Tag: meal

Cinnamon Girl

Even though I stole my title from Neil Young, his is not the youtube video I’m linking at the end of this post. When I was shooting my cereal photo this morning, I ruminated on cinnamon. I have a love/hate relationship with this spice. I like the occasional cinnamon toast, but sometimes the scent of cinnamon repulses me. There is at least anecdotal evidence that cinnamon helps improve insulin sensitivity, meaning it can be good for metabolizing sugar (a plus for people who have diabetes). So we’ve been watching for cereals in the health food aisle that include a dusting of cinnamon.

Last week, I found a healthy kids’ cereal–you know it’s for kids because there are bunny shapes in it. Adults know bunnies are killers.


If only Monty Python had known how raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and a little milk render bunnies harmless. Speaking of the British, that coffee mug (from Puterbaugh) is a London Underground Map mug. Mind the Gap!

This week, Tom found a cereal of oat flakes with pecans and cinnamon.


I like the color of the blueberries and strawberries with the yellow bowl. I bought that bowl a couple of years ago at a thrift store, intending it to be a gift to a Pyrex collector I know. But it has a sunflower lid, so I selfishly held on to it. That’s an Irish coffee mug, but there’s only a little shot of chocolate in my iced coffee–no whiskey.

As I was shooting the photo and thinking about cinnamon, I remembered a song that a childhood friend, Susan B (more Lynne’s friend than mine) used to love. I looked for it on youtube and was charmed by this video someone made to go with it–oh, the days of 45 records piled high on the record player. Enjoy!

There can be good stuff on Monday

Recently I seem to be waking up more often with a little headache. It goes away as the day progresses, but still–it messes with my enjoyment of starting a day. This morning I ran errands early, and since I knew it was already going to be a day that I’d treat myself to the BACON breakfast when I came home, I decided to double my pleasure:


Ah, Starbucks, maybe your caffeine will help the headache.
Along with the drugs that will probably knock me out for an hour or so.

When I went outside to shoot today’s Magnetic Poetry poem (to be posted later), I got a nice little surprise. It’s not often I have camera in hand and such a close-up view. Enjoy!

It’s raining!

Finally. We got a little bit of it yesterday, mostly a light drizzle for a while, but right now, it’s REAL rain. And thunder. Which means that some quivering little thing has tucked herself into the smallest space possible between my feet and my desk.


Poor Margot.

Today’s breakfast wasn’t very exciting, but it was healthy. I even got it FROM the health food aisle. Raisin bran with half a banana added. Longtime readers may wonder why Mark G. Harris never provided photos with HIS updates.


Do banana slices look like they have little emoticons on them to anyone else?

Magnetic Poetry 365:129

I was only partially kidding around the other day with my “Make Good Choices!” post. I forget to eat breakfast a lot. Because of medication, I can’t eat for an hour after I get up. By then, I’ve become absorbed by the day’s activities, and it’s often several hours before I realize I haven’t eaten. This is NOT GOOD.

Funny thing is, I never forget to get online. Or that I have a blog. Or that I like taking photographs. That’s why there will sometimes be coffee cup or breakfast photos on my blog. It’s not because I think you care what I’m eating. It’s because this is one way I have of encouraging myself to make healthy choices or even to remember that I need to eat. If it reminds someone else to make good choices, too, then…yay! Don’t forget your glass of water with every meal.


Healthy: maple cinnamon oatmeal with fresh raspberries; Light & Fit blueberry yogurt with fresh blueberries added.


The once-a-week-love-fest: eggs (fried yes, but using canola cooking spray), bacon, half a fresh orange with fresh blueberries, dry wheat toast. Tankard of coffee with Sweet and Low and fat-free Half & Half. No one understands fat-free Half & Half, so don’t torment yourself trying to make logic of it.


A little frosted indulgence: mini wheats with fresh raspberries in one percent milk; half an orange.

Just some stuff

Do you have days when you hate the Internet and days when you love it? Today’s a love-it kind of day for me. I’m never sure why, except that ANY day I don’t read comments on online articles is always better.

My thoughtful neighbors Jeff and Jason knew I was sad when our unusual winter freezes damaged and killed a lot of my flowers, so they brought a flat of Sweet Williams over for me to plant.

We’ve lived in this house since 1995, and our botanicals over the years have included gifts (and often, sweat equity) from many friends. Not only am I thankful for their generosity, but their persistent faith that I might manage not to kill everything, my history to the contrary, is touching. A shout-out to the believers, including Steve R, Lynne and Craig, James, Steve V, Amy, Tim, Kathy S, Sarena, Debby, my mother, Princess Patti, Lindsey and Rhonda, and the guy next door, who donated tons of his plants to us when he moved to another city. Those include a little tree that’s in a pot in the back yard. I have no idea what this tree is, but often when I take my eyes off Guinness, she climbs into the pot to nibble on the leaves. I’ve never been able to catch her in time to shoot a photo of this. Pixie likes those leaves, too. I’ve tasted them but can’t understand the appeal. To me, they taste like ordinary leaves.

It’ll be a little harder for Guinness now because I’ve put a fairy in that pot next to the tree. It’s solar-powered, but since I just did it today, I haven’t yet seen what kind of glow it casts at night. It was a donation to the cause from Lisa K.

