It's Cold & Dark

Happy New Year everyone. I hope 2024 will be a great year for you wherever you may live. 

Since it still gets dark so early it's lovely to see the lights at night. It's been cold for a few days and is expected to get much colder Thursday night (minus 17 Celsius then warming a bit) for a few days. I took the opportunity to go out today and run errands in case I don't want to go out later.

How is the weather where you are?

Joining in with Skywatch Friday

Food & Health ~ Tuesday 4

Food and Health

 Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.

How we eat, drink and exercise are important to our health. Let's talk about it.

1. Do you believe you eat a healthy diet and what makes it healthy?

I try very hard to eat a healthy and varied diet but I'm not very disciplined about doing it every single day and some days and weeks are better than others.  I don't actually enjoy eating a lot of protein so that is probably a weakness in my diet. I do try to get a variety of proteins (meats, fish, chicken, dairy, eggs, nuts, beans and legumes). When I don't eat enough protein it means I eat too many carbs and that is another weak spot in my diet.  I've been working on a varied diet now for many years and health issues, especially chronic fatigue make it difficult for me to be as consistent as I'd like to be.  I've purchased an Instant Pot, and more recently an air fryer/oven combo to help me make healthier meals when I haven't had time or energy to do meal planning and preparation.

2. What sort of drinks do you have with meals or between meals. Does it include enough water?

I always drink water between meals. Early in the day I have coffee and late at night I drink decaf tea.  Sometimes I have watered down juice or occasionally a soda, carbonated water or flavoured carbonated water (San Pellegrino or something like it). I always check the carbohydrate count and try to avoid a higher carb drink on days when I've had a higher carb load.

3. Do you enjoy snacks throughout the day and what kind do you enjoy?

I do enjoy snacks.  I love all kinds. Sometimes fruits like orange, apple, berries and less often watermelon, pineapple, mango or papaya. I also like cakes or pastries but my real weakness is ice cream.  On a lesser occasion, I might have chips and chocolate bars though this only happens when I haven't been eating a varied diet and making sure I get adequate food intake during the day. I usually only have one meal a day and it isn't enough to get adequate nutrition. From time to time, I try to substitute dark chocolate for the chips and chocolate bars but I find the taste very strong.  These days I wear a continuous glucose monitor and since I've been using it it  has really helped me to make better eating decisions.  If my blood glucose level is too high, I know I have to postpone eating something with higher carb content. The monitor is a wonderful tool and since I've been using it, my blood glucose levels are improving.

4. How do you make sure you get enough vitamins and minerals in your diet? 

I'm never sure if I'm getting enough vitamins and minerals but chances are I am not. I don't think most people do from food alone.  I aim for a large variety of vegetables and also a large variety of fruits so I can get as many vitamins and minerals as naturally as possible. I tend to eat more berries because they have a lower glycemic index than most other fruits.  From time to time,  I take multi-vitamins or specific individual supplements like Vit. C, A, B Complex,D3, CoQ-10 etc. 

A Slow Start

I'm still convalescing but each day gets better.

I didn't have the energy to do much this week but a little bit here and there helps.

I haven't even been cooking and don't much feel like eating. There is a Chinese noodle house very near me so when I feel hungry I've been eating congee (rice soup) and the most wonderful fried rice with shrimp and BBQ pork. 

On Friday I went to the post office to pick up a parcel and ran into a friend who had come to check her mail. She lives rather far but retains a mail box in my neighbourhood from the days she used to live nearby. She took me out to dinner as she too wanted soup. So we had an unexpected and very nice catch up.  Another friend called with distressing news. He lost 3 toes to gangrene over the past several years and was calling to let me know his leg will now have to be amputated. He'd been hoping to avoid this but the doctor gave him a stern warning, that it was either his leg or his life.  We didn't get to chat very long because another friend of his happened to drop by to visit him but I encouraged him as best I could for what he is about to go through.

I've set a modest reading goal this year of only 25 books because I want to do other things.  This number will likely go up but I'll keep it low for awhile as it will help temper my reading habit a bit.  This autobiography by Barbra Streisand came available as an online loan so I checked it out.  The book is over 2300 pages long and I think it might be the longest book I've ever read.  At this point, I've only completed 20% of it.  If you are a fan of Barbra Streisand's movies or her music, I recommend this book because she tells her life story in great detail.

I found a series on Netflix called Wild Wild Country which was very interesting. It's about the Rajneeshpuram, a international religious community headed by it's guru, Rajneesh from India who later changed his name to Osho.  I recommend it if you are at all curious. The other film I watched was a documentary on Warren Buffet called Becoming Warren Buffet.  I really enjoyed learning more about him and his family. 

I've been trying to use up bathroom products now for some time as I've got far too much. We've managed to empty 8 containers of various sizes. Some of it can go into recycling and some will have to go in trash. 

I also decluttered some music books and song sheets (4 items). I'll be donating these.

