Starting My Day Off Healthy!

Blackberries, strawberries, figs, almonds, walnuts, brie and blue cheese. Little petite toasts with fig preserves on top and hummus also with petite toast for dipping. This was my morning snack after yoga this morning in my house and little walking down the hall and back with resistant bands tied around my legs. That's a funny sight to see in itself.

Alot has been going on here. I will start off with the not so bad. I was was diagnosed with almost full blown osteoporosis. I am doing my part be stronger bone and muscle wise. Started taking the calcium chews two times a day, a huge mega vitamin(not one for swallowing big pills but found taking it with Sprite works great) and b-12. We joined the gym (I seem to be the only one going though) but find I workout better at home. The only machine I really use there is the elliptical and maybe the back leg curl.

Ok, now for the bad news which we haven't even so much as told his family yet per my husband's request until we know for sure. He has something in his left upper lung and little in the right one as big as a soft ball. Poor thing was put through so much already and they still didn't get enough biopsy to tell if it's cancer. He might have to go through more procedures to find out when we get back from Florida. Yeah, the doctor told us to go ahead and go. Let me tell you how things like this make you want to crawl up in bed and not come out until they tell you it's all ok. We both have our times when we are scared to death then one of us will lift the other up in spirit and we will go out and do something good like go crazy at Trader Joes or Whole Foods then pick up a couple of vibrant colorful Zinnia flowers from the farmers market to add a little color to our yard. You will see the photos below. So, as of today we don't know if he has lung cancer, fungus or whatever. He has in the past had his left lung collapse, surgery to seal it back up and also the right lung collapse also he had smoked for twenty something years. It's been about seven yrs since he quit. So they have to be very careful not to puncture his lung every time they go in. Things happen for a reason, I talked my husband out of getting a built in swimming pool just a few days before this. This is a guy who never ever gets sick and never has to go to the doctor. He has been tougher than nails getting things done to him so far. I would have to pass on everything he had done to him honestly. I am trying to strengthen my body to make sure I can carry this 6 ft husband of mine. I know with the strength and effort by me and by God, I will take care of him. We are having family come in early next month. His parents and sister for four nights and my dad for a while.

"Choosing Happiness Life & Soul Essentials" by Stepanie Dowrick is a book that I highly recommend to everyone. Powerful and enlightening book. A must have! Knitting a little bit. Since I have moved out here I can't find my balance yet. I do cook and garden a little but I am talking about knitting, watercolor painting, sewing and beading. Those were the hobbies I have done and were a big part of me. I told my husband the other day about this and he says that it's because I am not set up for it. I don't have a special room with all of this set up and easy access to. Not easily done here unless someone gives up their bedroom. Painting believe it or not, I prefer to lay out on the ground on my stomach and paint. Sitting too long hurts my back. I mean I could set it up in the dining room with a vinyl table cloth underneath it. It doesn't help that I can't find my electric pencil sharpener either. You should see how this cheapo $ .99 sharpener chewed up my pencil. One of my neighbors that home schools her children asked me if I would show her fourteen yr. old daughter how to paint. She said she can draw already. She has one up on me. LOL I just paint for the creativeness that has to come out of me. I don't know that I can teach anyone but maybe I will give it a shot. Did I tell you that I found out I can't eat raw garlic or onions? haha It was this same neighbor that had a bunch of us over for Mother's Day vegetarian meal and everything had tons of garlic in it. I had some serious intestinal thing going on for days. No more garlic what so ever for me please.LOL Didn't have the heart to tell her yet. Oh and I am not a vegan but close enough most of the time. It just that the food you see above make me feel better along with lots of other good stuff.

Clearing our land but still having enough trees surrounding for privacy. Too bad I couldn't get a closer shot of the front yard here or the back. It looks like a bomb went off. We can't even walk in the yard yet for the ditches that were created with all the machinery. We plan on planting grass seeds in June and hope for some pretty grass!

One of his brother's popped in with his wife and kids to visit us for the day! They live in Pa but drove down here to vacation with her sister and all their kids. They stopped by on their drive down to Hilton Head but her sister only lives about thirty minutes away.

So, were are preparing for our trip to Florida and we want to have a blast of a life time! Please don't get all hung up on me writing about the not so good stuff. Let's stay postive here. Better yet let's keep my mind off of it until we have something to worry about. Tell me something good!! Love yall!

Fiber And Food Go So Well Together

Knitting with Louet Gems yarn in Mustard colorway. The "Woven Stitch" from Sensation Knitted Socks book. I am all about texture when it comes to knitting socks. This stitch is so beautiful the way it looks pops out at you like a woven basket. Took me a long time to get one sock done these days.

Presenting "Crawfish Etouffee" over white rice. The recipe was on the back of the frozen cooked crawfish package but I do recall saute' celery and onions in butter, then add a little flour till it turned browned, add in the wine/water and crawfish. Something like that. I steamed medium white rice in my rice cooker. It was good but the next time I cook something like this I would use shrimp and no white wine. The crawfish was quite a bit too spicy and I don't quite like the taste of wine in my food. Wine for drink absolutely! As you can see I have been cooking! Cooking and loving every second of it!

My homemade "Chicken and Dumplings"! This is a nice warm hearty meal.

I make using a whole chicken placed in water just enough to cover it in a tall pot with four stalks ofsliced of celery, salt and pepper. When chicken is cooked inside, take out chicken, let cool, debone the chicken, set aside. I then unroll on a floured surface two cans of biscuits making sure I flour both sides really well. Cut these into about 1" squares. Doesn't have to be exact. Drop them into the simmering chicken broth only a few at a time so they don't stick together. Then give them a gentle stir flipping the dumplings over. Add the deboned chicken back in, cover and let simmer for another 10 mins.

" Meatloaf" one of my versions simple and so yummy with a little help from brown sugar! For this version I added in my 2 pds of hamburger meat some chopped up bell peppers and onions, half a can of tomato sauce, three eggs, plain dried bread crumbs or saltine crackers, little salt, pepper, garlic salt and parsley. Let that bake at 350 for 1 hour 30 mins but towards the last 25 mins, pour over the top of the meatloaf a mixture of 1 tablespoon brown sugar with the other half of the tomato sauce. Let cool a few minutes, serve with mashed potatoes and french style green beens!So traditional I know but I love this!