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Gail’s Green Touch:Transforming the Front Porch with Kale

Craig

In a quaint neighborhood where each house boasts its unique charm, my late mother Gail’s residence stood out with a front porch that was both eye-catching and inspiring.

It’s not just the vibrant colors or the meticulous arrangement that caught the eye, but the unusual choice of her decorations – Kale.

Gail, was a longtime Annex resident and a creative soul, who had taken to using kale, a leafy green cruciferous vegetable to adorn her front porch.

This choice was not only aesthetically pleasing to her but also spoke volumes about her commitment to sustainability and health.

The Aesthetic Appeal of Kale

Kale, with its deep green hues and ruffled leaves, adds a touch of natural beauty to any setting. Gail skillfully arranges the kale alongside other plants, creating a tapestry of green that brings life to her porch. The kale’s robust nature means it can withstand various weather conditions, making it an excellent choice for outdoor decoration.

Health Benefits of Kale

Kale is more than just a decorative plant; it’s a powerhouse of nutrients. It’s packed with vitamins A, K, and C, along with minerals like calcium and potassium. Kale’s health benefits include improving bone health, aiding digestion, and contributing to a healthy heart.

Sustainability and Environmental Consciousness

Using kale as a decoration was a testament to her commitment to sustainability.

Kale is easy to grow and maintain, requiring minimal resources.

This porch choice appeared each fall around Thanksgiving reflected a deeper awareness and responsibility towards the environment, promoting a lifestyle that is both eco-friendly and health-conscious.

Personal Reflections

As I stood on Gail’s porch, admiring the kale decorations, I could not help but feel a sense of admiration and puzzlement.

The kale, in its simple elegance, represents a lifestyle choice that’s both healthy and environmentally conscious.

Looking down at my stomach, I was reminded of the importance of healthy eating and living, a lesson subtly imparted by the kale-adorned porch.

In conclusion, Gail’s use of kale to decorate her front porch was not just a testament to her creativity and aesthetic sense but also a reflection of her values.

It’s a unique blend of beauty, health, and environmental consciousness that inspires and reminds us of the simple ways we can incorporate these healthy eating choices and elements into our lives.

Exercise helped me to recover

Craig2 Comments on Exercise helped me to recover

Welcome 2021.

I am elated that it’s a new year and 2020 is now in the rear view mirror. 

Maybe you have wondered where I have been the last 16 months, or maybe not.

Basically 2020 was a total disaster for me and not because of Covid although that did not help.

Yes it’s negative but it’s the truth.

Last year was a year of excruciating pain and suffering, spiritual healing and growth, injury recovery and rehabilitation.

On September 14, 2019 I had a severe bicycle accident that caused a critical injury to my left leg called an intra-muscular hematoma of the quadriceps muscle.. 

It took three months just to find out what injury I was actually dealing with. 

My leg had swelled up and had a lump the size of a small watermelon protruding.

Inside the hematoma is a poisonous liquid called necrotic fluid. 

My doctor told me that I could not have the fluid surgically removed

The fluid would be absorbed into my body and to heal itself overtime.

It was not a pleasant process to go through.

For the following 10 months I sat motionless in pain with ice packed around my leg from my hip down to my knee.

I was unable to exercise, walk, bike hike or do anything except lie there waiting for the pain to end.

During the 10 months of inactivity I gained 50 pounds while lying prone in my cave.

My body went into a state of reversibility where the muscles in my body turned into fat and flab.

I did my best to eat a clean and healthy diet to control and minimize the weight gain but I still gained weight from being inactive.

After four months of sitting motionless I attempted to return to exercising only to discover I was not ready yet.

I waited for another four months before the pain finally started to subside.

At that point I decided to do a 21 day vegetable and juice cleanse.

The cleanse would flush out all the toxins and prepare my body to start exercising after almost a year sitting on the couch.

I have done 10 juice cleanses since I first began my lifestyle change in 2014 and they never seem to get easier.

During the previous juice cleanses I have learned that it is not a very good idea to do strenuous exercise and cleansing at the same time.

So I focused on my juice cleanse first and that did the trick.

After a month of the juice cleansing, I decided to start back to exercise.

