Nippy November

[SnoopyC]

Good morning...

Lav, anger is part of the grief process, but I hope they don't stay stuck in it. Take care of yourself.

Hi Cyn and Dill, have a good Wednesday. Have to go to work and had a hard time accessing this site today. Weird.

[treegirl]

Morning all -

Lav, so glad the kids came over for some distraction. I second the thought about each day being precious. One good thing about girl dog's diagnosis is that it is forcing me to really, truly just look at the good of each day and let go of the discontent which is almost always about the future. Quality of life! That's what we're about in this household these days.

Thank you so much for the millet recipe, which made me go to the Fasting website, which is chock-full of great information. In decades of reading about health and food, I never heard that it's good to soak grains!? So I soaked a pan of barley last night - I'm cooking special diets for both dogs at this point, and digestibility is key, so I'm going to try out all of her suggestions. (And I honestly never knew that that watery substance that collects in the yogurt is whey, and is chock-full of nutrients!?)

Dill - hope you had a good day with GDaughter. My goodness, she's becoming a regular visitor these days! Hope you are not too worn out. Star - take care - has the terrible cold and snow hit you? it's not due here until Sunday. PMom, hope you are hanging in.

Off for a casserole-day of work (a little of this, a little of that). Going to try to get all the winterizing work done before the deep-freeze gets here. I prefer to work on doors and windows while I can still feel my fingers.

Take care all - remember to breathe --

[dill]

Lav, I think anger is a natural reaction and I don't really see a way to avoid that reaction. But you are right to try to let it go as soon as you are able. Did he have children? What ages. I think it would be one o the hardest things to get over as a child, no matter what age, even an adult child. So, so devestating.

Cyn, we live and learn! LOL! I am still learning all kinds of stuff that others take for granted. I, like you, didn't know about the advantage of soaking grains. I did know the watery stuff was whey, but I learnt that when I used to go to the effort to make my own tofu, years ago. Similar process. I never heard of a "casserole day". Did you make that up youself?! Most of my days in retirement are casserole days. Good think I like casserole!

Hi Star, sorry you had a hard time getting on the site today. Hope your work day was good.

Hi Papmom, hope you chime in again soon.

Mr. D and I took our son and the grandkids out to dinner last night for Veteran's Day. We gave him a shirt and pair of slacks and thanked him for his service and for being such a loving and committed dad and a wonderful son. He has been thru so much. Many of his troubles with substance abuse were a result of PTSD. I am really proud of him for pulling himself out of his abyss saving himself and his children. I'm truly grateful.

[Lavande]

Good evening greetings friends

It's getting chillier, that's for sure!
The weather folks said to be on the lookout for snow flurries tomorrow evening after 8 pm - hmmm.

Cyn & Dill, I'm glad you are enjoying my nutrition finds
I spend more time researching food these days but it's all in an effort heal myself & my food intolerances that I've developed over the years. So I suppose it's not a complete waste of time.

Dill, that's nice to hear that you got to spend an evening with your son to celebrate veteran's day. I'm happy that he's doing well & the kids too!

My brother-in-law had two kids Dill but his son was killed in a reckless driving accident in the summer of 2003. Hence the long years of depression. His daughter lives just a few miles away from here. She has two very young kids, 1 & 3.
My BIL had a dark personality all his life. I was 16 when I met him (he was 15). He was miserable then - just the way he was & nothing ever cheered him up much. Sad really.

I got thru the whole day with no headache so I guess the anger/resentment is gone.
There is way too much to be happy about & grateful for & I intend to keep my head out of my butt so I don't miss a thing

Wishing everyone a warm & cozy night!
Hello to Star & Papmom!

Lav

[SnoopyC]

Good morning...

Cyn, I moved a few hours south so WE MISS MOST OF THE SNOW! It is a big deal to me, I lived in a place where is snowed constantly, and after a time it got old. So, it is cold, but no snow predicted for today. No winterizing for me living in an apartment. Yay. I needed the break, but I am getting ready to find a new place to live. I need more room.

Dill,what a lovely Veteran's Day. Your son is in a good place, so lucky he has you as being a single parent is tough.

