Rethinking comfort foods

Do you love comfort food in winter as much as I do?  That pesky doctor of mine told me last week that I should cut back drastically on eating things like potatoes, mac and cheese, and bread.  They are loaded with bad carbohydrates.  There are good carbs and bad carbs.  Things like the above pictured fried potatoes, white bread and sugar have bad carbs.  Foods with good carbs are vegetables 

and whole grains.

 

The cherry cobbler that is quick and easy to make and oh, so good topped with ice cream is a no-no.   So is my beloved P.epsi and sweet iced tea.

You see, my blood sugar has been running a little too high and that means I need to get it under control with a better diet.  My father had adult-onset diabetes and had to take insulin shots twice a day.  I certainly don't want that to happen to me.  But, I can tell you that someone who has always eaten pretty much what she wants to is going to have a very  hard time giving up these favorite foods.  All the favorite comfort foods I love seem to fall into the bad carb category.  And, I'm the gal that loves to read recipe books like they are novels, for goodness sakes!  This is not going to be easy.  I'm just not that fond of celery and carrot sticks.  Or unsweetened tea.  I can drink coffee without sugar.  That may become my beverage of choice.   

Have you had to make some healthier choices in the eating department?  And, if so, what did you find that you liked that was a good substitute for those favorite foods that are loaded with bad carbs? 

I hope all of our blogging friends that live in the areas hit with snow storms are safe and warm this Monday.   

Until next time...

Friday Favorites

~Rex~

It's Friday!  Time for Friday Favorites and this week I'm going to focus on favorite dogs in my life.  First up is Rex who was one of the smartest and most loyal German Shepherds I've ever known.  He lived on the farm when I was a youngster.  I mentioned in a previous Barn Charm post how we used to play games with him.  My younger brother and I would go swimming in the pond and pretend we were drowning just to see Rex jump in the water and swim out to us to try to save us.  Ornery, weren't we?  Once my mother was in the machine shed where my dad was working on a tractor.  She was standing by when he started it up.  Rex ran over to her and grabbed her gently by the wrist and pulled her away.  I saw that for myself. 

~Duke and Lady~

Duke is one of Lady's pups.  I'm showing their photo to tie in with the next photo below.  

Not a very good photo, I only had a little Brownie camera in those days.  That is Duke in the foreground.  Lady had a litter of 8 puppies, as I recall.  Aren't they adorable?  There is nothing cuter than little GS puppies.  They were all given away except for Duke.  Yes, I cried.

 

~Bullet~

When my hubby and I got married we decided we wanted a dog, so Bullet came to live with us.  Sadly, he didn't live too many years.

~Baron with my son, daughter and a friend~

When our daughter was small, we got another German Shepherd.

This is Baron, who was equally as smart and loyal as Rex.  He was

always watching over the kids and followed them everywhere.  When my daughter was very young she was playing near a large puddle of water.  Baron would stay between her and the water.  He wouldn't let her get too close to it.  And I never worried when strangers stopped by our house in the country, as they frequently did to ask for directions, because Baron only had to walk up to their vehicle and bark and no one dared to step out of their car or truck. 

~My son and Baron~

Our son always had Baron for company when he played outside while our daughter was at school.  Baron was a good and faithful dog and lived to a ripe old age.  If I had to choose a favorite out of all of the dogs, it would be hard but I'd probably have to pick Baron because he was so good with my kids.  And to me, too!  I would often walk down the highway and back, about a mile and a half walk, after the kids got on the school bus.    Baron would always go with me. 

~Harley~

Last, but not least, was Harley.  We got him after Baron passed away.  He was two years old and had been hit by a car and injured pretty badly.

Harley had recovered from his injuries when we got him and was a good dog, but he never really grew up.  He thought he could climb onto your lap any time he wanted to.  Do you know how big and heavy these dogs are?  Ha!  I would sometimes take him with me when I visited my dad.  Dad always loved German Shepherds, too, and thought both Baron and Harley were great dogs.  Harley lived to an old age, but has been gone for a few years now.  He was the last dog we've owned.  

I hope you enjoyed seeing my favorite dogs.  There were other dogs on the farm where I grew up, but German Shepherds were always my favorites. 

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful day and weekend!

Until next time...

