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Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Breakfasting

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I love the rare luxury of starting the morning slow.

A few notes (because I've been on a serious bullet point kick):
*
Since beginning this food elimination diet at the first of the year, I've eaten some version of a fruit bowl for breakfast nearly every morning.  Today's bounty included pears, bananas, blueberries, tangerines, avocado, cacao nibs, hemp seeds and toasted pine nuts.  It's delish!
*
BC just recently returned from a trip up to Seattle wherein that good, good man brought me no less than fourty dollars in the best coffee money can buy.   In this family we call that a "zoo-zoo" - a thing brought back from some other locale as a gift.  Different than a souvenir, a zoo-zoo doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the place, but everything to do with what the giftee loves.  Also, it wasn't until I was in my late teens that I learned "zoo-zoo" was not part of standard american language but just a familial term.  I spent high school using the term, assuming that people who did not know it's meaning were simply not well-read.
Oops.
(sorry high school friends)
*
My hand really is that veiny!  While in the thick of chemo, I had multiple nurses tell me with admiration that I had "garden hoses" for veins.  When I was younger I disliked my hands intensely, crumpling them up under folded arms and pulling sweaters well past the knuckles, like so many tall girls hiding their gangly limbs.  But somewhere along the lines, something shifted and one day I saw them as strong.  Capable.  Worn.  So much more interesting than the smooth and waxy hands of youth, graceful and beat-up like a well used piece of victorian furniture.
*

Well I do hope your morning has been full of birdsong and biscuits, or at least a strong cup of joe!
~ Umber ~

18 comments:

Allisunny S. said...

I am homesick for you; there is no other way to put it!!

That bowl looks so SO good.

xo,
A

kerin rose said...

My sweet Umberina...so interesting as I too, have had hands since I was a little thing that appear to belong to someone waaay beyond my years...I was a 10 year old w. 40 year old hands....these days, my hands and the rest of me kinda match....

but the best part is my Momma's explanation for it...she said that my hands showed that they belonged to an old soul....


kaboom! xxxxx K

UmberDove said...

Sunny - And I for you. I need to make that drive and SOON!

Kerin - Mmn, old soul hands. I love that. I think I'll keep that one in my back pocket.

Andrea said...

As I read this my soul sighs...
Something tight inside of my chest {that I didn't realize was there...} released.
I breathe.
Thank you Lovely Umber...
xo

Brittany said...

your hands are lovely, moreso because they make lovely things. :)

MrsLittleJeans said...

Your breakfast looks to me what a bird would like to eat...kind of funny even though I know it is delish. I had to laugh at the zoo-zoo, frequently I look at people around me as uncultured when they do not understand me..ha ha...and usually the problem is in ME. Double Ha ha.
Veiny hands...belong to movies, so perhaps you could do some hand acting! xx

candacemorris said...

Strong cup of joe, check. But that breakfast looks better.

Zoo-Zoo? Are you serious? Another Clark-sim (or Bell-ism)! I'd not heard that one yet.

Joyful said...

Yum, that breakie looks so delicious.
I'm hoping your elimination diet is working for you. For me it would be difficult to stick to a regimen like that even if it is good for me.

I've had my slow cooked oatmeal with cinnamon, raw sunflower and ground flax. I always feel so good about starting the day with fiber.

Your hands are strong and capable and creative, and.....Love 'em. Hugs.

The Noisy Plume said...

Hello from the Great White North, Pips!

Speaking of hands, guess who is ridding her paws of gator scales and hangnails? Me.That's who. I'm all booked up at the Paramount for a hand spa and manicure. Wish you were coming with. I'll sip some cucumber water in your great and royal name. x

a blog about the little things said...

zoo-zoo - I want to use that term everyday! so happy-making!
I love what kerin rose said about hands that belong to old souls; I too have always had hands that looked like they belonged to a future-me. Now that my hands & my age are more well-matched, I applaud their capable ways more than I did at a more tender age.

prairiegirl said...

Mmmm. Nothing better than zoo-zoo coffee from Seattle! And just the right amount of cream.
Those hands remind me of your watercolor pieces. Heavenly.
PS: can i ask you who the author is of that bird book?

Cat said...

"I saw them as strong. Capable. Worn. "
this actually brought tears to my eyes!!!
*
*
it could be that my moon is just around the corner : )

love and light

Clare said...

Ah, here I was grumbling about my newly gluten-freeness and it's lack of suitable options in my house this morning, and look at that. Inspiration!
I've also always had veiny, *old* hands. I've accumulated my share of scars on all sides of them, as well. All the better for making with, I say!

UmberDove said...

GLUTEN FREE GIRLS! I'm swearing by the fruit and nut bowl in a big way. So good and surprisingly filling (don't forget the avocado!). Also, I'm addicted to rice porridge with a spoonful of real maple syrup and toasted almonds.

CRM - I like knowing I can still surprise you ;)

PrairieGirl - It's a LOVELY little book (actually I wish it was larger in scale just to see the details better) full of gorgeous bird illustrations. It's titled "Birds: The Art of Ornithology" and written by Jonathan Elphick. I picked up mine through amazon and am glad I did.



And again, for the millionth time, can I just saw how much I am constantly bolstered by you ladies?

MJ said...

zoo zoo!! I love that!!! I may have to adopt :). Is it silly to enjoy knowing that many of us have veiny hands in common? Shall we start a strong veiny hands club? I also have excessively long arms. uggh. And of course I had no idea about your chemo. I hope that all is well now :).
xo

candacemorris said...

Can I hire you as my nutritionist? My goodness how a few days in your care would restore my body.

christina said...

hello my new friend!
i came over from flickr. you are an artist...a beautiful soulful artist. do you make this lovely jewelry, as well?
xoxo

UmberDove said...

Christina - I'm so glad to have found you too! Your photos are GORGEOUS. But to answer, yes, I do the jewelry work as well - I'm a bit obsessed these days in fact!