hummingbirdkiss

peas are poking through the dirt and the bulbs are all blooming feels like spring except it is cold and really wet out ..no yard work today I am resting the grids do look nice and neat but it is counteracted by the fact I broadcasted the seeds all over the place..when I thin them out maybe there will be a more grid like pattern I hope I was trying to mimic this guy ..but.... Square Foot Garden

I got kicked out of Girlscout camp for swimming across the lake to play with the boys but I digress into nostalga here Flower and Kiwi are going to get a bath for the photo session if I am not back on the board please call 911 loved the glasses of milk and the tasting platter!

YAY!!!! I dry saute them with a little salt in a hot pan then when they are nicely cooked add some unsalted butter and a shot of garlic cracked pepper and that is it simple but with mushrooms simple is best I tihnk

I think it will be a while until I prepare black cake again..oh well the longer the fruits sit the better they will be I guess ..it is so nice to see you do it thanks for sharing ps my girlfriend upped the grated fresh ginger she uses and added mace and cardamom fantastic cake ..she is from the Virgin Islands ...her fruits are soaked in (ironic I think) very nice brandy and a bottle of Manischewitz....a friend of mine from Jamaica soaks hers in a decent but not great port and rum and thinks that the former is herecy (hers tastes just like plum pudding to me and is wonderful too ...I love talking about this cake you know

Ok that is my new favorite kitchen!!!

Mache and corn salad are the same thing! I love this board!

My birds love Santana and Los Lobos Aerosmith .... they love a good rif from Carlos! I will take a picture after we bath tomorrow if you think Ernie wants to see them? ...I want to show them in there best color ...Kiwi is 29 and Flower is 30 years old and they are both really really fiesty!!! they are Panama (Amazon) Yellow heads

"Hummingbirdkiss, doll, has anyone over in Fat Pack mentioned high fructose corn syrup? Your post (especially the part about skin folds) made me very sad." No but that is a good point ..as it is is every single thing we eat, touch or breath anymore... As soon as I read you blog I quit looking at the Fat Pack enough is enough...and it is certianly enough to do this at work at... home should be peace and pleasure if one can find it ... my job makes me very sad sometimes to be honest (I should not even post from there) ..I love my patients and it hurts to see people hurting ..so it is easy for me to get caught up in the argument ..that and the need for distraction now.... I am going back to watching Ernie eat now ..he is such a delight ..my girls are badly behaved ...I am thinking if I let Flower and Kiwi on the table ..no one would eat they would kill each other attacking plates for food ..they are not very well behaved when it comes to eating ... so we have to contain them during dinner time! I put music on for them in another room and they dine alone ... Ernie is a doll baby!

oh no I for one will shut completely up on this subject and no longer harsh the sugar buzz...I want you to continue with good spirits for sure you are a delight to read Linda

MzDucky for some folks processed carbohydrates are as addictive and lethal as heroin ...binges can begin with a bowl of Sugar Frosted Flakes and end up with passing out with a bag of chips and a blood sugar of 500 plus...this certainly can be equated with any addict and overdose in my opinion same same.. ....just like for some folks drinking a beer leads to a drunken binge. Yes there are folks that will overeat anything including meat ..the majority of folks who end up sick in front of me did not get where they were because they were eating whole unprocessed foods with in reason....the diets they eat tend to be based on processed carbohydrates.....at first everyone (even family members) will tell me they eat "healthy" but when they are with me for an entire shift being flooded with fluids and insulin ..as they come out of the fog of sickness...the truth usually comes out in the form of tremendous remorse ..and pledges of resolves..that equals the person in the next bed I am flooding with fluids and vits while they are detoxing from booze...as a nurse I see no difference in the severity of the illness be it booze or food ..... If you can enjoy anything in moderation I totally applaud you! ...you are a great roll model and I wish you give classes in my clinic after reading your blog ..and I wish like hell you were in the majority as well ...and yeah I will say that I consider an entire catagory of food as being unhealthy and bad for you as a result of my own both personal and professional experience ... Bottom line here is that article ..I am happy that the food community is talking about this ..I have a group of friends who cook and eat together and we are all grossly aware that our gatherings need to be more in line with eating well ..and moving our bodies...so we try to be creative use healthy foods avoid crapfood (sorry if that sounds "cutesy" "but pernicious moral-judgement terms" honey I just call it as I see it... not a moral judgment on my part sorry!..crap is crap) ...and smaller portions of everything including vegetables ..we are as a group trying to make gluttony taboo ..we want to enjoy eating together ..tasting wonderful foods we make... for a long lont time!!!....we do not want to end up caring for each other (as a group of health care providers) ..like we have to care for our patients and there is a huge problem with us too in this area! ...we started planning gatherings that involve hikes or walks as well as food volley ball or bocci ball in the good weather ..or even cranking up the music ..moving the furniture and including dance moves that are not "suitable for middle aged" folks as Maggie says ...when you are going to eat cake for dessert and I love cake ...it is also a good idea to dance around with joy about it!!! I am glad that article was written and I am so glad we have this forum to talk about it ... oh and my opinion of drug companies is not a good one in some cases ..yes I agree the current trend for some providers is to over Rx based on studies the the drug companies fund..they push product and it pisses me off... that is why I work for a company that does not allow sampling or even lets vendors in the door...I will not accept so much as a pen with a drug name on it .. but that is a whole other issue...

