MORNING SMOOTHIE or "HOW I EAT MY GREENS"

My Oster blender has an additional container for smoothies and it works wonderfully. I filled it about half full with soy milk but you can use the liquid of your choice. I add 1/2 a banana, sliced. Then I put in some leftover beets, some leftover crushed pineapple, and two really big handfuls, tightly packed, of raw collard greens. I buy them in a large bag already washed and torn into small pieces and they last me at least a week. Raw collard greens are the best greens you can eat for your eyes and I can honestly say my vision has improved in only two weeks of making these smoothies. I vary the ingredients but the banana and collards are always included as is the soy milk.

This is a closeup before my first sip.

I ordered these stainless straws with an adjustable sipper and cleaning brush recently because a standard straw is too short for my Oster container. They are made by OXO (see link HERE) and there is a carrying case for travel. These are life changing and I love them. What do you think of My Breakfast of Champions? I was having an awful time eating my greens in other ways so this has solved my problem completely. If I somehow miss it at breakfast time, I will have it for my dinner. I add berries too, just didn't this morning. I always have frozen blueberries on hand. Each one has been delicious and the greens don't impart much of a taste but the banana does! HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.

Here is my complete Oster package.

Maybe you have the same one hiding in your cabinet like I did.

xo

Black Basalt Teapot + My Neti Pot

There is an unintentional selfie in the mirror. The spout of this black basalt teapot looks as if it has dust on the spout but in person it doesn't. This photo was taken in my kitchen Wednesday after dark without a flash. My teapot is quite small and I've always liked it. I have been doctoring myself with lots of liquids since late Sunday night when I felt a sore throat coming on. I started right away with the Neti Pot and gargling with diluted Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar and I can report success today. I am almost cured. I think you can nip a cold in the bud if you start treating it right away. Green tea with mint was my favorite hot drink followed by hot apple cider. 

It's time to say goodbye to November and hello to December tomorrow. It rained all day and I was so happy to hear all of my gutters running nicely down all the downspouts. I put on my rain slicker and went outside to check them all. I am so happy my handyman thought to clean them yesterday. It was the perfect time, not too cold, and all the leaves are off all the trees. So my gutters are all set until a spring cleaning. 

I finished The Last Detective and I am now watching 

Season Two of HOPE STREET on BritBox.

See you tomorrow. xo

UPDATE: Here is a photo of my neti pot and salt.

The plastic neti pot was from CVS and the Himalayan Institute salt and measuring spoon set was purchased at Whole Foods years ago.

To see a YouTube video demonstration, click HERE. Worked for me. My sore throat that turned into a runny nose was nipped in the bud before it moved to my chest.

xo

A New Way to Exercise

Click on this link to watch.

Turn on the sound.

This is the most amazing thing EVER.

So inspiring.

The lady in the suit can really cut a rug.

Enjoy. xo

Did Not Know: Our Second Heart is in Our Calves + Classical Stretch by Essentrics Exercises

I ordered two DVDs recently: Season 11 and Season 12 of CLASSICAL STRETCH | ESSENTRICS on PBS. Here is the website. Each box has 4 discs and 30 sessions so I am all set for two months of daily stretches. I am on the second disc of Season 11 called FULL BODY MOBILITY. Yesterday she mentioned that our calves are often called our second heart because they pump oxygenated blood to our heart above. I never knew this. She had me doing simple calf lifts -- up on your toes and back down again. Each daily stretching exercise is only 22 minutes long. I am enjoying them and feel that my posture has improved and other things too. Her program is on the PBS CREATE channel on Saturdays at 6am Sunday mornings twice at 6am and 6:30am if you want to check them out. I have always been strong and healthy but these exercises are mainly for connective tissue and creating long strong muscles for balance. The second DVD is entitled Aging Backward. I am not very fond of the floor exercises because I don't have a Yoga Mat and my space in front of my desktop computer isn't ideal. The exercises with a chair are okay but I love the sessions with just stretching the best. All of the exercises are slow and don't seem very hard but I work up a sweat by the end. I got my 2 sets on eBay from one seller for about $25 w/ free shipping. On PBS each set costs about $65.00.

