Goodbye Buddy

I've had a rough couple of days. As you may recall, I sent Buddy to my brother and sister-in-law's to be trained. I invested a lot of hope in this effort. He came home yesterday. He and I did fairly well when everyone was here, but when they left, Buddy went back to his old behaviors and didn't mind me. If it was anyone's, it was my failing. I don't have the temperament to keep a large dog in check...at least I don't have the temperament to keep a large dog in check and continue to love him.

Today, after many many tears, I decided to give him up. This afternoon, I surrendered him to the Humane Society. I'm certain they'll find a better home for him. I will think of him fondly running around on a farm with kids somewhere.

Before we took him away, Buddy and I had a few minutes like those when he was little. He slurped my face and I scratched him behind the ears, and stroked those lovely satiny ears.

I would have loved to have kept him if I could have controlled him. Even though it didn't last, I loved him intensely and if dogs can love, I believe he loved me. My life was enriched by him, and although I know he'll be better off, I will miss him.

Missing Buddy

Whenever we go outside, Joey goes to the garage door as if looking for Buddy. This evening, Joey communicated another way in which she's been missing him. After a short little walk, I grabbed a brush and started brushing out her tail. I don't know if it was a reaction to that little tug or what, but she jumped down from the couch and started peeling around the dining room and living room. She'd even jump up on the couch, do a fast 360 and leap off again chasing around the rooms. She and Buddy would chase each other around the house like this. I'm growing accustomed to the quieter pace around the house without Buddy, but I miss him too.

I've decided to take it easy on the diet and just try to maintain my weight for now. It's just been too difficult to really work on dieting when I'm around the house like this. I'll exercise as much as possible, and I haven't given up, but it's just not working right now.

Dog Walking

While Buddy's been at Doggy Boot Camp, Joey and I have been walking a lot. She's very easy to walk and I figure since she hasn't been wrestling around and chasing Buddy, she needed the exercise, and I certainly need it.

I haven't written for the last couple of days because I've been very busy trying to finish the afghan I'm giving my niece. I finally finished it yesterday.

However, I've been also having a terrible time trying to stick to the diet. It went well for about 3 days, but I find myself cheating all the time. It's my fault and it's my problem. It's really hard right now primarily because I'm home all the time, and I want to munch. I'm thinking that I should just give the diet a rest and just try to maintain my weight loss until I get back to school when I don't have the temptation and I'm really busy. But then, I worry that I won't get back on the wagon. God knows, that's happened before. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Garlic-Ginger Shrimp Stir-Fry

Well, the house is still too quiet. I've already taken Joey for two walks today and I plan on another one this evening. I figure if I wear her out, Buddy's absence won't bother her so much. Tomorrow, we're going to my mom and dad's to celebrate my niece Morgan's birthday, and father's day as well. In addition to taking a salad and fresh French-sliced green beans and gifts, I'm also going to take Joey. It really bothers me how she keeps expecting Buddy to come out of the garage.

I decided it was time that I tried another new recipe. Although this recipe for Garlic-Ginger Shrimp Stir-Fry has a few more calories than I usually go for in a single meal, it was well worth it. I had some really nice shrimp in the freezer. I figure I better really enjoy the shrimp while I can. Given the disaster that's taking place in the Gulf of Mexico, I won't be able to have shrimp again for quite some time. Sure, the shrimp I have is farm grown, but the inevitable scarcity is going to drive those farm grown shrimp sky high.

This recipe calls for ginger and orange slices. I love the scent of the combination of ginger and orange. And the aroma and the taste of this dish doesn't disappoint. I did have some problems cutting the orange sections. I've seen cooks on TV remove the membranes from orange sections so that they still look like orange slices. I tried it. They sort of got mushed. However, they still tasted fine.

I did screw up in that I halved all the ingredients, but then I forgot to when it came to the sherry and vinegar...still it was delicious.

What I really liked about this dish is that each bite seemed to bring a new little surprise. One bite might taste more like ginger, the next one like garlic, and the next orange. The combination of these flavors really do work.

I know from living in a rural community, we sometimes wonder where the heck we'll be able to find exotic ingredients. I found all the ingredients at my local Hy-Vee. I did, however, use cooking sherry instead of the rice wine.

This recipe comes from page 206 of the June 2010 issue of Cooking Light magazine. The rice is cooked separately and instructions for preparation is not included in the recipe.

