The sun is done...

All finished, it seemed easy but .... the eyes and the mouth are off center ... but Mia likes it and that's all that matters in the end. It was a fun little crochet project.

.... she's 3

 

 

... and it's time to party...

Stich and bitch ....

Last night I got together, after a much too long absence, with some dear, dear fellow stichers...and one new sticher, Slim, a very fine musician and songwriter. He wants to recycle some commercial grade black plastic and burlap sack into new chaps ... yup chaps!

Suzy is knitting and felting a table runner, she is well on her way, don't you love big needles and big yarn? She picked up the yarn at a yarn swap which I missed. The yarn smells musty which is the reason why she will felt this otherwise beautiful wool.

Diane is in need of a new touque and is knitting one in the round.

 

In addition to these cute pot holders I'm crocheting a stuffed sun toy for my granddaughter...she turns the cloudiest and darkest day sunny. So far I have the sun rays finished and have started the body, the pattern is here ... http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/smiling-sun

The night was great fun but Slim thought there would be way more bitching...well maybe next time!

...not thinking only of food

I do have other interests besides food...

I started reading War and Peace ...

I've been sewing like mad...

I've been crocheting ...

I learned how to knit cables ...

I'm debating growing veggies this year, the seed catalogs are starting to come in  ...

... and now I'm back to food! I'll be updating the menu at my restaurant Magpie's Diner but before I can do that I'll have to test some recipes. Sooo tonight will be sloppy joe night made with local ground lamb and first time ever for me a gastrique ... fancy I know! My son and his family together with Art will be my testers and if it gets two thumbs up it just might up it to the the menu!

Sugar...

...the white stuff. The refined bad for you stuff...today I crave it. I want chocolate bars, I want to eat that box of Turtles from Christmas. I want to eat those butter tarts in the crinkly Christmassy cellophane bags tied with red and green ribbons. I wonder if I will always struggle with this or if the cravings fade over time?

I've eaten some dried apricots to help with the sugar cravings meh! It's ok but I would guess it's like a smoker trying to quit by smoking but not inhaling, not sure how well that would work.

Oh well, it is what it is. If I want to reduce my cholesterol level, loose some weight, get some energy, and lower my "on the high side of normal" blood pressure then I gotta stick with this, I truly believe my life depends on it.

Looking forward to tomorrow ... looks like I have some kale to cook up.

What's missing?

I'm liking this new diet but for one thing ... the missing fat! Somehow the butter and the oil smooths out the food, makes my mouth feel somewhat silky! I'm getting some fat from nuts but it's not quite the same. This doesn't mean that I'm quitting ... quite the opposite. I feel good and not counting calories feels really good and eating whenever I'm hungry is a real treat.

Today I ate:

-1 slice of whole grain bread with tomato slices and pea shoots
-2 slices of whole grain bread with mustard, field greens and tomato slices
-1 banana
-2 oranges
-2 handfuls of trail mix
-3 slices of soya cheese and 10 rice and seed crackers
-1 cup of all bran with one cup of chocolate almond milk ... I know chocolate ... it tasted like dessert
-3 cups of root veggies (potatoes, yams and carrots) roasted with garlic, herbs and 1 tbs of olive oil.
-1 large green salad topped with ground flax seeds, tomatoes and yellow pepper

Seems like a lot of food ... well it was and I feel satisfied and I don't feel guilty, aah life is good!

On my way to a healthy new me....

Forget New Year's ... I'm going to change today! Big words I know. How did I get here? That's a two sided question. How did I let myself get so fat, so out of shape, so UNHEALTHY, that's one question and the other ...how did I decide adopting a veganish way of living was the way to go. Please note the word "veganish" ... I will explain in later posts.

A little while back I watched Forks over Knives documentary and it just made sense to me. Basically it talks about a healthy all plant, whole food diet. Lots of tests to back it all up. I urge you to watch the film. So starting today I'm giving up any food that has a mom and dad, be it meat or liquid.

I will try to document best I can the ups and downs of this new dietary journey very honestly. Today was easy ... but then I am excited about this new thing in my life and I just went out and bought a ton of fruits, veggies, nuts, soy milk and soy cheese ... my mind is turning and spinning at the prospect of cooking in a new way.

So far I have eaten:
- two slices of whole grain toasted bread, one slice with peanut butter and the other with sliced tomato and pea shoots.
- 3 cups of black coffee
- 1 banana
- 10 organic whole grain crackers with 3 slices of soy cheddar like cheese
- 2 glasses of red wine
- green salad with about 1/3 cup of trail mix, 1 diced tomato, 1/4 cup of ground flax seeds and 1 tbs of balsamic vinaigrette
- 2 cups of chick peas with about 5 cups of diced red pepper, eggplant, yellow and green zucchini, onion, garlic and diced tomatoes.
-1 apple
- a handful of pitted prunes and dried apricots
- green tea

Looks good doesn't it?

More tomorrow!