Meme

Having been tagged as a reader of EarthandInk's blog, here are my answers to her meme*:

1. What topic is so interesting to you that you could talk about it for days?

I don’t think I could talk about anything for days.   I could talk about backpacking for a little while.

2. Dream home: cottage at the beach, river house in the woods, lake house, penthouse in a city, farm house, castle in Europe, family home in a burb? Something else?

I grew up at the beach and currently have a family home in the burbs and a lake house in the woods. I love them all, but perhaps I should dream something new, so I’ll take the farmhouse.   Although frankly, home (to me) is where my family is so it really doesn’t matter the building type or place.  I tend to agree with George Carlin -   a house is just a box you keep your stuff in.

3. What talent would you like to have that you don’t have already?

Singing.  And yes, I know everyone can sing.  But I’m talking the kind of singing other people (and I) actually enjoy hearing.  Not anything fancy.  Just an easy listening kind of voice.  After that - dancing and cooking.

4. If you could make one food that’s not good for you, good for you, what would you choose?

Sugar.

5. The one piece of advice you would give to everyone and wish they’d follow.

In everything, choose  kindness.  

6. What period of history would you want to visit as a tourist?

The Renaissance.  

7. Do you have a hobby?

Hiking, backpacking, woodworking.  And now I am trying to be a more serious gardener.

8. If an animal could talk, which animal would you want to talk to?

Birds.

9. If you could be friends with a fictional character, who would you choose?

The Little Prince

10. Introvert or extrovert?

Introvert.  And I finally learned to make peace with it.

*Remember when we used to do these all the time?   I kind of miss them.

Bananas

As soon as I felt better from the appendix surgery I made an appointment with the urologist to deal with the kidney stones that showed clearly on the CT scan.  One big stone and a cluster of smaller stones.   

I had made the appointment with the same man who took care of me years ago but instead I was seen by his female assistant.  At first I was upset by this because I had some serious questions about my cancer drugs and their relationship to all these stones.  In the end I was very glad I was seen by this woman because she gave me a wealth of information I had never heard from my male oncologist or urologist. The conversation went something like this:

Me:  I am concerned that the cancer drugs which have now taken 20% of my bone density are the cause for all these new stones.

Her:  Well, yes.  All that bone has to go somewhere and it is now sitting in your kidneys.  I always put all my patients on potassium citrate.  

Me: Why?

Her:  Because the potassium binds with the calcium so it doesn't form stones.   You should ask your oncologist about it.  In the meantime you should eat a lot of high potassium foods like potatoes, spinach and bananas. Lots and lots of bananas.

Me:  Okay, good to know.

Her:  And you should know that the drugs, which are totally depleting your body of estrogen, will cause your lady parts to thin out.  That means you will be more susceptible to UTIs and other issues. They didn’t tell you this?

Me:  No.  And funny, I just had my very first UTI a few months ago.

Her:   Are you sexually active?

Me:  Sometimes : )

Her:  You should have at least 2 orgasms a week.  They will help maintain lubrication and  thicken the organ walls.   

Me:  Well, I’m gay and lube isn’t much of an issue.  2 times a week?  My partner coaches basketball and these days I’m lucky if I see her 2 times a week for a quick meal.

Her:  How long have you been together?

Me:  Over 25 years.

Her:  Well, she should no longer have to buy you a meal to have sex.  

Me:  I didn’t mean that . . .

Her:  I know (smiling)  But you really should have at least 2 orgasms a week to counteract what the drugs are doing to you.  If your partner is not around, you always have the bananas.

Then she winked and left.  

And this is why I like having female doctors : )

This is now the second time in a week that I have been told to have more orgasms for my health.    It seemed silly at first but it is now dawning on me (thank you universe) how much our own bodies are made to heal themselves.   And so I will be buying a lot more bananas and trying to have more sex.  

For medicinal purposes only.

World Nutella Day

In honor of World Nutella Day, let's get to know this super addictive snack.

8 Things You May Not Know About Nutella - reprinted from Mental Floss

1. Napoleon and Hitler are responsible for the world's Nutella addiction.

Back in 1806, Napoleon tried to freeze out British commerce as a means to win the Napoleonic wars (and take over the world). The result was a disastrous continental blockade that caused the cost of chocolate to skyrocket and left Piedmontese chocolatiers in the lurch. Ever resourceful, chocolatiers in Turin started adding chopped hazelnuts to chocolate to stretch the supply as much as possible. The ensuing deliciousness was a fateful paste dubbed “gianduia.”

