Skating with my girl

In 1974 my life changed dramatically.

I was 9 years old. And my family emerged from a cult-like lifestyle into reality. 

I went to school for the first time. 

We lived in a real home. With power. And running water. And flush toilets.  (I have a back story here... oh good Lord, I feel like I have an entire 400 page book arising here.. ) 

We moved into a house across the street from the city (town?) arena. 

I didn't become a fantastic figure skater or a hockey player, but I could skate with enough fluency to zip around the arena doing fancy cross-leg strokes as I rounded the corners, and do a graceful spin, and stop on dime. 

Kitty corner to the arena was Safeway. Where we would wander the aisles filling our pockets with bulk candy before entering the side door of the arena after one of our group of friends would pay to enter and then block open the side exit door so the rest of us could enter for free. 

It's been many years, even decades, since I was nine years old. 

But I recently bought skates for myself and my seven-year-old granddaughter. She has shown a recent interest in skating and I have shown a recent interest in getting my ass off my computer chair. 

Maeve and I have been skating about once a week - going to the Outdoor Oval when the weather cooperates or to public skating at an indoor rink when necessary. 

Yesterday was a sunny +2 degrees day at The Oval. 

As we approached the ice surface we were greeted by Liam, a friendly young 4-year-old with a vocabulary that rivals my grandchildren - and this is an impressive feat. He was a  talker extraordinaire, just like my Maeve.  Turns out he was skiing at Sun Peaks last weekend with my Beatrice as well. 

Blah, blah blah... 

I could entertain/bore you with details of the day... 

But I was so entertained by these two as they encouraged, challenged and supported each other as they skated hard, fell with ridiculously bone-jarring falls, and raised their hands in victory together when they recovered from jittery almost certain falls.

He was such a go-hard give-all who often fell to the ice with a THUD. My teeth literally rattled at times. And he'd hit the ice with an "Oouch!" And Meave would respond with "Are you ok?"

After a while he responded, "Stop asking if I'm ok all the time. I'm fine." 

And she answers, "You fall and you say 'ouch'. I'm just the kind of person who loves their friends and wants to make sure they are okay."

Granny's heart swells with pride. 

I love how her skating skills advance every time we skate. 

I love how her genuine love of people teaches me a lesson every time I interact with her. 

At one point in our skate, I am following behind her and Liam and I hear her telling him, 

"I have a plan for my life. I am going to become a vet and then I am going to adopt a child... if I have enough money." 

"And when I adopt, I am going to adopt an older child because older children have a harder time being adopted and finding a loving family." 

Oh. My. Good. Loving. Jesus. 

I so often feel like I am simply fumbling through life. 

And then my seven-year-old granddaughter speaks reality, inadvertently, into my life. 

Gosh I love her.

"Let's take a break here on the snow bank" 

"Granny, let's re-do this photo cuz I want to do "The Dab" 

Purple Keto Buns

"Purple" Keto Buns are a game changer.

I just hate it when you click on a recipe link and you have to scroll through 27 pages of the chef's life history interspersed with ads and links to every piece of equipment and all of the ingredients included in the recipe.

So on that note, here's the recipe first - followed by my incessant blabbing and very non-professional food photography.

• 5 tbsp ground psyllium husk powder
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 Tb sunflower seeds
• 1 Tb pumpkin seeds (I lightly chopped them)
• 1 Tb hemp hearts
• 1 Tb oat fibre
• 1 Tb ground flax seed
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 
  
• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 3 egg whites
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 350*F

Mix dry ingredients, including nuts and seeds, in mixing bowl. 

Add vinegar and egg whites (these are just straight up, not whipped or beaten). Combine

Add boiling water and mix 30-60 seconds until it resembles Playdough. 

Lightly oil hands and form into 10 buns. I flattened them into the shape of a hamburger patty and they came out a nicer size than the first ones that I shaped as balls. 

Sprinkle each with sesame seeds. 

Place on parchment paper or well-greased baking sheet. 

Bake on lower rack for 50-60 minutes or until they sound kinda hollow when you tap on the bottom of a bun.

And that's it! Keto bread with real bread texture. 

Carb Manager tells me these facts, when you make 10 buns per recipe:

And now... on to the blabbing.... 

The first time I made these buns I was kinda weirded out because although the dough was a regular beige colour like normal bread, the buns turned out with a purple colour after they cooked.  A little googling detective work explained that some brands of psyllium husk will do this. Apparently mine does.  

I was fairly impressed with the original recipe but I felt they could have just a tad more flavour, so I did a little science experiment. I reduced the almond flour in the original recipe by a 1/4 cup and added some nuts and seeds. And oh, my word... delicious!  (In a keto sort of way, of course. I'd still probably opt for my standard white bread fresh from the oven, but these are a substantial stand-in.) 

And I love that they are not made primarily with eggs or cheese like so many other keto bread options are. 

This is the first batch made without the addition of seeds.

Raw dough is a nice beige colour and resembles Playdough

Patty shapes make a nicer bun that ball shapes. 

These buns stay soft for days, even after being frozen. 

Like I said, I'm no food photographer, neither am I great at food presentation. However, that right there is a plate full of yum. 

These came from Amazon, Superstore, Amazon, Amazon, Costco - but are probably available lots of other places. 

If you are skeptical of my chef skills, you can always follow this link to the Original Recipe as posted on Diet Doctor.com 

I Have Nothing to Wear

What does one do when your night, that started at midnight, ends at 2:30am because sleep eludes you for no valid reason? 

I should have gotten up and taken a little pill or something. But no, I just lay there fighting it for two hours before finally deciding today was the day. I've been saying for weeks that I need to go through my closet and get rid of things that no longer fit me. And today was the day.  

And by 7:30am I had put on more steps than I did all of yesterday and walked almost 3 km ... without even leaving my bedroom! 

At 4:30am I put on a decent bra and comfy underwear and pulled every item of clothing out of my 3 closets and piled them on my bed. And I tried on every.single.item. Even things that I knew fit me and those that I knew no longer fit.  It took me 3 hours. 

It was actually kind of a therapeutic session.  

As I put on many of the items I had a little flash of memory - sometimes a memory of purchasing the item, sometimes remembering a time I wore it. 

And to be honest many items evoked no memory at all, for I simply do not remember buying them nor seeing them before. (Although, obviously I had.) Some still have tags.  

 I found myself talking out loud to no-one: 

"Aw, I loved this skirt," as I pulled it on and it promptly fell back down. 

"I'm so glad that we finally got to see Bob Seger." As I folded that red blouse and piled it on the "too big for me" stacks that were beginning to accumulate on my bedroom floor. 

"Oh Daddy," as I slipped the shirt I wore to his funeral over my head only to have it hang like a tent on me. 

"Miss you baby," as I tossed in the trash a number of leggings and t-shirts that are not only too big but have little spark burn holes from their years of designation as 'lake clothes.' 

In the end my closets by no means look empty, but I managed to purge 156 items of clothing to the 'donate pile' and a couple dozen more to the trash. Yes I counted them. 

And as a bonus, I'm pretty much packed for Maui as I separated out the suitable items as I went along. T minus 28 days till I touch down in OGG airport. It's never too soon to pack. 

This is what 156 articles of clothing stacked on the floor look like.