a lifestyle site for women with parkinson's
Hauʻoli Makahiki Hou 2024 (Happy New Year)! Marc and I spent new year’s eve at home and enjoyed listening to some fun music and a bottle of prosecco, followed by an impromptu dance in the living room to Seal’s song “Crazy”. We were in bed by 10pm and I call that a perfect night.
Hope your 2024 brings you something new and brings you much joy. 🎉
sunrise walk at kailua beach
It’s a beautiful early morning, as I sit and drink my coffee and listen to the birds in the trees. There is a little breeze so it’s comfortable still. I’ve got some chores around the house to do and then this afternoon is my shift at our local PD resource center. I take calls and walk-ins and provide information to people about PD and work on our newsletter. The saying about getting back more than I give, is really true. I’ve met the most interesting people from all walks of life and learn so much more about PD than I’d know otherwise.
I just finished reading The Art Thief by Michael Finkel. It’s a true story of master thief Stéphane Breitwieser, who over a ten year period stole over 200 pieces of art from museums and cathedrals all over Europe. He never sold the pieces but rather kept them in one room, in the attic of his mothers house where he lived. It’s an easy read at 240 pages and a good end of summer book. I part read the book and listened to the audio version.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus is funny. From her role as Elaine in the classic TV show Seinfeld to her hysterical mile a minute snarky sayings in Veep, she now has a podcast call Wiser Than Me. In it, she interviews celebrity women older and presumably wiser than her. What I love about the podcast is that the women are at an age where they have clearly reflected on their lives and honestly share their regrets and the things that really have meaning to them. I came away with some gems.
Oppenheimer - I haven’t been to many movies in the theater lately, so going to a three hour movie seemed a little daunting, but I’m glad I went. It’s about J. Robert Oppenheimer and the group of scientists who in the 1940’s developed the atomic bomb and how it forever changed the course of history. He is played by Gillian Murphy, who I loved in Peaky Blinders, as well as Robert Downy Jr. and Matt Damon.
I just look at Martin Short when he scrunches his face and it makes me laugh. Only Murders in the Building is in it’s third season on Hulu and I just adore it. It’s a silly murder mystery series with Steve Martin and Selena Gomez and this seasons many guest stars include Paul Rudd and Meryl Streep.
Hope you’re well and that your summer is just what you want it to be. 💗
This was the front page of the local newspaper. Lahaina Maui has been devastated by wild fires this week. The death toll is currently at 80 and expected to rise, and the entire town has been destroyed. We live on Oahu which is a neighbor island, so we are safe but can’t express the sadness that we feel for the people on Maui. If you’d like to help, you can make a donation to the Aloha United Way Maui Fund. This is a reputable charity that has set up a fund, where 100% of the donations will go to helping Maui victims of this tragedy. Thank you.
Any plans this weekend? The heavy rains seem to be lightening so there is lots of spring pruning in the garden to do. Followed by reading, watching an old movie and putzing around the house. Perfection. Hope you have a peaceful weekend. Here are a few things I enjoyed around the web this week.
~ Snack anyone? Here are some great photos from the golden age of travel.
~ Speaking of snacks, this sushi roll below looks delicious.
~ Remastered video of commuters in 1930’s New York. The fashions were amazing, the flowy skirts and dresses, the dapper suits, all the wonderful hats, and not one person looking down at their phone!
~ In Parkinson’s News Today there is an article about red light therapy for Parkinson’s. I’m interested in reading more about it.
~ Rogue Physical Therapy & Wellness has in-person and online exercise classes. Their online class schedule looks pretty good. Whenever I hear of a place that provides exercise classes online, I’ll post it.
~ If you’re looking for a good read, here are a few I recently read. The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hanff is a follow up to 84, Charing Cross Road. I’d start with Charing which is the story of Helene, who lives in New York, and a British bookseller that works in a London bookshop. The story is their 20 year friendship through their letters, without having never met. In her second book Duchess, she is finally able to travel to London and it describes her travels. They are both short books, create a setting that book lovers with adore and are a charming read.
~ Lastly I’ll be making this gorgeous Bombay potato recipe this weekend. 💖
One of my favorite things to do is drive to a street in my city that I have never walked before, park and just take a walk. Lauren Elkin can describe why I love it better than I ever could. Have a cozy weekend!
