Be A Bond Girl

Day 3 – Waiheki Island (17 Sept 2023)

Posted on September 17, 2023September 20, 2023 by Sandy

This morning was my first breakfast at the VOCO. It was really great! A special “barista,” everything from hot food to small pastries to fruit to (YUM!) local ancient grain and sourdough bread (they even have my secret passion – Vegemite)! The hotel is well located, though in the middle of a very steep hill! So you have a hike like the beginning of River Oaks Road back home to get either back to the hotel, or from the hotel, to anywhere else. My foot is doing okay – I am using KT tape under my sock plus my brace. The 30 minute hike in LAX absolutely did it no good, but I used the “nubbly” Lacrosse ball to try to move my arch up and bones back together – so far, so good.

Our group couldn’t be nicer. As my Mom would say, no “Poops.” I’m the youngest, with the oldest being in their mid-80s. With my foot, everyone is spryer than I am! There are 16 of us, 5 guys (2 Jims, David, Mark, Don), and 11 women – Jim is with Marilyn, David is with Elizabeth, Jim 2 is with Bev, Mark is with Elizabeth (who goes by “Betsy”), then singles are Cindy, another Marilyn, Lynn, Toshiko, Jan, Pam, me, and Don (he is a widower, but he and his wife used to travel with Jim and Marilyn so they’re an “OAT pod” doing their travels together).

Today was Waiheke Island. “Long Sheltering Island” in Maori – “Winery Island” to the tourists! There are 30 wineries, 18 winery “venues” for events, craft beers, a gin distillery, and an award-winning whisky. It’s the third most populous island in New Zealand (after North and South Island) but the most densely populated, and the second largest island in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. It has 9,400 permanent residents and boasts over 1,000 hours more of sunshine than other parts of Auckland (as well as a slightly warmer overall climate and over 40 kilometers of beaches), so it’s definitely an “island paradise.”

I’ll skip the basics – how long/wide the island is, etc. – but if you click on the words above, it will take you to Wikipedia. I guess I’d say that (while far smaller), Waiheki is a bit like Sedona. It started out as a hippie artist’s colony, and now is a “mix” of artists . . . and millionaires, with over 3,000 holiday homes on the coast. It’s one of the most desirable “suburbs” of Auckland and is a thriving arts, theatre, music, and cultural venue reachable by about a half hour ferry ride. There are no hotels or high rises on the island, so their version of “Air B&B” does a booming business, especially for weddings. New Zealand was the first country to give women suffrage, and they added same-sex marriage in 2012.

wild jasmine and tree ferns – Mother Nature’s bouquet

For $1 million NZ, you can get a shack or bare land with no view – to get sea view, you’re looking at up to $40 million. Above is a photo of a $14 million dollar “holiday home” looking down on Palm Beach. The house is empty 46 weeks of the year (!)

We had a stop in the main town, Oneroa, and a shop reached out and grabbed me, spitting me out with a merino wool Dolman-sleeved zip-up sweater (with pockets!) and a local artist’s earrings and a necklace that represents Māori New Year. It was not an inexpensive purchase, but the U.S. dollar is strong, and all were exceptional pieces.

We had learned about Māori New Year from Dane yesterday – a constellation that looks exactly like the Pleiades back home (upside-down “P”) comes into the sky. Each star represents where one can get food – salt water, fresh water, land, air, etc. The star that is shining brightest that year represents what will be abundant.

I’ve been wearing the “greenstone” (jade) necklace that my parents brought me back from NZ many moons ago, which everyone is commenting on. :-) But now I’m wearing my new Waiheke Island necklace representing Māori New Year, with the Pleiades on the top in raised silver, over a land/sea hammered area with a dark sapphire representing the moon.

Our driver/guide Neil is ex-pat British who now lives full time on the island. He was funny – said that many Argentinians had moved to the island, had added a great vibe … and also were “ringers” on their soccer team until the rest of New Zealand wised up 😊

Water is a bit of a problem in the island – it’s mainly rain collected on roofs and stored in big tanks. Water “bores” (wells) are few and far between. If you run out, it costs $300NZ to half fill a tank, which lasts a couple months. Everyone is on a septic system which is based on bedrooms – so there are a lot of HUGE “two bedroom” houses, so that they can stay within the confines of the septic on their property. The wineries have no irrigation, but this makes the vines dig deep (our guide said: “To panic the vines”), which as I know from my Master Sommelier course makes better wine. Syrah is the most predominant because of the Bordeaux-like land, and Waiheke winegrowers won best Syrah in the world in 2009. But it runs the gamut – there is even Batch Winery at the very top of the highest hill, which makes a Prosecco style wine in tanks that they imported from Italy.

As you can imagine, petrol on the island is at a premium, at about $1/liter higher than the mainland. There is a lot of intra-island swapping of things, to try to keep importing to a minimum. Electric cars/motorbikes are making big inroads. Our guide commented that while the “Leaf” car doesn’t have a lot of distance on a charge and therefore isn’t as big on the mainland, its “about 50k distance on a charge” is plenty for the island! The roads wind and are very steep in spots – didn’t see anything like golf carts for example, because I don’t think they could power up the “ups.”

cork tree at Casita Miro

cork tree close up

We headed to Casita Miro for a wine and tapas tasting. It’s the most unique winery on the island, started by Barnett (a doctor) and Kat (a lawyer). Now their son George is the winemaker as his dad is in his 70s, but Barnett still is the “artist in residence” for the artistic installations. They have four types of white wines (fermented in stainless steel) and reds fermented in French oak. While the “miro” is a native tree that feeds the native birds, Barnett has made a play on words, as the wall leading up to the winery reminds one of “Miro” the artist. The art “installations” were inspired by Barcelona.

wine flight – pinot gris, merlot rose, syrah, bordeaux blend, fortified wine “Madame Rouge”

dessert – sort of a lemon flan (very tasty)

our merry band – on the left, “alone” Marilyn, Jan, Toshiko, Pam, Don, Marilyn’s Jim standing up behind, Jim’s Marilyn, our guide Rod, Mark who is learning to guide. On the right, me, Lynn, Mark, Betsy, [Cindy missing from her chair], Bev, Jim 2. Elizabeth and David are also missing.

