It’s not breakfast time yet, it’s 4 ish AM. I’m here at the bloggers’ helm with just a cup of salty coffee to keep me warm. I sit here in silence as I scroll through the photos I took the past week:
scrolling,
scrolling,
scrolling.
Can I count on it (my SD card) to have something brilliant to share?
It’s January…yes, indeed we have brilliant white snow. Just like clockwork as the first storm’s snow almost all melted, we got more snow…
4 – 5 more INCHES of SNOW!
I’ll hold my tongue about more snow on the unplowed driveway. I must say though, it does look better with a fresh coat of snow which filled many of the ruts. And it covered up these bunny tracks too. All fresh and bright white again.
I sure wish I could break the silence of holding my tongue about being stuck in the house during the winter months as I stare out the window all day instead of being able to walk outside in the yard to enjoy time in my Tea House. (streaming thoughts…and another run-on sentence!)
Oh, dear, snow, won’t you please melt?
There’s not much to see except for
white space,
white space,
white space.
But, then there are the birds to watch. The pecking order for feeding time has been established. The females must’ve agreed on who gets to perch and poop while the others get to eat.
They watch each other closely.
I’ll hold my tongue on how gross their feeding grounds are.
Yuck is right!
Mrs. Cardinal doesn’t seem to mind though…
When Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal come for breakfast, I wonder, do they chatter with each other after their meal or do they sit there in silence?
Does Mr. say to Mrs., “Hey, there’s another bright-looking guy over there, wanna go hang out in the tree with him?”
I wonder, do they argue about who gets the best spot as they hop around on the frosty tree branches?
Don’t they know cramps happen if you move too fast after eating? That’s when they sit still.
Ooo…hmm…to me that’s a cropable shot, whaddya think?
Anyhoo…other than the birds, on weekends, I like to read a book while Mr. preps meals. It keeps me out of his way in the kitchen.
This week, I’m onto book Three!
When Mr. arrives in the kitchen to cook, depending upon the time of day, it’ll cause Dessy to stir and appear. Unlike me, she’s not so interested in biscuits. These gorgeous, oops we don’t have parsley flakes, Copy Cat Cheddar Bay Biscuits are so dreamy.
For those interested…
Keto Copycat Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits
★★★★★
Biscuits & Bread, LowCarb/Keto
Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Servings: 9 biscuits Source: Kirbiecravings.com
After those were done baking, and I had read a few more chapters, Mr. reappeared and prepped the Amazing Low Carb Beef Stew. The secret ingredients are to use radishes and mushrooms instead of potatoes!
Amazing Low Carb Beef Stew
★★★★★
Beef, Instant Pot, LowCarb/Keto
Prep Time: 15 min Cook Time: 45 min Total Time: 1-hour Servings: 6 Source: Lowcarbmaven.com
While the stew cooked in the InstantPot, other thoughts heated up. I walked by the biscuits, casually looking for any broken-off pieces to snag, and Mr. says to me, “Want to share a biscuit while we wait?”
“Heck ya…I hope I can stop at just a half of one!”
The table was cleared, the dishes set, and that’s enough of an alarm clock for our furry supervisor to reappear. We can count on it for Dessy to remind our household that no matter what mealtime it is, be it
BREAKFAST,
MID-DAY SNACK,
OR DINNER,
It’s always late for her. She actually has lost a few pounds since Copper passed away.
Meanwhile, Mr. breaks the silence I hear in the room with, “Each click of your camera makes me shudder…we’re gonna need a bigger server!”
“Yes, dear, I know…but, I’ve been better this year about deleting bad shots.”
“Oh, yeah, really?”
I nod in silence…as I feel my mouth drool at the smell of the InstantPot releasing its steam. It’s hard to top Steak and Eggs for breakfast, but, this stew for dinner is SO delicious. We ate 3 servings…EACH! We fasted for 20 hours before eating a mid-day snack and then our dinner.
Breaking old habits is hard and sometimes feels impossible. Rather than focusing on breaking old habits create new ones and the old ones will slowly start to fade.
Unknown
We smiled at each other and cheered. “Congrats dear, we spent a 3-year pandemic learning how to eat a low-carb, healthy-fat diet, along with varying lengths of fasting.” We’re not fibbing when we say to anyone willing to listen, “We’ll never go back to a Standard American carb-loaded lifestyle.”
Thank goodness my fib about deleting photos is just a tiny fib. Trust, me, he knows, yes, he knows better. He also knows…my pile of tax prep papers remains unfinished. 😏 I did do some filing…I do better under pressure, the deadline is getting closer by the day. Thank goodness I’m not weak from undernourishment. 🤣
I can count on Mr. to keep me silent and happily satiated by presenting me with a rich and creamy Steak and Eggs to eat for breakfast one day, Amazing Low Carb Beef Stew for dinner another day, (plus many other delicious meals I haven’t photographed) all while I watch the snow fall and melt, the birds fly to and fro, and count the hours of impeccable timing of the appearance of Dessy’s Feed Me Stare. Speaking of that…she’s back!
