Tuesday, April 29, 2014

#365 - The road to healthy


Good morning world 



40min walking & 1 hr Yoga behind me, now I'm chewing my Veggie juice.... 
I am tempted to go to Fahaheel and get me the cheap juicer after all... This juice (smoothie) ain't bad, BUT,.... 




Anyhow, this one's a blend of 1 (biggish) cucumber, 1 Tomato, 2 (biggish) carrots, 1 relatively big red beet & one apple. Added some water and overheated my poor Blender a bit, even though I added stuff slowly  . If you want it less chewy - add more water.

Stored half of it in a jar (you have to fill it all the way, or all the Vitamins will go 'puff'. That one's either for tomorrow or later today.

Put in some Tumeric, Flax seeds and oats. Forgot to put in some Ginger, but used some of my powdered Ginger instead. And defo don't have a problem chewing this 'juice' 

Monday, April 28, 2014

#Recipe - Oat raisin cookies


Oat raisin cookies 

If anyone knows the source of this recipe let me know please. 
I found it on FB, but don't remember where :/

Currently our most favorite snack :-)
Sugar free - but be aware of the sugars in the Bananas and raisins, if you have to watch your sugar Levels!

1 cup oats
2 ripe Bananas
1/3 cup raisins
(I added some Cinnamon and ground Flax seeds to my last batch - delicious!)

Mash together, I use a fork.
Bake in preheated oven at 180C for approx. 15 min

Enjoy! :-)


ca. 64g Haferflocken, 2 reife Bananen, 43g Rosinen (natuerlich kannst Du auf und abrunden)
Hab bei der letzten Runde noch 1 EL Zimt mit reingetan.
Eine Freundin hat's mit Aepfeln gemacht (1 Apfel statt Bananen und das ganze im Mixer gemixt -
mit den Bananen mansch ich's mit der Gabel)
Bei vorgeheiztem Backofen auf 180C ca. 15Min backen
Feddisch :-)


From 365 - 2014

#365 - Yoga


A certain someone 'dragged' me into some sport stores at Al Kout today 
and lo and behold there was something smiling at me. 
A really nice, sturdy mat, non-stinking too with a good grip, ideal for yoga. 
Could I resists? 
No, of course not. 
The price was decent enough too.

Now I tried to find it online, since it's a brand name and amazon has only one 
to offer for double the price. 
Something cheaper in Kuwait than on amazon?!

Update: I found it for the normal price:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0086VASQQ/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0086VASQQ&linkCode=as2&tag=nic02-20 - I must be half asleep 

Well, here's my precious new Babe 



http://global.reebok.com/I33054_500.html
Not really much Info on it...


Did the first slow test with a 15min easy Yoga and so far only minimal sliding, we'll see how it goes tomorrow 
 )

Update: Even with the 1hr Yoga and lots of sweating, only minimal sliding. I like! :D

#Hungary


From The kids


Wednesday, April 23, 2014

#Kuwait - Salmiya


From Kuwait 2013 / 14

#Kuwait - Beach morning


Just the usual insanity

From 365 - 2014

These bags are usually used by the trash picker-uppers...
From 365 - 2014

From 365 - 2014

Drifting at the beach - the second favorite part time here it seems, trashing up the beach must be #1
From 365 - 2014

From 365 - 2014

From 365 - 2014

From 365 - 2014

From 365 - 2014

From 365 - 2014

From 365 - 2014

From 365 - 2014

From 365 - 2014

Enjoy - Indeed
From 365 - 2014

Fitting name
From 365 - 2014








Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Sunday, April 20, 2014

#Handmade - Wannabe Aran Sweater



From Handmade


From Handmade


Original idea by EZ's Aran Sweater,
Cables from Mon Tricot, 1500 patterns.