I had fun practicing my wine tasting, but their wines weren’t a huge hit. I did have fun though with the Marilyn that was sitting across from me, explaining how she could take some of the tapas and change the flavor profile of the wine. She particularly disliked the fortified red “Madame Rouge,” but I told her to take a piece of chocolate out of her purse, let that melt in her mouth, then try the wine. Et voila! Madame Rouge was my favorite actually – it is made solera style and reminded me a bit of madeira.

Below you can see some of the photos of the art that the owner made.

all the walls and art made by the husband/owner (a doctor)

And below, here is my first placement of an H “cremarble.” I had SuperGlue in my purse (Be Prepared…) and so I carefully placed the marble onto this sculpture. I wonder if the artist will notice it. Well . . . it’s stuck there now! I thought it was the perfect spot for it. What do you think?

The Love You Take Is Equal To The Love You Make

Off to olive oil tasting!

Allpress has 10 varieties of olives: French, Spanish, Italian, Greek, plus, about 200 years ago, a missionary planted olives here, which have the creative name of J-1, J-2. Etc. (Called the “J” varieties), which have a distinctive nutty flavor. The green olives have increased polyphenols and a peppery “bite” – the black olives make more, fruitier, oil.

We got to see a video of how they collect the olives – silk parachutes are laid under the trees to catch the olives, which are “raked” off with electric rakes. It takes 4-6 people about 10 minutes to clear a tree. 7 kilograms of fruit makes 1 liter of oil; Allpress made 6,000 liters this year.

The fruit is then taken to a centrifugal (not “crush”) mill, which gives better control of the oil and its byproducts. The “fruit paste” of the olive/stone mash is made into compost, the “fruit water” is used for irrigation, and then the oil is, of course, oil 😊 The entire fruit is crushed (including the stone), which actually has tannins that help bond the oil together. No pesticides are used on the island because the ocean air keeps the bugs away.

Apparently, the mill (which is at a different spot on the island) smells like fresh mown grass when the oil is being extracted. The Allpress gal said, “If Green were a smell, that would be it.” The very first press of the season is unfiltered and goes rancid in about three months – but is highly prized and basically just the locals get it.

We tried six different oils, from a very crisp lively herbaceous one to a bold nutty peppery one (that had an intense “leafy” scent). You could pick and choose to buy three small bottles from five of the oils (one, called “Waiheke ‘22” is only sold in bigger bottles – it’s a mélange of all the oils from 2022, which was a great year). Lynn bought three of the last oil (the intense one), I bought three different ones to bring to my folks, as my Mom loves to use EVO. (Hi Mom, I know you’re reading this blog to Dad, pretend you didn’t read that!)

The photo to the right is Onatongi Beach, which is a mile long and gorgeous. But, back to olives. Most wineries and even private persons have olive trees. Allpress, where we had our olive oil tasting, allows any islander to come “mill your own vintage” from their olives. Because of the hot/dry summers and the very small time between pick and press, the olive oil is a spectacular quality, and wins many, many awards, even against Italian olive oil, at Italian competitions! Olives don’t like land that holds water – if there is too much rain or the land holds the water, there is too much water in the fruit.

We took the ferry back to Auckland and got an hour to rest, then the bulk of us met Rod at a local Belgian pub that specialized in green-lipped mussels, which are grown on the far side of Waiheke Island. I had the best beer I’ve ever had – perfect flavor profile for me. (I’m not an ale person.) The beer portion of the Master Sommelier training really helped me to consider why I might not love beer – turns out that I don’t like ales, but pilsners are great! (top-fermenting versus bottom-fermenting yeast.)

The pub had something to do with music – lots of musical instruments around and this Dutch writing has to do with types of saxophones

Green-lipped mussels from Waiheke Island (and frites)

Our merry dining band. Rod, our Guide, on the right of this photo, then Don, Toshiko, Bev, Jim, Pam; other side from the front: Jim and Marilyn, Lynn, Cindy, me, Betsy, Mark.

We toddled back to the hotel and were lights out by 9 – though back up at 4 (“rowing time”?) I am typing this after taking a shower and packing, though time to get dressed and out! Tomorrow is a well-known gardens and a kiwi bird hatchery, on the way to Rotorua.

If you want $100 off, call OAT at 1-800-955-1925 and request a catalog, tell them you were referred by Sandy Shepard, customer number 3087257, and get $100 off your first trip!

Day 2 – Sugoi! (16 Sept 2023 – Happy Anniversary)

Posted on September 15, 2023September 20, 2023 by Sandy

I learned a new Japanese word today – Sugoi. One of the women on our trip, Yoshiko, used it when I told her I was getting up at 6:00 a.m. to go row with the North Shore Rowing Club Masters, the “Tyred Swans.” She told me it meant “Brave” but in looking it up on Auntie Google, it is more like ‘Wow’ or ‘Awesome’ or ‘Fabulous.’ (I’ll take it.)

The boathouse is on Lake Pupuke, a collapsed volcano/caldera about 20 minutes from the CBD.

I ordered an Uber the night before to deliver me by 6:50 a.m. The driver arrived early and the traffic was non-existent, so I cooled my jets for a bit before someone showed up, and admired the black swans and baby cygnets “swanning around” the lake. The weather was crisp and very clear. As photos were frowned upon, all you get are a few not particularly close up photos of some swans by the dock. :-) When we were out rowing, a family with wee tiny baby cygnets glided past very close to the 8 . . . wish I had been more “brave” to try to sneak a picture! The cob (male swan) was reaching into water, clipping the long grass/seaweed (“lake weed”?), and laying it across the pen’s back. (Not sure what that was about, but it was fun to watch.)

The club was started one year after SERC, where I row in San Francisco. Everyone was excited to be planning their 150th next year – which SERC has been doing this year! (I’d chosen to wear my SERC long-sleeved shirt and was asked about the 1873 on the sleeve, which started that conversation.)

I rowed with the Women’s Masters 8. The actual shell was quite different from ours. The riggers were fixed (no spacers), with no bar “across” the boat. The boat had an incredibly shallow draft and was super heavy. The oars had big fat wooden handles. I liked their paddle logos – blue with swans – but of course forgot to take a photo. (I’ve asked for one – hopefully I can insert it into this post at a later date.)

I was head and shoulders taller than anyone in the boat (except the cox/coach/captain – no motor boats on the lake so the coach coxes). Therefore, carrying it and rolling it was a bit of a chore. When I put the boat on my shoulder, the two ports (or “stroke side” as they’re called) had nothing to carry… the boat was easily 5 inches above theirs!

