Primal journal : Coll page 21

[Siobhan]

I am glad to see someone else enjoying spaghetti squash; it is occupying my thoughts a lot the past few days. What a great and versatile food it is - I am finding I can do almost anything with it. I could probably make it into dessert, but I won't - don't need any new desserts around here. It's great to hear your kids are thriving on primal!

[Coll]

My kids are instant fans and were ecstatic to see me put two more in my shopping basket today I have a bunch of left over tomato sauce which is begging for more squash to rest on! I am so delighted to see our kids doing better - fortunately they are still pretty young and have not been influenced by their peers yet due to being homeschooled and living in the country. I made kale chips tonight - was not sure how they would go over. DH and I are in love with them! I can see they are going to be a regular addition to our movie night! But I might need to make more of them than I did tonight. I could easily eat a whole bunch myself!

Breakfast: black tea with cream and stevia
Lunch: 6 breakfast sausages, 2 fried eggs, small stick biltong, black tea with milk and stevia
Snack: apricot, tiny handful of macadamias
Dinner: 2 lamb chops (!) kale chips, bowl of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and cream.

I wonder if I am headed for Aunt Flo's visit! I am eating a lot and feel good about it, not feeling stuffed or anything like that, just contented. Guess I'll see what the scale says tomorrow

Shamia! So nice of you to stop by, I miss hearing more from you. Maybe you could send me your e-mail address so we can keep in touch even if you don't come on here. I am so proud of you! You are doing great!

I shovelled compost and dirt for a while today. Trying to get the compost mixed in nicely and wet and then I can plant my first raised bed garden. Very dry and windy today - yuk! Funny, I was feeling hot after working in the yard late morning/ early afternoon. So I turned the airconditioner on ( our trailer bakes in the sun in the afternoon) and headed off to play my chanter for a while. Couldn't understand why I was not cooling down and put it down to the second cup of tea. I had sweat running down my arms! Had to rush out to a chiro appointment and got back just before dinner. It was cooler outside than inside and I immediately thought that maybe the airconditioner had died. (it is pretty ancient) But after a little detective work I realised I had only turned the fan on and the aircon is just fine Turned it on and all was well with me.

I have 12 pineapples in the dehydrator right now, feel all virtuous about it - quite a bit of prep work but so worth it. The pineapples are on sale at the moment - 4 for $5.00! I found New Zealand lamb chops at Sprouts for $3.99 / pound, bought some for dinner. Only to find at dinner time that DS couldn't bring himself to eat any - was in tears at the thought of eating a lamb! I tried to explain that it really isn't one of the tiny little lambs that we see around but is actually almost full grown. No way, I had to fry him a couple of hotdogs instead. That is why I ended up with two chops tonight! DH likes lamb but not like I do, he deferred to me and I got to eat two marrow blobs too - mmmmm, I didn't have to share it, lol. If my mom is around we have to very carefully divide the marrow between us as we both love it. Next time we'll have to cook the chops on a wood fire - it just isn't quite the same cooked over gas...

Have not been doing well with getting to bed at a decent hour! As a result I am really tired at the moment. Going to make a real effort to get to bed before 10:30pm tonight.

I am cooking dinner tomorrow for a lady who has just had her 4th baby. I ummmmed and aaahed about what to do. Eventually decided on a meat only chili, tossed salad and fruit salad for dessert. Will just make double so that we have the same thing for dinner. The next day I am helping SIL get ready for their garage sale on Saturday. Am going to try and take some stuff that we want to get rid off too.

My feet are so much better than they were - but, the air is so dry at the moment that the ends of my toes are splitting and now the crease under my pinkie toe has decided to split too - every step is unpleasant. Hopefully I can get it to settle down by the morning. If I wear closed shoes it helps to prevent my feet from splitting - but my left heel gets really painful anytime I wear sneakers etc. So I wear flip flops and just bandage my toes

Well, good night all, sleep tight and don't let the bugs bite!

[Coll]

Yesterday was super busy! SKipped breakfast except for my usual tea.
Lunch 5 breakfast sausages, big stick of biltong, homemade tropical popsicle (coconut milk, pineapple, mango, banana) and 5 macadamia nuts. Another cup of tea.
Dinner: Couple bowls of primal chili (YUM) tossed salad, fruit salad for dessert with HWC!! Ambrosia is all I can say. I ate quite a bit last night - but it was so delicious I could hardly stand it! And I still lost another half pound! I love this! It is so worth it to wait until I am hungry - I really enjoy my food and I still lose fat!

Helping SIL today getting ready for a huge garage sale tomorrow. I have a ton of chores to try and do before I leave - will probably post tomorrow morning again. I actually got to bed close to a decent time last night and slept really well. Hope to do the same again today. It makes such a huge difference if I get to bed early and sleep well.

[Coll]

Leaving real early tomorrow morning (for us anyway - you know when you have kids it just takes time to get everyone ready!) Had a good day in many ways though more busy than I like. I prefer to be a homebody and get out to do shopping once in a while. Had to go to town today even though I was wanting to work in the yard.

