A Nearly Painless Climb

Our Wedding Day...Still This Happy!

On September 9, 2009 we had a little ceremony. We were surrounded by all four of our children and most of their partners (sorry Melissa, Jordyn and Christian couldn't make it) in a lovely home at Eagle Crest Resort in Central Oregon. Our wedding vows included a Celtic Hand Tying ceremony, during which each of our four babies draped (or firmly tied...right Becca?) a colorful ribbon across our clasped hands. Our officiant tied them while calling for the blessings of the Celtic powers associated with the four points of the compass...enough to make an Irish boy weep with joy...and I did. Those four ribbons now adorn one of our bedposts. I love this photo of the two of us on the patio in the wonderful, warm early evening light, captured in laughter as we basked in the heady pleasure of that day's events. We'll always love spending time at Eagle Crest as we all remember our individual and shared histories there.

In the year and a half since our son-in-law, Paul took that candid shot of our joy, we've continued to expand our love, our sense of joy and...our waistlines. I need only to see a shot like this to remind me that we both married a slimmer person than the one who sits now beside us. Not that physical appearance is that important - unless you're a guy. Yes, I admit it...we males are far more visually-oriented in our analysis of the opposite sex than are most women. But, I have noticed that LG has mentioned a few times recently that I'm "feeling thinner" when she hugs me. My delight about this is not so much the words as it is the tone of voice. There're hints of "oh yeah, baby!" and "Oooo!" in those statements. That's a bigger motivator for me than the thought of bringing down my cholesterol. Shallow? Probably. Stereotypical male...yup. A perspective I want to grow beyond? No freakin' way! It works for me.

Today is the end of our second week on the Engine 2 Diet and we are even more enthusiastic and positive than we ever were when we began. Sitting at the peak of our four week diet mountain, we're enjoying the view (things are looking pretty bright out there), our vegan picnic lunch and the simple & easy downhill coast to the four week mark. That analogy squeezed dry, let's move on to the subject of food!

Last night was another "clean out the fridge" dinner...and it was amazing! The combined flavors spanned Moroccan spices, pesto, garlicky Italian, rich mushroom and veggies, hummus-like spread and anything else we found in a left-over container. To our amazed delight, the soup/stew was as delicious as any one of the meal remnants that went into it. The concoction was rich, spicy, smooth and delicious...all adjectives that equally well apply to my dinner companion! A final colorful addition was some finely shredded sweet potato...serving as an introduction to our newest kitchen toy.

Our new "Cook Help." Everything else on the package was in Japanese

This thing has three different blades - the one we used is the medium thickness blade. We now love things cut in thin strips...which is good because LG had to finally tackle me last night to prevent me from filling the entire kitchen with colorful wisps of miscellaneous vegetable materials. It's cool. We ordered it through Amazon.com for about $40 with shipping.

What does one do with these festive ribbons of vegan goodness? Well, that's just not the point, is it...it's fun to use! In spite of that, we did actually use the product you see in this photo to top our soup/stew, and we'll be making some awesome salads with veggies that might otherwise be too time consuming or just plain tough to incorporate into an easy to eat dish (sweet potatoes, fresh beets, jicama, fresh horseradish, etc.)

Admittedly, the original amalgam of leftovers was a tad on the "beige" side, but the sweet potato added eye appeal and it was tasty and crunchy. We now have a little leftover leftover soup...but it won't last long.

 I know this blog forum makes it tough to post comments because you have to have a Google e-mail account (whatever@gmail.com, for example.) Does anyone have a suggestion about another blog host that's free and has a simpler way for readers to get involved? If so, you can post it on my Facebook page or send me an e-mail...if you have my address.

Have you been conditioned to think that "Grain Fed" beef is a good thing? It's the reason so many antibiotics are used on cattle. It's actually the only way cattle feed lots can keep the naturally lethal grain diet from killing the beef before they put on unnatural layers of fat. Check out this site for some interesting information on the subject: 

http://nourishedmagazine.com.au/blog/articles/why-not-to-eat-grain-fed-meat

Bon (vegan) Appetit