I did some research on my own about our calves and found out she was right. I have new respect for my calf muscles now!

The website for the above photo is here. The video below is on that link too.

The link for this video on YouTube is here. This is also an ad for compression stockings at the end. Sorry about that but I really liked the animation about how the pumps in our calves operate to pump blood back to the heart. I never knew how important our calves were until now.

This is a photo of my two DVDs. 

The rain has stopped and I was up and down all night while it was coming down hoping my basement would stay dry and it did. I have only had water down there twice, once during Irene in 2010 and I can't remember the other time because it was minor. Sandy was not one of them in 2012. The one in 2010 was terrible because we had 17 consecutive days of rain and when Irene hit with her winds and downpours there was no place for the water to go since the land was already super saturated. Luckily, we did not lose power and I was able to pump the water out myself. My basement doesn't have a sump pump. Anyway, I hope everyone is safe and didn't have anything catastrophic happen in the way of Hurricane Season and Henri. xo 

UPDATE: I added two links for you to watch and try at home if you are interested in improving your balance and posture and getting strength through gentle stretching. xo

https://essentrics.com/beginners-guide/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qnaxj4ejDdM

This link is for a 30 MIN Full-body Pain Relief Workout | Essentrics on YouTube

ESSENTRICS is on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/essentrics/

Look at some good stretches there!

The link below has a free 12 minute workout conducted by Miranda's daughter on YouTube. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFYVfGJtT1A

UPDATE: I got up early today (Saturday) and discovered Miranda's program Classical Stretch is on PBS Create at 6am. She is on again on Sundays twice, at 6:00 & 6:30am. If you have a DVR you can record and have 3 classes for the coming week. xo

1736 Child's Tombstone Returned to Newbury Massachusetts Graveyard

This stolen tombstone for two year old Abigail Chase has been returned to Newbury, Massachusetts, settled in 1635. An astute auctioneer in Bucks County Pennsylvania is responsible for the recovery of this looted hand-carved folk art grave marker. This article speaks to the diphtheria epidemic that raged through colonial New England for five years between 1735 and 1740 taking out 22 of every 1000 people, mostly children. At the same time, scarlet fever advanced from the south, the two plagues eventually meeting in Essex County in the autumn of 1735. The Museum of Old Newbury is planning a ceremony later this summer when the recovered stone is unveiled at the Old Bridge Street Cemetery to celebrate long-lost Abigail’s memory. 

Read the entire article in the link below. 

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/pook-pook-reunites-puritan-family/

My Hula Hoop is Back in Action

I haven't used my weighted Hula Hoop in several years. There was an episode about them on The Drew Barrymore Show recently so I went up to the loft over my garage to get mine out of storage. Now I love it all over again and have gotten up to 400+ revolutions before I make a mistake. It was like riding a bicycle. I hadn't forgotten how! I have looked and looked online and I think this is the one I have.

This is an old photo from a 2012 post when Webster (2002-2016😪) was afraid to come into the kitchen to get the dog biscuit on the floor opposite the threshold. That saddle divides the wide pumpkin pine boards in my kitchen from the narrow maple flooring in my living room.

BLOG HOME PAGE

Stair Treads with a Painted Carpet

Designer Raquel Garcia’s Connecticut home. 

Alyssa Rosenheck photo for Elle Decor.

I woke up really early this morning and decided to try to schedule my two Covid-19 vaccinations on the CVS site. When I first logged on around 4:30 there were appointments open in almost every city on the New Jersey site. I think there must have been too many people trying to do the same thing because I kept ending up on a page that said Check Back Later. Sometime around 6:45 all the towns started showing up as FULLY BOOKED but I checked the Appointment Link and still got one for my first shot this Thursday and my second vaccine on April 1st. I am thrilled. Make sure your wallet is handy with all of the required identification card numbers even though there is no cost. The appointment confirmation comes in a text plus an email and it's very comprehensive and there's even a link for directions if the CVS is an unfamiliar town. 

