Author: Trish

Retired English teacher living in Norway
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Virtue of the Week – Strength

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through the experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” Helen Keller

We all use strength when we carry on in spite of our difficulties. Some difficulties are hard to overcome, others actually just need determination and perseverance to get to where one wants to be. I find that many of the virtues work together in our daily lives and it can be difficult to distinguish which one is the most important in any situation.

Let me give a personal example. Several years ago I decided that I wanted to go down in weight, not a lot, but perhaps three kilograms would be better for my health. To help me persevere with my decision, I decided to weigh myself every morning, before breakfast, and write it down. Keeping a daily record helps with perseverance with this particular goal.

Along the way, I found that I was unable to actually go down much in weight and keep it off, so I changed my goal. After all, when I thought about the situation, what was most critical was to not go up in weight. Changing my goal gave me the strength to continue with my project. If I ever get back up to my highest weight, I then have the strength and determination to restrict what I eat that day.

This week I want to practice strength, patience, perseverance and determination to reduce my weight in the next month by half a kilogram. These four virtues work hand in hand and cannot be separated in this project. I need the patience with myself if things don’t go right. I need determination to have a goal and work towards it over several weeks. I need strength to resist temptation and to plan meals and activities that will help me attain my goal. I need perseverance to keep going even if things aren’t going as easily as I had hoped.

“Strength is the inner power to withstand whatever comes. It is our capacity to endure in the midst of tests. We grow in strength as we tackle life’s challenges with courage and determination. We deepen in strength when we choose gentleness and practice patience. We stay strong when we recognize that suffering is a thread woven through the design of our lives, not to make us unhappy, but to transform us with grace.”

To practice Strength, I

  • have the power to endure my tests
  • willingly face the challenges of my life
  • have the courage to persevere
  • cultivate gentleness and patience
  • understand the purpose of suffering
  • trust the value of transformation.

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Black-eyed beans

In North America these are also called cowpeas or black-eyed peas but they are actually beans.

Here are some of the health benefits of black-eyed beans:

  • 23.5 grams of protein per 100 grams of dry seed
  • a good source of dietary fiber (8 gr)
  • 353 kcal (1478 kj)
  • gluten-free
  • 58.2 gr of carbohydrates but only 1.4 grams of sugar
  • excellent source of B-vitamins and folates
  • source of minerals such as calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, selenium and zinc
  • low in cholesterol
  • good source of potassium

I use one deciliter of dry beans for two people. This weighs about 90 grams so will give about 160 kcal for each person.

I soaked the beans overnight in water and then cooked them for about 30 minutes. They were soft enough to eat, but still a bit crunchy in a salad.

Black-eyed beans are also excellent in soups, but if overcooked they become pureed. You can use them in stews, or mash them and use them in patties.

Some additional information about the health benefits of black-eyes beans (cowpeas) can be found at https://www.nutrition-and-you.com/cowpeas.html

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What’s for Dinner? Nutritional Balance

When planning a meal, it is important to get a balance of the three major food types – protein, carbohydrates and fats.

Protein usually comes from meat or fish, but can also be from milk products including cheese, eggs and legumes (such as lentils and chick peas).

Carbohydrates are typically potatoes, pasta or rice, but can also be bread or other wheat products such as couscous.

Fats are often a part of the ingredients, as meat will often have fat with it, or it can be the cooking oil that is used in preparing the meal. Some fat will give more flavor to the meal, but too much will increase the amount of calories. Fats can be from animals or from plants.

In addition to these three main food types, it is necessary to eat food with a lot of fiber, such as raw vegetables and fruit. We also need a variety of minerals and vitamins from our food.

In future posts I will be looking at various ingredients that are typically used in dinner meals and looking at how they contribute to good nutrition. I will be looking at how we can vary our diet by increasing the variety of ingredients that are nutritious and tasty.

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Book Review: Why We Sleep

Matthew Walker: Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams, was published by Scribner in 2017.

I read this book in September 2019 and really enjoyed the book. It helped me understand the importance of getting enough sleep and the problems caused by lack of sufficient sleep.

Why We Sleep - Walker, Matthew P

For many years I have had problems getting enough sleep and reading this book enabled me to understand how important it is to get at least seven hours of sleep every night. Sleep is important for learning and for creativity. When we get too little sleep, we can have problems coping with our daily life and can make bad decisions.