Post Inspiration: Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Your prompt for #JusJoJan the 21st and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “count on it.” Use the phrase “count on it” somewhere in your post. Enjoy! And Terri Webster Schrandt’s Sunday Stills – January 22 Silence.
PS – What did you learn new during the past three years to improve your health? What book(s) are you currently reading? What tasks are you working on that you find fun to avoid instead of complete? Have you ever tried radishes in your stew instead of potatoes?
Yep, your server is going down soon, Shelley, LOL! If you have this many in your post I wonder how many you have lurking? I get it that’s why I use dropbox premium. Great post! Your broke your silence, LOL We also got another 2 inches of snow. I was so happy to see dirt and asphalt and now… Your snow shots speak of silence and January’s cold days that keep us inside. I would love to eat fewer carbs, but I love carbs so I make it work!
LOL – yeah, I hear the server is needing to either purge or grow. I’m guessing grow will be the reason he’ll go shopping for an upgrade.
Thanks for your encouragement. I’m looking forward to seeing dirt and asphalt. The snow this winter seems to be hanging on for dear life.
My hubby’s famous last words in Jan of 2020 was, “I’ll never give up my carbs.” I think it’s been fun for us to discover life without them and not miss them at all. But…I respect everyone’s own food dishes & wishes :-)!
Radishes in stew? Blow my mind. Ah the cat stare. Ours are never ever silent at feeding time but they only get food once a day so they just meow non stop when we go out to the garage to feed them. Great take on silence! Bernie
Hi Bernie, thanks for sharing your thoughts!
The radishes have the cooked texture of potatoes and take on the taste of the stew.
I can just hear your cats meowing. Our cats would definitely protest having only a once a day feeding.
Happy writing to you! I hope you have a great week.
Ooooh, I love seeing that book in the wild like this! I hope you’re enjoying it. Dessy doesn’t look like she want’s to be awake. Does she pay attention to the birds? (love those photos) The snow looks great from here. We haven’t had any snow since mid-December. We’ve had lots of rain, but it hasn’t been cold enough for snow. I should be a little angry with you for mentioning steak and eggs – I love steak and eggs! But you were kind enough to mention my book, so, I’ll just say I hope you enjoyed that meal.
Yay, Dan, I’m happy to share the photos of your books as I’m reading them. I’m enjoying this one too. I had to start reading it right after the 2nd book to see what happened next.
Dessy can look sleepy or starving as she would say. Yes, she watches the birds and the rabbits. She makes cute sounds as she bobs and weaves and shakes her tail.
I’ll gladly send you some snow 🙂 ❄🧊🥶⛄ You can send back a clean driveway 😉
Steak and Eggs for breakfast is one of our favorite meals!! We definitely enjoyed it.
I like the photos of a very determined cat. We had a cat who knew the sound of the cottage cheese carton and would appear out of nowhere if you even moved the carton an inch inside the fridge. You sound like you’re enjoying your low carb lifestyle. I couldn’t do that, but if’n it works for you have at it.
Thanks, Ally – I think Dessy has that same keen sense of cartons or food cans moving. I admire her perseverance.
Thanks, we do enjoy the low-carb lifestyle. I’m happy to see anyone enjoying their nourishment sources as long as it doesn’t foster frequent trips down the fast food lines or daily doses of donuts! 😉
She really has lost weight, I wonder why? I love your kitchen countertop, the design is beautiful! I wish I could cook like your husband does, Shelley! 👍🏻
Yes, Dessy was snacking at night and during the day on Copper’s food. Plus, I was so busy taking care of him, I wasn’t noticing how many servings of food Dessy was eating, and how many times she ate her sister’s food. She feels much better and is able to jump up on surfaces she hadn’t been able to back then. She’s like a younger, happier, cat now.
Thanks – we love the countertop too.
What? But, you cook for yourself all the time. As Mr. always says, if you can follow a recipe, you can cook like him. Try that stew recipe, I bet you could make it in your crockpot just like you do with your chili!
Maybe I will try the recipe! That explains her weight issue, wow. Such a little piggy! A cute piggy. I make different foods and also use some frozen dinners here no there like my 94 year old dad. ☺️
Yes, I think you’ll like the stew! Oh, yes, she was topping out at over 14#s. That’s a lot for a piggy cat.
That’s good you get a variety of foods. I remember those frozen dinners growing up. I always loved the corner with the cherry pie. 😂😊
Yes, me too! Cherry pie is so good! I remember the trays were stamped aluminium. 14 pounds is a bit much for a domestic cat.