ETA: You can see the fairy at night here.

The other night, Tom, Tim, Lynne, Lindsey, and Rhonda took me out for a birthday dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, The Ambassador. What I didn’t know was that Lisa K had gotten in touch with Tim and surprised me by joining us. Sneaky Aries!


There’s actually a photo where Tim and I look happier, but Lynne’s eyes are open in this one, so I chose it.

Figured it was the least I could do for the person who made my DELICIOUS birthday cake. From scratch, so she could make it sour cream chocolate with sour cream chocolate frosting. She knows me so well.

Lisa gave me another little garden item, too. This one’s in the pot with the resurrected impatiens and daisies.

To prove no good deed goes unpunished, Lisa forgot the rest of her dinner entree that she had boxed up for lunch on Sunday. But we enjoyed it! Thanks, Lisa. And thanks Tom, Tim, Lynne, and The Brides for this part of my fun birthday. More to come!


(For ‘Nathan–’cause it’s not a party until there’s a Chinese take-out box.)

Good day, Sunshine

The sun has been coy. We began the day with a rousing thunderstorm–much appreciated by all but Margot and probably Rex!–and for the rest of the day, the sun has come and gone like a drama queen on Facebook.

I remarked to Tom yesterday how strange it seems that people can be suffering so acutely on part of the planet–So sorry, Japan–at the same time others get to enjoy beautiful days. Yet I know that when we’re in the middle of drought or hurricane cleanup, I like seeing those beautiful days elsewhere as a reminder that Nature will be beautiful where I am again.

Though I know food posts are like dreams–mainly interesting only to the dreamer or chef–I can’t help but share…


My happiness in being able to go outside to cut my own rosemary and lemon verbena.


To put on this foil-wrapped salmon.


That I’m serving with lightly sauteed vegetables on a bed of saffron rice topped with a bit of crumbled feta.

Along with a salad and herb/garlic bread. Should I set a place for you? You don’t like fish? Me, either, so much. That’s why that tiny piece of salmon is mine, and–full disclosure–I’ve got a few popcorn shrimp to go along with it, because I love shrimp.

A thank you to friends

Growing up, my family was not one who had desserts all the time. But we did have them occasionally, and everybody had their favorites. I’ve mentioned before that I planned to make my brother some chocolate bread pudding like our mother used to make when he was here last fall–then I forgot to do it.

The recent visit from my siblings fell between my sister’s birthday and my late mother’s, and I decided to lay out, along with meals, some of our favorite desserts as part of the celebrations.

For my sister, it had to be a coconut cake (that’s what my mother always baked for her). Some of you may remember the last time I made her a coconut cake and the dire consequences. There were no catastrophic repercussions this time, but as you can see, there’s also another cake in the photo. Since some of us are wheat intolerant, and some are downright allergic to wheat and gluten, I snagged a Betty Crocker gluten-free yellow cake mix and some Duncan Hines gluten-free dark chocolate frosting. It was an experiment and it worked; the cake was delicious. It just didn’t rise the way I’m accustomed to cakes rising.

Along with the two cakes, my sister made banana pudding–another of my brother’s favorites that my mother always made for him (and I don’t make because bananas are something I can stand in only small doses). And he finally got his chocolate bread pudding (which I overcooked, but it was still good).

My family’s all safely back in their homes now, and for Craft Night, I decided to try the Betty Crocker gluten-free chocolate cake mix. Everyone thought it tasted good, but again, it didn’t rise very much. If any of you use this mix and know a secret for getting fluffier cake, let me know.

Tom asked if the Craft Night cake was for a special occasion, and I said no. But of course, as I mentioned earlier, March 4 is my mother’s birthday. And it was kind of cool to realize, as I sat around the table with Tom, Lindsey, Rhonda, and Kathy, while we drank coffee and had cake and ice cream, that we were all together with my mother on her last birthday, when we took chocolate cupcakes to her hospice room.


Photo by Lindsey

I figure it’s time to mention again how much I love my family and friends, who are here with me through the fun times and the sad ones. You’re all great.

It’s called comfort food for a reason

Friday night while we were crafting*, The Brides’ potential brunch plans for Saturday were canceled. I suggested that we do brunch here–my sneaky way of getting Tom to make pancakes–and everyone was agreeable.

Saturday while Tom was manning the griddle, Lindsey cooked the OMGdelicious bacon she and Rhonda brought. I was sitting at the computer talking to them when the news hit about the shootings in Arizona. There’s really nothing more a person can ask than to be around people who know that a bit of silliness can carry us over some rough moments.


If it looks like a duck…


It’s probably not the Twitter bird.

After we ate our pancakes, bacon, and fresh fruit with some coffee, we escaped reality for a while by watching Eclipse. I really didn’t mean to make Rhonda watch it; I’ve been enjoying threatening her with it since early December. Now I have to wait a year before I’ll have another one to use against her.

Also, Lindsey and I had a Shoe vs. Shoe moment:

*By crafting, I mean painting, sketching, and the like. I thought I should clarify this lest you think we sit around casting spells and using voodoo dolls. That’ll be a different post. 😉