Yesterday, I received a lovely surprise in the form of a notification from WordPress that I now have 500 followers! I only began blogging just over a year ago, not having much of a clue technically, but having completed the Blogging 101 course I had gained a little more know-how and a few blogging friends, many of whom are still with me and have provided much-needed support.
My (at the time) newly-retired husband is very grateful to you all for keeping me occupied and out of mischief!
To say thank you, we are having a small giveaway.
My friend, Dale Preece-Kelly, aka Organic Guinea Pig, published his first book ‘Health Revolution’ almost 2 years ago. I have a spare paperback copy to give away. You can read a fuller review of the book here but briefly, Dale lost everything, his marriage, his home, his job and almost his life following a motorbike accident. His lifestyle didn’t help: he smoked, drank was overweight and had a heart attack.
He managed to turn his life around through healthy eating, juicing, exercise and a positive attitude.
Dale tells his story in a chatty, light-hearted style, providing amusing anecdotes, recipes and advice in a non-dogmatic manner.
We had a visit from our smallest grandchildren at the weekend and we made Dale’s Sweet Potato Chocolate Orange Brownies, the recipe is in the review above and in the book.
If you would like a chance to win this book, simply leave a comment on this post saying you would like your name to go into the hat. You don’t need to do anything else.
The competition is open to all my Blog Followers. My husband will pick a name at random.
2. The competition runs from publication of this post until midnight GMT Saturday, 28th January, 2017.
Dale is a successful author, nutritional therapist, Life Coach and also runs a renowned and well-respected animal assisted therapy business, focusing on mental health issues.
‘Health Revolution’ and Dale’s new book ‘Unleashing The Healing Power of Animals ‘ are available on Amazon.
At this time of year especially, articles, tweets, tv programmes, Instagram memes all shout at us to get our bodies moving.
Just in case you’re still in any doubt or denial, here is a list of proven benefits:
it gets the heart pumping
improves circulation
builds muscle and bone which improves balance – especially important for those of us no longer in the first flush of youth
builds strength and stamina
creates endorphins which improves our mood, helps us feel better and therefore helps diminish those January blues and even depression.
makes you feel more alert and energetic
aids mental clarity, making us more productive and creative at work and home.
helps prevent lifestyle diseases like Type 2 diabetes through better control of blood sugar levels
helps keep our weight in check – if we also keep an eye on what we eat.
helps keep joints mobile and flexible
So, now you really do know that exercise is good for you, you can’t claim ignorance as your get-out clause!
But don’t worry, this post is not about going all out on the crossfit machine or hefting eye-watering weights at the gym. It’s all about movement and fun!
At this time of year, when the Christmas season is over, we feel overfed and lethargic, Spring is in the air and many of us start making plans to go to the gym, start running or take a zumba class.
Trouble is, in the cold months, our resolve can soon start dying a slow death. It’s cold, wet, dark, and miserable. The woodburner or the tv and a glass or cup of something warming are far more attractive. All that money spent on gym fees or trendy neon fit-wear may as well be flushed away for all the use we make of it.
Unfortunately, many of us have also had negative gym experiences or are old enough to remember the torture of school PE classes: being made to run cross-country in freezing conditions wearing t-shirt and shorts, inadequate footwear and with little or no preparation, the booming voice of the wrapped-up PE teacher in our ears decrying our efforts and urging us on, drill-sergeant style. (Anyone who has seen the film ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’ will know what I mean!)
It’s also often difficult if not impossible for many of us to embark on formal exercise regimes due to having small children or sick family members or because we have physical problems of our own or simply can’t afford the expense. So we accept that’s how it has to be and get on with it, skipping over all the articles we see urging us to move more and diverting our eyes from all the pony-tailed, fitbit-wearing runners dashing past the window.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. No more guilt at being a trainer-free home-bod.
Hooray! you shout.
Hang on, you’re not getting off that easily! You still have to move about, just not in a gym or on the road.
Here are some tips to get it all jiggin’ about:
Your home can be your gym and everyday items your equipment. Little or no expense, warm environment (less chance of injury), relative privacy (though maybe not privacy from your relatives 😉), win-win situation. Your stairs can be your step-exercise, bottles of water or tinned goods your weights, your cd player your zumba instructor.
