Just Humans Being...

My childhood best buddy died last week, she had battled with breast cancer for 8 years. We had been friends since we were 4 years old, though we had practically lost touch - she found me via social media a few years ago. We were pretty inseparable in our teens, more like sisters & very much a part of each other's families. We attended the same college after finishing school & even lived together in North London for a while... We shared a house with the guy she would eventually spend her life with & I think I knew it before they did. I returned home to care for my siblings when my mum was taken ill & within weeks of returning, I was offered a well paid post with the local authority. A few months later, when Sime & I got together - I realised my return up north was meant to be! My friend & I continued to meet up occasionally, but our growing families meant it was difficult, we had various commitments & so time went on, moving further & further aw...

We've been debating what John McDougall is saying in this video about salt & sugar... I agree that if helps a person to stay on track, then salt & sugar are ok in moderation, but Sime thinks he should be talking about the alternatives, because iodised table salt & white sugar are really not good at all. We use sea salt sparingly & did buy a bag of  Breton Marais natural sea salt last time we were in Brittany, which is great in bread. We occasionally use organic dark sugars or maple syrup in baking, but mainly stick to medjool dates these days. We have found since cutting out oil that our taste buds have improved, so we don't need to use much in the way of seasoning & definitely feel better for it! Kay xx    

Food for thought! Kay & Sime xx

The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison. ~ Ann Wigmore Keeping our immune systems strong is the key to good health & those of us with autoimmune system disorders know just how important this is. I truly believe that for me - the food I eat or choose not to eat has made a huge impact on my health... I vividly remember being told by numerous endocrinologists that I would never recover from Graves Disease & there was no way a vegan diet would make a scrap of difference, in fact one of those medical experts told me that being vegan would make things worse...Incredible! They constantly bullied me & tried to push me into taking extremely drastic measures to "cure" my thyroid. They believed (& probably still do) that the best treatment for an over-active thyroid is for the sufferer to drink radioactive iodine. They would all try to convince me that it was the right path to take & not...

Thanks again for all your comments - Sime's getting there slowly... He was back at the dentist on Monday, as his tooth sockets are quite infected - poor chap! Unfortunately, he believed there would be problems & so they continue... Apart from this, everything is good - Bebe's fine at the moment, we are getting lots of enquiries & bookings for the B&B & tomorrow, we'll be catching up with our lovely girlies - which will be nice!  Rose hasn't been well, so she'll be getting big ma & pa hugs & kisses to make her feel better.  Sal & Ryan are preparing to move to Bristol within the next few weeks, which is very exciting for them - but tinged with some sadness for us... Though we'll no doubt see more of them, as we'll be passing by frequently to go up to Stoke! Tomorrow we promise to post about our Thursday view, but for now - it's dinner time! Came across the link to these on FB earlier, so put the kettle on ...

First of all, thank you all for your comments about Bebe. We've had more stuff to sort out around her this week. Fortunately, from down here this time - but still time consuming.  We are still unsure what the future holds for her & whether she will eventually move down here... Working in social care for many years has left us both with little faith in any residential home. We have both witnessed abuse & neglect & feel it is such a difficult decision to make, we also promised Bebe that we would never put her into a home... On the other hand, she's not keen on moving all the way to Cornwall, so for now - we just hope that she can continue for as long as possible in her own home. We know all there is about vascular dementia, having cared for nan & doing huge amounts of research, but working with a variety of folks - lots with quite challenging behaviour stands us in good stead.  We know what hard, full time work it is & that it will have a big impa...

We have had an incredibly crazy week, full of mixed emotions - good times & very sad times... Hugo's birthday was great fun & although he'd gone off on Friday to join in celebrating his friend's birthday & vowed to be returning with 4 friends on Saturday - he actually turned up with 9!   Luckily, we are laid back & it just meant making extra food. He didn't want to do anything in particular, just hang out... So we fed them chilli, rice & cornbread, they went off to the beach & got a camp fire going, but soon returned - as it was so cold! Some of the loveliest young people you could wish to meet! Rose & Asa joined us too - which was great! Although some of them were up until 6am & we did hear them now & again - we would enjoy having them over again!  A couple of them didn't want to leave, which was sweet - so may be a summer get-together will be on the cards...  Hugo's a big fan of Victoria Sponge C...

The day we were travelling back from Stoke, my thyroid - out of the blue - decided it was time to have another storm... My heart beat had been sitting around 90, which is just about ok & I was taking my herbal remedies, but I started having palpitations & on the way home. My heart just got faster (180 bpm), which made me feel really anxious. As soon as we arrived home, I called the surgery & was told to get to A & E. And so began the nightmare... I was taken into the resus room, wired up to a monitor & the staff tried to persuade me to have an adenosine injection to drastically slow down my heart, I refused - as I know that it can stop the heart altogether. The doctor told me that he was not sure if it would work, because they had no evidence of use with Graves Disease & the procedure could cause a permanent heart defect... Why would I want this? My heart was healthy, just running fast as a result of my thyroid problem & I really didn't...

