Drinking water is like washing out your insides. The water will cleanse the system, fill you up, decrease your caloric load and improve the function of all your tissues.

Kevin R. Stone

Now this may seem a strange topic for today’s blog but since it was new to me I thought maybe it might be to you too.

Jet Belly? I’d never heard of it. But since my flights returning to Gulf Shores let’s just say I’ve had “constitutional issues” This has never happened to me after any other flights. Not even after my flight to England. But then again my England flight was Signature Service ( I think that’s what it’s called). Very posh.

I assumed my current issue was a reoccurrence of diverticulitis which I’ve had a couple of times.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diverticulitis

But maybe not.

I did some online research to see if flying might have caused my “issues”. Amazing what information the internet holds.

Could it be jet belly?

What causes jet belly ? What are the symptoms?

From take-off to landing, your body is constantly adjusting to changes experienced while flying. One significant change is the shift in atmospheric pressure. As the plane ascends and descends, the air pressure inside the main cabin increases or decreases accordingly. You’ve likely felt your ears pop during take-off and landing due to the air within your ear canal adjusting to match the cabin’s air pressure. Similarly, this pressure adjustment occurs within your digestive system, contributing to travel bloat. Common jet belly symptoms include bloating, gas, stomach discomfort and constipation.

https://uk.biogaia.com/blogs/articles/avoid-travellers-diarrhoea#:~:text=Similarly%2C%20this%20pressure%20adjustment%20occurs,gas%2C%20stomach%20discomfort%20and%20constipation.

Who knew there was such a thing. And that it actually had a name.

Everyday I drink a lot of water. It’s something I’ve done for quite a long time. Except when travelling. I know that’s when I really should be consuming lots of water but I detest getting up and going to the washroom multiple times.

Two reasons:

1. At my age I now have to go more frequently.

2. With multiple flight connections I sit as close to the front of the plane as possible for a quick exit. When I used to take many non-stop flights to Toronto I would opt for a seat at the back, close to the washrooms. No problems then.

One good thing is that the ways to relieve the symptoms of diverticulitis and jet belly are similar.

So…

I’m drinking copious amounts of liquid: mostly water, and herbal tea. Carefully watching what I eat. Taking psyllium every morning.

Lesson learned. I will still opt for a seat close to the front but no matter what I will make sure I drink plenty of water and accept the fact I will have to get up and visit their facilities. The added bonus is that it will get me up walking which is also beneficial while flying.

Some articles I found if you’re interested.

https://flightfud.com/blogs/travel/jet-belly-bloating-after-flying#:~:text=You%20may%20feel%20discomfort%20and,and%20by%20taking%20natural%20supplements.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-airplane-flights-cause-digestive-problems1/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CDehydration%20due%20to%20low%20humidity,that’s%20gentle%20on%20the%20stomach.

Glad to read it shouldn’t last longer than a week.

So who knows if it’s diverticulitis, jet belly, or something else?

But I am on the mend.

Has anyone experienced this while flying? Let me know. Especially how long it took to return to normal.

Here’s your laugh for the day.

Envision this.

This morning.

9:00 am.

10 C

Richard and I on the deck reading.

Richard? In his tank top and shorts.

Me? In my tank top, athletic jacket, leggings, homemade wool socks (thanks Lynn), and wrapped in a blanket.

Sing The Water Song – This song was written by Irene Wawatie Jerome

Take care and stay healthy.

As always, thanks for your interest and thank you for reading.

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Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.

Helen Keller

Christmas was wonderful. I loved spending time with family and friends, baking for everyone, Christmas breakfast, Christmas dinner, watching movies/TV shows with family, and enjoying time with my grandson. I love singing with him. I introduced him to “Three Little Monkeys”. I used to do it with my kindergarten and grade one music classes. We had so much fun. Like most kids he caught on really quickly and loved when I used a loud, high pitched voice for the monkeys and a soft voice for the crocodile. I first heard it by Sharon, Lois, and Bram. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharon,_Lois_%26_Bram.

If you don’t know it, here’s Sharon, Lois, and Bram performing it.

We always decorate the basement family room with numerous multi coloured mini lights. Children are so honest with their emotions. His comment? “The lights make me happy.” How sweet is that. Love it. And him. Even got to babysit him for a few hours. Simply wonderful.

After a fabulous Christmas I headed back to Gulf Shores.

Thankful for wonderful family.