Yes, Yes, and Yes!! 😁🥰
What beautiful pics of the frost-covered branches and cardinals–and of course Dessy, keeping warm and cosy inside! I made some stew recently–in my new Ninja Foodi XL, which I really like!–and used rutabaga instead of potatoes and that was really yummy. We still have a couple rutabaga left from our farm box in the fall–that and some weird squash I don’t know what to do with. Thank goodness for the internet and recipes from friends! Hope you have a wonderful Sunday, Shelley!
Hi Rebecca, thank you!! I love that kind of frost on the trees. It doesn’t seem to deter the birds. Dessy is curled up in a cozy napping spot, bird-watching wore her out.
We don’t have one of those Ninja Foodi XLs. We do have some kind of miracle air fryer though – Mr. uses it a lot and for that I’m thankful!
Yes, rutabagas instead of potatoes works too. They’re a great source of potassium. My youngest gets a food co-op box all spring and summer, they’ve tried so many interesting veggies along the way. She’s mentioned weird squash too. I think the place they get from sends recipes along with the box? Don’t hold me to that, but I think it’s the case.
I hope you’re having a wonderful Sunday too!
I hate being up that early but the pictures look absolutely delicious. There’s nothing I love more than farm fresh eggs over a bagel with a little bit of cheese. I don’t know what it is about the simplicity but it’s total comfort breakfast food!
Hi LaShell, thanks for sharing your thoughts. So…as a farmer, you don’t like getting up that early, that’s fascinating! I thought early to rise is a prerequisite? 🤔 😂
We have eggs for breakfast pretty much every day. So I would LOVE to have farm fresh eggs, but we don’t want to own chickens. Our yard is so out in the open I think they’d be prey to too many predators.
When we’re hankering for a breakfast sandwich, my hubby makes a chaffle sandwich with a slice of ham or sausage, fried egg, and cheese. My mouth is watering thinking about it…! Breakfast sandwiches are total comfort food for sure.
I am not a morning person no 😅. I have a smaller farm than people who grow veggies and stuff. You don’t need to be up at dawn for flowers 😜 and my donkey and horse don’t care so long as they get food sometime in the morning. Breakfast sandwiches on bagela are my absolute favorite. I’m a vegetarian (for health reasons. I have a kidney disease.) So I don’t eat meat (but I do eat eggs). However I raise meat for my husband. We’re hoping to branch into raising cows soon
Ah, thanks for the clarification – I’m new to following your blog.
I’m glad to read you’ve found a way of eating that has helped you. I’m guessing our diet & foodie photos make you want to scream 😆 Based upon my research the absence of sugar/refined is likely what has helped us both do better diet/healthwise. Eggs are superfood, so it’s great that you have a farm fresh source.
Yay for cows too, that’ll be nice for your husband’s diet wishes! We have some friends that have a small hobby farm that raise cows. They’re thankful for being able to provide food for themselves throughout the winter months. 🥰
I’m over weight now. I was extremely thin when I was struggling with my health but I have the complete opposite problem at this moment in my life. It’s actually really hard for me to lose weight. Because of that I enjoy blogs with healthy eating advice. It’s hard not to enjoy food when you couldn’t have it for 9 years ya know?! 😬 I love our little farm in the mountains. I enjoy raising meat for my husband and food for my family but cut flower farming is where my heart is. It’s a different kind of joy. One that I can share with others. I’m hopeful that this year I’ll have arrangements to deliver to nursing homes and hospitals for free. It’s like bringing sunshine into lives that feel full of stress and hopelessness.
Aw, LaShelle, I’m sorry to read about your struggling health. If you’re open to learning more, may I suggest a few places to learn about how to adjust your metabolic health? If not, I understand, I’ll wait to hear back from you. My husband and I went through lots of experimentation the past 3 years. I’m happy to report that he was able to lose weight, maintain it, and get off all of his medications as a result of how we changed our eating and also due to intermittent and longer fasting.
I would LOVE to have so many flowers that I could cut some and share them. I have a terrible problem with rabbits and deer now that my little dog hasn’t been around for over a year. His markings around the yard used to keep the critters away so now my flowers don’t grow so much. I’ll have to enjoy flowers through your blog until I can figure out a solution!
That is so wonderful of you to think of the nursing homes and hospitals. Flowers do brighten their day. I’ve been working in healthcare the past 3 decades. It’s the small joys that make the biggest difference!
Thanks Shelley! Since you worked in healthcare you probably know what Gastroparesis is then ❣️ I have that, Polycystic Kidney Disease, and a possible autoimmune disease (though they can’t seem to figure it all out). I’m really really careful about everything I eat. I’m also a vegetarian ☺️. You’re free to send all the information. Sometimes things work well with me and sometimes they will hospitalize me. I just use my best judgement. That’s incredible news about your husband though! He must be elated to have a woman with your knowledge on his team rooting for him.
