Just Humans Being...

Today we managed to escape to the north coast of Cornwall... Crantock Beach More tomorrow... All that walking in ice cold windy weather has tired us out! Bye for now. Kay & Sime xx

Our reformed eating habits are working wonders - we are not only saving money, but we are creating less rubbish.  We are cooking from scratch daily & are finding that we are reaping the benefits of life without oil. Sime had been plagued with indigestion for a few years & lived on fennel tea, but since becoming vegan again - he's been fine. We don't know if it was dairy, eggs or oil that caused the problem, but it doesn't matter... He can happily eat tons now without rubbing & banging his chest all evening! He's also quit drinking rooibosch - a tea he's drank for over 20 years & now just drinks his usual herb infusions: nettles, camomile, fennel & raspberry leaf mainly, with an occasional Sencha or Pu'er tea.  I drink all those too, plus 1 fresh black coffee a day & an occasional Earl Grey Rooibosch. We cook our food in water & leftovers which we blend into a stock - it's easy! We make burgers & bhajis using okara (the lefto...

We saw a tiny bit of snow on our way to Stoke last week... And it certainly was cold... The Trent & Mersey Canal was frozen. Especially in the marina at Festival Park... Some of the boats are residential & I thought we were tough... Bebe. The main reason for our visit... She refused to attend her appointment at the memory clinic, which resulted in me acting as referee & splitting up Mother & Son before WW3 broke out... She does have a point - why should she go along to be humiliated by questions she can no longer remember the answers to? And what will come out of going? Drugs to help her memory? Doubtful. Just a figure on a form to say whether her memory loss is unchanged or has got worse...  Who are we to force her to do something she doesn't want to do?  Sime feels it's important to be regularly assessed & so her care can be adjusted accordingly & I kind of agree, but if I was in Bebe's shoes - I probably would refuse to go too!  So she...

The Willow Man  on the M5. Known as the Angel of the South or The Wicker Man... He is 40 feet (12 metres) tall. We call him Butt Boy Roy... Why? Because of his firm masculine buttocks! This is the second version as the first one was destroyed in an arson attack back in 2001. He's lasted longer than the sculptor expected, but now the fields he stands in are filling with houses & an unsightly supermarket depot... Taken from here He's always been there since we moved to Cornwall & has been the indicator that we are nearly home when travelling back from upcountry & we all cheer with delight... We love Butt Boy Roy & hope he sticks around!

We're in Stoke again... So see you soon. Kay & Sime xx

We seem to have developed a rather nice addiction to walking the coast... Yesterday turned into a 3 hour trek... With lots of mud... Looking back at our hamlet on the right. First there was one... Then there were many... We were heading to the next cove along from ours... And although it was a beautiful Saturday morning... There was no one else around... First glimpse of Vault Beach... Just cows... And sheep for company... Lamledra House & Woodland is ahead... We always take a bag with us to pick up rubbish, so we must be beach heroes too! Vault is at the bottom of quite a steep path... But is well worth the effort... On arrival there was one woman on her way off the beach. Can you spot her red hat? We spent an hour there & had the whole beach to ourselves... And it was really quite warm sitting in the sun... A lovely clean beach - the sign must be working! It felt like we were on a desert island... Midday sun... Such a lovely day. Unlike today, which is w...

Our last treats... Were the vegan cookies we made for Hugo's birthday... And his vegan birthday cake... But we've decided to cut all oils, fats & processed foods from our diet, so we are now just eating vegetables, fruit, whole grains & pulses. It's actually proving to be quite a challenge, because although our fat intake wasn't huge (mainly olive oil), our bodies are craving fatty & sweet foods - never before have we thought much of crisps, pastry & cakes, but now it's our main topic of conversation! We are eating well though... Carrot, beetroot, apple & ginger juice. Pear, banana & raspberry smoothie. Kale, celery, apple, fennel, ginger & lemon juice. We are making our own soya, rice & oat milks... And using the leftover mushy stuff in porridge. We've been making curries using a small amount of water to start off the vegetables...  Red lentil & Veg curry with Onion & polenta bhajis. Making at least one salad ...