A Very Funny Knitting Writer

So my friend Yvonne loaned me a book called, "Knit Lit (too)" and I read the first essay last night, "Our Knitting Heroine" by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. It was so stinking funny I laughed out loud, and happily managed not to fall out of bed.

I myself have been playing around with Knitting In Public as promoted by Kelley Petkun who does the Knit Picks podcasts (available through iTunes or from their website http://www.knitpicks.com/). Rich does appear a tiny bit askanced at times, like in restaraunts or at a ball game, but I say the idea just needs to settle in a little more although it is clear I must work on my ability to complete knit stitches without looking, important for maintaining eye contact during a conversation. And, as it turns out, a useful skill for being able to read while knitting! 

After reading Stephanie's story, I realize as a fledgling writer, I have no choice but to do crazy things at times... like knitting in public... in order to have things to write about. But, knitting while skating... I'm going to have to build up courage for that!

Here is a link to the essay: Our Knitting Heroine by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, also known as the Yarn Harlot. I hope you enjoy her story as much as I did...

:)

Sometimes Things Do Happen for a Reason!

It's not always apparent though. And some series of events can seem quite bizarre. For example:

Thursday night, I fell out of bed.

Let me explain... I had gotten into bed and noticed a set of circular knitting needles that had fallen on the floor between the bed and the door, and I didn't want Rich to step on them when he came in so I leaned over to retrieve them. I reached them okay but then there I was, hovering over the edge of the bed and I found myself wondering if I was going to be able to heave myself back up because the bed is kind of high off the floor. Sure enough, when I went to pull myself up, the momentum dumped the rest of me over the side. This wouldn't have been so bad except for the nightstand with the brass latch on the door and I knocked my head right into that latch, hitting myself behind the right ear. Mercy that hurt! I called for Rich to help me get some ice and I went to sleep with an icebag on my head. (Turns out this is a good way to cool off for anyone who tends to overheat. Not me yet, but I intend to remember this for later on.)

Since then, it hurts only when I touch it, but the next day, I was on the phone with a co-worker and kept referring to the wrong regulation than what we were trying to discuss which sounded like this:

Me: Are you familiar with the SAFE Act?
She: Yeah, kind of. Isn't that about registering mortgage loan originators?
Me:  Oops, that's not what I wanted to talk about... Umm, how about risk based pricing notices required by the FACT Act?
She: Oh right. Doesn't that apply to the Finance Company?
Me: Yep, that's right. So... we're working on the privacy policy for this.
She: What!?
Me: Oh dear. Risk based pricing, that's right! Here's the thing...

So I told her I probably got brain damage from the night before and explained what happened. After laughing her head off, she suggested maybe I need to eat lunch first since it was 11:30 already, then we could talk about it afterwards, so we ended up meeting at Kaleidoscope Pizza.

And look who we ran into!

Cool, huh? If I hadn't fallen out of bed I would not have gotten to meet Chris Dudley!!!

So I suppose we can say everything happens for a reason...

Chris Dudley is the Republican candidate for Oregon governor and a former NBA player (go Trailblazers!).

I also want to clear up that I don't normally wear "prison stripes" but we had dressed for Halloween that day at work (Friday Oct 29th) and I went as French Painter. I did have the presence of mind to pull the black beret off prior to the picture being taken and I'd left the paintbrush and pallete at work.

Post election day update: It took two days to call the winner for governor; Dudley was ahead by 2% until all votes were completely counted and by Wednesday evening it was clear Kitzhaber won by 2%. Makes me realize how apathy in the elections ends up with effects we may not be happy with and how important it can be to pay attention early and TALK about our views - help other apathetic people to care about the issues!

A View of Autumn

October opened with bright warm days and progressed into cold nights and warm days with smatterings of rain throughout. By now, the trees have put out marvelously colored leaves on display.

Grants Pass on NW A Street

Moving to Oregon at age 19, I had never spent a winter without ice and snow. That first summer was completely dry, then it began to rain at the end of September and didn't seem to let up until spring. I had the odd sense that we had completely skipped past winter. We do get the odd bit of snow now and then, but it's nearly always melted by mid-day.

My idea of stormy days while growing up were for snugging in and working on projects. Our school had three-week breaks between each quarter (eight weeks during the summer) which meant that our winter break was quite cold and often stormy - with any luck, ha! Mom would urge us to hurry through our daily chores in the mornings so that we could work on our projects in the afternoons. This could be quilting, embroidery, crocheting, macrame (yep, it was the 70's), painting... pretty much whatever we wanted to work on assuming we had the supplies on hand, or else we'd pick some things up the next time we went to town. Our house had a wood-burning furnace in the basement that did a fine job of heating - especially when sitting next to the chimney or a register!

There have been many times over the years when I would eye the rainy, cold winter day and wished I were home quilting with some hot tea rather than being at work. I still appreciated the change in seasons though since I felt it would otherwise be quite monotonous.

I realize now that I somewhere along the line, my thoughts on this had changed. A lot of it had to do with shopping for the same groceries year-round. It also had a lot to do with the year we got a dog. As a pup, she needed daily walks, and during the summer, she often got two. But as the rains came in the fall and the days shortened, it became miserable, not to mention somewhat dangerous as our street is on a steep, winding hill with no sidewalks or adequate lighting. I really dreaded winter. After her first couple of years she no longer required daily walks, especially with her "invisible fence" collar which allows her to run around in a nice large perimeter.

Although I didn't have to walk in the dark and rain anymore, I had fallen into the habit of viewing the change to colder weather with negativity and was thinking that it would be all right to live in a mono-climate.

My visit to Iowa last month rebooted my perspective. I had not been back to the Midwest during autumn since I'd moved out here. So we attended the Fall Festival in Kalona which is a weekend gathering of the community.

It is held annually the last weekend of September at Kalona's historical village which also contains the town's visitor center and the Mennonite Museum. So the Fall Festival adds food  booths, run mainly by churches and other non-profit groups, as well as a variety of vendors selling wares either merchandise from their shops, handcrafted items, or antiques. There are also demonstrationsof activities such as chainsaw sculptures being made, field corn being shelled and ground into cornmeal which is then available for purchase, and apple butter being made over an open fire. They had a large galvanized metal bin with shelled field corn for the kids to play in. Here is a photo of Isabel and Zoe playing in it. Wow, that corn makes a lot of white dust!

I noticed this event was an opportunity for people in the community to be able to interact with each other. It also seems to serve the purpose of celebrating the harvest, the culmination of everyone's hard work over the previous months, growing crops in fields and household gardens.