"Walking is mapping with your feet. It helps you piece a city together, connecting up neighborhoods that might otherwise have remained discrete entities, different planets bound to each other, sustained yet remote. I like seeing how in fact they blend into one another, I like noticing the boundaries between them. Walking helps me feel at home. There's a small pleasure in seeing how well I’ve come to know the city through my wanderings on foot, crossing through different neighborhoods of the city, some I used to know quite well, others I may not have seen in a while, like getting reacquainted with someone I once met at a party." ~Lauren Elkin
It’s January, which means new goals for the new year. I love setting goals and tracking my progress. I don’t see it as stressful, rather a way to see new possibilities. I never reach all of them but that’s ok, that’s never the point, it’s to acknowledge the things I did do.
There are things that have been on and off my lists for years but it keeps it on my radar and when the time is right, I actually might do them. I like a mix of small easy things that can be done quickly, which gives me instant gratification to tick the box, there are things are more ethereal than concrete, and there are more complicated items. I did about half of the items on my list last year and I’m happy with that.
In my pre-pd life, I broke down my goals into categories. Relationships, career, exercise/wellness, home projects, & creativity. My life is much simpler now so I have just one list but thinking about each of these categories is still helpful and now with Parkinson’s, exercise & wellness has certainly moved it’s way up the list.
So here we go for 2023.
Weight resistance exercise 2-3 times a week. I’m trying to build and maintain my muscles and bone density.
Be more methodical about keeping in touch with friends and family using the motto “smaller more frequent touches is better than less frequent longer time frames”.
“Eat real food, mostly plants, not too much.” Michael Pollan
Spend an hour a day on focused learning. It can be cognitive and/or physical. A language, book learning, creative, musical, etc.
Find something each day that makes me laugh out loud.
Practice good sleep hygiene. Get outside for 10 minutes when I first wake up to kick start my circadian rhythm, limit screens and food 2 hours before bed.
Get outside for 23 minutes each day.
Read 23 books that I already own (I have a stack of books I want to read and keep getting sidetracked by new recommendations).
Keep a log for 30 days of everything I spend, I mean every little thing.
See a movie in a theater once a month.
Convert my home movie DVD’s to the cloud.
New throw rug for dining room.
On the 23rd of each month I’ll go over my list and throughout the year I may add or remove things if I feel like it. Do you write down your goals/intentions and if so, I dare you to share one! Have a good weekend. 💖
Lanikai beach
Well another year is coming to an end. It’s been a year of transition coming off of the pandemic and many things have changed in how the world works. But things always change and getting comfortable with not being comfortable can be good. It forces me to learn new things, think out of my normal box and can have many positive benefits.
Of course there has been much, not so great going on everywhere, but there will always be an endless supply of sad, traumatic, and anger inducing things happening and it doesn’t serve me well to let that dominate my overall life. Certainly I should do what I am able to help create change, stay educated on the things that are important, and have gratitude for all the unbelievable good that people do each day.
It was fun to do some traveling again this year. Attending the PWR Retreat in Scottsdale Arizona was an incredible experience in pushing the limits on exercise, and visiting San Francisco and New York was exhilarating and brought me back into the world of amazing restaurants. If I could get paid for people watching on vacation, I would be rich.
I’ve spent some wonderful time with family and friends and understand why more studies are showing the importance of relationships as a pillar of longevity. It can be hard to make friends as we get older, so it’s even more important to make time for play, creativity, activities with people who enjoy the same things, volunteering, even chatting with your mailman for two minutes each day. It all adds up.
In my quest to eat better, I’ve made good progress this year. I’ve eaten fairly well up until now but there is room for improvement. There is so much confusion on what is a healthy diet so I crafted a simple plan that works for me. Eat real whole unprocessed foods & limit sugar & dairy. That’s it. It’s amazing when I run each food that I’m considering eating through that simple test, how much better I’m eating. The hardest part for sure is my sweet tooth but I’m working on it.
Parkinson’s continues to get more exposure through the many studies, the amazing and creative advocacy that people do to bring awareness, along with the national plan to end Parkinson’s act. It feels like albeit slowly, the rocket ship is being built and getting ready to explore ways to prevent and slow the progression of PD.
I want to thank you most of all for reading the blog and reaching out to me. I look forward to a new year with all the ups and downs that life brings us (hopefully more ups than downs) and having each other share our experiences.
