I hope this afternoon finds you well, and that you experience the same wintry sunshine that I am enjoying. Mind you, our habitual wetlands clouds are moving in - I have taken my ramble just in time!
So: let me tell you about my life-changing New Year's resolutions. There are two!
1st.
I have stopped eating meat and poultry as from Dec. 25th.
Now, don't be disappointed! This is a HUGE thing for me, as I adore(d) poultry especially, but was partial to a nice bit of beef as well.
Why? Why now? Why this late in my life?
Well, I have been hesitating about it since July, because I experience a lot of stomach pains in the night and they keep me up. So naturally I looked at my diet first (before jumping to terrifying conclusions - these only assail me at night). And how do you act when you are a fully-fledged bookophile? You read up on it.
Thus I banned wine, and this helped - some. Mind you, I happily switched to beer. I banned potatoes and bread for 6 months - this didn't make a blind bit of difference, so I've returned to eating them. I tried eating less meat and more veggies - no difference whatsoever. I tried eating only fruit in the morning - and got very grumpy about it, craving something more solid. I banned chocolate voor 99%. No difference.
A little further research said meat sours the stomach. And souring is just what I do not need. So...decisions decisions.
And then my old dog died from shock following intestinal bleeding on Dec. 22nd and I watched the vet give her his all by mouth-to-mouth and heart massage, to no avail. And that made me think. Why on earth go to these lengths trying to save a beloved smelly old mutt from Istanbul, and then slap a bloody slab of meat in the pan afterwards?
I ate the garlic chicken I had prepared for our Christmas meal, but it tasted strange to me, and that was it.
Sort-of-Veggie, I am now. My son-in-law was in shock (he exists on meat and beer) - but since I love him to bits, I promised him I will not be the meat police. He was very relieved.
My son and daughter-in-law applauded me; she's a vegan and has turned him into a vegetarian. My daughter was quietly in awe and supports me.
Plain sailing, eh?
I had my first meal out last night and was very pleasantly surprised by the goats cheese package with spinach, mushroom risotto and asparagus. Watched my son-in-law inhale his hamburger and didn't feel a snippet of regret!
2nd
I have stopped boozing-alone.
So what? (I heard you think that!)
But again, this is quite the decision for me. I do not have any other vices, you see. I have never smoked, I don't do drugs, I do not covet other people's husbands, I don't steal, I don't lie, I'm never late, I pay my taxes with a bleeding heart, in fact drinking alcohol is the only pastime I could try to call risky business. And I do love my beer and whisky.
But.
I noticed myself going from one beer on coming home from work, to two, to three. My waistline noticed as well...
In order to have at least some fun in my life, and because I am a musician and musicians drink beer, I allow myself to drink whilst being in the company of others. But I always have to drive, and our laws prohibit me from having more than 1 beer when driving. Sorted!
Think of all the money I will save (hm?). I will put that towards a visit to the Chelsea Flower Show.
And there you are. Now, you either thought this boring; so sorry when you did. Or you liked it; good. Or you want to tell me about your resolutions; feel free.
I will share my veggie recipes on my collections page.
Oh.. and thank you for being here! You are now in the illustrious company of more than 53,000 people! They can't all be wrong.
To show my appreciation, I have a link for you to the latest YouTube upload of my music.
Garage Band Blues.
