Genuine July - 2016

[dill]

Hello All, Things are good here. I wish I could come to your presentation, Cyn! I can always use tips for decluttering and organizing. I don't think I ever told you but when I used to work, I started a "club" based on decluttering. We met weekly over lunch and talked about tips and various decluttering projects that we took up at our homes. It was really fun!

Pauly, good for you kicking those thoughts to the curb. It is so easy to remember the fun times we used to have before drinking became a problem. But it's important to remember that drinking is, for us, a problem, nothing fun at all! Not anymore. Anyway, well done to you!

Lav, what did you do with the black raspberries you and YB picked? I'm still pondering what I am going to do with mine. I have three quart-sized ziplocks in the freezer. I'm not sure if I will make traditional jam or perhaps a freezer jam.

Tony, hello and welcome.

Hello Star, enjoy your time off!

I'll be staying in the AC today! This hot and humid weather is not my thing! LOL! Let's all have a peaceful AF Thursday.

[Lavande]

Good early evening for a change, ha ha!

This heat & humidity is nasty, makes me drag
The good news is the greenhouse was delivered today in many, many boxes. Next week a guy is coming to take down three ratty looking trees that would block the light, so that's good. Then a guy comes to do the foundation. After that YB can finally build his greenhouse & stay out of my hair, Lol

Cyn, I think I am going to alternate doses of Benadryl for Maxie so she doesn't get overloaded. She slept last night & all day today so tonight I'll give her half as much.
I could not deal without AC, I give you a lot of credit Your event sounds like it't going viral!!! Good luck & have fun!

Pauly, you can safely take a B12 supplement along with your multivit. I take a whopping 5,000 iu daily in addition to my multivit. It's very common to deal with heavy bleeding at your age, believe me.

Dill, we used a lot of the blackberries fresh. My intention for the rest is to use them when making my non-dairy coconut milk ice cream, maybe cooking some down to make pancake syrup with just a little sweetening, that sort of thing. I just want to stay away from using cups of sugar like we used to for making jams. Sugar has been proven to cause inflammation & possibly some cancers in addition to diabetes & obesity. Thank goodness we know better now.

Hello to Star, wherever you are

It's only 7 pm so I'm going to see if I can do some weed pulling outside. Hopefully it's aclittle cooler.
Peace to everyone tonight!

Lav

[treegirl]

Morning all -

It's a misty morning here, not a breath of wind and clouds of mist just settled in over everything. Thank goodness the birds are singing, or it would feel very spooky! A big storm yesterday helped bring temps down, but the humidity has stayed high. I went to knitting group last night so I could sit in some air conditioning! By the time I came home I could open up and set up the fans and actually had a comfy night.

Lav - how exciting about the greenhouse. Your plans sound perfect, and wow what a great way to have YB have his own project - it's even out of the house! Fabulous! Hope you and Maxie got some sleep last night.

Dill - sounds like you'll be making some fancy berry desserts for awhile! I know that blackberries in particular pack a great antioxidant punch, so that's a nice perk. I love to hear that you had a 'de-clutter' group - I have been thinking of starting Drop In De-cluttering classes in the fall. It's easier to move forward if you are accountable to a group! We'll see, right now I just have to get through this presentation - I already had an attendee emailing me with questions. I'm thinking of creating a Q and A blog on my website to answer these questions publicly... we'll see how it all works out.

Star - hope you are having good fun, and are out of the rain.

Pauly - sounds like you are on a great health quest - I congratulate you! Keep at it!

It's a quiet, manageable morning here and I already was able to meditate. I'm glad that I got centered - I read so much horrible news when I opened the computer... I keep repeating to myself that bringing peace to ourselves and then radiating it is our best hope in these rocky times...

Wishing all a centered day - let's all stay focused on our AF journey -

[Lavande]

Good morning friends!

Maxie & I did NOT have a good night, oh well.
Tonight I will give her the full dose of Benadryl & if she has to spend the day tomorrow sleeping it off - that will be OK.
I can't muster up a whole lot of energy after a crappy night & this weather is kicking us all in the butt. I hope we get some storms today to clear the air.