I could walk to the CVS near me but my appointment is around 25 minutes away but I've been to the area before and I don't have to travel on a highway so I am not complaining.  https://www.cvs.com/immunizations/covid-19-vaccine

xo

My Hero: Captain Sir Tom Moore

Captain Sir Tom Moore RIP Sir Captain Tom Moore. British World War II veteran Captain Tom Moore who raised 39 million pounds for health service workers on the frontline of the battle against COVID-19. Sleep with the angels Thank you. via

Click the photo to enlarge the portrait of this beautiful 100 year old man💋

Home Office designed by Katie Holmes

via

I love this room, especially the centered window flanked by bookcases and closed cabinets. The only fault I can find is with the lamp with cord photoshopped out. There really is no place to plug it in, is there? I really doubt it's cordless but if it were, the photo would be perfect.

I have been self isolating since a client tested positive for Covid-19 after a real estate showing. I am fine and all precautions were in place. I will be free to go out in a few more days. Take care and stay home as much as possible. There is so much to do in the spring, there is no time for boredom. Have a great long Memorial Day weekend too. xo

Help is On The Way

Jack Ma, co-founder of Alibaba. is donating 500,000 coronavirus testing kits and one million protective face masks to the United States. The Chinese billionaire already has pledged 2 million protective masks to European countries.

Read the article in the link below.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/14/21179624/alibaba-co-founder-jack-ma-coronavirus-test-kits-masks-us

The Washington Post has a daily free newsletter on coronavirus. I signed up for it and it's very good. I cannot find a link devoted to the newsletter alone but it appears on today's Washington Post article. Look closely and sign up. It's got all the information most of us need.

Look for a black box with the words Sign Up and a circle with a red envelope indicating email and the wording below:
Get our Coronavirus Updates newsletter

Receive the most important developments in your inbox every day. All stories linked in the newsletter are free to access.

Sign up

I put my outerwear out in the sun to disinfect after I went food shopping yesterday. I put my phone outside too. It's raining today and will be again tomorrow; I'm so glad I went out when I did. There were lots of empty shelves but I got everything on my list. There was no bread and absolutely no canned goods and not much cereal. I keep trying to sign up for InstaCart for home food delivery but I can't make it do what I want so far. The things I want don't seem to come up on the list. Will keep trying and keep you informed.

I am a homebody at heart and I love being at home anyway so my life seems much the same. Friends are checking in with me and that's comforting in case I need them. Be well and hang in there. xo

The Metropolitan Opera is streaming operas FREE during coronavirus closure. Read more here.

Free Digital Concerts - Berlin Symphony. Read more here.

I just found a really darling video of an Australian shepherd giving advice on how to protect yourself from this virus. Follow @my_aussie_gal showing you how. You will have to click on the arrow to start the video. She is the smartest dog ever.

We Are All Scared

Charlie Mackesy on Instagram -- follow him if you don't already. His illustrations are wonderful and he has just done a book that looks fabulous 

https://www.charliemackesy.com/ 

Charlie’s first book -- The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse is now available to buy. I love this illustration and find it very comforting, don't you. xo

My Old Clothes Line with Webster

As I mentioned in this old post, I lost all the trees to the right of my garage/barn after Superstorm Sandy but I still have the white pine on the left. Webster the Wonder Dog used to love watching me hang out the wash. All I need is a new post and I could have a clothes line again. I still manage quite well with drying things outside on wooden clothes racks and my balcony railing so all is not lost. In the winter, the clothes racks are perfect in my furnace room for all but large top sheets which I dry on my balcony. I love sleeping on sheets that have been dried outside and I can honestly report that sunshine leaves an aroma on them like no other. When I enter my bedroom after putting on clean linens, the whole room smells like sunshine. The items dried inside have no aroma at all because I use a detergent with no scent.

