Life is tragic simply because the earth turns and the sun inexorably rises and sets, and one day, for each of us, the sun will go down for the last, last time. Perhaps the whole root of our trouble, the human trouble, is that we will sacrifice all the beauty of our lives, will imprison ourselves in totems, taboos, crosses, blood sacrifices, steeples, mosques, races, armies, flags, nations, in order to deny the fact of death, the only fact we have. It seems to me that one ought to rejoice in the fact of death–ought to decide, indeed, to earn one’s death by confronting with passion the conundrum of life. One is responsible for life: It is the small beacon in that terrifying darkness from which we come and to which we shall return.
I got new shoes! I’ve loved loafers the whole of my life and have had a veritable rainbow over the years, but never this shade of green, so there you go. They are Solovairs should you have any interest in the same. I get no graft if you make a purchase, just the pleasure of knowing you made a great decision.
Fall colors continue to dazzle in the back garden. Enjoy…
Also back garden related, before the first frost, Greg picked the last of the peppers and tomatoes, mostly green, some red. We made more cowboy candy with the peppers, me slicing, Greg preserving, and, thankfully, they are not nearly as spicy as the last lot. There were quite a few tomatoes, so I did some interweb searches for ideas. First, I decided on a green tomato chutney, for which I am waiting on organic golden raisins, so I’ll let you know about that later.
This ugly concoction is a marmalade gotten from the New York Times. I thoroughly perused the comments and determined an additional lemon was key to flavor. Sweet baby Jesus, this stuff is delicious! Should we be lucky enough to have another nice haul of tomatoes next year, I will make it again, most definitely, with one change. It called for thin lemon slices, but I’d prefer them quartered, as there would be a more even distribution of flavor and easier to manage with the spoon. Done and done.
Hello, fellow eaters! If, like me, you had a grandparent who could not get up when they fell or witnessed the same in others you care about, strength becomes more center of mind as the body makes more trips around the sun. As a result, I have done a bit of reading on healthy aging and been concerned with staying strong over the long haul.
Greg and I have had a steady routine for years, always with some weight lifting, but never anything terribly heavy. I thought I need only continue this workout, and I was good to go for life, barring some horrible event, of course. But, but, but, after reading Next Level, by Stacy Sims, and Outlive, by Peter Attia, I learned how terribly wrong this assumption was. We lose muscle mass, just by living, even if we do exercise and lift weights. So we are gradually increasing how many pounds we lift and will take it as far as our bodies allow, within reason and available equipment.
I also learned, as someone who likes to travel, if I want to be able to lift a 25 pound suitcase into the overhead compartment of an airplane or train when I’m 70 years old, I need to be able to lift a 35 pound weight right now (I’m so close!). That’s how much muscle strength we lose over time! Isn’t that bananas?
It gets even worse if our bodies don’t have adequate protein. I’m meant to get 100 grams per day, which meant nothing to me until I started paying attention. It is a lot! As a result, I have been mildly obsessed with the protein content of my meals, and eating accordingly. Every day, getting it any way I can: whey protein, eggs, legumes, grains, nuts, Greek yogurt, meat, fish. I leave no stone unturned and still rarely meet my target. Wah. But I remain earnest and creative!
Seafood chowder and gluten-free English muffin
Which brings me , finally, to today’s photos. Take, for instance, the creamy soups above. Both have some dairy (plain whey protein the usual source) but really derive their velvety texture from white beans! I pop them, along with broths and cauliflower, for even more of a health boost, into the Vitamix and whir until smooth. Dead easy, and with the right seasonings, no one seems to notice or care, well, at least until we start farting. Facts.
pork chop with apple gravy
Korean Fire Chicken
Curried chicken and chickpeas
Despite it being a major concern, I obviously don’t want to make soup every day, only because I am very much a variety is the spice of life type and crave just about everything under the sun, like a homey chop and deliciously spicy Korean or Indian. My food choices are as adventurous as my personality!
Here’s to health and hoping I can keep the variety going while figuring out more clever ways to maximize.
The light, the color, the feast for the eyes that is fall. It has been another banner year of and yellows, ambers, and apricots. How lucky I am to live where I do. In peace, in comfort, in relatively good health.
I say relative good health, because, while my surgery went swimmingly, and I’ve fully recovered, something new came up. After I took my tumble that temporarily wrecked my knee, I thought I may have hurt my hands. My palms were suddenly tender and lacked their full range of motion. Turns out, you can be a non-smoker, avid exerciser (walking, biking, yoga, weight lifting!), maintain a healthy weight, and still get arthritis (damn genetics). I am now learning to adapt different moves, so they aren’t painful and taking on new challenges to build more muscles to support aching bones. A new normal, but also a little depressing, so I’m going to loop around to the beautiful images end enjoy them. It’s the best I can do.
A perfect Sunday morning at Cheyenne Mountain State Park. Only a select few trails are open to dogs, but since my surgical wounds linger, and we are not fully recovered from COVID (so close!), we didn’t need a terribly long hike before feeling tired. Worth it, still. How lovely to have spirits lifted by the beauty of nature.
