Monthly Archives: July 2014

Life Isn’t Perfect. And The Potatoes Have Burned Bits.

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Cuisine

I’m hooked on Food Network’s TV program Chopped.

Maybe obsessed would be a more apt description. I can’t get enough. For those of you who may not share my obsession, Chopped is a cooking competition show where chefs compete to turn mystery ingredients inside a basket into a culinary dish. The hope is for the chef to create a dish that wows the judges and keeps them from getting eliminated, or better known as chopped. The last chef standing, who didn’t get chopped, wins $10,000.

Although cooking plays a part, creativity, thinking outside the bun, handling defeat and success, and learning the correct pronunciation of foods adds to the show’s interest. read more

The Day My Spinach Salad Blew Away (Really!)

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 Why it’s good to get away…

getaway coneflower

Echinacea or coneflower, one of the beautiful flowers you’ll find in Prescott, Arizona. I would have had a picture of my spinach salad flying away, but I spent too much time explaining what happened that I didn’t think to take a picture. The orange echinacea looks prettier anyway.

“I’m sure I forgot something.” I said to Jerry as we took off for a two-day jaunt in Prescott.  Jerry concentrated on driving.

To see if I could get a reaction, I said, “Oh no! I forgot to pack underwear for you.” He didn’t seem fazed at all. “I didn’t pack any pants for you either.” Still unfazed.

I had no idea of the adventure ahead, that cowboy actors would talk to me from the walls or that my spinach salad would blast into the air and fly away.  My thoughts centered on items I forgot to pack as well as looking forward to visiting my family in Prescott. Plus, and this is a big plus, enjoying the cooler mountain temperatures. Where we live in the desert, it’s a 192-degrees outside. In Prescott, people actually walk around outside in the summer without fainting. read more

One Step Forward. Ouch! Maybe.

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I entered the physical therapist’s office with bright optimism. The receptionist greeted me with a warm smile.

I had broken my ankle two months earlier and had hobbled in a walking cast for a month. I had imagined that once the walking cast came off, I would be as good as new. I envisioned the pain-free possibilities…dancing, hopping, jumping, even skipping. Perhaps I’d sign up for a 30k marathon if I so desired. But my hopes sunk when my foot continued to hurt after the cast came off. My podiatrist  suggested physical therapy.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Pain, to me, sometimes feels like looking through a window at a peaceful world beyond where personal physical discomfort doesn’t exist. (I took this picture at the Lan Su Chinese Garden in Portland, Oregon.) read more