All at once I realized what autumn has to offer - harvest time is a time of gathering and preserving and it gives a sense of the reprieve winter has to offer. I found myself looking forward to pulling out sweaters and scarves and wooly socks.

And this time when the rains came, I looked out at the sky, the trees and grass, and gave thanks that all these things work together for the benefit of the earth and for the people. I also baked muffins and pulled out my knitting. Ah, life is good!

The Great American Afghan Project

Marji and I decided to do our own little "knit-along" so we're doing The Great American Afghan, a sampler type blanket with 25 blocks, each in its own pattern. Our plan is for each of us to knit one block per month, and in two years, we'll each have a complete afghan!

Here are the colors I have selected in a bamboo/wool blend... I'm going with an analogous color scheme using shades of blues and greens. It feels so soft!

And here's a pic of Marji's wonderful Peruvian Highland wool. It's also feels pretty soft, especially for being 100% wool.  

She's got a swift and ballwinder - good thing since her wool came in hanks. 

The girls having fun with Halloween eyes!

So... October is block one!

Knitting! It's a lot more fun once you know how...

I'm sitting at the Mile High Grill at the Denver airport as I draft this, having a Hazed and Infused microbrew.

On the first leg of my flight to Iowa, I pulled out a new skein of yarn and size five double point needles and cast on for a pair of fingerless gloves. I adore multi tasking, so knitting while watching a movie or while listening to a podcast or audiobook seems like excellent time management, but knitting without the extra stimulation allows my mind to unwind. I don't always appreciate this - I have found times when I really would rather not be alone with my thoughts.

Starting on fingerless gloves...

But happily, today was not one of those times and I found myself revisiting the day I learned to knit. It was Superbowl Sunday in 2007. While I knew how to crochet, having learned as a girl and did various projects over the years, in my late teems quilting overtook everything else as a favorite activity. (Well... except for reading of course!) But I found cotton fabrics more appealing than acrylic yarns.

Somewhere along the line over the years, I realized that Marji had learned to knit and was making some very lovely items. When they were planning a visit to Oregon in the winter of 2007, I finally decided this was the time for me to learn. So I gave her a warning ahead of time.

Her response was enthusiastic, "Okay!" And she brought me some scrap yarn and an assortment of long aluminum knitting needles.

But first, it was mandatory to go shopping for yarn for a proper Project. I had decided on a scarf and the prior week was spent Googling scarf patterns, printing out a couple, and making a Plan. Aha! A whole new opportunity for shopping!  I hadn't anticipated this! But, there are so many knitting accessories that, you know, one can't pass up...

We headed to Websters in Ashland. Oh. My. Goodness. Yarn has really changed since the late 1970's! Ooh la la, such textures! Such colors! I couldn't stop touching! And, it was really, really difficult to finally choose something. I finally settled on a Nubby Texture in a blue, teal, and purple colorway, and it was SO SOFT!

On to the knitting bit... Marji demonstrated a cast on. What?? How am I going to remember how to that after she leaves?! After all, you only do it once, then not again until you start a new project. Well, in theory as it turns out. So picking up a knitting "how to" book at the yarn shop was actually a brilliant idea (when Marji suggested it, I was thinking, "Why? Isn't she teaching me?) Because, as it happens, one must cast on every time one rips one's work out to start over because somehow, several rows down, the number of stitches has mysteriously changed. And not always in the same way. Which, for a while I thought, heck, it should all come out reasonably well in the end! Trouble was, there's also a mistake called Dropped Stitches, and this will unravel back to the beginning if it isn't fixed at some point. Which I didn't know how to do, just that it involved a crochet hook. I have some of those! The skinny ones are handy for opening bathroom doors in our house when it's been accidentally locked with nobody inside. Or when kids have locked themselves in and who knows what they're up to...

So I became adept at casting on in spite of myself. I also frequently forgot which way to wind the yarn when making a knit stitch, thus the book was a Good Thing.

After feeling relatively confident with the scrap yarn = easy to see stitches, I cast on with my Nubby Textured yarn = hard to see stitches. Cool! The mistakes won't show.

Oh. Now when I would get a different number of stitches than when I started, I had no idea of where the mistake was. Dang! Pull it back out and start again. Oh no! Nubby Textured yarn doesn't rip out like regular plain old boring yarn... okay, take it out carefully, stitch by stitch.

Do it again.

And again...

Okay, done with a whole skein finally without having to start over, and you know what? It's long enough. Even if it could be longer, no way am I going to dip into the second skein when I can be done!!

Next project: A shawl. Rich and I were anticipating the upcoming Black White and the Blues art benefit auction in March and I needed a little something to go over my shoulders to go with my little black dress.

Yarn: A fabulous "eyelash" yarn in browns and blacks. A pattern book, and size 15 straights.

Oh my goodness, these needles are awkward and long and I can't make them behave properly. Kind of like the smaller sized straights, only worse. I end up holding the left one under my arm, and maneuver the right one, but even so, when nearing the end of a row, the rest of the stitches slide right off. And eyelash yarn? Even harder to keep straight than Nubby Textured yarn. I comment on this to Marji during a phone call. "That's another reason people like circular needles - they're shorter and easier to handle."

Well! And here I thought circulars were only for knitting round stuff.

So, off for another shopping opportunity. I purchased a set of beautiful bamboo circular size 15 needles, and sure enough, much easier to use. Still had to be careful though, eyelash yarn tends to "stack" and you easily can knit into two stitches at once by mistake. I counted stitches on every row.

I did take an unexpected trip to Iowa that month for Grossmommie Nisly's funeral and this gave me travel time to work on the shawl, plus get help from Marji.

At the airport, a lady was watching me. "That looks like a challenge."
Me: "It is. I only learned how to knit three weeks ago and I'm having a bit of trouble with this yarn."
Lady: "Why don't you work on something easier?"
Me: "Because I need to wear it next week..."

Uh, well, sometimes we like a challenge. Do we not?

It brings to mind something I read recently: A "knitter" keeps going even when it gets frustrating.  :)

The shawl did turn out nicely. Even though I found a dropped stitch somewhere in the middle when I went to wear it. Hmm... Masking tape didn't seem appropriate for this type of clothing repair (works well for hems though)... I know! A small binder clip will hold it in place. Which it did for the next year and a half before I finally caught Marji for help with it. She studied it, then asked for a sewing needle and black thread to stabilize it (remember funny yarn = can't see mistakes). Why didn't I think of that!
 

Brutus the Military K9

Here is a story I received from my friend Lori, author unknown:

I thought you might like to know about this dog and his story....