They get into the boat a pair at a time, which was easy enough, especially as the draft was so shallow that it was basically at the level of the dock. (Also they dock the boat on the same side as we do – stepping in with the right foot first – which made the process easier.)

They had a clever way of making sure that everyone had the same seat position at the finish. They had a mark on the boat deck to the side of the seat rails. Once everyone was in the boat, you put your finger on your back seat wheel, matching it up to the line. Then, you adjusted your feet from there, keeping your legs straight, so that everyone was at the same spot at the finish. Took the guess work out of things.

We rowed around the lake for about an hour and a half, maybe two hours. The lake isn’t particularly big, so there was a lot of turning. :-) There are no speakers in the boat; the cox has a headset, but it is attached to a speaker that is up with her. I learned new terminology (“Easy” for “Weigh enough,” etc.), and we worked on various drills (mostly balancing and square blade work), then rowed 6s and 8s. Unfortunately with the super shallow draft (and inability to move the rigger) I couldn’t really get the oar in position on my body. The port behind me (trying to be helpful) told me to bring the oar handle “up to” the standard “under the bra” level – but as soon as I did it, the cox/coach shouted that I’d been fine, now I was way too deep in the water. ;-) We also were constantly down to port (“stroke side”), so in trying to “tap down” farther, every now and again that big fat wooden handle wound up actually under the gunwale!

We did have two crabs – one my port pair that knocked her flat. The second though was a nearly ejector crab of the port-side gal in the next pair, where her feet actually came out of the shoes! She sort of “starfished” on both gunwales and kept herself in the boat. (Such drama…!)

The water is so clean and clear that they don’t even need to wash the boats or oars. That was a welcome surprise! The MRA oar lapel pins that I’d brought were well received. That was fun.

I was invited to “have a coffee” with them at their local “coffee house.” Oh. My. Goodness. I have never seen more beautiful food in my life. Rebecca, the cox/captain/coach, told me that one of the “biggest problems” in New Zealand was that all the food was amazing. So much for my idea of trying to lose a pound or two on this trip!

Rebecca was great. She specializes in coaching programs for masters rowers – FasterMastersRowing.com. They have a podcast on RowingChat, e-newsletter, etc. Rebecca is often invited to commentate on rowing events – she was the “Studio Expert” at the London Olympic Games and is one of the commentators at the Henley Royal Regatta. She’ll have a booth for her programs at Head of the Charles. I asked how she dealt with such a long plane trip to Boston and she said “It’s not as bad as the Henley!”

one of the new MRA Novices sent this after reading about the cinnamon rolls – !!

I got back to the hotel with just enough time to change and get to the coach taking us to meet with Dane from Ngati Whatua, a Māori Iwi at Bastion Point/Mission Bay. We learned about a controversial topic – Māori Land Rights and the Treaty of Waitangi. We also learned a lot about the myths and legends of the Māori, especially related to the land/sea/wind/area of Tamaki Makaurau (the Māori name for Auckland, which translates to “desired by many.”)

Dane was amazing. He particularly discussed how the Māori language is now an option for school kids. He had not had “te reo Māori” (“the Māori language”) growing up, but did a one year immersion when the government started advertising that having it was a bonus for jobs. He said that his kids did not have “te reo,” but his grandkids did. He talked a bit about his 93 year old dad, who unfortunately had taken a spill at Tapatapuatea marae (“place of worship”) when they had just been visiting Raiatea, which the Māori consider the starting point of their people from which all Polynesia was colonized.

Our eldest tour member, Dave, was “voluntold” that he would be our Rangatira (“Chief”) and that he had to introduce us in a particular way to Dane, including a hongi. Then, we sang a waiata to Dane. It was called Te Aroha, and went:

Te aroha (“Love”)

Te whakapono (pron: vah-ka-po-no) (“Faith”)

Me te rangimari-e (“And peace”)

Tatou tatou e (“Be among us all”).

HERE is the song. We did our best :-) (Actually, our guide, Rod, said that we did an amazing job, and I do think that we did. He wanted us to sing to the music, which he had on his cell phone. The problem was that the pitch was outside the reach of just about all of the group. So when he said that it was time for the waiata, I (ahem) just started singing in a key that I knew everyone could reach. He didn’t have a chance – ha ha. Such a disturber, I am.)

We had a very lovely lunch in a local restaurant on the water, and then the rest of the day was our own. Lynn was able to go out and find a few sundry items – and (you guessed it!) I thought I’d memorialize this blog!

Tonight, the “Welcome Dinner” at a local restaurant – suboptimal (free) wine, pretty good food. Here’s a photo of the Sky Tower lit up from our walk back!

Toshiko, Lynn, Pam, one of the Marilyns, Jan

If you want $100 off, call OAT at 1-800-955-1925 and request a catalog, tell them you were referred by Sandy Shepard, customer number 3087257, and get $100 off your first trip!

Day 1- or is it 2? (13 Sept U.S. – 15 Sept NZ, 2023)

Posted on September 14, 2023September 20, 2023 by Sandy

Melissa is back! First of all, can I say that I *hate* the new WordPress. I can’t figure out for the life of me how to wrap text, insert photos, etc. It used to be SO EASY. Hopefully I will get the bandwidth at some point to figure out how to do this correctly . . . but that’s not going to be today.

Melissa’s best fan Winston was glad to see her (“Where ya been, Auntie?”). The last time that she came to bail me out and house sit/dog sit was back in 2019. Yep – COVID happened. Melissa met Clementine with a bit of trepidation, as a 100# big blockheaded 2 year old American Bully was a lot different than Winston, the 16 year old “elder statesman.” However, as you can see from the photo, Clementank won her over – or, perhaps, just wouldn’t let Melissa get up until she submitted to loving her. Ha!

Melissa took Lynn and me to SFO on Wednesday – we had both done the “pre-check” that allowed us to just do the bag drop. Lynn had seen this/the boarding pass check-in online, I had seen the New Zealand Customs online check in, so (fingers crossed), a good pair thusfar.

God bless American Express Centurion lounges – both the SFO and LAX ones saved our bacon. The airports were packed but the lounges gave us some elbow room – okay – and great food and some champagne ;-) Above is my “patented” Herbert-marble-in-champagne-pre-trip shot with Lynn :-)

Too much walking for my foot (including about 30 minutes in LAX from one end to the other). Way too much walking. Soldier on . . . Kia Kaha :-) Lynn hadn’t realized her bag didn’t have a shoulder strap – when she was investigating the Centurion Lounge in LAX I asked if the (free) masseur had time, and was able to get her something for her neck and shoulders. Yay ;-)

We had upgraded to Premium Economy (thank goodness!), and so were welcomed to our own personalized greeting on Air New Zealand. (“Kia Ora” basically means “Hello.”)