Lav, know you are doing your best to move on. Sad to hear that BIL was always dark and depressed, how could he be anything else as a heavy drinker? So wonderful to have other healthy family close to you. How is YB doing? I want to say that I too appreciate all your recommendations for nutrition links...so helpful.

Work was OK, it is Thursday already, so grateful for my new job. With the colder weather, I am thinking of putting up lights this weekend, not the tree, just lights. Anyone else? Have a great day.

[Lavande]

Sunny & 32 degrees here

Star, YB appears to be doing OK but he keeps stuff to himself. I've never known what he truly thinks about anything, not unlike his brother. That's one of the reasons I feel so pissed off about this whole thing - they never reveal their true selves. I refuse to live in fear & paranoia like my sister-in-law has all these years. These two brothers & their siblings grew up with an alcoholic father. I always believed they would move beyond all that but I guess that was hopeful thinking on my part.

I hope everyone has a great AF Thursday!
No thoughts of holidays for me yet but I do have to get something for my son's & grandson's birthdays which fall right around Thanksgiving.

Lav

[papmom3]

Hi Everyone!

Lav I knew you would be the resilient one. You have worked so hard to be your best you. I admire you so much!! I know you will be there for YB if he wants you to be but you won't hold your breath. Better to celebrate the living at this point-your kids and grandkids and friends.

I missed the link you posted so I don't know why one would soak grains? Should I do that for LM? I know I have to soak tapioca but I haven't been soaking the glutinous rice. How long and why? For myself I pretty much only eat sweet potatoes or Trader Joe's frozen brown rice. Sometimes quinoa but never soaked that. Willing to learn!!

Cyn-I like your ODAT approach to life. I struggled tonite between going to water bootcamp (being good to myself) or staying home with the pups and relaxing as I've been home late the past 3 nites and have had to rush around to get things done before going to bed. I chose the latter tonite. Felt like nesting-it's getting very cold and 3" of snow is forecast for overnight. It won't last tho-in the 40's tomorrow.

Star-looking for a new place already? Can you handle another move so soon? Would you stay in the same town or try to move closer to your job/daughter? Glad you're out of the snow belt!

Dill-what a nice day you provided for your son! I'm sure he felt very loved and appreciated. I took a 2.35 mile walk with my dad and 2 of the dogs on Tuesday. I think he had fun-he walked Mickey while I walked DD. Left LM at home (he wasn't happy!). It's rare I get to spend quality time alone with my dad these days. He's so busy!!

The weekend went by way too fast! All I seem to do these days is cook, cook, cook for LM! I go through frozen veggies like crazy. I was able to reorganize my sewing area tho. Switched out the rickety fold up plastic table for the remnants of that desk setup I had gotten off of freecycle a few years ago. When I took it apart, I kept all the peices and have slowly found ways to repurpose them. I like this setup much better-less clutter and more organization.
I went to that agility trial on Sunday and had a fine time hanging out with friends I had kind of lost touch with. Now we'll keep in touch more I'm sure. I found out that 3 more people I know have been through breast cancer and surgery and they are fine. I don't think the 1 in 8 is correct-more like 1 in 3 or 5. My newly diagnosed friend got her wall hanging on Monday and was so happy! She posted pics on facebook (which is great since my phone never saved the ones I took. I'll post her pics in a minute). I'm so happy she loves it! She's going in for surgery the week of Thanksgiving-not sure what type of surgery tho. She'll let us know.
Tuesday I was able to clean up the living room so it can be used again. Right now we are all on the couch-da boyz are all lined up and snoozing and I'm watching Martha and posting. Life if good right now (although I'm feeling guilty about missing H2O bootcamp). tomorrow I will have to force myself to the gym so I get my 3 days of exercise in this week. I know it should be more but honestly, I just can't always fit it in. I was doing pretty good when the weather was decent-could always fit in a 30 min walk/run.