I have a big field full of flowers ☺️. I’m working on selling them too. Spring is (as you can only imagine) very busy here and since we’re only about 54 days away from it… I’m ordering ALL the important seeds and bulbs to get the ball rolling. It’s very rewarding. We’re also building my greenhouse this year!
As for your garden… Tractor supply (if you live here in the states) sells animal pee to help keep critters away from gardens. I highly recommend using them 💞💐 they should help save your flowers 🙂
Hi LaShelle,
First off…OMG…they sell animal pee! I will so look into that…! THANK YOU!!!
Next, your flower garden plans sound so beautiful. I’m inspired by the joy your words describe.
Last…long reply, sorry…
Yes, I’m aware of those diseases. I’m so sorry, 🤗 the complications of having those to deal with has to be frustrating. Way to keep persevering. I’m not one to give any medical advice, so please do your own research.
Do go at it with an open mind though, there are MANY sources out there that challenge the standard doctoring recommendations that foster and support the consumption of any form sugar in the diet that only feeds the inflammation and the diseases thrive & continue in that environment. It’s quite maddening to me that the diet they recommend isn’t a gut-healing diet, just a bland diet. I’m sure you’ve tried many things and I’m glad to read you know what to stay away from to keep you out of the hospital. I’ve learned that the worst food for us is the donut, so think about what is in a donut and don’t eat a diet like that. Fat + a processed starch is evil IMHO. Before we started this diet, I was having GERD issues. I thought no way in hell would I be able to eat meat again. Not the case, in fact, it’s quite the opposite for me. Those symptoms have gone away completely. (but…I don’t have the conditions you have, so no claim to be right, just claim to question the narrative especially when I know sugar is a culprit!)
I have a friend who has an autoimmune disease and she has tried every diet to reverse it. It’s hard stuff to stick with a diet for long enough to see the results…90 days is needed for things like BBBE diet to do the reset needed. Other doctors suggest the intermittent fasting. A 72 hour fast is a great way to kickstart improving gut health through autophagy. You have to build up to that though. If you’re gaining weight on eating small frequent meals, it’s the sugar in the breads, crackers, rice, etc., that is the culprit. Our bodies use glucose well, but when there is too much glucose floating around in the system, insulin spikes and it is stored as fat. Simple as that. Keep trying, keep hoping, and you will persevere. And…be willing to say to yourself, “What if what I’ve been told isn’t true…what if there is an answer out there that is the opposite?”
(Sources to look into for more thoughts to process and help you research: Robert Lustig, M.D.; Ken Berry, MD; Dr. Cindy Peltz; Christopher M. Palmer, MD; Dr. Annette Bozworth, MD, and Sally K Norton – about the horrors of oxalates in so called super-foods).
While Mr. and I have found a diet that has reversed his cardiac and insulin-resistant path, I know not everyone can do that. Or wants to because, after all, we have been told for decades that the food pyramid is right.
What if it really should be flipped?
There are people who swear by the 100% plant-based route, there are people who swear by the 100% lion diet (which by the way is the one that has healed so many people with extreme gut & immune issues – look up Mikhiala Peterson), there are people who swear by the prescription keto diet, and there are people like Mr. and I that have found a diet that works for us that is a combination of the keto and ketovoir diets. And, yet, we’re still learning. Some days it works better for him, some days it works better for me. The bottom line is any source of processed sugar, seed oils, and flours/foods (all of which they recommend on the diet for your conditions) are highly inflammatory. A reset of the gut biome sometimes is very helpful.
Sorry for the long-winded reply…my heart goes out to people who struggle with their health! Hugs and prayers to you, your family, and your farm life that brings you joy!!