One of my sons drove me to Charlottetown on Monday. I stayed overnight with my brother and sister-in-law. Great visit. The early and I mean EARLY (3:10) Tuesday morning he took me to the airport. I was worried about checking in as I had tried to do online check-in on Monday but it failed. I was instructed to check-in at the airport.

A few hiccups.

Charlottetown Airport

Glad I was early. She had issues with swiping my passport. Just like in Pensacola. Why? Why? Why? After numerous attempts it finally worked and boarding passes received. Whew 😥

30 minutes late leaving but the flight attendant assured me I’d make my connection in Toronto. And I did.

Toronto Pearson Airport

Luckily not many going through security. Not compared to past experiences. Two things that increase your speed and ease when flying to the US are using the mobile app MPC to electronically submit your document info and responses, and having a Nexus card.

My flight to Houston was delayed by about an hour. That didn’t affect me as I would have an 8 hour wait in Houston for my Pensacola flight. But it significantly affected others. A pleasant surprise was meeting up with another retired PEI teacher. So nice to connect and chat. Sadly she and her husband were two of those affected by this delay. They missed their next connection but their flight was rescheduled for today. 🤞🏼

One slightly bothersome aspect of that flight. Not being allowed to use the business class bathroom. Now I do understand. They pay the big bucks for their seats and therefore get their private bathroom. I was three rows back from them. On previous flights I was allowed to use it. But not on this one. The attendant told me to use the one at the back. Ok. I get it. What I don’t get is that I saw at least a half dozen people from the economy seat section go there and they were allowed. Or maybe they watched to see he was gone and snuck in. Ha ha.

Houston Airport

Ok. My plan was to make the best of my long wait. Get in lots of walking. Visit the shops. Have supper. Enjoy a Starbucks latte.

Hmmmm. While checking the board for my gate number I noticed there were two earlier flights to Pensacola. I went to the desk person at the gate (I’m sure there’s a correct title for him but I don’t know it.) and asked if there were any available seats. Nope. Full up. On both flights. Although he wasn’t the most pleasant of people he did suggest I could try flying standby. Never having previously done this I wasn’t sure but I thought why not. Worth a shot. Wasn’t wasting any of my time as my flight wasn’t leaving until 8:22 pm. anyways. He assured me that my original booking would still be valid if I didn’t get on as a standby. Flight was called. I went to the gate. Lovely, pleasant person explained how it worked and she’d let me know if a seat was available. She and another person had some readjusting of luggage done and at the very last minute I was on the flight. Unbelievable. It meant a great deal to me. Instead of landing at 10 pm I landed at 3:15 pm. Yippee. Richard was thrilled. Well about as thrilled as you can be when having to drive an hour and 16 minutes to the airport. But no driving in the dark. That was the thrilling part.

Arrived home to the beach house exhausted but happy.

As tired as I was I decided to start the year on the right foot and do the beach walk with Richard this morning. It was cool but refreshing.

Happy New Year everyone. 🎉 Wishing you all good heath and happiness.

Happiness – Ken Dodd

Take care and stay healthy.

As always, thanks for your interest and thank you for reading.

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The things that make me different are the things that make me.

Winnie The Pooh

This week has been mostly a baking week. Carrying on traditions.

My Grandmother

The one thing I remember she always made at Christmas was Vanilla Fudge. (Not to be confused with Divinity Fudge-my mother made that.) I loved it. Sadly I can’t make it. How I wish I had her recipe. And none of my relatives have it. I doubt she even had it written down. All in her head. Pity.

My Late Husband’s Grandmother

An outstanding baker. I remember her telling me that she taught cooking for a while at a school for the deaf in Ontario (her words). She especially made scrumptious pies. One of my sons loved to put his fingers in them. Maybe that’s where his love of pie originated.

My Late Husband’s Mother

She made lots of sweets. Different ones than what my mother made: Mocha Cakes, (the ones my children called “Mocho Cakes”) Hello Dollies, Cherry Balls, Date Balls, Rum Balls, and Peanut Butter Balls, (apparently she must have liked balls) just to name a few. She also made The World’s Best Cookies to which, after eating one, my pie loving son responded, “You’ve got to be kidding Grammie.”

My Mother

Every Christmas she baked a ton. Enough for my family, my brother’s family, and her. One year she even baked for my best friend’s family. That was her. Always looking after others. And that’s the baking that we all remember. Every fall she’d have me sit with her and pour over cookbooks/store recipe booklets looking for a few new ones to add. Then after Christmas she’d decide if any new ones were ‘a keeper’. A few that she made were Scotch Cookies, Peanut Butter Blossoms (my daughter’s favourite), Peanut Butter Balls (one son’s favourite), Marshmallow Squares – Confetti Squares (other son’s favourite), Spider Cookies, and Butter Tarts. So many more. Too many to name.