The fitness studio where I went to exercise before my accident was forced to close their doors when Covid arrived and was very grateful they transitioned to providing classes online using Zoom.

It was a real lifesaver being able to exercise and work out at home. 

So, I started to take pilates, yoga and circuit classes almost every day. 

The first few months were very hard.

The first few workouts took me a week to recover from. I had lost almost all of the muscle mass for my entire body.

The leg muscle that I had injured was a terrible mess.

I stayed the course and started to see improvement, started losing excess weight and muscle definition started to return.

Over a few months classes became easier with less recovery time. 

Six months has now passed since I started back to exercising in June 2020.

I have lost most of the weight gained during my 10 months of being a couch potato.

Unbelievably, I have now become even stronger, healthier and more physically fit than I was prior to having my bicycle accident.

Confidence and testosterone levels have also soared.

Lifting weights and high intensity interval training is very important in increasing testosterone levels in men.

The moral of my long winded blog story is to never give up on yourself no matter what the circumstances are in your life.

I would like to wish everyone who reads my blog a happy and prosperous 2021. 

  • Sunny Winter Day in Mountains

Yoga is not a hockey game

Craig

It’s a blustery overcast day where I live on Georgian Bay.

This morning I was up early eager and prepared to do an outdoor yoga class by the waterfront.

I was really looking forward to the final outdoor class of the summer.

Probably a blessing in disguise anyway.

My body is still recovering from the love I gave it from circuit training workout I did three days ago.

Labour Day unofficially signals the end of another summer.

But also is a sign of change and new directions to come.

Change is not easy for most, including myself and is something I have been working hard to overcome.

Practicing yoga has helped me overcome fear and accept change in my life.

It has taught me to slow down andbreathe deeply.

To think less and be in the moment when on the mat. yep that’s a lot of stuff…

Yoga is just you on your mat with your body and breath. There’s nobody waiting for you to pass them the puck.

Yoga is not a team sport where you are in competition with others like a hockey game.

It challenges you, it pushes you and it changes you and no one else but you.

Over the years practicing yoga has helped in ways that I could never imagined it could.

During the past year yoga has helped my body heal and recover from a very serious injury

And set me on the path to self-awareness.

I have become aware.

It’s only been a few hours and I already miss outdoor yoga classes.

I can’t wait until until next summer returns.

Have you had your eyes checked lately?

Craig

How is your eyesight?

Do you need glasses to drive at night?

I used to but don’t anymore.

Every two years I drive down to Toronto to have my eyes examined by my optometrist.

I was one of his first patients when he opened his practice in downtown Toronto in 1987 at the age of 25 years of age.

Quite possibly the best decisions I had ever made.

I look forward to my visits to get my eyes examined for several reasons.

The cool machines I look through to check my eyes are fascinating to me. 

I especially like the one that blows air in your eyes to check for glaucoma with the little farmhouse in the back room.

Plus I get to chat with my optometrist Jerry who I’ve known for 30 years.

We talk about family and sports for an hour first before he examines my eyesight.

He always asks how my eyesight is doing. 

It’s really a rhetorical question because he already knows how my eyesight is before he checks me.

I always ask him how his eyesight is doing.

Not only are we the same age but we also have the exact same vision.

There was a big difference the last time I went to see him from the previous time.

 I had trimmed down and made some drastic changes to my life.

He told me that he had good news and bad news about my eyesight.

The good news was that my eyesight had improved.

I laughed and asked “ how is that even possible?”

He explained that pressure exerted on the optical nerves to my eyes had become less because of my weightloss.

And I wouldn’t’ need glasses to drive at night anymore.

I found that difficult to believe after driving with glasses for almost 30 years.

But he was right. I didn’t.

How is the optometrist always right?

Then he gave me the bad news.

I would need glasses to read in the not so distant future.

It was fascinating to learn that losing weight could actually improve my eyesight.

That was something I was not expecting to hear on my visit.

Your eyesight is important.

Having your eyes checked regularly is an important part of health and fitness plan.

I look forward to my next appointment.

