Rolling right along........

We enjoyed our time at Bella Terra but did get out and explore other places to hang our hat, should we come this way again.     Gulf State Park, near Orange Beach, was huge with many amenities.    But the beach was across a busy highway so a car would be helpful.   The gulf beaches are powdery white sand and there are the high rise condos along the beach.    All in all, didn't do much for us.   We spent part of the day, based on a recommendation, over in Fairhope Alabama.    It is on the gulf as well with gorgeous homes,  luxurious landscapes and a lovely town of nice shops and restaurants  and magnificent magnolia trees, now in bloom.   

We decided to leave this morning, closely monitoring the weather.     We knew we'd have rain along the way but we were rather pleased to only have about an hour of heavy rain as we gradually headed 

Northwest. 

   

 Scenery was a non event .....roads were very good, not too much traffic and we finished up our day's 400+ miles in Shreveport.     We are about halfway and it looks like clear weather for the next several days.

Westward Ho.........

The preparations never get any easier but this time we felt more organized.   Despite not having any teenage kids around to do the loading , we managed to get it out of the spaces, into carry bags, out across the yard, up those annoying steps and into their assorted cubbies on the bus......My FITBIT recorded over 11,000 steps on Tuesday and that was without a morning walk.    And because we started organizing on Monday and brought the MH to the house that night, we seemed to have more time....enough so that we had an impromptu Happy Hour on the lanai, followed by dinner with our favorite friends.     AND, neighbors from Montrose were in TV for a family gathering so they joined us and filled us in on the latest Cobble Creek happenings.    A fun bon voyage party.......

We were on the road early Wednesday  morning and easily did our 300 miles to St Andrew's State Park on Panama City Beach Island.     We'd recommend a stop there with your tent or RV.    It's on the barrier island and quite a large park of long needle pines and palmetto.    We had a nice view of the Bay and just a short ride over to the beach.    BUT, this is what the beach looked like.....!   They are reclaiming the sand and the equip was huge and noisy.   We could have walked around it to the area near the jetty but we weren't that into sitting on the beach anyhow so did a quick tour of the area and came home to a cold drink.   

They have a nature trail of interest and a shuttle to Shell Island for more primitive beaching (no facilities except sun and sand and shells).   This large heron on the dock ignored us as he tried to get his wet feathers less disheveled.

 Our campsite was narrow but functional.   I was initially taking a pic of the Pickleball on the antenna when Mr PB himself entered the picture.

And so, this is our new home for 2 nights.     Bella Terra Resort in Foley, Alabama.    If you have the interest and the $$$, you can buy a lot and and build your own amenities on it.    We see casitas, hot tubs, outdoor kitchens, firepits and who knows what else.   The club house looks nice with a large pool and tonight is movie night.     We are close to the gulf beaches and we saw them setting up for a big Art show on the green in town.      We'll explore today and decide on our next direction.     And yes, we are keeping an eagle eye on the weather out there in TX and OK and the plains.    We'll make a dash across when the going looks good.  

Earth Day

We went to try out some golf clubs for ME on Monday.    TV does everything pretty well and their efforts to sell you new golf gear is no exception.     The clubs are displayed in a bright new  facility next to the driving range  with every color and brand and style of club you could imagine.    Well, not sure about the color and style but they had what I was looking for...sort of.     I chatted with a very nice gent about my wishes and expectations and we went to the large open bay with a lovely view so I could try them out for size.    Well, after abusing several clubs and embarrassing myself with a couple wayward shots, he said that maybe I should just stay with what I have.....and go to WALMART !!!!  and get a weighted club and practice with that so I could improve my swing speed and my distance.    What he didn't say was "Lady, you're 72 yrs old, how long are you even going to be able to swing a club ?? ".     Actually, I don't think he was really thinking that since he had a few years on himself as well and he probably would have liked to sell me clubs..... but I certainly appreciate his honesty.       So, I might get a club at Walmart and maybe I'll just get a new golf bag and call it done.   After all, it's all about how you look anyhow.....

