I'm back!

I'm back online after 5 days! My poor old 'puter succumbed to a nasty virus last weekend and totally crashed, to my horror. Into the 'puter shop first thing Monday morning it went, tenderly strapped into the backseat of my car with a rug around it. I've just got it back and plugged it in with shaky hands and trembling fingers, like some sort of addict ... oh. Hmm. Well, five whole days with no email, no news, no blogs ... it's a long time and I've got a lot of reading to do!

Richard Thompson again

Just posting this because it's a great song that never fails to cheer me up. Richard Thompson on Letterman, 1991. And get a load of Dave with hair - and check out the white socks!

Reflections on a funeral

Richard Thompson, one of my heroes.

And yes, I did it again. Carbs, that is! I went to a funeral this afternoon. After the ceremony, following time-honoured tradition, everyone adjourned to the church hall for afternoon tea. And what a true country afternoon tea it was, traditional Kiwi fare that has all but disappeared in these fashionable times, except in the rural heartland. Lamingtons (pink ones, my favourites.) Sausage rolls. Sandwiches (hearty substantial fillings, like beef and pickle, salmon, or egg; and cut in triangles and with the crusts left on. Not a lettuce leaf in sight.) Pikelets with jam and cream. Cakes of every description. Little savoury eggy tarts. And best of all, cream puffs - choux pastry puffs oozing with sweetened whipped cream and smothered in thick chocolate icing. And of course copious tea and coffee and cordial for the children.

I have had two friends in recent years who have been diagnosed with leukaemia. Ross was diagnosed about four years ago with chronic myeloid leukaemia, was treated aggressively, and has recently celebrated his second year in remission. He told me how much his drug treatment cost - I forget exactly what it was, but it runs into hundreds of thousands of dollars. It didn't cost him a cent. Thank goodness for socialised health care, while it lasts!!

Richard, on the other hand, was also diagnosed with myeloid leukaemia, but in its acute form. He too was treated with aggressive chemotherapy, and for a while he seemed to be doing well, but he died on Monday morning, less than four months after his diagnosis. It was his funeral I went to today.

Grief is strange. In me it has been manifesting as grumpiness and anger at the unjustness and randomness of it all. Now the anger has lessened and I just feel sad.

Tight pants

I could feel that my jeans were a bit tighter than they used to be so I weighed myself and sure enough, a few kilos have crept back on. I have lost the plot a bit lately. I have been too complacent. Wine has once again become a daily staple rather than an occasional treat, and I haven't helped myself by unleashing the carb monster last weekend. I had friends who are wheateaters staying, and being a good hostess I bought a loaf of bread so that they could have toast for breakfast. They, being considerate guests, had brought their own bread and cereal because they know I don't eat it. I, being a weak-willed degenerate, ate both bread and cereal while they were staying, and I even ATE THE LEFTOVERS after they left! Oh the shame. It just shows that the beast is just under the surface, and it doesn't do to get complacent.

I am not too bothered about the extra few kilos, they will come off. I am a bit concerned at how easy it is to slip back into old habits, though. A good lesson learned.

My new favourite

I had guests staying over the weekend, and this is what they brought me. Chili chocolate! Two packets! Dark chocolate spiked with a hint of chili. Bliss.

Scary carrots!

Oh, grow up! is all I can say. This woman claims she is unable to keep to a healthy diet because she is frightened of vegetables. Vicki Larrieux, from Portsmouth in England, suffers from "lachanophobia", which leaves her sweating and stricken with panic at the merest sight of a sprout or a pea. Sounds more like a creative excuse for not eating up your cabbage than a phobia, to me. I see she eats potatoes, and I bet she eats chips. Somebody needs to break it to her that potatoes are vegetables. The Daily Mail is a great source of entertainment.

30 hour fast

I did my 30 hours, go me! No drama, a few hunger pangs but they didn't last. Tai chi this morning was the same as ever, and I felt perfectly normal the whole time, except for the occasional hunger pangs, of course. I was ready to eat when the fast was over, though. Absolutely no inclination to hang in there for another hour or two! The 30 hours was up at 4pm and by 9 minutes past four I was hoeing into a 2-egg mushroom and courgette omelette. I have meat in the fridge but I was too impatient to cook it, whipping up an omelette was way quicker! That was followed by a big mug of tea, a small chunk of cheddar cheese and a few walnuts (about 10 halves.) Now I could eat it all over again, but I won't.

