All Posts for December 2008

January 2009: New Year, New Format

Tuesday, December 30th, 2008

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I took a picture of a sunrise from our patio in mid-December to represent a new day, a new year. I never tire of seeing the sun come up each morning!

In the last few weeks I have sent emails and made phone calls to three Internet gurus—my digital son Ira, my daughter-in-law Maura, and my webmaster Shayne—and with their help and advice I will experiment with posting one or two items on my blog, weekly or bi-weekly. My reason for this change is that I think my blog has too much information and smaller “bytes” might be easier to handle, both for me and for the reader. But your input is valuable, so let me know how you like this new format.

In order to receive notice of when the posting is up, I have asked Shayne to move the subscribe link to the bottom of the Home Page, where it can’t be missed. Please add your name to the list even if you are on my “tickle list.” This will guarantee that you will receive an email automatically when a new posting is ready to read.

Thus, for this first week of the new year, please go to Health Flashes for some thought-provoking ideas or goals that you may want to contemplate for 2009 and Kitchen Nutrition for the recipe of the week. (I usually post four recipes when I do the monthly format, so this works out the same, with one each week.) And don’t forget to sign up for the automatic contact for the next posting later in the week. Scroll all the way to the bottom of this page and click on Subscribe.

Since winter time is not the greatest time to find flowers outdoors, I took pictures of some of our houseplants. My husband Alan, who has a super green thumb, is the indoor gardener and the plants thrive under his tender, loving care. We have one long window-wall that stretches across the living room and dining room (as well as the bedroom) that is perfect for our plants.

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A Happy, Healthy, and Heartfelt New Year to all of you. ellensue

Joy & Health: Holidays 2008

Monday, December 1st, 2008

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The end of fall seems to reveal many trees with yellow or golden leaves. I call them sunshine trees and this photo is from the street by the entrance of our condo building.

“The good life is the healthful life, the merry life. Life is health, joy, laughter.” Bodin (This is a recent cryptoquote from the Philadelphia Inquirer puzzle page.)

Joy is very much linked to good health. Recently I injured my foot and am hobbling around on an orthopedic boot, draining my energy every day, and generally unhappy that I can’t do all my activities. We often take our health for granted until we get ill or injured; only then do we really appreciate the joy of being healthy. Likewise, the holidays are a time to be joyful, but stress from company, preparing meals, overnight guests, and shopping for food and gifts can sometimes take the joy away from the holidays. So keeping your immune system up to par is important to help fight stress and have more joy at the holidays.

The six recipes for this posting are simple and easy-to-prepare—very low stress. (Since I combined November and December, I am featuring six, not four recipes.) They are mostly side dishes or appetizer-type recipes, since many people have favorite main dishes used for years. These recipes can be called “low-stress dishes,” because they have no complicated ingredients or directions, yet they are colorful, with an emphasis on red, white, and green, reflecting the red of pomegranates, cranberries, and holly berries; the white of snow; and the green of evergreen trees.

Hanukkah and Kwanzaa are also celebrated this time of year. You can find traditional Hannukah and Kwanzaa recipes by Googling these holidays. Instead of potato pancakes, try a potato kugel. Kwanzaa recipes are reflections of African roots, so many of the recipes use familiar ingredients. For my” untraditional” holiday recipes, go to Kitchen Nutrition with Recipes to see what’s cookin’ for the holidays.

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I was in Central PA in early November when snow blanketed the Poconos and we had our first taste of winter. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera with me, so instead I am posting white flowers as my early “snow.”

In the review section I am re-visiting two websites or authors from previous postings: One is the 2009 calendar from The Luna Press and another is a wonderful yoga book by Suza Francina entitled The New Yoga for Healthy Aging. If you go to Reviews you will see them posted. You may also want to check out This ‘n That because Human Rights Day is December 10th and I am posting information from Amnesty International, an organization I support because it helps prisoners of conscience all over the world.

In Profiles, I feature my acupuncturist Daniel Axelrod, who helped me in a time of a health crisis and helps me maintain a balanced body. In Flashes/Special Reports are 10 Super Foods from Nutrition Action, the healthletter from The Center for Science in the Public Interest.

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These are glass “shells” by the world-renowned glass blower Dale Gilhuly. This is a part of the installation at the aquarium in Monterey, CA, which we visited in September. The colors are reminiscent of late fall with all the yellow leaves and red leaves on the wane, but still brilliant!

HAPPY, HEALTHY HOLIDAYS!

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