That’s really great that a keto diet works well for you guys. It is not recommended for people with polycystic kidney disease. The reason why the gastroparesis diet is the way it is doesn’t have anything to do with bland foods but has everything to do with not eating food that has a ton of fiber in it. And the reason for that is because it causes such severe abdominal pain that it makes you wish you were dead. So foods like red meat and other things such as fresh fruits and vegetables, if you eat those and you have gastroparesis your body will punish you with severe abdominal pain, food masses, and a lot of other problems such as vomiting on a daily basis, malnutrition, dehydration, and so much more. Polycystic kidney disease actually gets worse with red meat because of the fact that red meat and animal protein increases disease progression and cyst growth. You can’t live without your kidneys. Polycystic kidney disease affects both kidneys which I’m sure you know, and as the disease progresses you will end up needing a transplant. So those are the reasons why those particular diets require people to eat differently. On the flip side of that I was born and raised a vegetarian and knowing how to eat properly to get around my illnesses actually saved my life. At one point my lowest weight was 64 lb and I almost died. I now weigh something around 165 which is too much for my height and that’s probably because once I started feeling better and I was able to eat, after starving for 9 years my body really started to enjoy and crave food again. It’s now difficult to get the weight off even though I am doing better. Again I still can’t do things like keto and less sugar and less processed sugar is very helpful but if I’m not very careful with gastroparesis I will throw myself back into it and I will suddenly not be able to eat again for several weeks. I don’t know if you recall what having the stomach flu is like but it’s a lot like having gastroparesis. The only difference is gastroparesis last longer. To say that it causes severe loss of quality of life would be an understatement. Picture this: you’re really hungry so you grab a banana or some carrots or whatever your favorite healthy snack is… You eat it and suddenly it feels as if you’re being kicked in the abdomen over and over again. You can’t stop throwing up, you spend the next several days sipping water and trying to recover. You get weaker, you’re still hungry but you’re not quite sure if you should try again. You decide to try to push through it and eat something else… The system repeats itself. I’ve gotten sick from sipping plain tea with no sugar. My brother had to pick me up and carry me to the car because it happened in a public place. It doesn’t always matter what you eat or drink, if there’s fiber in it even a tea leaf by accident… You’ll wish you’d never been born. So going vegan or being vegetarian helped me a lot because it gave me options to get creative when there were no other options available. That being said I didn’t get better until I got pregnant, eating a salad would have put me in the hospital (and it did, so many times). I’m glad I’m better than I was because being bedridden is a horrible way to live don’t you think?
Absolutely – being bedridden is a horrible way to live. I don’t wish that on anyone.
Oh, my, thank you for sharing your thoughts. I’m sorry if I offended you in anyway, it was absolutely not my intent. As I said, you’ve been through so much and it is heartwarming to know that you’ve discovered what works for you. What our bodies do and their finding out what is needed to do to sustain health/life is amazing. You knowing what works for you is the best thing for you.
Out of my own curiosity, don’t answer if you don’t want to…if if it is fiber that causes so much chaos, then how does a vegan diet work? (Showing you that I can’t eat lots of veggies, they don’t sit well in my stomach hand). That’s fascinating to me that a diet, I assume, full of veggies with fiber is a solution. Aren’t vegetables and nuts full of fiber? Your comment about being better when you got pregnant is interesting too…my friend with the autoimmune disease had the same experience – she was tons better each time (4) she was pregnant. Did you figure out why that was the case?
Again, LaShelle, as I said, I didn’t intend to offend if that’s what happened. I wish you much health and happiness and freedom from pain and suffering.
You didn’t offend me at all ❤️ I’m glad I was able to educate someone because unless you’re going through it yourself… You really don’t know how bad it can be.
As for how a vegetarian diet works with gastroparesis… I learned to trying juicing with a fresh juicer where I strained all the pulp out. I learned to basically over cook my veggies and puree them until I could eat them and I also learned that eating highly processed foods was often preferable to starvation (so things like potatoes, baby food, bread, things that had been cooked multiple times). Again eating meat wouldn’t have helped at all because meat is full of fiber and it would significantly increase my risk of kidney failure. So being raised vegetarian… I knew how to get creative with my food so I could eat it and I was able to have things like tofu which was high in protein but low in fiber too. So I basically found ways to remove the fiber from everything I ate but kept as much nutritional value as possible 🙂 and THAT kept me off of a feeding tube and TPN. I’ll pull up a blog I wrote about what happened to me and share it with you. I think you’ll love it!
Did you know that babies send stem cells to their mothers to repair nerve and tissue damage within the mother? That’s often why women get better after pregnancy ☺️❤️ true fact, 💯 true… Feel free to Google it! It’s absolutely incredible. It doesn’t work for everyone but it worked for me.
Hi LaShelle, I’m thankful that you weren’t offended and that you’ve provided clarification on what you’ve done to persevere in finding ways to nourish your body with food it won’t reject or put you in the hospital! It’s excellent news too that you don’t need a feeding tube or TPN! I’m glad that two people like ourselves can talk about these topics openly – as we are obviously on the opposite spectrums when it comes to the food we eat. People aren’t all the same and I believe we benefit when we pay attention and listen to our bodies.
Thank you for sharing the blog post too, I had to rescue the link from my pending folder.
Yes, yes, yes, those stem cells are incredibly wonderful!! I’m so happy they worked for you too 🥰😍🤗
I couldn’t agree more! 🥰 Excited to be a new friend and follower of yours. I love learning about food and health tricks. I take what works for me and I leave the rest 💖. The stem cell thing is extremely cool 😎 I learned about it from my doctor’s at Mayo clinic
Yes, ditto here, and same to you!! 😍🥰🤗
I was talking to my friend who is a health coach and thought of you – she said, “Each person is unique, there is so much information out there, not all of it works for everyone, you must find what works for your own body!”