My heel is still bugging me big time, too much time on my feet and I just can't seem to find time to get off them. I need some rainy days so that I can just be inside I guess, though then I have oodles of boxes to unpack and organise. DS and I are missing some clothes that I know I packed into a bag for a picnic next to the river some time ago. Do you think I can find said articles? I have looked over and under and behind almost everything imaginable!

Breakfast: Black tea with cream and stevia
Lunch: 3 eggs and some left over chili. Tiny handful of macadamias. more tea.
dinner: kippered herrings, 1/4 cup of carrots, fruit salad with cream, date roll with a glass of raw milk.

Our naughty horse buddies have left today - and we have 5 replacements! A rescue mare with her tiny foal - very emaciated. Two yearlings -a filly and her 'boyfriend' and a mare who is their nanny The rescue mare has not met the other three so I am interested to see how they get on. The pasture is 10 acres of lush grass so there is plenty room for them all. Am hoping these guys don't take to fording the irrigation ditch like the other two did. We are supposed to be able to use the area between our house and the ditch and were planning on moving the chickens there as it is beautifully shady for the hotter weather that is almost on us. BUT, the two previous horses would just about break the coop by rubbing their butts against it! And they were constantly racing up and down in front of our fence so that the lovely lush grass that was going to be for the chickens is now just a dust bowl Hopefully the new horses will not figure out the ditch thing for a while, as the ditch is running high at the moment. And hopefully we can get the area set up before they do get over there.

The chickens have spilled their entire gallon of water into the bedding of their night time cage - as a result the shed stinks this evening! I will have to clean it out on Sunday - racking my brains trying to think of a good spot to put the super rich bedding that I take out. If this was our place I would compost it but there is nowhere that I can do that here. It is way too hot to put anywhere near a plant for months! Of course we have one of the huge compostumblers - back in South Carolina. That would have it out and ready to use in about 2 weeks.

[Coll]

Long busy day, I hit the wall on the way home and can barely keep my eyes open. Had a burned steak for dinner (DH was a little taken aback when he opened the grill lid and found flames all over my poor steak.) I made more kale chips and they didn't work out very well this time, however not so bad that we could not eat them. DH said it is just an opportunity to keep practising He is a big fan too. Going to shower and go lie in bed with an audio book that I picked up from the BIL and SIL garage sale. Nice and relaxing. My heel is being a buster the last few days, feels as though my achilles tendon would like to part company with the heel bone! Going to ice it after my shower and put more magnesium gel on, and more arnica gel. I wore my sneakers yesterday and today I am paying for it - but at least my splits in my toes and heel are closing up again. I think I may need to get some mocassins. Problem is my feet are just unusually shaped and I am going to have to get custom ones.... I guess I'll have to see what I can find out there. I just have my doubts about the vibram's fitting me - guess I could go to a store that sells them and try on the styles that they do have just to see if there are any possibilities there for me. I was thinking huaraches once I broke the 200 lbs mark, but I think I may need something else for now until my feet recover (and hopefully our humidity will go up sometime - approximately 15%, although we did have a little rain shower this afternoon so I am sure it is up for now)

DS was attacked by our bantam rooster this evening. Sigh, so rooster has to go. We thought of just eating him, but DS would flip as these are our pet birds. Great opportunity for us to get a rooster of the breed I really wanted in the first place. So, going to advertize Gwr (the roo) on craigslist tonight and see if we can get him another home (or have someone else eat him and DS none the wiser) Got to choose your battles and that is not one I choose to fight

[Siobhan]

I know what you mean about the feet! I have very weird feet. Very small and very, very wide. I need a really, really wide toe box, and only certain brands fit. I'm still wearing orthotics, but have had much better luck with Superfeet than with custom ones! And Superfeet are 1/10 of the price...hmmm. I know orthotics aren't a popular subject around here, but weaning myself off them is a slow process. I have great hopes though. I have some sneakers with very thin soles that I once would not have been able to wear, even with orthotics, and now they are very comfortable with Superfeet. I do miss the two-inch height boost of my Danskos, though!

I read your rooster dilemma with bemusement. Some friends of mine had a male goat that had an unpleasant personality - despite being castrated, he tried to mount all the other goats, and was very aggressive. He bit his own mother when she fought off his advances and she needed stitches. That was the end - he had to go. They asked their young daughters how they felt about eating him, and they said they thought he would be delicious and asked it they could have his hide for their room. The girls are really very sentimental about the goats and chickens, but they didn't see him in the same light!

