This Week's Menu

S: vegetarian lasagna
M: chicken stir fry
T: fresh pasta with pesto
W: burgers in brioche buns
T: risotto
F: salmon en croute
S: chicken in cider

ICNU?

A friend is working on her PhD in psychology. She has ADHD, and posts very interesting little snippets. 

 It's a common misconception that ADHA simply means hyper and/or being unable to focus, when a more accurate way to describe it would be not as an attention deficit, but as an executive function deficit.

... how this actually affects people is 'ICNU': Interest, Challenge, Novelty and Urgency. If something doesn't meet one of those four categories, someone with ADHD just isn't goig to be able to do it.

Let's use doing the dishes as an example.

Is it interesting? Not even slightly.

Challenging? Not really.

Novel? Nah.

Urgent? Not yet.

But once the person actually needs clean dishes, then it gets dones, because now it meets one of those four criteria. In that sense, putting things off until the very last second is essentially a coping mechanism for ADHA, rather than a symptom.

In the last year or two, I've thought about whether I might have Attention Deficient Disorder. After Mel's post resonated so strongly with me, I took three different tests, and they all said I might have a moderate level of ADHA. These were just internet tests, not conducted by a phycologist, but I was shocked. Then a whole string of things slotted into place. 

Over the years I've developed coping mechanisms, and avoidance techniques. Some are good, others well, quite awful. I'm going to look into better coping mechanisms, and learn how to better fit into a world that doesn't quite fit.

The first thing I have learned is I need to make unpleasant, undoable tasks fall into one of the four categories, Interest, Challenge, Novelty, and Urgent. One thing I have been trying to do recently is split tasks into much smaller chunks, and set mini-deadlines. This move them into 'Urgent'. 

Salmon and Edamame Bean Salad

 

This recipe is based on a recipe from The Fast 800 Recipe Book.

Ingredients (serves 2):

25g brown rice

75g edamame beans

2 salmon fillets (cooked)

1 tsp sesame seeds

2 large handfuls of spinach or mixed salad leaves

handful of sugar snap peas

1 medium carrot, coarsely grated

2 spring onions, finely slices

4 radished, trimmed and sliced

1 Tsp vinegarette dressing

Method:

Place the ingredients into a bowl, and drizzle the vinegarette over the top.

Notes:

Yesterday, I cooked extra portions of Sesame Salmon with Broccoli and Tomatoes, and used the salmon in this dish. There was a little broccol and some tomatoes left over. The broccoli was chopped into bite-sized chunks. These were also added to the salad.

I was about to say this was the first time I've had edamame beans, and comment on how similar they are to soya beans. Then I paused, had a quick Google, and read they are immature soya beans. What ever you call then, they are tasty.

Sesame Salmon with Broccoli and Tomatoes

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil

2 salmon fillets

6 spring onions, each cut into 3 pieces

12 cherry tomatoes

200g tender stem broccoli

2Tsp soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp sesame seeds

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Drizzle the olive oil on a large baking sheet, and place the salmon, spring onions and cherries onto the it. Cook for 8 minutes.

Add the broccoli to a pan of boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Then drain.

Add the broccoli to the baking sheet. Drizzle the soy sauce, and sesame oil over the fish. Scatter the sesame seeds. Bake for another 3 minutes.

Notes:

We didn't have sesame oil, therefore olive oil was substituted.

We had a tub of rice noodles to use up. The Beloved and the Offspring had noodles with their salmon.

Everyone said they would happily have this meal again.

This Week's Menu

 

Lunches:
S: smoked bacon salad
M: feta and melon salad
T: salmon and edamame bean salad
W: chicken salad
T: tuna salad
F: stilton and cranberry salad
S: (no idea yet!)

Dinners:
S: roast chicken with cauliflower cheese, and veggies
M: sesame salmon with broccoli and tomatoes
T: pecorino chicken
W: cheesy bacon butternut squash
T: hot chicken salad
F: stir fry cod with hoisin sauce
S: chicken breasts with lemon and garlic

And Breathe

 

My head is a great deal better today. I can think again!  There's still a little 'thickness', and a bit of pain at the head/spine area, I'm feeling good.  I've been looking at foods high in magnesium and realised I don't eat many of them. 

In addition to my horse-pills, I'll be increasing my intake of Mg-rich foods. My breakfast of  granola and natural yogurt can be enhanced by tossing in some roasted cashews and pumpkin seeds. Instead of a couple of clementines mid-afternoon, I'll have a banana.  Salmon will be  a more frequent item on the menu, as will spinach. These changes, along with supplements should hopefully start to rectify the problem.

This morning I learned one of the other symptoms of magnesium deficiency is high blood pressure. An increase in Mg may well help my BP to be A OK once more. 

Crash!

 

I forgot to take my horse-pill until I was almost asleep last night. My body would not co-operate, and would not rise from my partial slumber to trundle down the stairs to get the magnesium. This was a big, big, BIG mistake.

Today I am suffering. It's migraine time, and I can function at a superficial level. I won't be making that mistake again!

Tulips, Snowdrops and Bluebells

 

Whilst out walking Ava, I saw the most wonderful display of white tulips. I have decided to have white tulips, snowdrop and bluebells in my garden next year. It will be lovely to have a little patch of white and green, then followed by a riot of summer colour.

One place to buy white bluebells is at Farmer Gracy.

Even Happier

 

Wheeeee!  No headaches what so ever! I'm delighted!

Happy!

 

I am happy!  

The migraine has gone, but there is still a bit of low frequency throbbing from the tension headache. I'm feeling happy, and sunny, and so much better.

