Bread

I've been reading Michael Pollan's book In Defense of Food. Here is his basic premise: Eat humble (non-processed) foods without additives or preservatives. Eat mainly vegetables. And not too much.
He also says we shouldn't eat anything with more than five ingredients and we shouldn't eat food with ingredients we can't pronounce. Hmmmm. That pretty well eliminates this bread I've been eating for 30 years.

Because it's got more than five ingredients and has some I can't pronounce.

So whilst shopping with these ideas floating through my head I picked up some whole wheat flour and yeast. Way back in the dark ages when we lived on our boat and couldn't get good bread I used to make our bread. I remembered that it wasn't difficult but just required a little baby sitting. I dug around in the recipe box and actually found my old recipe card.


So I whipped up a batch and set it to rise.


Wow, look at that! I guess I kind of forgot to check on it. But no big deal, I just punched it down, divided it into three loaves, kneaded and shaped two loaves and plopped them into the pans.

Then I took one loaf and stretched it out flat, covered it with cinnamon and brown sugar and rolled it up before putting it in the pan.

After another rising and baking look what we ended up with. I'd almost forgotten how much fun it is to make bread. Now, does it have five, six, or seven ingredients? I know you have to count whole wheat flour, salt and oil, but do you count the honey and molasses as one or two, and do you count the yeast and water?

However you count it, I'm sure it's better for us than the other stuff. And it's delicious too.

Happy Mothers Day

I made this bouquet for my Mother this morning. I think it's just the kind of bouquet she would have liked. It's got old fashioned pink roses (Evelyn and Passionate Kisses) and fragrant pink carnations and some Jupiter's Beard; all from my garden. We're going to drive out to the cemetery in a little bit, but I just wanted to wish you all a Happy Happy Mothers Day.

Hashimoto's Update

Back in January I discovered my thyroid problem and started on medication. I naively thought I'd be better in no time, but it hasn't been that simple. I've since learned that it's a very complicated problem and has no easy answers, but I wanted to share with you what I've learned. I'm not a doctor or a nurse, but as a friend, I feel I can at least offer a little insight and advice. I don't want to be defined by this disease, and I don't plan to whinge about it forever, but I feel like I have to try to educate folks because after all, if Oprah won't, someone has to.

Hashimoto's Disease was discovered and named in the 1920s, but still no one knows exactly what causes it. It seems to be hereditary and is triggered at times of hormonal flux like pregnancy, childbirth and menopause. It starts with your immune system attacking your thyroid gland. Sometimes the inflammation is so bad a goiter will develop, but sometimes there are no symptoms. Even if the sufferer has symptoms and goes to a doctor they are frequently told that the symptoms are simply "age related" and to "deal with it". And even if a woman can convince her doctor to run tests, they often appear normal.

The thyroid sometimes responds to the attack by upping its output of hormones resulting hyperthyroid which causes heart palpitations, weight loss, agitation, and anxiety attacks. Often these symptoms merely reinforce the doctor's opinion that the patient is a little loony and too, too often, antidepressants are prescribed. But of course they don't fix the problem, they merely mask it. So while the patient feels a little more in control, the disease is getting worse, the thyroid gland is losing its battle and the hypothyroid stage begins. This is when the thyroid fails to make enough hormone and the sufferer starts slowing down little by little. Now the patient begins to feel cold all the time, may be constipated, starts to forget things, and feels tired all the time. They may also have high cholesterol, aches and pains, fluid retention, and weight gain. The slow metabolism often leads to feelings of worthlessness, sadness and depression.

Pretty much all this happened to me gradually and with little notice. I just thought that's how it felt to get old. There were many mornings when I'd wake up and my first thought would be, "I hate my life." It was awful! So if you have these symptoms and suspect hypothyroidism, take this simple test. Get a mercury thermometer, shake it down below 95 degrees and put it by your bedside table. First thing in the morning, before you get up and without moving around too much, put it in your armpit next to your skin. Leave it there for 10 minutes. Do this for three days and write down your temperature. If your temperature is 97.6 or below for three days in a row, your thyroid probably isn't functioning properly.