I read all your comments about the new job opportunity in my neighborhood and thought you all were very wise. I would not lose anything by applying so I did. It closes on Sunday so it will be interesting to see if I called in for an interview. I'm going with the mindset that there is no loyalty anymore. If I get this job and then the one at UMass opens, I will apply if it is what I want. I have to think of what is best for me now, not what others will think of me. The more I think about the close job, the more I think it will work. Walking to and from everyday will give me hidden exercise. The hours will still allow me to work out and do my quilting. I might even be able to go home for lunch which will relieve a lot of my stress about the dogs. So, if it's meant to be, I'll get it. If not, I keep looking and try to hang in there with my current position and see what happens with UMass in the spring.

This weekend is a demo day on Saturday and Sunday is off. Pretty soon Thanksgiving will be here! Looks like we're going out to Amherst-Yay!! Love being at my brother's-he makes the best brined turkey and uses the grill!

well, time to feed my tummy and maybe get to bed at a decent hour for once!

Stay warm all!

[papmom3]

Sweetpea front.jpg sweepea wallhanging back.jpg

the colors are a little off but not by much. the 4 squares are purple, not black. the binding is yellow.

[treegirl]

Hi Pap - that's one gorgeous hanging! Love the pawprint buttons. Staying in at the change of season is a good thing sometimes - we do need to nest. Did you say that you have a 'fish meatloaf' recipe that you fix for one of your dogs? I'm home cooking for the pups - have been for the past few years, but now I'm really fussy - trying to find an anti-cancer regimen that will work for girl dog. Just getting her GI issues settled at the moment. Boy dog is allergic to chicken, but can do fish, so i'm always on the lookout for those recipes.

The dogs and I eat pretty much the same thing nowadays. Thank goodness for the pressure cooker; I made a mass of carrots (mashed them) another butternut squash (mashed, just can't get enough of it), soaked barley with yogurt and made a huge pan of that, have soaked the rice and made congee (overcooked watery rice - supposed to be extra good for GI), white beans done in the slow cooker, brown rice farina as a break from rice, cauliflower (mashed, w/ EVO and salt, yum) and right now split pea soup is in the pressure cooker, cooling. We really do eat the same things but the soup is for me alone..also, I don't take the Cod Liver Oil. I stick to Omega 3 pills and putting flax oil on the vegies. PMom - the page that talks about the benefits of soaking is www.allaboutfasting.com.

Since I am reading so much about cancer in dogs, and preventative diets, etc., there's lots of motivation to do the right thing. I think I may already see a little more weight on girl dog. Reading all of this also makes me ever more astonished at our bodies, our cells. Wow, what a magnificent creation the body is - worth taking care of!

Hope all have a good night, and a great day tomorrow -

[treegirl]

PS - just looked outside and there's 2 inches of snow! Surprise!

[papmom3]

Cyn-oh ick!! I haven't looked outside yet. scared!!

that meatloaf recipe didn't come out so good LOL!! But I believe I used Trader Joe's atlantic cod, rice, butternut squash, veggies, bread crumbs and an egg. Baked it at 350 for about 10 or 15 min until the temp reached 160. It was really runny! Remember, I'm cooking for a dog that needs very low protein and phosphorus. I think you pressure cooker sounds better! Now I just cook up the protein separately and divide it into 1 oz portions. I then cook the rice, squash/sweet potatoes and veggies all separate and mix them together and divide into 6 oz portions (2 oz each). this way I can switch up the protein when I want. He gets dark meat chix, high fat ground beef, cod or tripe. I've also heard that black or kidney beans are good for him. Haven't done up that type of recipe yet. I use http://nutritiondata.self.com/ to analyze the recipes and then save them. I think the pressure cooker would be great but I have to boil and drain the veggies to get rid of as much phosphorus as possible.
here are some books I'm thinking of checking out:
* Natural Healing for Dogs and Cats, A-Z, Cheryl Schwartz
* Feed Your Best Friend Better
* Home Cooking for Your Dog: 75 Holistic Recipes for a Healthier Dog
* Dog-Gone Good Cuisine, Pruitt
* Dog-Gone Good Cookbook, Pruitt

Not sure who the authors of the 2nd and 3rd books are-got the list off a FB page.

