katiemae_days

look mom, no sulfites!

 

 

Look Ma, No sulfites!.

I've not been drinking much wine since ridding myself of gluten, dairy and most sugar. I haven't missed the stuff because I haven't missed stuffy sinuses. 

My health specialist friend suggested that if I did want to drink a glass every now and again, try sulfite-free. We went to a potluck last night at our dear neighbors and I felt like having a glass or two of the red stuff so pre-party I went and bought a bottle of "Our Daily Red," an organic, no sulfite detected red that in fact was fairly tasty.  I looked at each pour as an experiment in sinus clarity.

Here it is morning and though perhaps I'm not as stuffed as usual, I am a little plugged. Sorry if that sounds gross. Let's just say neti pot here i come. Still, the wine tasted fine with a price match so I'd do it again, next time I want to have a glass.

Why add sulfites to wine and what are they in the first place? Rather than try on this fine Saturday morning to rewrite what I just read, here is a bit about sulfites straight from the winemaker:

"Sulfites are used for two reasons, the first is anti-oxidation. When you cut an apple and leave it out, it turns brown within an hour. This is due to exposure to oxygen and the same thing will happen to grape juice and wine. While we could live with the color change, the more delicate fruit flavors are also changed by oxidation and sulfites step in to grab the oxygen first and save the fruit characters.

The second reason for sulfite use is anti-microbial. Sulfites inhibit (they don’t kill) the growth of many yeasts and bacteria. While some yeast and bacteria are instrumental to the production of wine, some have other, less pleasant results and are to be avoided."

So I guess in giving up sufites, I drank more yeast. Oh dear.  I'll be sure not to whine about the wine.

on the board...

This project is well over a year in the making...no not painting the trim upstairs, that one's still in the making..the project I'm referring to is none other than my "vision board". my dear friend and soul sister who I call Puck inspired me to create my board as a way of putting down some of what I'm dreaming in visual form. She recommended doing the board during the new moon.

So soon after my rich visit with Puck, I ran into my good pal in the produce section of our local grocery store and I'd mentioned the idea to her..you know apples, oranges and ..vision boards! They go together right? She was down with the idea and we set a date to create our boards together.  Today was the day. I was plumb tired  this morning after my girl awoke at nearly 2am from a scary dream and then her Papa was snoring louder than a chainsaw well let's just say it wasn't the most restful night of sleep for me, the mama. That said, there was no stopping me from clipping and collaging my vision into being. What was most rich perhaps was just talking and letting our thoughts roll while pouring over magazines and catalogs finding inspiring words and photos. After clipping for nearly two hours, we put our visions down. What I loved was the color and vibrancy in our boards. I loved seeing our visions and inspirations sprout into being. Beautiful.

The process organic. My favorite way. Unstructured, unplanned. We'd each clipped so much we have the makings of a second board. I decided actually to make a two-sided board which I'll hang. I look at my board now sitting in my office space and feel energized. The colors, words, photos symbols of what I want to acknowledge, remember and know in my daily life. I created this vision holding somewhere in my thoughts the idea of my transition and where I want to go with it, what I want to create. Side two perhaps is where I'll play that out even more.

I love that I have something to hold and look at and visualize upon. Yes! I love that at the start of our visit together I was dragging, so tired and by the end felt renewed and re-energized. A big cup of strong coffee didn't hurt either. I love that I got to share this experience with my good friend. As I wrote to her just a little while ago, had we not planned on doing this together my vision board might be a project undone for another long while. Vision board created...now maybe on to the trim! Or maybe the Papa can do that one..let's be real, I suck at painting trim..

Thanks to my pal too as she was the photographer this morning capturing our visualizations in the making.

And to round out this beautiful day, my girl and I went and sampled the cupcakes at the new cupcake shop  in town. We ended up playing cards for hours and visiting with the owner and her daughter, enjoying a completely rich time in the edible sense and otherwise. The shop is lovely, relaxing decorated in polka dots, pastels..furnished in white wooden tables and big comfy chairs. A steady stream of customers of all ages made there way in for a cupcake or two while we were there. After meeting the owner, I could feel the shop to be her vision. She loves baking and you feel that. You feel her warmth and welcoming in her personality and in the vibe of the shop. We sat in the big cozy chairs and played "Go Fish", "Crazy 8s" and 3 rounds of "Old Maid". My girl asked why they called the game "Old Maid" and well that was a fun one to try and explain. Toss that expression right out the window along with any worries about the super-rich, super chocolaty frosting, calorie-packed frosting and cake I put in my body this afternoon!