This is Brutus, a military K9 at McChord..

He's huge - part Boxer and part British Bull Mastiff and tops the scales at 200 lbs. His handler took the picture. Brutus is running toward me [the author] because he knows I have some Milk Bone treats, so he's slobbering away! I had to duck around a tree just before he got to me in case he couldn't stop, but he did. Brutus won the Congressional Medal of Honor last year from his tour in Iraq . His handler and four other soldiers were taken hostage by insurgents. Brutus and his handler communicate by sign language and he gave Brutus the signal that meant 'go away but come back and find me'. The Iraqis paid no attention to Brutus. He came back later and quietly tore the throat out of one guard at one door and another guard at another door. He then jumped against one of the doors repeatedly (the guys were being held in an old warehouse) until it opened. He went in and untied his handler and they all escaped. He's the first K9 to receive this honor. If he knows you're ok, he's a big old lug and wants to sit in your lap.

Enjoys the company of cats..

K-9 Congressional Medal of Honor Winner

Talk about animal intelligence and bonding with humans!

Remember that they can't do a lot of things for themselves and that they depend on you to make their life a quality life!

Instructions for properly hugging a baby:

1. First, uh, find a baby.

2. Second, be sure that the object you found was indeed a baby by employing classic sniffing techniques.

3. Next you will need to flatten the baby before actually beginning the hugging process.

4. The 'paw slide': Simply slide paws around baby and prepare for possible close-up.

5. Finally, if a camera is present, you will need to execute the difficult and patented 'hug, smile, and lean' so as to achieve the best photo quality.

Suz here:  I found this to be quite inspirational!  ...enough to post anyway...  :)

Self-Awareness - Sometimes it can just bite you

So a couple of weeks ago, my sister Marjorie and her family (hubby and two little girls who were just about to turn 7 and 3) were visiting which is always a delight. I took a day off work to spend with them and had a great time. Here is a photo of me and my nieces:

Suz, Zoe, & Isabel

The whole day was fun, but we did finally get to go to a yarn shop in Jacksonville called Llamas and Llambs.

Llamas & Llambs in Jacksonville, OR

We'd been trying to go for the past several times they've been here and seemed to always hit the day it was closed so usually ended up going to Webster's in Ashland. Get it, like knitting a web... oh well, never mind... :) after which we came back to Grants Pass by wandering through the Applegate Valley which is invariably a nice drive. We picked up a take-n-bake pizza from Papa Murphy's, a really nice vegetarian pizza with a creamy garlic sauce, artichoke hearts, and spinach along with the normal veggie pizza veggies, and went back to my house to discuss kefir sodas, the culture of which I shared with sis, and kombucha, the culture of which she brought for me, and to eat pizza and mangoes.

When we finally returned to their house (where they were staying), I was recruited for story reading and the book chosen was called Good Morning Chick. It's about a chick that hatched from its egg and basically wandered about the farmyard to explore. When it fell into a puddle, my elder niece lamented, "Oh the frog is really mean to the chick." I thought to myself, my goodness, what kind of torture did they put into this book!?

Turns out the frog was laughing because the chick looked funny all wet.

Me: "Well Isabel, the chick does look funny."

Her face registered a look of shock - a combination of appalled and intrigued. Her eyebrows shot up, her head moved forward a little, and she formed a small smile of surprise. This reaction interested me and encouraged me to continue.

Me: "Look at him! He looks funny. And if the chick's feelings are hurt by that, then he needs to learn how to laugh at himself."

Isabel: "But the frog was mean..."

Me: "That's just a dumb old frog anyway. Who cares what he thinks?!"

Isabel smiled wide.

Her initial comment made me worry that she herself likely feels criticism deeply rather than being able to easily laugh things off. On the other hand, I was impressed with her insight to the pain of others, and her desire to protect and be nice to people.

I said what I did to help her be able to deal with insensitive comments that will find their way to her throughout her life. But later on, it occurred to me that an unpleasant outcome would be if Isabel were to take this as, "It's okay to be mean to others because they just shouldn't be so sensitive."

It reminds me of another scenario where self-awareness can have a negative side effect - in fashion, when we have little regard for how we look in our clothes, makeup, accessories, etc., we also don't really notice those details on others. But sheesh, as soon as I began to pay attention to dressing for my specific body type (thanks to missussmartypants.com), I right away began to notice whether others are dressing according to their body types. Dang! I don't want to notice that kind of thing on others! Can I not develop self-awareness without an equal awareness of others?

So back to the sensitivity bit: I do believe it is possible to be sensitive to others' feelings without being too touchy about other people's actions towards us. Maybe that takes another follow-up dose of self-awareness though...

What would be worse, in any case, is being one who comes off as rude to others ("they just need to toughen up") while taking offense easily at what is said to them. Oy vey.

Local Produce

I have been becoming more and more aware of the implications of eating "locally." About a year and a half ago, our friend Katie recommended the book, "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver. It is the story of a family who moved from a suburban area of Arizona back to the author's roots in the Appalachians of Virgina. I found the audio version of the book at the local library and avidly listened to it during my half hour daily commute to and from work.

While the story would have been way more amusing if it were "city slickers" moving to the country, it was still entertaining enough to hear about the project undertaken by this family: to eat nothing but locally grown food for a whole year. This was defined ahead of time by them as food grown within a 100 mile radius of their home, and could either be grown by themselves or others. Besides their story, the book also includes facts about all sorts of things, some of them quite scientific (book is co-authored by Kingsolver's scientist husband, Steven L. Hopp) as well as various recipes organized by the season in which the food was readily available from local sources. This is where I got the instructions to make mozarella cheese that was so cool to make. The recipe is called "30-Minute Mozzarella - what's the risk there! Even though it did take a little longer than 30 minutes. Even better was that I already had a packet of "acid blend" from my wine making supplies and all I needed to track down was rennet. I ordered it online. The website is also a wonderful resource: www.animalvegetablemiracle.com.
The book gave me a perspective I had never really considered: how much fuel energy is consumed by moving our food hundreds, oftentimes thousands of miles. It seems like such a waste of resources.

I did subscribe to a CSA (community supported agriculture) produce box two summers ago. While I really enjoyed it - I was one of the "I can't wait to see what all I have this week and how can I creatively use it up or preserve it for later in the year!" people rather than the "Oh crap, now what do I do with all this?" people - it was a little daunting and took some energy. Since then I have taken a position at the bank I work for that is more demanding and I have decided I am better off not being beholden to pre-arranged produce for a 20-week stretch. I still remember all the eggplant I received that summer and ended up making several pint jars of "eggplant preserve" that we're still using up. (Don't tell Rich and Aidan this is the jam in their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, they may not like it anymore!)