2. You can even incorporate exercise into your everyday activities.
And no-one needs to see you doing it!
According to the BBC programme ‘Trust Me, I’m a Doctor,’ * a group of people over 40 – and therefore losing muscle, I think the oldest was 67 – incorporated exercise into their daily activities. Over a month on average they gained 3% more muscle, 12% more muscle strength, 13% more muscle power and 4% more grip strength.
So how did they do it?
Visit the website to see in detail, but basically:
squats and standing on one leg while brushing their teeth
heel-raising while washing-up
lunges while vacuuming
arm curls with juice cartons or tins
wall presses.
You get the picture.
I would add to these:
using the stairs as often as possible
doing step-ups, and also hanging your heel off the edge of the step to stretch your calf muscles and tendons
standing up from a chair and sitting back down without using your hands during advert breaks while watching tv or sitting at your desk
doing a walking circuit of your home as often as possible
in an upright chair with arms, press down on the arms and raise your bottom from the seat for as long as is comfortable
even on your commute, on buses, trains or planes, you can raise alternate knees, toes and heels (maybe not in a car – unless you’re a passenger!)
on fine days, take a turn around the garden, up and down your driveway or around the block, look up at the sky, the trees, the birds, breathe and smile!
Exercising needs to be fun too or you’ll never stick to it. Here comes the Jumpin’, Jivin’ an’ Jiggin’ About bit! (At last!)
3. One piece of exercising equipment I would recommend investing in if you can manage it is a rebounder. You don’t have to jump like an Olympian!
Rebounders are not trampolines. They are not as springy and provide more resistance. And kids please note: don’t even attempt to do somersaults! Parents please note: children should always be supervised because they *will* attempt to do somersaults!
NASA-approved, this method of exercising is accessible to most people if you start off slowly and simply, just gently bending your knees then graduating to lifting your heels and low bouncing before trying anything more energetic.
A couple of rebounding sessions a day exercises all parts of the body, gets your lymphatic system moving – strengthening your immune system and clearing out waste and toxins – and makes you feel more alive.
And it’s great fun.
Kids naturally love trampolining and this is great for getting them to exercise during the winter months when they can’t use the one in the garden. It tempts them away from their screens for a while which is always a good thing. Even the smallest members of our family make straight for it when they come for a visit. They are great family fun. (Again, children should always be supervised).
The Juicemaster website* sells various sizes of rebounders, the smaller ones fold up and have a carrying case. I can vouch for their quality and endurance.
4. Just dance like no-one is watching!
With or without a partner, dancing with reckless abandon is the best way to forget your worries and feel alive! Put on your favourite music, the one you like singing aloud to at high volume and just go for it! (see video below).
You can jig about when you’re in the kitchen – my regular readers will know that I often like to attach a YouTube track to accompany my recipes – orwhen you’re cleaning or tidying up, doing the ironing, doing a bike repair (one for you, K and S!😉). I have even seen my neighbour doing her ironing to the accompaniment of reggae music in her back garden in the summer, not caring a jot if anyone saw her.
In general, whatever your age, state of health, fitness or finances, any movement is better than no movement.
(I realise there are certain health conditions where this may not be appropriate).
5. Many of us, especially older people, get stiff joints and cold legs from sitting. While reading, doing the crossword or watching tv, you can raise your knees and heels up and down, rotate your ankles and wrists, stretch out your fingers and make a fist, walk about during the ad breaks even if it’s only to get up and make a cup of tea. Clench alternate groups of muscles and release. Do shoulder rotations.
My husband exercising on a borrowed rowing machine in the garage with a broken arm. He also used one of those stretchy bands that physios use which come in different levels of flexibility.
Do what you’re able and what you enjoy – with your family, friends or on your own. Walk, cycle, laugh, sing – they all exercise your body inside and out.
Just do!
6. Oh, and btw, apparently, exercising is more effective in burning fat if men exercise on an empty stomach and women after eating. (I can hear all the women cheering from the gallery!)