Your next step would be to print out the Hashimoto's symptoms, circle the ones you have and take it with you to your doctor. Make sure your doctor listens to your symptoms and checks all your reflexes. Tell her about the morning temperatures. Insist on not only the TSH test, but also T4, T3, and Thyroid Antibodies blood tests. The first doctor I saw, who was an endocrinologist, saw me for about 7 minutes, didn't listen to me or check my reflexes, and didn't do the antibody test. After taking medication for a few weeks I called him one afternoon, terribly depressed, and asked him if I should increase my medication. He said, "Your depression has nothing to do with your hypothyroidism. You'll have to see someone else about that. In fact, looking at your blood work, you should probably decrease your medication."


Needless to say, he is no longer my doctor. I honestly don't think anyone who has suffered this kind of chemical depression can understand it. I am normally an energetic, active, optimistic person, but with decreased thyroid hormones, I felt like I was dragging a dead whale around. I just felt HORRIBLE. I know this is heresy, but I increased my medication myself and in a few days I started feeling better and soon I found a new doctor. The new doctor actually listened to me and asked lots of questions. He also examined me thoroughly and checked my reflexes. And he upped my prescription and did the antibody test. Then he actually called me at home to tell me the results. (My antibodies were sky high.) I know I'm not cured and never will be, but I feel like I'm making progress. I'm actually warm now, I have more energy, and I'm no longer depressed.


So here's my final advice. Since this disease is common, causes all kinds of problems, and yet is highly underdiagnosed, we must be our own advocates. We must push our doctors to order the proper tests to explain our symptoms. And if you are diagnosed with Hashimoto's don't be satisfied until you FEEL better, no matter what the simple TSH test says. And if your doctor doesn't listen to you, get another doctor. And read all you can about it, because you need the latest information to make informed choices. Be proactive in your health; stop eating processed foods, sugars, and fast food; add more fresh vegetables, lean meats and fish to your diet; get 30 minutes of exercise every day; take time for relaxing pursuits like music, meditation, or art. And because Hashimoto's is hereditary, educate your daughters about it so they will recognize the symptoms. And spread the word to your friends too, I think there are a lot of women out there that haven't been diagnosed, and no one should suffer with Hashimoto's.

Hashimoto's Thyroiditis Symptoms

The following are indicators of hypothyroidism as detailed by the Merck Manual, The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, and the Thyroid foundation of America.

Family History of Thyroid Disease
Cold hands and feet, Cold butt, Intolerant of cold temperatures
Constipated
High Cholesterol
Heavy or painful periods
No sex drive
Inability to lose weight
Loss of energy, sluggishness, fatigue, sleepiness
Brain fog, forgetfulness, trouble with writing or math
Clumsiness, bumping into doorways, frequent spills, momentary dizziness
Dry hair and skin, thin brittle nails, loss of outer 1/3 of eyebrows
Fluid retention, edema, puffy face, buggy eyes, abdominal bloating
Lack of reflexes in legs and feet
Aching feet and hands, plantar fascitis, carpal tunnel syndrome
Recurrent sinus infections
Sadness, feelings of worthlessness, depression

PRINT THIS OUT AND CIRCLE YOUR SYMPTOMS AND TAKE IT WITH YOU TO YOUR DOCTOR

Made in China

For hundreds of years travelers have brought home souvenirs as reminders of their travels. We are no different. Here's one little thing we got on the Great Wall. There was actually a shop inside one of the towers. We've adding it to our collection of other little buildings.

We also managed to purchase these two replicas of the Terracotta Warriors. Our guide kept trying to herd us into a movie of how the tomb was discovered, but we persevered and went to the gift shop. We also bought a guide book about the Warriors and had the farmer who found them while digging a well sign it. He seemed a little grumpy that day, but I can guess why. He sits there all day writing his name in these books, not understanding anything anyone says to him, probably regretting the hoards of visitors the discovery brings to his once peaceful village.

We also bought a few of these cute toothpick holders. They come with lots of different designs on them; birds, pandas, dragons, scenery.

I like this souvenir best. We got it at the Shaanxi History Museum in Xi'an. It's a replica of a terracotta horse from the Tang Dynasty.