At work, I was speaking to a colleague who is a former nurse. I'd mentioned how much better I was feeling. I didn't think the magnesium tablet could have kicked in already, but that the placebo effect was wonderful. She explained magnesium can be processed very quickly, and she would expect the benefits to be from the Mg, and not placebo. Surprised and delighted, was I.

Head and Finger

A muscle at the base of middle finger decided it didn't like its normal position and spasmed. It took a fair bit of massage to get it back into its proper place. Then in the afternoon, a migraine started, and the finger decided to go its own way again. I'd been having tension headaches off and on last week.

Muscle spasms can be caused by a lack of magnesium. Coeliacs can have problems getting a proper about of essential minerals because of crappy gut absorption doodahs.

I started thinking, 'Perhaps I need some magnesium.' Then a stray memory waved at me from a distance - migraines and tension headaches can also have something to do with magnesium.

I've taken a huge horse-pill of magnesium. Hopefully it might make things a little better.

Covid and Luftwaffe to Blame

 

There have been delays to the new ferry terminal. As can be expected, when there are delays, there are also price increases. Covid is certainly a very understandable reason for delays. I was a little perplexed by the Luftwaffe also being to blame. After digging a little deeper, a few unexploded World War II bombs were found. Yup, a bomb or two can definitely cause delays.

Favourite Things

 

• Hugs from favourite people, especially when they haven't been hugged in a long time
• Blue skies and wispy, white, skudding clouds
• White chocolate
• Warm spring days
• Walks on the beach
• Bacon sandwiches
• Learning new things, be they words, languages, skills, recipes...
• Having people over to our home
• Crafting
• Writing
• Singing silly songs
• Getting just the right spot on the dog so she makes really derpy faces

Wild Flower Gardening

 

I've been inspired by councils and other authorities deciding to ditch grass verges and instead have wild flower meadow strips instead.

The Beloved and I have removed weeds from a flower bed. We've planted pansies, and I've sown poppies and a wild flower seed mix. The bed is looking better than it did this morning, and hopefully, it will be in bloom in a few weeks times. I'm fully expecting the pansies to be overshadowed by the taller wild flowers, but they will be pretty until they start growing.

Next year, I'm hoping to plant a cottage garden. The aim is to have riot of colour, with very little maintenance.

Fabulous Day

We've had a lovely day today. In the morning, there was Shut Up and Write. Afterwards, we sat and chatted for a while. Then the Beloved, the Offspring, Ava the dog, Magdalena and I sauntered around to the Creperie. 

The food was wonderful. Three of us had variations on goat's cheese galettes. The lovely Livia asked if Ava might like a cheese and ham galette. We assured her this would be most welcome. Livia was a little sad when Ava didn't tuck into it right away. I broke it into pieces, and saw the steam escaping. Too hot for a pooch.   When Livia returned, Ava's plate was clean, and she licked her lips at her. I explained this meant she was thanking the chef for a delicious meal.

This is most definitely somewhere we need to visit again.

Crosh Cuirn

The information here has been edited from a description of a Crosh Cuirn at the Manx Museum. I'll be including a mention of a crosh cuirn in the story of Honey Hill Farm.

A crosh cuirn is a traditional Manx protective charm, often hung above doorways to prevent evil spirits from entering homes on May eve. It is a wooden cross, made from twigs of mountain ash (rowan) bound together with sheep's wool gathered from the hedgerows. The rowan tree was seen as having magical powers which made it a powerful charm against evil spirits, but only if broken by hand and not cut with a knife.

Traditionally at May eve (the beginning of summer and end of winter), crosh cuirns would be placed over the doors of cottages and cowsheds to stop evil spirits from entering. They would also be tied to the tails of cattle, to stop the cattle being bewitched. 

Most people no longer believe in ill-spirits and witches being about on May eve, but many still put up crosh cuirns every year. It is probably fair to say that they are now seen as a symbol of Manx cultural identity, rather than anything else.

Re-starting 100 Days

 

The 100 Days challenge slipped by un-noticed. My mind was focused on re-opening the shop, getting the VAT returns in, stock taking and other end of financial year stuff. 

I don't know how many days I had managed to do, but it definitely made a difference. In the past, I might well have thrown up my hands and said "Another project on which I failed to deliver." Whilst it is true, there are no real consequences to stumbling in the 100 Days. It just delays the completion of the book. Another reaction might have been that if I couldn't do it perfectly first time, then I never would, and it would be best to give up.  But not this time. This time, I'm simply going to say the previous attempt was a practise, and now I'm ready to go.

The first of May, the first day of summer, is the first day of my 100 Days. 

I Am Relieved

We've just heard the Government press briefing. Despite a few new cases of Covid, and one of unknown source, we are not heading back into lockdown. Ninety four percent of the most vulnerable people have been vaccinated, and seventy percent of adults have received at least one vaccination.

I'm so relieved!  

I'm also relieved money is flowing into the business account. On Saturday morning, I'll need to take a trip to the bank to deposit money.

We're reached a lovely number. Seventy percent of adults have received their first vaccination. This figure has been reached before the younger adults have been invited to book appointments. I very much hope the figure continues to grow, and as many as are able to receive, do.

100 Days of Writing

That's 7 days of writing done. The goal is a minimum of 10 minutes each day. It's not turning out that way. The least amount of time I have spent is 25 minutes. Most days, it's closer to an hour.

My pen is making marks on paper, very little, probably none of it, is finished prose. I'm doing research, fleshing out characters, plotting the timeline, adding dates, and dreaming up new ideas. 

When I was only writing on a Saturday, it felt rather disjointed, and I'd have to cudgel my brain into remembering where I had reached. It's much less effort this way, and of course, progress is being made at a much quicker rate.