Slow Living - Doing It Old Style!

Brie

Enforced slow day here a Casa Brie.  Had an overnight flight from Toronto which should have arrived at Heathrow at 9:30 Sunday morning but got in at noon instead.  Had 7 hours of hanging about waiting for it to leave a Pearson and then nearly missed it being one of those "last call for Brie!" just as I wandered up to the gate.  Eek!  Master Brie would have throttled me had I not arrived. (which would of course made said throttling impossible of course....not that he actually would in any case)

So having been dead on my feet I left the plane limping badly from cramped legs and an arthritic knee but was forcing myself to walk at a decent pace and then something went ping in my lower calf muscle which slowed me to a hobble.  Managed to get to the immigration lines which were zig zagged and had a couple of thousand people shuffling along and I asked one of the nice officials was there anyway I could not have to zig or zag and was escorted to the fast track line which had no one else in it.  Thankfully.  Another 45 minutes wait to collect my bags but OH was slowed for pick up by bad traffic and rain so I beat him to the collection point by about 10 minutes.  

Leg is still banging on this morning so think I must have done something nasty to it and hence have only managed to unpack 1 suitcase so far.  The other is mostly full of un-necessaries like white cheddar popcorn, Kobe sauce and buckwheat honey.  (if anyone likes honey this is the best in the world.)   So my only ambition today is to unpack it and hide some of the treats so that him indoors doesn't inhale them all in one go.  He knows to ask permission before opening the honey or to eat any Turtles (chocolates, not amphibians).  Just need to decide how many records he's allowed - found a treasure trove of old vinyl at a thrift shop and bought as many as I thought I could carry - hoping he'll be delighted with them all.  Lots I'm looking forward to hearing as well - especially Bjorling and Merrill doing the Pearl Fishers duet.  But there's a new one too - the latest Willie Nelson which should be good - if I'd planned better I could have seen him at Syracuse at Farmer Fest or whatever it's called but had booked my flight by the time I found out about it.  

Floss

Ooh @Brie my dad loved Jussi Björling!

Brie

Floss said:

Ooh @Brie my dad loved Jussi Björling!

Couldn't wait for OH's birthday (Nov) and gave him all the LPs today.  Each one made his smile bigger.  Got to the Bjorling (which I had at the bottom of the stack) and he said "we've got that but only on cd"  and smiled!!!  There were a couple of "hope you didn't spend much" but a total of 9 vinyls cost a total of $8 which is just over £4 so no arguments there.  The Willie Nelson was new so $40 but still only about £20 so not out of line with getting it here assuming it might be available.  

leftatthetrafficlights

@dND - loving the raised beds! I'm lucky that we managed to get some pallet collars from dh's work and we used them for the front garden raised beds. They currently have mainly flowers in them but we'll be using them for veg from now on. Living in the middle of a field for 16 years sounds marvellous! 😁 I'd imagine that the sunrises and sunsets were spectacular 😍 

@Teaparty_mum - sorry you've been having a 'dip', I hope you're feeling better now! I'm glad you're finding meditation and yoga helpful 😁

@gill5blue - welcome! 😁 it can be difficult to slow down but even if it's just being totally present in the moment for 5 mins a day, you'll definitely feel the benefits! 

@weenancyinAmerica - sorry you had such a tough week - I hope things are easier now 🤞 

@Wednesday2000 - Yoga with Adrienne is great, I started with her 20 minute beginners yoga and worked up from there. Unfortunately since I fell earlier in the year I can't bear weight on my wrist so haven't done any for ages 😔 she has got a hands free playlist though so I started to do those. Thanks for the heads up on the H&B stuff - definitely a good haul if you use those products! 🙌 

@Nelliegrace - I've never heard of Sukin shampoo  - is it vegan? Thanks for the info about the online availability of the H&B stuff 😁 

@Moorviews - I empathise with the being scuppered by the weather for outside yoga! 🤦‍♀️ I really wanted to finish off my 'meditation garden' and get on the mat out there but it just didn't happen 😕 oh well, there's always next year 😉 

@Brie - I really hope your leg is improving!! That sounds really nasty!! 😳 I'm glad your oh enjoyed his early birthday gifts - sounds like you got some real bargains there!! 😁 

@Floss - I  had to look up Jussi Björling! Nice voice, I do love opera! 

I'm back home now and spent yesterday decompressing and writing/planning as I've got six weeks now until my new year and I want to get myself sorted and ready for it.

I've gained weight over the last two months (far too many birthdays, anniversaries, family meals out, alcohol and upf's!! 😳🤦‍♀️), my fitness level is pretty much non-existent and I look like a bag lady 🙄😂 I also have lots to do in the garden, I want to deep clean my house and I need to update my food inventory. Yesterday I wrote a basic 'to do' list and planned what I'm doing house wise, I did the same with the garden stuff and also with myself! 😉 

I'm going to write a comprehensive 'to do' list each week on a Sunday for the following week as it's easier to break it down into a focused list closer to the time I'll be doing the tasks. This week is about doing general cleaning, getting the veg beds weeded and planting out stuff that needs to go in and improving my diet and exercise levels. 