Mind you, the idea of being in a mask for a zillion hours on the flight wasn’t my idea of a great time, but I’ll be darned if I will go from “NO-vid” to “COVID” on the plane before a holiday!

The flight attendants were great – Premium Economy better than Economy (ho boy, cattle call, Moooooo), with seats that kind of reclined and kind of had a leg rest – though of course not the “lie-down-flat-and-peel-me-grapes” of the upper class. :-)

After a day on board (well, not really, but yes really, if you go by time zones), all I could do was croak “coffee” at the lovely flight attendant, who gladly obliged.

Once we got to the Auckland Airport (Friday – we’ll “grab” Thursday back when we return), first you need to go through passport control. If you have a U.S. passport and have filled out the “NZeTA” app, you can do the “e-scan” and waltz on through.

If you’re Lynn.

Obviously they believed I was some sort of nefarious character, and the “e-scan” gave me the big red circle with the crosshatch. (Luckily no alarms sounded.) I was led to the “control official” line instead.

It did take some time, so I waved Lynn to go downstairs to Baggage and see if she could retrieve our luggage. Wow, WHAT A PAL am I….I sashayed on down JUST has she heaved my luggage off the carousel – !!

Off we went to Customs. Once again, there is an app, this one called “NZTD.” Lynn hadn’t seen the notification to fill out this app (it came in an Air New Zealand email) – but once we got to our group leader, Ron, he said that it was new enough that he had never seen it either!

You use it to fill in the declaration forms 24 hours before your plane takes off for New Zealand. New Zealand is VERY strict with respect to what can come into the country. NO fruit, animal products, etc. – or shoes that have been on a farm within the last x number of days – or shoes with dirt on them – or (dot dot dot). The NZTD app allows you to declare what you ARE bringing in. Though allowed, you must declare things like (pre-packaged, not handmade) protein bars, etc. – including the Ghirardelli chocolate minis I’d brought as a gift for our homestay family. (Our guide had informed me that the dry sourdough starter from Boudin would be confiscated. Whaa-whaaaa.)

I’d checked box for “machine-packaged Chocolates, Sweets or Lollies.” The sticky point was that Lynn had Kind bars, which are not only chocolate, but also nuts, seeds, etc. so she checked “Other.”

I thought she was behind me as I wound my way past hundreds of folks with the paper Customs forms clutched in their hands . . . right to a Customs official. Whoa! She took my passport, asked me if I had anything “but the chocolates” to declare, I said No, she stamped my passport, Done.

Wait.

Wasn’t Lynn behind me?

Nope.

Scanning back through the sea of humanity, I saw her way-way-WAAAAAY back at the entry to the area. Unfortunately, the “Other” she’d checked for the Kind bars (Note to others: declare it as chocolate…) had held her up while they tried to figure out what to do with her. Unfortunately, they made her go through the line where all the “paper declaring” people were queued . . .

20 minutes later . . .

I just waited behind the Customs officials, though there wasn’t a place to sit. I didn’t want to go OUT of the Customs area, in case Lynn got held up further.

I emailed our guide, who had said he would be waiting for us (and 4 others on our flight) right outside the Customs exit, to tell him that Lynn had been held up, I was through, but we were here.

Lynn ultimately got through, we were led past the bag-sniffing deerhounds (like a long-legged beagle) – very interested in my CLOTHING but not my BAG (hello Winston & Clemmie), and out the doors we went, I was sure the last to arrive.

We were the first to meet the guide!

I’m not quite sure how we managed it – but we were WELL in front of the other 4 folks – three traveling together from near Scottsdale (a married couple and a widower), and then another gal from West of Phoenix (Japanese, super nice, light on English but long on OAT trips – actually – all but me are at the “VIP” level). Toshiko was last out the Customs door, perhaps because English is not her first language. It was two hours from when we touched down before she emerged (I believe it took Lynn and me maybe 30-40 minutes all told).

We drove to the VOCO Hotel in downtown Auckland. Downtown is called the “CBD.” All I can think of every time I hear that, of course, is CBD/THC :-) I’m typing lying on the bed – nicely appointed room, a bit light on the water pressure, but two big queen beds looking out on the Auckland Sky Tower, which looks a bit like the tower in Toronto.

We had a few hours to relax, re-pack, etc. until about an hour from now when we have our first “official” meeting with the other travelers. Dinner isn’t included today, so I imagine that Lynn and I will toddle down to Queen Street, find an ATM, and get some dinner. In case you want to see the real details of our trip instead of what my addled brain is remembering, follow Lynn’s blog HERE. :-)

It will be an early evening for me FOR SURE, as I have to meet my Uber at 6:30 a.m. to head out to row on Lake Pupuke, in Takapuna, tomorrow at 7:00 a.m.! HERE is the club’s website. I’m bringing MRA oar lapel pins, to try to bribe them to forgive me for whatever I do on the water. Wish me LUCK!!!

If you want $100 off, call OAT at 1-800-955-1925 and request a catalog, tell them you were referred by Sandy Shepard, customer number 3087257, and get $100 off your first trip!

2023 New Zealand!

Posted on September 7, 2023September 20, 2023 by Sandy

Yep – I’m back. I know. I know. It’s been a while. That’s okay – I mainly just write for myself.

Short story? A friend who lost her husband suddenly a few months back asked me to go with her on a trip. She and her husband have done just shy of 30 trips via Overseas Adventure Travel (they were introduced to the company by my parents, who also traveled with “O.A.T.”!). She was therefore able to obtain a steep discount for booking a trip in a month. Would I go? Maybe we could each be the other’s new travel partner?

My first exclamation: “I snore!”

Her answer? “I wear hearing aids!” (LOL)

HERE‘s the trip.

My husband’s absolute favorite architect is an Austrian named Hundertwasser. His works are exceptionally whimsical. (He once stated that “everyone should have a gold onion dome on top of their house.”) By way of example, the Hundertwasserhaus apartment block in Vienna has undulating floors (“an uneven floor is a melody to the feet”), a roof covered with earth and grass, and large trees growing from inside the rooms, with limbs extending from windows. We stayed at his spa in Bad Blumau once when we were visiting H’s kin in Austria – still the best spa I have ever been to in the world (and we’ve been to quite a few!) There is even a winery near us that we “always were going to visit” that was designed by him.