In December, I did a major purge of Christmas decorations and managed to give away a bag of items (36 items in all) to two different friends.  I'm glad to have cut down on the decorations in storage.

I took down the Christmas tree and decorations on December 28th but was only able to retrieve the storage boxes from downstairs on January 5th. I've packed everything away and will take it back to storage in a day or two.

I wrote about my new air fryer/oven combo which was my gift to myself.

I haven't made too much in it yet but did put together this blueberry loaf on Saturday. I was going to make muffins but the muffin tin is too large for the small oven. It's okay because slices are just as nice.

Last but not least, I've thoroughly cleaned the master bathroom and washed all the towels stored there as well as the shower curtain and liner.  I usually put my efforts into the master bathroom. but it always feels good when I can get both bathrooms nice and sparkly clean.

It seems like I've done a lot but really I have been taking everything very slow and easy. I'm just glad to have gotten a few things done so the week doesn't seem like nothing got accomplished at the start of the new year.   It helps when you don't have to cook every day and have all the dishes to wash because those two chores take a lot of time in one's day.  I hope you all had a good start to your week and wish you a wonderful week ahead.

New Word of the Year 2024

Happy New Year once again everyone. 🎉🎉🎉. The beginning of 2024 saw me spend a day in the Emergency Room. I'd been very sick since Friday and my DH and I wanted to be sure I was going to be okay. All the tests turned out fine, for which I'm grateful but I will have to take it easy for several days. I'm at home recovering. 

This incident put me back from the plans I had to get a good start on the New Year but health is the most important thing, isn't it? I realize as I get older that each and every day is a gift. I know some of you have been sick as well and I hope and pray that you are now feeling much better. 

I'd been mulling over a theme word for 2024 and I've settled on "Create". It's broad enough that I will have the flexibility to do a lot of things I'd like to do in the coming year. 

Last year, I chose the word "Start". It was a perfect word. I started (and completed) so many things that were on my list so I'm very happy about that. Since creating usually also involves joy in the creating, I'm not pressuring myself to reach particular objectives. I'm looking forward to 2024 being a creative and joyful year. Much love to you all. ❤️🎉💯

Happy New Year 2024

 

"Wishing you a year of happiness, success, and filled with love. Happy New Year!" 

A Very Merry Christmas to You & Your Household

 Hello friends and fellow bloggers, 

This is a very short note to wish you all a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

May you and your loved ones have a safe and special time together.

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. 

Luke 2:7

I'm a Huge Fan

I just got two large surprises! 

My 'baby' brother who usually joins me and other family members for Christmas, has just advised me that he will be away as of Friday, December 22nd until sometime in the New Year 2024.  The trip came up very suddenly as he was at a conference recently and won the trip credits as a door prize.  He is always lucky that way when it comes to winning air credits for travel.  The same thing happened last year though it wasn't right at Christmas holidays. So it's a huge surprise.  I'll will miss his presence over the Christmas holidays and I'll also have less help eating the turkey and all the fixings.  I just bought the turkey today. Had I known he wasn't going to join us, I may have bought a chicken instead. Oh well, I bought a Butterball turkey so it ought to be tasty.

The second big surprise is my Christmas gift from him.  He wanted me to open my gift right away.  He presented me with a cute little gift box with a Santa waving on the front of the box. Inside was a handwritten note saying 1 ticket for me to attend the Rolling Stones concert when they pass through the city in July 2024.  I can't believe it!!! 

I've been a huge Rolling Stones fan since I was 16 years old. I still have very fond memories of me playing my only two (2) 8 track cassettes on a cassette track player I bought with my babysitting money.  The 2 cassette tapes were Janis Joplin (I don't remember the name of the album) and The Rolling Stones (the Jumpin' Jack Flash album). 

I would play those 2 cassette tapes all day long after school and play them loudly on constant repeat. Mom and dad were so good about it. They never, ever complained. In fact, they enjoyed the fact that I was enjoying the music.  They didn't have any concerns about my music choices because they actually liked some of it too and they knew I was a 'good kid' who didn't hang around with the wrong crowd despite the music.  My little brother who bought me the concert ticket, would have been about 5 years old during the time I was listening to these tapes.  He would have barely been out of his "Ruby Ducky" and "Country Roads" phase, lol.😂

Anyway I look forward to hearing the concern next summer Lord willing. When I first heard the Rolling Stones was stopping in Vancouver, I thought I'd like to hear them. However I'm not the kind of person who will do whatever it takes to get a ticket. I thought I wouldn't stand a chance anyway but I did happen to mention to my brother that the band was coming to town and it would be my last opportunity to see them if ever since Mick Jagger, the lead singer is now 80 years old! Keith Richards is also 80 and Ronnie Woods is 76. They are all considerably older than I am yet they still have the stamina to put on a concert every night and travel the world. 

Here is a video of the band performing Jumpin Jack Flash a few days ago in New York City.

What about you dear reader? Are you a Rolling Stones fan? Have you ever seen them live in concert?