Wordless Wednesday

~Just because,,,I'm wondering if anything is nesting in the tree~

Barn Charm

This barn scene was taken in Iowa last week.  They had a bit more snow
than we did.  My son shot this with his iPad mini.  Can you believe I had my camera but when I got ready to shoot I discovered I'd left my camera card behind!  That'll teach me to keep a spare card handy.  We saw some nice barns along the way and Son snapped several for me.  The day was overcast and we were moving right along, but I still have a few barns that are good enough to share in the next few weeks.  I always love to find a red barn in the snow!

Stop by Tricia's Barn Charm 
to see other barns around the country.

Thanks for stopping by!
Until next time...

Super Bowl Commercials

Did you watch the Super Bowl?  I didn't watch much of it, but heard about a couple of the commercials that were favorites and checked them out on Youtube.  If you haven't seen them, they are definitely worth watching.  The first one is narrated by the incomparable Paul Harvey.  It's titled "So God Made a Farmer".  Since I grew up on a farm...you may have noticed that by my blog name :)...this commercial was really was special to me even though my dad nor my hubby ever drove a R.am truck.  Be sure to click at the bottom right corner for the Full Screen.  

 

 The other commercial I really liked was the commercial with the Clydesdale.  I was told that part of this commercial was filmed at the Clydesdale ranch in my area.  I must say that it caused me to tear up a bit at the end.

 I really didn't have a favorite team until I realized Michael Oher was playing for the Ravens.  You may remember him from the movie  "Blindside".   I'm sure he would prefer to be thought of as a football player and not in connection to a movie.  However, I'm happy his team won!  I haven't been a huge football fan since Joe Montana was playing for the 49er's and then the KC Chiefs before retiring.  I'll have to share a photo of Joe and yours truly standing together.  Yes, I was thisclose to the superstar quarterback!  I'll leave this story for another post...if I can find the photo!  

Until next time...

Wordless Wednesday

~we had rain!~

Comments closed.  I'll be away from my computer for a few days 

and won't be able to comment myself.  See you soon!

Barn Charm

The sun hadn't come up yet and the lighting wasn't the best for this shot.  

However, at that time of morning, the traffic was very light and I was able to slow down and point and shoot quickly.  I'd love to capture this barn in better light so the quilt block would be better seen.  There just isn't a good place to stop.  The sunrise was gorgeous and I wished I'd had time to take some photos of it, but I had an early appointment at the vet for our kitten.  

To see some fantastic barns around the country,

just stop by Tricia's Barn Charm.   

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

Bird Watching

Good Monday morning to you!  It's going to be a spring-like

day with temps near 70 degrees.  More of the same tomorrow.

It's supposed to rain today and tomorrow.  We need it.

Then we'll cool off toward mid-week with temps back in the 30s.  That will feel like winter again.   The birds must be confused.  When it is warmer, I don't see many at the feeders.  I've been putting out some cracked corn and they haven't been eating it as much as in past years.  The woodpeckers, like this Red-bellied Woodpecker, love their seed cakes.  I'm still waiting patiently for a Pileated Woodpecker to show up.  He is about the only woodpecker I haven't ever seen at the feeders. 

I'm beginning to have my doubts whether we have them around here.

  

Now I'm off to get my hair cut.  Bird-watching will have to wait another day.  Note to self...buy a couple more seed cakes and suet cakes.

Until next time...  

Friday Favorites

~Coco~

It's Friday!  I've decided that each Friday, at least for a while, I'm going to post a photo from the past depicting something that was meaningful to me in years gone by.  This week my photo shows Coco, a favorite kitty of mine who lived with us around 30 years ago.  There is not a lot to say about Coco except that she was an exceptionally good kitty and we loved her a lot.  I don't remember how old she was when she left us, but she had lived many years.  

This is my daughter many years ago with an armful.  I think her favorite kitty in those days was whichever one would let her hold them.  I do know that Coco was special to her, too.  That is her bed in the first photo with a Holly Hobbie quilt that Coco is resting on.  Any one remember Holly Hobbie?  

Sissy is home today from an overnight stay at the Animal Hospital.  I took her in yesterday to get spayed.  Poor baby had her tummy shaved and is looking pretty chilly without all the fur to help keep her warm.   It will be interesting trying to keep her calm for a few days.  

Until next time... 

Wordless Wednesday

~wishful thinking~