Over a century later, chocolate again became expensive and scarce due to rationing in Europe during World War II. An Italian pastry maker named Pietro Ferrero once again turned to the mighty hazelnut for salvation in 1946 and created Pasta Gianduja, renamed “Nutella” in 1964.

2. It actually is the breakfast of champions.

According to the Guinness World Records, Nutella's 40th Anniversary breakfast celebration in Germany in 2005 earned the title of “Largest Continental Breakfast.” A total of 27,854 people gathered in Gelsenkirchen to enjoy a meal that consisted of little more than Nutella itself.

3. It sells like hotcakes.

One jar of Nutella is sold every 2.5 seconds throughout the world. According to the United States Census Bureau, one person is born every eight seconds. You do the math.

4. It spreads far and wide.

Not only is it available for purchase and feverish consumption in 75 countries, all of the Nutella sold in a year could be spread over more than 1000 soccer fields.

5. Nutella-related crimes are on the rise.

In 2013 the chocolate-hazelnut spread made headlines in Germany, where thieves pulled off a $20,000 heist, stealing 5.5 metric tons of the sweet stuff from a parked truck. Several weeks earlier, Columbia University found itself at the center of “Nutella-gate,” an expose smearing the school for spending $6000 per week on the spread for one of its dining facilities, where students were allegedly snarfing 100 pounds of it per day.

6. World Nutella Day Has Been a Bit of a Roller-Coaster.

Two bloggers in Italy decided to take their love of Nutella to the next level in 2007, and created a worldwide day of celebration dedicated to the addictive substance. Thus, every year February 5th is a day for eating Nutella, sharing Nutella recipes and memories, and looking at photos of Nutella food-porn. In 2013, Nutella manufacturer Ferrero tried to shut down World Nutella Day before reconsidering. But as of this year, at the request of Nutella Day founder Sara Rosso, Ferrero will be taking over the holiday.

7. There's no masking the flavor.

The chocolate and hazelnut substance gianduia is named after a character from Italian commedia dell'arte named Gianduja. He is depicted as a smiling Piedmontese peasant with a three-point hat who rides around town on a donkey clutching a duja—which in the Piedmontese dialect means “container.” The duja was said to hold wine ... but could have just as easily held a few pounds of that chocolatey hazelnut goodness, no? Gianduja masksare sold all over the Piedmont region of Italy, and his face was plastered all over early Nutella advertisements.

8. Nutella has a smeared reputation.

Nutella became so popular in Italy that Italian markets began to offer free “smears” of Nutella to any kid who showed up with a piece of bread. The phenomenon was referred to as “The Smearing,” and while it could potentially double as the name of a horror flick, was a highly successful marketing strategy. No wonder we're all addicted.

Full of Grace

We just made the last college tuition payment.   We still have food, rent and utilities until May but the big hits are over!!  

Sharing the SuperBowl with the same friends for 25 years.  I love long term relationships.

My surgery date for the kidney stones is set.  Not that I am looking forward to yet another surgery but I am looking forward to getting all these medical issues dealt with.

Feeling well enough to go play in the snow.  Because if you’re going to live in a place that gets a lot of snow you might as well enjoy it.  And I do!

Being able to snow blow again because Martha has had to do it far too often during my illness and recuperation.  She has asthma so it has been difficult for her when the temperature goes into the minus numbers.  I am very grateful to be able to take my job back.

The Hard Work of Aging

I have a very fitness conscience daughter.   She sends me daily emails about healthy aging  because she loves me and wants me to be healthy.  (And she wants me to live independently and not with her when I’m older).  I enjoy the little inspirational quotes and the advice on maintaining a healthy lifestyle.  They come daily with different writers giving  different advice. But it just dawned on me that this is stuff they recommend you do every single day.  Every. Single. Day.  All of it. So I put together this summary list of recommendations from just the last two weeks to get a sense of what a day should look like:

• 10 to 15 minute of meditation
• a 5 to 10 minute inversion poses
• 30 minute aerobic exercise
• 8 to 10 hours sleep
• laugh
• weight lifting
• volunteer and give back
• balance exercises
• yoga and flexibility exercises
• brain games
• social interaction
• 200 orgasms a year
• practice daily gratitude

I am assuming that this advice is targeted for folks who have fully retired and have at least 60 hours a day to accomplish all these essential tasks to guarantee those healthy golden years.  Because I don’t know about you, but if I do attempt a 10 minute inversion pose, it is going to take me at least 20 minutes to get back up off the floor and another 30 minutes to complain about it.

