Cook, Make, Think

 November has not been conducive to writing like it should have been. I am taking a holiday until the first of December but frankly, I don't have the energy for much beyond reading and getting ready for Christmas. I will post on the days I have the energy but do not expect more than one post a week at my current level.

  Si-o-se Pol Si-o-se Pol at night, Isfahan, Iran  |  © Ahura21/WikiCommons Also known as the Allāhverdi Khan Bridge,  Iran ’s  Si-o-se Pol  (which translates as ‘Bridge of 33 Arches’) dates back to 1602 and stretches across the Zayandeh Rood River in Isfahan, connecting its historical main avenue Chahar Bagh with the neighborhood of New Jolfa. Commissioned by Shah Abbas I of Persia, Si-o-se Pol is almost 300 meters long and 14 meters wide and is considered one of the world’s finest examples of Safavid dynasty era bridge design. Alongside the equally impressive, but slightly younger Pol-e Khaju built in 1650 and the ancient Pol-e Shahrestan, dating back as far as the 3rd century, Si-o-se Pol is one of 11 bridges in Isfahan.

  Kindness Good for you and good for the receiver. A few years ago there was a Pay-It-Forward site that was all about kindness. This year I heard about a group of women who give each other gift baskets to cheer them up, that on a less personal basis would be about kindness as well. Kindness is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, both kindness to yourself and kindness to others, it feeds the soul part of the equation. A Keen Mind + A Strong Body + A Pure Soul = A Healthy Lifestyle A Pure Soul is not one that has never done wrong but one that has helped people in any way they can. Does that make sense?

 Seems I wasn't paying attention to the dates on the Calendar so you got two posts a bit early.  Happy Remembrance Day! Remember to share the minute of Silence at 11 AM

 So I finally got my meter on Saturday and have been testing my blood first thing in the morning and periodically throughout the day. As I suspecter the Berberine is doing a splendid job with keeping my blood sugar in normal range. There is the small issue of a major spike after I break my fast in the morning. An hour after it is in the 14 mmol range and 8/9 after two hours. Testing after lunch is a similar story. I am not sure what to do about that but I am researching it as I write this so by the end I should have some ideas on what to do. What’s a spike, and why do they happen? After-meal, or “postprandial,” spikes are temporary high  blood glucose levels  that occur soon after eating. It is normal for the level of glucose in the blood to rise a small amount after eating, even in people who do not have diabetes. However, if the rise is too high, it can affect your quality of life today and contribute to serious health problems down the road. —  Learn More About Blood Glucose Manage

  Remembrance day celebration's Online. I was supposed to research foods and decorations to celebrate the day at home but after careful thought, I think not. A minute of silence is a better way and a reading of Flanders Fields quite appropriate.

 Decisions: These are the "Givens & Druthers".  Do you want to freelance the railroad or copy a prototype?  What kinds of  equipment  (locomotives and cars) do you want to run?  You may want to add your own rules like what you want the height of the layout to be, how wide the aisles should be if you have aisles, and you may want to make sure that all areas of the railroad have easy access, so you're not having to break your back bending over or stand on a ladder or scaffolding to reach the farther sections of your track and scenery.  If you are creating this railroad by yourself,  you may want to start with a small layout and add to it later gradually.  I will probably be freelancing it cause that's what I do. What kind of cars? I like steam engines so that is what I want for my personal railroad. But what category? I like the idea of a passenger train with a sleeping car, a dining car and a baggage car. Like the steam idea, this gives me a choice with the backdro

  From Mexico featuring Corn Masa flour you can find the recipe at AllRecipes . My plan was to give it a try today but I am flat broke at the moment. I definitely want to try it though. Last Sunday we began talking about Veganism and how to go about becoming one. I am still interested in pursuing it but the past week has taught me I can only go without meat for a little while. So I figure I'll start slow and eat vegan two times a week, that is two full days of vegan meals. To begin I needed to find some recipes for Breakfast & Lunch as well as Dinner. Turns out AllRecipes my go to recipe site has a whole vegan section so I spend a couple of hours going through the recipes on the site to see what I could find that would work for me. Breakfast Breakfast Bowl with Fruit -  Cornflakes, yogurt & fruit. Easy Peasy Breakfast Hash with potatoes & tofu - Lots & lots of vegetables Strawberry Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie - A different way to eat your oats Lunch Cobb Salad

 Hmm not sure about that title but it ties in with today's subject fairly well. The theme for Saturday this month is Gratitude and I want to start with my second favoured thing to do. Reading has been a fundamental part of my life from the time I was nine months old according to my mom. She was visiting my cousins with me in tow and a truant Officer came looking for my cousins. My mom says that when the officer came in I was turning the pages of a newspaper. I'm sure I was just looking at the pictures but that was the beginning of my addiction to books. I went to school in a two-room school in the five years I was there I read everything in the library shelves. I also remember visiting my aunt and reading books that her son's had left behind when they went out on their own. In middle school, I read everything I was assigned but that is when I discovered poetry so that was where I became interested in writing. I wrote poetry for years, my prose was not so good. Even now with

