Rhythm of life

[ZenRaiden]

I would like to know if you guys have some interesting life habits that keep you in the flow, up and functioning well.
Self care habits.
Work habits.
Relationship habits.
Or anything that makes your life doable.

Self care habits for me are meditation, even few minutes.

 

[Black Rose]

I walk to the soup kitchen 1.5 miles.
It is where they give free food to homeless people.
I met my attachment figure there (the one I consider my father)
I had not seen him in many years.
We did bible study together.

He had a hard two years and his heart is so small.

But I think he is getting better.

 

[birdsnestfern]

Just trying to do walks each day to keep muscles toned, cook and eat, wash dishes, watch tv,
take a few supplements. Interact a little on the buy nothing group by either gifting or receiving with mostly older women doing the same.

The meditation sounds good though.

 

[ZenRaiden]

Micro hack, but bullet proof for scatter brains, hold your keys in your hand before you shut the door.
I never shut any doors, unless I make sure I have the key in one of my hands.
Never locked my self out ever since.
Bonus hack put your keys in same pocket every time, not life saving, but sure as hell saves you from panic.

 

[birdsnestfern]

If you come into some money, find a canning jar with a lid and put your money in the jar, and bury it in a place you won't forget in your yard. This way, if the bank is closed or power is out, you have some money hidden for emergencies. Or, just find a book and put it in at page 33. But if its outside, you will be less likely to get into it.

Also, wire comes in handy if you can put a key on a wire and twist it someplace inconspicuous.

And, over time, if you can gather up camping equipment so that if you ever become homeless, you have a tent, tarp, sleeping bag, down coat, camp stove, propane, camp coffee pot and fire wood and food, that you have a way to make yourself self sustaining, at least for short term emergencies. Just go camping.

And, always look behind you before leaving to make sure you haven't forgotten something, like in a store dressing room, just double check, or on your way out the door, just double check the stove burners and oven, lights and heater are off and the door is locked before leaving.

Shop once or twice a month and buy a lot of meat in bulk and cut it up into meal sized portions, wrap in foil, then put the foil packs inside a gallon ziplock in freezer. Then you can just take out one pkg of foil (keeps it from sticking and makes it easy to separate), at a time, for example, boneless chicken thigh or breast, cubed pork butt or steak, pork chops, ham, etc, and then in the morning, take the packet out of freezer, and into oven at 250 for 45 minutes, its usually thawed out for whatever you are making with it. This keeps grocery costs down and fewer trips to store.

Fall in love with soups. Make big batches of your favorite soup and it becomes your meal for the next three days. Saves dishes, time and energy to eat soup. Add as many veggies as you want.

Chicken soup is just, rinse the whole chicken and pull out the neck and gizzards, rinse, and leave in the large stock pot. Fry the chicken liver in very small bits with a little onion, salt and pepper, to eat immediately. Fill the stock pot with water, add salt, pepper, a diced onion, carrot and celery, and put on medium high or high to start to boil. Lower heat, simmer for an hour.
Add cooked potato at the end, not at the beginning if you don't like starchy soup. If you have any of the other ingredients like chopped bok choy, canned diced tomato, yellow and zuchinni squash, garlic - go ahead and add it.
Or,make Asian chicken soup with carrot, celery, onion, cilantro, lots of fresh peeled diced ginger, green onion, and a dash of soy sauce.

And, this black bean soup dish is good for cold weather. Change the recipe by not using the canned black beans and using a package of dried black beans instead that have soaked for 8 hours. Boil the soaked beans in water and salt (Plain!) for 2-3 hours before adding them to the dish. Leave the bacon out if you don't have it, and just use water instead of chicken broth, tastes just as good, and at the end, add cheddar, more fresh cilantro & sour cream. Simmer for 30 minutes and add water if needed. It will last a long time and make many meals - but when you make beans, start them with just water and salt for 2 1/2 hours, then test them for tenderness before adding to the bean soup dish. Or, use canned beans if you prefer, but this is very good:

Black Bean Soup

Get Black Bean Soup Recipe from Food Network

www.foodnetwork.com

 

[dr froyd]

ive been trying to find a system for taking notes, writing down plans and todo-lists.

ive tried using various technological gimmicks and tools, including regular notebooks. The problems with computer-based stuff are multiple: it never provides the flexibility you get with just pen and paper, and stuff you write down tends to just disappear into files you never see again.

notebooks are too rigid as well - most notes are useless so you end up with notebooks full of garbage

the best solution ive found so far is to just write things down on small bits of paper and let them float around at random places. This way i stumble upon each note randomly at some point and thus am reminded of it. If it turns out to be a useless idea i just throw it in the trash.

