Loneliness

Bumpkin

I am a natural loner, but it doesn't mean I want to be that way.  Loneliness can feel like being crushed.  Sometimes, we call a friend and wait to hear back from him or her.  If loneliness is crushing you, and you want to talk to your friend, then don't wait for him or her to call back; call again.
Last week, I discussed the dirty dozen of fruits and veggies.  On the flip side, here are the clean 15 (source-PBS).  "All the produce on 'The Clean 15' bore little to no traces of pesticides, and are safe to consume in non-organic form." This list includes:

• onions
• avocados
• sweet corn
• pineapples
• mango
• sweet peas
• asparagus
• kiwi fruit
• cabbage
• eggplant
• cantaloupe
• watermelon
• grapefruit
• sweet potatoes
• sweet onions

Split Pea Soup

Do yourself a favor and make some split pea soup from scratch.  It's very easy and inexpensive: even when you make it with organic celery and carrots, like I do.  Buy a 1-lb package of dried split peas and dump them in a pot.  Put enough water in (It's easy to find out exactly how much online, etc., but I never measure.), and put the burner on high to boil.  Then chop up 3 stalks of celery and 3 carrots while waiting for the water to boil.  Put them in with the peas.  Once they boil, turn them down to a simmer, and put a lid on the pot, and leave it ajar so steam can escape.  Simmer it for at least an hour.  I have never overcooked it, and I have cooked it for 3 or more hours.  After all, you probably want the peas to disintegrate and turn into mush, I know I do.  Anyway, it's cheap, filling, great to eat during winter, and, most importantly, it is comprised of  healthy whole foods.
I can't help thinking about my book, so I can't help blogging about it either.  I think it is good.  Go ahead and buy it for 5 American dollars and read it on Kindle, a smartphone, or tablet.  Here, again, is the link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HQSO9RO There's a lot of interesting stuff in the book.  It's funny, entertaining, yet it also deals with the recession and how I've had a hard time since then: as have a lot of people.
I continue to feed whole walnuts to my squirrel neighbors.  At least one of them recognizes me and pretty much chases me.  I believe she sees me as a walnut dispenser, but that's fine with me.  It's great to see a squirrel hopping toward me.