Wyke Loves Television!
We have a dog that likes television. We had noticed this about him a few months ago but recently he has been much more interested in what is on the television than he has in the past. True, if a dog barked on the television, he would often try to figure out where the dog could be found. However, last Sunday night, he started watching The Durrells in Corfu and stayed quite interested for a long time. He would go off and lie down for a bit but then he would come back and sit and watch for a few minutes. He really seemed to be interested and was following the people as they moved on the screen. Granted there are lots of animals in this show thanks to Gerald Durrell but I don’t think that was what caught his attention. Maybe the voice of one of the characters was familiar or a pitch that he found pleasing. Later on in the week, as we watched our grandson play in his prep school football bowl, Wyke again decided to watch with us. We told him Jack (#58) was on the screen. I doubt he really knew what we said but you never know, and he continued to watch for a good long time. At one point we could see our daughter Katie, and grand daughter Libby and my nephew Nic and his girlfriend Heather. Maybe he recognized them or maybe it was all the whistles. Every time I see him do this it surprises me.
These Shoes are Made for Walking
Back in the summer I developed a sore foot from walking in shoes that were not appropriate for the amount of or the type of walking that I do. What I have learned is to never, ever, skimp on your footwear it is just not worth it. I ordered a pair of Hoka One One’s and started walking in them and immediately my foot began to feel better. Obviously the better cushioning in the Hoka’s was one of the things that really helped. Well, that was July 8th when I started with those shoes and they were retired this week. Goodbye my beautiful bright pinky red shoes, you served me well and now you have gone on to recycle shoe heaven. Meet the new shoes on the block. On the left are my new Brooks Transcend 4’s and on the right are the new Hoka Bondi’s in their lovely fall gray color. I actually went to a local spot to be properly fitted. It is called Grounded Running and it was where I met Tim who seemed very pleased to be able to help me with my shoe needs. He measured my feet on something that I stood on which not only told him the size shoe I should wear but also that I had a very high arch. He looked at my old shoes and pointed out where on the sole I had worn the shoes out even mentioned that it appeared that I am slightly uneven on my right side. He could even tell how my gait was based on the wear on the sole of the old shoes. He also agreed they had reached the end of their useful life for me. Now I have shoes that I will alternate, one pair has a strong arch support and that will make me use different muscles and protect the Achilles when I walk, the other pair are very cushioned which helps the ankles. I did a 10K training walk in the blue shoes above and really felt the difference. More in my glutes than when I wear the other shoes. So we shall see. I have two races coming up, a 5K on Thanksgiving in Asheville and a 10K bridge walk in Savannah the first weekend in December. My walking and training partner says it’s addictive and I am beginning to believe her!!
Here are some views from my walks this week. The first one is the Wood Storks on one of our ponds. The other is the view from the Port Royal bridge from my 10K training walk. A glorious day. The only hills we have around here are on the bridge. Despite the traffic it was a great walk.
Broken Glass & Coffee Mugs
One of the risks of renting your house is that glass might get broken. Well, accidents do happen. Over time, here in South Carolina, glasses have been broken. Not sure why the person who breaks them doesn’t replace them but they don’t. Anyway, I used to have at least 8 of most of my wine glasses and in the case of these glasses I had 12. Three had been broken and it annoyed me when setting the table for 12 for dinner last week, that I didn’t have 12 of the same glasses. Not a major problem but one that I decided to fix by getting some replacements. While I was at it, I decided to get some red wine glasses and some stemless glasses. Also decided to replace the coffee mugs that the cats broke (2) in the last couple of weeks. The interesting part of this is that I ordered coffee mugs that were billed as café au lait mugs – well they are the size of soup bowls and half of all the glasses ordered came shattered. The good news is I have lots of soup and I can use the café au lait mugs for my lunch soup. However, the wine glasses had to go into the recycle bin. No way to salvage them at all. Not a very successful purchase. Now I am waiting for the company to replace the glasses that were broken. I sent in pictures and they indicated they would replace them but I haven’t heard anything yet.
Soup Lady
I made another huge batch of my favorite vegetable soup, which I now eat in the aforementioned café au lait mugs, this week and I made enough to freeze three large quarts. My sister told me that she made it and decided to blend it in the blender after she made it and she said it is even better that way. Your choice but no matter what it is really delicious and very, very healthy.
This being American Thanksgiving Week, I thought I would share a recipe for Coconut-Mashed Sweet Potatoes , from Blue Zones, that is about as simple as it can get.
Ingredients
- 5 medium sweet potatoes (about 3 pounds), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 cup regular or low-fat canned coconut milk
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt, optional
Directions
- Place the sweet potatoes in a large pot and add enough water so they’re submerged by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and cook until the potatoes are soft, about 25 minutes.
- Drain in a colander and set in the sink, then transfer the sweet potatoes to a large bowl.
- Add 1 cup coconut milk and mash with a potato masher or an electric mixer at medium-low speed until creamy, adding more coconut milk to get a smooth, rich puree. Stir in the cinnamon, as well as the salt, if desired.
Tip: For a different taste and lower fat, substitute half the coconut milk for fresh orange juice while mashing. Remember to add the ground cinnamon!
