Magical marriage on Lughnasadh

For years I had assumed I would be getting married a third time in the state/country where I reside. 

Some Day.

Then something magical happened. More than one thing. Many things.

My residing state got together and decided to not limit marriage to couples of opposite gender declarations. Then a group of black robed people, looking like a bunch of Hogwarts professors, decided that if my state said I was married they would not disagree.

What this meant for me and my wife? As of midnight today we are so married. All without lifting a finger. It was like a spell had been cast -- or broken. I didn't need to get married again. 

On July 31st I wasn't and then on August 1 I was.  Magic, we are.

Happy Lughnasadh and congratulations to all the new spouses. 

Here's hoping many more dreams will come true for us all. xox

Summertime 333

Tucked into my first post this year I spoke about my January-February-March 333 project. It went very well. I had a lot of fun doing it but I ran aground when I tried to pick my 33 pieces of apparel for April-June because of the weather.

The weather was so weird April-May, there was no spring really, then summer came mid June and I had two trips that had very different climates....well the end result was that I could not pick clothing. The battle between long sleeves and short was too much for me this year. My cold weather clothes seemed 'off' but I was freezing a lot. [except when I went to Palm Springs]

Now it is July and it is firmly summer and I find that I can make decisions about clothing easily. For whatever reason I feel like I can handle the weather for the next 3 months and I am able to plan. I also went out last month and got shoes for the summer so that hated task is done. I also realized I was short on plain t-shirts and tanks so I picked up a few at various thrift/consignment stores.

My List [always a work in progress]

1-3 Tan Sandals, Black Sandals, Coral shoes
4-9 Black pants, Slate pants, [2] brown pants, [2] green pants
10  Bronze shorts
11-19 Short sleeve tops: vertical stripes, horizontal stripes, [2] black T, [2] brown T, purple T, [2]print
20  Maroon print skirt
21-25 Sleeveless tops: black, slate, olive, lime, brown
26-27 Blue dress, Wine dress
28-30 Summer sweaters for AC: lime, blue, heather
31  Swimsuit

I am at 31 items including shoes.  I don't count exercise clothing or grubby garden wear or accessories. I have a awol purple tank top and my purple jeans are probably too big but my list may shift a bit.  I see lots of fun outfits in this list. It feels spacious almost too much so. If September turns cold I can swap out a bit but considering how hot it is now it seems silly to worry about it.

It feels good to have that settled.

Replacing potato salad

I grew up with my mother's potato salad and I enjoyed it. It was a typical blend of cooked potato chunks, chopped celery, hard boiled eggs and diced onion with a mayo/mustard dressing. Paprika sprinkled on top.  We had it on summer picnics with chicken.

Once I went off sugars and most starches in 2002 I simply replaced the potatoes with steamed, cauliflower chunks and never looked back.

But this week a friend asked me for my salad recipe at our 4th of July cook out and I realized that I make my salad different every single time I do it.  In fact this year's was quite different since all of my celery was bad and I didn't add eggs because there would be yummy deviled eggs on the same table.  I also let the ingredients I had in the garden lead me.

So here for my writing partner is how I remember making my  

2013 Cauliflower Salad.

Combine in a large bowl --
Steam a large cauliflower, cool and chop. Chill in fridge.
3 mild white radishes, chopped.
3 green onions, chopped small.
large handful of garlic chives minced.
large handful of tarragon de-stemmed.
salt and pepper to taste.

Mix together for dressing --
1c homemade mayo [I know made this with olive oil but can't remember the seasonings]
1 tsp coleman's mustard
1 tsp paprika 

Dress salad and chill it in the fridge all afternoon for dinner. Invite a few friends over to enjoy a truly beautiful 4th of July summer night with good food and laughter. I think the occasion and the people added to the taste of the salad. But you may be able to duplicate it.

As for me I am grateful for the normal summer we have had thus far. It has been hot and sometimes muggy but not unusually so. The garden is doing well and strawberries are bearing and the birds are singing along with the waterfall.

Wishing all some summertime joy! xox


 

Breaking Through

The Silence of May and June seem necessary now though I was in the middle of it before I realized it. The debate around my marriage on the state level and the decisions on the federal level are made of equal amounts of wordless pain and joy.

I can’t really celebrate although there is much to celebrate. Some times I can stare wide-eyed in wonder at the change. Then at times I see my failures as an ally to others so clearly.

I realize how deeply in different ways the rejection has wounded me. I finally feel strong enough to face how painful parts of the past have been. I see that it crippled me in a way, as I tried to guard myself against more pain, more rejection - I limited myself.  

