Natural November

[Lavande]

Guess what I figured out when I was cleaning up the kitchen after dinner?
We have NO HOT WATER, ugh!!
I guess I shouldn't be too surprised since we've already replaced the heater & AC units in this 12 year old house
I hope it doesn't take too darn long to get a plumber in here with a new unit, geez. Grateful I showered & shampooed this morning, ha ha!

I made this vegan side dish today & it was really good. I imagine you could 'unveganize' it if you wanted:
Easy Creamy Tomato Barley Risotto — Oh She Glows
I think I will also try this with brown rice sometime in place of the barley - I love both

Dill, once the kids see me with the ipad they get in line & wait for their turns too. I totally get that!

Pauly, you need some protein before you exercise girl!

I had to stop watching news coverage of the terror attacks today. I feel like WW III is on the way.

Peace to all tonight!

[SnoopyC]

Good morning...

Lav, we had a great family time, and I did not have to cook! Your recipe looks good, I saved it and will make it soon. Yum. Sorry your hot water heater went out, what the heck. We had that happen a few years ago in the dead of winter, not good. Better to have it happen now, hope you can get it fixed today.

Dill, I was making Italian Sausage, Peppers and Onions, a recipe someone at work gave me, not healthy, just really good. HOwever, the peppers messed with my stomach, so I don't know if I would recommend it. It is a good holiday meal, but heavy. I was feeling down last night, Sunday nights are hard for me. Also, I was missing my parents alot, all weekend. However, back to work today, no time to ruminate. My friend recommended a new author, Karen White, I am reading the house on Tradd Street, and it is good.

Pauly, hope you had a good Sunday, a nice breakfast is a good way to start the day.

Cyn, hope you are feeling better.

Have a good one.

[Lavande]

Good morning friends,

Bright & sunny here, nice

Our next door neighbor is the guy who installed the new heating & AC units last year. Although he's no a plumber he is able to install a new hot water heater. Grateful that he will be here this afternoon!!

Star, that sausage with peppers & onions dish is very tasty but I can't eat it either
That's why I've been on a mission to find tasty food without all the grease that just doesn't agree with me.

Have a wonderful AF day everyone!

Lav

[treegirl]

Hi all -

Sorry for the time away. Mr. T came on Saturday morning, and the whirlwind began. Plus, yesterday we spent time early in the day driving to see close friends that we haven't seen since early spring, crazy. Then I went to a concert to support a friend of mine who is the conductor - it was peaceful, beautiful baroque music performed in a church, so that was nice. Then off to dinner at some friends closer to home. Sheesh, that was a lot of 'people' time for me! I'm so used to being alone most of the time! But I did get a day off of cooking, which was great. (well, only cooked a little for the dogs...)

Lav, I'm glad that we don't have cable or network TV here at the house, I would have watched too much coverage of France. I wasn't able to figure out how to stream very effectively, even on Friday night, but I managed to get live info from Bloomberg radio, of all things. At any rate, yes the world is changing. I keep reminding myself that 'peace begins at home' (meaning inside myself), so off to meditate I go...

Star - I remember someone asking Dr Andrew Weill what his top advice is for people to do to make themselves healthy. His reply? "Pay attention to your breathing." I have been doing that more and more and am noticing that in addition to a clenched jaw, I'm not breathing very deeply! BTW, of course you have been missing your parents - your loss is so recent, and holidays really bring all those memories up. Thinking of you...

Pauly - yeh, probably eat a little more before the exercise?! But, good for you for getting yourself moving - I need to do more of that.

Dill - so glad if the meditations might work for you - yes, I did see that they have some good sleep ones as well.

Lav - no hot water? Oh dear! That happened a week ago here, but the problem was the igniter in our (2-year old) fancy-shmancy boiler. The guy came the same morning and got it taken care of, thank goodness. Good luck getting yours fixed.

Well, wishing each of us some inner peace to build on, and a happy AF day...

[paulywogg]

Hello friends, Cyn,I love Dr.Weil I have noticed that when I'm stressed I hold my breath without realizing it, I've been more conscious of it lately to breathe in deep,exhale slooow,Star,I can eat peppers no problem but sausages in general mess up my guts,not sure if its the spices or what,Dill,these little ones are tablet hogs for sure,Louie gets so mad when his battery drains,Lav,I'll take a peek at the recipe,me and Kell kinda got in an argument last night, tbh her mood is bringing mine down and I try to be supportive but she takes none of my advice!so I told her I'm here for her but keeping my mouth shut,why offer things to try and have them ignored? Its a waste of my breath and frustrating, ho hum, anyways I hope we all have a wwonderful Monday

[SnoopyC]

Good morning...

