Sepia Saturday

28 Sunday Apr 2024

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Two brothers this week so I went looking for photos of siblings from long ago.

The Conference Between the Brothers How to Get Rich. United States, 1777. [London: Publish’d by W. Williams Fleet Street, as the Act directs] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2004673330/.

Currier & Ives. Little Brothers. , ca. 1875. New York: Published by Currier & Ives. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2002708548/.

The brothers above are harmless compared with the brothers above.

John Clem & Brother. , None. [Between 1855 and 1865] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2017895708/.

You can see the resemblance.

Ridiculous

25 Thursday Apr 2024

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I’m not a fan of American schools adopting Pajama Day, Funny Hat Day, etc. I for enjoying learning or having extra recess but this silliness takes the cake.

Now I’ve learned that a primary school near me will have an Illumination Day. Students in grades K -2 will bring a flashlight to school and all day the classroom lights are off. The kids will do their work by the light of their flashlight sitting under their desk.

Right.

Sepia Saturday

20 Saturday Apr 2024

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April is Two Together month for Sepia Saturday so I sought out pairs sitting together.

Don’t Be Mad With Me, ca. 1900. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2011660049/.

I don’t understand the caption. Some context is missing.


Storer, Florence Edith, Artist. Two Children Sitting on Lion Sculptures. , 1909. [?] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2010718381/.

Rizzuto, Angelo, photographer. Children Sitting Out Front of a Laundromat. United States New York New York State, 1958. [08/58] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2020636565/.

Health and Wellness

18 Thursday Apr 2024

Posted by in Books

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First Post

Like many, especially after COVID, I’ve wanted to lose some added pounds. Ah, aging and its slowing metabolism.

No matter how I ate and exercised I experienced little satisfying change. Whether I exercised a lot or a little, whether I swore off dessert or didn’t, the scale stayed the same.

Like many, with the lockdown of COVID, during which time I walked more, but nibbled more in the afternoon, I gained weight.

This year I made some changes that did achieve some success so they’re worth sharing.

  • For Lent I gave up sweets and wine. On Sundays I did indulge. I noticed that I felt worse on Sundays. A drag in energy.
  • I started an online program called Wondr from my insurance company.
    • Wondr’s short videos encouraged me to eat when I was at a “Level 3” of hunger. So eat when the stomach begins to growl, but before you’re famished.
    • Eat for 10 minutes, stop for 5, and resume eating if you really feel hungry.
    • Drink water flavored with a splash of juice.
    • Eat your favorite foods first.
  • I stopped eating starches for breakfast. That’s been tricky. I’ve tried this before by eating salad or fruits. (In Asia lots of hotels have salad bars in their breakfast buffets. That’s where I started eating salad in the morning.) These breakfasts left me hungry by 10:30 or 11:00. So I’ve started having protein for breakfast.
  • A friend increased her meat consumption and my research on PubMed showed that eating a bit more protein helps with weight loss and well being. So I’ve been eating more bacon or cold meat from last night’s dinner.
  • I’ve also eliminated almost all prepared foods. Since I eat dinner with my parents most nights, sometimes I do eat something prepared. It’s not feasible to make two different dinners, but ideally I hope to only eat from the perimeter of the grocery store.

So far, I’ve lost 8 pounds. I have broken my daily sweets habit and continued a better breakfast habit, which makes me feel full till late morning.

I’m better at eating when I’m hungry vs. eating because the clock says to. I’m happy with my slow improvement.