I guess we should have bought more souvenirs, but then we wouldn't have this souvenir. It's only about $12.00, but priceless to me.

Chinese Signs

China is trying to welcome foreign tourists in many ways. One way is the increasing use of English on signs. Unfortunately, they often lose something in the translation. Like this sign:

I'm glad there wasn't an emergency at this hotel, because this confusing map might have caused me to scatter incorrectly.

This sign caused us to ponder what suddenness was and we decided to avoid it at all costs.

Smoking is quite common in China especially among the businessmen, but it was nice to know that we were always in non-smoking rooms.

This sign was near the river and I'm thinking it was anti-littering.

This sign was encouraging people not to walk on the grass. I think. Maybe.

At all the tourist destinations we saw star-rated toilets. These were not only clean, but they frequently had toilet paper and western toilets.

Speaking of toilets, all over China you see these toilets. The Chinese prefer them because you don't touch anything and we all used them with no problems, but some Westerners had trouble with them and were constantly looking for western toilets.

One enterprising restaurant had this thoughtful solution for their western patrons:

One evening we had a drink at this bar. We wondered if our drinks were poured from Mason jars.

But, after all the hub-bub of shopping and sight-seeing, it was always comforting to pass through a civilized airport. Thanks China, for showing us such a good time.

Wanna Buy a Rolex?

After the silk tour we hopped on the bus for the 2 hour ride to Shanghai. We settled into our new hotel, got cleaned up and went to the Acrobat Show that evening. There was something wrong (ergonomically speaking) with the seats, but it didn't seem to matter because the show was so exciting. The best part was when they rolled a giant steel mesh ball onto the stage and put 5 *yes FIVE* motorcycles into it. They were zooming around inside it, avoiding each other by mere inches, at high speed. It was amazing! I'd never seen anything like it. I tried to get a picture of it, but the motorcycles just look like grey blobs.




Our first day in Shanghai we went to the Shanghai History Museum. Its four floors contain a wonderful array of artifacts, all beautifully displayed. Unfortunately, we only had an hour and a half to see it all; not nearly enough. I was particularly interested in the costume section where we saw an impressive collection of native clothing. I had no idea anyone made clothes from salmon skins!

We also saw fabulous pottery like this gorgeous Ming/Ching/whatever bowl. This thing is hundreds of years old, but it looks brand new. Not at all like the "antiques" the vendors sell that look old, but were made last night.

Then we drove to the Pudong area and went to the observation deck of the Jin Mai Tower. The elevator ride to the 88th floor is smooth, quiet and non-stop. The only sensation of rising is your popping ears. The view was awesome, but smoggy. The building just to the right in the photo below is a new building under construction that will be even taller than the Jin Mai.

After a double-whammy daily obligatory factory tour (silk rugs and cashmere sweaters) we had Mongolian barbeque for lunch and went to the Knock-Offs market. I'm not a haggler, I don't understand the whole process, I don't like being grabbed and pulled into shops, and we both found it extremely tiring, but the Lord of the Manor bought a Rolex anyway. So what do you think, does it look real?

Our last day in Shanghai we walked to the Yu Garden and Bazaar. It was a little more relaxing than the Knock-Offs market, but still the relentless hawking of tacky souvenirs gets annoying. We did manage to find a really nice tassel there to add to my collection.

We also walked across the zig-zag bridge, past the tea pavilion and this statue. We stopped to admire the koi. I thought it looked awfully crowded in there, but why should the fish live any differently than the
people? Tomorrow I'll post some interesting photos of signs we saw in China. Their translations are often quite amusing.

Suzhou and Tongli

The cleaning crews at the hotels generally swooped into our rooms before our coach even left the parking lot, and it's a good thing because frequently someone would forget something. The item would be whisked to the coach and given to our guide. She would then hold it up, ask who's it was and we'd be on our way, thankful for the hotel's efficiency.

On the day we left Guilin it happened again. That morning it was a little bottle that looked like whisky. "John" admitted his ownership, and claimed he'd left it because of our impending flight to Shanghai. Then our guide asked if he knew what it was. "Noooo, not really", he said. So she explained that it was like Viagra wine. While the whole bus erupted into hilarious laughter, "John" kept trying to explain that he didn't know, didn't need it, didn't really drink it, etc. Yah, right.