Pauly, my heart goes out to you. I know how hard it is with adult kids sometimes, I kind of dread my son coming for Thanksgiving as he is in an anxious mood, too. Mood is contagious sometimes. Hope your day went better.

Lav, hope you have hot water by now. Yes, rich foods are best for me in little amounts.

Cyn, what a busy weekend for you, sounds like fun and very interesting. Thanks for the support regarding grieving, some days it really hurts.

Hello Dill, have a good one all.

[dill]

Hello Friends,

Lav, I took a look at that recipe and it does sound reallly good. I'm going to give it a try soon. Yesterday I made a crockpot version of beef tips from a recipe I took and adapted off the internet. It was a hit with the men. The kids, not so much. Here's a link to the recipe I used, but as I said, I didn't follow it exactly. I left out the sour cream and I added a cup of beef broth with a tablespoon of cornstartch blended in to the cream of mushroom soup so it thickened as it cooked. Crock Pot Beef Tips With Creamy Gravy Recipe - Food.com Did you get hot water running again?

Star, You are such a voracious reader I always wonder when you fit it is. You work a full time job and have home and family duties like the rest of us. Do you read in the evenings or before bed? I spend my evenings watching news and movies and recordings with Mr. D. I'd probably be better off going into the next room with a book! The news is so depressing any more it's not surprising so many of us are dealing with anxiety.

Pauly, I too have had the revovlving door with my son. He has been back for extended periods onee with his wife and kids for 6 months and once with himself and his kids for a year. His now ex wanted to move in at that time too but we drew the line. She had been absolutely horrible the first time and we could not live with that kind of drama. It's a long story and I don't want to go into it! Anyway, I do understand how a person's mood can wreak havoc on all those around them.

Cyn, I felt a twinge of envy when reading about your baroque music in a church. I could just imagine it. There is something about being present for a live music performance. It's a feeling you just can't capture with recordings. About peppers: there are very few things that upset my stomache, but green peppers are one. When I made Star's zuchinni soup I just used a quarter of a green pepper to add flavor. Any more than that and I would not have been able to eat it! Mr. Dill really loved it, so will be making it again later this winter.

Yesterday was my son's birthday. We didn't say a word about it but asked him if he would mind if we came over and brought in dinner for them just for fun on Monday. He said ok. He might have made the connection that it was for his birthday, but I don't know. Anyway, we picked up the kids from day care and after school care for him which was kind of special for them. We had the gifts wrapped (one from each of them and one from us) and we had the crockpot beef tips, green beans, rolls and noodles. Oh, and a cake of course! The kids were so excited to be giving a surprise birthday party for their dad. It was a fun evening. Our son really felt appreciateve. He said he didn't expect anything for his birthday because we have done so much for him already. So happy and grateful to be af and present for them and happy that my son is still doing so well in his recovery.

[Lavande]

Good morning friends, happy Tuesday!

Sunny & 48 degrees at the moment - love this weather
The brand new hot water heater was installed & making hot water by 5 pm yesterday - yay! I am grateful for my multi-talented young neighbor, ha ha!!

Pauly, adult kids don't necessarily want to hear advice. I think they will naturally gravitate toward what feels right for them. I've long had it in mind to show them by example. But I have been very verbal about the dangers of falling into a deep depression & attempting to self-medicate with substances. It certainly did not work for me
Perhaps Kell would benefit from watching you indulge in good self-care. It's worth a try, right?

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is so close. We will be getting a fresh turkey from our Amish neighbor this year. He's been raising chickens & has now added turkeys to his flock.

Hello to Star, Dill & Cyn (the extra busy one)!!!
Have a great AF day one & all!

EDIT: Dill, that was such a nice gesture & a wonderful thing to do for your son. I'm glad he was appreciative.

Lav

[paulywogg]

Morning friends,Dill,that was very nice of you to surprise your son I agree with you on the news,I try to avoid it cuz sometimes reality is worse than my fave shows like the csi's,or criminal minds Lav,that's nice to know where your turkey came from,I look for an el cheapo haha,tried butterball, honeysuckle white,etc they all taste the same,Star,I hope our kids are in better moods by Thanksgiving, I want to enjoy the day,not worry about her,I dunno if I mentioned it before but my girls all think marijuana is the cure all to everything, in my opinion I think its what's causing 99% of the problems they have,at least Brady hasn't bought into the b.s.....yet,hello Cyn,I hope we all have a peaceful,calm Tuesday

[treegirl]

Hi all - Mr Tree decided to make a trip home again this morning, so it's been an interesting day. Still getting this grant done, but should get it in the mail tomorrow, whew.

