Uncategorized – Page 62 – This Old House 2

Kent Falls, CT

Every now and then, when winter stretches out into a particularly long cold dreary New England blanket of grey, I dream of moving to a warmer climate. As winter drags on, we do our annual realtor.com search for that warmer place to call home. Every other season here, however, reminds me why I love New England afterall. There is so much history and diversity in the geography of the place. And the change of seasons… I could not give that up.

The hike up the 250′ falls recently- the one that helped us decide to lose the extra baggage…was so beautiful.. honestly it’s a spiritual place. One can imagine the natives long ago gathering at the falls for fresh water, fishing and bathing.

“Kent Falls, located in the northeastern section of
the town of Kent, is a series of waterfalls on a mountain stream known as Falls
Brook. The stream begins in the town of Warren, draining an area of six or seven
square miles. It then flows west to the big fall where it plunges approximately
70 feet in a dramatic cascade. From here the stream descends in a series of
lesser falls and cascades to the valley, where it enters the Housatonic River
some 200 feet below the brink of the big fall only a quarter mile away. Much of
the limestone over which the brook flows has been carved into interesting shapes
including numerous potholes of all sizes.

The Indian name of this area is “Scatacook” and there
is considerable evidence that Native Americans fished and camped by the falls.
Later, in colonial times, mills were also present along the brook.”

Come for a walk…

At the base of the falls… you can see people wading…….

gives you size perspective.

The water is crystal clear, cool and so refreshing…

A beautiful dove graces us with it’s presence…

The sad truth is it was probably released in someone’s wedding ceremony

and is now left to wander and fend for itself, most likely to die of

starvation because it has been raised by humans, fed daily.

There is a path that leads up the side of the waterfall….

Each fall of water lands in another large pool…

..tumbling down the mountainside to the next pool..and the next.

Another perspective photo…..

Healing waters, these are….

one can’t help but settle into a feeling of

PEACE.

..except for the damned Dove.

I wish I could have captured it….

My kingdom for some bird seed

and a little more enlightenment bestowed upon the human race.

Just sayin.

Hunter Gatherers…..

….. that’s our beginning. We all originate from ancestors that hunted and gathered for their food. Before supermarkets and restaurants and fast food joints, we had to spear fish and kill animals for meat, gather seeds and berries. We drank untainted waters and truly organic juices. As time progressed, we raised livestock and harvested produce from gardens. It meant actually working physically to get our food, and we relied on skill and cunning, strong bodies and mind. We were naturally fit. You can bet your booty there was no obesity or the plethora of diseases that come with it.

By now you’ve probably heard of the Paleo diet…highly recommended by most physicians. No grains, no dairy… lots of protein, veggies, some fruit, seeds, nuts. It’s the diet of our ancestors without the physical toil, so we still need to throw in some exercise. I’ve heard friends talk about it, my husband’s chiropractor swears by it, and I have yet to hear a negative, although it’s not easy to live by, truth be told. I already know that when I don’t consume wheat and dairy products, I feel a heck of a lot better and the extra pounds melt away. No joint pain, fewer headaches, less stomach issues, less allergy congestion, less muscle fatigue. I am not totally gluten free, because sometimes at the end of the day on a drive home after a long hike up a hill, that pizza joint is just calling my name and I don’t resist that scrumptious crust and oozy salty cheese.

The particular hike I’m referring to here is one my husband and I took at Kent Falls on the other side of our State just a few days ago. We were both shocked at how tired we got as we pushed up the stairs to get to the top. “Jeez, are we THAT OLD already??”….. the answer is no… we’re that out of shape and overweight.

We were disgusted enough to make a decision to help each other obtain our goal of better fitness once and for all. (read that as – smack each other upside the head every time we see a junk consumption event in progress). We’re going to attempt to conform mostly to the Paleo concept of eating… and I say mostly because I’m being realistic, too. Oatmeal is a grain, but I believe it’s good for you judging by the reported health benefits and we’ll be eating butter too… apparently grass fed is OK.. Kerrygold is a grass fed butter and I found another organic pasture butter at the food store. We’re also getting rid of Canola and Vegetable oil and we’re switching to Coconut oil and the Olive oil we’ve always used. I’ve bought a family friendly Paleo cookbook and the recipes are indeed family friendly.. that’s refreshing.