Ingredients
1.25 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
1/5 tablespoon's minced peeled fresh ginger
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1.5 cups coarsely chopped red bell pepper
3 tablespoons Shaoxing (Chinese rice wine) or dry sherry
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 cup orange sections (about 2 large oranges)
3 cups hot cooked short-grain rice
1 cup (1-inch) cut green onion.

Preparation
1. Place shrimp in a bowl; sprinkle with salt, tossing well. Let stand 10 minutes.
2 Combine oil, ginger, and garlic in a wok or large nonstick skillet. Place over medium-high heat; cook 4 minutes or until ginger and garlic begin to brown. Add shrimp; stir-fry 2 minutes. Add bell pepper; stir-fry two minutes. Add wine and vinegar, bring to a simmer. Cook 1 minute or until wine mixture is syrupy. Gently stir in orange sections. Serve over rice; sprinkle with onions. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1.5 cups stir fry and 3/4 cups rice.) There are 417 calories per serving.

Unnaturally Quiet

A little over a year ago, I brought home a furry ball of chaos. And tonight, the first night that Buddy has been away at Puppy Boot Camp (At my brother and sister-in-law's getting trained)it is truly unnaturally quiet. I miss him. Joey also misses him. One of the saddest things I've ever seen was when I came home tonight. After I let Joey upstairs she was very insistent on going outside, which is unusual because she tends to pee and poop downstairs on the basement floor. When we got outside, she looked towards the garage for the longest time as if waiting for Buddy to come bounding out. She's also been looking outside as if expecting to see him there. I'm going to let Joey sleep with me tonight, but I took her out for a late night long walk. I want to make sure she doesn't potty upstairs, besides, it took our minds off that Buddy "shaped hole in [our] universe" (My apologies to Arundhati Roy for stealing her phrase).

Tangled Web

Yesterday, I drank too much coffee. With an addictive personality, it shouldn't be too surprising. So, of course I couldn't sleep. Instead, I stayed up and spun yarn. I'm getting better at it, although, I know I have a ways to go yet. The picture above is of my drop spindle and the small ball of yarn I spun. I made it so little because I couldn't wait to see how it would turn out once plied. Plying is when you twist two strands together. It makes a much stronger yarn this way. It's too small to make anything, but I'm working on another spindle full. Eventually, I'll make something from this yarn of mine.

The diet went well yesterday. I was a bit anxious, but ok. I always have some emotional stress when I start. I'm either really cranky or lethargic or anxious. I think it's simply my body reacting to the change. In a few days, I'll feel euphoric, which is wonderful! I think it's a purely chemical reaction. We women are accustomed to those chemical/hormonal changes, and that is exactly how this feels. I'm just going to have to watch the coffee consumption. Having something in my hands like a crochet hook or a spindle helps. It's hard to shovel the food in when my hands are occupied.

Tomorrow, I'm taking Buddy down to my sister-in-law to be trained. He's getting too big for me to handle as he is. I'm afraid that he'll pull me on to the ground sometime and break something. I want to walk with him. I need to walk with him. But I need him to be my partner and not my adversary.

So Far So Good

So, I've started once again. Today, Mari came over and we walked our little dogs together. It's so cute watching little Joey and Kea (sp?) playing with each other. And today, I got the coffee pot out. I'm not a big fan of coffee, but I like it if it's mild enough. I thought drinking coffee will get me off the pop. It'll also give me a boost to get started.

It looks as though it's not going to rain again today, so I'm going to have to start mowing pretty soon. It's good exercise, but it isn't exactly fun. I wouldn't enjoy it even if I had a riding mower...I especially wouldn't enjoy it if it was motorized. They're too noisy and they stink. And that's before I even consider the global implications.

For lunch most days this summer, I've had a chicken or tuna salad wrap. They're very easy to make, they taste great, and they're refreshing. In the winter, I'm a soup girl, but these are ideal for summer, and they have a reasonable number of calories. The pictures above, are of today's Chicken Salad Wrap.
I inherited my parents' old Kitchen Aid. One of these days I'm going to splurge on myself and get a new one. This thing must be 35 years old, and yet, it is going strong. A long time ago, I got myself the grinding attachment, and I'm so glad I did. I'm not a big fan of chunky chicken or turkey salad. I like it ground. You know those poached chicken breasts I make, I just use one of those, and so it's all ready to go, when I need to make more. It's not really a recipe, but this is how I make it. It's best to give the salad time for the flavors to meld.

Note: I've added the number of grams for each item, but these numbers will need to be refigured each time I make it. These amounts are how much I used THIS time. Also, I figure the chicken salad is enough for 3 wraps. You should refigure it yourself depending on how much of it you want at a time.