So – get this. On the trip, we are doing a “post-trip extension” to Kawakawa, on an island off the coast of the North Island. Who had retired there? Hundertwasser. What did he do there? Public buildings – including these toilets (photo to the left) open to all!

I turned some of the husband’s ashes into about 100 cremarbles. I have given these out to friends who are traveling, and they send back photos of where he now rests. (That will be a blog post at a later date. Promise.) My plan? Superglue and a marble, et voila – H will be PART of a Hundertwasser! I can hear his laugh and see his smile.

I’ve been my husband’s “wingman” in travel for 20 years. I’m a super amenable travel partner – if things go wrong, I just roll with it. Hopefully that will continue!

In getting the luggage out of the attic (for the first time since H passed), I did have one completely non compos mentis day. It is said that when you lose someone close to you, time passes and it “seems like” you’ve “gotten over” the grief . . . then you find their shoe under a piece of furniture, and dissolve again. Yeah, I get it.

I’ve decided that I will actually bring my computer, so that I can both download photos, and keep a travel diary in the most efficient manner possible. So – here we go!

If you want $100 off, call OAT at 1-800-955-1925 and request a catalog, tell them you were referred by Sandy Shepard, customer number 3087257, and get $100 off your first trip!

Insurance, Hospice, & The Universe Balancing The Books

Posted on May 20, 2020May 20, 2020 by Sandy

I thought I’d update the blog with a little bit of what I’m experiencing here in “my husband is dying” land.

Hospice. Our insurance (Kaiser) pays for Hospice 100%. Hospice’s “gating requirement” is that the patient has been given less than 6 months to live. So, in actual fact, we could have called in Hospice nearly 2 years ago, since my husband has had that prognosis since that time.

However, once you call Hospice in, you don’t get any more “regular” health care. Everything basically goes through them. We didn’t call them in because that would mean no more “allopathic” treatments. For example, my husband wanted to do one more “last ditch” Radiation treatment to try to shrink the tumor, even though he’s been well within the “6 month window” for a while.

Hospice will not do IVs. Just so you know. Their reasoning is that the IV sort of “perks the patient up,” where Hospice is trying to get them to “slowly slide into oblivion” as it were. So the IV really is almost “cruel” to the system. I have a whole IV story, but all it really comes down to is I badgered Kaiser into giving him one even though he had “just entered” Hospice, and as he took 3 LITERS of fluid, I felt quite vindicated.

Hospice takes care of bringing you all the meds you need, and keeps track of all of that. 24/7, if there is any sort of an issue, there is a number that you call. However, I also learned (good for all of us to know!) that if you need “non-emergency fall assistance,” you can call 911, and tell them that it’s a non-emergency fall and you need help. They will send the fire department, no sirens, etc. to come and help you out. (Then you call Hospice so that they can come and be sure that the patient is okay.)

I’m kind of in love with our hospice gal. She looks EXACTLY LIKE Amanda Giese from Animal Planet’s “Amanda To The Rescue.” (Well, Amanda Giese with a face mask.)

I’m sure I will have more to say, but right now, I just wanted to draft up a rough blog post about all of this.

Long Term Care Insurance. About 9 years ago, my husband did EXHAUSTIVE research into Long Term Care Insurance. What LTCI does is to basically pay for approved things that Hospice won’t do. This past year, our premiums were $2,800 (hubby) and $2,200 (me).

For this, we receive (as of this year – it goes up each year as there is a 5% interest bump) $391.50/day in not only “nursing home” care, but also “in-home care by anyone not the spouse.” There is a 3 year cap, which means that the total payout of the policy right now is just under $430,000. (For each of us – we each have a policy.)

To be able to get the benefit, you need to be unable to do two of a list of things for yourself. These include things like transportation, walking, cooking/feeding yourself, toileting, showering, etc. As hubby cannot drive and cannot get into the shower those were our “two items.”

There is a 90 day “waiting period” to begin receiving your daily benefit unless you are in Hospice care, at which point the benefits start immediately. As long as one of the couple is using the benefit, the premiums are stopped for both policies. It is possible (I actually have an email in to our agent) that if my husband doesn’t use his whole policy, the rest of it “rolls over onto” my policy.

If you choose to use a home care provider “service,” obviously, easiest is to ensure that they are already approved by New York Life. If, however, you are going to use just “a person,” you can have NYL send you a form for that person, and they will approve them to be paid – so long as they are not the spouse. (So, for example, we had my mom approved by NYL, which means that if we so choose, we can have NYL pay us to have her come and sit with my husband – this is, of course, income to that person.) Generally how it works is you pay the provider, then NYL pays you back.

What got me started on this blog post is our agent, Athena Webster. When we signed up for LTCI years ago after my husband did the research, I used a NYL Agent that I knew from a business networking group. She went out of the business probably 5 years or so ago, and so we have been “agent-less” as it were.

About six months ago, Athena called us, stating that we were an “orphan account,” and wondering whether we would like her to be our agent. We were in the middle of whatever health crisis was going on then, so I asked if she would call back in two months. She did. Then I asked her to call back two months later. Which was about 3 weeks ago. Then, I wanted to “tawk.”

We immediately had her assigned as our agent, and wow. She’s unbelievable. I can’t say enough about her. When we need to call New York Life, she makes the call, works through the telephone tree, then calls us back in a 3-way call. She even did a 4-way call with New York Life, us, and our palliative care doctor at Kaiser (huge shout-out to Dr. Damian as well) when NYL was stalling on starting our policy, because they said they “weren’t getting the right paperwork.” Dr. Damian’s assistant actually called me back and said that she’d never seen anything like it – in all her interactions with LTC insurance companies, that, with Athena’s guidance, this was “by far and away the #1.”

Right now, things are a little “spicy,” as one of my Crossfit coaches used to say. My husband can only stomach watermelon, green grapes, canned peaches, cherries, and Saltines. Even that is all a bit of a crap shoot (I could make a very “TMI” comment here about how that, also, is a problem but I will leave it to your imagination). The tumor on his chest/under his arm is the size of a good-sized pomelo. It pulls on his skin, so it’s sore to the touch (he can only wear immensely soft shirts). It pulls on all the nerves/muscles going down his arm, so he’s in constant pain without the morphine/gabapentin/fentanyl/oxy cocktail he has to take every 4 hours – which makes him sick. So he can’t eat. Catch-22.

