Vegetating

I must quit vegetating!

Over a week ago a friend emailed me and made a statement about life after the kids are gone and retirement that really slapped me on the side of the head.  I realized that I am really wasting what I have left of my life.  Sitting around with no motivation and no energy is not the way I want to spend the next twenty years.

I have been so sedentary over the winter and now it is continuing into the summer.  And when I'm depressed and sitting around doing nothing, well....I'm doing SOMETHING and it's usually eating.  And the pounds have a sneaky way of adding up and on.  Shortness of breath and more lethargy are the result.  Vicious Cycle!

The decision to try Weight Watchers *AGAIN* has been forced upon me if I want to have any life at all.  But does it ever take time!  And planning.  And I become obsessive.  All my creative energy will now be channeled into planning meals, trying to make them healthy, and attractive enough to keep me from straying off into the lazy world of prepackaged food.  Eating non-healthy is so EASY!

So which of my other creative outlets can I sacrafice?  Rug hooking? No.  Knitting?  Probably.  Staring out the kitchen window?  Yeah, that one I can do without.  And less weight means more energy.  Right?

So to celebrate the life-changing decision, Zip and I took a trip to the Kitchen Shoppe in Carlisle PA.  The shop is housed in a lovely historic barn.  Down the hill behind the barn is the famous LeTort trout stream.

About twenty years ago I used to work here as a sous chef.  It was great fun and I got to meet quite a few rather popular cookbook authors.  They have a delightful teaching kitchen where you can watch the meals being prepared and then get to sample them.

The shop is FILLED with every kind of cooking equipment imaginable. 

The pots and pans.

Check out this huge selection of baking pans.  On the other side of the shelf are all the cake and bundt and specialty baking pans.

These are just part of the 'gadget' walls.

Small kitchen appliances for every need.

The coffee and tea counter always has a few samples for tasting.

A peek in the door of the teaching kitchen.  They were just finishing up a class so I didn't go inside.  The large mirror over the counter makes it possible to watch the chef as food is being prepared. 

You can hardly go there and not come home inspired.  They also have table settings, fine china, linens, cookbooks and tempting things too numerous to list.  If you love cooking and kitchen decorating, this is a great place to visit.

Afterward we drove down to the bridge and looked at the beautiful meadow with the stream flowing through.  Such a beautiful and peaceful place!

So now my vegetating needs to take a different direction.

More greens have come into the house and been consumed in the last week than all of the last six months.
I am trying to keep it simple but interesting. 

Here are some of the results.  Yeah, I'm taking pictures.
Ham, eggs and asparagus for breakfast.

Tabbouleh for lunch. This is made with avacado, zucchini, cilantro and lime juice instead of the middle-eastern version with cucumber, mint and lemon.

Our local Weis market had a really good sale on seafood this week.
I sauteed mahi-mahi in fresh tomato and cilantro.

The leftovers made a great next-day lunch in a pita with avacado, greens, and some taco seasoning.

A summer feast!  Lobster, corn and a fresh green salad.

Summer rolls stuffed with greens, zucchini strips and imitation crab, with an Oriental dipping sauce.

See what I mean about taking a lot of time?  Planning and preparing creative meals is a full-time job.
I just hope I can stay interested for more than a week.

So there is no new rug being started.  My sweater is still waiting to be blocked and sewn together and the socks are back in the knitting bag.

I have done some sewing.  Brad and Kami are going to be at Old Bedford Village this weekend for a "wild west weekend".  Brad needed a pair of late 19th century pants so that was my one productive effort of the past week.

 The  fabric is 100% wool so the leftovers can be used in a rug.

I will close with some cuteness. 

We have a small group of stray/half feral cats in our neighborhood.  We put out food, but only one or two are tame enough to touch.  This is one of the wild babies from this spring.  I know I have ENOUGH cats, but if I can ever catch this one, it will be an indoor kitty.

Thanks for stopping in!