Mindful Eating
I caught myself on two separate occasions last week, having consumed a delicious bag of Barbara's cheez & jalapeño doodles. I had no recollection of any enjoyment in either one. With this snack in particular, it’s just not like me...I love those things, and they often remind me of Friday evenings back in grad schools, when I worked in the multimedia studio—managing training and checking out audio/video equipment, lighting rigs, microphones, cameras and DAT recorders—late into Friday nights. My meal of choice back then was a pot of hon…
Trapped by a Monologuer
Has this ever happened to you? You've asked someone a question, and they answer, and answer, and answer with blatant disregard for your time. The answerer is so chuffed at the prospect of discussing themselves, or their general biography, pet peeve, their pet, or what-have-you, that they continue to speak for several minutes…winding out an egocentric monologue in the middle of your day. Your tea cools, and friends inconsiderately do not text or call you. Next thing you know thirty minutes have passed before they catch themselves in mid-v…
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