And notice there is no time built in for personal hygiene or even eating.  Although there are a significant amount of emails about eating healthy and detox diets and the importance of green smoothies.  I guess you squeeze those in between the 6 hours needed at the gym and collecting canned goods for the food drive.

200 orgasms a year?  This is obviously not a daily task but if you do the math, that is 4 orgasms a week.  Maybe I could do that when I was 20.   Maybe.  (My memory is a little faulty and I obviously need more brain games.)   I know a woman who complains that sex with her husband only lasts 7 minutes.  (She times it!)   If sex lasted only 7 minutes for us then maybe I would have time for sex 4 times a week, maybe in between dinner with friends and yoga class.  But for us, sex requires a lot of time.  A lot. These days we need to be well rested to begin with (otherwise we just fall asleep before anything really gets going) , and then there’s all that “wait my leg is getting a cramp”  and “remember to be careful of my shoulder” stuff.   All the work-arounds and modifications require time.  Sometimes we need to take a break in the middle and just rest awhile.  And then we need a lot of sleep afterward so we don’t start anything if we need to be up early.  

*Sigh*

I am not finding this aging thing easy.  Not easy on the body and not easy on the spirit.   But, as people say, it is better than the alternative.  Truth be told,  I am very grateful to wake up in the morning.   And when the doctor gives me clearance, I will joyfully (with some a lot of complaining) try to fulfill the advice of my daily email and walk and lift and bend and stretch and give and make love and think and play.   But I may have to give up my part time work hours to fit it all in.  Aging healthy is very, very hard work.  I need a nap just thinking about it.

Full of Grace - Code Blue

Code Blue is an emergency shelter serving homeless people in my area for when extreme winter weather hits.  And where I live, it hits often.

Recently a woman who runs an art gallery nearby asked artists to submit a piece of art focusing on the color of blue as a fundraiser for the Code Blue shelter.   There was a two week deadline.  As the newspapers reported “the response was amazing. More than 100 people submitted projects to the gallery.”  

On Saturday I attended the opening at the invitation of one of the artists.   There was no charge, but visitors were encouraged to bring a donation to help homeless persons like thermal clothing, sweatshirts, sweatpants and/or cleaning supplies.  The organizers had set up an 8 ft. table to accept donations and after the first half hour the table was no longer visible and the organizers were scrambling to find space to store all the donations. The coffee can for monetary gifts was overstuffed and someone was searching for something larger to use.  I was unable to stay very long because the galleries were so crowded that claustrophobic me had to get some air.  The response really was overwhelming.

These days we seem to be barraged with truly horrific news, day in and day out.  There are times when I wonder if humanity will survive another generation.  How can people be so cruel one another? It can, and sometimes does, drag me into a deep depression. 

Which I why I am so grateful that there are so many more people who (unfortunately) you rarely hear about, that organize events like these, who give more than they can afford to others, who share their time and their talents to help people they will never meet and who will never be able to thank them.  

These people restore my faith in humanity.

Love is powerful and love is strong.  Love wins.   

I was thrilled to meet a photographer, Jacqueline Donnelly.   This was her submission, one of my favorite places to backpack to and sleep under the stars. I am very grateful there are still protected places like this that restore my soul.

January blah

I am having a little trouble getting out of first gear.

I was going to write a post about what I learned in 2014, which was mostly about being humbled.  I didn’t get around to writing it.

And then I was going to write about my plans, intentions and resolutions for 2015.  That didn’t happen either. Apparently I am not quite ready for 2015.  Maybe soon.

I did take an awesome Italian pastry cooking class with my oldest daughter.  Most of it was way beyond my skill level but I did make these.

And then I spent a week with both my daughters in a place where the grass was still green and the temps were at least 60 degrees warmer than home.   I was still recuperating from the ruptured appendix so I required a lot of rest.  I slept a lot.   I began to feel old and sorry for myself.

I came home and my surgery got delayed because I developed a wicked cold and cough.  I started getting a little depressed about it because I just want all this medical stuff to be over and I still have two more surgeries after this.  

Then finally I had my decrepit appendix removed.  The surgery was easy, the anesthesia was a bitch.   It felt like triggering while being held under water.  And I have since been struggling to snap myself out of that fog.  

I have an undefined sadness that I can’t seem to shake.  Probably made more difficult because I can’t do anything physical while I’m recuperating.  I’m not even allowed to take a sauna for 4 weeks! So I sit.  Or nap.  

And then once I feel better I will need another surgery which will knock me down again.  

Arrrgggghhhhh!

Then I remembered that writing here helps me get through the doldrums.   

Sorry this is one long, sad, whining, complaining post.

I feel better already : )