The sun can kill the Corona Virus bacteria that can live on fabric for 6-12 hours. Normal laundry detergent should kill it on items in the washing machine. Winter clothes that can't be washed can be put out in the sun to kill the virus. Continue to wash your hands often and be smart about being out in public. xo

PS: I just found an easy recipe for DIY: Homemade Hand Sanitizer

Jumping Rope is My New Exercise

I picked up this jump rope a week ago yesterday at a rummage sale. It's far from perfect but it has gotten me into jumping in my kitchen with the high ceiling. I have ordered a better one that is on the way and should arrive on Monday. I have been looking for a way to exercise without buying a machine or going to a gym. 

I did a lot of research before ordering my new rope and this is the best article I found. Here's the link: https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/12/building-up-bones-with-a-little-bashing/
Be sure to read the comments too. They have as much information as the article.

Jumping rope is NOT bad for your knees. It's actually good for them. From everything I've read, it's the best exercise for your bones you can do. A really long time ago there was a program on PBS called "Bones for Life by Ruthy Alon". It was so interesting and informative. I wish I had recorded it because the DVD set sells for a whopping $300.00 and it is currently out of stock. She has her own channel on YouTube and you can watch her sessions free of charge. The one thing I remember from the PBS program was something you are supposed to do when you first get up in the morning to stimulate new bone growth. In bare feet, you are supposed to go up on your toes and go down hard on your heels. Do this at least five (5) times.

I started doing my situps again too. I don't do crunches. I just lie flat on the floor with my hands to my sides and go up to a sitting position and then down to touch my toes. I use nothing but my abdominal muscles and this made-up method works best for me. I am doing 25 repeats before retiring at night. I am not good at all with the rope I got last week but I am doing 100 jumps. So far, 22 consecutive jumps is the best I've done. I just keep counting (even my misses) until I reach 100. I am feeling so good and so much stronger, especially in my lower back. Will keep you posted on my progress. Time to jump now!!!! xo

UPDATE: Here's another great article written by a 91 year old woman who jumps rope.

Happy New Year 2019

HAPPY NEW YEAR

It is raining at my cottage but it isn't cold. 

Happy New Year to each and every one of my fabulous followers. Wishing you all good health, happiness, and prosperity in the coming year. xo

My Cookbooks

Someone requested a photo of my cookbook collection. I took this photo this morning and there are still some spiral-bound local private press cookbooks that won't fit on this bookcase under the counter in my pantry. I must confess, I don't use most of them with any regularity but I still like having them. Once in a while, I curate them for donating and I need to do this again soon. I have been eating real food with no additives for a couple of months now, following Michael Pollan's advice:

Pollan says everything he's learned about food and health can be summed up in seven words:
"Eat food, not too much, mostly plants." Read more on his website.

This was yesterday's Instagram photo and I ate the same thing for breakfast this morning. As you all know, I have been making homemade soymilk yogurt in my Instant Pot since before Christmas. I use Westsoy organic unsweetened that comes in a box and is shelved. It contains only two ingredients: whole organic soy beans and filtered water. This breakfast bowl has one peeled kiwi fruit and one clementine as toppings. I have another cup of this delicious yogurt after dinner every night, eaten plain. I could never find a plain commercial yogurt in the past that was delicious enough to eat that way.

This all started when I listened to a segment on NPR with Melissa Clark singing the praises of the Instant Pot with its built-in yogurt setting. Then I got her cookbook, Dinner in an Instant, with recipes. That's where I learned about soymilk with no additives. And the rest is history. I was hooked.