I haven't seen any weight gain on LM yet-he gets coconut oil on both meals plus 2 vanilla wafers a day as a treat.
Good luck with your home cooking-I so wish I had more time to do this right. It sucks cooking and dividing at 10 pm.

[SnoopyC]

Good morning...

Woke up early, my phone made noise with new emails...really annoying. I fixed it but I'm up.

Pap, good to hear from you. I think it is wise to just apply for jobs, see if you get replies, interviews, etc. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Just think, if you could walk to work, the gas money you would save, not to mention way less wear and tear on your vehicle. I think you are the best pet owner, next to Cyn, making all that special food for your dogs. Do I want to move so soon? No, I don't. I am getting pressure to start looking, and I want more room. But, you are right, the thought of packing again makes me literally sick. It has only been three months since the move and new job. That is not a long time. I think I should proceed with my original plan, which was to wait till the lease is up to move. That will give lots of time and we can see where are jobs are at.

Cyn, loved that site, all about fasting. Really interesting. You are such a good pet owner too.

Lav, know you are working through things, sending you positive energy.

Hi Dill.

Have a great day.

[Lavande]

Good morning friends & happy Friday!

30 degrees here with a dusting of snow on the ground, Brrr!

Papmom, I loved your pictures
I hope your friend does well with her surgery.
I have been on a mission for years to find ways to make foods more digestible so that I can actually benefit from the nutrients. If you're not absorbing nutrients then you are going to develop health issues. Soaking grains, dried beans & raw nuts before using them really helps. It's hard to meet everyone's nutritional needs every meal.
Good luck with the job applications, you never know what may turn up!

Cyn, you beat me to the snow! We just had a light dusting here last evening.
I hope your doggy is feeling better.

Star, if I was told I had to pack up & move right now I think I would cry. I just don't have that kind of energy/ambition. Maybe you could wait until Spring to begin your search? My daughter & her husband are looking to buy a house again after renting for several years. I can feel the tension.

Greetings to Dill. Fly, where are you?
Wishing everyone a nice AF Friday. I'm off to Curves to start the day right

Lav

[dill]

Hello AF buddies,

Lav, I hope your emotional healing continues and that YB is coping as well as can be expected.

Star, is Mr. Star wanting to get out of the apartment more so than you? I agree with you that it would be best to take your time. You have had enough change for a while!

Papmom, Your dad keeps really busy, eh? How old did you say he is? What does he do to keep so busy? Does he belong to any groups or does he do volunteer work?

Cyn, you sure do take wonderful care of your dogs! It's good that you both like the same food. But, when Mr. Tree is around, what do you do then? Does he eat those types of foods or is he more a meat and potato guy? Mr. D would not enjoy the menu items you described.

We had some excitement around here last evening. Mr. D forgot to plug in the electric fence so the cattle got out! He was panicked and looking around for them madly. He called me from the back 40 and said he couldn't find them anywhere and would I please come out and plug in the electric fence and help him look for the cattle. Well, fortunately when I went out to plug in the fence I saw the cows in the high weeds not too far away from the barn. We got them back in pretty easily and just before it got dark. It's a good thing, too because finding black cows in the dark of night would have been really hard! LOL

[treegirl]

That was at 6:30 this morning. It looks pretty much the same now, despite the warm sun. Temps didn't get as high as they thought they would. I wish I had cleaned the gutters (again) before this came; and there's just something not right about shoveling snow mixed with leaves!

Dill - holy cow (literally!) what a story - so glad you got all the babies back in the barn. Ugh, no Mr Tree will not be so happy with this cuisine, so it will just be more cooking. Honestly, I'm not that great a dog-mom, I honestly would be fixing all of this for myself anyway! Pap - thanks so much for all the resources, that's a huge help. Lav - hope things are going OK around your house...this will probably be a tricky time for awhile. I agree about food issues - the reason I do all of this is simply to feel better. If I could eat bad food and feel fine, I probably would! Actually not, after reading all of this material about how our bodies work and what they need to work optimally. Star - I agree with others, try to stay put if you can...winter is no time to move. Rest!

Happy AF Friday night all - I can't believe it's Friday again so soon - whew, this week really flew --