A Recipe For Longevity

Posted by random olio

I just finished reading: “How Georgia Became O’Keeffe: Lessons on the Art of Living” by Karen Karbo. It was an interesting book, and I learned an amazing amount about Georgia O’Keeffe. She was more of a badass than I ever knew. It was inspiring to learn that she did her own thing in life, she did not follow mainstream thought and went about things in her own way. One of the quotes I appreciated near the end of the book talks about Chanel, Hepburn, and O’Keeffe and how they each lived long lives:

“O’Keeffe never lost her spunk, or her conviction that what she was up to at any given moment was somehow less important because she was older. This was also true of her fellow extreme seniors Katharine Hepburn and Coco Chanel. Hepburn lived to be ninety-six; Chanel, who smoked, died young at eight-eight. Like O’Keeffe, they were skinny, busy, and irritated until they declined a bit, then died. They were active, didn’t eat a lot, and followed their interests. They never let anyone tell them what to do. They were always a bit pissed-off. I can only assume that this is the real recipe for longevity.” page 214

My favorite line: “They were active, didn’t eat a lot, and followed their interests. They never let anyone tell them what to do. They were always a bit pissed-off. I can only assume that this is the real recipe for longevity.” That inspires me. I do not like to be told what to do, and I can be easily pissed off. Does that mean I will live a long, full life?

Georgia is an inspiration for pushing the envelope in regards to the art she made. Whether she meant to or not, she definitely was one of the first modern woman painters, well before her time. I have added visiting the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe to the life list. If you have any interest in women, modern art, and badasses, then read Karen’s book.

Little Green Monsters

Posted by random olio

Back in February, I posted a blog about Green Smoothies. For the past few years I have started my day with a green smoothie.

Last week a Facebook friend posted a link to a blog about kids and green smoothies. I had to watch the video included in the blog a few times. Specifically I loved watching the little boy and his intense desire to have his green smoothie. He looks like a little gentleman in a toddler’s body. I hope my kids are as enamored with green smoothies as these two precious little ones. You will also want to try the “Green Monster Chocolate Smoothie” recipe posted at the above blog link. We made it yesterday morning and this morning and are enjoying it. It gives us another option to our usual green/fruit smoothie. It consists of spinach, kale, peanut butter, chocolate almond milk, ice, and a banana. (We did not have any kale so we doubled the amount of spinach).

For background click the above link, and here is a direct view of the video:

A note about green smoothies. Buy a Vita-Mix. We literally went through about 10 blenders in a short amount of time (all that eventually died through electrical smoking) and we finally dropped the money for a Vita-Mix. It is worth every penny.

Bushwhacked

Posted by random olio

I love trees. Really I do.

But. I cannot contain myself. There is a tree that is not on our property, that has been hovering over our tiny postage stamp back yard for the past 5 years. It is an evergreen-type tree (I have no idea what kind). The reason I really dislike the tree is that it has hovered near our bedroom window and the disgusting yellow pollen has infiltrated our backyard every year since we have lived here.

Let me give you a bit of background. My husband never had allergies. We lived in Boston before moving to Portland and he was fine. We even lived in downtown Portland for a few years and he was fine. Until we moved into this house. That tree has made him swell, puff, tear, you name it. It has meant that we have not been able to have our windows open because of the thick yellow pollen dust that has coated our table, bed, desks, etc. It does not seem to bother me, but the moment Chris ingests that fine powder of pollen, the next week is hell. So we keep our windows closed. No fresh Portland air coated with yellow pollen for us.

Until. YESTERDAY. We came home and I looked in our backyard and I see all these pinecones on the ground and I think: Why are there all these pine cones? We just cleaned the backyard yesterday. Was there a storm while I was at work that I do not remember?

And. Then. I. Look. Up. AND. FREAK OUT. The tree is gone. That tree and four others around it. Many, many months ago, we were told that trees in our area had been affected by some sort of bug and that some would be cut down because of the damage done by said bug. We prayed that this horrible pollen infested tree would go. Each day that we would come home the tree would still be there. Until today. Months later we are given a gift.