Ps Whatever form of exercise you do, be sure to warm up and stretch first, and ease into it – it won’t do you much good if you pull a back muscle or sprain an ankle in your first session!
PPs If you have any concerns about whether or not you should follow any of the advice above, please do talk to your doctor.
Today, I was minding my own business, helping my husband make up the Christmas Ocado order when the postman arrived. There were the usual cards and statements, but also a small padded bag. I looked at the back and saw the name and address of my old friend and former primary school teacher, Evelyn. Many of you will have read my tribute to her earlier on in the year. She had emailed that she had sent me card and so I was expecting to see her writing any day soon, but not on a padded bag.
I opened it and out fell a hard object wrapped in bubblewrap. The envelope had originally come from a bead and crystal shop and I thought she had sent me a crystal for Christmas. I carefully unwrapped it and to my astonishment out fell a very old fountain pen and propelling pencil – do you remember those?!
I couldn’t speak. I sat there with my mouth wide open and nothing coming out. When it did it was ‘Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god’ on a loop (my apologies to anyone offended by this) accompanied by my husband’s ‘What, what, WHAT?! I imagine we looked like a couple of goldfish in a bowl.
I held in my hand the very fountain pen and pencil Evelyn had used to mark the class register, write reports and letters to our parents, the same white and gold pen I had coveted all these years. I was only thinking about it quite recently and wondering if she still had it. And here was the set, looking a little the worse for wear, sitting in the palm of my hand. I was in shock.
This means so much to me, I don’t have the words to explain.
I looked inside the bag for a note, but all I found was a Christmas card wishing us a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2017 followed by the words ‘Over half a century now!’
Nothing about the pen and pencil. I desperately wanted to speak to her. I tried Skyping but there was no response. She is probably at her sister’s for Christmas and I will have to contain my excitement and inquisitiveness until the New Year!
I don’t quite know why I was so fascinated by this pen. I loved the gold pattern on it and I loved the black Indian ink Evelyn filled it with. I was 9 years old and this was my first experience of a fountain pen at close quarters. I was inspired by it. I loved her handwriting, big and loopy, very informal, arty and friendly. I would recognise it anywhere. To me, this pen set was symbolic of her youth and style, it was modern, unusual, fun. It is so slim and light. It also looked very posh to my impoverished eyes!
I have always loved using a fountain pen and I can’t wait to clean this one out and see if it still works. Wouldn’t that be something, after all these years?!
Needless to say, my husband had to finish off the shopping list all on his own, he didn’t get any sense out of me for the rest of the day!
I realised today that I’ve been putting quite a few photos on Instagram and Facebook that you haven’t been privy to unless you specifically check out the feed on my home page. So I thought I’d do a slide show to let you see what’s been going on here in the days leading up to Christmas visits.
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Lots of juicing and smoothie making of course, making Christmas tags from last year’s cards, our first full frost a couple of weeks ago which explains the standing jeans – my husband decided that as it was a sunny morning he would hang out his work jeans to ‘dry’! He told them to wipe their feet before they came in!
Christmas doesn’t really begin for me until I’ve watched at least one of the following: It’s A Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street – I saw both of them last week!
Have any of you had romanesco? It’s like a green cauliflower. When we cut it in half it struck me that it looked just like a Christmas tree! I posted a photo of it to my family with the caption ‘trees up!’
The bracelets are from a Bolivian charity beyondBeanie which helps artisan predominantly single mums sell their creations and the proceeds go to help street children and orphans. Each category of their wares goes to fund a different scheme. These bracelets provide toothbrushes and toothpaste for the children as part of a dental health programme. Young people love them. They are well made and waterproof so you don’t have to keep taking them off when you shower or wash up. They make shawls, mittens and beanies too.
Currently, they have a 25% discount offer on their website.
As you can see, my Raw Chocolate Company cupboard has been restocked! We are about to have ravenous teenagers descend on us and the first thing they do is check out the kitchen before retreating to their room. We don’t see them again until they surface for more food!
I was a little worried we wouldn’t have any foliage to speak of this year as our neighbour got a little over-enthusiastic pruning our shared holly tree a while back, which is usually covered in berries. What you can see in the slideshow is the sum total of what was available, about 4 or 5 twigs. It’s augmented with laurel, buddleia and hydrangea seedheads, ivy, rosemary, mahonia and lleylandii.