Project Notes:

Finished with short sleeves.
Had to crochet twice around the neck line, still a bit wide, made a mistake while casting off - not thinking it through, sigh :-)
One crochet border along the bottom. The cotton is quite loose.
23.03.2014
Note to Self: Three needle bind-off = on right side (meaning turn thing to wrong side and knit together, sigh)
23.01.2014
Finally picked up this piece again.
Of course I made a mistake with my border cables.
Not knitting back, since that would cause more trouble with the big cable than it’s worth. It might still be early enough to ‘fix’ it. We shall see.
Made a mistake with those cables anyway, since the pattern says to switch the two rows, I didn’t.
But I actually like my version better anyway :-)
Need to take some new photos.
13.01.
It’s coming along nicely, minus some gaps between right and left stitches. But not everywhere. Not sure what’s going on. I leave it as is, since it almost looks like a pattern and I’ll most likely wear something underneath anyway.
Have switched to a 3.75mm in row 24 (can’t find a free 3.5mm - and in the end for the Cotton that’s the better option)
At row 26/27 I’ll start skein Nr. 3 - I have 7 left.
I am debating with myself, but I think the CotLin yarn will be enough after all. Measuring up to the neck it will be approx. another 4-5 skeins. Even with 5 that leaves me two for the arms. Since I wanted to do short sleeves anyway, that would work.
I think I’ll risk it.
11.01.
Started with the pattern. Had to wrap my brain around the ‘how to work a flat pattern in the round’, aka do I need to knit an extra round or what. Answer: yes
The cables are all easy though, so it’s just an extra knit round as replacement for the ‘wrong side row’.
Phew! :-)
10.01.
Finished with the ribbing and deciding on the pattern.
Decisions, decisions,… :-)
09.01.
The green yarn it is and it most likely will be a sweater with cables at the far sides front, colourwork in the ‘middle’, will save me the decrease since I’ll switch to 3.5mm needles for that (the light green yarn is a wee bit thinner).
I still have to figure out how I’ll do the back and how that will work with the colourwork. Hm…
Am thinking of a ‘leaf border’ at the neck.
Lots of ideas, we shall see.
I am switching the name to ‘Wannabe Aran Sweater’, since the definition of an Aran is a bit different from what I am planning to do. Big cables or patterns just don’t work too well on my bust, I’m afraid ;-)
04.01.
Or the green yarn after all….?
Found a mix that might work.
02.01.
Am switching to the Ice yarns Yak / Merino mix.
Much thinner, but much more yarn ;-)
Will take some fiddling to find the right stitch number, but at least I’ll have enough yarn ;-)
01.01.
Not sure about the yarn. Need to double check and maybe switch to a different one. It will defo not be a Sweater, but a T-Shirt, but that would be ok.

Friday, April 18, 2014

#Handmade - Recycled burlap bags


Two more recycled Burlap bags finished - coffee bags, I think :-)

The first one is really big, but perfect for summer to come with a long strap,
so it's comfy to carry big water bottles (and your knitting) around.

The smaller one is more a basket.
Currently I store my spindle and wool for spinning in there (not that I have tried spinning yet)....


From Handmade

From Handmade


#Handmade - Round jacket


My not so round Emily Bronte Topper finally had his finishing touches.
I might give this one a second try one day with different (more loose) yarn,
since I really like the end result.

Well, you can look at the original free pattern from Lion Brand Yarn, it IS nice ;-)

I DO like wearing my version too though. It turned out square a first and by far not wide enough to make real arms. I just sew together the to end corners with the sides, so I had some arm holes.
Then made a 10 stitch border around (should have used more) by picking up stitches along the way.

From Handmade
From Handmade

#Kuwait


One of the more interesting buildings in Kuwait :-)

From Kuwait 2013 / 14

Sunday, April 13, 2014

#Korea - Grave stones at mountain burial sites in Waegwan


Going down the memory lane :-)
Sorry for the quality. These are 'rescues' from one of my online Sites, the only files left after a Harddrive crash back in the day. I learned the use of 'Backup' the hard way.

From Korea
From Korea
From Korea
From Korea
From Korea
From Korea
From Korea

Friday, April 4, 2014

#365 - No more Fahaheel beach


No more Fahaheel beach. At least not with the dogs.
And what's the point of going there without?
I guess someone higher up must have gotten scared.
Oh well. For now we still have Mangaf beach.
Not for much longer, I'm afraid, since they are building all that fancy stuff there.
But with all that trash around it really ain't no fun anyway. All the dogs want to do these days, is
go and roam for scraps. Yuck.

From 365 - 2014


I am glad they are doing more against the trash. It got a little better it seems,
but people are still very disrespectful.

From 365 - 2014

From 365 - 2014


#365 - Detox day 4


Had no real cravings yesterday. Yes, I could have eaten DH's fish, rice and Veggies,... but it was ok.
Headache and back pain went away too, guess it was a reaction to the Yoga, doesn't mean I stop that :D
This morning I'll try this new Video by Candace and maybe doing the morning one before, we'll see.

