Mother's Day 2013

Well, it's Mother's Day and I'm awake before the kids.  

A couple of young folk offered to prepare me a breakfast of ham, eggs and fruit.  

All the family was together last night for an early celebration since I will be travelling for work over the next few days.  One thoughtful young person got me a bouquet of tulips on Thursday evening.  I'm looking at them, admiring them now as I type this entry.  

 

Other than gifts of flowers, chocolate or scented candles, my children know better than to purchase me "things" for Mother's Day or other celebrations.  I prefer the offer of time and labour or new experiences.  

It's the gift of time spent together, sharing experiences that I appreciate most. 

Since work schedules and the weather didn't cooperate, we didn't get out to the Tulip Festival or a restaurant dinner yesterday.  We settled for pizza delivery and a viewing of Super 8 on Netflix.  That movie will likely become another family favourite, first viewed on the big screen in 2011.  It's like ET meets The Goonies. 

Movies are less scary when viewed on a 20 inch screen and you get to control the noise level.  

I also like being able to pause the movie when people need to use the washroom or blow their runny noses due to allergies. 

I wanted to take this moment to express my love and appreciation for my beautiful children.   I have hope for them as they deal with past hurts, looking forward as they navigate individual, meandering paths in this confusing yet beautiful world.  Heck, at times it feels like I'm renegotiating my own. 

On this day I also think about my relationship with my own Mother who passed away almost 30 years ago.  Despite her self-imposed martyrdom, she was a good Mother.  She meant well, being dealt the hand she had with living in near-poverty and raising eleven children.  Being a good Catholic, one of her frequent mantras was, "God looks after the Mothers.".  She was a woman of deep faith.  

Sometimes, all we have to live on are faith - and hope.  

Here's to the mothers, real and imagined.   

Before I pack and while I wait for that breakfast, I think I'll have another cup of instant coffee and a serving of toast with jam.  This could take a while...
 
Thanks for dropping by.

T
 

More Adventures in Healthy Eating - Do I have spinach in my teeth?

If you are a frequent visitor to this blog, you will remember the previous entry about cooking with and eating more garbanzo beans.  I still have a couple of containers in my freezer. 

As you may recall, I am trying to eat healthier as I age and introduce different meal ideas to the family.   

 

This time, my distraction is with baby spinach leaves.  I searched the 'net for healthy recipes.  I just didn't want one that required cooking or acquiring too many uncommon ingredients.  

One of the resident young people told me about an easy and healthy sandwich that requires bread (any whole wheat or multi-grain variety), red pepper hummus (contains chickpeas - yay!) and baby spinach leaves (organic and or washed).  How complicated can that get?  

Instructions and pictures:

Wash your hands.

Gather your ingredients onto a clean working surface.

Acquire a clean plate and butter knife.  

Spread the hummus onto two slices of bread. 

Apply a couple of layers of spinach leaves onto one slice.  

Stop. Go check on the cat who slipped out onto the balcony.

Whew.  He's okay.  Just enjoying the morning sun.  

 

Where was I?
Right... Close the sandwich.

 Cut into segments. 

   

I find that triangles look fancier than squares.

To each his own... 

 

Taste test.

Yum.

   

Yum.

  

Yum.

You know how it goes from here.  

 

Yum, indeed!  This may become one of our regular, healthy lunch meals - especially in the summer when I do not want to cook.  

I do so enjoy cooking, checking and occasionally stirring a pot of soup, stew or pasta sauce.  I find cooking and the related preparation work to be therapeutic.  I also enjoy sharing the results with family and friends. 

In my novel, young Sera Fletcher is introduced to the smooth workings of the kitchen at the Red Hare Restaurant.  She soon forgets her loneliness and feels better as she immerses herself into the tasks. 
  
Thanks for dropping by!  Remember to share your reaction or submit a related comment below. 

T


 

Can you ever have too many garbanzo beans?

Over the past dozen years, I have been making healthier lifestyle and menu choices.  

I have been successful with avoiding collections of "stuff" that I don't need or don't have space to store.  I avoid noisy events and unhealthy, controlling relationships.   

A recent attempt at a relaxing meditation session did not prove successful.  Oh, well... Two steps forward and one step back.  Believe it or not, I am also looking for more ways to move my body - without becoming sweatier than usual or severely hurting myself. Salsa, anyone?

Aside from a monthly allowance of bacon and potato chips (yum!), I also try to watch what I eat.

My latest attempt at healthy menu options was cooking an entire package of Ferma brand dried chickpeas - and ending up with A LOT of chickpeas.  Garbanzo Beans Galore! 

That's okay.  Did you know you can pack the beans and refridgerate them for three days? You can add them to rice dishes and salads. Did you also know that you can pack and freeze them for later use? 

A resident young person offered to make chickpea curry one day this week.  Yum again! 

So, what are the benefits of eating chickpeas?  According to the following links, they are high in protein and fibre, plus they help control hunger if you eat them as snacks (instead of those potato chips).  They will also help ladies of a certain stage in life control hot flashes.  Well, we will see about that.  Get back to me in a few months...

Benefits of garbanzo beans:

• 3 health benefits of chickpeas
• What's New and Beneficial about Garbanzo Beans
• How to use natural remedies for hot flashes

This still has me wondering though... Are there any recipes that include bacon? 

Thanks for dropping by.  You are welcome to comment or select one of the reaction check-boxes.   Although I cannot offer you an extra portion of chickpeas through this blog, I can treat you to some excerpts from The Year of the Rabbit - a novel about Fate, Family and Forgiveness.  See what others have shared after reading the book. 

T 

Career choices - if we embraced childhood dreams

As a child, I enjoyed digging in the dirt and playing outdoors. 

Do you share memories of wearing rubber boots, digging channels and redirecting rivers around your muddy cities - all the while oblivious to the spring rain? 

Do you remember building sand castles on the beach only to see them topple minutes later into the approaching waves?

Do you share a fascination with King Tut treasures, burying  boxes of trinkets in a garden corner, dreaming that some future civilization would discover them?

Of the many possible career choices, I wonder if I could have made it as a city planner or an archeologist.  For the latter, I admire the persistence and physical endurance that the job requires.  You would get to travel around the world, be part of a team immersed in the local dirt.  You definitely wouldn't be sitting on your butt all day!

You get to share the excitement of discovering ancient graves ... under a parking lot.  Sorry - in Edinburgh they call it a "car park". 
 

 


This is exciting for someone who enjoys the history and mystery of the middle ages.  The only treasured discoveries for me lately have been due to visits from family bearing heirlooms. 

Since being an apartment dweller, I no longer have a small back yard garden where I can dig, grow or ... bury things. I have to satisfy my green thumb tendencies by puttering with the potted plants inside.  All we need are some colourful, flowering varieties.   

In the meantime, I can make plans with family and friends to visit places around the Ottawa Valley where we can enjoy natural gardening sites and annual festivals of bloom.  All this without getting dirty!

 
If you are curious about things that turn up in the spring, visit the blog for The Year of the Rabbit where my nom de plume  invites people to dig a little deeper.  She has dabbled in the mysteries of creative writing.  

Thanks for dropping by.

T