Happy Holidays!
a stroll through Central Park
Hubby and I just returned from San Francisco and New York and although it’s still hot in Hawaii, I finally feel like it’s fall. Both cities were vibrant with people out walking and restaurants bustling. There ares lots of shop fronts that were out of business due to the pandemic but I think that’s everywhere, and that will take some time to get back to normal. We ate lots of delicious food and drinks and saw a Broadway show called Come From Away. A couple of my favorite meals were cocktails at The Campbell Bar in Grand Central Station, tapas at Little Spain, and Lombardi’s Pizza. We really kept the plans to a minimum this trip and decided to just go with the flow and it worked out beautifully.
All of these tables were filled with kids playing chess
I made sure to pace myself and rest for a little bit in the afternoons which worked out well. Marc had a few things to do in the city so I flew there by myself and stopped in San Francisco to see my son Austin. I booked my seat with my right side facing the aisle, which is my more symptomatic side. I left for the airports with plenty of time so that I wasn’t stressed and tried to time my medications so that they were hitting at the right times. Even though I only had a carry on, I checked it anyway because I wanted to get through security and board the plane without having to lug lots of stuff and deal with the overhead bins. All of those things really helped make the flights easier to navigate with PD.
The slight chill in the air in both cities were fantastic and the people watching on the streets and what they were wearing was just what I needed to kick my brain into fall. There is no real fall or winter in Hawaii so you have to trick your brain into thinking there is. I’ve picked up a few fall scented candles, pulled out some darker colored clothes in my closet, along with swapping accessories like bags and shoes. I also have my pumpkin spiced tea, bookmarked my cozy ambience rooms on you tube, and darker nail polish and I’m ready for fall!
Have a good weekend ❤️
moonlight off the Kona coast
This last weekend some friends of mine opened a fitness center for people with Parkinson’s called Fitness Therapy Hawaii. It’s the only gym that I’m aware of in Hawaii exclusively for pwp and I’m thrilled that there is one more option for our community. There was a traditional Chinese dragon dance for good luck and a blessing done by a Kahu which is a Hawaiian pastor.
I am part of two support groups. I’m in a young onset group that meets at Murphy’s Bar & Grill. It’s more of a social get together and we have fun each month talking about all sorts of things. The other one is a group I co-facilitate which is more of a traditional support group with speakers and specific topics. The regular group has been virtual since the pandemic started and we are looking forward to having our first hybrid in person/virtual meeting next month. The connection of a support group for people with PD can be so rewarding. I know the timing has to be right in our journey with PD and finding the right group is also important. If you’ve tried one before as I have and found that it didn’t work for you, try again. It may be different this time around.
What I’m watching - The series The Bear on Hulu is about a Chef who has been working in high end, world renowned restaurants, moves back home to Chicago to take over his brothers struggling Italian sandwich shop. It’s fast paced, funny although with some serious moments and will make you want to eat an Italian beef sandwich.
What I’m reading - I just listened to the audio book called This Will Be Funny Later a memoir by Jenny Pentland. Jenny is Rosanne Barr’s daughter and I love a memoir by a child of a celebrity. It’s interesting to hear from their perspective.
Have a good week 💖
“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” Henry David Thoreau
Well, add another PD symptom to the list. Lately I’ve been biting the inside of my mouth very easily when I eat and I just couldn’t figure why I would do that. Then I saw JImmy Choi’s IG post and he has the same symptom and explained why that happens. I unfortunately can’t crush a watermelon with my arm.
~ It’s the height of summer so I’ve been trying to keep meals on the easier side. Lots of giant salads with some protein has been on rotation like this Vietnamese style chicken salad made easy with bagged shredded cabbage and rotisserie chicken. Of course it wouldn’t be summer without my favorite Summer Strawberry Cake. My favorite thing I ate this week was this fabulous Baba Ganoush which is an eggplant dip that I’ve been eating with crackers, pita chips, or toast. I mixed in a spoonful of this harissa which added a delicious smoky kick.
~ The summer also adds more sun and the possible increase in melanoma for those PwP, so it’s important to wear sunscreen. In Hawaii it’s basically summer all year long so I’ve tried many sunscreens. I prefer mineral to chemical sunscreens on my face but many of them leave a chalky white finish. Here are two that are my current favorites and they all work great under makeup. EltaMD has several different types of sunscreen and all of them that I have tried work well. Maelove is light and not greasy and is also a great primer under foundation. I haven’t been able to find a good mineral sunscreen for my body so I use Light as Air by Banana Boat.