The bird in the tree is a robin that was trilling its heart out this afternoon in the sunshine. It was beautiful. There’s a pair of them that are so sociable. I love watching them.
That’s it – oh, and my gorgeous little grandchildren gave me an early Christmas gift: I have my first full-on cold for 3 years! I fought it stoically for 2 weeks, but my exhausted body ran up the white flag this week! I apologise for all the forests of tissues I’m currently using up.
Here is another thoughtful and positive post about the real meaning of Christmas from a fellow blogger who always has just the right word on any given topic. Do take a look, you will leave pondering and all the wiser for the visit.
“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling,
how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”
“Christmas Eve will find me, where the love light gleams, I’ll be home for Christmas if only in my dreams.” Bing Crosby
The days are racing. Usually, this time of year it would be my count down to Christmas. It would be putting the candles in the windows, and putting up the tree, picking gifts, baking cookies, wrapping presents, placing Santas I’ve collected on the table, stockings on the mantle and a big Santa in front of the…
Niki’s campaign to raise $250 to buy winter clothing for a teenage boy whose mum is struggling fits so well with my latest post The Gift of Kindness At Christmas that I had to reblog it. Please help her achieve her goal of giving this family a much-needed boost this Christmas. All donations however small are gratefully received. Just click on the photo in her post to be taken to the GoFundMe website and leave your special message for this family.
I know there are many many people struggling this Christmas and we often feel overwhelmed and helpless, but this is one family you can help in a very practical way. Thank you for reading.
As many of you know, I am doing the free Juicemaster 7 Day Guided Big Juice Challenge* this week. I bought the new Retro Super Fast Juicer (see Retro Super Fast Blend Review) and it came with a number of extras, some of which I already have. I’ve therefore decided to offer 3 of the items as separate giveaways.
Due to the weight and postal costs, the first two giveaways are forUK residents only:
The First Giveaway is Jason Vale’s Best-selling ‘SuperJuiceMe! 28 Day Juice Plan’ paperback book.
This is the book taken from the inspirational and emotional SuperJuiceMe! Documentary which continues to inspire many people who use it as their starting point when they want to take control of their health, their weight, their chronic conditions etc.
Jason Vale’s juice plans are proven effective, endorsed by celebrities and other health experts and I have used them myself to help with weight, chronic health conditions and to rid my skin of a debilitating, angry-looking rash. (See How I Juiced My Skin Clear).
This plan has the why, the how and the recipes and as with all Jason’s books, it is written in an informal style and is really easy to read, often amusing as well as informative.
The RRP for this book is currently £11.99 and it gets 4.5 stars on Amazon.co.uk
The Second Giveaway is Jason Vale’s The Funky Fresh Juice Book. This is the Pocket Paperback Version 2.
This is a fun book containing 101 Juice and Smoothie Recipes, including recipes from celebrities, cartoon drawings and nutritional information.
As there is a more up-to-date version of this book, I couldn’t find an RRP for it.
The Third Giveaway is open to both UK and Overseas residents
This is the DVD which has inspired so many people to opt for a plant-based diet, ditching the fatty, sugary, processed foods that contribute to chronic health and weight issues. I defy anyone to watch this and not reach for a box of tissues and then make life-affirming decisions concerning their own lifestyle and that of their family.
8 people with 22 chronic and sometimes life-threatening diseases between them spent 28 days on a juice-only diet to see if it could make any improvement in their conditions. For at least a couple of these people, this is a desperate effort to regain control of their health when conventional medical treatment has not worked.
I became aware of this documentary early on because my nephew, Shayan Scott*, was working on it and it was at this time that I began juicing. It is powerful, informative and life-affirming.
The DVD is suitable for play in all regions.
The RRP is £19.99.
Rules and Regulations for Entry
There are 3 items being given away as separate prizes, as listed above.
The ‘SuperJuiceMe!’ Book and ‘Funky Fresh Juice Book’ are for UK residents only.
The DVD is for both UK and Overseas followers.