[Coll]

Yeah, short, wide feet with a really high arch. I have always had a terrible time finding shoes that work for me. (and even the ones that 'work' are uncomfortable and constricting) I have often thought about trying to make mocassins for myself and the kids. DH is LOOOOONGGGG way from being able to wear something like that due to a life time of shoes and flat feet etc. The kids spend most of the day barefoot and when outside they usually have rainboots on that are really loose (and are cleanable when the chicken poop etc gets on them)

Both of our kids were very upset about the whole rooster deal. DS was concerned that Gwr was going in the pot and DD was in tears because she felt bad that he attacked DS and yet didn't want him eaten. They know that roosters have one chance and then they are out of here. There are so many nice roosters in the world that we don't believe in messing with the nasties. Unfortunately we had to leave both of our awesome roosters behind in SC - we had had them both for a number of years and had never had a single attack. The one roo was taller than DS for a while (!) and I kept a very beady eye on him while DS and DD were around, but just a fantastic chap and he kept a very sharp eye out for predators. He would never take a treat for himself - always making sure his ladies got their fill of the good stuff. He had spurs about 6+ inches long and as I said he was huge, never had a moment of worry with him.

I had an awesome time today shopping for veggie starts for the garden. Usually I grow all my veggies from seeds but I have nowhere to do that in this house. So I have a raised bed garden half planted now and a bunch of different herbs dotted around in various spots. Need to shovel the remains of the compost out of the back of the truck tomorrow and then off to get another load of compost, hopefully there is still some left. It has made all the difference to my garden out front that was having a hard time with drying out so quickly DH is going to make me another small box to accomodate the extra compost I will have once the remaining box is filled. I have two yards of soil amendments waiting for me to wheel them and spread them about the back yard again. I love sweating away outside. Once again I got a lot of sun, but despite a slight pink tinge, by bedtime there is no redness. Yeeha! I just love that my body is working better with regards to reaction to sun exposure. This gives me a lot of hope for my skin condition as that is related to sun exposure and getting burned. My heel is a bit better today. I need to give it the triple whammy again this evening as that seemed to help.

I had tea for breakfast with cream and stevia. Lunch was a couple of sausages, two fried eggs, a glass of milk and a date roll, 1/4 cup macadamia nuts, another cup of tea with the usual and 2 squares dark chocolate. Dinner, bacon and breakfast sausage, scrambled eggs, 2 apricots. Very thirsty today. It has been hot and very dry and I have done a lot of physical work today outside. Must have drunk close to a gallon and am still thirsty! You can sweat an amazing amount out here when it is so warm and dry! My skin is really salty this evening - looking forward to my shower...

Saw the new mare and foal properly today. Beautiful little foal - only a few weeks old. The mare is a pretty grey but is very thin poor girl. Her hips are sharp and poking against her skin and her neck is pathetic, doesn't quite look big enough to hold her head up The foal is a dark bay with a brilliant star on his forehead. The 5 of them are hanging out relatively close together and yet I think they are still figuring out the pecking order. Hope it all works out.

Goodnight all, going to get ready for bed!

[Candy in Wonderland]

You work a lot in the garden

[Coll]

Yes I do CIW ANother day of work in the yard and gardens. Going out to mow about an acre - only some of it is the wild grasses and not too hard, the other 3/4 is long and thick and a bit more effort with the mower. THen I want to fill up my other raised garden and then I want to start moving some soil to the backyard. Not sure how much of this I will get done as I am sure it is going to be pretty hot in a while. And then maybe late this afternoon if I have any energy left I may plant some seeds in the raised gardens. Pretty good workout lined up for the day I think .... lots of squatting, shoveling, bending, pushing and lifting mixed in with lots of walking. And so rewarding too! My cabbages and kale and cauliflower are looking so beautiful in amongst the flowers - since I mixed in all that compost, that garden is SO happy. It is such a treat watering it every day and watching everything responding to the efforts I have made. I need to make up a mix of repellant to spray around these gardens to make sure the deer and bunnies stay away! It would be rather sad indeed if they feasted and we got nothing! Better to try and prevent that happening but can't fence it 'cos that wouldn't look pretty for the landlord's senstive eyes

[Coll]

Well, all that mowing and the heat and no breakfast resulted in me hitting the wall around lunch time. Decided that I need to have food ready to eat so I don't have to cook something when I have been working hard. I felt horrid for some time - I think part of it was that I hadn't drunk enough. A litre and a half of water, and a mug of tea, just isn't enough when it is hot and very dry. THe humidity is extremely low - think single digits or possibly into the early teens!

I had a popsicle made from coconut water and blueberries and a few strawberries after I came in - didn't help me feel any better. Lay on the bed and drank water for a while. Ate a handful of macadamia nuts, a date roll and a glass of milk and a piece of string cheese while I waited for the meat to cook. I know, kind of pathetic, just grabbing odds and ends and none of them really what I needed. Had a late lunch of mince stew over spaghetti squash. Dinner was half a steak and half a pork chop, kale chips, raspberries and cream with dark chocolate grated over the top! YUM! Feel pretty good now - just tired. That is probably also part of why I was feeling bad, kids have woken me up a couple of times each the last couple of nights. I just don't function well on broken sleep - turn into Ms. Grumpy pants and just don't feel good.

Going to head for bed now, have a fun audio book that I will lie in bed and listen to for a little while and then nighty night!