Monthly Archives: February 2015

Golden Treasure…?Turmeric #MFRWAuthor

Observations on a new trend.

It seems turmeric has taken over social media. I’ve seen multiple recipes for Golden Milk, made with turmeric and various forms of milk, whether cow’s or goat’s or nut’s. Plus multiple discussion of how turmeric has helped people, dogs, and horses with ailments up to and including tumors.

I’m not in any way, shape, or form a health expert. Nor do I gain anything from sharing what I’ve learned.  I’ve read extensively on the history of turmeric use, I’ve included turmeric in recipes and I’ve now been using it therapeutically for about a month. My dogs also get a small dose every day. I’ve found my joints ache less in the morning and I recover faster from muscle fatigue. Good things. I’ve also found that, as warned, there is an odor of cat urine if I don’t also take cinnamon.

Ick.

I’ve learned to use cinnamon even more than I used to.

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Frozen turmeric ‘buttons.’ The yellow spots are where I removed the turmeric. It can stain a bit

The “Golden Milk” makes an interesting nighttime drink, with Stevia drops instead of honey. I’ve used both almond and coconut ‘milk’ with success. I can also add it to my coffee, especially when I’ve also added cream and butter.  But most of the time I just scoop up a spoonful and shove it in my mouth, followed by a slug of water. On occasion I’ll chomp on the frozen turmeric ‘drops’ I’ve made, which have proven to be a quick and easy way to take my dose.

Though I referred to turmeric as a ‘new trend’ it is in fact an old remedy, used long ago in China and India. It’s also an ingredient in curry though not one of the spicier ingredients. At least not to my palate though I freely admit to liking it hot.

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The Secret to Successful Writing the Right Way

I’m late on getting this blog out and kind of achy from several days of moving around meat for the dogs. Picking it up, thawing, repackaging, stuffing in the freezer. The job’s not done but all the meat is somewhere safe from feral cats and curious Salukis. I’m about to pack it in for the night but I’ve made a commitment to myself to deliver every day. So I’m going to share wisdom from one of our genre’s greats: Nora Roberts

nora roberts writing

Can’t be much clearer than that. Oh, wait, it says “Anyone who tells you there’s a ‘right’ way to…” Hmmm. Ahem.

Ummm. Okay, well, I’ve been invited by Melissa Snark to her Snarkology blog as part of The Write Pet. I’m one of a group sharing stories about their pets and excerpts from their books. Check us out Write_Pet_2015 - 500

Night now

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I Have My Red Hat, How About You?

Are You Ready?

Are You Ready?

Have you ever thought about not living up to an artificial standard of how you ‘should’ comport yourself? Maybe one day you’d like to live up to the old lady goals in this poem? Personally I think we should get a head start. I have my red hat and heaven knows I wear enough purple. How about you?

WARNING by Jenny Joseph

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people’s gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

I’ve always loved this poem, although some of the stanzas are kind of sad. We have to wait until we’re old to allow free expression? Maybe it’s a holdover from exposure to hippies when I was at a vulnerable age, but that always seemed wrong somehow. What do you think?

It’s getting late here, let’s end with something happy before we give in to our need for sleep.

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Low Carb: Easy, Yummy, Cheap

Bet that last word caught your eye. It would certainly catch mine since there never seems to be enough money left at the end of the month. For a number of reasons, I mostly cook for myself, and I refuse to succumb to Easy, Cheap, and Processed.

One store bought chicken carcass, frozen; one home baked carcass, frozen

One store bought chicken carcass, frozen; one home baked carcass, frozen

I will buy those rotisserie chickens. Love them hot, love them added to other meals, but after awhile I have chicken left when I don’t much want to see it for a while. At this point I stuff it in the freezer. I do the same with any chicken I roast myself. Once I have three or four, I dig out my trusty large crock pot and stuff all those chickens in together. crock for a while on high. When you’ve sucked as much goodness out of those bones as you can, let it cool until you can take all the meat off the bones. Toss the bones, at this point there’s not much good left to get out of them. If you have dogs you might want to bundle them up in a bag and stuff them back into the refrigerator until trash day. Just in case.

At this point I start adding vegetables in huge quantities. Bok Choy, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Celery, Onions…if it’s in the refrigerator I add it in. Garlic too, of course as well as Parsley and any other herb that’s looking for a nice warm bath.

