MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

A day late, but that’s fine. So, this is what I missed at home. John and Mickey both so love Christmas. John is a better Santa every year.

I Zoomed with Dan’s family on Christmas Eve. When I was speaking to Mickey, she asked me where my decorations were, and then she just shook her head in…disappointment?…sadness? Not quite sure. However, I am quite sure if I had children, I would be more excited about and invested in the holidays, but it just feels stressful to me. But I love it when other people do it!

I need a cookbook!! This plant-based eating is very exciting, but I need help. I just ordered Dan Buettner’s book, The Blue Zones American Cookbook. The Ikarian stew was so delicious, I think this will be my go-to cookbook while I’m here. It is not as easy as I thought to get good recipes online. Many sites tease you with a photo and the ingredients, but then they disappear. You have to subscribe to the magazine or source to get the recipes.

So this next dish I will consider a failure. It does not even merit a name. It is the Hawaiian sweet potato. How do we say dry? OMG. It is so starchy. It needs to be in a soup or a stew. Definitely needs a bit of hydration.

I mixed it with sauteéd garlic, onions, green pepper and zucchini, but it needed more help than that.

I’m going to try two new Buettner recipes this week: Black Bean Tacos with Papaya Salsa and Cabbage and Rice. I’m going to walk into town tomorrow to the Tuesday Market. Hope they have all the ingredients I need. I’ve decided I’m going to try two new recipes a week. Stay tuned.

I finally did laundry yesterday. It was time. This is what laundry day looked like. I’m going to see if I can get a bit of rope to run between the trees, or maybe not. This worked…:)

Laundry Day

And this is my latest card joy:

Latest Card

This was my favorite listen today: Mora Medical. It was supposed to be about starting a plant-based milk company, but it was more about people being open with their mental health and dealing with stress of balancing work, passion and family. Loved it.