Hospice has given us a new “cocktail” to take for the nausea, since nothing else has worked – and they are “determined” to get his stomach settled. Hubby is in and out, due to all the meds – but when he’s “in,” he is arguing about having the home health care. I’m sure we will get this settled soon, as I haven’t been able to leave the house for the last week, since he can’t really stand. I have called the home care service that was recommended both by Dr. Damian and New York Life – I need to call them back today.

My mom came and “spelled me” yesterday so I could get out and do some rowing/weights with my “Crossfit wife,” and have a therapy/bodywork appointment, which I am very grateful for.

Speaking of my Crossfit wife, at therapy yesterday, I had to “talk a bit through” how much she has done for me. She and her fiance spent all last weekend (6 hours/day) helping me stain a huge trellising system that my husband had not quite finished for an area by our hot tub. My best friend’s son (a contractor) is installing it (it’s 1/2 done as I type), and hubby was even able to get out there with a cane to walk through what he exactly wanted yesterday (which was a big relief to me, frankly – that he could still “have a hand” in the work). But back to my “wifie.” She has also input and done Excel “pivot tables” for all the 2019 medical expenses – we’re talking hours and hours of time. (about $106,000 worth of out-of-pocket receipts for 2019 so far.) She keeps me sane in our “jenga gym” we set up at her house with my husband’s equipment, my rowing machine, and equipment our Crossfit gym loaned out at the beginning of the shelter-in-place (for free – God bless you Ross Valley Crossfit.) She does all of my grocery shopping.

A year or so ago, she had cancer, and I feel like a heel in that she said that she had so many people signed up to check in her/give her rides/make her food/etc. that she was fine – and I just took her at her word. It’s not that she wasn’t fine – it’s just that I should have done something. As I talked about in therapy yesterday, I am feeling unbelievably guilty for this sort of help and for not having helped her, while on the other hand feeling selfish that I need to get out of the house and do something as “silly” as lifting weights and have help painting trellises and doing tax-things that hubby has always done for the last 20 years.

I’ve had folks send flowers, fold tarps, bring watermelon, send meal kits, bring face masks and silly things, 6 packs of Lagunitas IPA, you name it. I still feel guilty each time. I think because these are folks who are doing this “for me,” not “for my husband” per se. He has had his friends take him to doctor’s appointments, walk with him (when he could do that), and the like, which I am grateful for and appreciate. But I am at the same time thankful and guilty of the help I am receiving “for me.” My cousin even sent me a weighted blanket and some amazing herbal tea the other day (Note: Don’t crawl under a weighted blanket unless you want to wake up 2 hours later drooling and snoring…), a client sent dog toys for Winston, stuff like that. Maybe this is just a test showing that I’m not a narcissistic sociopath, since I feel very strongly that it’s not all about me! :-)

In my therapy sesh, when I talked about how guilty I felt especially at all the things my “wifie” is doing for me, he said that I had to realize that “giving” isn’t a bank account. That when you give and really give from your heart, you might not “get back” from the same person. He pointed out, however, that I have given him things (I hadn’t even remembered 1/2 of them – example? He wanted to try a didgeridoo, I happened to have one, and I gave it to him). He said that if I thought about it that way, that I was doing this sort of un-self-centered “giving” to others, and now I was receiving it, not from someone I had given to, but from some other corner. That it was like a big energy circle. And when giving is done in this way – just “what can I do to help – oh I know, I can fold that tarp!” – that the person giving doesn’t expect to be “paid back” (even if you yourself might keep a mental note), but the Universe will be sure that all the books are balanced.

I liked that. I’m not sure whether I have really had that sort of effect on folks, but I do know that I try to be that sort of person. And it seems like the Universe is balancing the books, these past weeks.

Our Wedding (a/k/a The Best Wedding Ever)

Posted on April 29, 2020August 28, 2020 by Sandy

With my husband sick (dying) with Stage 4 Cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic, I got to thinking back to our wedding oh so many moons ago. I only had one copy of the DVD from the wedding, but the amazing Joe Kenemore and Pat Roth of Cache Mediaworks were kind enough to put it into an MP4 format for me.

A few things to know before watching the video:

The video was put together by a documentary film production house that owed me a good bit of money for legal work. I asked them if they would “follow me around” before my wedding, for debt forgiveness. That’s why we have some of the film that we do.

The first thing you see in the video is our wedding invite, then the first “filming” takes place at my husband’s dance studio. My husband at the time was an advanced ballroom dancer . . . Me? Nope. Since he wanted to do a Quickstep, Foxtrot, and Viennese Waltz “mash up” for our “dance” at the wedding, I had a lot to learn! My Dad also took lessons so he could dance with me for the “Daddy-daughter” portion of the wedding.

I wore my Mom’s wedding dress. Luckily another client, the couturier Colleen Quen, was able to get a 6’2″ daughter into a 5’7″ mother’s dress! The Aloncon lace on the dress had been 50 years old when my mom married my dad. Check out the last photo of me with Colleen – she’s standing on a foot-high riser!

Some of the video is very pixelated. This was, unfortunately, due to the “wrong button being pressed” on a video camera brought by a friend. The documentary film company was able to “splice” photographs from the wedding into bits of that film and what they had from their camera. Phew!

We had a reception first, the wedding after. During the reception (while we were out having our photos taken), the guests all took foxtrot lessons. (Everyone had been “warned” on the invitation that this would be part of the “event”!) In this manner, we hoped that everyone would mingle and get to know one another. We only played foxtrot music during the “Dancing” portion of the wedding. While we were taking our photos, you can see my dad putting the “sixpence in my shoe” so I could have something old (my mom’s dress/my bridesmaid Allison’s veil), something new (my shoes), something borrowed (my Aunt Nina’s locket from my Nona), and something blue (my garter)….”And a sixpence in her shoe,” from my friend Leslie (dated the year she and I met).

The location, the Veterans Memorial Building on Lake Merritt in Oakland, did not have a finished dance floor, so guests were “forbidden” from taking food/drink into that room. We had a champagne bar and so hired a friend’s daughter (and avid scrapbooker) to host a “champagne glass decoration stand” for the guests. This way, guests could decorate their glasses as their “favors” for the wedding – and would be easily able to pick them back up after going in to dance. (Many folks still have their glasses! I know we do.)