you are very welcome the woman who dose this actually uses a two liter bottle and puts it between four plants

here is the pop bottle watering method my friend swears by it but she leaves the ...this could buy your plants time if the 11year old is amiss with watering? he just has to fill the bottles up once in a while this way and it is so green click

thank you for that ..hey as far as watering goes can you do a timer on a cheap drip system...or liter pop bottles with holes in the lid and a small hole in the top ...so it just dribbles out around the plants? two weeks in France ...sigh ..jealous over here

wow thanks you made a great point!!!! I did not even get that until you posted ..but you are absolutely right!!!

YAY a Dr agrees with a nurse in public even!!! (kidding I adore the Dr's I work with but it is constant back and forth about this) fat provides some satiaty in life ...refined carbs make you want more and more and more ...when companies took the fat out of food they added more starch and sugar that is why you dont loose wt ..I dont read a lot of science I have to be honest when I say I just call it as I see it ..and this is how I have seen it ..the more we eat crap the more harm to our bodies...food is not crap!!! crap is crap!!! here on this board there are tons of wonderful ideas for eating very well and staying healthy ..

Ha! ← Yeah I am hanging my fat head in shame

honestly when I take a close look at my patient's diets the ones who suffer the most are living on refined crapfood carbs ..not pork belly ..in fact I think for some folks if they upped the natural fats in their diets and reduced the amt of processed carbs then they would find a medium to live with ...some Dr's and I have had huge arguments over this whole low fat thing ..but honestly I think that fat can be good for you and keep you healthy in the right way when NOT combined with processed carbs but with fresh fruits and vegetables ..heretic that I am ...

I LIE !!! about once a year or so I buy Tims Alder smoked chips...shhhhhhh....

I eat no fast or prepackaged foods ..none at all .avoild all transfats and eat my fat naturally....when my wt goes up ten lbs I eat a pretty low carb diet (avoid all sugar, potatoes, flour, rice anything white I guess you can say) and count calories and carbs until the weight comes off then I try to maintain it as long as I can by being sensible ..and honestly I am not at all sensible for certian periods of the month...and I do move my ass as much as possible although I hate regular exercise.. I garden and do a lot of heavy work ..I am also on my feet all day even in front of the computer were I toss the chair and stand fidgeting all the time ...drink lots of water...eat when hungry stop when content and not full ... I want to eat pork belly until I die ..but I also do not want to loose the capablity of caring for myself unless I have to ..this is not easy that is for sure and certainly I am not a great example with the up and down 10lb thing...but human and ..I love sugary/white/fatty foods!!!!

Not to sound flip...But this is my favorite quote from this whole discussion. ← me too (I am back ) eat the pork belly and then go for a run, walk, stroll ...eat the freaking pork belly!!! it keeps you full longer than popcorn!!!! there are so many misunderstandings about obesity and understandings but it is math in the end as mentioned above we need fat in our diets to keep ourselves content ...I am so glad MB is wanting to drop 40lbs I bet it makes a huge difference ..I also think this conversation is amazing and am so glad it was started and keep sneaking in here between patients .. I printed that article and am giving it out today as needed it is good for food lovers to talk about this issue ..before you have to sit in front of me clutching your chest!

thank so much for your replies I will give it a try if I feel overwhelmed I can leave..I like the idea of the wagon and think I can just borrow my friends 2 year olds for the day ... I love then entire idea of it and being around plants and gardeners all a positive ... when I say I get overwhelmed it is almost pathological sad to say ..I do fine is busy cities when I am just wandering... but crowds at fairs and farmers markets just make me feel anxious and overwhelmed ...and as I get older it is harder for me to deal with oh well mind over matter I will just bite the bullet and go...besides there is alway xanax