 

[ZenRaiden]

the best solution ive found so far is to just write things down on small bits of paper and let them float around at random places.

I ended up writing my notes on paper including to do stuff. Its like we both went through the same evolution somehow lol.

 

[birdsnestfern]

Someone on next door made this comment about Lasik Surgery: (Basically, don't do it, and instead try Intraocular Lens Implants).

Poster said....My vision was corrected with Lasik surgery but dry eyes can be a problem after ANY eye surgery. If I had to do over, I would have just paid the extra money and had intraocular lens implants placed 16 years ago or done nothing at all at that time. After my Lasik surgery 16 years ago, I had to have cataract surgery on both eyes recently. The expense of the cataract surgery was covered partially by my insurance but I still had to pay about $1000 an eye for "better" lens implants. Had I done lens implants 16 years ago, cataract surgery would not have been necessary as the lenses would have been removed and replaced with corrective, "cataract free" lenses at that time. Another issue is after a doctor has performed Lasik surgery, your corneas are susceptible to developing irregularities that can distort your vision. I developed ghost vision in my left eye as a result. I see double. I see 2 moons at night and text has 2 lines, one lighter and one darker. My eye doctor also had to replace one lens following my cataract surgery as he stated he put in a lens that was "too strong" to begin with. He said after Lasik surgery it is difficult to calculate the strength of lens implant that is needed at the time cataract surgery as the cornea had been deformed by my previous Lasik surgery. The lens replacement was followed by a detached retina that required more surgery to repair. The detachment occurred most likely as a result of the extra manipulation to the eye when the lens had to be replaced. I had excellent care by the retinal doctor in Savannah and my vision was saved but there was a time when I thought I was going to be blind in that eye. I wouldn't wish my eye problems on my worst enemy. I have told my daughters not to have Lasik surgery and they have followed my advice. Some people have great experience with Lasik but years later, there can be problems.

 

[birdsnestfern]

In Yahoo mail, you can create hundreds of folders to file different emails or topics under, which helps keep you organized.

If I want a recipe or I'm somewhere out of town and need the dogs vaccination records, they will be in the folder. You can also create folders for each person you interact with so you can remind yourself of the last thing you talked about.

 

[dr froyd]

actually i should mention 1 computer-based tool which is actually pretty good for notes - especially for INTP-type minds whose ideas tend to branch out endlessly: obsidian

it allows you to connect notes in a network like this:

much better than linear book-like stuff

it also has support for math/code/images. I sometimes use it for more formal/structured documentation

 

[ZenRaiden]

actually i should mention 1 computer-based tool which is actually pretty good for notes - especially for INTP-type minds whose ideas tend to branch out endlessly: obsidian

it allows you to connect notes in a network like this:
View attachment 7477

much better than linear book-like stuff

it also has support for math/code/images. I sometimes use it for more formal/structured documentation

That actually looks interesting.
The closest thing I had to that was work flowy. But I just dumped stuff there and eventually never did any of it.

 

[dr froyd]

But I just dumped stuff there and eventually never did any of it.

yeah lol, i feel like oftentimes, writing things down means deleting them from one's brain

this obsidian thing doesn't solve that problem, but i use it sometimes for stuff that needs to be used as reference many times over

 

[ZenRaiden]

this obsidian thing doesn't solve that problem, but i use it sometimes for stuff that needs to be used as reference many times over

Yeah its like I have this web in my head, and so many times want to write shit down and take notes, but this looks like something that I could use to tie things together.
Thanks for tip.

 

[EndogenousRebel]

In Yahoo mail, you can create hundreds of folders to file different emails or topics under, which helps keep you organized.

If I want a recipe or I'm somewhere out of town and need the dogs vaccination records, they will be in the folder. You can also create folders for each person you interact with so you can remind yourself of the last thing you talked about.

That seems really practical. I've created a whole bunch of groups in chat apps where I'm the only person and use it as a type of bookmark.

It's really easy and convenient way of using something for something that it is not intended for.

Some people are really crazy with this, I recently saw this and am taken back by how much I'm paying for for unlimited cloud storage.

 

[birdsnestfern]

Yes, I probably save too much information, but its free. Really, its time to thin some of that out.

