Extra Magazines

If you are in a gun store and they say they have extra magazines, they probably aren't talking about publications.  I stopped buying magazines a long time ago because I didn't like how they piled up.

That Wasn't Fun

I got a phone message Friday evening saying I have an appointment with blah at blah at 8:30 Monday morning.  Larry listened to the message and deleted it.  He relayed the information but I didn't recognize the doctor or clinic.  So this morning I went to my clinic at 8:00 and said, "I have an appointment at 8:30 today.  Would you please try to find out who and where for me?"
That worked.  But I hate starting out with stupid stories.
On the upside, when I am at a doctor's office at 8, I just plan to eat breakfast after the appointment.  I set my clock for five so I had time to hang out with my coffee, but I am not happy about eating breakfast.
I went to a local place and had one scrambled egg, two sausage patties, one strawberry, half a slice of orange, and part of a sliver of cantaloupe. It was delicious and on my diet.  The diner brought the little saucer of fruit when she brought my water...it wasn't ordered.  Lots of places give freebies, but they aren't usually on my diet.

Wheat Belly

I finished reading Wheat Belly yesterday.  I've been on a low-carb diet since 2004 so it was preaching to the choir.  But it had a different  impact on me because a lot of the problems it claims will be cured by a wheat-free diet are problems people I know have.  I am on a low-carb diet because I want to keep my blood sugar down.  That means people who are not diabetic didn't need to be on a low-carb diet.  But according to Wheat Belly many other problems are solved with that type of diet.  Actually I had noticed that my general health is good, my energy level is good, and my allergies had improved. I had decided I must have an undiagnosed wheat or gluten allergy.
The book pretty much claims cutting wheat from one's diet does everything except fix global warming. 

Daddy's Pepper Sauce

I finally had enough hot banana peppers to try to make Daddy's pepper sauce.  It would have been nice if I knew how he did it.  Mama said he used pickling spices. 
So I made one quart.  It wasn't wonderful but I put it in the refrigerator thinking it would really take a couple of weeks before it would taste right.  It was good several days later and tasted about like I remember Daddy's tasting.

So I made more today. I got tired of cutting little circles and some of the peppers are halves...not as pretty but quicker.  

Eggplants are still coming in so I made more eggplant parmigiana...one to eat and one for the freezer.  I was out of small disposable tins so I used large ones.

 I used fresh tomatoes from our garden so it was kind of soupy so the one in the freezer will be, too.  It was tasty, though.  I have four loaf pans and one large one in the freezer now:)

I listened to an audio book during all the food preparation...nice day.

A Spring in my Step

My new sandals are wonderful.  They are comfortable and perform as advertised...they rinse off easily and dry quickly.  In addition to that, however, they have a sole that is springy.  It feels delightful.  It is possible that I will investigate a pair for winter that doesn't have the openings all around.  I realize that is what makes this a sandal and is desirable for most of the year...but I may have a brief period of time when a closed shoe might be an advantage...but still one that rinses off easily and dries quickly.  I have comfortable closed-in sport shoes but I don't want mud on them!  I know, dress-up tennis shoes sound dumb, but I keep a pair that looks unstained by red mud. Mud is not a problem with these jewels!

Not So Ugly

I had a shoe problem.  My comfortable Birks are slippery when I'm working in my flower beds.  The water isn't especially good for the cork part, but I slip around on the shoe.  So I was looking for a sandal that was comfortable and quick drying that water, dirt, and mud wouldn't hurt.
I found a hiking sandal put out by Teva that sounded perfect.  It has arrived and feels wonderful.  I was pretty sure that just because I ordered a hiking sandal I wouldn't actually have to hike...I could just stand around watering stuff and generally messing about in the yard.  But this paragon of utility and comfort isn't pretty. 
Pretty in a shoe isn't a requirement (I did mention my birks) for me.  But I was laughing about my ugly, comfortable sandals today and one girl said, "They're not so ugly."  Another said they were cute (polite lie), but I loved the 'not so ugly' comment.

Sabotage

Why do people try to sabotage others' efforts?
I'm trying to lose weight.  Three days ago my husband wanted fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans.  I like those things, too, so it is difficult to cook them and not eat them.
The next day he brought home cinnamon buns to have with our coffee.
Today he made homemade bread. 
I didn't eat much of the fried chicken meal.
I didn't eat the sweet roll.

I haven't eaten any of the bread.
But why would a diabetic eat that stuff?

Kindle Fire

I've finally gotten some books onto my Fire other than through Amazon purchases!  That was the only flaw to my Kindle.  Now it's perfect:)

Lazy Foodie

Some things used to be company dishes because they called for a lot of ingredients and time.  Also, they made rather large portions for two people.   Then I decided if I split the stuff into smaller portions, cooking one and freezing the rest, I would have two very nice meals in the freezer.

This is eggplant parmigiana...on my diet.  Also, my husband likes it.  So one of these pans will serve me twice and him once.

A Charm of Hummingbirds

I was watching the hummingbirds tank up at the feeders this morning and thought of what the group name for them might be...a flurry or hummingbirds?  So I looked it up and it's a charm of hummingbirds:)

Vitamin K - Atkins Diet

It has been of concern to me that some people I know are not supposed to eat vegetables because vitamin K encourages clotting.  I knew that.  I thought it was a good thing because it means people don't bleed to death from a cut.
But it turns out people all over the place are taking blood thinner.  People are encouraged to take low-dosage aspirin to help protect again blood clots.
If I ever am told not to eat vegetables, my diet will be out the window unless I try to get all my fiber through supplements.  I'm not sure if fiber supplements have have vitamin K or not.  I guess I should check.
Something else to wonder about.