The succulents that we had as our boutonnieres/bouquets were subsequently planted in our garden – and are very beautiful today!

We had been married the year previously (Shhh….) in Hawaii, since my husband, in his previous marriages, had only wanted to be married on the beach there. (Me? First marriage! Big blow out!) We used the exact same ceremony/vows in this marriage. The leis in both ceremonies were from a master lei maker on Kauai.

I had recently published my first book (Fempowerment: A Guide To Unleashing Your Inner Bond Girl), and my bridesmaid Allison and I were running an “Unleash your Bond Girl” business. That’s the “surprise” Bond portion of the wedding. Neither my mom, nor Allison, knew we were going to do this. As both had been incredibly Type A (in the best of ways) about the wedding, “surprising” them was a big deal. Seeing their shocked faces when the doors slammed shut and then were re-opened by our “bodyguards,” my cousins Lorenzo and James, and my friend Rod, is one of my favorite memories. You can even see me mouth “Surprise!” to Allison.

The Walther PPK in the garter, of course, was just a must. Right?

We had all the guests put their names in a hat, and then they drew out the “readings” from another hat. We had no way of knowing that our first reading, pulled by our friend Rosemary, would be a poem that was about 10 minutes long! :-)

There was a $200 Victoria’s Secret credit card in the bouquet, and a $200 Home Depot credit card on the garter. So you weren’t the next guy to get married – you were the next man with a Power Tool! My friend John not only was smart enough to stand in front – cos garters don’t fly very far! – but, as he was wearing his dress kilt, he “sported” the garter the rest of the evening!

I was, at the time, teaching pole dancing and a class in chair/tease dancing as well – hence, the shoes, the “lap dance,” and the “garter dance.” Hey, you only get married once!

Since this blog post is really probably just for me, HERE is the “raw copy” of the former “wedsite” HerbertAndSandy.com. (It’s an ~100 page download – be forewarned!) My friend Emily was gracious enough to find it on the “Wayback Machine” and send all the pages to me after I’d forgotten to renew the URL. The pages include a travelogue of our honeymoon, all the stories and quotes sent to us from friends worldwide, the story of how we met, our vows, etc. I’m so glad that she was able to reconstruct it!!!

HERE is the link to the video. Don’t hit download – it’s huge! Just hit preview. If you were a guest – or even if you weren’t! – I hope that this brings back fond memories (or makes fond new ones!)

Gyms & COVID-19

Posted on March 16, 2020March 17, 2020 by Sandy

We have to close our gym! What can we do about our lease obligations? What about income?

1. Quickly consider alternative/home-based workouts. Sometimes necessity has to be the mother of invention. Consider setting up a “virtual gym” for your members who may also be stuck at home because of school closings, work closings, etc. If you can still actually access your gym (i.e., you are not under a “shelter in place” order), set up a camera and do a Live Stream. Perhaps do it outside! (Maybe cajole your members outside, too!) Consider loaning out some of your equipment for the duration of any closing (keep a very good list of who took what, of course!) Maybe come up with “prizes” (case of Corona, anyone?) for members who can show that they kept up with their workouts – what about a dedicated “hashtag” related to your gym on social media? How about a prize for the biggest [weight loss/bicep increase/squat hold] differential during your shutdown? This is likely to be your best bet to keep your income flowing – keep your members happy and keep them working out. Your head too full to come up with workouts on your own? Always remember that Crossfit® HQ has your back 😊 www.crossfit.com/workout/

2. Consider novel payment options. Perhaps, as an alternative to suspending monthly memberships, give your members the option to continue to pay while you “add more time onto” the “end” of their memberships. At our gym, we don’t have “punch cards,” we have drop-in fees (highest $), monthly fees (worthwhile if you’re coming more than once a week), and then annualized fees, paid monthly (lowest rate by far). When given the option today, annualized members seem overwhelmingly to be choosing not to suspend. As Crossfit members, we love our affiliates – give your members choices to help you that are still beneficial to them. Keeping payments flowing during the crisis should be your main goal – give something in the future to smooth your situation now. Even the promise of a Mexico-inspired (Corona, remember?) member party at the end of all this will keep community spirits up.

3. Keep updated on your mayor’s proclamations. For example, as I write this, our local mayor and two others in different states’ cities (found in a cursory Google search) are stating that landlords cannot penalize tenants (including commercial tenants) that are unable to make their rent during the pandemic. Be sure you understand what might be available to you, and what you need to do to avail yourself of it. This might also include checking out any tenant organizations that cover commercial leases, as well as your local small business organizations. While it might seem unpalatable to take out a loan due to this situation, it is a better choice than to get behind on your obligations – things inevitably wind up snowballing.

4. Read your lease. In general, to get a break as a tenant, you’d need to prove that either (i) your obligations under the lease have “substantially changed” so that it’s impossible to perform the lease (deeming the lease “frustrated”); or (ii) that a global pandemic like COVID-19 fits under a “force majeure” boilerplate in your lease.

Unfortunately, though not surprisingly, most leases do not have protections like this. Most (if not all) leases are drafted by the landlord. If you didn’t involve an attorney in your lease negotiation, it’s virtually guaranteed that your contract is “silent” on protections for you as a tenant. Moreover, in general, commercial leases require damage/destruction to the premises itself for rent suspension to be triggered under (i) in the above paragraph – and a pandemic doesn’t fit the bill.

What about (ii), force majeure? Force Majeure provisions address “Acts of God” – events “beyond the reasonable control of a party” that prevent that party from performing their contractual obligations. A typical “Act of God” is a hurricane, earthquake, or a flood.

Sadly, it’s important to note that, even if a contract has a force majeure clause, nearly all of them exempt ”monetary obligations” (such as rent payments). But, it can’t hurt to take a look: If your contract has one, and it includes language that says “including, but not limited to…” then perhaps you can suspend your performance (in the case of a lease, this would be paying rent) until you can re-open your doors. However, this doesn’t actually excuse your payments . . . it just allows you to push your payment forward by the amount of time it takes to right yourself (or for the number of days stated in the contract – some state that you can push your obligations forward, for example, “the lesser of” the amount of time that it takes to right yourself, or [10] days).

As an aside, if you do happen to find a force majeure clause in a contract, also know that an Act of God clause can’t protect non-performance if the force majeure event occurs after the delayed performance; there are also always very specific notice provisions.