 It seems this topic keeps coming up for me in one form or another. I could repeat old posts or try to find something new to talk about. What is a healthy lifestyle? That really depends on who you talk to.  Good health is not just the absence of disease or illness, it is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being. This means eating a balanced diet, getting regular exercise, avoiding tobacco and drugs and getting plenty of rest. ( BBC ) The World Health Organization  (WHO)  defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity,” which implies that this concept goes beyond the existence or lack of existence illnesses. Consequently, more than just healthy living, we must talk about a healthy lifestyle that includes food, physical exercise, preventive healthcare, work, the relationship with the environment, and social activity. ( My Parla )   A   healthy lifestyle   is one which helps to keep and i

  The Bridge of Sighs, Venice  |  © Oliver Clarke/Flickr Designed in 1600 by Italian architect Antonio Contino,  The Bridge of Sighs  is one of the most iconic of Venice’s 400-plus bridges. Officially the  Ponte dei Sospiri , the bridge apparently got its English name after Lord Byron referred to it as such in his epic, four-part poem  Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage .  Despite its beautiful, Baroque style and romantic exterior belies its original purpose — to transport prisoners between the Doge Palace and its new prison cells across the Rio di Palazzo. Nowadays, there’s a much nicer story behind the bridge. Legend has it if couples share a kiss underneath The Bridge of Sighs, their love will last forever. The Bridge of Sighs. This corridor leads over the Bridge of Sighs, built in 1614 to link the Doge’s Palace to the structure intended to house the New Prisons. Enclosed and covered on all sides, the bridge contains two separate corridors that run next to each other. That which visitors us

 If you are like me you use certain foods to comfort you when you are feeling stressed. Today I want to talk about taking those comfort foods and making them a little or a lot healthier for you. We are also going to look at a few ways you can become aware of Stress Eating and what you can do about it. 1. Check in with yourself. Before you eat take a moment and think about why you are feeling the need for food. Are you stressed out, bored, lonely? It's important to know the why before you can begin to change it. 2. Remove temptation. I know all of you have heard this before, "If it is not available you can't eat it". Purging your cupboards, fridge & freezer of all those unhealthy snacks can be painful but the reward to your health is very worth it. Keep one or two to enjoy is OK as long as they are hidden and largely inaccessible (like in the cupboard above your fridge or stove). Out of sight out of mind! 3. Maintain a healthy eating schedule. Keeping your regular

 So I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes about a decade or so ago. All I was told was to take the medication they gave me and lose some weight. Since I wasn't too concerned about the diagnosis I ignored it until recently. Other than cutting back on the empty calories I ate and drank I didn't do anything but take the medication. Until a couple of months ago when Covid and the distance to my doctors' office required me to replace Metformin (the main drug prescribed for people with insulin resistance) with a natural substitute. I have been taking the Berberine for a couple of months now and actually doing better than I did with the Metformin at least I feel I am but only time will tell. With that change, I became more concerned about my lifestyle. When my reaction to ice cream is a hangover feeling the next day it is time to reevaluate. The first thing I needed to do was figure out whether I was courting type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Type 2 is due to insulin resistance which is wha

 My newest curiosity is about model railroads. I have done terrain models before with premade pieces from the dollar store like my gnome mountain from earlier this year. I want to build a complete railroad scene.  I am finding the right words today for some reason. Anyway, I made GS#1 a lego table from an Ikea Lack table for his birthday. I had asked for two because this model was in my head, has been for a few months now. I figure since this is a make day I would concentrate on learning what I needed to know about how to build a model railroad with a town and country look. The table above is the one I have. It is approx 21" x 21". The size is important because it will tell me which scale I will be working in. H0 is the most common size which works out to about 3.5 mm= 1 foot. That is the scale I need to make the buildings and things to work with the train. There is also something called gauge which is how wide the tracks are, for this scale the tracks are 16.5 mm. If I am a

 First things first make sure your clocks have been turned back if you live in a DST Zone. I am glad my computer does it automatically else I would have been confused as to why everything seemed to be running an hour late. Secondly, I would like to wish my father(RIP) a Happy Birthday. Today he would have been 91. It's hard to fathom that he has been gone 11 years, it doesn't seem that long. Thirdly, today is World Vegan Day and Veganism will be my Sunday topic this month.  Vegan vs Vegetarian: A vegan does not eat or wear anything that comes from animals; a vegetarian will eat and wear dairy and leather but will not eat the flesh of animals. When you stop and think about your diet if you eat cheese & eggs but no beef or chicken then you are a vegetarian if you do not then you are vegan. I am neither though my diet does consist of more fruits & vegetables than meat. This month I thought I would explore veganism as an alternative. One of the biggest difficulties with a s