My scones turned out like biscuits and my biscuits turned out like scones! Only just edible.

With a disastrous attempt at pastry too not so long ago I am losing confidence fast. I used to be pretty good at baking!  Do you think that you can just - for no obvious reason - lose the knack?

I may just give up. .

I need a Plan B.

We stopped in amazement that there was a whole bed of roses in flower in the street outside the University and as my friend touched this one in disbelief - it literally fell off into her hand (much to her embarassment!).

The menu is as old fashioned as the decor. I have to go back to this cafe to try their ice cream one day...

..that are my downfall!

Christmas lunch for the book group was fun, with readings before and berween courses on the theme of the solstice.

..that a few drops of grapefruit seed extract in water two or three times a day takes away cravings for sugar?

At least it does for me.

So useful, especially at this time of year.

The freedom of being able to take it or leave it is amazing to me.

Yay!

Therej's something thrilling about oranges with their leaves on.

..on a dark winter morning with the sound of rain lashing against the bedroom window.

Loving what is..

It's the work of a minute to light a candle, place a few ptessed leaves ( they've been under the rug since last autumn) put a flower in a glass or otherwise decorate the table or tray for a meal.

I believe in it.

Even if just for one.

Adds joy.

Tastes better.

Makes me grateful.

Makes me smile.

..and other growing things. The weather is still amazing here. (Still no rain!)

I bought a packer of cut basil as the supermarket had run out of pots of growing basil, not sure if it would last. And indeed it drooped balefully in a glass of water for a day or two, then perked up and as you can see every shoot developed some good roots.

I've potted them up as it is a particularly delicious type. They are drooping again in the heat today, but it's worth a try!

(My herb garden is a disaster and about to be ripped out for a fresh start. And I won't be putting mint in the ground again. I should have known better.

I'm also sowing my favourite annual poppy papaver rhoeas Mother of Pearl - thrillingly subtle colours. See here. Available from Chiltern Seeds

Many of the things looking good just now in the garden will be over by Open Day - two weeks tomorrow but I was delighted to see the first flower on geranium psilostemnon which really makes a show in the centre bed of the garden..

as I post a few more memories of Venice!

I learned from Heather, who learned from Cinzia, who learned from her mother exactly now to make an espresso. I didn't know I liked it.

This came today. First try tomorrow morning.

How do you like your coffee?

This is quite fun.

I only read it after I came back :-)

Salmon cooked with butter and lemon, served on spinach with strawberries in balsamic vinegar, basil and pepper and a tiny bit of sugar. An unusual combination I really enjoyed.

from a new book..

...but (to paraphrase FlyLady) even imperfect efforts bless your body.

 If you don't look after your body you won't have anything to live in.

,I am so glad I gifted myself six days to concentrate on my health. (It does take time and maybe no-one else is likely to give that to you!) Time to consider what you need to prioritise, to figure out what suits you and how you can fit it into your lifestyle.

It's easy to be overwhelmed by the barrage of health and wellbeing advice, so much of it contradictory, and much of it taking the form of Only 10 minutes a day to.... Only 30 minutes a day to achieve.... Only 40 minutes etc but by the time you factor in work/childcare/household tasks/others' needs - it all adds up to more than 24 hours!

I am feeling lighter, both literally and metaphorically, and more energetic. I have come up with a new weight beyond which I will not go.  I am even more interested in the subject and in finding out more, and am I imagining it, or am I thinking more clearly?

The city again today, but wild and wet. Beetroot and goats cheese tortelloni with sage hit the spot today. How pretty is that? A starter size, eaten slowly, is usually enough.

Tomorrow - the pros and cons (from my very limited experience!) of retreats away or at home

You are a great bunch!

My determination was flagging last night and this morning. I was feeling good, had lost as much weight as I wanted (and more than I expected) and was thinking maybe 6 days is too much to do on my own, maybe I could stop now
but reading Swissrose's comment I began to look at some videos and the pep talk from Dr Jason Fung and the LCHF video by Dr Andreas Eenfeldt - I love the ethics of his approach described in the last 10 minutes of so - gave me just the boost I needed. I reminded myself that part of the plan was to take the time to do some research, lit the fire, made a juice and sat down to listen and learn.

Tomorrow I visit the opthalmologist.  My eyes are the real reason I am doing all this. (See under Simply Seeing - Or Not.)  I'm looking for macular regeneration not degeneration..

I think it helps.

And I am fitter!

Lingering snow on the tops. Here below - mud, but 6349 steps.

 
Lucille's comment yesterday (I immediately went and looked up The 4 Pillars) got me thinking it would be good to take a look at the health and wellbeing books I have found interesting and/or useful over the years.

there has been a huge shift in attitude towards taking responsibility for our own health and wellbeing  - ie self help.

I've read lots of these books and found them fascinating. I've always had a craving for sugar and was cured of a (mild) depression and educated about sugar by Potatoes Not Prozac by Kathleen Desmaisons.. I like the writing of the late David Servan-Schreiber, notably Anti Cancer A New Way of Life and Healing Without Freud Or Prozac. You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay I use as a thought provoking reference book every now and then, and books about gut health have been useful (I am a convert to kefir!) Gut by Julia Enders is the one I have kept. Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers was quite influential at one point. Zoe Harcomb probably changed my eating habits more than anyone and my current favourite is Lean For Life by Louise Parker. Her 4 principles are Think Successfully, Live Well, Eat Beautifully, and Work Out Intelligently - which just about covers it all wouldn't you say?

Do you have favourites?

Day Five has gone well except I seem to be doing fewer steps each day!!