After surviving the worst food on the whole trip, and a wild crosswind landing, we finally arrived in Shanghai only to be herded onto another bus for the 2 hour ride to Tongli.

Tongli resemblesVenice with its canals and gondola-like boats. It was wonderfully peaceful and quiet walking through the misty rain. First we visited the folklore museum, then we took a ride on a gondola. Then we visited a restored example of a typical home.

On our way out of town "John" found this wine shop, but it was closing. We were beginning to sense a pattern here.

The next day we visited The Garden of the Master of the Fishing Nets in Suzhou. It was originally constructed in 1140 AD and recreated in 1770. It is said that the gardens of Suzhou are some of the finest in China, and indeed, a recent gift, 1001 Gardens You Must See Before You Die, describes this garden on page 767. It was beautiful and contained all the classic images you'd imagine. Round gates, standing stones, water, bridges, koi, pavilions, wisteria, and peonies.

In fact, while the rest of the group was paying attention to our guide, the Lord of the Manor and I slipped away and found these peonies. Peonies are one of my favorite flowers, so how could I resist taking portraits of them all? Whilst I snapped away, he kept track of the group and we slipped back without anyone noticing.

Our obligatory daily factory tour was silk that day. I found it interesting how silk is harvested and processed into fabric. It reminded me of Mrs. Humphrey's first grade class where I helped out when Teen2 was little. Every spring silk worms were hatched and grown to adulthood. The teacher would put a little box of worms on the hyper kids' desks. It somehow helped to calm them down so they could do their work. Perhaps it was their rythmic munching. Alas, we saw no live worms here. The worms are first killed with heat, then soaked in water and unwound. Eight to ten strands are spun together to make the threads then dyed and woven into beautiful fabrics. The imperfect cocoons are made into comforters. I know we had silk comforters on the beds in our hotel rooms and they were light and warm, but not too warm. I kind of wish I'd bought one since our down comforter is often too warm for our climate.

Next up will be Shanghai. Don't touch that dial!

Li River Cruise

Our last day in Guilin we took a cruise on the Li River. Several boatloads of tourists cruise this river every day. It's a nice four hour ride and includes lunch. The eroded limestone karsts along this section of river have been the subject of Chinese landscape painting for centuries. The subtropical climate bathes them in a constant mist adding to their mystique. The shores are home to bamboo groves, rice terraces, small villages and the ever present water buffalo.

Our boat was big and carried about 80 tourists. It had bathrooms and a kitchen way aft, and they served a decent lunch, but I'd much rather have been on one of these boats. We saw these traditional bamboo raft-type boats everywhere. I would love to take a ride on one and see how they are made.

We passed by this village as the farmers were preparing their orange harvest for shipment.

And we watched this fisherman setting his net.

And when this view appeared our guide helpfully pointed out that it's the landscape shown on the 20 yuan bill.

Our guide also told us that water buffaloes have a pretty easy life here. They only work a few weeks twice a year to cultivate the rice terraces. The rest of the time they just sort of wander around keeping the weeds down.

After lunch the Lord of the Manor had a little nip of this cobra wine. I think it's all a show for the tourists and it seemed quite expensive for the tiny sip they sold him, but now he can say he's had snake wine.

After the obligatory daily factory tour (pearls this time I think) we had dinner at a place that prided itself on showmanship. Here is an example of their talents. It's supposed to be a farmer with bags of rice on his boat. The farmer was made out of a cucumber and a tiny egg with a tomato hat. The bags of rice were vegetable dumplings. Not only was it the cutest food of the whole trip, but it tasted good too.

After dinner our guide suggested foot massages since Guilin was famous for them. Nine of us said we'd like to do that, so off we went in the bus again. We all trooped into the place and *surprise* they showed us into a large room with ten chairs! Group foot massage! It turned out to be one of the high points of the trip. Not only was it a superior massage, but our masseuses worked in unison, so we all moaned at the same time. It has to be one of the most hilarious things we've ever done.
I still have a few more days of the trip to tell you about and then I'll get back to normal life here Amongst The Oaks.