Entry is free and consists of any or all of these:
5. Write ‘juicy giveaway’ in the relevant comment box associated with the Giveaway post on any of these sites to let me know you wish to enter the draw.
6. The Giveaway will be launched at Midnight BST on Friday, 8th July, 2016 and end at Midnight BST on Friday, 15th July, 2016.
7. No names or email addresses will be passed on to third parties, nor be used for any purpose other than to contact the winners for postal details for this giveaway and to announce the name or blog of the winner.
8. Winners will be chosen via random.org and notified within 7 days of the end of the giveaway period.
9. One entry per person per NEW follow + ‘juicy giveaway’ comment on any of the social media mentioned above. So if you already follow this blog but become a new follower on Twitter and Facebook, you will get 2 entries. If you become a new email subscriber to this blog, please write ‘juicy giveaway’ in the comment box of this post so I know you want to be entered into the draw.
I hope that’s covered everything! If I’ve left anything out, please leave a comment.
A young mother sorts through rubbish in Kathmandu, using gloves from the original Garden Glove Love scheme: photo credit Liesl Clark
Some of you will recall a post I wrote earlier this year about a scheme set up by Liesl Clark of Pioneering the Simple Life. Liesl is a documentary maker and she and her family have close ties to Nepal: they volunteered there after the devastating earthquake and have been involved in various schemes to help local people, including setting up children’s libraries.
Liesl’s family are returning to Nepal this summer and they are taking with them lots of used, new, discarded, odd and paired gardening gloves to give to the child rag pickers. These children and young people support themselves and their families by picking through rubbish tips for recyclable items which they sell to India. They suffer injuries and infections from this work, sorting through sharp rusty objects, glass, faeces, chemical containers and so on.
So often we read about the awful circumstances of people’s lives and feel helpless to change them. This was one instance where I decided this was something that was easily doable. Within minutes we had found 3 gloves in our house and shed.
We composed a letter to our neighbours, which my husband posted, telling them about the scheme and asking them to have a look around their homes and gardens, sheds, roadsides etc. I heard nothing for a long time and thought that was it. I’d failed miserably.
Then slowly, they began trickling in. We found a bag of gloves on our doorstep one morning, we still don’t know who left them, and a neighbour brought a bag of new ones in children’s sizes, then the lovely lady who eventually took our piano also brought some. Gradually, we built up quite a collection.
This was the pile that were new or unsoiled.
Then there were the very soiled ones that had to be washed and hung out to dry – a difficult task as it wouldn’t stop raining for more than an hour at a time!
Eventually, they did dry out and were parcelled up. Liesl has arranged for an archaeologist friend to take them out for us.
And off they went.
We wish Liesl, her family and Mark bon voyage and hope we have helped in a small way to improve the lives of some of the most economically deprived people. They have welcomed Liesl and her family and friends into their community, taken care of her children, taught them skills and customs, enabling them to experience a different culture and a new perspective on the world. Liesl has made a documentary about their lives after the earthquake. She continues to support them and to highlight their strengths and their needs.
Bernadette at Haddonmusings.com has invited her followers to write posts about the women who have inspired us and has generously provided a platform to leave a link on her blog ‘because we can never share too many stories about inspiring women.’
At first, I wasn’t sure how such a post would fit with the themes of my blog, but then I thought that since gratitude and appreciation are essential traits for our sense of well-being, our happiness, how we interact with others and especially our physical and emotional health, this gives me an opportunity to write about an amazing woman who shepherded me through my early years and saw something in me that I have struggled to see in myself.
So, this is my inspiring woman:
For a long time I’ve wanted to tell the world about my primary school teacher, Evelyn. She didn’t just teach me, she supported me and influenced the person I’ve become, and continues to do so. I didn’t just like or admire her, or feel inspired by her, I wanted to be her!
I believe our class was her first posting after qualifying. We were 8 years old and just back from summer holidays, all chatting excitedly, when a young woman with fashionably-waved shoulder-length blonde hair walked into our classroom, wearing a pencil skirt and v-neck sweater. She had a ready smile and sparkling, smiley eyes. She laughed easily. I liked her immediately.