Life is meant to be lived

Craig


Before I moved to Collingwood, made a lifestyle change and lost 125 Lbs,  I was a single parent who worked for a large publishing company in Toronto. 

It was a very stressful job with endless deadlines.

My life was also very stressful.

I had a young son at home who refused to go to school.

I did not exercise and had unhealthy dietary habits, very unhealthy as I learned years later.

My commute to the office every morning involved stopping at Timmys to pick up a extra large double double and a 24 pack of Tim bits for the trip.

Or sometimes it was a nice big muffin from Country Style.

That was after I had already ate breakfast at home which usually was left over pizza and some OJ.

Afterall, I needed energy for the eight hours of sitting in a chair staring at a computer screen that lay ahead.

So, I would spend up to two hours each day in my car driving to and from my job and then eight hours sitting in my chair working. 

Usually I would have a few more cups of coffee at the office drink a few cans of pop eat chocolate bars and pizza. 

Typically our office would hold pizza lunch meetings.

I couldn’t even go outside to walk because I had to work and sit during my lunch hour. 

That is a lot of sitting.

And to make matters even worse when I would arrive home I would open a beer and eat pizza or have a big t-bone steak.

One morning while I out for a walk before going to the office.

I started to feel a pain in my chest.

But I drove up to the office anyway, and had my coffee and Tim bits along the way too.

When I arrived to the office and sat myself in my chair to start work, the tightness in my chest got worse and was even having difficulty breathing.

I decided to inform my Manager that I was not feeling well and had to leave.

They were not happy to hear that and reluctantly let me leave the office.

My father met me at my home in Toronto and drove me over to the emergency department at Toronto general. 

I proceeded to admit myself to find out what the problem might be.

The nurses stripped me down and attached diodes all over my chest.

not long after that the doctor came to visit me.

He told me that my blood pressure was 300/220. 

That was more than twice as high as blood pressure should be.

I said “so what”.

He told me that technically, I should be dead, but I wasn’t.

I was lying naked in a hospital gown in a waiting room on display to everyone who entered the hospital.

I was even waving at the people as they entered.

immediately the doctor gave me a high blood pressure pill to lower my blood pressure. 

I told him that I didn’t want the blood pressure medication but he told me I had no choice.

They took chest x-rays and urine samples to examine.

I was finally released from the hospital 12 hours after being admitted.

It was not an experience I ever wanted to experience again.

That was the day I started to take blood pressure medication to lower my blood pressure.

It was also the beginning of a seven month long journey to find out if I had something wrong with my heart.

During the next seven months I had  my heart ultrasounded, had a heart stress test, an angiogram and a test that took images of my heart while inside a CatScan like machine. 

They slid my body inside the machine and rotated my body around to take pictures of my heart. 

Thankfully they did not need to insert any wires into my penis. 

The day finally arrived that I had my follow up appointment with the Chief of Cardiology to get results of all my tests.

He was a tall Polish man about the same age as myself but much thinner and fitter than myself.

I suspected that he did not drink double doubles and eat a box of Timbits on the way to the office every morning like I did.

He shook my hand and told me to sit down in a chair.

So , I asked him, “how’s my heart doc?”

He smiled and replied “Well Craig, you have the healthiest heart that I have ever seen!”

I was not ready for that answer. 

I asked him to repeat what he said just to make sure I heard him

correctly.

All the rock concerts I had been to  in my life had also caused my hearing to be less than what it should.

That was the best news I had ever received from a doctor.

His recommendation was to lose weight, a lot of weight.

I asked him how I will be able to lose the weight. He told me that it was up to me to figure it out.

He shook my hand once again and said it was nice meeting me and that he never wanted to see me again. Have a great life.

I certainly did not want to see him ever again either.

Summer, and the livin’ easy

Craig

It’s another hot summer day and I live for summer.

And a bowl of spicy guacamole too of course.

Did you think it was going to say something else?

I thought so.

What tastes better with guacamole than a nice cold glass of fresh homemade lemonade.

During my travels to Mexico, I have discovered a healthy homemade lemonade at the organic joint I have dinner at before hitting the dance floor.

This tasty cocktail came in handy when I stayed out a little too late dancing and followed by tacitos after and developed gout.