Just found one email about a 2010 trip to Washington DC, and tried the food in the Mitsitam Cafe at the Smithsonian Indian Museum, and also went on a tour of the Spy Museum with my younger son. Both were really memorable.

If you are ever in WDC, try the Indian Museum and the Mitsitam Cafe which has the most delicious American Indian food you've ever had.

On Saturday, we started with a race to the spy museum to get there by 9:15 on the metro, but the trains were delayed. We realized we could probably walk faster than the metro would get us there and we were right, we walked and got there just in time for the 9:15 am "Operation spy" tour. The mission is done as if you were a spy and had to collect information from a variety of media. We had to tune into and decipher encrypted radio messages in the city of Khatan, and in Asia, and there were simulated mini streets with underground offices with hidden motives where someone was blackmailing a president and about to blow something up, so our mission was to follow lady Nadia and watch what she did. We were in a group and using different spy techniques, and the tour lasted an hour. At the end we sat in a fake bar and watched a tv show showing the president of Khatan with some media with a completely different story making it look like they gave up on the nuclear production due to terrorists. After that, we went through the Spy Museum and read and learned a lot about many different real world spys in the museum, and how they really work these days, kind of interesting. Well worth a visit to the International Spy Museum if you are ever in Washington, DC.

Next we took the metro to the national mall area, (a long grassy strip between the Washington monument and the Capitol that had most of the Smithsonian museums around its perimeter). We walked through the butterfly garden, headed to the American Indian museum to try the Mitsitam cafe, as I'd read it was good. It WAS good. We tried from each section including the whole baked trout with a delicious crust on it but you had to remove the bones, some incredible baked squash that I would make a trip just to eat again, bread pudding that was so good, fry bread drizzled with honey and some char grilled chicken salad like a taco on a fry bread. I highly recommend Mitsitam cafe, here is the menu: http://www.mitsitamcafe.com/content/menus.asp . We then saw a 'planetarium' type show with stories of what Indians believed with pictures of earth and animals.

Then we headed to the Air and Space Museum as we were both slightly bored with airplanes and space craft -went outside, got some cold lemonade and walked to the scuplture garden, then to the Museum of Natural History and saw the first floor and decided to come back, it was too huge, you could spend 5 hours looking.

Then, got on the Old Town Trolley tour & visited the national cathedral on the green line just before it closed, and there was an excellent singing choir in there, and a 4:00 service, we sat and watched, the stained glass was marvelous and the sounds of the choir sounded amazing inside the cathedral walls. The lady doing the bus tour was amazing, she was a school teacher, so she made it fun and we really got a special tour, and she took us out of her way to let us off at the right metro center so we could get home easily. She gave us lots of facts and we saw Georgetown, which was full of green trees, and old houses, and passed all the embassies, and vice presidents house, etc.

Lastly, we went to the Union station and ate at Johnny Rockets, which is like a 50s malt shop, and had malts, old fashioned hamburgers and fries and filled up. Then it took forever to get back, the orange line made us wait 50 minutes with tired feet, then stalled a lot on the way back, but we are done for the day and will go back again tomorrow to see more. Phew! It was hot, but pretty good day, saw a lot, learned a LOT.

ok, will update again tomorrow, goodnight, after a shower at the hotel fell sound asleep at 8:30.
The Residence Inn, Arlington Courthouse is just steps from the Metro out the back door of the hotel is a line of stores like Starbucks, which is perfect for breakfast, or the hotel offers free breakfast. Highly recommend this hotel if you stay in DC:

Google Travel

www.google.com

http://www.si.edu/museums/
The Trolley Tour, the International Spy Museum, Mt. Vernon, Smithsonian Art, Natural History and Indian Museums and MOST of all, the Mitsitam Cafe, inside the Indian museum for the best Indian food in the world. The squash dish makes you think you are in heaven. And I will not stay at the Mayflower Rennaissance hotel again, (Monica Lewinsky/Clinton hotel) it felt very haunted, I had to change rooms, but I loved Residence Inn, Arlington Courthouse which was perfect and right next to a subway. Yes, I LOVED the minerals and crystals in natural history, thats my thing entirely and the art museum, wonderful. My teenager LOVED riding the subway and exploring the city on his own too, teenagers can have a lot of fun on their own. I had to buy a Mitsitam cafe cookbook, its unbelievably good. And the Amtrak Union station can be fun too, there is a lot of information about tours and places to eat in there.
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Mitsitam Cafe Recipe for...
Roasted Maple Brined Turkey Breast With Crab Apple And Cranberry Relish

