Mushrooms, Mom and new muppets

Needless to say, this weekend has not unfolded as was planned ! The original intention was for Saturday to be spent in the woods , a picnic, and a general day of fun. The weather and the computer changed that. Happily my nephew was able to pull the critical information off of my hard drive , and after much consideration I have decided to wait a few weeks and buy a new computer instead of doing the repair on my old one. So I gave my nephew the computer to use for parts. He is studying to be a computer repair person, and has re manufactured several computers and either donated or traded them for other things. He has given computers to other family members who were in need of one but scrapped for cash- kind of a pay it in kind thing - and it looks like one of my nieces ia going to inherit this one when he finishes with it. He is a very good guy!

So on to food matters. In the craziness of yesterday I did not get any food pictures ( we had oatmeal for breakfast, Sweet Tomatoes salad bar for lunch and yogurt with blueberries and granola for dinner), but I did manage to have a picture of Friday's dinner still on my camera.

It was roast asparagus , tomatoes, mushrooms and leeks tossed in balsamic vinegar and basil, a portabello burger( the mushroom cap roast and on a bun) and a salad of romaine, dandelion and watercress with strawberry and pecans. A very mushroom heavy meal ! Part of the choices were symbolic, but when combined with nutritional sense they become even better. Mushrooms are an excellent source of potassium and a rich source of riboflavin, niacin, and selenium.
Selinium helps the body fight certain cancers, such as skin, breast and prostate.Mushrooms are also the only vegetable that contains Vitamin D. Add to this the fact that we all love mushrooms, you have a winning choice.

Between the weather and all the issues of switching a computer, the day was kind of a pain. One good/bad point was that in order to get my nephew to work on my computer we had to bring it to my mom's house. Mom is not doing well at all, and these days her speech is a collection of completely unrelated words and partial words that make no sense . She is often becoming terrifies or angry over something unseen or unheard of.We are all going to get together up there for Mothers Day, as it may be her last one with us. And then , in a wonderfully ironic balance, I got to meet and hold my newest grand neice Abby, or "Abby Cadabby" as I am calling her

She has the longest fingers and toes I have seen on any of the babies in a long time ! Thankfully, she is not an "evil baby". Evil babies are those ones that I hold and instantly think about having another one . It is nice to have the new crop of little ones around these days. It serves as a reminder that life goes on through the family that goes on. Kind of comforting to to that in the place I once called home there are often 4 generations of my relations simply gathered to do mundane things.I don't know if a lot of other families can have that experience these days. We all live too far apart from each other as a rule.

Progress and worthwild pain

Busy day ! Best to begin it with something healthy- quinoa and frozen berries !

Then school, exercise, housework and a lunch break for some leftovers

Colorful salad and leftover Polenta casserole. Leftovers are something that I am trying to once again embrace. Having a family of 3 makes it hard for cutting down some recipes. You cannot cut some things smaller ( an egg for example), and not everything freezes. The polenta casserole kind of deconstructed when it was reheated ! In the afternoon it was a trip to the DMV to renew my license. I hate driving, but as much as I hate the act I hate the thought of having to redo the whole behind the wheel test even more, so I renew it. I have to say, the pain of this activity was infinitely less than the pain one of my nieces was experiencing at the same time. I got a new license for my trouble , but she got a brand new Abigail Marie !

7 lbs 1 oz and 20 inches long. Ready for the world, and will not have to deal with the DMV for at least 16 years !

Dinner was veggie lasagna in the crockpot- a MUCH better outcome with texture, but it seems all my lasagnas want to slide off their stack and deconstruct. It does not bother the guys, but it bothers me ! I served it with a salad of assorted greens , apple , pear and walnuts.

I noticed yesterday that my walking gait is more stable, even and a little faster. Working on my abs is helping my head to feel a little more connected with the ground when I walk ( hard to explain this one) , and that makes me feel a little less tentative about the terrain under my feet. That has been something that has really bothered me with arthritis. Because of the pain in movement it seems your focus tries to go to places not in pain, and in time you sort of lose your "connection" with things that the painful parts connect or engage with. When a step causes pain and you must constantly step, the survival mechanism does what it must to keep us alive.I think the abdominal work helps to increase the blood flow in my lower body, and with blood flows a certain "cellular awareness" or something, and you begin to be more alive. At least that seems to be what happens. Not sure, but I am looking forward to another opportunity to get out to walk in the woods again ! Perhaps one day I will be able to even consider running if things keep improving.

Easter

Easter began with some bright sunshine , but by late afternoon it turned to cool rain. Saturday was cold rain as well, which made it not so nice for egg hunts in this part of the country. Easter happened though, as it does inspite of the weather, the theological debates or anything else. For our family, it was a fun busy day !

Breakfast was overnight oats with apricots and dates, topped with fresh blackberries and pumpkin seeds. Our market had blackberries for a song, so we indulged !

Bob sang at the 10 am Mass and then the Noon, so when he got back we grabbed a quick lunch . We were all starving and it meant a chance to eat something healthy before the gathering
Green Monster soup, Deli Flats with red pepper hummus and mozzarella cheese ( grilled) and fruit salad.Filling- and then off to mom's !

There was a lot of good conversations ( pictured he is my brother, one of my nieces who is expecting a baby any day, my brother's girlfriend and their son)

Babies playing with those who were babies noit so long ago themselves
( another niece with my brother and his son)

Egg hunts with newfound treasures ( one of my grandnephews)

and even a few friendly laps to catch up on a few zz's if you needed to.


And of course, food ! There was turkey and ham and lamb and veggies and salads and cakes and... in situations like my family gatherings there are a lot of people, all who bring a dish or two to pass because we are all certain that someone will forget something and we will all drop dead of starvation if we miss a meal . Belive it or not , it is actually a celtic custom to be hospitable and offer food and drink to all who cross your threshold. Few remember the reasons, find it so ingrained that they do this and just sense it is what they must do. It's fun , but it means there is a ton of food, everything served buffet style because you have no definite idea of how many people are coming . Then everyone eats on plates perched on laps because there is no room for a table- so no pictures of my plate.

Back to school today and back to normal !