Of Radish Tops on a Plate

There you are
4 buttons of purple-y red and pinky-white
Little disks of salad enhancement
Feathery green remnants on top
So simple, yet
Enough to make a meal just that
much hotter.
Like when I took your hand in mine
and you thought I was about to be sweet
But I slid your fingers
between my own just-washed, but not dried
gentle fingertips, and opened my
pretty mouth.
And popped you in, sucking a little with a shy smile.
It was unexpected
And a little bit, just a little bit, naughty.
Your hands are one of my favorite delicacies.
(I never did hear you object to such
playfulness.)
So, after that came a more spicy advance,
And that salad never did get made properly.
We ate greens with radishes anyway.
And I threw in black olives for good measure.
You threw in the dish towel and succumbed to my wicked game.
Thank God for that.

A. M. Lehr June 2008

Found on naturalnews.com:

“High-fructose corn syrup, unlike natural table sugar -which is produced from sugar cane or sugar beets – is manufactured through an industrial chemical process that turns starch molecules into fructose and glucose molecules, according to the CSPI’s release.

A highly refined, extracted sweetener like high-fructose corn syrup is not natural.”

Have you noticed, it’s in EVERYTHING?!

Just look.
Even in yogurt and bread.

“If refined sugar is so dangerous, even in small amounts, what can diabetics and obese people at risk of developing type 2 diabetes do to avoid it? First, turn to natural sweets like fruit. The natural sugar found in fruit and honey is fructose, which is much healthier than refined white sugar. However, commercially sold fructose, better known as high-fructose corn syrup, should be avoided, as it can contain up to 55 percent sucrose, which requires insulin to metabolize.”

This is not breaking news, I learned about it three years ago, but I think industry is doing it’s best to keep most people pleasantly in the dark about it. Ignorance is bliss. I am looking at the labels more closely these days. Sometimes it’s unavoidable for me to eat this stuff, that is how sneaky it is…. the lousy bastages! :-D They’ll pay for it one day when they eat enough of their own product.

Me? I’m going to look for sugar or honey when I need sweetness.

Link: Natural News

I haven’t watched the Simpsons in a while…in fact, I haven’t watched much TV in recent months. But when I turn on the tv here at home and can not find a single music video to make me feel better when I am recovering, then I know this WORLD is CRAZY.
Music Television helped me recover from my first hospitalization when I was 21, in 1995. I sat and soaked up the inspiration and healed just by listening to the music and watching the great film footage. I felt inspired and whole.

I don’t want to sit and watch the computer screen to watch videos..that takes energy. I want my MTV back. Why is there nothing but game show after game show? It’s been like this for YEARS. I used to watch 120 minutes with my Mom (cause she is cool like that) and then they killed that off.

It SUCKS and it’s pissing me off..and I can’t afford M2 in a cable package so they can sod off.
But …new bands keep requesting me on MySpace and that’s cool. At least I can find stuff without having to look for it too hard. It’s just not as relaxing.

Does anyone agree with me here? I’m not so sure I’ll get a response, but if you live in Australia, you won’t relate anyway… they actually show and play a lot of good music there. THAT is what I’ll miss: music is my “chocolate husband”. I NEED it…it sweeps me off my feet.

Yesterday, Cameron and I made a visit to the beach and spent the day happily collecting shells, wading, taking photos and walking in the surf.

I can’t believe how little time we have together now, but I think we are both ready for it, as much as we can be. My stay in the U.S. is going to be a long one, because I am staying for many months, indefinitely. I have spent far too many years away from my family and friends, and my mental health is literally at stake over the whole thing, due to my bipolar disorder, in part. I need my support system around me, not that I don’t have one in Melbourne; but even the landscapes and culture of my homeland are things from which I feel torn. I also often miss out on seeing people I intend to visit, with such a short window of opportunity during visits, especially in the winter, with bad weather and busy holidays.

My brother gets married in June and my sister is having a baby in August, and I don’t want to miss out on Easter, Mother’s Day, 4th of July, Birthdays, Christmas or the simple everyday fun we have as a close knit group, yet again this year. Cam is going to try and get to my brother’s wedding in June. Then it will be played by ear. There is much more that goes into the whole thing, and it will be explained later on, after I’ve had some time to sort out feeling, needs, wants and the rest.

But, back to the beach.