I am still in shock. Our tree is gone, and while I would never be excited about killing a tree, I am. I am excited that maybe, just maybe Chris can breathe and BE in our backyard. I am excited for the sunshine we never had in our backyard.

It is the little things, right?

what is left of our tree!

Misty, Usain, Missy, And a Bit Of Spice

Posted by random olio

The Olympics are over and I am sad. Although I am grateful that I will be getting back to my normal sleep routine. I did not sleep as much these past few weeks because we kept staying up to watch more of the Olympics.

I wanted to share my favorite observances of the Olympics, in no particular order. Misty May Treanor is hilarious when she wins. She gets her face into the camera and spouts off random words of gratitude to people in her life. What I love most is that she always shares gratitude for the military and troops. She rocked the Olympics again and finished her career in golden style.

I also really enjoyed Missy Franklin and her natural and real happiness. Only 17 years old. She is my hero of this Olympics. For her real joy, excitement, and humility. Did you see the music video with her and the other USA Swimming teammates? If not, you can see it here:

Usain Bolt. I am in awe of his killer running abilities. I was, however, appalled at his attitude and overly exuberant confidence that he is a legend. When you watched many of the other runners you saw humility. Those that won medals, or broke records, and some that finished were grateful to be at the Olympics. Not Usain. He even said in an interview about Carl Lewis: “Everybody’s forgotten about him.” You can read more in this USA Today article. You have lost my respect Usain. You may be a runner that has broken many world records, but you need to work on humility. It goes a long way.

The Spice Girls performing in the Closing Ceremonies. I had to laugh, and do some online searching to remember their “Spice Girl” names, and the songs they sang back in the nineties. Other than the song “Wannabe” no other songs rang a bell for me. Now I cannot get the “If you wanna be my lover” lyrics out of my head. (That and “Call Me Maybe” from the Missy Franklin video.) By the way, what did you think of the bikers with the strange shaped helmets during the Pet Shop Boys singing “West End Boys?” I will miss watching Track & Field, Beach Volleyball, Gymnastics, and Swimming. Now back to more sleep this week.

What were your favorite Olympic moments?

The Pesto That Changed My Life

Posted by random olio

About 10 years ago, Chris and I had just begun our first stint at sharing a living space. We had a lot figured out in terms of keeping things clean and organized, sharing responsibilities, and roles in our home. One area that was not as clear was the kitchen. Chris loved to cook and had always been adventurous to try to recreate amazing food that he had experienced in restaurants in New York, and other cities he had traveled to around the country. Let’s just say he wowed me with what he could do in the kitchen.

Since I am a bit competitive (okay very competitive), I wanted to show him I could cook too. I decided to make pasta with pesto for dinner one night. For those that read my blog recently, I spent many summers learning how to bake (and follow a recipe). I was not a complete cooking novice, but some of you may agree with me, that following a recipe for cooking can be different from following a recipe to bake something. I made a mistake that altered my future forever. Although some may say it was a good mistake, it has meant I no longer make the main courses for meals in our home. I am the sous chef or the baker and dessert maker.

My mistake: adding an entire head of garlic to the pesto I was making rather than one CLOVE of garlic. Chris was an angel. Maybe it was because he was balancing the boundaries and newness of the beginnings of a relationship, or maybe he just is truly an angel. HE ATE THE PESTO…and, smelled like garlic for days. I did not want to be near him. I wanted to create something for him in the kitchen, made a mistake in the ingredient, and lived to smell it for days.

What it did to us? He started doing all the cooking. I learned to just let him alone in the kitchen. If I try to talk to him while he is cooking, and I bring up our conversation later, he will have no recollection or remembrance that the conversation ever took place. So. We altered life. He cooks. I go into my writing world while he cooks. It all works out. The way I balance this wonderful gift in my life is to occasionally bake breads and yummy desserts. I would do it more often, but while the sugar goodness tends to do nothing to Chris, it tends to add wobbly bits to my body. He will have to be okay with occasionally.

My mistake made 10 years ago = a gift.