Renee Comet Photography, Inc./Restaurant Associates and Smithsonian Institution

Serves 6

Maple Brine

1 1/2 cups maple syrup
1 cup kosher salt
1 cup sugar
6 fresh sage leaves
4 fresh thyme sprigs
3 bay leaves
8 cloves
1 teaspoon crushed dried juniper berries
1 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns
1 tablespoon allspice berries
8 cups water
4 cups ice cubes

Turkey

1 6-pound organic bone-in single turkey breast
or 1 2-to 3-pound boneless turkey breast
3 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

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Maple Butter Baste

1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup maple syrup

In a large, nonreactive stockpot, combine all the brine ingredients except the ice. Stir to dissolve the salt and sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the ice, and set aside to cool to room temperature. Add the turkey breast, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 days, or up to 3 days.

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Remove the turkey breast from the refrigerator and the brine. Rinse, pat dry, and rub with the butter, both under and on top of the skin. Season on both sides with salt and pepper. Place the turkey breast on a rack in a roasting pan and roast 2 to 2 1/2 hours for a bone-in breast or 30 to 45 minutes for a boneless breast.

Meanwhile, for the maple butter baste, melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan. Add the maple syrup and increase the heat to high. Bring to a rolling boil and remove from the heat.

Cook the turkey for about 15 minutes longer, basting with the maple butter every 5 minutes. The turkey is done when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the breast and not touching the bone registers 150 to 165°F (150°F will provide juicier white meat). Remove from the oven and transfer to a carving board. Tent with aluminum foil and let stand for 10 minutes. Carve the turkey breast and serve with the relish, if desired.

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Crabapple And Cranberry Relish

Makes about 2 cups

8 ounces unpeeled crabapples or Granny Smith apples, cored and diced
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 cup sugar, plus more to taste
1/4 cup cranberry juice

In a nonreactive saucepan, cook the crabapples or apples over medium heat until soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the cranberries and cook until they start to release their liquid, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the ½ cup sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the cranberry juice. Taste and add more sugar if necessary. Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
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Fry Bread

When reservations were created in the mid-1800s, the U.S. government promised to supply Native people with "commodity" foods to replace the subsistence foods that were no longer available to them. For European Americans, a basic commodity is wheat, so wheat flour became a staple for people whose diets for thousands of years had been based on corn. Over the past 150 years, this change has had many effects on Native American cooking, not the least of which is the invention of fry bread. One of the most popular and delicious (and least healthful) of modern Native foods, fry bread is for many communities both a festival and an everyday food.

Renee Comet Photography, Inc./Restaurant Associates and Smithsonian Institution

Recipes and techniques vary, but the result is basically the same: a dough leavened with baking powder and deep-fried until puffed and golden brown.

Makes 6 round flat breads

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup milk, plus more if necessary
Corn or canola oil for deep-frying
Sugar mixed with ground cinnamon for topping (optional)

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and the 2 tablespoons sugar. Stir with a whisk to blend. Stir in the 3/4 cup milk to make a stiff dough, adding a bit more if necessary. On a lightly floured board, divide the dough into 6 pieces. Form each into a ball, then roll into a disk about ¼ inch thick.

In a Dutch oven or deep fryer, heat 3 inches oil to 350°F on a deep-fat thermometer. Using a sharp knife, cut an X in the center of each dough disk. Place one disk at a time in the hot oil and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Using tongs, transfer to a paper towel–lined plate to drain. Keep warm in a low oven while frying the remaining disks.

Serve at once, either plain or sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.

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Bannock Bread With Berries

Serves 4

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup ice water
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 cups fresh blackberries
2 cups fresh raspberries

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a baking sheet.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, 2 tablespoons of the sugar, the baking powder, and salt. Stir with a whisk to blend. Using a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Using a fork, stir in the cold water just until the dry ingredients begin to come together.

On a floured board, form the dough into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes.

Roll the dough out to a thickness of 1/2 inch. Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter, cut out 4 rounds of dough. Transfer the rounds to the prepared pan and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven. Transfer the rounds to a wire rack and let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, in a deep bowl, beat the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Beat in the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.

To serve, place one round on each of 4 dessert plates and top each serving with whipped cream and berries.