I have since been much more consistent with visiting the local Grower's Markets, both in Grants Pass on Saturdays and in Medford (where I work) on Thursdays because I do adore getting fresh, local produce. It just seems to work better for me to get it on demand.

So imagine my delight when I read of a new produce opportunity a couple of weeks ago in the Daily Courier. This is called Rogue Valley Local Foods found at www.localfoodmarketplace.com/roguevalley/ and puts local farmers in direct contact with buyers. Each week on Thursdays, the website is updated with the produce each farmer will have available the following week. We can order online through Tuesday the following week (until limits have been reached), at which time the farmers see what has been ordered, harvest on Wednesday, and get the food to the central distribution center where is is parceled out and then delivered to one of three drop-off points on Thursday. There is a Medford and Central Point drop-off and in Grants Pass it's at Club Northwest and may be picked up until 6:30 p.m.

Okay, so my order this week consisted of: Beets (with their greens), Turnips, Peas, and a clump of Italian Parsley. All this really did nearly fill up a cloth grocery bag and came to a total of.... $7.23! This is maybe the first time ever that I have felt like buying local produce was less expensive than that found in the grocery store. Not that I'm price-driven... exactly. But there does come a point. :)

Just check out the picture here:
Cool, huh? I cut off the beet greens (they're in the plastic bag) and decided if I can't eat all of that while it's fresh, it may freeze well. It's worth a try... it works for spinach! As long as it's sauteed or added to other cooked food, soups, etc. rather than eating raw...

What Makes Us Unhappy? ...or Happy?

I have had jobs in the customer service field for many years, starting with fast food ending with banking. There was a common theme: unhappy customers. And happy customers!

So what was the difference? Why would one person be so upset about an overdraft fee while another would shrug off a whole slew of them?

Admittedly there have been far more examples of these situations in banking than in fast food. Although there was the time I dropped a glass of soda in a guy's lap - that was way embarrassing and maybe even more so for him than for me, I'm really not sure! But I have concluded people get far more emotional about their money than their food.

But still the question remained: Why did the same situation seemingly have such a different impact on some people than others?

I finally concluded it all has to do with one criteria, that is, whether or not a given scenario matches the person's expectations.

Think about it. Whenever someone is upset about something, it's because reality is differing from what he or she had expected to happen. I can't really think of a scenario where this is not the case. The overdraft fees? Some people know about the fees and understand what happens when they don't pay attention to their account balances, and thus the fees don't cause a surprise or undo angst. Others are so taken aback, they have difficulty coping without erupting in an undesirable manner.

Last summer prior to taking a new position at the bank where I currently work, I was nervous about the very real possibility that I might not be able to deal with the additional stress that was certain to follow if I took this job. I had gone through a great deal of stress when I worked at Wells Fargo and was loving the current lack of pressure. The only problem was I noticed that my tolerance for stress was way low; even very small problems tended to give me anxiety that could be quite challenging to work through.

I was excited at the prospect of new responsibilities and growth opportunities. But how would I cope with a compliance exam from the federal regulators for example, when I was having difficulty with... traffic?? I needed to work through this dilemma and found myself discussing the situation with my accupuncturist. Greg immediately referred me to a book he had read that he thought might help and wrote down the title and author for me: "Loving What Is" by Byron Katie. I ordered it from Amazon.com that evening.

This book is all about realizing it is possible to feel at peace... no matter what the scenario. It TOTALLY felt like my prior perspectives were stood on their head as I worked my way through the examples. It has been so helpful to me! It puts great meaning behind the common saying, "It is what it is," while helping one really feel okay about it rather than feeling resigned which is short for feeling depressed. :)

I've been in this job for almost a year, and have managed very well. I'm so glad I had the courage to try. And I remind myself that the only reason upset feeling occur is because I was expecting something else and the reality is probably okay. It's turning out to be a pretty good philosophy...

A Sobering Glimpse at a Really Nice House

Yesterday when Rich and I were out-and-about, we drove by a house that had a sign out by the road: Estate Sale. It was one of those newer, huge houses that were common for new construction right before the real estate bubble burst a couple of years ago. Since I'm always up for snooping around someone else's house, we decided to stop in.

It was a beautiful home with a couple of acres of land. There was a winding driveway with those rock-covered pillars on either side out by the road and a rock fountain in the landscaping (non-functioning at this time). The house looked like it might have been about 5000 square feet. It's style was modern with Craftsman-like detailing such as what has been popular in the building styles the past few years - at least in the Pacific Northwest.


But, when we went inside, it was difficult to appreciate the house itself. There were a few pieces of furniture, but mostly boxes of what appeared to be junk, and collections of stuff just piled around on the floors. Clothes, yucky shoes, dishes, toys, videos, and Christmas decorations, to name some. The smell of cigarette smoke permeated a few of the rooms.

Okay, I realize that when a home has been lived in, it will not remain as when it was new. But, I had a couple of thoughts...

First, just because someone has money doesn't mean they have class. Which on the flip side goes to show that one doesn't need money to be classy. Mind you, it certainly doesn't hurt, but it's not the whole picture. And clutter, no matter what one's income level, just isn't classy.

My second thought is longer:
The scene had the appearance of a family who had moved from a smaller space to this larger one and then acquired "stuff" to fill the space. For example, there was a walk-in closet off the family room, lined with shelves with movies and games still there. My guess is the house had been foreclosed on, and the family moved to a much smaller space, having left behind all this miscellanea. For someone else to deal with. Hence the estate sale.

The feeling inside the house was not a happy one, but rather one that felt quite oppressive. It seemed like the inhabitants were looking for happiness by accumulating objects, and that the resulting environment was not the one they had been going for. Nor did it appear they were good stewards of the blessings they had received.

I realize that it was their home to do with what they wanted, and who am I to be judgemental about that... however, I can't help but feel a bit of sadness about this scenario. There are people all over the world who feel overwhelmed by the task of creating and maintaining a positive atmosphere in their homes that blesses the occupants and their visitors. (I know this because I've read Flylady's testimonials from people all around the world. See www.flylady.net.)

This has given me food for thought. I want to re-think my possessions and just go ahead and get rid of the items (clutter? junk?) I don't need. I really would be appalled if anyone had to go through my closets one day. :)

Why and How to Avoid Trans Fats

When it comes to fat, trans fat is considered by some doctors to be the worst of them all because of its double-barreled impact on your cholesterol levels. Unlike other fats, trans fat - also called trans-fatty acids - raises your "bad" (LDL) cholesterol and lowers your "good" (HDL) cholesterol. (from www.mayoclinic.com.) Trans fats also raise triglyceride levels which contribute to heart problems as well.