~ Lastly I saw that Pottery Barn has a new line of furniture for people with disabilities. It’s nice to see function with style. There are some beautiful furniture, bath fixtures, and lighting. I like the bath grab bars.
Well I hope you have a good weekend. We are helping mom with some house projects and I’d like to get in a swim. ❤️
“Vitality means moving through life with energy and vigor. Making deliberate choices, and putting to good use the time and energy that we have been granted.” Twyla Tharp
photo at top source
image: source
~ July is usually a busy month for me with the flurry of birthdays, graduation parties and get togethers. I was recently on a PD group call where a person described her difficulties with making plans to do things with others, because often when the time comes to do them, she is too fatigued or not feeling up it.
I think that feeling is pretty common to some degree when you have PD. Our physical and mental hour by hour ups and downs can make it challenging on some days to do anything. With all the events this month, although I’m grateful to be a part of the many happy occasions, it can be a challenge. So I’ve come up with a few thoughts that I go through, that help me manage those situations.
Just say no. It’s OK. There are many things that won’t make any difference to you or anyone else if you don’t attend. Don’t put it off by saying I’ll get back to you or let me look at my schedule. Just say thank you but I can’t make it and be done with it.
You’re not thrilled about going, but it’s important for you or someone you know that you attend. This is where you implement the “if I can’t get out of it, get into it” strategy. Don’t say yes and then complain to yourself or others about having to go. Think about someone that will be there that you look forward to catching up with, something you might learn from it, some new place you haven’t been to, or some food that you’re looking forward to try.
Don’t plan it. Not everything needs to be planned. If you’re feeling good, call someone and see if they want to go for a walk or grab a coffee, or anything that you’re up for right then. Now realize that this is a numbers game because others might be busy, but who cares. And if you explain to them beforehand that you want to capitalize on the moments you feel good, and would they be open to last minute requests if they’re free and who knows, they might also want to do the same with you.
My mom is great at this. She gets an idea to do something and she want’s to do it now, and it’s fun to get that phone call from her. I think it’s also a fun practice to be a little more spontaneous.
Push yourself. Or maybe nudge is better. I find once I start something, I’ll get the energy and focus and start enjoying it more. This is when planning ahead is helpful especially for reoccurring events like exercising. It takes out you’re having to make a decision on whether you’re going to do it or not and once you get going, you’re glad you did it.
Lastly, sometimes you just do things that you don’t enjoy but you know you will feel better afterwards. In these instances really focus on what you’ll feel like when you’re finished. This is a very minor example but every morning I take a cold shower, and when I step in, it’s cold (duh)! But when it’s done I feel fantastic and invigorated. So I’ve learned to think about that specific good feeling when I’m taking the shower and I (almost) look forward to it.
How do you deal with doing things when you’re not up for it?
~ I have a couple of books to recommend. For David Sedaris fans, his latest book is Happy Go Lucky new essays about his life. This one has interesting stories about the pandemic and his father, and a very funny story about his teeth, and as always, you must listen to the audio version. Another is a classic by Agatha Christie The Murder of Roger Ackroyd which I think is one of my two favorites, the other one being And Then Their Were None.
I do enjoy a little royal watching and here is a book and a movie rec. The book is The Palace Papers by Tina Brown. Tina Brown is the former editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker and has written other books on the royals including The Diana Chronicles. It was interesting to learn about Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall and more of the background goings on with the Harry and Megan exit. It wasn’t gossipy but seemed to be a well researched book with the just enough peeking behind the curtain details.
The other is a documentary called Elizabeth: A Portrait in Part(s). It’s broken down into different chapters of her life and it’s amazing how much of history she has lived through. A wonderful watch. Have a wonderful week!
Hi all, it’s been a while since I’ve posted. I have no dramatic reason other than every time I started writing, I just went blank. So I took that as a sign to take a break, and now I’m really excited about being back. Thank you to all of you who sent me an email checking to see that I was OK. Our PD community never stops looking out for each other and I really appreciate it.
I just returned from Scottsdale Arizona for the annual PWR Retreat which is a PD exercise retreat. It was an incredible six days of exercising for three hours a day. Yes I said three hours everyday. Followed by speakers with lots of good information. I have never been so exhausted, but it was very motivational to see how much I could push myself. This photo was our amazing Hawaii crew that made the experience memorable.
It also made me realize how incredibly lucky and privileged some of us are, and how that effects the type of medical treatment we receive, the medications we take, and all the support that surrounds us. One of my goals this year is to learn more about the disparity in our under served communities and how I can help, and I’ll do follow up posts as I learn more.