I enjoyed school and I did well, but was quite reserved and somehow this new teacher brought me out of myself. She gently pushed me to move beyond my limitations, selecting me to read the Lesson in morning assembly when it was our class’s turn to do so, listening to me practice over and over until I gained the confidence I needed, persuading me to lift my voice so they could hear me at the back; encouraging me to try out for the choir; giving me a lead role in our class drama but not one that was too showy – I played the narrator who was a grandma, sitting in a rocking chair with her 2 grandchildren at her feet, listening to me read the bedtime story that was enacted by our classmates.
She was energetic with modern ideas. For our annual Rose Queen Day, she choreographed formation hoola hoop and I was one of the leaders! She also lead the maypole dancing and country dancing instruction – I think we must have sorely tried her patience – and inevitably on the day, the wind would get up and the pole would lean perilously, despite the heaviest boys being commandeered to sit on the base to keep it upright!
My favourite part of her class, though, was the art and craft sessions. She is responsible for all the handmade cards my family and friends now receive, all the Christmas decorations over the years – I remember her teaching us to make Chinese lanterns – the weaving, the knitting and so on.
I loved watching her write with a white and gold fountain pen in indian ink. I have always loved writing with a fountain pen, though that hardly ever happens now as the iPad has taken over my life. There is something inspiring about ink gliding over a new sheet of good-quality writing paper. It seems to produce higher-quality work. (* See my follow-up post, link below).
Somehow, it was decided that she would move up with us the following year. It was all so seamless and I was never happier. I don’t recall one bad day while in her class – but there were some amusing ones. Like when we had been studying tadpoles in a tank in the classroom which suddenly became frogs over the weekend and were jumping all over the place when we arrived on Monday morning. Then the shock we had when our 2 class mice became a dozen while our backs were turned and all these hairless pink-skinned creatures took over the cage. I didn’t like them and am squeamish to this day when it comes to rodents. I do recall her being as surprised as we were at this unexpected turn of events!
I once found a white kitten and took it home. We had two dogs and Dad said I couldn’t keep it. The poor thing spent a couple of nights in our coal house. I told Evelyn about it and she could see I was upset. She asked the class if they would ask their parents that evening if any of them could take it. One boy, Michael, announced next morning that his mum said he could give it a home. Evelyn told me to bring it to school after lunch. Of course, the white cat was now well and truly dark grey, having slept on a pile of coal for 2 nights. Evelyn was aghast and told me to wash it in the class sink and then take it out onto the field to dry out. Can you imagine this happening today?! Michael and I went to his house to deliver the cat. His mum knew nothing about it! But I left the cat there and as far as I know, that became its new home.
This school photo was taken at the same time as the one of Evelyn above. I remember her suggesting that I pull my ponytail round onto my shoulder. My cardigan was bright red with white spots. It was one of my favourite things to wear. But it wasn’t school uniform!
One of the things she pressed home was never to begin a sentence with ‘but’ – and I paid attention for so many years. However, having missed a rebellious youth, I arrived at a rebellious middle age and when she was proofreading my family history book, I deliberately included this grammatical faux pas, just to see if she would notice, and I do it periodically when I write to her. Did you spot it in the last paragraph? She will of course read this and smile indulgently.
We went our separate ways at the end of that year, Evelyn married and moved to another area and another school, and a year later I went on to a girls’ grammar school, having passed my 11+. I couldn’t have done it without her encouragement and gentle coaxing, giving me much-needed confidence and self-esteem, and the belief that I was capable.
We kept in touch and have continued to do so all these years, even when she lived on a different continent. We have both had our trials and tribulations, but there was always the thrill of seeing her big, bold, loopy handwriting on an envelope when the post came, with its foreign stamps and exotic tales.
Apart from when Mum and I stood outside the church to see her in her wedding dress and a chance encounter after school at a bus station when I was 11, we’ve only met twice since, in the 80’s, once at her home when my family were very young and we holidayed nearby, and once when she and her husband visited us.
Yet, she has been there watching and encouraging me all the time. We laugh about our headmaster’s crêpe-soled shoes and her dislike of his ‘slobbering labrador’ and smile about the foibles of other teachers.