Okay, here's the deal. Total cholesterol (which supposedly should be 200 or less) is really only part of the equation. The real deal is knowing the levels of LDL (which I remember is the bad cholesterol because it should be LOW), and the levels of HDL (the good kind that should be HIGH). When my total cholesterol came in at 235, my doctor was not concerned because my LDL was so low relative to the HDL. (That was good news!)

Trans fats are found in any food items that list partially hydrogenated oil (of any kind) as an ingredient. The manufacturers add hydrogen atoms to oil so it is less volatile - fats do become rancid as they come into contact with oxygen. The process also makes the otherwise liquid oil become a solid at room temperature (think margarine and shortening). Therefore, foods made with partially hydrogenated oils have a longer shelf life.

Think about it though. Food is not supposed to last "forever," it is supposed to mold, or get stale, or otherwise decompose after a relatively short period of time - depending on its composition of course. And I will not deny that having bread and other food that doesn't mold is quite convenient. I do recall as a kid that our homemade bread could become moldy in our humid Iowa summers in just a couple of days if left at room temperature. *Maybe that's what freezers are for!* And, perhaps if there were no negative impact to that convenience, it would be worth taking advantage of. But honestly, look around. Obesity and chronic health problems are at an all time high. Artificial sweeteners are not solving, but rather, are helping to contribute to the problem. National health care would not be half the problem it is, if only we the people were taking responsibility for lifestyle choices including what we put in our mouths.

So how do we avoid trans fats when it seems to be in everything? I first began paying attention to this about three years ago when I first began seeing Dr. Heather who is an integrative physician, and she directed us to the book, The Fat Resistance Diet by Leo Galland, M.D. It is very clear about the need to avoid all trans fats. Alrighty then. Doctor's orders.

There were two things I did to start. Since we were inclined to eat at fast food restaurants fairly regularly at that time (mostly for lunches), I went online to find and print out the nutritional information at each place we were likely to eat. I three-hole punched and placed the pages into a report cover thing with the clear front like you use in school to turn in a report. I went through the pages with a highlighter, and noted the most acceptable choice(s) at each restaurant, and if there were no acceptable choices, we quit eating there. It was simple to go down the column showing grams of trans fats and looking at the ones with zeros, and checking the rest of the data to make a decision. I kept this notebook in the car, and referred to it often, until it was no longer necessary. After a while, it became easier to remember what was a problem, and what was okay to order. Also, it was about this time that I began packing my lunch more often. A hearty salad with a drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice and a sprinkle of salt and pepper became preferable because I knew what was in it. I could add leftovers from the night before and a piece of fruit and feel good about what I was using to nourish myself.

The second thing I did was begin to read all nutrition labels. I really can't recall throwing food out of my pantry, mostly because that would conflict with my "thrifty" gene, but I may have donated some to the food bank. I do know I paid a great deal of attention at the grocery store. I also have a really clear memory of being in our lunchroom at work, picking up the container of non-dairy creamer which I had been using daily, and reading the label. Sure enough, partially hydrogenated oil. Even though the number of grams per serving read 0. Turns out the food companies are required by the FDA to round to the closest half gram when it's less than 5 grams per serving (and to the closest one gram when it's more than 5) but also are mandated to round down to zero when it's less than .5 grams per serving. I suppose this follows the same guidelines they have for showing levels of vitamins and other positive components, but still, this is misleading for the general public. And also speaks to the importance of reading ingredients, not just the numbers.

But wow. This was overwhelming! What was I going to eat?? At first I made the choice to only pay attention to the numbers. This meant I was still using the creamer in my morning half a cup of coffee, but forgoing the doughnut that had numbers showing for trans fat. After a couple of weeks, I had adapted and was ready for the next step, which was to read the ingredients and avoid using the product if it listed partially hydrogenated oils. By this time, I discovered that Silk makes a wonderful soy creamer and it comes in fun flavors like vanilla and hazelnut. Okay, now how cool is that, to be able to find a really yummy alternative that fits in with the health criteria we decide on - I love that!

And on it went. No pre-made pies. But I could make a pie and choose my own ingredients. No crackers with trans fats, but when I found a brand without, I bought them. Same with cookies. Either make them yourself or find a brand that has acceptable ingredients.

When that became second nature, I targeted high fructose corn syrup. The cheaper whole grain bread I had been accustomed to buying (Country Oven brand) did not contain trans fats ingredients, but did contain HFCS. I had a decision to make... get the bread with "crap" ingredients, or get the higher priced quality one?? At the time, I chose to split the difference and got one of each. And guess what? Food manuafacturers are paying attention to consumer demands. Within a couple of months, Country Oven stopped using HFCS in their breads! So it just goes to show you, just because they contain an ingredient at one point, they can change.

It was a challenge, but I was able to find barbeque sauce and ketchup without HFCS as well.

Remember, WE VOTE WITH OUR MONEY!! At the conclusion of the movie, Food, Inc., a farmer was shown stating something like: Hey, if the public demands organic food, we'll grow organic food. But right now it appears all they want is cheap food that doesn't have the quality, so that's what we're producing.

How profound.

Another Way to Make Coleslaw

I have never been a fan of coleslaw. I think it's the creamy dressing that gets to me. I recall as a child not liking dressing at all - and of course salad without dressing is rather bland so as I remember it, salads were somethingt to get through at the very beginning and then get on to the "good" parts of a meal.

And I don't mind cabbage itself - it's lovely sauteed in a bit of olive oil with a touch of salt. It's always my preference at Mucho Gusto over lettuce - beginning with the time I was taking half my burrito back to the office with me for lunch the following day and I anticipated the cabbage would not get soggy when reheated as would lettuce. I was right about that and although I hardly ever save half a burrito for the next day, I still enjoy cabbage in it.

This dressing over cabbage is way yummy! It also goes really well with Mexican food because of the cumin I dare say...

(Maybe it would be better to call it Mexican Cabbage Salad)

Cabbage Salad:
Juice of one lemon
2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1-2 cloves pressed garlic
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cumin


Mix together and mix with chopped or shredded cabbage.


I had the leftovers from last night for lunch today - added in a handful of chickpeas... yum! OH! This would be fab over any manner of raw vegies. Hmmm, I'm going to have to try that, especially when the garden tomatoes arrive!

Comments...

