Weatherhead... is worse in Spring

All this turbulent weather is playing my head up something awful! Blargh! It starts with a bruise like pain up my neck and behind my right ear and then it all goes south on me...  yesterday was like that.  By nightfall, we'd had the rain, the temperature had risen and the medicine had fixed my headache.
Today is a MUCH better day, still overcast with a tendency to drizzle.  There are plenty of different birds around these days, all hootin' and hollerin' and chasing each other around. Canadian birds are a wondrous mix of size, shape, colour, and attitude.  We have the tiniest little birds that would fit in your pocket, up to the big block bullies, our crows.  I watched a very interesting documentary about crows. Did you know they mourn communally when one of their members is killed/dies?  We have blue jays, cardinals, robins, sparrows and chickadees. There are woodpeckers, or they could be flickers, and tons of others.  In fact, I am blessed to live near Presqu'ile Park where there is an annual bird-spotting to see just how many varieties they can count each year. I haven't even touched on our water birds yet! And don't forgot our little jewels, the hummingbirds.  I haven't seen one yet, but I think they come in Summer.  We only just started Spring, so I'll enjoy the ones that are here now.

Orange Cran Juice!

For the record, orange juice mixed with cranberry juice is delicious, refreshing, and really pretty in a special glass!  Make sure both are the unsweetened, nothing added variety.  :D

Pineapple 'green smoothie'

Did you know you can easily grow a pineapple? Just DON'T CUT the top off... watch this video, it's easy and encouraging.  Some things to have before you start:  A largish pot, potting soil, some stones for the bottom.
How to grow a pineapple

Now for the part about my delicious breakfast.  Pineapples were cheap again, and fresh pineapple is soooo delicious, that I had to have some for my sunny breakfast.  It came out a pale green, but tasted most like the pineapple.  Measures are approximate. It made about 2-3 cups of smoothie, or about 2 days worth for me. Recipe below.  By the way, basmati rice and bulgur both take 15 minutes to cook, and both are 1 part to 2 parts water. So they are a natural blend, and this will give the lovely taste of basmati while adding fibre and other nutrients of bulgur.

I also made a carrot/date 'cake'.  This is a raw recipe that I lifted off another blog called Gone Raw. I had made some carrot juice and was left with skads of carrot pulp.  I found that the dates did NOT do well in the blender, it kept sounding like a pit was bouncing off the blades (I do not have a food processor).  I forged ahead anyway by chopping the now sloppy (I had been soaking them for 10 minutes) dates into little pieces. This actually makes a great entree, as it has lots of nuts in it for protein and chewing. It's sweet and tasty. It did not set well. Recipe and credit below.

Silly expressions

Is a hackneyed phrase something we say in a cab?
Does anyone know that a hackney was a kind of carriage?

Silly things we say and we don't know where they came from (which often leads to their mutilation and misquotation).
"Money is the root of all evil" , for instance, is an incomplete quote.  It should be: the LOVE of money is the root of all evil.  Money can be used for many things, but greed or lust for it is what drives people to behave immorally.

Got any others?

Morning blend

I don't know what you prefer for breakfast, but lately (not everyday, but oftener than not) I've been making 'green' smoothies. Since I get very exuberant, I tend to make enough for two days which has the benefit of only involving half the cleanup.