Cyn, speaking of blackberries - this was in my email this morning from my SaveOurBones program:
Why You Should Be Eating Blackberries. Hint: They’re Among The Richest Source Of These Bone-Protective Nutrients
I think we would all enjoy a dessert like this

Hello to Star, Dill & Pauly.
I'm skipping Curves so I can catch up on stuff around here. I may even stop back in later.

Have a great AF Friday everyone!

Lav

[dill]

Hi friends, a late check in for me because I am just getting in from a long day of volunteering! It was all good though. Anyway I just wanted to pop in and wish us all a happy and peaceful af Friday night .

[dill]

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness: Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: Only love can do that." ~Martin Luther King.

The events of the past week have left most of us shaken and have certainly laid many of us low. It is really difficult to digest the evil in this world. We know it is there. We see it every night on the news. Remember LadyBirdHeart said that she felt as difficult as it was to watch, she felt it was her duty to be a witness. I believe she was right and that it is a duty. It is also a duty to stand your ground, loudly or quietly, to do what is right and to bring light to this world.

"If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward." ~MLK

I haven't been able to shake off the feeling of gloom, even doom. But it is a natural response, and a healthy one, so we must endure it and try to continue to move forward. And remember:

"Only in the darkness can you see the stars." ~MLK

Here in my little corner of the world we will be enjoying the grandchildren and picking blackberries. I will wear long pants, socks, and long sleeves and a layer of insect repellent to ward off the chiggers! I made the mistake a couple days ago of going off to pick berries without a thought to the chiggers. I am surely suffering now! LOL!

Cyn, I hope all goes well today with your presentation! Lav, Pauly, Star, , let's continue to bring an af light to our parts of the planet!

[Lavande]

Good morning friends!

Warm, humid & foggy here ~ not nice at all!
My daughter & her family are tent camping a bit northwest at a state park on a lake. I hope they get some swimming time in before the storms roll thru.

Dill, I saw that first MLK quote yesterday & spent all day thinking how different the US would be if he had survived.
It's so difficult to make any sense of the continued hate rampant across the country. We need more light & love for sure.
Did you see my link above for blackberry ideas? Have fun picking

Hello to Star & Pauly!
Cyn, wishing you much luck & good fortune in your venture today

Not exactly sure what I am doing today but I'll figure it out!
Have a great AF day everyone!

Lav

[paulywogg]

Morning friends,Dill,thanks for the quotes,very sad indeed,in this day and age it seems like people are more divided,have you noticed that? Truly its so stupid cuz hardly anybody is all one race anymore, we're all mostly mutts,color of skin equates to color ofa dogs fur really do black labs hate yellow labs? Highly unlikely,btw,do chigger bites itch?Lav,that coconut milk bblackberry ice cream sounds amazing,wish I were closer so I could try some hello Cyn and Star,hope we all have a nice AF Saturday

[dill]

Yes, Lav, I did see the link and thank you for it! I did not know that blackberries were a good source of potassium. That was news to me. I need to try to get my gson to eat more of them. He often gets leg cramps at night which I think may indicate low potassium. And I too have wondered many times over the years what could have been if we hadn't lost MLK. He was such a force for good. What a tremendous loss that was.

Pauly, Yes, I have noticed and I have lots of ideas why I think things are as bad as they are now, but will keep them to myself here. I have seen some pretty venomous posts on this site directed toward people who express a political viewpoint that is not acceptable to others. I don't know about you, but I certainly don't need that kind of aggravation when I come here! So, let me talk about chigger bites.....Yesss! They itch like the devil! LOL!!!

Nice day here with lower humidity. I'm lovin' it!

[treegirl]

Afternoon, all -

I'm back home after my presentation, and it went really well! Thanks so much for thinking of me, all. I really had a great time, and got everybody laughing and listening, and they felt that they received some actionable steps they can make to take back their lives from their 'stuff'. I don't know what will come of it, but hopefully a few jobs - I found out at the end that the local paper was there taking a lot of pictures, and they'll be writing an article in next week's paper. (Thank goodness I threw on some makeup and lipstick!)

Dill - thank you for those quotes, that's exactly where we need to live. Very helpful.

Pauly - you are right, we are all 'mutts', even when we don't know it. I just saw a clip from a project that asks people what other cultures they dislike and why, and then they take their DNA and run it, and give the people the results. It is just jaw-dropping. Half the time the culture that the person said they despise is really part of their heritage! One of the participants said that it should be mandatory that all people have their DNA run -- she said that it would end hate immediately, because we find out that we really are One. Let's hope.