I eat pork belly and all kinds of fatty foods they fill you up and keep you full unlike processed foods that bind to nothing but the "gimme more factor" .....but eat it in moderation it is a part of an entire plate not the plate itself.. people please know that diabetes is underdiagnosed if anything! one day with me is enough to convince anyone I would think ...genetics are a huge issue so is age ..but you can manage and care for yourself too! ok nuff said I need to go serve the masses now ...come be a fly on the wall with me and it will make you understand where I am coming from eat a wide variety in moderation of everything you enjoy and you will do much much better in the long run that is for sure bye now and good luck to everyone on this issue! eta my words are based on what I see and do for a living ..day after day for many many many years and can honestly say the past 10 years there has been a huge increase the number of younger and younger patients with obesity related illness ..it is not easy to avoid this ..but most of these things can and should be avoided ..for quality of life if not quantity...

very good article ..I am an RN/food lover/ and potentially overweight person who has to watch what I eat constantly to be able to eat what I want...I work in a very busy clinic setting where I triage and care for acute/urgent/emergent situations. I would be twiddling my thumbs all day long if there was not an obesity epidemic . I dont care who writes what about what ..I am telling you this is a fact of my day to day life!.....I work my ass off with huge percentage of what I treat directly related to obesity....diabetes, blood sugars so high I wonder how the blood circulates at all... stasis ulcers, renal failure, various cardiac issues, nasty skin infections under fat folds, the inablity to even collect your own urine sample for a bladder infection..the inablity to urinate or empty a bladder at all ....asthma, pneumonia, GERD, hypertensive events, falls, severe post op complications, chf not to mention severe depression at not being able to attend to ones own hygeine...I could go on and on and on...but I think the point is clear...yes there are other health conditions besides this . ..but right now for me as a nurse ..obesity is the greatest issue and the one that keeps me in line ..seeing other people suffer like I do and trying hard to be a decent example of trying to preserve my health is a way of living and it is not easy! Eating is so much pleasure to me!!! if you eat the foods you love in moderation ..get some exercise ..avoid processed, fast and crapfoods ....you can and will keep yourself well yes you can get sick and die of anything ..sadly I know that all to well right now .....but folks who choose to ignore obesity will end up in my care (figurativly) with, embarassing to critical conditions that could and should be avoided... make each bite of food that enters your mouth count for something and you may never see me! I would not mind being unemployed for those reasons that is for sure!

I would love to attend the Tilth sale it looks like it has a fantastic number and types of plants available! ..but it also looks very crowded? can you tell me about it it is easy to park? are the crowds huge? is it easy to navigate? I get so overwhelmed with stuff like this appears to be ...that I end up just leaving and tend to miss out on some wonderful things

Well, I totally agree that it is inappropriate to bring an espresso into a place that sells them. I also agree that it is inappropriate to bring a drink into a place that has a sign forbidding the practice. Still, I don't think anyone is obligated to order a drink with a meal. Economically, bringing a coffee in is no different from ordering water. The only places I've seen with one drink minimums were ones where the beverage was not the major attraction Order well, tip well, and rationally it is a net gain for the restaurant. But our rules for social interaction aren't necessarily rational and people can be boors. Personally, in some circumstances I don't think it is rude to bring a drink, but what is important is what the other party thinks is rude - that is the essence of being polite. I think jsmeeker hit the PNW phenomenon on the head - people see their latte as an extension of their hand. ← While that last line is quite correct and I totally think it was worded perfectly...it still pisses me off that it is like that ..and I am not in the majority in my thinking about taking things into restaurants ..although I am so grateful to see the comments above ..I feel very validated! when I go into a restaurant I am putting myself in someone elses hands..casual or not ..I have given up control...why bring tea? coffee ..if I am paying for a meal someone makes I will take it the way they make it with all they provide...it is respectful and kind in my book .. and I do adore and even travel with my own coffee (to have in my hotel room before I go to breakfast) I was born in Providence RI and went from the breast to the bean ..seriously! I know and love coffee...tea no..but coffee ..yes..I will travel all over for the best of the best...but at the same time I think if you really love coffee you would never wander aimlessly with a cup of coffee in hand ...let alone into a restaurant!!!.....like all things food/drink I believe each cup I consume deserves to be appreciated when and where it is made and in a cup ...where ever it is made ......so what if it is horrible or the place your eating does not serve lattes (or your perfect tea?) ..do not have any! get some before what is the bfd? .. since it really only takes a few moments of life to consume the coffee I am not getting the point it always has to go someplace! ..(the moon is full and I can not contain myself on this I am sorry) I love living where I do (South Puget Sound Washington State aka "Latteland") and would not trade it for the world.. ..but this is one bitch I have with this place ..it is out of control here and to sit down to a nice bowl of Pho in a mom and pop joint where they serve pressed coffee and there is a family with about 6 lattes they brought in ..just gross! (I saw this just two days ago) Stop it!!! I mentioned it to the owners and they were very sad about it but would not risk loosing the business...by saying anything (I think that happens a lot) I felt so badly for thse folks wanted to go smack each person on the head who had latte ..but restrained myself . I will stop now thanks for endulging me