A tiny baby full of such power is truly amazing!! 🥰
That’s so true Shelley!!
http://everpineforestandfarm.com/2022/08/16/the-zebra-farmer/ here’s the blog post I was talking about. It has a lot of things in it that I didn’t tell you and it’s the story of how I got sick in the first place ☺️❤️ you’ll LOVE it.
Thank you for sharing!!! A truly amazing story!!! 🤗😍🥰🤗
I’m glad you liked it!
Yes, I did. I’m glad you shared the link, it definitely helps paint a bigger picture of what you’ve gone through. 🤗
I’m so glad 😊
Snow, wonderful birds, despondent cat and food all before my breakfast. I really couldn’t cook a steak for breakfast but I am quite hungry now 🙂
Hi Brian! Glad we could help foster your breakfast hunger. Dessy has that effect on people. I hope you had something delicious to enjoy for breakfast. 😁🤤
Your pictures of the birds in the trees are lovely. Snow is so beautiful but I can tell that you’ve had enough for now. I imagine the little animals would just as soon have less snow too.
Those cheddar bay biscuits look yummy. I may try the recipe myself 🙂
Hi Janis! Yes, we’re so done with snow this year. Unfortunately, the snow season isn’t done for us. Now we’ll head into the frigid temps, you know, to really freeze the snow in place. 🥶🧊🥶🧊🥶 Yes, the little critters have been sticking close to their shelters. The bunnies come out once or twice a day hoping to see a groundhog. 😂
I hope you enjoy the biscuits…we were surprised the first time Mr. made them how much they tasted like Red Lobster’s version. 🙂
The stew sounds delicious! And I enjoyed your lovely snow photos! …I would have a hard time staying indoors too. Is there any way you can a walk out in the snow? Can you drive on the roads to anywhere? I think I’d get a bit of “cabin fever.” 😊
Hi Lisa! Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed the photos.
Yes, we walk almost everyday. Thank goodness because I would definitely have cabin fever!! It’s a workout for us to put on all the layers we wear and the heavy winter boots help give us an extra workout. We don’t walk when it’s snowing/raining as the cars flying by tend to make for a messy outcome. One of these years we should get snow-shoes so we can hike on the trails in the woods. The snowmobiles have taken over that though, so we’re good on the roads. 😊
That makes me happy to hear! I have been walking in early mornings, and I also bundle up. But I get warmed up pretty quickly. I bet it is absolutely beautiful out walking in the snow. Especially fresh snow!! I would have to take a gazillion photos! 😁
Yes, unless it’s heavy snowing or raining or way below zero, we walk.
It is beautiful, and quite magical when the trees have fresh snow on them. But I never bring my camera…oops! LOL!
I think I’m addicted to my camera! 😂
That’s a healthy addiction!!!!
It would take just the tiniest heater, a blanket, and a pot of tea to make the Tea House a great snow retreat. I’d be out there writing, birdwatching, and shooting photos through those windows!
In the past three years I have learned the value of sleep for brain health, and I have learned to eat more naturally. That is to say I eat when I am hungry and do not regard the clock about it. I eat throughout the day, and not necessarily meals. A toasted English muffin or a bowl of raisin bran will satisfy me any time.
I’m currently reading Robinson Crusoe, the classic by Daniel DeFoe. It contains one of the best passages I have ever read, which I quote often, and helped shaped my life view immensely.
Tasks I’m “working on” but tend to avoid: shampooing carpets, organizing my art supplies, sealing windows against the cold.
I have not tried substituting radishes for potatoes.
Being of Irish heritage, the lowly potato is our manna.
Take care and keep in touch,
Paz
Hi Paz, I’ve thought often about that for a winter retreat. I shy away from the idea because the snow is so deep and I’d have to shovel my way there. But, as soon as the snow melts, I will be out there enjoying the change of seasons.
Yes, brain health is tied to sleep. It’s a good thing to focus on for sure. Have you read Brain Energy by Christopher M. Palmer, MD. It’s a fascinating book.
I agree, only eat when you’re hungry instead of by the clock. Intermittent fasting is great for the brain too.
Gone are the days where we feed ourselves any form of heavily-processed grains or high-glycemic fruits. We don’t miss them. We do enjoy a few raspberries in our Greek yogurt, though. Especially when the raspberries are in season. In the summer, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, are fresh here.
I think our heritage has a lot to do with what we eat. My mom and grandmother made great potato recipes – Lefsa was one of my favorites. I still sneak a piece of it in my diet during the holidays. 😊
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. You take care too and happy writing to you!