So that’s been my week.

A bit of nostalgia, remembrance, tradition, honouring my past, and creating future memories, especially for my grandson. As I age the importance of these grows.

Yesterday was a great day for baking. There’s something special about a snow storm day. Knowing you can’t go anywhere and feeling snug and warm inside. Perfect baking conditions.

Now here’s what’s weird.

This week I suddenly realized what the first thing is that I always do when I start baking. Even before getting out the ingredients, mixing bowls, pans, utensils, etc. I ready the sink with detergent and hot water. Weird? Maybe. I never really thought about it before. Just occurred to me this week that it’s something I always do. And it makes sense to me. In go the dirty dishes as I use them. Then while items are baking I wash the dishes readying them for what comes next.

What about you? Do you have a specific baking routine?

In Mom’s memory I tried a new recipe, Almond Joy Cookies. Oh my. She’d call these ‘a keeper’. They taste like Hello Dollies without the graham cracker crumb crust. Simple to make. Yummy to eat.

Thus ends this year’s Christmas Baking. Eleven recipes completed.

Today’s song selection is for my grandson (and you). He was singing Jingle Bells when I visited this past week. And since we all love The Muppets this is perfect.

Jingle Bells – Andrea Bocelli and The Muppets

Take care and stay healthy.

As always, thanks for your interest and thank you for reading.

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Tomorrow.

That’s when I’m going to follow these words of wisdom.

A little window shopping in Charlottetown looking at store decorations. That’s relaxing to me + another visit with my grandson. ❤️

But today was more baking. A short break and went to lunch with my Aunt Fran and then visited my grandson.

This morning’s recipe:

Mocho Cakes.

A little back story.

Now I realize these are really named Mocha Cakes but my kids used to call them Mocho Cakes so that’s why I called them that today.

My first taste of these bites of deliciousness was in Woodstock, NB at the home of my late husband’s parents. His mother was a fine baker. This was one of her many Christmas delights. She continued to make these when they’d come to PEI to spend Christmas with us. Between her and my mother we were overloaded with sweets.

So….

Yesterday I got a request to make them. Now I hadn’t made them in 30-40 years but when you get a request you do your best. He bought the ingredients and today I began.

Read her recipe. Oh my. Not really specific. Examples: cut pound cake into squares, for icing use some butter size of 1/2 an egg, icing sugar, 2 tbsp. peanut butter, almond and vanilla extract. Mix with hot water until thin enough to dip the squares. Cover with crushed peanuts. Felt like I was on The Great British Bake Off. Now I love that show. But today I understood the stress that those bakers must feel. And it was messy. I mean really messy. Once I got into a rhythm it went much slicker. I ran out of peanuts so the last five squares I covered with coconut. Who knows but thankfully the peanut ones passed the taste test. Said they were just how he remembered them. Whew.

Had my two breaks and then back to baking.

Next

Thumbprint Cookies.

Easy recipe. Used raspberry and strawberry jams. I apparently made mine smaller than in the recipe as they ended up being Fingerprint instead of Thumbprint. Still tasted good.

Final

Whipped Shortbread Cookies

I usually make my mother’s Scotch Cookie recipe but changed things up today and tried Whipped ones.

Easy recipe and they turned out pretty good. Another day I’ll add some icing to them.

But not tomorrow.

It will be my rest day from baking.

The following song has cheeky lyrics but is slightly suggestive. Hopefully no one’s upset by it.

The Baking Song – The Lancashire Hotpots

Take care and stay healthy.

 As always, thanks for your interest and thank you for reading.

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“Baking is love made visible.” – Anonymous

Yes I made it home. Flight arrived approximately 2:15am Saturday night/Sunday morning. Whichever you call it. Needless to say I slept in past my usual 6:15.

Today?

Began baking.

Oh my. The list was made months ago, (Of course it was.) But where to start. That was the dilemma. I kept reading the list but still sat. By 9:00 enough was enough. Up and at ‘em.

Now I say I spent 5 hours baking but today nothing was really baked. That will be tomorrow. Today? All on top of the stove.

My Christmas baking doesn’t usually include so many Rice Krispie recipes but I thought my grandson might like them. Last year I made him cute Cookie Monster cookies. This year some other new ideas. TBA

From today:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Cups (new recipe this year)

Rice Krispie Squares but with the multi coloured Rice Krispies.