By the way, I figured out how to change the settings for comments to allow anyone to leave a comment, you don't have to register first.

Of course, if you want to be a blog "follower" you'll need to register. Oh! And how about starting a blog of your own! Then you'll need to register as well. And if you do start your own blog, let me know so I can follow yours.

Suz

Let's Compost!

So I was thinking about things that annoy me. For example:
- Cobwebs.
- Little white fluffy dogs.
- Wasting things.
- Taxes.
- Putting recyclables in the landfill.
- Rude people.
- Smelly garbage. I hate putting anything in the bin under the sink that will stink, like onion peels and coffee grounds.
- Opinionated blowhards like Rush and Hillary.

Turns out that composting takes care of the smelly garbage and helps with the putting recyclables in the landfill issue. Oh yeah, and wasting things.

We always had a compost pile when I was young. Actually, our trash was divided as follows: Food scraps from produce, (what we called "garbage") went to the compost, food scraps like meat and bones went to the dog (this was back before dogs knew chicken bones might hurt them), uneaten food off plates... oh yeah, there wasn't any. :) Sour milk got flushed, paper scraps went into the "wastebasket" which when full was used as a fire starter in our wood-burning furnace, tin cans and glass were what we referred to as "trash" and were collected in a bucket in the garage and that ended up going to the dump. I can't really remember that we had that much plastic - I think the wrap type of plastic got burned with the paper and the odd bottles went to the dump - Ha! the very stuff that can be recycled now. Hmmm... But, it goes to show how little trash one ends up with when not relying on pre-packaged foods. So the "garbage" was collected in a container, and at times when there was no official compost pile, Mom would hand over a bowl of scraps and tell one of us to "go throw this over the fence," meaning the fence in back of our house that separated the backyard from the corn field.

When Rich and I got married, we lived in his house which had a "reverse" floor plan, that is, the front door was at the top level which was even with the street. This is where the kitchen, living room, dining area, master bedroom and bathroom were. Downstairs were three bedrooms and a bath. And that second level down was still one whole story from the ground on the other side of the house. Now, our only lawn was two little strips of grass up by the street, one on each side of the garage. The rest was a rather steep slope that had ivy growing on it, and towards the bottom of the slope and beyond the house, was brush and trees. Imagine my delight when I realized that the rail of the deck off the dining area (three stories from the ground below) made an excellent "fence" to toss compost-able scraps over! They just fell into the brush and deteriorated. Although it turns out all items do not decompose at the same rate. One summer when Rich was down there with the weed-eater, he encountered a bunch of watermelon rinds and corncobs. Oops! Those were supposed to land in the ferns...

In case anyone is wondering, I did not go make a proper compost pile down there at our old house because I actually went down into the bottom yard as little as possible. There was poison oak growing down there. A lot of poison oak. And I was very allergic to it. But that actually will be the topic of another entry sometime.

When we bought the empty lot across the road and up the hill a bit and started planning to build a new house, I was quite excited about having land all around that was the same level as the house. This meant I could plant things right into the ground instead of in containers on the deck, and we could have a dog, and I could have a compost pile!

"There's no room for a compost pile," Rich told me when I brought up the subject.

What?? How can that be? We have land all around our house! Well, okay, so it's not a large lot and the patio on one side goes all the way to the property line, at the back of the house there's about six feet (maybe 10, how do people eyeball these things?!) to a retaining wall that marks the property line at the back. Then the other side - well the driveway is actually on an easement over the neighbor's side, but sheesh, there's all this woods and brush and it's really far to the next houses over there... (not our land Rich reminded me). So that leaves the front which actually goes all the way down to the street but that neighbor's driveway bisects it since they have an easement. Oh the joys of living on a hill. It's cool though, the view is fab!

One day at the library, I picked up a book called "Lasagna Gardening for Small Spaces" by Patricia Lanza. (I thought it was going to be about growing things used in Italian cooking.) Not quite. It described a method of gardening that requires no digging or anything hard from the sound of it. Just layers of stuff like newspapers, leaves, compost, and such. So while I was a little disappointed it wasn't about Italian cooking, I did learn a few tips. One of which is that anyone can have a compost pile! Really! Anyone! Even people living in an apartment. Okay... So, I followed this advice and bought an 18-gallon Sterlite plastic tote with lid, and drilled quarter inch holes in the bottom (important for drainage). I did this using my cordless drill with this thing called a "paddle bit." (Is anyone besides me impressed I know about this?!) I have to admit, I got a teeny bit jealous and decided I wanted my own tools when my friend Kathy helped me install our closet systems when our house was new and we moved in without anything in the closets to hang stuff on and she brought her own tools. Which are pink. And totally suit her because she really is a girly-girl, much more than I could ever hope to be. She's really tiny and cute and has gorgeous jewelry... and her own tile saw. And knows how to use it! So when Harbor Freight Tools had a sale on cordless drills, I got one, only mine is orange. It's the one that was on sale. :) I also got my own toolbox and over time collected my own tools. Not that Rich doesn't have tools. He does. Only they're never around when I need them. They end up at his shop, or in the pickup of one of his workers, or anywhere other than where I can find them. My tools say SUZ on them so there is no question.

Oh yes, the compost bin!

The really cool thing is, you throw in all your produce scraps and bada bing, bada boom, you get really rich loamy compost. If you want it to happen more quickly, it's helpful to add water or other liquid (I'm thinking leftover coffee here) and chop things like watermelon rinds into smaller pieces, add a little soil, and to stir it once in a while with a sturdy stick like maybe a broken broom handle. If you don't want to, no big deal, it just won't decompose as fast.

As I kept adding "stuff" to the first bin, I was thinking I would need to get a second bin any day. The weird thing was, as full as the bin was one day, by the next it would be way emptier. Things just shrunk. I put all my produce waste in for the whole summer - and I'm talking corn husks and cobs, watermelon and muskmelon rinds, orange, lemon, beet, and carrot peels, egg shells, you name it. It was a lot of stuff! And it wouldn't get full! After a winter of continuing to add to the bin, I decided at the beginning of the next summer to go ahead and begin a second one. Mostly so that the first one could go ahead and get finished once I quit adding to it.

For anyone who tries this at home: be sure not to add any animal products like meat, bones, or cheese and other dairy products. Eggs and eggshells are okay. But the other bits will cause a stench you will not like. Think mainly plant based waste.

Now I should probably consider growing more stuff so I have a place to use the compost...

Kids... :)

So Aidan tells me last night, "Mom, I thought I'd let you know none of my friends like our food."

WHAT!? What do you mean?