Lav - so sorry you had a bad night with Maxie the other night. It really can make for a draggy day after interrupted sleep! I knew blackberries were super-good for you, but I couldn't remember all the details. I'll check out that link, thanks! Do you know about Yonana? It's a machine that turns frozen bananas (plus whatever else frozen fruit you want to add) into soft-serve 'ice cream'. My biggest disappointment about not eating dairy is missing out on soft-serve cones! So Yonana does a pretty good job of filling that gap -I bet I could do frozen blackberries...

Sending everyone love and peace on this day - let's stay centered and calm and inclusive, right? AF of course. Take care all -

[Lavande]

Cyn, glad your day went so well - yay for you!!!!!
I have made banana ice cream in my ice cream maker with just bananas - yum
Sometimes I add a big glug of a good quality vanilla and/or mini vegan chocolate chips. My best friend EB absolutely loves it too. He's been a real champ willing to try all of my non-dairy concoctions. Another good one is Homemade Orange Creamsicle ice cream!! I have both of those recipes pinned so I can send them to you if you like. Freezing fruit is a little weird but it makes an awesome ice cream substitute.

Dill, I think I have YB wanting to plant new berries now - ha ha! I hope we get your cooler weather, it's been gross here. We did get the rain today.

Pauly, stop in & I'll fill you up with all the ice cream you can eat

Peace to all tonight.
I am staying away from TV & radio coverage tonight of the events of this week. I found myself near tears a few times today, I've had enough, I can take in any more.

[SnoopyC]

Good morning...

I am at my daughter's house this am so can check in. Having a great vacation mixed in with a little babysitting! It has been so hot and humid, Cyn, it has to be hard to manage without AC.

Lav, those blackberry ideas are wonderful. I am thankful to be away from TV and the latest gun tragedy. I am sick of it and don't understand why people want to kill each other. What a waste.

Dill, sounds like you are keeping busy, you too Pauly.

Have a good one.

[treegirl]

Morning all!

Happy Sunday. Star - how good to hear from you! Glad that you are having some grandson time as well as time off. Lav - love those cool treat ideas, especially now with the warm weather. (Though yesterday was quite cool, and rainy. Glad to have the rain; it was getting so brown around here.)

I usually make my own granola, which I love - now I can't bear to have store-bought! But it's been too hot to do anything in the oven, so I had to find some other options. I know I've posted from the Hurry The Food Up site before, but this morning's treat was really good; I already had quinoa ready, and some blueberries, so it took no time at all:Quinoa Breakfast Porridge with Hot Blueberry Drizzle. I love the site because they tell you all the back-story on the nutrition of the recipes - it keeps motivation high to eat healthy! Check out all the overnight-oats recipes, too.

Hope you are doing well Pauly and Dill.

Let's take some breathing room and bring peace and compassion to ourselves and the world today. And gratitude, as always, for our AF lives.

[Lavande]

Good Sunday morning friends

The nice weather has arrived - yay!!
I will take complete advantage & spend the day putzing around outside.

Great to see you Star & glad to hear you are spending time with your little one too.

Cyn, that breakfast looks darn good. I just pinned that recipe, thanks!
Any vegan recipe calling for soy milk turns out just fine if you use almond or cashew milk, thank goodness. I have no nut allergies but the soy & dairy are a no-no for me. I'm waiting for the last few blueberries to ripen up, we've had a good harvest this year.

Hello to Dill & Pauly, hope you are both well!

Have a wonderful AF day everyone!

Lav

[paulywogg]

Morning friends,Lav I freeze fruit all the time cuz I hate it going to waste,if I buy a huge bag of apples or oranges they spoil so I don't buy them anymore, easily freezy stuff like berries and bananas are all I get poor Lou won't eat bananas anymore cuz of that time he had tummy flu now he swears they make him puke,poor kid,so recently I've been tired,headaches,spacey and I realized that I stupidly have been drinking diet coke again! It just sort of crept in cuz at work I need a kick so I run to the smoke shop next door and get a can,I really think its poisoning me somehow or maybe I'm just a weirdo haha,hello Dill,Cyn and Star hope we all have super AF Sunday