Peanut Butter Butterscotch Marshmallow Squares

No Bake Reese’s Bars (new recipe this year)

Rice Krispies (leftover mixture from the squares but put in paper cupcake liners)

My baking does not look the neatest. Round items not completely round. Sides aren’t straight. Chocolate topping not smooth. Nevertheless they were made with tons of love. Tasty. Letting go of perfection.

Although my baking may not look neat I am a very tidy baker. I’m constantly wiping the counter and washing up because I can’t stand to have clutter and mess.

Hmmmm. My counter keeps clean but me?

This is why I wear an old sweater when I bake.

I missed my daughter today.

That’s one thing I enjoyed about the pandemic. She was on PEI and we did some Christmas baking together. I treasure those moments.

By now I bet you’re thinking I forgot. But I didn’t.

The hardest thing about baking?

Keeping my fingers out of my mouth.

It’s amazing how my fingers got covered and then automatically went into my mouth. After the first few times of this happening I made a concerted effort to keep them out of my mouth, wiping and washing them often. Better that than me eating the goodies.

What Baking Can Do – Sara Bareilles

Take care and stay healthy.

As always, thanks for your interest and thank you for reading.

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Today’s saga.

Flying back to PEI for Christmas.

I know. I know. I’ve only been in Gulf Shores for two weeks. I wanted to be home for Christmas but I also didn’t want Richard to have to drive south alone.

Therefore I’m flying to PEI today for the Christmas holidays.

Up at 5:30. Arrived at Pensacola Airport at 7:00.

When I checked in online yesterday it said I’d have to go to a kiosk or the check-in counter to get a paper boarding pass for my flight out of Pensacola. Easy Peasy right?

Nope.

The person at the counter couldn’t get the computer to accept my passport. Oh great. Set the tone for the day. Three people tried. Kept getting denied. Finally one last swipe and it was accepted. Thank goodness because I was getting worried. I was actually given paper boarding passes for all three of my flights. Ok by me.

Flights

1. Pensacola, Florida to Houston. Texas.

2. Houston to Toronto, Ontario.

3. Toronto to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

Flight 1. After that initial hiccup all went according to schedule.

Flight 2. I only had an hour to make my connection from Houston to Toronto so I hoofed it as I landed in Terminal B but was departing from Terminal A. Got there in plenty of time since the flight was delayed by 30 min. That 30 min. turned into 60. But on the positive side at least we did depart.

Because of that late departure I again hoofed it to Customs in Toronto. My fault. Because I thought I was being oh so smart and getting things done I had filled out my ArriveCAN on Wednesday. Thus only having 30 min. to get to and through Customs. Ended up being no problem. Love my Nexus card.

Took a wrong turn and ended up at the Baggage Claim. Oops. So had to exit and again go through security. Simple due to Nexus. ❤️ Only issue was I had a part bottle of water in my purse. No big deal.

Flight 3. Hmmm. Fingers crossed. Flight is delayed until 23:00 pm. Meaning I don’t arrive on PEI until 2:08 am. Ugh. Long day.

But time to finally have something to eat. Had a delicious Turkey Club Panini. Was it delicious because I was hungry? Could be. But I’m not knocking it. Even better I remembered I had a $20 meal voucher courtesy of my son-in-law from our London, England trip in June. So it was free! Yay! Good thing too.The panini was $17. Expensive sandwich. Had a Starbucks Chai Latte too. Mmmmm.

Now here’s what’s really bizarre. Text from Air Canada regarding the delay saying my gate will be D36. My boarding pass says D33. My AC app says D34. The Departure Board in the airport says D32. Interesting. Glad the gates are close to each other. I’ll sit here at 34 and we’ll see what happens. I’m sure they’ll get it figured out.

I’ll let you know what the final verdict is.

I’ll Be Home for Christmas – Michael Bublé

Take care and stay healthy.

As always, thanks for your interest and thank you for reading.

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“I hope you find that happiness comes from noticing and enjoying the little things in life.”

So today I’m celebrating a few ‘little things’ from this week.

Richard loves his breakfasts. Oh my does he. Lately he’s been into avocados.

Sunday we went out to GTs on the Bay for breakfast. https://gtsonthebay.com/

One of our fav places.

Usually I have an omelette but was adventurous and went with Breakfast Totchos.

Absolutely delicious but won’t have again. I ate too much.

Prior to our Sunday breakfast we went for a walk on the Gulf Shores boardwalk. Met the woman creating sand sculptures. Such detail.