Summer is here, so it’s time for weekly shave ice and to plan for the season. PD apathy is a real thing and it can become easier to let the year fly by without planning little extra enjoyments each season. Just a few small things each season help give me a nudge. Here are a few of my summer to dos.
Summer Reading – I want to read outside more this summer. My favorite times are early in the mornings or late in the afternoon as the sun sets, I can sit on the lanai or on my picnic table in the garden.
Swim - I want to start swimming again. I’m having some knee issues so I’d like to include more lower joint impacting exercises into my routine.
I want to have fun - It seems the older I get, the less I play and I’m on the lookout for being more playful in everything I do, and summer seems like the right time to kick it off.
Paint my guest bathroom – It’s time for a refresh. I have painted more rooms than I can count and it’s so satisfying when it’s done. Painting the edges or trim is the tricky part, but my left hand can still do it! If I just do one of these things, I’ll considerate it a win. What are your summer to dos?
Lastly, I’m so excited about my baby pineapples. They are from pineapples I bought at the store, cut the tops off of, put them in water until roots formed, and plunked them into the garden. They are just adorable. That’s all for today. Just a quick post to say I missed you and I hope you’re healthy and doing well.
I love end of the year, best of lists. The last two weeks there has been a plethora of year end wrap ups with everything from Favorite audiobooks and listening experiences of 2021 to The 10 Most Popular Dessert Recipes of 2021. So why not add one more. These are my top 10 tips that helped me live better with PD in 2021 in no particular order.
Exercise almost every day. I found that exercising moderately every day versus harder workouts several times a week helped me sleep better, feel better, and look forward to exercising each day.
Meditating for 5 minutes a day. I know it’s not a lot but it helps me throughout my day and gives me a beat longer to respond to negative things, which is sometimes all I need to respond better.
As one of my favorite PD bloggers Allison from The Perkie Parkie says, build your wolfpack. Creating a support system of people who uplift me is invaluable. If you don’t have family or friends, start creating them by meeting others with PD and you’ll be surprised by having that one thing in common can help you start a connection and before you know you may find other things in common.
Having a purpose. Finding even the smallest things are meaningful to me, and create curiosity and interest in my daily life.
Having gratitude helps me snap out of my unavoidable pity parties. I don’t mean always seeing through rose colored glasses. I mean realistically looking at my challenges, but also looking at all the things that I am very fortunate to have.
Eating less dairy, processed foods, and eating more plants. I feel better when I eat better. Duh.
Look for ways to laugh, smile, and be silly. I feel fantastic after a laugh. No wonder people want to become comedians. Can you imagine the ability to make a room full of people laugh out loud!
Always be learning something. It helps my cognitive abilities, pushes me to try new things, give me interesting topics to discuss with other people, and the satisfaction of learning something new.
Happy Holidays to you and hoping the new year brings you more joy than challenges. 🎄
OK, blink and it’s mid December already. Not that it’s been a highly exciting year, in fact with the pandemic it’s been a pretty low key one for me. But I did get my Christmas tree up early this year and bought most of my gifts, which makes me way ahead of my normal Christmas game.
We enjoyed Thanksgiving at home with family with the usual favorite foods. My son Bronson tried a new pumpkin pie recipe from Claire Saffitz which was fantastic. It’s made with browned butter and caramelized honey. My baking projects so far were Dorie Greenspan’s Spiced Molasses Cookies which are just classics and Cookie & Kate’s Coconut Macaroons. I keep them in my outdoor freezer and allow myself one cookie a day (mostly)!
Last week I spent some time manning a booth at the Young at Heart Expo. Our local Parkinson’s Association took a booth to help spread awareness. There were a number of people who said they have a family member with PD, but their family member doesn’t know much about it or isn’t doing much about it. Particularly older people, and that they sort of feel like there is not much you can do, it’s just a part of getting older.
That was alarming to me, because there is so many things that can be done to help us live better lives with PD. To know that many people with PD aren’t getting the information or just feel that there is nothing they can do, breaks my heart and reminds me that in addition to finding a cure, bringing more awareness and reaching more of our PD community about what they can do today, is just as important. The best part was talking to PwP who were just happy to meet someone else with PD for the first time. It was an enjoyable time and we made lots of new connections.