I decided to follow Pollan's advice as well. My immune system has improved greatly and I haven't been sick with a cold or sore throat since October. This is amazing, especially since the flu season was so bad this year. I was beginning to be very concerned with my personal health and was coming down with way too many colds that went to my chest and lingered way too long. They say 90% of your immune system is located in your gut and I am positive the probiotics in the yogurt have helped mine immensely and I have lost some weight as an added bonus.. I am almost afraid to say that last part out loud. Fingers crossed this will continue by eating this way. See you later. xo

Instant Pot Soymilk Yogurt: New Batch

My favorite thing to make in my recently purchased Instant Pot is Organic Plain Unsweetened Soymilk Yogurt. I cannot remember how many batches I've made and I can't tell you how much I love it. It is made using only two brands: Edensoy and Westsoy. Both are made with only two ingredients, filtered water and organic soybeans. No fillers, thickeners, preservatives, or sweeteners. Edensoy is the more expensive and it has 12 grams of protein per cup. Westsoy has 9 grams of protein. There is no difference in taste so I've been using the Westsoy and it comes in an economical carton with 64 ounces. It is not sold in the dairy cooler but is a shelved product. At Whole Foods it is across from the cereals. You don't have to boil it to make yogurt like you do cow's milk. All you do is pour it into the Instant Pot, add 2 tablespoons of your previously made yogurt per 32 ounces. Stir, hit the Yogurt button, adjust the incubation time and come back when it's finished to jar it up. I had to buy a carton of vegan yogurt to start my first batch. All I could find was plain coconut non-dairy yogurt and that worked just fine. I have experimented with incubation times of 14 hours, 12 hours, 10 hours and 8 hours. I liked all of these batches. The longer the "cooking" time, the more sour t(tart) the yogurt. Every morning I have 1/2 cup of Ezekiel Golden Flax Cereal that I buy at ShopRite or almost any supermarket including Whole Foods. Today I had a sliced banana on top and a container of my yogurt on top of everything. This cereal is amazing. You have to buy a box and read all about it or stand in the market and read the box. There are other varieties of this Ezekiel cereal but ShopRite only carries this one and it's right around the corner from my cottage. They make a delicious bread too, good for anyone looking for products containing NO SUGAR. Sometimes I just have it plain with yogurt on top if I am out of fruit. I have used chopped apples too. So good. 

Food for LIfe

The vintage milk glass containers are leftovers from old Salton yogurt makers I have owned. I grew tired of making small batches and having to boil the milk and wait for it to cool, etc. I still have the devices in my garage and I am so glad I saved them so I could use the 6 oz. containers with lids for my current healthy endeavor. I also like not having to throw away/recycle individual yogurt containers so making my own is good for the planet too.

Happy New Year 2017

Wishing all of my friends and followers a Happy and Healthy New Year! Your health is your wealth, so may you prosper with healthy days all year long in 2017 and beyond.

Summer Cold

via Instagram http://ift.tt/28Jz8Qo

I hab a subber code. 😷  So annoying. I forgot all about the neti pot until today. They say a cold peaks on day four. Wish me luck.

#summercold #netipot #himalayansalt #homeremedy #dayfour #itsworking #holistic #mybathroom #interiordesign #ig #feelbetteralready

Things To Do For Your Body

I haven't been getting enough exercise lately. I used to walk Webster four times a day on my property but that routine went out the window about a month ago because he didn't want to walk that far. On Tuesday I walked down and back twice before bed and it felt good. Now I'm doing that after breakfast and before bed down and back four times total. Each session lasts 15 minutes so I'm walking 30 minutes each day and that feels about right for me. Makes me drink more water too and that's a good thing. via

Webster RIP

My dear Webster died yesterday on his own terms, at home.

I was with him right here at the end, in this very spot.

I called my local Mobile Vet earlier in the day to assist with his passing but Webster died before they arrived. They came and picked up his body for cremation and that was a big help. I considered burying him on the property but decided against doing it. That turned out to be a good thing because my favorite helper who would have helped me dig a grave was in Vermont picking up a new puppy as a companion for his 12-year-old Lab.

Webster was a huge part of my life since he "rescued" me at 9 weeks of age 14 years ago. We had a great life together and of course I miss him terribly. But it was time for him to go and it was a peaceful passing. Boo Hoo.

I know my readers will miss him too.