Two weeks until we hitch up the horses to the wagon and head on down the road.    I am ready.!!    P has been waxing and fixing and checking and getting the moving house ready to go.    I am filling up the guest room with stuff to put in the moving house.     We'll take about 10 days to get to Denver and I'll be sure and take a picture now and then and share.

About 10 days ago, we went to St Petersburg to view a showing of the PlantPureNation documentary that will open nationwide on July 4th.   As in all the cities that it is being previewed in, they had to move the showing to a larger auditorium in the theatre and many cities have sold out.     If interested, try www.plantpurenation.com and check out the cities where it's showing..    The show highlights efforts to share the amazing affects of eating plant based on small volunteer groups.   Starting out with small groups in NC, the participants agree to eat prepared food, delivered to their homes for 2 weeks.    A medical history and blood work is done at the beginning and repeated at the end.   It's fun to see how delighted and surprised they are at the amazing results.      After repeating these JUMPSTART groups in KY,  an attempt was made to pass a resolution to say that eating a whole food plant based diet was beneficial in avoiding and TREATING certain medical issues.     The KY legislature  rejected it twice and their comments are not their best and brightest moments.    But you realize that they are just trying to stay in office and protecting the lobbyists who keep them there......big agriculture, dairy and big pharma.     It's a sad commentary on our government, at all levels.
When I see the recalls of ice cream and the spread of bird flu in commercial farms and read that some big manufacturers are fearing a drop in sales due to contamination fears,  I enjoy my organic (mostly) plants.
Today is EARTH DAY and knowing that we are doing a very small part to return this planet to good health, makes me happy.      Here's a little something to think about.........
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/moby/moby-meat_b_5889850.html

A perfect number....

Hi again !    Yep, we're still alive and well....haven't starved or withered away and we're still enjoying our new lifestyle.     It's always a new day of experimenting and learning and being encouraged by the energy and well being that we have found.     

We don't go out to eat very often.   Panera is a favorite but their breakfast sandwiches don't work for us.    We could have the oatmeal but we make that everyday at home.  

 

So, yesterday, being a day that called for a celebration, we headed to a local popular NY Deli kind of place.    We both ordered the waffles.    Yep, they probably had milk and eggs in them and maybe oil and sugar and other stuff that we avoid but they were the least offensive things on the menu.    I have to say, our taste buds were sparkling.     We brought our own real maple syrup (warmed even ! ) and the combination of thick crunchy waffle with cold juicy sweet strawberries and warm maple syrup was a delight.   Paul had his with bananas in a rum sauce ( think buttery ! ).    It was a fun indulgence.  

 Word has gotten around so no one sent me chocolate covered donuts  but Sandy sent this perfect Edible Arrangement.   It is huge and I immediately ate the strawberries and some pineapple.   So fresh and crisp....  We are both happy to have a ready snack to munch on.

Speaking of special days.    Yesterday, the number of the day was 72.    12 years ago, when I turned 60 I was in a state of denial and sadness.   I was not happy .   Mostly because I kept thinking that in 10 years I would be SEVENTY and I truly could not handle that thought.    I was not ready to be old and out of touch and probably ill and useless.      If only I'd known then what the next 12 years would bring, I would have been a happy happy me.     To come so close to losing the most amazing and wonderful person in my life , puts everything into a different perspective.    To watch him challenge every dire prediction the Drs could think of and accomplish goals no one could have predicted is just short of a miracle.    It is what the human spirit in conjunction with determination and stubbornness can accomplish.    These years are a huge gift to us and we embrace them and try and make them the very best possible years.    To be active and healthy and happy and in love with each other and our life is a gift we can not take lightly.     Seventy two is a perfect place to be and we embrace it with gratitude and understanding that the years will continue to accumulate and we will continue to do our best to be vibrant and as healthy as possible and to look forward to each and every day.    

Favorite things...........

When did they all grow up???    Lizzie, Alex and Becca ...(.and Aspen.)...are really wonderful young adults and we are so proud of them.   Can't wait to see them soon.  