Loved these Christmas decorations.

Little Things – ABBA

Take care and stay healthy.

As always, thanks for your interest and thank you for reading.

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Every morning a new sun greets us, and our new life begins.

Marty Rubin

What a way to start the day.

Well actually the way Richard started the day. He took this while enjoying his sunrise beach walk.

I was puttering around the house.

Then what?

My phone rang. Richard. I figured a pocket call. But nope. I was wrong. Called me to say dolphins were coming my way. Quick as a bunny (or as quick as I could move) I was off to the deck.

Just in time to enjoy the dolphins going by. It was especially exciting today because some were amazingly close to the shore. The closest we’ve seen them. Great to have such a close up viewing. To top that off there were others a bit further out jumping and jumping and jumping. Oh my. Such fun.

Started the day with a smile on my face and a song in my heart.

My Lord What a Morning – Greater Atlanta Adventist Academy Concert Choir

Take care and stay healthy.

As always, thanks for your interest and thank you for reading.

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I hadn’t planned on blogging today but after yesterday’s ‘heavy’ post I decided to share a few lighter, more positive items from today.

Today, after yoga, was our first day back to a local coffee shop, Happy Pappys. https://www.facebook.com/happypappycoffee/?_rdr

Lovely latte.

Of course wherever I go (it’s an age thing) I usually have to go to the restroom. This was on the wall. Nice positive message.

While enjoying our lunch I noticed this. Have never before seen these recycled.

Although the temperature was only 10C it was very warm on our deck. Sat there reading for several hours. Pure bliss.

Shaking off yesterday’s negativity.

The Sun Has Got His Hat On – from Me and My Girl

Take care and stay healthy.

As always, thanks for your interest and thank you for reading.

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“Idiots. It’s For You.” 

Blondie (Clint Eastwood)

THE GOOD

I had a great day of shopping at some of my fav spots here: Marshall’s, OshKosh, Kate Spade, Michael Kors, T.J. Max, and Nike. Didn’t buy much but throughly enjoyed browsing. Mid afternoon meal at Baumhowers Victory Grill. https://www.baumhowers.com/menu

I’ve mentioned this restaurant in past posts. They offer a ‘Burger of the Day’ special. $11.99. We’ve had their burgers before and they’re delicious. And a great price. Today’s was the “Da Boss Burger”. It did not disappoint. Yum. Well worth the calories.

A sports fanatic’s dream. There are three jumbo TV walls with 60+ flat-screens. Now I didn’t count but that’s what this article said. https://cityoffoley.org/baumhowers-victory-grille-alabamas-1-sports-themed-restaurant-coming-to-tanger-outlets-in-foley-al/

THE BAD

After morning yoga (before going shopping) Richard was catching up with a married couple he’d met years previously. A male friend of theirs was with them. I was changing. I certainly wasn’t going shopping in my yoga clothes.

When I joined them their friend (who I’d never met before) said “So when are you joining the U.S.?”. I looked at him responding “Never”. (Now we never discuss politics down here but he started it.). He continued, “Yes you will.”. Me, “Nope. Never.”. Him, “If you don’t then we’ll force you.”? (What the F_ _ _ ?) I ignored him and turned towards the woman.

She says well if your Prime Minister keeps going this way it could happen. I looked at her saying, “Yes he’s had some issues but the leader of the opposition has worse issues.” To which her husband said,”We like his issues.” I so wanted to say, “I_ _ _ _ s.”. But smartly did not. No point in continuing. I just said, “Let’s not talk politics.”. And we left.

I found this interaction very unsettling. I was upset by them but also by my instinctive reaction. I was severely irritated. At least I didn’t say what I wanted to say. Leaving was the best choice.

I do have to say that this was the first time I’ve ever encountered this ‘in your face’ confrontation. I hope it’s the last.

THE UGLY

Driving to Foley for our shopping we passed this Trump Mobile Store on the side of the road.

We did not stop.

Found this online article about it.

https://1819news.com/news/item/trump-mobile-merch-store-finds-success-in-lower-alabama-definitely-trump-country

I realize you may not see things as I do but I respect your right to do so. I apologize if this post has bothered you. I had to vent.

I really try to have my posts be non-political but today infuriated me. If I can be respectful and not bring up politics to the local residents then they should offer me the same courtesy. Ahhhhh.

Thank goodness this all occurred before the shopping. At least the day ended on a positive note.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – Main Theme – Ennio Morricone

Take care and stay healthy.

As always, thanks for your interest and thank you for reading.

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