I’m keeping my holiday reading light and fluffy this year. The heavy hitters can wait until January so these are the books I have on deck. The Santa Klaus Murder by Mavis Doriel Hay who was a novelist of the golden age of British crime fiction. It was originally published in 1936 and is Agatha Christie ish. The Secret Book & Scone Society by Ellery Adams is a good one. Nothing like a cozy murder mystery set in a book shop with descriptions of good food. Lastly a non fiction book, The Barbizon: The Hotel That Set Women Free by Paulina Bren, which is a history of the famous hotel in New York that housed many famous women from the 1920’s through the 70’s.
I hope you’re keeping up your exercise, keeping connections with people in your lives, and finding something new to learn this week!
![IMG_0623[2].JPG](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59ab661e7131a548465f676a/1632355486414-0908D4YNH5YBLHHETRPT/IMG_0623%5B2%5D.JPG)
How was your summer? Mine was pretty mellow and will continue into October in Hawaii, but I’m still looking forward to my pretend fall season by seeing at all the gorgeous fall fashions online. Chelsea boots, camel trench coats, cashmere sweaters, all look wonderful to wear.
I read a lot but I feel like it was slow paced this summer. A few books I enjoyed were The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tam. A beautifully written story of four Chinese women, who in 1949 were immigrants living in San Francisco, and started a club where they got together and played mahjong, nibbled on dumplings and talked. They each share their inner thoughts and secrets, all told in mesmerizing storytelling.
The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. If you like books about people who work and live around books, then this if for you. A.J. lives above the bookstore he owns on tiny Alice Island. His wife has recently died and sales aren’t going so well. But things start happening that change his life. It’s heartwarming and tells the tale of second chances and learning to love again.
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, published in 1859. It’s one of the first mystery novels written and was sometimes called a “sensation novel”. When I read an old book, I prepare myself that the language might be a little bit of a slog to get through but it’s a surprisingly easy read at over 600+ pages, so don’t let that deter you. I enjoyed it very much.
Summer eating felt really good. I ate a lot of grain bowls for lunch and found the simple formula of grains, beans, a cooked veg, a raw veg, and a dressing lead me to many delicious variations. The other thing I’ve been enjoying is putting tons of fresh and dried herbs into my dishes. The garlic chives in the photo above from the garden were one the handful of things I’d throw into my cooking that added a pop of flavor. These Iranian Herb Fritters from Yotam Ottolenghi were on regular rotation. I feel much better when I’m eating well, which in turn helps me manage my PD symptoms better.
This week I want to “design my fall season”. Choose a few books that will get me in the fall mood, pick a few recipes that incorporate apples, warm spices, and fall flavors, and see if there is anything happening in town that I’ll want to do. Have a beautiful week. 💖
What do you see when you look at the photo above? Do you see a worn out floor with chipped paint? Or do you see the beautiful patina of a room with many stories to tell. When I’m looking at a garden, I gravitate towards the slightly tousled ones, where the plants are overflowing their beds and the garden furniture is weathered, or the slight mismatch of things in a home accumulated over time, instead of everything perfectly matched.
In Japan they have a phrase called wabi-sabi, which loosely means a view of acceptance in transience and imperfection. Sometimes described as one of appreciating beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete" in nature.
It’s a lovely frame of mind when you start practicing looking for the beauty in imperfection. In a way, it’s sort of seeing the glass half full. Not what needs to be fixed or what would make it better. Just appreciating it for what it is. In addition to actually things, it can include how we look at people, including ourselves, and situations or events in our lives.
Hope you see something beautiful today. 💖
photo source
Each year Gretchen Rubin talks about the concept of designing your summer on her Happier Podcast.
There are many great reasons to design your summer. Many book bloggers and podcasts are putting out their summer reading lists. They are full of memories of when they read certain books, because they were at the pool or beach, or maybe on vacation, and reading the book while doing something different made that memory stronger.
Summer time for many of us as kids signaled no school and summer felt more carefree. Our schedule was different, we had different activities. But when we become adults, that feeling can easily be absorbed by our responsibilities and we forget to carve out that feeling of summer adventure, and before you know it, it has passed. Having school age kids at home definitely helped me with that, but now that they’re grown, it doesn’t seem as easy.
I also live in a climate that is similar all year long, so we don’t have the weather markers to remember things by. When someone talks about a memory tied to a summer at the beach, I go to the beach all year so I often don’t have that time association.
A big reason to design your summer is that people with Parkinson’s commonly have apathy as a symptom. It’s easier to let things slip by unless we really push ourselves to make the effort, but once it’s happening we’re usually happy that we did.