Ingredients
1 poached chicken breast half
Miracle Whip Salad Dressing (76 grams.)
Onion (I've been using green onions out of my garden - 30 grams.)
Sweet Relish (40 grams)
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt
Pepper
Old Bay seasoning
1 Spinach Tortilla wrap
Spinach
Tomato
Red onion
Cucumber

Preparation
Grind chicken breast and onion together. Add seasoning, sugar, Miracle Whip, and Sweet Relish. Layer small enough amounts of spinach, tomato, red onion, cucumber, and 1/3 of the chicken salad on tortilla wrap. Wrap jelly-roll style. I think the tighter the better.

The calories for the spinach, tomato, red onion, and cucumber are virtually negligible. I don't even bother counting them, but they add a heck of a lot of flavor. The rest of the wrap equals 374 calories.

Mea Culpa

I'm certain that I've lost a few readers during my absence. For those of you who've wondered about me...I fell off the wagon. I find that it's hard for me to write this when I've slipped up. So, get after me when you don't hear from me for awhile. I do believe it is possible for me to diet without the rigid calorie counting, but I have to be diligent. Is it me, but does diligent moderation sound like an oxymoron?

I slipped into this. I might give myself a little treat at home, like a can of pop, but then later Ken would get us ice cream cones. At some point, I just let it all go to hell. I haven't weighed myself lately. But I had gained about 8 pounds back the last time I did weigh myself. I'm certain that I've gained more than 10.

Like any other addictive behavior, I simply have to start all over. So starting tomorrow, I'll be counting calories again, for at least a while. And then I'll try the moderation thing again.

In addition, I haven't gotten a lot of exercise done lately. It's a poor excuse, but it's been raining a lot here. In addition, I've been trying to finish an afghan I'm making for my niece's wedding present. The picture above is a close up of what I've gotten done so far. I wanted you to be able to see the pattern.

Also, I we went to a wool and spinning conference last weekend, and I've been teaching myself to spin using a drop spindle. I've got new calluses and blisters on my fingers. It's always slow going when you're learning a new skill. When I'm feeling a bit more confident about it, I'll take pictures.

Today, someone asked me to share Ken's family's recipe for a custard rhubarb pie, so I'm going to include it even though it is far from a diet recipe. This is a recipe for the filling. I'll be honest and say that I make pretty good pie crusts. I use the recipe from the Fanny Farmer Cookbook except that I use butter instead of margarine.

Ingredients
1.5 cups sugar
1/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoons nutmeg
3 slightly beaten eggs.
4 cups (approximately 1 pound)rhubarb
2 tablespoons butter

Preparation
Combine the first 3 ingredients. Beat into the eggs. Add the rhubarb. Dot with butter.

Bake at 400 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

If I Was a Horse, They'd Shoot Me

Now that I'm 50, I've noticed a lot more aches and pains. Right now, I have a shoulder injury. I've been dealing with rotator cuff problems over several months, but now it's considerably worse, at least that's what I think it is. I'm going to try to see my doctor about it today. I don't know what the hell I did to myself.

At least I'm no longer blue. I want to do things. For instance, last night, pain or not, I cleaned my dining room carpet. I plan on doing the same thing tonight if my doctor doesn't really restrict my activities. I have to do it in the evening because the dogs are in the basement for the night and it gives the carpet time to dry.

Blue Mood

Today, I woke up out of sorts. My back hurt a little from lying in bed too long. I had no energy. I didn't want to do anything. If I still had the equipment, I would have suspected PMS. Instead, I realized that I was adjusting to fewer calories. Although it sucks going through this, it's good to recognize it for what it is.

So, I decided to spread the joy. I went to Ken's earlier than we had planned. I took my own lunch, my healthier lunch, and ate with him and played a game of Scrabble and beat him. Then we went to Spencer, did some shopping and went to my folks'. While shopping, we stopped by the local art gallery, Art on Grand. Serendipitously, the Little Sioux Spinners and Weavers Guild was working away on their individual projects. I have always wanted to learn how to spin wool. Actually, I've always wanted to take my projects from sheep to sweater, and now I can get one step closer to my goal.

After all our running around, we went back to Ken's. He grilled us some hamburgers on the grill and I beat him at another game of Scrabble. When I got home, I ran around and took care of all kinds of chores. My energy was restored. Hopefully, I won't have the blues again tomorrow, but I know what fixes it, activity. I can't let myself sink into doldrums.