Our brain is active when we sleep and busy getting things done, such as getting rid of the garbage and connecting up the things we have learned during the day. This book tells about some of the latest research about how our brains work.

In addition, our body goes through several stages of sleep, all of which are important for us to have every single night. If you read the book, you can get a better understanding of these different stages of sleep.

The quality of our sleep changes as we get older and it is quite common for older people to sleep fewer hours at a time and to be awake more during the night. Though the author did have a chapter on older people, I found that I wanted more information about how to get better sleep now that I am over 70 years of age. Perhaps there is a need for research to be done in this field.

The author is very concerned that that sleep deprivation is currently a common health problem that is not being treated and that many people in the western world feel that it is okay to get by with only four hours of sleep at night. When the brain does not get enough hours of sleep at night, it will deteriorate and this can be a contributing factor to dementia when we get older.

As a teacher, I used to tell my students that getting a good night’s sleep was the best preparation for a test or exam. The research presented in this book backs up my advice. Yes, a person needs to study before a test or exam, but then the brain needs a full night’s sleep to put everything into place so that it can be recalled during the test or exam.

The well-used phrase, “sleep on it”, is actually very good advice. When we sleep the brain will be working on the problem for us, making links to previous information that is already stored, and perhaps coming up with creative solutions during the night.

I recommend reading this book, no matter your age. It is easy to read, not too technical and has good stories to illustrate the author’s point of view.

Happy reading!

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What’s for dinner? Salad #1

We eat salad quite regularly as I am very fond of raw vegetables. The most common ingredients for my salads are lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, red peppers and carrots. However, today I decided to put some protein in my salad. I cooked some black-eyed peas (also called cowpeas) ahead of time and added them cold to the salad.

The ingredients for today’s salad.

When making a salad, I usually try to have various colors in the bowl. Red is usually tomato and red pepper. Orange is grated carrot. Green is the lettuce and cucumber. In addition I decided to have cooked black-eyed peas. I put a dressing on the salad based on mayonnaise, dill and parsley. I also added paprika (the spice) though it didn’t get in the picture as it was an after-thought.

We both enjoyed the salad. The peas in the salad made it a bit crunchier. They also added protein to the salad.

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Virtue of the Week – Patience

We live in a society where everyone seems in a hurry, on the roads, in the stores, or to get things done. For me, practicing patience means that I take the time to do things correctly and well. I plan and set goals, and I work consistently towards my goals. I do a little bit each day. I don’t let others hurry me. I work at my own pace.

It is important to have patience with oneself as well as with others. Trust and faith in ourselves is an important part of patience. On the other hand, patience is not procrastination or letting oneself be bossed around by others. Patience is keeping going, even if the going gets tough.

After a busy social week, I now have a week that can be used to get projects around the house done. I need to spread the projects over several days, getting a balance between different types of projects, especially the difference between sitting activities and activities that mean that I can move around a lot.

Patience is quiet hope and faith that things will turn out right. We trust the process of life. We are not hasty. We do not rush or allow ourselves to be overcome by pressure. Patience helps us to endure things we cannot control with a peaceful heart. We respond to mistakes or delays, not with judgement but gentleness. We recognize the lessons that come through waiting, and receive them as gifts unfolding with Divine timing. Patience brings acceptance. It calls us to be still in the moment, to be restful, and to listen deeply. Patience soothes our souls.

The practice of Patience:
* I am hopeful and expectant.
* I am gentle with myself and others when we make mistakes.
* I accept things I cannot control with humor and grace.
* I am confident that my life is unfolding as it should.
* I live fully in the present moment.

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Knitting tip #5 – The end of the ball of yarn

I like to use the yarn from the center of the ball/skein, as it then doesn’t roll around. But as there gets less and less left in the ball/skein, there can be problems pulling the yarn from the center. What’s left has a tendency to end up in a big knot.

Solution: Use a plastic bag to hold the ball/skein of yarn, or several balls/skeins if I am using more than one color. The yarn continues to pull out from the center of the ball/skein and I avoid having a knot at the end.

I often use resealable bags, so that when I put away a project, what I am knitting can also be put in the bag (if it’s small enough).