Yorkshire Steam II  :-)

Yorkshire Steam

Day four and all's well.

Skin brushing, water and lemon, morning pages, three juices one soup, two meditation sessions, one short exercise session, 4lbs weight lost, 2079 steps (must do better!), Fly Lady's Home Blessing Hour, some reading, some researching online, and still full of energy. Loving this health week but also planning my next meal...prawn, cucumber and cashew salad I think. Mmm. Looking forward to Friday night.

..and tulips

Still going...

(PS I'm sotty I could not fix the music on yesterday's post.)

Thank you for your encouragement for my health week at home efforts! The main thing I realised today was how important company is.

I managed dry skin brushing, morning pages, Three fresh juices and one soup, but only 5,665 steps for which I had to take the bus into town where there were pavements cleared of snow and ice which I could walk on. I had the odd pang for a nice cup of coffee and a slight headache some of the time - probably withdrawal from coffee. But so far so good. Not all easy but not hard either....

Perhaps if you want a tiny try at a health retreat you could substitute fresh green juice, bought or homemade, for  breakfast or lunch for a few days and see how it feels?

Icy fingers over the porch today. Tonight I went and stood out there for a bit, stargazing and listening to some very screechy owls quite close in the forest. Another very hard frost.

I am really intrigued that making a public commitment to something makes (most of) us actually do it. Even something as simple as filling out a new address book or taking up the hem on a pair of trousers. (See this recent post.)

I had thought I wouldn't blog daily during my health retreat week (I am starting tomorrow) but I am realising it may be harder than I think to do it by myself and I may need a little cheering on....

So may I check in with you once a day?

The 10,000 steps every day may be a bit of a challenge as I've become an awful wimp of late...am loving being inside looking out.

From the front door this afternoon.
I love the patterns.

From the sitting room window.10 minutes later.
I love the glow.

Two recipes which  I made the day before made a lovely lunch for friends. This aubergine and parmesan bake and Nigella's passion fruit ice cream cake....Yum

Then the fasting next day with apple carrot and spinach juice for two meals (and the leftovers for the third!)

Works for me.

Setting the scene is the most fun bit for me (though I am beginning to quite like cooking..) I borrowed the tablecloth and brought out all the old favourites..

and lots of candles!

Have you set the scene? Or do you enjoy the cooking more?

 a marble cake. Which is really just a Victoria sponge with chocolate added to half the mixture. Here is how I made the one on yesterday's post.

For the first time I used gluten free flour.This one is a blend of rice, potato, maize, buckwheat and tapioca, and it made a lighter cake so I will use it again.

I always have a jar of caster sugar with a couple of vanilla pods in it and I use this to line the cake tin. After you grease the tin, put in a couple of teaspoons of the vanilla sugar and lifting the tin tap it lightly till the base and sides are coated with the sugar. It gives the cake a slight yummy crunch on the edges. I use granulated sugar in the cake itself.

I beat the eggs lightly with a splash of vanilla essence, before adding half of it with half the flour, beating (lightly) with a wooden spoon into the creamed marg and sugar, then add the rest and spoon half the mix into the tin.

(That spoon is my very favourite spoon. It's the one my patient and kind Mum taught me to bake with when I was a child. This is her recipe.)

I then sieve a tablespoon or two of cocoa or drinking chocolate to the rest of the mix and dollop it into the tin smoothing it over slightly.

In my oven this cake takes about 25 mins near the top at 180. To check if it is ready I open the oven door - slowly - and feel the top of the cake. If it has a slight crust and springs back when I press it a little it is ready to come out  and cool for 5 minutes in the tin before turning it out.

This amount makes one in an 8 inch tin, but for a birthday cake, which yesterday's was, I make two and sandwich them together with strawberry jam and dust the top with icing sugar.

Here is Mum's recipe

4oz marg
4oz sugar
4oz SR Flour
2 med eggs
few drops vanilla essence
1 - 2 tblsps cocoa or drinking chocolate.

Oven 180  20 -25 mins

It's taken a long time to explain (though it gave me a nice excuse to make another!) but it really is a simple and quick basic cake. It freezes well too..which is what will be happening to this one.

..they liked the cake....

..with some of the boring stuff. It has to be done doesn't it, but I try to make it interesting, fun even, thus Fly Lady - common sense and a touch of humour, and Marie Kondo with her interesting philosophy. Both have been invaluable in helping me simplify my life.

With a few quiet days ahead I've decided it's time to take them, gently, to the next level as they say..

Fly Lady reminds me that I am CEO of my life and home (I often think running a modern-day home is like running a small business) so I am in charge here. I already had some of the good habits Fly Lady recommends you adopt, one month at a time: I already made my bed (2 mins), wiped round the bathroom after I washed (another 2 mins). I adopted her Morning Routine and now certainly move more and drink more water. I've made some progress on paper clutter and the habit of decluttering 15 minutes a day is brilliant, but I've never quite mastered Menu Planning so...with my current favourite book and my shopping list (I do always shop with a list) to hand,

I chose three recipes

and went shopping. I have to tell you that as I write the snow is getting heavier which makes me all the more pleased to be well stocked up and have a plan!

Do you have the Menu Planning habit yet? And is it snowing where you are?

My favourite salad - avocado, banana, red pepper, cucumber, juice and grated peel of an orange and chopped brazil nuts. Freshly squeezed juice - carrot, apple, celery, kale, cucumber and ginger.

I wonder if this will counteract the effect of the half packet of biscuits I scoffed earlier? I keep biscuits for visitors, but once the packet is opened....

..apples!