Ingredients:

  • Juice of one fresh organic lemon
  • 1-2 tablespoon Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons organic honey
  • 8 ounces of clean fresh water
  • Ice

Directions

  • squeeze the juice of one fresh organic lemon into a glass and remove the seeds
  • Add 2 tablespoons of organic honey
  • Stir the organic honey and fresh lemon juice together
  • Add fresh cold water stir in the ice and enjoy

Since the lemon juice and the Apple cider vinegar are acidic they can soften tooth enamel.

Never give up

Craig

Today was a special day for me.

I went back to my first spin and yoga class since my bicycle accident last summer.

It felt awesome to ride a spin bike and sweat for 45 minutes.

After five months of not exercising, I had gained weight and have become somewhat saggy.

But the human body is really amazing.

Muscles actually remember what it’s like to exercise after many months of not exercising.

It’s a term called Muscle memory.

It was hard to return to doing pushups, squats and curls after such a long time away.

But since I made a promise to change my life 10 years ago, staying healthy and fit is a top priority in my life and will continue to be.

What a difference a decade can make

Craig

Happy New Year!

It’s hard to believe that it’s 2020.

It’s going to be the best decade ever.

The last decade was a life saver and a game changer and will only get better.

Back in 2010, I was a 46 year old, unhealthy and overweight graphic designer living in Toronto.

My daily routine consisted of going for a short walk in the morning and then driving to the office to sit in a chair all day.

I would have a big bowl of oatmeal and eat a dozen or two TimBits with an extra large triple triple before arriving at the office.

The hour long drive was stressful so the drive through was my best friend.

There certainly were no chocolate avocado smoothie’s or green juices for my breakfast back in those days.

I had reached 300 pounds

And by 2010, I had reached 300 pounds, was wearing big and tall clothes with a 44 inch waist to prove it.

Exercise and proper diet were not part of my life like they are now.

It is now January 2020 and I am healthy and fit 56 year old man with a 32 inch waist, weigh 175 pounds with a BMI of 24.

I no longer take a plethora of medications when I wake up in the morning

Wearing skinny jeans and slim fitting shirts has become normal.

I am now an entirely different person, in more ways than you can imagine.

In 2015 I started to take yoga classes and then spinning and circuit training classes. From there how to eat clean and do juice and vegetable cleanses.

That is when my weight loss really accelerated.

My pants fell right off

One day my pants literally fell right off while I was walking out of the yoga studio. I needed to go buy new pants and a belt that day.

And in 2020 and beyond I plan to continue to get healthier and fitter.

Staying motivated to get up and go to the gym every day is hard work.

Keep investing in yourself. After all, you are worth it.

Nobody said it was going to be easy.

Staying positive, having attainable goals, a personal trainer and a proper support team in place to achieve your fitness goals is important.

But most importantly, remember to have fun.

Back in the Saddle

Craig

It’s been 10 weeks since I fell off my bicycle and injured myself.

It has not been fun sitting alone with an ice pack on my my leg lump for 90 days, taking stitz baths and going to sleep every night at 8pm.

Healing process has been painfully slow.

At times I wondered whether I was even getting better.

I would never have thought that falling off a bicycle could cause such a serious injury, but it did.

After three months, I have finally turned the corner and starting to get and feel better.

As crazy as it sounds, I have become healthier and fitter during the time I have taken off from yoga, circuit training, working out and spin classes.

Being healthy has helped to have a faster injury recovery time.

I’m looking forward to returning to my exercise schedule and getting on with my life.

Being fit helped save my life

Craig

While cycling to town on a secret mission last weekend, I hit a bump on the bike path.

The bike lock dangling over my handle bars changed position and prevented me from steering my bike.

I hit the ground with a violent thud.

Once I regained consciousness, someone came to help me get up and I made my way to the emergency ward to have a CAT-scan, x-rays and get examined by a doctor.

Thankfully I was healthy and physically fit and was wearing my bike helmet or it could have been worse, much worse.

I sustained a concussion, bone contusion to my left femur bone and injured my shoulder and arm.

I feel grateful to be alive today and have a entirely new appreciation for life.