Some links I’ve found useful

Read THIS article…. I’m never using Canola Oil again..

Did you even know what Canola actually is?

It actually.. isn’t.

http://www.draxe.com/canola-oil-gm/

The Paleo family cookbook I find user friendly

http://www.amazon.com/Everyday-Paleo-Family-Cookbook-Real/dp/1936608634

A great paleo blog and website my friend Lynn recommended… and a recipe too

www.againstallgrain.com

http://www.againstallgrain.com/2012/08/29/real-deal-chocolate-chip-cookies/

She’s coming out with a cookbook as well…

Two more sites worth a look… (thanks Elisa!)

www.marksdailyapple.com

www.thepaleomom.com

I shopped at a health food store for items I didn’t have in the house to get us started. I paid way too much for coconut oil …almost twice what I would have paid had I ordered online, which is what my friends who are already doing this have recommended. Almond flour is also crazy expensive at the store.

Good buying resources online..

www.nuts.com

www.vitacost.com

(thanks again Lynn!)

One more thing I think is really important to discuss when we’re talking about the desire to make changes for the better in our every day health and wellness. Most of us are gonna fall off the wagon now and again. Don’t beat yourself up, we’re only human after all. Don’t give up the ship just because there was a temporary leak in the bow. Shit happens.. move forward.

Every step in the right direction is worth the effort.

If you have experience with this diet or want to share your healthy eating habits and stories,

please do so in the comments section below.

So.. here we go Paleo!

mostly.

…so… apparently….

…my Blogger issues were not the fault of Blogger this time at all.

When I’m wrong, I say it.

After screwing around with browser after browser,

(that actually sounds worse than a Miley Cyrus performance)

…then not being able to get on the internet at ALL….

I realized we weren’t in Kansas anymore, Toto.

So I called the computer guy,

who stopped by and quickly figured out that one

of my hard drives had crashed.

While that’s being re-worked,

I’m on the husband’s computer..

MUCH TO HIS CHAGRIN.

I move stuff when I sit here at the big important desk, don’t ya know.

Heck, I even breathe on it!

So, I’ll be back with places to share and stories to tell…

just not on this computer.

Apparently.

:-)

We’ve got issues…

For the past four days my blog would not let me write a new post or change a header. Both the layout and template features were useless and we all know how impossible it is to get in touch with anyone at Blogger. Two weeks ago my blog was no longer supported by Windows 8 and I had to switch to Chrome. Just when I’m getting used to Chrome… something goes wonky and it ain’t working. I have tried trouble shooting, put it on the blogger conversations board, send messages to what is supposedly blogger support… to no avail. One suggestion I saw when googling around was to switch browsers… AGAIN???… so that’s what I’ve done, currently using Firefox… annoying as hell, slow as molasses, quite frankly it sucks.

If you don’t see anything new here for a while, we’ve still got blogger issues, apparently. *sigh*

A moon shot taken last night over this old house, when the moon was absolutely spectacular.

..and if you’ve never heard Van Morrison ‘s Moondance...

.you’re missing something. You can’t help but have your spirits lifted

when that song is in the air.. or the sky.

You say TomAto, I say TomOto…

First, I have to say this… Did any of you watch the Yankees Red Sox game last night? My husband is a true blue Yankees fan, and while neither of us is a big A-Rod supporter, what the Sox did to him last night was nothing short of disgraceful. That kind of play should not be in baseball, and I believe the Yanks answer to that atrocity was perfect. And before we all crucify A-rod for the “Roid” debate.. there are just as many Sox over the years who could join that list, and they have. That ump oughta retire, too. His judgement is clearly impaired, or colored- RED.

