Tonight Elphie has a sleepover pal. Sadly, friends have to travel for the unexpected loss of a beloved relative. When they asked if we could watch their dog, Harley, for the weekend, we of course said yes.
Harley is a chocolate lab/beagle mix. Basically he looks like a lab in beagle size and it’s totally adorable. He and Elphie like each other and play well together, though sometimes it looks very bitey and they often end up covered in each other’s saliva.
So I have actually been able to go grocery shopping this week. Amazing, I know. If you’ve seen the vegetarian post from yesterday, you know that I have been eating a lot more produce this week. Well, I am planning on sticking to it! I was inspired tonight both by a comment I got from a reader I do not know about how she has been eating a plant based diet since February and has effectively sent her RA into remission (wowza! go Debbie!) and a tray of food, pictured below. I had a few guests joining me for a business meeting this evening and realized about 20 minutes before they were due to arrive that I should have some food out. I went to the usually bare fridge and found all of these delicious items; hummus, pita, tomato, avocado, goat cheese, strawberries and blueberries. I arranged everything on a platter we got for our wedding that I love to use and voila! A cute, bountiful plate of fresh, healthy food. This never would have happened had I not gone to Edgewater Produce on Tuesday…
When I was in maybe 9th grade, I decided to be a vegetarian. I mean I was already wearing band tshirts and chain necklaces, so why not? Honestly I don’t remember liking red meat much, and I was very suspicious of chicken on the bone. My photography teacher showed us a photo essay on meat processing and that pretty much sealed the deal. Since then I’ve added chicken and turkey back into my diet-because if I didn’t, I would have finished college with the record for most cheesey bread consumption.
This week, however, I have inadvertently gone back to my vegetarian ways. Monday-cereal, hummus/tomato bagel sandwich, mushroom/lobster (I’ve always eaten fish) pasta. Tuesday-cereal, berry muffin, vegan toffee bar, poblano pepper and black bean tacos. Today- cereal, hummus/tomato bagel, portabella/spinach/couscous pita. I noticed the trend today and felt pretty great about it. As an adult who is attempting to learn more about food and cook more frequently, I feel I could do a better job of eating a healthy vegetarian diet than I did as a teen. I also know that it would mean eating more fresh produce and less processed foods-the so called, “Arthritis Diet” of removing or significantly reducing inflammatory food intake.
The hubs is even sort of kind of on board, which, if you know us, is usually enough for me to run with something.
On Day 267 we celebrated the last day of teaching for my friend Emily. She started her photography company about one year ago and, due to both her love of photography and her success in the business, she is going to pursue it (along with her husband as assistant) full time! You may remember the hubs and I doing this super fun shoot back in September.
Her courage to leave her job in order to pursue something she loves inspires me to continue to ask the question, “What do I want out of life?” We celebrated her new adventure with pink champagne and conversation about what she has planned for the upcoming months–Weddings, Mini Sessions, Rolling Elopements with an Airstream (Yes, you did read that right. They do own an Airstream). Be sure to check it all out on the Emily Alt Photography website and blog.
Day 266 marked the first work day for the summer interns at the theater. I welcomed these college students who willingly dedicated their summer to the theater with a week’s worth of envelope stuffing for the first big mailing I have ever organized. Five difference components, folded, cut, stamped, and stuffed for over 7,000 people. I thought it only fair that I help them for a little while.
So instead of my regular work, I sat with the interns and folded letters for much of the day. Sometimes a simple task like this is so satisfying. However with RA, even simple tasks, when done with the hands or feet, can be a challenge. I felt lucky that I was able to do this for several hours without feeling like my hands were going to fall off. I was careful to take little breaks to just shake them out and that seemed to help a lot. For me, it was actually relaxing to know I only had this one thing to do for the next few hours. And it allowed me get to know the interns right off the bat. So fun!
year of fun 