Healthy eating has been in the news of late.     The 2015 Dietary Guideline Advisory Committee has just issued it's latest recommendation on what Americans should be eating.    They concluded that a diet higher in plant-based foods and lower in animal-based foods is both healthier and better for the environment.  The meat industry is fighting back saying the meat advice is "flawed and nonsensical" and is urging people to protest the new guidelines.  "Hot dog, sausage, bacon and salami lovers throughout the land stand together as Americans in favor of a balanced diet that includes meat and poultry of all kinds."    The book "Whole" tells the truth about the influence of big business in our government policies.

Dr Dean Ornish wrote a strong opinion piece in the NY Times "The Myth of the High Protein Diet"   and John Stewart interviewed the author of "Living the Farm Sanctuary Life: The Ultimate Guide to Eating Mindfully, living Longer and Feeling Better Every Day" last night.   The discussion mentioned that going plant based is easier than ever.

On Sunday, we will go to St Petersburg for the sneak peek tour of the movie Plant Pure Nation which will open in July at local theaters.   It's been showing to sold out crowds in other cities.    The authors wrote "The China Study".  

The Masters Golf is on this week and I love watching it.    It is one of the most beautiful settings and yes, I know they discriminate against women and blacks altho there are now a few as members.    We live close enough to watch the Pro's in several of the Florida tournaments but having done that years ago at Pebble Beach and at the Buick Open in Westchester,  I now prefer TV.

I brought a pressure cooker !!    I hope to cook beans and grains in a fraction of the time.    I've never owned one and this one is very high tech and simple ( I hope).    It's  a slow cooker as well.   In my research, they are used to quickly make baked potatoes and sweet potatoes.   ( Guess they aren't really baked.)     Last night I made a "cheese" sauce out of potatoes, onions, carrots, spices and nutritional yeast ( a flaky substance with a  nutty, cheesey flavor ).   I mixed it with brown Jasmine rice and broccoli and Paul gave it an "8".    Tonight, the sauce will be used on baked potatoes.     I'm gradually building up a repertoire of favorite recipes.    

I watched Masterpiece theatre on Sunday night.   "Wolf Hall"  a compilation of the books of Hilary Mandell's, "Wolf Hall" and "Bringing Up the Bodies".   It covers the period of Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell and Anne Bolyne.    I thoroughly enjoyed the books but the show comes on at 10 pm and I am fading and we can't record the local channels.    I am a  British history fan but still have moments of figuring out who's who.    Maybe that's why I liked London so much.   Plus, I have British blood flowing thru my veins..

We're sort of planning our summer.    We'd love to see you but put in your reservation now so we can make sure we are not traveling when you decide to come out and climb mountains with us.   (not literally, we'll climb by Jeep ! )    We are thinking of heading to British Columbia and the beautiful Canadian Rockies.  

Perfect week.......

Jennifer and Jeff came and went and it went by much too fast.   They had about perfect golf weather and as it got more hot and humid, they finished up their golfing days and headed back to the rain of the NW.    It was wonderful while it lasted and hope we can see them sooner than later.  

 

 TV is full of happy children for the Easter week and it is busy down here.   It's fun to see the dancing and laughter on the Squares each night as the generations have fun together.

Had my annual physical this week.    The Dr was very pleased with everything and had many questions about how I made the changes.   She said she was on a low carb diet and struggling.   I gave her some websites and told her to watch "Forks Over Knives" and "The Last Heart Attack" .    After she left, the assistant came in and said, " I don't know what you said to her but she's all excited and is writing things down".     So I went to B &N and bought 2 books and left them on her desk.   She may toss them .....but maybe not ......

We get the weekly updates from the Cobble Creek Hiking Club and I read them with envy.    Our friends, Jessica and Lynn, who led the group at Capital Reef, posted several pics of their time in "The Wave" near Kanab Utah.   Stunning.    Wikipedia describes it as a grueling 6 mile hike.    It is only open to 20 hikers a day and is by lottery the day before or by applying 4 months in advance.    It will be much too hot to consider it when we get out there........But I will enjoy Laura's pictures.