Supprimer définitivement les aliments à la source d’hydrate de carbone est difficile certains jours. Sans pain, pizza, pâtes, riz, semoules, pomme de terre, patate douce, flageolet, lentille … il faut jongler avec les légumes pour trouver de l’onctuosité. Le chou-fleur est une bonne alternative. Ainsi, j’ai inventé une purée chou-fleur/ chou vert frisé délicieuse. Limiter les fruits à 2 par jour , je n’y arrive pas. Maintenant, les légumes, poissons, viandes blanches , oeufs, fromages et lait de brebis et chèvre sont les principaux ingrédients de mes repas. Je m’y contraint facilement. Mais, il faut avoir du temps pour cuisiner.
Mon seul écart sont les flocons de sarrasin au petit déjeuner.
J’oubliais ni cacahouètes, ni alcool, ni sucre, ni beurre, ni crème mais des huiles bio de colza , olive et des fruits à coques: noix, noisettes, amandes etc…
Translation: I forgot no peanuts, no alcohol, no sugar, no butter, no cream but organic oils of rapeseed, olive and nuts: walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds etc…
Yes, to no sugar and no seed oils – a must on our diet. We only eat macadamia nuts on a rare occasion. We get the almonds when we use the almond flour, although, I’m sure not the same as the real deal. I’m always afraid of breaking a tooth on an almond…😜
La dentiste m’a conseillé d’arrêter les noisettes.🐿️
Aw, that’s a wise dentist, hazelnuts can be tough on teeth!! 😂 Have you ground them into a butter?
I grind them in a mortar with a wooden pestle. Walnuts and hazelnuts taste Great in salad.
Ah, that makes sense. Yes, the nutty taste is so fun!! 😋
Je m’y contrains
Ah, yes, it’s important to be committed to our diet choices 🙂
Hi Anne! Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
At first we missed the carbs that we seriously loved, but not anymore – the cravings are all gone which makes it easier to not miss them. No grains either, way too many chemicals and genetic modifications for us to appreciate eating them anymore. I used to love oatmeal for breakfast – come to find out it’s one of the worst for being highly processed. We have made an alternative with chia & flax. As a result, we probably eat may 20-30 carbs per day. We have discovered alternatives for all those things you listed. Almond and coconut flour works just fine when we’re hankering for a chaffle or something that resembles bread. Ground chicken is a wonderful replacement for pizza crust. Cauliflower is too. We only eat raspberries, blackberries, blueberries or strawberries in the summer when they’re fresh. We had a very filling dish last night with cabbage and tomatoes mixed in with the wagyu beef.
Yay for fish, eggs, and cheeses, and I wish we had some sheep’s/goat’s milk sources. We do like goatmilk cheese in our omelettes. We enjoy pork & chicken too. I wish I liked lamb, but haven’t quite found the taste as appealing as other meats.
In all of our experimenting with the way we’re eating, along with the research we’ve done, it seems to pair down to the most important thing about any diet is to reduce/eliminate as much as possible refined sugar and seed oils. They are both highly inflammatory.
🙂 I agree raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and strawberries are great fruits but
unhealthy fats oils naturally rich in polyunsaturated fats (that generate a big amount of free radicals creating chaotic reactions and damage cells): Canola oil, Corn oil, Cottonseed oil, Grapeseed oil, Rice bran oil, Safflower oil, Sunflower oil…
Better oils that protect the body respecting the balance between omega 3 and omega 6″: Olive oil, Macadamia oil, Soy oil, (adding expensive ones: Walnut, Camelina, Hemp),
ending with bitter Walnut oil, eaten only raw: your brain’s ally.
Ending with no red meat for me because often fatty greater than 15% lipids: Lamb, Mutton, Beef, Pork.
Hi Anne!
YES – I agree wholeheartedly about the oils. Even soy is bad here in the US. I’ve never tried walnut oil. 🤷🏻♀️ I think your country has more strict rules about the processing of oils if I’m not mistaken? Our processed oils are very toxic IMHO.
We love to switch up our meats during the week, but do include red meats, they’re among our favorites. But…last night was wonderful pork with a side of stewed cabbage. Yum.
Sure, ici il faut choisir du soja non transgénique et issu de l’agriculture bio.
Atteindre le poids idéal pour diminuer les risques sur ma santé reste mon challenge actuellement. Faire un écart est trop culpabilisant.
Ah, yes, we choose organic too as much as possible. It’s quite sad that the stamp of Organic can be skewed by some of the lower standards in the FDA.
For some reason, (I’d like to say it’s our diet), I’ve been able to maintain the weight my body just seems to want to be at. I fluctuate a pound or two either way. After a 20 hour fast the next day I’m right back where it wants to be. Have you tried intermittent fasting? Before we started eating as we do now, we tried the 5:2 fasting plan. It worked too. So many tricks out there…it’s hard to find what works best until you stumble upon something that clicks with your own body! Truly fascinating to me.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts – I always enjoy hearing from you!!!
the endocrine effects of soy make me prefer rapeseed.
Wise choice!!