Lav, I'm with you - Thanksgiving already? We too are getting a fresh turkey. Last year the turkeys grew too big, so there was a big hoo-haa when we all were there picking up. They offered me a turkey breast and legs, etc separated, and I said fine. It was great - I got to take the breast out of the oven before it got dry! I ordered it the same way this year! (Less carving, too) I may even make the bird the day before; our fancy Viking oven (inherited it with the house) has never worked well, and now is having oven flare-ups all the time. Could be interesting getting a bird done...

Star - I have the same question as Dill - how DO you read so much! I used to do it, now I can't remember what was different in those years. Whatever it was, i'd like it back! I can't watch TV at night, any of the shows just get stuck in my brain in a bad way. I even have to be careful what I read at night! Ah well...

Dill - you are so creative and great about showing support and love for your son. He deserves it for how hard he's worked to be a good Dad and staying clean. But you and Mr Dill deserve so much for sticking with him, giving him and the kids a loving home, and being great examples! :thumbsup:

Hey Pauly - that's may challenge, too - breathing, and making sure my jaw isn't clenched. So let's remember to breathe...

Anyway, hope all are well - so sorry for the family stresses. Even our short stint with Mr Tree's adult daughter staying with us for a few weeks was pretty tense, so I get it.

Hope all are having a lovely AF Tuesday night.

[SnoopyC]

More coffee please...

Having a hard time waking up. I having been having hot flashes during the night, wake up for a while, then fall back to sleep, so I struggle in the morning.

Dill and Cyn, I read when I am at home. I watch a little TV, but not much. If I have a good book, I am IN IT, if you know what I mean.

Dill, so much fun with your son and I loved how you included your grandkids, showed them how to make a celebration, too! I saved your recipe and may make it in the upcoming weeks.

Lav, Yay, hot water. I'll bet your turkey is soooo good.

Pauly, I hate weed, I have seen it mess alot of people up, it is so strong now and very addictive. I just spoke to someone recently who quit due to paranoia andanxiety brought on by marijuana use. Interesting to me. We have to be strong and protect our feelings.

Cyn, what a great surprise to spend extra time with Mr. Cyn.

Hope you all have a happy hump day.

[paulywogg]

Hello friends, I agree with you on the weed Star,I think it stinks and the few times I tried it I swear I hallucinated! I don't care if its legal or not wherever people live or who use it but Iddon't think its as innocent as its supporters claim, as a matter of fact I used to stick up for alcohol and praise its virtues,jeez,what was I thinking?funny how substance abuse messes with our minds then backfires on us,Kell starts training for a new salon today,I hope she's ok,she's been particularly anxious this last week but I think being unemployed, broke and being alone with Louie all day added to it,Lou's a doll but let's be honest 2 year olds wear ya down after a bit,plus her bf's a creep about all of this,I told her nobody understands anxiety/panic unless they've had it,he keeps wanting her to snap out of it,dang if only it were that easy,hello Lav,Cyn and Dill,let's all have a great Wednesday

[Lavande]

Greetings friends,

I had a last minute request to watch ny grandson this morning. Turns out my son wanted to go fishing on his day off, ha ha. I'll be dropping this minion off at his preschool at 11:30 for his 'lunch bunch' hour before his afternoon class starts

Cyn, I imagine it would be difficult, at least around here finding someone capable of fixing a Viking. I've never tried grilling a turkey but it's a good thought, ha ha!

Smoking pot made me extremely paranoid back in the olden days (70's). I wouldn't go near that stuff these days, legal or not. Now medical use of cannabis oils is something entirely different. It can make a huge improvement in the lives of people & kids suffering from uncontrollable seizures. Recreational use has many drawbacks.

Hello to everyone & sending wishes to all for a wonderful AF hump day

Lav

[treegirl]

Good evening all -

Hope all are good tonight. I finished a big project this afternoon, and so I feel a little lighter tonight. I'm working on breathing, Pauly!

When I pay attention to my muscles and breathing, I realize that the mindfulness needs to be a check-in every 5 seconds or so! Well, I guess you have to start somewhere, right.

Lav - last Thanksgiving we were out of power early in the day, and I had started looking at cooking the turkey on the grill (it actually sort of bake/grills it). That was the best option for a few hours!

Take care all - will try to check in early tomorrow --

[dill]

Really late check in for me. I got you beat that way Cyn!

I tried weed back in the day too but eventually came to the conclusion that it was not good for me. It made me very depressed the day after I used it and you couldn't be certain from one time to the next what kind of experience you would have. I hated the paranoia I sometimes experienced. I remember going to "parties" where people would pass a joint around and nobody would talk or interact, just sat like zombies stoned out of their minds!
Not for me thanks! I was really glad when Ohio voters turned down an initiative to legalize marijuana for recreational and medical use this November.

Star, Lav, Cyn, Pauly, have sweet dreams!