Some of you might be familiar with Melody Johnson and her fabulous art work.   She is multi-talented and generous with her advice and techniques.    She is very prolific and offers small art pieces for great prices so I grabbed one last week.    It is 12x12 and I haven't decided if it will stay here or move with us to the mountains.    This is hand dyed cottons.

The calendar  is telling us it's time to start thinking about heading West.    I'm anxious to get back and catch up with everything and everyone.       The mountains are calling my name...

No news......

..........is good news !!       Just to let you all know that we are still out here in blog land.    At this age, you just never know !    But, now that we are enjoying our plants, we plan to be around a bit longer.   I got my labs back the other day.    My lipids are better and heading in the right direction.  The scale is showing very positive results as well as my clothes.     AND, the golf ball is cooperating !

Jeff and Jennifer arrive tomorrow for a week.   It's always fun to have a bit of youth around "The Bubble".   We have tee times and excursions planned.

And now I must continue my eradication of geckos.....one managed to escape INTO the house.   I had a dream that it was on my pillow !  

Spring has sprung.......

So, we are giving golf one more chance to see if we really want to continue to beat up our egos.   I guess the key is playing more than once a month as the game seems to be coming back a bit.   But, at this age, it ain't going to come back very far......

 We had to pause while the residents of this  golf course strolled by on his way to someplace important.     Haven't seen too many wood storks before .....Welcome !!

The pool is finally warm and refreshing.   We are doing the spring clean up and power washing the winter dust off and also eradicating the tiny pesky anoles once again.    Another golf ball punched it's way thru the top of the screening again yesterday and bounced around making a lot of noise.   The Tee boxes are located past those palms but normally, we just get a few rolling into the yard.   The owner must have had an idea where it went as he did not drive over to look for it.    Because we live on a golf course, the law says it's just a hazard of living here and we have no recourse.....not that I would do anything anyhow.   But he could have said "Sorry " !!

Blog alert:    Time for my next lecture  on plant based eating for your learning pleasure.   

I am not a cook and fortunately live with the right man who isn't fussy.    Transitioning to this way of eating has been a challenge.   Some people try and duplicate familiar foods and that is not always successful.    I don't get the need to make fake meat or buy fake meat.     Initially, it might make the transition easier but the taste buds do change and the way you look at food changes and soon, you eat what looks and tastes good.     I'm spending a lot more time and effort to try and come up with healthy and tasty items.    I'm thankful for the web and Facebook groups and several cookbooks that I've studied.   Here are pictures of a couple of successes.  

 Corn bread.    Oil and sugar free.   It has  maple syrup for a touch of sweetness.  No eggs.   The cornmeal is kind of rustic and coarse which I like.    Great warm with honey.
 

 OK, so this is a copycat....called Fettucini alfredo but that's not what it tastes like so I wouldn't name it that.    It's whole wheat fettuccine , broccoli, and a sauce made with cauliflower.    No egg, cheese, dairy or oil.     Very good and even better the next day.

 Every day for lunch we have a delicious green smoothie.    Lots of kale, chard and spinach with an apple, banana and blueberries and cashew milk.   We top it with flax for our omega 3's.  

So then I made rice and beans.....and added corn.    It is delicious.    We eat it as a snack with corn tortilla chips that I bake.   Or add it to burritos made with refried beans, ww tortillas and sometimes onions and red peppers.  

We eat oatmeal every morning, lots of potatoes and veggies and beans and salads.    I made oatmeal, walnut raisin cookies that are a sweet treat ( again, no oil, no dairy, no eggs, no flour etc ).    We eat until we are satisfied.....no counting calories.    We are losing weight but the main thing is that we feel  SO MUCH BETTER....  I want to ask why everyone doesn't eat this way!!    I regret the way I ate for years altho I have never eaten or liked much meat.  
I encourage everyone to watch the CNN special that Dr Sanja Gupta did this fall called "The Last Heart attack".   It's available on youtube and should be required watching.  

OK, enough already........