She taught in various capacities all her life, including young people who had problems at school. She did yoga, swimming, Scottish country dancing, drama, made cards. She has collected other pupils along the way and helped women who were struggling to cope. Since she retired some time ago, she has joined the University of the Third Age and is so busy I hardly hear from her! Every so often I receive a breathless apologetic email and I laugh. She will be mortified when she reads that.
Did you notice the horseshoe necklace Evelyn is wearing in her photograph? She sent it to me some years ago, it was bought for her 21st and I remember her wearing it when she was my teacher. I was very honoured to receive it. Here it is on a new chain that my mum bought for the purpose. It is doubly special.
I shall always be grateful to this young novice teacher for having faith in me, for making me laugh, for making school such an enjoyable, positive experience, for not giving me up when she moved on. I love learning, I have an enthusiasm for it that matches hers. I challenge myself regularly. She also taught me about loyalty and the value of a true and trusting friendship. I have held others to this high standard and sadly found them wanting.
There is, however, one area where we do differ: she likes dogs and I prefer cats!
This morning I woke up to discover Jason Vale had shared my Juicing for Clear Skin story on Facebook! Whilst I am honoured to be one of the chosen ones, and I knew they were going to do it soon, I feel a bit embarrassed now it’s out there and my instinct is to dive under the duvet until it’s all over! I gave them a choice of photos, but the ones they used are my least favourite and least flattering 🙄
However, I wrote the original post to try to give people with skin conditions hope and inspiration, so I am sucking in my pride, vanity and embarrassment. It can be miserable coping with flaky, itchy red skin, while creams and medications so often don’t work and can make things worse.
So I am telling the world about Jason’s Facebook feature and wish everyone luck in their pursuit of clear, itch-free skin.
You can see the Juicemaster feature on my Facebook feed on the Home page of my blog or visit my Facebook Page where you’ll find recipes, Team Sky cyclobabble (bit of a groupie), shared juicing, vegan and environmental links, with a few pretty pictures dotted about.
If you’d also like to read about how I started juicing and the amazing benefits I gained both for my many health problems and my weight, plus tips on how to get started, read How to Begin or Do As I Say Not As I Did!
Thank you all for your continued support and I hope some of you feel inspired to give juicing a go, you won’t regret it!
How to cook "with visual instructions" "using familiar ingredients from your local grocery stores" healthy, traditional and delicious Japanese dishes!!
My friend, Dale Preece-Kelly, aka Organic Guinea Pig, published his first book ‘Health Revolution’ almost 2 years ago. I have a spare paperback copy to give away. You can read a fuller review of the book here but briefly, Dale lost everything, his marriage, his home, his job and almost his life following a motorbike accident. His lifestyle didn’t help: he smoked, drank was overweight and had a heart attack.
My husband exercising on a borrowed rowing machine in the garage with a broken arm. He also used one of those stretchy bands that physios use which come in different levels of flexibility.
I held in my hand the very fountain pen and pencil Evelyn had used to mark the class register, write reports and letters to our parents, the same white and gold pen I had coveted all these years. I was only thinking about it quite recently and wondering if she still had it. And here was the set, looking a little the worse for wear, sitting in the palm of my hand. I was in shock.
“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling,
The days are racing. Usually, this time of year it would be my count down to Christmas. It would be putting the candles in the windows, and putting up the tree, picking gifts, baking cookies, wrapping presents, placing Santas I’ve collected on the table, stockings on the mantle and a big Santa in front of the…
So often we read about the awful circumstances of people’s lives and feel helpless to change them. This was one instance where I decided this was something that was easily doable. Within minutes we had found 3 gloves in our house and shed.
and a neighbour brought a bag of new ones in children’s sizes, then the lovely lady who eventually took our piano also brought some. Gradually, we built up quite a collection.
one of Evelyn above. I remember her suggesting that I pull my ponytail round onto my shoulder. My cardigan was bright red with white spots. It was one of my favourite things to wear. But it wasn’t school uniform!
photograph? She sent it to me some years ago, it was bought for her 21st and I remember her wearing it when she was my teacher. I was very honoured to receive it. Here it is on a new chain that my mum bought for the purpose. It is doubly special.
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