Hi Shelley, I love your little tea house….and all your birds…how fun. I love the snow too. We rarely see it in our neck of the PNW, so when it does snow, I get excited. I love the cardinals in the tree. So beautiful. We do not have them here and I wish we did. I love a good beef stew. YUM!!!
Hi Kirstin, thank you so much for stopping by and for sharing your thoughts.
I’m glad to have brightened your day with the photos of snow. This morning, after the previous day and night, we have MORE snow…I’d love to send some your way ;-)!
Our house and yard has been enveloped (like in your blog post) in the white snow for the time being. 🥶🧊🥶
(Hmm – I could not post on the actual blog, so I came back here.) Dessy is slim as a willow – maybe I’ll try cat food as it gets closer to bikini, er … shorts season. All of your snacks and meals always look so delicious and the steak and eggs had me salivating, and the stew, then the cheese biscuits made me want to reach into the screen. Winter, a time to eat hardy food, stews, soups, biscuits – yum. I was just telling another blogger how my mom made big pots of homemade soup every winter – we had some tall Tupperware or Rubbermaid containers to put them in, so we didn’t eat the same soup every night for days but they were so good and she always made hot biscuits or hot garlic bread to go with them. I like your story with Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal – yes eating but apart, must’ve had a little spat before breakfast. 🙂 They are such beautiful birds. It must be awful looking at the Tea House looking so forlorn out in the yard with all the snow. The 7:00 p.m. news said we had blizzard-like conditions in Downtown Detroit, just 13 miles from me and Wunderground gave a warning about squalls and a quick coating of an inch or two – ugh.
Hmm…that’s weird about not being able to comment on the blog? WP is weird!
Yes, soups, stews, biscuits, and steak and eggs are keeping us cozy and full.
The birds are kind of freaking out with all the snow, they are mighty thankful for the bird seed. We see up to 50 or more birds flying around the yard at feeding time. That’s when Dessy burns off so many calories. She’s so playful now that she can jump and run without all the extra weight.
OH NO…that sounds like a yucky storm!! I hope you were spared from the worst of it.
I don’t understand it at all Shelley – now, I have switched to Firefox browser this week – I wonder if that’s the issue. A fellow blogger mentioned a prior post she did about an owl and mentioned the blog post title, so I went on to her site to search for it and it did not show I followed it. For you, I just back arrowed and commented there, but I generally comment on your actual site.
That’s great that Dessy is like a new cat. We should be that lucky after paring off a few pounds. 🙂
I used to buy the Birdola bird blocks for the backyard birds for a treat. I only gave it to them once a month as it was gone in a day. I didn’t take photos then, more photos of the butterflies, but it had a hook and I hung it on a shepherd’s hook where the squirrel couldn’t get to it. My mom would look out her back bedroom window and saw birds on the block or politely waiting their turn on the fence. 🙂
It’s hard telling what is happening. I do know that sometimes I’m kicked out and have to relog into my blog and those times seem to coincide with issues on comments. Or I could be dreaming of the connections! 🤣
Yes, Dessy is a happier cat now that’s she’s trimmed down.
With the potential of bear visiting our yard, we stick to just bird seed. Our neighbors put out suet though, so maybe we could try that. The one squirrel that visited seems to have moved on. The shepherd’s hook is a good idea as long as the deer can’t get to it when it comes to our yard.
What is with all the idiosyncrasies with WordPress sometimes? There is probably a connection. I had no trouble doing the comment in Reader, but no on your blog – makes no sense at all.
One of the radio meteorologists I hear lives in Pennsylvania, not in a rural area and put up a hummingbird feeder, one of the tall ones. He has a surveillance camera out front and saw a bear going up to the feeder, tipping it up and drinking from it. He saw it a couple of days in a row and decided he’d better call animal control who tranquilized it and took it to a rural area and released it when the tranquilizer wore off.
I’ve given up understanding WP beyond what I can do in a post once a week. 🤣
I wish my dad had some technology to capture all the bear and deer that visit his yard. He had to take down all of his hummingbird feeders too since that’s what the bear would do too. They can be menacing when they’re hungry.
WP boggles my mind sometimes. 🙂
How about a trail cam for your dad? I think you had one in your yard a few years ago – I remember the deer with the “deer-in-the-headlights look” – I follow two bloggers, one a wildlife photographer in British Columbia and the other is a shore bird enthusiast in the UK and both use trail cameras, especially Andy who sets up trail cams and gets a lot of deer, raccoons too! They just take the card out of the trail cam and check it out on the computer.
Me too!
He does have a trail cam, but no computer. My brother grabs the SD card and brings it to his computer to see what he’s captured. It’s not quite as fun for my dad as it is to us who have computers.
That’s cool that Andy gets lots of fun photos!
I thought I remembered your trail cams and the deer with the glow-in-the-dark eyes. Andy gets a lot of fox and raccoons too!
🥰😊