Now I know that I can do it, I will do it again. But not too often, and not too soon. Maybe every 4 or 6 weeks or so.

Fasting today

I'm a fan of intermittent fasting, and regularly fast 18 hours - about twice a week. I've read about the benefits of longer periods, though, so today I'm attempting 30 hours. This will be a first. I usually cave around 20 hours, and the longest I've managed is 24 hours. My last meal was breakfast yesterday, so I'm trying to hang in there until dinner tonight. I'll see how it goes. I'm allowing myself coffee with cream and some coconut oil, so it's not as strict as it could be and purists will frown, but hey. Whatever works.

Thank you Rachel421 at Intermittent Fasting for the graphic!

Confession

TV 3 is re-running Project Runway on Saturday afternoons. Series 4 has finished, and today was the first part of series 5. Confession: not only do I watch daytime TV, I adore Project Runway. I can't for the life of me fathom why. After all, now that I have given up work and no longer have to endure a corporate wardrobe, I'm a flannel shirt and jeans gal, and my concession to formal wear is to wear sandals instead of boots. Is it the gorgeous Tim Gunn? Heidi Klum? (No!) Is it the clothes? Is it the narcissistic designers? I don't know, I only know that I find it riveting. Maybe the attraction is that it is so far removed from life on a sheep farm in rural New Zealand.

The power of words

I am a fan of Alexander McCall Smith, I like his meandering discursive style of writing. I've been enjoying the daily episodes in the UK Telegraph of "The dog who came in from the cold." Today's chapter, "May contain nuts" has Berthea, a character in the novel who is a psychiatrist, musing on the nature of "plain English" and the terminologiy used to describe mental disorders. One of the comments on the episode alerted me to this article, "Glad to be mad?" by Jo Brand. I am interested in language and linguistics, and I also used to work as a nurse, so this article delighted me and so I throw it in here for those who may care to read it.

Farewell to a fruit

Alas, November means the end of the kiwifruit season. Kiwifruit are the only fruit I eat, these days, except for berries. Even though they are carby (over 10 grams CHO each) I love kiwifruit, especially the green ones, and I refuse to give them up. The sharp clean crisp taste matches their heavenly clear green colour. They look as good as they taste, once you cut them open to expose their pretty interior. I just love everything about them. Good bye my dear little fruits, we will meet again in April!

Feel grateful, sleep better? Really?

Judging by the comments on my previous post, I am not alone in being a bad sleeper. Insomnia is everywhere! I found an article which maintains that keeping a gratitude journal helps you to sleep better - to which I can only respond by rolling my eyes heavenward. It's worth reading the article, though. I am too much of a cynic to think this will work, the whole idea of a "gratitude journal" makes me want to laugh. Marian Keyes' latest book, "The brightest star in the sky" features a married couple who try to find three things to be grateful for every day. It is funny but it is also a bit sad. (I recommend the book, by the way.)

I guess I'm just a fat, ungrateful, curmudgeonly, opinionated insomniac, who is slowly becoming less fat but no less insomniac. I can live with that. (I have to!)

Get your zzzs!

This post on Weighty Matters about the link between obesity and sleep deprivation is interesting. I am a terrible sleeper, always have been. I never manage more than 6 hours or so at the most, and I don't seem to be able to sleep for more than two or three hours at a time. I wake often during the night and I'm always tired during the day. No matter how tired I am when I go to bed it takes me a long time to get to sleep. I always envy those peeps who are out like a light the moment they hit the pillow, and who sleep for a solid eight hours at a stretch. I wish I could do that.

Nothing beats a good story.

Two videos that tickled my funnybone.

The first is an ad for "Canal" cologne, that I found on Ken Levine's blog. Levine is a very funny man who was one of the writers on some of the best US sitcoms ever, including Frasier, MASH and Cheers. His blog is full of acute observation and is interesting reading especially if you're interested in writing.



The second is a disturbing little film that someone tweeted to me. You will never want to pop bubblewrap again after watching this.

Garden photos

Looking westwards, with the Ruahine Ranges in the distance.

Looking north, State Highway Two in the background.

The newly mown front lawn! Loving that freshly cut grass smell.