I started this morning with a smoothie (watermelon, apple, amla powder, flaxseed and mixed berries) then went for a 6000 steps walk. When I got home I made myself a chamomile tea and did 10 mins of a 30 minute exercise video on Fabulous50s youtube channel - I was utterly exhausted!! 😳 However, at least I know my starting point and if I'm consistent I should be able to do the whole workout by the end of the six weeks 🤞 I'm going to watch a couple of youtube videos in a minute then go and start some weeding 😁 

I don't need to cook tonight as we have leftovers from last night. We had mixed grains - barley, rye, oats and short grain brown rice cooked in stock - and threw it into a pan in which I'd cooked a variety of veg from the garden - onion; garlic; courgette; scarlett runner beans; purple, yellow and green french beans; carrots; cavolo nero; tarragon and a bit of stock powder - and made a horseradish cashew cream to drizzle over it. It was absolutely delicious!! 😋 
 


Okay, I'm want to get out in the garden soon so I'd better watch these videos! Have a fab slow day! 🐌😁

dND

"I've gained weight over the last two months (far too many birthdays, anniversaries, family meals out, alcohol and upf's!! 😳🤦‍♀️), my fitness level is pretty much non-existent and I look like a bag lady 🙄😂 I also have lots to do in the garden, I want to deep clean my house and I need to update my food inventory. Yesterday I wrote a basic 'to do' list and planned what I'm doing house wise, I did the same with the garden stuff and also with myself! 😉"


@leftatthetrafficlights  Are you my long lost twin?? 🤣🤣

Katiehound

Sukin is an Australian brand- vegan
also stocked by beauty naturals (as well as H&B)- all  products stocked are vegan - I think!
https://beautynaturals.com/

it's always worth looking at their offers & clearance deals
https://beautynaturals.com/clearance/
(free delivery orders over £20)

Brie

Wasn't sure where I might post this so if you're on other boards and you think it might be helpful there please copy and paste!!  I've snatched from another website so sharing is definitely allowed.

Easy way to peel onions.

Someone was complaining about how much they hated peeling and chopping onions (other website) and had found this bit of advice on peeling which is particularly helpful with the really thin brittle skinned varieties.  Thoroughly soak the onion for a while (how long is a piece of string???) and because the skin loses its brittleness it will pretty much come off in one piece.  This saves you from the old and wasteful solution of taking off the first layer of the onion.  Obviously that still leaves the problem of chopping but I've never found that much of a chore myself.  

leftatthetrafficlights

dND said:

@leftatthetrafficlights  Are you my long lost twin?? 🤣🤣

😂😂😂 glad to know I'm not alone!! 😉

@Katiehound - thank you for the info and links! 

@Brie - thanks for the onion tip! I must admit that I was given a similar tip for peeling garlic and tried it but, although it worked, I just felt that the water leeched too much flavour out so didn't try it again 😕 

So today I'm going out to deliver pressies to my grandbaby as it's her birthday then I'll be coming home and sorting the freezers. I really want to get my food inventory updated before October so that I can start the grocery challenge properly - the last two months have been total chaos because of events and I need to get back in control!! 😳 

Depending on the time and weather I may get a bit more weeding done. We had lots of rain last night which makes it easier to pull the weeds so as long as it's not raining too heavily this afternoon and I'm not at my grandbaby's for too long, I should be able to get a session in. My first direct sowing of mizuna has been decimated by caterpillars so I'll need to sow some more in trays at the weekend - I've got my other grandbaby staying this weekend so I'll rope him in to helping 😉 

I'm making a tofu dish tonight - not sure exactly what yet but I need to decide before I go out so that I can get it in the marinade - I asked dh and he was no help!! 🙄😂  

Anyway, I'm waffling now - have a fab slow day!! 🐌😁

Brie

leftatthetrafficlights said:

@Brie - thanks for the onion tip! I must admit that I was given a similar tip for peeling garlic and tried it but, although it worked, I just felt that the water leeched too much flavour out so didn't try it again 😕 

Garlic is easy.  Break a clove away from the bulb.  Cut off the bottom. Lay the bulb on the cutting board and take your biggest heaviest knife (mine's a 8 inch chef's knife) and lay the blade on top of the clove and press down hard on the clove.  Most of the skin will break away from the "meat" and can be easily be slipped off.  The clove will also be slightly mashed so you're all ready to chop!

Teaparty_mum

Morning everyone, I hope you all are doing well ?
Not long back from a soggy dog walk so after a change of trousers, plenty of cups of tea !! I’m going out of the warmth for my reiki session then back to slob on the sofa x