[I bow to my humanity, my 'normalness']

I feel relief that decisions were in my favor. I feel fear when I read about what is happening in Russia or France. I feel anger when couples don’t know how to respond to marriage because they could never dream in a million years it could happen for them.
 
It is so painful, we deserved our dreams

Words still falling short.

Was that April?

Does is seem like Beltaine to you today? Chances are if you live in my neck of the woods you are thinking 'hell no'.

The idea that spring is half over is ridiculous. It just started last Friday after all.

April was snowy and dreary and cold and odd and I don't know a single local person who didn't find themselves taking the weather very personally at times. I noticed myself doing this but I wasn't able to turn it off. I feel like I spent most of the month accepting the shitty weather and accepting myself for letting it bother me so much. Time for a change.

April contained more than the icky weather. There were volunteer trainings and dining out for life and seeds being planted and a few walks. There was weight-lifting and continued wearing of boots. There were sweet tiny ideas being born. There was healing in the family. Vacations have been figured out.

Unlike so many Springs this one will be remembered.
I am ready for May, although it is snowing out there as I type this. 

Happy Beltaine irregardless. xox

Grain free for a year [mostly]

I can't believe it's been a year since I stopped eating grains. It went fast and I wonder how much I will remember in another year or so?  Blogging to the rescue.

So here is what the this year of grain free looked like for me in no particular order.

[Back story: I was grain free for two years previously the summer of 2002 to the summer of 2004. I have been sugar free for 10 years, this didn't change although I grew more sensitive to sweet tastes]

-I started again at the prodding of my doctor. She suggested it as a way to deal with my swollen ankles which had been bothering me for the previous 4-5 months. 

-My wife volunteered to do it with me as support. Now she does it for herself. 

-The first month or so I upped my starch [potato, quinoa, buckwheat, and fruit] it did not agree with me. There was digestive evidence of this for 6 weeks or so. So I limited simple starches as well.

-About every other month I have Mexican and while I am there I may have 6 corn chips with lots of guacamole.

-I did not gain any weight over the winter holidays.

-My ankles have been improving, maybe an 80% improvement over the year.

-Coconut flour is a wonderful thing. It took a bit to get my grain free baking mojo back.

-I planned days when I would eat grains - on holidays - so about every 6 weeks. I might eat a sour dough pancake or sushi or real bread. No bad effects from this. I also ate some grains while on vacation in Montreal.

-During the warmer weather I missed rice a lot. In the colder months I missed bread. I still have days every month where I miss certain grains.

-The skin condition on my arms which I have had all my life is 'calmer'.

-I have potatoes about twice a month when I eat out. Usually hash browns. 

-I don't make grains or potatoes at home. If I buy some for a party I toss out leftovers when the party is over. Keeping french bread in the house is almost irresistible.

-I have lost almost 30 pounds. My weight stopped creeping up.

-I don't feel deprived. Sometimes I feel short of time to cook.

-I don't stress about small things when I eat out.  The sauce may have a bit of corn oil but I don't worry. I eat at places that serve seasonal, local and organic food. It works fine.

That's all that I can think of right now, if more comes to me I'll edit or have a part II. Basically it has been a good experiment that I am happy about. Certainly eating grains seldom seems to be what agrees with my body the best for the moment.

Now time for dinner. Salad, chicken with carrots and celery, followed by brie, half a pear and grain free crackers. Good nourishment to all!


-

Spring 2013 Report or saying so long to March

Spring came on the 20th but it is different from last year.

There is no eating outside or marveling at the warmth or being shocked by the 'much too early' appearance of the mosquito this month. Instead it has been snowy and cold.

So on equinox I did the only thing I could think of on my day off. I went and hid in the conservatory for three hours. In there I could sit in a t-shirt, underneath pepper plants and fig trees, and pretend that winter had no hold over me.  Glorious.

Since equinox we have been having some sweeter and more spring like days. Yesterday I wore my leather jacket instead of my winter coat. I am wearing my black unlined boots. There has been sun and a thunderstorm moved in early yesterday morning. The snow is being washed away and the birds are all lining up on the telephone wires ready to jump into Spring.

Any day now I'll be getting the report that the first red-winged blackbird has been spotted and we will know spring is really here. My body is ready, I don't seem to need my light therapy anymore and my plate seems empty without lots of veggies.  New shoots both indoors and out are popping up everywhere. And we found a place that makes the most wonderful zucchini fries.

So onward to April! Here's to a new round of project 333, the pathways [chemistry] of joy workshop, more of those fries, the friend's plant sale and dining out for life. 

It's time to wake up. Good morning all.