If you consume a lot of processed foods then please watch this film:  Hungry For Change   It's only available to watch for just over 24 hours, so don't miss it. Jason Vale is in the film, he is the author of several juicing books... I first came across this book in St Austell library & the juices are fantastic. We go through phases of juicing lots & then not at all, but we love drinking fresh vegetable juices - though we hate the waste... We do compost it & have tried simmering the pulp & using the liquid as stock, but it tastes odd to us. I've been very interested in raw foods since the 90s, when I came across a  Leslie Kenton  book in a charity shop. We started drinking juices with either spirulina or wheatgrass twice a day, but we've never fully embraced a raw diet - we love our cooked food too much! Though I do believe that raw organic vegan food is the best way to heal the body.   From the same cha...

We've wanted to see this film for a long time & we finally found it today.  We have both the books written by the main guys - Drs' Esselstyn & Campbell, which have been life changing. You can find the film here:  Forks Over Knives Hope you enjoy it! Kay & Sime xx

Being vegan is liberating... It feels so good to be eating foods that have no link to animal cruelty & the side effects of our diet have brought us good health, strength & happiness - not to mention the loss of unwanted weight! I have lost over 2 1/2 stone (38 lbs/17kgs/19 bags of sugar) since January... Sime's lost 2 stone too! We eat huge amounts of food, but it's all plant based & mega healthy. We kicked our chocolate habit & no longer crave crappy foods.  We can eat vegan chocolate now & again & enjoy it - without wanting to eat the whole bar! We don't eat any oil at home (though difficult when eating out) - we do eat a tablespoon of ground linseeds in our porridge, along with a spoonful of ground hemp seeds. Our meals are pretty simple, but delicious. We eat a variety of grains every day, at least 10 vegetables & fruits & 3 or 4 different pulses/legumes. Quitting dairy, eggs & oil has given our bodies a wonderful treat - no mor...

Work Home Kneading Rising Grinding Puréeing Straining Soaking  Rinsing  Washing Spinning Whizzing Emailing Reading Watching Listening Talking (a lot) Laughing Playing Singing Cooking Eating  Drinking Showering snuggling Sleeping And then it starts all over again... It's all good, we're happy & that's the main thing. We are getting into our work rhythm, we're organised & achieving lots. We have energy & strength. We're eating well - sometimes late, but we feel good. We've spent quality time with Hugo, which has been nice & we are reminded of how lucky we are... We have such lovely buddies. Though the highlight of my week... For the first time in 26 years, I have been able to hold off Sime beating me in an arm wrestling match...Yes!!! I think it's all the spinach...Hahaha! My upper arm muscles have become rather large & it makes us laugh... But really it's great & just another sign that my body i...

Some of you know about my fight with Graves Disease, an auto immune system disorder, which causes an overactive thyroid. Since I was diagnosed 7 years ago, I have made it my business to know everything I possibly could about the condition & this has probably saved my life. I have blood tests on a regular basis & in November last year, I was told that my T4 levels are normal & again in January the same.  My thyroid stimulating hormone was finally starting to work too, after 7 years of lying dormant, so I suggested I came off the anti thyroid drug & my GP's response was to continue for a while longer. A month ago, I rang my GP & suggested again that I come off the drug or at least halve it, as I was feeling so well  & was concerned about the drug pushing me into being under active. Again, she said to be patient & they would send for me when it's time for a blood test. I don't normally do as I'm told, but decided to stick with it a b...

Our chocolate habit last year had become expensive & ridiculous, so we knew that we had to stop - we wanted to stop...  We had been aware for a long time that the milk protein put into chocolate is there to make us crave it, so most of us can't stop once we start... Dark chocolate with simpler ingredients doesn't have the same effect - though I don't know many people (apart from Granddad Gerry & myself) who really enjoy a strong dark chocolate. Sime's attitude to food is to cut it out if it's a problem & not just cut down. Which is actually the best way to do it, because once you cut it out completely & you stick to your decision - after a few days you stop craving it. After 3 weeks, it's appeal just fades & that's what we wanted to do.  Anybody who knows me can vouch that I have been a complete chocoholic since childhood, my favourites being Fry's Chocolate Creme & Creme Eggs. At work I gained a reputation for always having a c...

Our veg box is delivered on Wednesdays.  So by Tuesday - we always end up with a bit of a concoction... Last night we made Carrot, Hazelnut & Millet Burgers... Served with the last of the salad, some leftover pasta, sprouted alfalfa, baked mushroom & a bread roll... When we first gave up oil & butter - we really were hungry & eating several meals a day. We decided to include nuts again, especially during the cold weather & we are definitely more satisfied. We're also eating olives occasionally, though not many & aim to stop eventually.  I don't snack at all any more & don't even crave anything sweet or stodgy - I can look at chocolate & am happy not to eat it, so it must be because of the foods we no longer eat. Sime does still fancy something sweet after meals & continues to eat muesli with nuts & fruit to help with that. Interestingly, I gave up drinking shop bought juices a while ago, but Sime drinks a small glass of either pre...