In between trips to the cottage at the cove, we’ve been picking tomatoes. Holy cow, have we been picking tomatoes. There are three basic kinds of tomatoes…sauce tomatoes, slicing tomatoes and cherry. Mike planted all three this year and they have produced!

These need a little window time to ripen to perfection.

Ugly does not mean they aren’t delicious.

The San Marzano is, in our opinion, the best sauce making tomato…

Next time you make sauce, be sure to use San Marzanos, you can buy them

canned in the grocery store if you don’t have them fresh.

This is a “heart” tomato… it has a pinkish hue that my iphone did not capture.

An Heirloom variety, seeds straight from Italy…

..and my Italian Ice cherries.. the only cherry tomato we planted this year.

They are easy to grow, sweet to the taste and prolific.

With all these awesome tomatoes on the kitchen counter,

Mike was inspired to make some sauce….

or gravy, as I’ve been told any real Italian calls it.

I don’t know.. I’m Italian. To me sauce is sauce….

gravy is that brown stuff you put on a roast.

My dear Aunt Virginia, the most awesome Italian Cook I have ever been lucky enough to love,

might just be rolling in her grave.

Sea Dog

Last night I gave it another go with dog and kayak.

He climbed right in and sat quietly for a ride around the cove..

…not even a quiver.

It’s a beautiful thing.

Two Cousins and their grandmother …..

…and another evening at one amazing little oasis.

You don’t have to travel the world to find the perfect place for respite.

Sometimes it’s just down the road a piece.

“Can I just have one more Moon Dance with you… my love”.

You know what annoys the crap out of me?….

….when I write a post and see misspelled words the next day.

Seriously, it’s like a slap upside the head when I see it.

When I’m reading a book, if I come across a misspelled word

it’s like finding a bone in your fish dinner.

I used to be an excellent speller.

My mom the schoolteacher would call me to ask about the spelling of a word, really!

*sigh*

the middle aged mind.

Just sayin

It was this or boxing

My son is a guys guy.

For years he’s been talking about wanting to be a boxer.

No way ever in a million years

after three blue moons with a blood red sun in the sky over an inhabited Jupiter

would I ever let him become a boxer.

Too many blows to the head, you know.

He would always tell me once he was 18 he wouldn’t need my permission.

I told him I’d show up at the gym and throw myself in the ring in protest,

This is not an idle threat – I’m not kidding and I’m totally capable.

Thankfully, he has chosen something else instead.

Body building.

I’m OK with that as long as we’re not talking the steroided kind.

He assured me this is the natural approach, and after some snooping

it appears to be so.

All this means there’s a new menu here besides the one I cook for

those of us not feeding ourselves for competition..

(although maybe we SHOULD)…

Breakfast –

1 cup of oatmeal (no adornments)

1 cup egg whites (no adornments)

1 grapefruit (no adornments)

Lunch –

8 oz chicken breast

1 cup broccoli

slice of sprouted bread

There’s salmon and tuna and more broccoli and salad greens, Ezekiel sprouted bread

and more egg whites and more oatmeal and water water water

included in this meal plan… five meals a day.

A competition is in the near future,

and no boxing on the horizon because you don’t want to screw up the body

you’re building, after all.

I’m good with that.

Life on the Cove

It’s peaceful here…

serene living in the way that only rustic old 1930’s and 40’s cottages

on treed lanes by the sea

unadorned by the flash of big money or severe development

can provide.

Hard to describe this shore life and get it right.

Pictures help…

worth a thousand words, right?

My crab terrarium above –

The photo below is at water’s edge… 1,000s of little hermit crabs.

I try my best not to squish them as

I get in the kayak….do you see them ? there are at least eight in this picture.

A cormorant in flight…

with the BIG houses on the other side of the cove….

another world entirely.

Those who are lucky enough to live by the sea…

are lucky enough.

🙂

Eddie and Phil

I woke up this morning to an overcast sky. A phone call down to Joshua Cove confirmed glass water conditions, perfect for kayaking. Off I went with camera in tow to see what I could see.