Christmas Gift to Myself

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope you are well and enjoying the festive season so far.

I have been taking it easy. Doing a little of this and a little of that. DH has been working a lot and is fighting off a cold. I seem to have finally gotten over the cold I've been struggling with. I hope it good and gone now though with DH fighting one I have to be careful.
  

I don't have big parties or too many events to attend this year. I've already attended Handel's Messiah and the annual Christmas Festival of Lights at the Van Dusen Botanical Gardens. Other than that I've been catching up on appointments and meeting friends one on one if they are free. It's a nice balance of quiet time alone with a lot of reading in between household routines, shopping and Christmas errands and the more social aspect of attending festivities and meeting with friends.  I'm more or less ready for Christmas but still have to buy the turkey, hopefully on Thursday and I'm also hoping to see a family member before the big day. 

So the title of this post is Christmas Gift to Myself. Do you ever gift yourself at Christmas or any other time? I will often buy myself something at Christmas that I may have wanted to get throughout the year. That way I get what I want and I usually get it on a sales promotion. 

I don't remember if I purchased anything last year.  But the year before that I purchased an Instant Pot (IP) and it has become one of  my favourite kitchen appliances. I actually had an IP for a year or two before that but it got damaged in a kitchen incident and needed replacing. When I bought the last one I purchased a slightly smaller one to take up less counter space.

This year I bought myself an air fryer/oven combo. I have been looking at air fryers for some time. In the end I liked the idea of a combination appliance that has several functions just like a real oven but much smaller. I purchased the model in the photo below. It's a ChefMan brand and I got it for less than 50% of the current Amazon price.  I actually purchased a second gift for myself.  Am I naughty or what? LOL. That one I'll unveil one day in the new year as it's related to my new word for 2024.

I'm pleased with it so far. I made baked chips on two occasions. The first time they weren't so good but after I figured out how to use it (I don't read instructions, lol), the chips were much better.  DH was so surprised that he didn't notice any difference in taste.

These chips were cooked using the bake function.

These chips were cooked using the air fryer function.

The pork chops, onions and apples were fried on the stove top.

I want to try roasting a whole chicken in the counter top oven soon.

Have you ever bought yourself any Christmas gifts and if so, what did you buy?

Thanks for stopping by! 

I'm sending you my best wishes for a very Merry Christmas.

🎄🎅🤶

Notes ~ Reading Stats

• 24185 words read to date 
• 67 books read to date 

Last book completed December 19, 2023 Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier 

Currently reading: Beyond the Door of No Return by Senegalese author, David Diop, winner of the International Booker Prize.

Currently reading:  You Could Make This Place Beautiful, a memoir by Maggie Smith (not the British actress). 

Currently reading:  Coming Home to Eat, The Pleasures and Politics of Eating Local by Gary Paul Nabhan.

Currently reading:  Accessing the Blessing of Heaven's Currency by Kerry Kirkwood.

Book on Hold:  Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry

I have several other books on hold but I doubt any of them will be ready before the new year.

It will be interesting to see how many words and books I am able to finish by end of 2023.

Cheers and I hope you are enjoying whatever you may be reading.

Tuesday 4 ~ Gifts

If you missed my reading challenge update, you can find it at this link. Thank you.

Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.

It's the giving season and people are shopping for presents for people they love.  Can we talk a bit about it?

1. Do you enjoy shopping for gifts at the holidays? Why or why not?

Yes, I enjoy shopping for gifts at the holidays. It puts me in the holiday spirit. I really enjoy pondering over what a particular friend or family member might like to have and trying to do it within a budget.  Often I give hand made gifts and without exception, most of the people I've gifted with a handmade gift appreciate it.  They recognize how much time was put into the making of it and it touches me.  In general people don't appreciate the time it takes to make things when they have to pay for it but if you make it and you gift it, they seem to love it.

2. Is the price of things putting a damper on buying this year?

Not really because I don't buy expensive gifts anyway. I enjoy looking for gifts that don't break the bank yet are nice to receive. I keep my gift giving in mind all throughout the year and buy things here and there for those birthday and Christmas gifts that will be needed.  I also make handmade gifts and the fabric and yarn I use can add up to a large sum if the item made is large.  Usually in those cases I am using what I already have on hand and have purchased at sales prices throughout the year.

3. Do you shop online or in stores and why do you choose that way to shop?

I do both. I would say I shop on line for 50% of what I need and 50% in person.  Sometimes you just need to feel or see a gift to determine if it is the right thing so in person shopping is preferred. The beauty of on line shopping is convenience.  So far, I've never purchased a gift on Amazon though I do order from the site for myself. I tend to shop at the big box stores in town online and in person , and in the small shops in person.

4. Which people do you find hard to select gifts for and what do you do when you just have no clue!

So far I've never really had an issue with selecting gifts although I do find for the men in my life, it is harder to buy them something.  My gift ideas for them are not as plentiful as for the women but so far, it's all worked out.