"Courtney wanted something to eat last night and she thought all your food is weird. Which it kind of is."

What are you talking about?

"Well, there was nothing in the fridge she wanted."

Why didn't you show her the fruit bowl? There're oranges, apples, kiwi, bananas...

"She didn't want fruit. I let her look through the whole fridge and there was nothing there she wanted."

Well if she didn't want an apple I guess she wasn't that hungry...

"She even looked through the pantry and said we have nothing to eat."

Okay, well I realize I have more "ingredients" than pre-made food, but what about all the nuts and dried fruit?

"She didn't want any of that."

Okay, well Aidan, I'm glad you're not that picky! And, since I'm not buying "crap" food for your friends, I guess they can just go home and eat.

Also, you can tell them it's because the typical American diet makes people unhealthy!

"Or you can tell them it's because your mom's weird," Rich adds helpfully.

"That's what I did tell them," Aidan says with a smirk.

*Sigh*

HA! I happen to know three of your friends who like my dinners! Remember Zach who said, "Mmmm, this is good! You should make this every time I come over." Even if Nathan's been bringing his own snacks for some time now. haha

*Okay, calm down, he'll appreciate it one day... HEY! This would make a great Blog topic!* Exactly!

*And I do keep tortilla chips on hand, okay they're plain not Doritos but hey! Nobody eats the whole bag in one sitting that way, do they? They go good with salsa! And the gingersnaps I get... I had to look pretty hard to find a brand with no high fructose corn syrup and no partially hydrogenated anything and taste good...*

You'll thank me later Aidan!!

Quilting as My Hobby - Then and Now

I don't know when I learned to quilt. I do know that we all (my three sisters and I) worked on piecing quilt tops as we were growing up. We also had the opportunity to practice hand quilting when Mom had a quilt in frame and also when one of our relatives had a "quilting" - we didn't actually call it a quilting bee but that's what it was.

My first solo quilt was made with corduroy. I started collecting corduroy material as a teenager, then at age 18 or so, I cut out patches 3"x6", laid them out in a stair-step pattern, and sewed them together. I picked seams back out (what quilting books refer to as "unsewing") and removed the ugliest color in there, adding in a nicer color. Then did it again, but this time it looked rather bland with the replacement "prettier" fabric. This was a good lesson in realizing that sometimes it is necessary to mix things up a little to have the most pleasing outcome. Hmmm... I wonder what else in life that could apply to?? So I left the second-ugliest one in.

I had the top done when I moved in with my sister Regina and her family in Grants Pass. I borrowed her sewing machine and machine quilted, using a pale yellow/beige piece of yardage for the backing that someone had given Mom as a gift for me when I was a baby. (People did things like that back then.) Thing is, Mom had never used it for anything - I guess there was too much of it to use for a dress for me. So she had saved it, waiting for the right project. Using it for the quilt backing seemed like a good idea. It was a bit challenging getting such a large awkward amount of bulk pushed through the sewing machine, but somehow we manage, don't we? Did I mention it's a double size?

I love that quilt - it goes quite nicely on the guest bed. There were scraps from two suits Mom had made for my brother Roger when he was little, one in a textured dark burgundy and the other a blue and black houndstooth type pattern, and I was able to get several patches from each one. These are in corners where there are the fewest "steps." I love quilts with history! At one time, I was looking for more prints because most of my fabrics were plain colored and I found a skirt at a thrift shop between Kalona and Iowa City. It was dark blue with little flowers and leaves on it. Okay, I was in highschool. There was no way I was going to wear it, but by taking the seams apart and cutting out patches from the flat areas, I had a wonderful print to add to the project.

I made a lot of baby quilts over the years, one for each of my nieces and nephews and many for the children of friends. Because I was actually buying fabric for these projects, I began with the belief that any fabric left over was wasted money and I should have planned better. I knew I had turned the corner into being a QUILTER when leftover fabric became a bonus because now I could add to my STASH! And even more so when I began buying fabrics for my stash with no particular project in mind. And more even more so when I was reluctant to use all of a fabric in my stash because then I wouldn't have it anymore. If anybody reading this is a quilter then you know exactly what I'm talking about. I found it particularly rewarding when I could complete a whole project just by shopping my stash.

I thought about quilts all the time. When I saw landscapes, I thought about how to incorporate those ideas in a quilt. I always had a pad of graph paper, small ruler, and sharp pencil handy to draw out patterns, complete with sewing and cutting lines.
I would notice color combinations like say, traffic lights against a brilliantly blue sky, and consider them for quilt colors. I always sought out fabric sales locally, and fabric stores while traveling. I have wonderful fabrics I purchased in Mexico and nearly had a heart attack when Aidan and his friends cut one of them up to make a cape. I quietly retrieved the pieces, smoothed them out, folded them up, and added them back to my stash. Which is behind glass doors in a lawyers bookcase. So I can see how pretty the colors are anytime. And gave Aidan an uglier piece (uglier to me, not to him) to play with.

So imagine the jolt I felt when trying to make a friendship quilt for Mom & Dad's 50th wedding anniversary which happened last year (2009). I had given myself like two years to do it, realizing how busy I am and didn't want to stress about it. But I realized I wasn't enjoying the process anymore. What!? How can this be?? I'm a QUILTER! What kind of quilter doesn't like to quilt?? I love to design and come up with really creative ideas. But sadly, I do not enjoy cutting out perfect patches, sewing them up with perfect seam allowances, ironing them just so, and sewing again. It makes me nuts!

I still love my fabric stash...

And designs...

Then I saw it. My new inspiration. A magazine called Cloth, Paper, Scissors. Oh my goodness. One can make art quilts without worrying about seam allowances. One can even leave raw edges. And incorporate paper into the design. Wow. Mind you, these are not bed quilts. Or ever to be laundered. These are to hang on the wall or something. So I pulled out my plastic tote with all my small scraps, prepared to dig through and find colors I wanted to work with. What? How did they get all organized in big zip lock bags sorted by color? Hmmm... I guess maybe I do remember that as a project last year. Sheesh, can't I remember anything? Well, it was a nice surprise.