It was a gorgeous day, warm with a brisk and refreshing breeze and we’d wanted to eat at our favourite restaurant there, but found out that a bill had been payed from our bank account earlier than expected, so the funds were not there.
We ended up compromising and going to a small Turkish restaurant, which was just as good, because the food and service there are excellent, and they play lovely Middle Eastern music. I love the atmosphere. (It is not the same one which I mentioned here before, Cafe Umut. I’ll give you the name of this shop once I look up the right spelling.)

The girl who brought us our meals seemed happy and breezy as she prepared things, and she did a little dance when walking back and forth from the kitchen. I smiled and laughed with her, at her playful manner. Cameron and I found that it was a blessing in disguise to be eating here rather than the other restaurant. Just as good a meal, for less cost, good music and a happy, yet quiet, atmosphere. We were the only ones in the place at the time, because it was just about 3 pm.

As we were paying our bill, and getting ready to leave, the girl who had served us said to me, “I can’t let you go without telling you that you have such beautiful eyes! I just had to tell you that!” And I thanked her for that sweetness. I was really taken aback, because it’s a rare thing for someone to come forward like that to be so complimentary. I was touched and it made my day that much brighter.

It just makes me think that if we treated each other this way all the time, how wonderful would our life become? Sure, we all have our grumpy, sour or blah moments, but focusing on other people to smile and laugh with them, or tell them something positive about themselves seems like a most important thing to me, even if the words aren’t many. Something she said, which could seem little, had made my day. Maybe some people live this way every day. I hope to become one of them! Are you up for the challenge? I call for more genuine compliments for people we do, and do not, know! It seems so important in days like these. It IS so important!

]]> http://www.9moonsago.com/archives/654/feed 0 http://www.9moonsago.com/archives/650 http://www.9moonsago.com/archives/650#comments Mon, 03 Mar 2008 07:28:09 +0000 Amy http://www.9moonsago.com/archives/650 listening to: Ben Kweller, especially \'I Gotta Move\'. Check him out. Excellent stuff.

In my early college years at Moore College of Art and Design, I subsisted, along with all the other freshman and sophomores in my dorm, on the most unhealthy diet of breakfast cereal and ice cream. There were a few dishes on the menu that we dared to try, in order to gain our meager allowance of nutrients and roughage. These ones we ate were the dishes that did NOT contain every recycled vegetable from the last week’s entire menu. I’ve never been offered squash, green beans, lima beans and corn in so many different dishes in a consecutive four day period before, or since.

One way we got some nutrition, besides all those bananas in the ice cream sundaes, was through juice. My favorite was cranberry juice. This was not a weak, pale cousin to cranberry juice. It was not a blend, nor a cocktail. It was 100% nice and tart cranberry juice..or close enough to 100%!

Wandering the store aisles these days, I read the apple juice and sugar content in the cranberry juice bottles and sigh and replace them back to the shelf. I am not sure why there doesn’t seem to be anything more potent than 20% cranberry …unless it’s just because I’ve been in Australia too long and Australian people get a whole different kind of “American” food product over here… but that’s another story…

So I had a flash of inspiration, and I will share my new recipe with you..for those too lazy or poor to make juice from 100% cranberry.

One bag of store-bought ice, because it makes it easy in the summer, when you can go through ice quite quickly:
Add enough ice to the glass to give you some water, so you are being a bit healthy.
Juice of your choice. (Or cordial for your Aussies)
And lemonade, can be carbonated or not. I make it strawberry lemonade: Whatever kind of light refreshing beverage you like, basically.
The secret ingredient: a handful of frozen cranberries.
A straw.

By the time you finish your drink, your cranberries have thawed and are ready to munch on..and some have filled up with juice, others are a bit icy. I find it nice. Especially because I like it TART!

Mmm..The box of cranberries can last you quite a while too. Mine lasted for two weeks. I’m ready for one more box, but I may let it wait, because I’m only here for ONE WEEK and then it’s off to Pennsylvania with me to come home to my loving family and friends…and start up a new chapter in my life. And share in the beautiful ever-expanding life of my family.

I feel quite fulfilled and also expectant. I will be sharing more of the goodness I am finding in my life, despite the rough patches, in the coming months.
Much love to all of you who have helped and encouraged me on this path!
Life is getting good again. I am well on my way to being well again.
xo Amy

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