I often have several knitting projects going at the same time, often as there is a need for something simple to knit while watching television or when chatting to people, as well as a project that is more challenging. With each project in it’s own bag, it is easy to keep the yarn separate for each project.

Comment on terminology – I use a “ball” of yarn, though others might use a “skein” of yarn. Looking up various sources online, these terms might be interchangeable though some people would think that there is a difference. One manufacturer described a “ball” as something that you would use the yarn from the outside and a “skein” as something that you could use the yarn from the inside.

Most of the “balls” of yarn that I buy in Norway are easy to find the center of the ball and to use the yarn from the inside.

Using Google translate to go from Norwegian to English, a “nøste” is translated as “skein” and “garnnøste” is translated as “ball of yarn”. So even Google seems to feel that the terms are basically interchangeable. Perhaps, too, growing up in BC in Canada influenced the term that I would use.

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Knitting tip #4 – Knitting Diary

As I mentioned in my last post, I keep a knitting diary, where I write down every evening what I’ve accomplished with my knitting projects during the day. For example, “10 cm on sock done”, or “finished first sleeve on baby sweater”. I started writing my knitting diary on the 1st of October, 2018.

This book is about 10 cm by 15 cm and is small enough to put in a pocket, handbag or knitting bag.

Now that I am retired, knitting is one of my daily activities, one that I find very relaxing as well as useful. Though I knit primarily in the evenings, if I am awake in the middle of the night, I often spend an hour knitting then too. This book becomes a log of what has happened in that particular aspect of my life.

The purpose of the diary is primarily to acknowledge, to myself, that I have done some knitting, or worked on a knitting project, during the day. Purchases of yarn or knitting equipment are recorded. When a project is finished, I record the dimensions of the finished product as well as the amount of yarn used.

But the diary has practical uses as well. For example, when I have completed a project, I can go back and see when I started it and calculate how long it took to do the project. This helps me plan future projects, especially anything that will have a specific deadline.

In addition to a written diary, I will always take a picture of the finished project so that I have a visual record as well of what I have done.



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Knitting tip #3 – Keeping track of progress

There are times when I lose motivation to keep going on a knitting project. This is often when the project becomes a bit monotonous, such as the body of a sweater for a tall person, or a repetitive pattern that I need to concentrate on.

I have found that it helps if I can see how much I have done every day. It also helps me set a reasonable goal for how much I can get done in a day. I place a marker on the last row done on the previous day then in the evening I can see how much I have accomplished that day. It gets written down in a knitting diary.

Note the pink marker that shows how much I have knit on this sleeve so far today. The marker gets moved either in the evening when I have decided not to knit any more, or in the morning when I start the day’s knitting.
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Virtue of the week – Moderation

Back in the 1990s we learned about the Virtues Project and every Sunday we pick a virtue to practice for the upcoming week. This week we picked Moderation.

What does Moderation mean for me at this point in my life? We have just finished a holiday season, with too much eating and too little exercise. I am choosing to practice moderation this week by being moderate in my consumption of food and drink. Meal portions need to be the right size so that I have the energy I need to work, but not so large that I put on weight. Caffeine is an addiction and I want to restrict the amount of caffeine drinks that I consume each day. Water is a healthier drink when I’m thirsty. I set myself a goal and I stick to it.

I also need to make sure that I get a moderate amount of exercise, whether it is going for walks outside, or just making sure I get up off the sofa and do some housework.

Moderation means not overdoing things whatever one chooses to spend time on. The day should have a mixture of activities, that include time alone, but also time with others. There should be a mixture of work activities and play activities. There should be time for relaxation as well as serious activities.

“Moderation is the silken thread running through the pearl chain of all virtues.” Joseph Hall

Moderation is being content with enough. It is using self-discipline to create a healthy balance between work, rest, reflection and play. Moderation protects us from the pull of addictive desires. We do not grasp to do or have more in the belief that we are lacking. We do not try to be everything to everyone. We set healthy boundaries that value our time and energy. We protect ourselves from the stress of overdoing. We discern our own perfect rhythm. Moderation isn’t deprivation. It is loving ourselves enough to choose what is just right.

The Practice of Moderation means that:

  • I spend my time and energy sustainable.
  • I remember to pray and to play.
  • I am free of addictions.
  • I carry responsibility wisely.
  • I protect myself from the stress of excess.
  • I live gently and gracefully.