BUT, if you want any info............................I'm available.  

Florida finally feels like Florida.........

 I'm sorry  all you Northerners but it really is nice down here these days.    In fact, it's a bit too warm for the morning walks and I'm doing some serious brow wiping.    But as the day winds down, sitting out  on the lanai is  delightful and relaxing.

 Lately, we have seen very large flocks of white pelicans.    This is the first year I have noticed them here at all.    Normally, they are over on the coasts, both the brown ones and the white ones.    But this year there are many many flocks.    Watching them come in for a landing, with their substantial wing span, it's hard not to imagine them as airplanes as they hover over the surface right before they settle gently into the water.   This picture does not capture the number of them on the pond.    And straight behind and across the golf course is our house....the one in the middle covered over by palm trees.   I wanted to get closer but couldn't walk on the course so just used the trusty phone from the side walk.  ( You definitely want to keep your golf ball  on this fairway as there is a lot of trouble if you don't ! )

 Today, I met my BFF at the big Mall in Orlando.    This is Susan from Montrose.....just a few doors down from us.    She sent me the snow pics and is my happy hour friend.     She's visiting her kids and I was thrilled that we could meet for lunch and catch up.    I'm getting excited to be heading back there later in April or early May.  ( Yes, I noticed the sign above our heads and it is not an indication of anything !!!!  )

Speaking of food.......this was dinner tonight.   I forgot to rotate the picture so just turn your head.  We  always have a large green salad with everything  imaginable on it .... well, not cucumbers,......Then I cut up these veggies, splashed them with some balsamic and ground pepper and roasted them in a hot oven.    The cauliflower and the brussel sprouts and the onion get very sweet.   There are sweet potato  and purple potatoes and sometimes I add chunks of red, yellow and orange peppers.   I  forgot to  take a picture after they were done.   I'm not a fan of roasted broccoli...prefer it steamed.   My Silpat mat doesn't quite fit the baking sheet.   

And because I can't quit my proselytizing , here's another view of plant based eating. 

We're enjoying the new season of House of Cards.   I want her hair..... 

WFPB

Whole Food Plant Based now describes ME !   A few years ago I thought I was but I was wrong.    I am not a Vegan or a Vegetarian.    I eat whole foods, not processed look- alike foods, but greens, nuts, seeds, beans, fruit, veggies, grains all put together in delicious combinations that result in allowing my body ( in these, my golden years .... ??... why golden? ) to be the best it can be.  
The only downside is that I wish I was smarter many years ago.   I have been wary of meat for a long time but I can't say that the rest of my diet was so healthy.    And the proof has been the growing out of clothes, the achy joints and the need for BP meds and statins ( I can't take them but should).  
We all assume that this is a natural part of growing older and there is always a drug that will manage the next condition.   I see changes in our family as they add on the years and friends who have debilitating chronic conditions and I want to get on the soapbox and share some tools and ideas that might just turn things around.    But I won't................Instead I'll just say that I feel great.    I am walking farther and faster every day.      I have no achy joints.   I sleep soundly.    I have more energy.   I'm happy.    And, in less than 6 weeks, I am down 11 pounds.    We eat very well.....we fill up fast on roasted veggies, delicious chili, huge salads filled with assorted veggies, seeds and nuts and green ( kale, chard, spinach ) smoothies sweetened with a banana, blueberries and an apple.     We use soy or cashew or almond milk.   We eat whole wheat breads and pastas.    We have hummus with flour free crackers or carrots.     One of us has an occasional bite of baked fish.     We are in the infancy stage of learning but it is energizing to see what our bodies will do at this age.    And, we drink wine.     What's not to like about all of this.  
I certainly don't expect my readers to jump on the bandwagon.   Depending on how and what you eat, it is a big change and a commitment but after a week or two, you'll look at food in an entirely different way.    And, by doing your own research, you will see the role of politics, drug companies,  the meat industry and the corn industry in manipulating what we eat.  
Yes, there is nothing worse than a convert..... sorry about that but maybe I've piqued your interest.