Cook a while longer. You might make the Low Carb Biscuits  I mentioned last month. Or you might have your own decadent biscuit or cornbread recipe. I like to make enough soup to freeze some for later and also share some with friends who don’t cook much. It’s all good.

And Cheap.

And Yummy.

Winter Sunset New Mexico

Winter Sunset New Mexico

 

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You’re Too Old…You’re Too Fat…You’re

Kristen Lamb shared an article advising women over thirty what they should not wear. Naturally she received a satisfying overload of responses and she has now set up a Pinterest page for awesome after fifty. Hold on let me see if I can find it. HERE is the blog.  Kristen’s Pinterest won’t let me find what I’m looking for…AKA it’s too full of awesome stuff!

Then an online dog magazine ran a nifty article about Agility and why some people think they can’t do it Agility Excuses Most of which is just piffle but excuses are easy, doing is hard. I should

Fire Dragon and Me. He's being good here!

Fire Dragon and Me. He’s being good here!

know I started Agility with my non-standard breed, when I was 63 and over my optimum weight. We even entered the Saluki National six months later. Didn’t do too well but we were there. And why the heck not? No one has the right to tell us we can’t do something. I would hope self preservation would kick in if we decided to start hiking by scaling Mt Hood. But that would be our decision.

Same for writing, doggonit. So what if you’re older than dirt and not published. SO WHAT if

You don't enter, you don't win

You don’t enter, you don’t win

you’ve been writing for forty years and never published? Have you submitted in the last couple of decades? If you don’t enter, you don’t win. This time I moaned and grumbled my way down to a show five hours away. I was at a mental low with my dogs and thinking it was a waste of time, money, and happiness. In a happy joining of luck, the judge, and a good dog, we had our first big win in, well, decades.

Then there’s the gentleman who started writing at 90. Yep, Ninety Years Old. And he’s published. And he’s still writing.

What about you?

Me, I’m rushing out the door in about two minutes to run Bouddicca around the Agility Drill. I’m a year older than when I started, not quite as fat but there’s padding to help if I trip and face plant.  I’ll let you know what happens.

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We Can All Be Winners

I  have huge blocks of insecure moments. I think we all do. It’s helped to remind myself most of my problems are truly “first world” and also to try to put things in perspective I remind myself of a song from long ago:

Now don’t we all want to be winners? Of course we do. Maybe not quite like this cowboy!

I’m working on winning this game of life gig. As a helpful guideline for all of us I’d like to share something from one of my fellow Your Turn Challenge bloggers Robin Estevez

“Got to Get” by Robin Estevez, @robinaestevez

I’ve got to put my kids to bed
I’ve got to get up early for work
I’ve got to walk the dog
I’ve got to take out the trash
I’ve got to fix this problem
I’ve got to help with my kids homework
I’ve got to go see mom & dad
I’ve got to make the call
I’ve got to to meet with the bank
I’ve got to write this post
I’ve got to…I’ve got to…I’ve got to…

What happens to your mindset when you change the “O” in “Got” to an “E” and make “Get?”

I get to put my kids to bed
I get to get up early for work
I get to walk the dog
I get to take out the trash
I get to fix this problem
I get to help with my kids homework
I get to go see mom & dad
I get to make the call
I get to meet with the bank
I get to write this post
I get to…I get to…I get to…

Change Got to Get…and we’re all winners.

Big skies, glorious sunsets

Big skies, glorious sunsets

 

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Exceeding Our Grasp

Honest, I have a lot of snow and Saluki pictures to share on this blog. I’ve been collecting them since…hmmm maybe the first of the year? Definitely since I took the Your Turn Challenge and blogged every day for a week. Along the way I met wonderful creative people who have urged me by their writings and their responses to grow and reach and try harder. If you’re a follower of Yoda to DO harder.

I’ve also made a connection with the classic poems and books I used to enjoy reading. When I read Elissa Joy Watts’ Reach For the Sky I knew I’d be putting off those pictures one more day.

My mind went immediately to ‘A man’s reach should exceed his grasp…’ but I had to use Google to identify the writer.

Robert Browning who also wrote: “Grow old along with me,” a bittersweet romantic poem for anyone who has lost their life partner. And I have a feeling I’ll be sharing more of his work. But for now, from that page referenced above:

Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp,
Or what’s a heaven for?”
Andrea del Sarto”, line 98.

Reach for the stars and beyond. If you fail, you have at least achieved the mountain top.

This area is near Willow Springs

This area is near Willow Springs

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