Diet Update

Someone I'm close to went on the Atkins Diet recently in an effort to lose a little weight, bring down blood sugar numbers and cholesterol numbers.  It has been very inspiring to have somebody to talk to about my diet.  If you have ever been on a diet and nobody else is, you know how you talk to people who have no interest in it and just generally bore everybody stiff. 
I had set as my weight goal (way back when) to lose 75 pounds.  After I lost about 45 pounds and had gone down several sizes, I decided I'd give it a rest to see if I could maintain the loss.  My lab work numbers had all improved on the diet.  I'm 0.1 away from "normal" for blood sugar.  My cholesterol is in the normal range.
But now is a good time for me to lose the next portion...I have somebody to diet with even though we are hundreds of miles apart.  MyFitnessPal is a site that allows people to track what they eat broken down in categories.  It isn't geared for Atkins so I'm constantly over in fat, calories, etc., but I can track my fiber and carbs...the two things that are important about this diet. The site also allows friends so I can have a diet buddy:)

Omelets

I watched the guy flip omelets on the cruise and decided I could do it.  So today I did:)

The trick to it is to give it a little twitch when lofting it, and then just put the pan under wherever it seems to be going to fall.  Everybody but me probably already knew that, but my omelets always suspiciously resembled scrambled eggs...before today.

Last Vacation Entry

I don't want to finish my vacation observations without commenting on the cruise itself.  The ship was nice.  It was Serenade of the Seas through Royal Caribbean.
I liked the chance to stare at the sea and passing islands. 

It was possible to see the Mediterranean from an air-conditioned spot or experience the breeze from an open spot.

There were plenty of activities to keep active people occupied.  

The staterooms were adequate with a stateroom attendant who took care of details.

But another aspect of the ship's life consisted of the other people aboard.  It was interesting to talk to them.  They were from everywhere.  I talked to a German lady who was there with her husband.  It turns out that after twelve years, I was still able to hold a social conversation in German.  I talked to a couple of ladies from Australia, a guy from Russia, a guy from Scotland, a lady from England...at length.  I talked to others in passing.  It was very interesting.  Last names were not involved and it was possible to ask all sorts of questions about their lives and interests without feeling nosy.

Rome

 The Coliseum was built in eight years.  The tour guide said when the empire fell and the popes were in charge of Rome, they used the Coliseum as a quarry for building material.  The holes shown on the wall are where metal spikes were removed.  The spikes were holding the marble veneer on.  So the marble was used elsewhere, the metal spikes were melted down and used as well as the blocks.

The light-colored crescent at the top of the picture is part of what used to cover the entire circle.  The exhibitions were there.  It was covered with sand to absorb the blood.

 The Coliseum had a canvas cover when it was in use.  The stones spaced around the outside on the ground were used for the ropes and those things sticking out were part of the system to hoist the cover.

The tour guide said that under the emperors, public baths were built that were open to everyone including the slaves.  She said that there were libraries there, and readers so if the people couldn't read, someone would read it to them.  She said that the people of Rome were better off, even the slaves, because they had access to the baths.  They were healthier than under the popes.  The popes closed the baths and put in water fountains.  I guess the popes didn't approve of the nudity.  

 I stuck my camera between people to get this picture.  I couldn't see the fountain this well.  I couldn't believe how crowded it was.  I didn't throw a coin over my shoulder so I would be sure to return...I probably would have hit another tourist with the coin!

Welcome break.

Home After Vacation

I have more to post about our holiday, but right now I'd like to explain why I'm so slow posting the rest.  Laundry, putting things away that I only use for travel, and the garden have taken up a lot of time.  We've put up creamed corn (in pints instead of quarts as a concession to our low-carb diet), tomatoes, eggplant parmigiano, peppers....and this includes picking the stuff.
Also the house was dirty even though I wasn't home to mess it up!  It's clean now:)
I am still trying to cut back flowers that were tall and dead.  I need to fertilize things and weed.  Busy, busy!

Athens - part 2

The tour guide said that people who own property in Athens don't dig on it.  They don't decide, for example, to put a basement under their existing homes because they have to have an archeologist present.  If they find anything, it can delay their project or even cause them to lose their property...depending on what is found.
She also said the unemployment rate in Greece is between 25 and 50 percent depending on the location.
She said the decision to go off the Euro would be disastrous because they import so much and would not be able to pay using drachmas.

Athens

 Leigh said this was the origin of Legos.

 Lots of tumbled pieces of marble.  These were leftover chunks that Lord Elgin didn't want.  We saw the Elgin marbles when we went to the British Museum in London.  We saw the leftover bits at the Parthenon.

 It was a pretty good hike getting up there.

 Hold that flag up, Jonathan!

 The footing was pretty uncertain.

 This was the temple of Poseidon.  I had wimped out by then and was having cappuccino after buying batteries for my camera.

Jonathan took this picture.

Leaning Tower of Pisa

 Intrepid climbers braved the spiral staircase with no handrails and people going down as they were going up.

It was a really long climb!  I wasn't intrepid.

 The little lumps under the flag to the right are people who made it to the top.

This was where we met back with the tour guide.  I liked how the grape vines shaded one side of the tourist spot.  The sold a lot of stuff including cappuccino and gelato.  A free bottle of water was included in our tour.