So pick an arbitrary time that summer is starting for you and make a list of few things that you’ll do this summer. For many in the U.S., the Memorial Day weekend is the kick off to summer. They can be big or small but a few things you’re going to do with intention. They can be date specific like we are staying at a beach cabin next month for a weekend and I’m using that as my summer kick off. It could also be something like instead of walking in your neighborhood, you’ll walk once a week at a new park, take an online or in person class, make a summer reading list, cook three new dishes with summer fruit, start that new hobby, visit a few museums, have coffee with a friend, whatever you want. But write it down, be intentional, and enjoy your small or big summer adventures.
I’ve even taken my design my summer into my wardrobe. I don’t have a winter wardrobe. I have a wardrobe for when it’s hot, or really hot. So I started breaking up my wardrobe into capsules with my imaginary seasons and it’s been fun to pull out my outfits for the next season that I forgot I had.
~ Ask questions, seek answers, make friends.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend. ❤️
Happy Mother’s Day to you moms. This weekend we are going to bring brunch to mom and hang out with her for a bit. Hope you enjoy your weekend.
⭐ Interesting article about the Mediterranean & MIND Diets and how it may benefit people with Parkinson’s.
⭐ Don’t laugh, but I’ve been really enjoying reruns of Columbo with Peter Falk. It’s a murder mystery show that ran in the 70’s and had a fantastic rotation of celebrity guest stars. Each episode was like a movie and some of the plot twists are fantastic or ridiculous, but are so comforting to watch.
⭐ I just finished Black Rabbit Hall by Eve Chase. It’s sort of a modern day Daphne Du Maurier ish book. Another really good one is Salt Sugar Fat by Michael Moss. It’s a fascinating book about the lengths that the food giants will go to get us to buy processed foods. He also has a new book called Hooked which I am on hold at the library and can’t wait to read.
⭐ OMG - I’ll pass on these stairs…
⭐ The Mole Agent was nominated this year at the Oscars for best documentary. Set in Chile, Sergio is an 83 year old man who is hired to go under cover in a retirement home. It’s touching and he is such a charmer. I loved it.
⭐ Here are some great tips on how to read faster.
⭐ “The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.” - Frank Lloyd Wright
⭐ Which Parkinson’s symptoms do patients most want to see improved by treatment? This study shows which motor, non motor, and medication issues are the most problematic.
⭐ Hallelujah wide leg jeans are in! Please don’t bring jeggings back….
Are you feeling spring where you live yet? The weather has been perfect the last month. Sunny and clear with cool breezes. My gardening time has been sublime. Hours of listening to a good audio book or podcast and weeding away. My little joke as I head out to the garden is to say I’m headed to the office, or church, or my therapist.
I’m in love with my little baby calamansi lime plant. I planted it last year and it’s only about two feet tall, so I wasn’t expecting it to fruit so quickly, but I picked my first handful of these tiny gems. They are about the size of a large marble and have a tart/sweet flavor that is delicious squeezed over your food before serving, and adds a brightness to everything. From a smoothie, a vinaigrette, and it makes a fantastic gin & tonic.
I’ve got a couple of book recommendations. She Come By It Natural by Sarah Smarsh is book about Dolly Parton. It’s an interesting look at Dolly’s upbringing in rural poverty and how it shaped her life and songs, as well as her contribution to class, gender, and culture. I enjoyed it as an audio book. All the Devils are Here is Louise Penny’s 16th book in the Inspector Gamache series. If you’re a Louise Penny fan, you’ll also marvel at how she is able to keep this series continually interesting. The Grit In the Pearl: The Scandalous Life of Margaret, The Duchess of Argyll by Lyndsey Spence, the title says it all. It’s such a different world than mine and I love a good royal biography. If you like this genre you may also like a podcast called Duchess. Emma The Duchess of Rutland interviews other women who lead historic homes of Great Britain.