Slept really well, except for having to pee in the middle of the night and then again shortly before the alarm went off. Will most likely crash again at some point today :-)

Breakfast: Juice: 2 carrots, 2 cucumbers, 3 pieces of Ginger, 1 green apple, 1 tomato (forgot the orange, sigh ;-))

From 365 - 2014

Did this Yoga / Meditation Video and the one for Breathing.

Of course took a two hour nap, sigh :-)

Lunch: Juice: 2 carrots, 1 red apple, 2 red beets, 2 pieces of Ginger, some parsley & Dill, 2 zucchini

Afternoon: Caved in with a smoothie, was starting a slight headache and my Avocados had to go anyway ;-)
Smoothie: 1 Avocado, 2 small oranges, 1 Banana, 5 Strawberries

Hibiscus tea

Thursday, April 3, 2014

#365 - Detox day 3


Yesterdays experience and todays ongoing headache and back pain tells me that my body isn't ready yet for a full juice (hence Fiber free) detox.
I am adding at least two smoothies to the day, one in the morning and one maybe after Lunch.

Before breakfast: 1/2 lemon, juice in hot water
Breakfast: Smoothie (6 Strawberries, 1 Banana, 1/2 Cantaloupe, 1 Kiwi, 1 red apple, added some water to get it smooth)

Did my 15-minute morning Yoga after breakfast, because I almost forgot. Didn't feel as bad as on
Monday :D

From 365 - 2014

Doc visit went ok, had to wait quite a bit and got some rumbling stomach, aka I got hungry, 
but survived with sips of water.
Coming home, I took a nap, planned an hour but stayed abed for two. It's not like I'm gonna miss 
anything ;-)
Even before Lunch, am not feeling very hungry and the dizziness I had all day yesterday is pretty much gone too. So is my back pain and headache for now. Hope it stays that way.

Lunch: 2 carrots, 1 Zucchini, 2 cucumbers, 3 tomatoes, 2 red beets, 2 pieces of Ginger.
I think the Ginger is really helping with these, taste wise, this one was delicious :-)

Dinner: Smoothie (5 strawberries, 1 Banana, 2 oranges, 1 Kiwi, 1 Avocado)

Current weight: 79.5Kg - that is 5 less than in December
Blood pressure today: 110/70 - thumbs up :-)








Wednesday, April 2, 2014

#365 - Detox day 2


Woke up this morning with a bundle of energy before the alarm
(well, that part was thanks to our 'talking' dog ;-)).
Am having half a lemon in a cup of hot water right now and water before and after.

Today will be a not so nice day and I'll miss some comfy chocolate, I'm sure.
But I'll just make me a gorgeous smoothie instead. Pft! :-)

Breakfast: A smoothie with half a cantaloupe, 5 Strawberries, a Banana and an orange,
added some water to get it smooth

Did my 15 minute morning yoga Video BEFORE drinking the juice this time :-)
Much better for the stomach ;-)

Energy Levels vary, I could go curl up in bed quite happily right now. And would, if I didn't have to go some place. Bummer ;-)
I did succumb to an hour nap, set my alarm and was still on time. Only to find out that the Doc is on a conference today. Great. Didn't call, because they don't believe in appointments here anyway. Sigh.
Tomorrow then.

In between: Karkade (Hibiscus tea) x2

From 365 - 2014


Lunch: Juice of 3 red beets (be aware of red fingers after peeling them, but it washes off easy enough), 2 carrots, 1 orange  -  this one was yummy!

Soon after Lunch back pain and headache started.
I tried to get rid of it with another juice around 2,30pm: 1 apple, 1 Kiwi, a handful of parsley, 1 piece of Ginger, 2 Cucumbers  (tasted ok)
Headache didn't go away.
Sucked it up until around 5 and ate 3 of my freshly made oat cakes (2 ripe Bananas, 1/2 cup of oats and 1/3 cup of raisins, mixed well, baked in the oven at 380F for approx 15-20min)
Tried another juice: 2 Zucchini, some Lettuce, (too much) parsley, 2 carrots - that one was yucky!
and had an egg with it with salt.
Around 7pm I finally took two heavy pain killers and that helped a wee bit.