Because it was so cold I thought I would pop into Accessorize to see if they had any reduced hats. A jaunty beret in moss stitch caught my eye but try as I might I just looked like Frank Spencer in it….70% off too. A very pleasant assistant offered to ‘style’ me but try as she might I oscillated between the Spencer and a mad woman. Nigel kept shaking his head which annoyed me to the extent I thought of splashing out all of £4.50 and buying it just to piss him off but then I found the matching scarf…..
In the (poor)photo you will see my own sad attempt at knitting a moss stitch scarf (for Stella’s Christmas present – note to Stella I haven’t said which Christmas have I ?) I’m not going to say why bother knitting your own, but I am kind of thinking it….. It was £5.40 - you couldn't even buy the wool for that, even acrylic.
Anyway I asked Stella if she minded if I mentioned her little problem …adult acne. Just when she thought all she had to worry about was wrinkles and the odd grey hair perioral dermatitis came a knocking. The reason I am telling you this is because we have made a pact – to both follow an anti-inflammatory diet – she for her skin and me for my rheumatoid arthritis which is presently very active.
The good bit is we are going to encourage one another to eat oily fish, walnuts et al; the bad is we have to lay off sugary foods, refined carbohydrates, and everything that makes life pleasant….we have 3 months to our Birthday (we are coeval) to see if diet will help either complaints.
So I was going around Waitrose thinking healthy thoughts until I saw this
It is the 125th anniversary of Golden Syrup and they have a selection of limited addition tins….they are soo cute having different things printed on the tins I want all of them but what the hell am I doing buying golden syrup when I should be avoiding such temptations?
Tomorrow I play with quinoa…..does anyone actually like it? I know it was the food of the Aztecs but let’s face it that’s not much of a recommendation considering they all died out? Maybe it was quinoa porridge that did for them?
No wonder you couldn't resist the tin! Maybe quinoa porridge would be brightened up with a good dollop of golden syrup. I've had 2 or possibly 3 attacks of perioral dermatitis. It doesn't behave at all like acne. I ended up with big areas on my chin covered in crusty dry skin and new spots spreading outwards that wouldn't heal. Grotty. Poor Stella. I send my sympathy. I had to take nasty antibiotics for twice as long as it took to heal up, as it tends to come back. It may have been caused by sunblock, so I never apply it to my face, and it hasn't come back. Looking forward to hearing the results of the cunning plan. xxx
ReplyDeletei've eaten quinoa at my friend's cafe + it was delicious...i'm on a mission to get you some recipes! good luck with the new way of eating. it's great you'll be encouraging each other along until birthday time when you can have cake : )
ReplyDeletethe tins are fab. i hadn't seen any yet but may have to stock my cupboard with a few! xxx
I no longer eat white flour or sugar (in theory this is - I lapsed rather dramatically over Christmas and have had a bit of a problem staying on the wagon) and it has changed my health a lot. Part of this was shedding 6 stone (a loteasier when you don't eat biscuits "for medical reasons" I found) but also my acne cleared up along with a weird limb numbness & wrist pain.
ReplyDeleteIn fact since I have been backeating biscuits I have developed painful, numb fingers,diagnosed as possible Reynauds (?) so I am now being sensible and doing the non-sugar thing again.
Buy the tins for someone else (obviously not Stella) on the condition that you get the empty tin back. Or bake lots of things and freeze them.
I found it a lot easier when I was eating NO sugar or white flour at all than when I tried to restrict it.
Good luck. Quinoa at least has a catchy name,
J
x
If you can't have refined sugar, may I suggest Agave Nectar instead? I have it on porridge instead of golden syrup.
ReplyDeleteIMO, your best plan would be to cut wheat and dairy from your diet instead. I lost soooo much weight, and stopped bloating after doing this. It's relatively easy to find replacements, e.g. soya or goat's milk, rice or corn pasta, soya chocolate, but it does take some getting used to at first. But, if you stick with it, you will soon find the benefits outweigh the bummer of not being able to eat doughnuts, etc. It will make you feel so much better, trust me!
P.S. Quinoa is gross!
I had a packet of quinoa in the cupboard for 3 years before I finally threw it out. Let us know if you come up with someting tasty to do with it and I'll buy another pack!
ReplyDeleteAs for the golden syrup that is awfully good on porridge and porridge is good for you...
carolyn
http://willowhouse.typepad.com
i am so glad i popped by for a chat...the beret issue i shall address as everyone else has the 'quinoa' issure covered plus i haven't a blimin' clue about those eating 'good things/bad things' info...
ReplyDeleteso to the beret, apparently according to the article my friend 'clipped' and 'kept' from the newspaper for me, when wearing a beret we must not fall into the 'silly noggin blob' syndrome...after studying the pictures closely it has become quite apparent to me that i fall into the 'noggin blob' catagory...i wear mine just like a 'hair net', far back on my head and not slanted to one side...i like it this way and shall continue to wear it this way...as to the price of yarn and weighing it all up with time etc...i know exactly what you are talking about..
and one last thing before i take up your whole 'comment' column...i like your title picture, very fresh and pretty...
cheers, Tif
l Tif at least you have height to carry off any noggin blobs; I fear having a questionable knitted beret with all my other old lady action going on was a step too far…. And the other thing I didn’t mention I thought it might blow off when I’m out with the hound….if it landed in something soft and brown you would be able to hear my wailing from Mossy Shed. One has to think of wind down on the coast
ReplyDeleteFiona - you have made Stella depressed!
Quinoa News - I have lost my one good recipe so I shall have to wait a while before I use it.....I hope it won't be 3 years:)
Oh dear, sorry Stella! Don't worry though. Believe me, once you get onto the antibiotics the dermatitis heads for the hills pretty quick. And you will be so pleased at how beautiful you look that you won't care about the odd wrinkle. One doctor gave me cream for rosacea- useless. You might have to get onto the hard stuff if you want quick action!
ReplyDeleteYou need a good snug hat with ear flaps rather than a beret. If you got a brown one Harry would be rather pleased that you had ears just like him. XXX
Ooh Betty, how I wish I'd been in Accessorize to see your Frank Spencer impersonation!!
ReplyDeleteBoth the scarves look fab, and I think you'll find that in the finest pound shops you can snag a bargain in the acylic yarn section. (well, they're a pound .... what with it being a pound shop and all....)
:)
oh, quinoa. No I don't like it and I tried and tried and tried. But that was probably my rubbish attempts at cooking it to be honest!
ReplyDeleteGolden syrup is far too lovely, it's food of the devil.
I gave up lactose to help my skin (eczema from hell!) and it worked - hoorah! I hope your new way of eating helps both you and Stella, stick to it! And good luck to you both.
No. Quinoa really is foul. We eat healthily most of the the time, but draw the line at Quinoa. It is bland, uncomfortable to eat and there is nothing you can do to make it edible. Stick to bulghur wheat - or lentils. Nice lentils.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to go out and buy some golden syrup now just to get one of those cute jars. Good excuse! I've never tried quinoa because somehow just the name puts me off!
ReplyDeleteI'll be interested to know how Stella gets on with the diet as I suffer with my skin quite regularly. I'm not sure it's actually acne but it's more than just the odd spot. Considering I never suffered in my teens with my skin, it's very frustrating to be suffering now. What really annoys me is the fact that all the skin care companies only ever talk about targetting lines and wrinkles when you get to my age yet I'm sure there are many women in their 30s and 40s who are still worrying more about acne and spots!