Since the pandemic started, like everyone else, most of our meals have been home cooked. Even as things open up we are still eating that way and enjoying it very much. Most of our lunches are assembled bowls. I’ll make a number of simple different proteins and vegetables, mostly by roasting them on a sheet pan and then combine them throughout the week in whatever combination I’m in the mood for. The key is having several dressings to keep the variety interesting. The basic formula for the bowl is some grains, topped with veges (cooked and raw), protein, nuts or seeds, dressing. Love & Lemons has lots of delicious dressing recipes. A few of my favorites are the Tahini Lemon Dressing, Green Goddess, & Easy Peanut Sauce. We eat a lot of tofu and one of the ways to add flavor to the tofu is to press it, which takes out some of the water. Then when I saute or bake it, it absorbs the flavor of the seasonings much more. I used to wrap it in a hand towel and then perilously stack pans or my tea kettle on top of it, hoping the wobbly stack wouldn’t fall down. So I purchased this tofu press which is so much simpler. I’m not a big fan of buying kitchen gadgets that I rarely use, so this is great if tofu is a regular food item for you, but otherwise the first method works fine.
Lastly, how are you feeling? My off time has been more frequent lately. It’s typically twice a day in the late morning and mid afternoon. I’ve been experimenting with altering my food schedule, activities, etc. to see if anything helps before I add or increase my medications, so we’ll see how that goes. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day. 💖
Here is a round up of things I’ve been enjoying lately. I’m always looking for new suggestions, so if you have anything you’d recommend, please let me know. A friend of mine last week said he thinks he has watched every single show on Netflix this last year, which is what it feels sometimes when you’re scrolling through the feed trying to find something good!
Webinars
Dr. Laurie Mischley does extensive research on PD and food. I try to watch anything I can with her and always take away a little new nugget of information. This webinar was presented by APDA a few weeks ago. The theme is Neglected Clinic Topics: things your PD provider should be talking to you about but probably isn’t.
The Science of How the Body Heals Itself with Dr. William Li- Interesting talk about how our diet can impact and help heal itself. I enjoyed how he gave insights on specific foods and impacts on different illnesses. If you enjoy it, at the end he talks about his new book, which I have just reserved at my library.
TV Shows
Behind Her Eyes (Netflix)- This British six part series was brilliant. The story starts out as the usual mystery thriller sort of premise and keeps turning into something different. I won’t share the plot with you because the less you know about before watching, the better. Super interesting to the very last line in the series. Side note, the wife in the series “Adele” is singer Bono’s daughter. Yes I am getting old.
Lupin (Netflix) - This is based on a French book series of the gentleman thief Arsene Lupin by Maurice Leblanc. It’s a light take on a James Bond sort of show but much more fun. Omar Sy who plays Lupin is fantastic. It’s in French so be sure to turn the language to French on your Netflix settings and then read the English subtitles. I didn’t know you could do that until after I watched a few episodes, which were dubbed in English, which is so weird to watch.
For All Mankind (AppleTV) - When Marc first suggested this, I thought ugh, another astronaut show. But this one is really good. It takes a few episodes, but with each episode, the suspense of how things are going to turn out builds. Based on the astronauts and their families from the early Apollo missions, it mixes real life and fictional events so you don’t know whats going to happen next.
Books
The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi - Kendra has a popular podcast where she gives her take on how to life hacks that I enjoy. They are practical things like how to clean your bathroom or kitchen, different household routines, batch cooking, etc., that if you are a self improvement junkie like me enjoys. Her motto is to be a genius about the things that matter to you and lazy about the things that don’t. Her style is warm and casual and with small children, is flexible in her approach.
The Best of Me by David Sedaris - This fabulously funny book is a compilation of stories and essays from David’s twenty-five year+ career of writing about his life. He has a unique way of capturing the humor, the heartache, the depth and silliness of different moments in his life. You must listen to the audio version because his voice lends so much of the story. I’ve read many of his books and I couldn’t tell you from which book I read different stories. It’s not a knock on his books but the opposite. They are all wonderful and are a continuation of his genre creating style of writing.
Podcasts
Everything is Fine - It’s a chat show for women over 40. The hosts Tally & Kim talk about all things that most women over 40 are experiencing in their lives. They have interesting guests who share their perspectives of how their lives have grown and changed over time. One of my favorite episodes was when they had Stacy London as a guest. Stacy was the host of the hugely popular TV show What Not to Wear, and shares her challenges after the show ended. It’s honest and insightful.
Don’t Ask Tig - Tig Notaro is a hilarious comedian who has this deadpan, sort of Bob Newhart style of humor that makes me crack up. She and a guest give advice and answers to questions that people write in. You’ll find me most Saturday mornings giggling while I garden and listen to the show.
Enjoy your weekend ;)
hi i’m kai. welcome to my lifestyle site where i share about living well with parkinson’s and embracing the everyday. enjoy a look around!
