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New Orleans 2: Jaguar Tattoo
Over the past two or three years, I completely cyber-stalked a henna artist in NOLA, the daughter of a friend from MD who now lives in Singapore. Swan of 504 Henna has been creating beautiful works of art in plant-based pigments for years, and her neck henna tats have had me enthralled. I once promised myself that if ever in New Orleans, I’d find her and get her to create something beautiful for me. Having never met her, or knowing where to find her this was to be a big task. But, serendipitously, I find myself in the French Quarter of NOLA.…
New Orleans 1: First Time
I planned this trip a few weeks ago, when I learned that my favorite uncle was heading out on the cruise of a lifetime—to see the ancient ruins of the Aztec, Inca, and Maya civilizations. While I couldn’t take the equivalent time from work (new job), I was able to book a few days off, in order to meet my uncle and cousin on their way back. So here I am in New Orleans, for the first time, sat poolside at the Best Western in the French Quarter. I have never been to New Orleans before, but did spend some time in Baton Rouge as a teen—back when I…
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…
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