by Diane: Foods for Wellbeing and thought

 Monday, January 25, 2021

Breakfast making is now a relaxing and creative time that I give myself.  Not a new way to enjoy the beginning of the day!  My gift of cooking breakfast I gave to myself starting more than a year before Fisherman Hubby passed away from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis often called Lou Gehrig's Disease. Back then breakfast was the least demanding of me in preparing his food and mine at the same time. For months he was able to pour milk and a quarter cup of brown sugar on his instant oatmeal  followed by maple bars, coffee with milk, King burger from Hasty freeze, Coke-a Cola, white rice meat in sweet and sour sauce, hot chocolate. But definitely any of the fortified supplement drinks were too sweet.

Back then I thought he would be back to his normal healthy self if he got his Candida under control, but the Oregon Brain Bank Pathologist Dr. Randy Woltjer said Fisherman Hubby passed away within the range expected for ALS and what he ate wouldn't make any difference. I am happy he was adamant and I hope he enjoyed himself eating what he liked. 

                    Lunch;  Creamed vegetable soup, and egg fluffed oatmeal and blue berries

 

 

After breakfast I did more  repurposing the vacant garage space where the boat used to be.  Most of the fishing paraphernalia is gone. Without much happening today I started feeling an emptiness and nostalgia for the times I was painting aeries of fishing and river paintings.  I enjoyed riding along and pretending to be a fishing companion when I was there mostly in my own world painting. The realization that a chapter in my art was so dependent on my husband's avid stewardship of fish and waters of the Northwest, I might continue my river paintings or take an interest in new areas. 

All that I have thought of is how I can work larger to get my whole body moving and rejecting long stretches of sitting doing tight tiny detail. 

      Dinner; Pot Roast Stew - I had seconds

 Another thought occurred to me. Almost all of my appreciation of Fisherman Hubby is about what actions he did and how they were often done for love. Every day I think of how he did little things that supported my creativity like taking care of the floors, the yard, volunteering to do dishes, tending to my to do list before going on a fishing trip.  And very much I appreciate that he left me enough financial resources to be comfortable and able to make choices. He was a very responsible, thoughtful man who basically made good choices. 

The few words of praise and endearment are gems. He would say he missed me when at the coast fishing and I remained home. He said days before he passed away that he had a good life. Which made me feel all the cooking of my food outside and trying to do his bidding even when I could not understand exactly why, meant he had a good life in spite of me and his illness.

Tuesday, January 26

When I cook for myself after Fisherman Hubby passed away, I actually find cooking for just me relaxing far from the frantic many pots burning in the kitchen and outside at the same time. So thankful I didn't have an accident and survived!!! Now I simply pull fresh ingredients from the refrigerator and I use most of them and I am free to change my meal idea mid-way like  today's lunch. I boiled two chicken thighs and was going to make a salad. 

Snow flakes were threatening outside and I wanted to add some warmth to comfort me. So I added fresh ginger, cumin, and garlic powder. To add a little sweetness with my curry like chicken, vegetable  stew. I took a slice of my steel cut oatmeal with blueberries cooked with tapioca - a dessert planned for dinner.

While eating surrounded by my art work, I have more thoughts of the direction my next paintings will take. I like the square format of the "When I Get to be Older Series" I will add to the series.

The few words of praise and endearment are gems. He would say he missed me when at the coast fishing and I remained home. He said days before he passed away that he had a good life. Which made me feel all the cooking of my food outside and trying to do his bidding even when I could not understand exactly why, meant he had a good life in spite of me and his illness.

Old age and food

 by Rain Trueax

 

Something that isn't often discussed or at least I haven't come across it is how our body's ability to use food can change with old age. There are probably those who go on their merry way and can eat whatever they want to the end. But that has not proven to the case with me. Old age has made me sometimes almost afraid of food.

by Diane: Update 11: A challenging week and new directions.

 

In order to find ways to intice my husband with ALS to eat his vegies, I experiment on myself. Here is a wilted salad on my morning oatmeal. He makes the oatmeal while I sliced celery paper thin and wilt it  in sauce pan along with a handfull of spinach. No way would he like this much salad but the paper thin celery with paper thin carrots in a sauce might go down well - a challenge with his difficulty swallowing. Vegetables are not the only challenge but all foods have to be soft and just the right temperature. He needs more red meat than I. The desserts I make him are too tempting to me.

On line doctor visits was stressful just installing and bringing up the app. Got to go manage our password file so it is easier to use. Would you beieve even the beautiful weather is a challenge to my my best made plan to have an art escape. Solution: Change directions. I am now drawing  the swallows outdoors. I am using a Hobby Cream soft pencil made in Italy on charcoal paper.

intolerances-- to food

by Rain Trueax
 

This is going to be a fairly short blog as I've had an 'under the weather' week. How did this come about you might ask or prefer not to know. For the prefer not to know, do not hit the read more button. 

by Diane:Spookspook and the foods that comfort me

 

Butternut squash baked until soft combined with homemade broth to make soup served with a few roasted pumpkin seeds on top.Umum good! Sweet potatoes, yams, acorn squash topped with honey fried apples, bananas, and pears.  Plum snacks! Husband likes grapes.   And then there is Hershey's chocolate ( the product of child laborers so I hear).    We have much more than necessary sitting in a bowl for a handful of trick or treaters we will get. My husband is in charge of the treats. I am a pardner in crime. This morning I put a heaping teaspoon of Hershey's special dark coco powder on my oatmeal, raisins, pinto beans and black beans.

This is the last of our garden for the year.

 

                                        The spook and cat waiting for the costumed children.

Happy Halloween preparations!