It was a Saturday evening about a month ago when I started my new inspired work. I just couldn't stop. Every combination I put together was brilliant! I didn't have any bad ideas. Wow, this is easy. I used several "found objects" such as a washer, a button, some beads, and a couple sticks of incense. Hmmm, I should be getting tired. But I wasn't even close. The creative ideas just kept coming. I put the design together and began sewing. About 1:30 a.m. I decided I really needed to take a Melatonin and get myself in bed. I felt like a little kid putting my project on the nightstand next to me. :) I was so excited. I felt like the inspiration was so compelling it was keeping me awake. Well, it was. But then I also happened to remember that as an experiment, I had forgone my daily half cup of coffee all week, then that morning had a cup with soy hazelnut creamer (Yum!) and also Aidan's since he didn't drink his. It was probably noon before I finished. Oh, so now I was extra sensitive. There's a reason why I normally limit myself to less than one cup and quite early in the day. It always affects my sleep when I have too much caffeine, either by keeping me up, or I'll fall asleep and then wake up about midnight or 2 and can't go back to sleep until it's time to get up.

Well. A couple of days later when I tried my creative process on the next piece, I realized I probably did have my muse nearby that Saturday night because this time nothing worked. I could not put anything together that I liked. How frustrating. So I set that one aside and a couple of days later tried again, this time working one up in reds, using a hearts theme. That one is almost finished, but I've lost the little heart charm that came off a remaining earring I was going to attach. Shucks! Well it will look really cool when I do find it.

My idea is to make a series of these little art quilts that are 9x12. Maybe I'll enter them in a show... Maybe I'll win some award or prize or something... it could become really big and I'll be really well known!

Oh. Well. Maybe I'll just do them for fun. :)

"Better Butter"

I got the directions for making "Better Butter" from Leanne Ely at www.savingdinner.com although I probably heard it on one of her podcasts rather than from the website. She does a weekly radio show on blogtalkradio.com so the podcasts can be downloaded from there or from iTunes.

So, to make "Better Butter" you need:
~ 1 stick butter which is 1/2 cup, room temperature (NOT margarine!!)
~ 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil - make certain it's labled cold pressed or expeller pressed
Blend together.
This photo shows it partially blended - keep whipping together until it's completely blended.

This can be done in a blender - easier to clean out if your blender comes apart, or with a hand mixer in a mixing bowl - make sure to use a deep bowl not a shallow one to avoid splatters. Scrape all of it into a little dish; cover and refrigerate.
It's good for you, and... even cold out of the fridge, it's always spreadable! How cool is that!?

If you want to make butter: Put heavy cream into a butter churn, and churn until you have butter. Or put the cream into a jar and shake until you have butter (don't fill the jar). The fat will begin to clump together and soon you'll have a wodge of butter sitting in the leftover liquid which is buttermilk. Next you have to get the rest of the buttermilk out of the butter - this is best done using a wooden butter bowl and matching wooden butter paddle. Don't ask me how I know this. So you mush the butter around with the paddle, pressing the liquid out. Add some fresh water and keep working the butter until the water you add runs out as clear as it went in. Get all the liquid out, then add salt if you want to and work it in evenly. Pack it into a dish and refrigerate.

When I was growing up, we had a butter churn that was a square glass jar with paddles and a handle affixed to the lid. The paddles went down into the jar when the lid was in place and one turned the handle to rotate the paddles inside. I can't quite remember how long it took to get butter - I'm sure it seemed longer to children than the actual time - and, it probably depended on how diligently the "lucky" person was whose turn it was, was turning. It only seemed like great fun the first time, and also was directly proportional to how much anyone else wanted to do it.

We didn't make butter regularly until we got a cow when I was in my early teens. She was a really pretty little Jersey named Mystic. At least that's what her ear tag read when Dad bought her down at the Kalona Sales Barn. It was as good a name as any so it stuck. Jerseys are known for smaller daily milk production, but high butterfat content - we got about a quart of cream off of each gallon of milk.

Prior to that, we raised goats for milk. Although goat's milk is also high in butterfat, it is naturally homogenized so the cream doesn't separate from the milk like cows milk does. You need a cream separater which we didn't have, so we just used the milk. For those of you who believe goat's milk has a nasty flavor, I will tell you it all depends on what that goat is eating. If they're eating weird weeds and garbage, the flavor will reflect in the milk.

When I began Kindergarten at Kalona Elementary, I learned about "milk time," when you get 8 ounces of milk in a wax carton each afternoon. It didn't take me long to decide, "I don't like cow's milk." This stuck with me for quite a few years. Eventually I realized the cartons made the milk taste particularly horrid - especially that bit right at the bottom, which by that time had always gotten warm. Gross!

I don't drink milk anymore. I do make kefir and yogurt though. I got my "kefir berries," the culture used to make kefir, from my sister Marji last summer when I was visiting in Iowa. If anyone would like some, let me know and I'll share. It grows over time so there's always more! Kefir and yogurt are both FULL of probiotics which are excellent for digestion. You'll thank me later. :)

Chips Anyone?

Chips. Who doesn't like potato chips? And hey! Now they're available with No Trans Fats! How about that. Ingredients: Potatoes, corn oil, salt. Oh yeah, and usually preservatives.

My doctor pointed out that corn oil and the like contain Omega 6 fatty acids, which we all need. The trouble is, we need it in a specific ratio with Omega 3 fatty acids - the optimal ratio is thought to be 4 to 1 or lower. High levels of Omega 3's are found in wild salmon, flax seeds, and walnuts to name a few.

According to the National Institutes of Health, modern Western diets typically have ratios of Omega 6's to Omega 3's of 15 to 1, or higher. Research shows that excessive levels of Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acids can lead to inflammation and diseases such as cardiovascular, cancer, and autoimmune diseases.^

Dr. Heather also explained why farm raised salmon can actually be harmful: they are raised on corn and thus their fat tissues are high in Omega 6's and not the Omega 3's that only wild salmon can produce.

So the potato chips? Bad idea.

So what do I do instead? One of my standbys for a snack is sweet potatoes. Peeled and thinly sliced. Raw. The darker, the sweeter the flavor. I like the "Garnet" variety.

For some reason, here in the West, yams and sweet potatoes are labeled opposite than in other parts of the country, but I'm talking about the brown ones that are bright orange inside. Preferably organic - I think they taste better.

Last fall, I bought a few turnips from our local Grower's Market. I hadn't had raw turnips for a long time, probably since I was a kid, and these were the sweetest, peppery taste I could even imagine. I thought to myself, Wow, I should do this more often! By then the market had closed for the season. So, while at Fred Meyer one week, I picked up a nice large turnip in the produce section and was all set for that great taste. Boy was I disappointed. No flavor. And I realized if I had had that one first, I would likely not have tried the others, thinking "I don't like turnips."

Just goes to show you - locally grown, organic produce can be so much more flavorful as well as have better nutrition and hey! If we're going to eat, why not make it something to really enjoy as well as be nurturing.

You'll thank me later. :)



^www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12442909