If you’re actually planning to just throw up your hands and default on your contractual obligations, it really is strongly advisable not to do this. If your lease has an “attorneys’ fees” clause (nearly all of them do), it will cost your landlord nothing to sue you if/when they win – you’ll be paying all their fees and court costs. And… since you have your lease out… definitely check for things like: (i) acceleration clauses (which state if you are ever late, the entirety of the lease term’s payments are due immediately); (ii) attorneys’ fees clauses; (iii) penalties/interest clauses; (iv) jurisdiction clauses (did you agree to an inconvenient forum, and law that isn’t tenant-friendly?); (v) personal guarantee clauses (where, even if you’re incorporated, you are personally liable for the payments – a/k/a the “lose your house” clause); (vi) etc.

5. Don’t forget to look at your insurance. While Force Majeure provisions, in general, allow a party to suspend performance until a catastrophic event is over, what covers loss of business due to general fear, governmental direction to engage in “social distancing,” or orders to shelter in place/stay home? This will severely impact many “brick and mortar” businesses, such as bars, event venues, restaurants, theaters, and, of course, gyms.

While some business insurance/business interruption policies cover disruptions, in general, they cover loss of earnings due to an ‘insured peril,’ which also require property damage. While Contingent Business Interruption (CBI) insurance is generally broader, you would have needed “Back to the Future” foresight to add this rider onto your business interruption insurance before the occurrence. Unfortunately and unsurprisingly, after the global outbreak of SARS in 2002-2003, many insurers have excluded viral outbreaks from standard business interruption policies, and coverage may only be procured through special endorsements/riders purchased at the time of coverage. (In other words – it’s too late now, sorry ☹ )

In sum, while insurance covering non-nature-related “interruptions to business” (such as strikes, lockouts, or down utilities) can compensate both parties during the period at issue, it’s unlikely (without physical loss or property damage) that business interruption and other current forms of coverage will compensate either landlords or tenants for loss of business or rent merely because the government mandates that potential customers stay home.

6. Throw yourself on the mercy of the courts? Since your lease is likely silent on force majeure, and your insurance likely doesn’t call out “COVID-19” directly, if your landlord sues you, the courts in your jurisdiction will determine whether you win based on the foreseeability of the event and the jurisdiction’s statutes/ precedents. But don’t hold your breath. For example, in an insurance case where an event organizer intended to lease space at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan shortly after 9/11, but the City of New York decided to utilize the Javits Center as an operational hub and therefore “ordered” it closed to non-first responder personnel, the courts held that the event organizer’s insurance only covered “direct physical loss or damage,” not loss of business. Penton Media, Inc. v. Affiliated FM Insurance Co., 245 F. App’x 495, No. 06-4215 (2007).

Be safe – and live up to your side of contracts, even if you need to pay everyone a little versus paying nothing. If you wind up in court, while I can’t guarantee it, this is likely to be looked at more favorably than just throwing up your hands and hiding your head in the sand(bags).

The information provided in this article does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information and content are for general informational purposes only. This article may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. Readers should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter. No reader should act or refrain from acting on the basis of this article without first seeking legal advice from counsel in the relevant jurisdiction. Only your individual attorney can provide assurances that the information contained herein – and your interpretation of it – is applicable or appropriate to your particular situation. This article does not create an attorney-client relationship. All liability with respect to actions taken or not taken based on the contents are hereby expressly disclaimed. This article is provided AS IS; no representations are made that it is error-free.

5k Training Tips for Beginning Runners on a Busy Schedule by Julie Morris

Posted on November 4, 2019November 4, 2019 by Sandy

Photo via Pixabay by StockSnap

We’re lucky enough to have another post by Coach Julie! You may remember our first post by Coach Julie on Stress Management, which you can re-read HERE. Today, she’s talking training tips to get you on the road to your first 5k!

Running is a fantastic way to keep in shape, but it can be a tricky activity to pin down when you’re a beginner. Not only do you have to figure out how to stay safe and make sure your body is well taken care of, you also have to find time to get in the amount of running that’s right for you. Busy professionals sometimes have a difficult time with this, especially when they decide they want to start training for a 5K race. Time management is important, but fortunately there are several simple things you can do to fit in some training.

Planning wisely is crucial, since your body needs time to cool down and recover. When you have a busy schedule, it’s important to prepare for every aspect of your workout, including the downtime. It’s also a good idea to start out slowly, which will allow you to focus on your body’s strengths and work on your weaknesses without risk of injury. And you’ll also need the right gear, including a fitness tracker, to help monitor your progress.

Here are a few tips on how to start training as a 5K runner when you have a busy schedule.

Use tech to your advantage

Technology can be extremely useful for beginners who want to figure out the best way to start training. Fitness trackers, apps, and smart watches are great tools to help you keep track of your progress, your health, and even the amount of calories you’re burning, meaning you’ll be using your time wisely each time you go for a run. They can even act as motivation and can help to keep you safe; for example, the latest model of Apple’s smartwatches, the Apple Watch Series 5, includes features like an electrocardiogram and has an SOS feature if you should find yourself in trouble while on a run. Meanwhile, the Fossil Gen 5 smartwatch delivers smooth performance and has a battery-saving mode for longer battery life. (Note from Sandy: I happen to have a Withings Steel HR smartwatch, and I LOVE IT. It has fantastic performance, is easy to use, and the battery lasts for weeks! It also “looks like a watch” which to me is a huge benefit. I have the black face/rose gold model, so even the black “notification” screen looks just like a regular watchface unless a notification is coming through. Because I had the initial generation of this watch, which had a flaw, they sent me the Withings SmartScale as an “apology” (and a new watch) – so that also links into the app. It doesn’t do all the fancy “close your rings” stuff that an Apple smart watch does, but because it actually looks like a classy non-digital, non-“smartwatch” watch, I’m willing to forego some of those “bells and whistles.” Links not tied into any sort of affiliate deal, btw.)

Focus on your recovery

It’s essential to make sure your body can recover after each run, especially as you start to train and are running more often. Staying hydrated and waiting at least three hours after eating before you go for a run are great tips, and you should also ice your muscles to keep soreness at bay. Keep your diet in mind as well; eating the right foods like bananas and plain yogurt can help you keep your body on track and will boost your energy and fuel your muscles. Make sure you integrate those foods into your daily routine; bring your own snacks to work so you won’t have to rely on unhealthy vending items, and start doing meal prep for the week so you can save time.

Come prepared

Running and training for marathons can be time-consuming activities, especially if you don’t have the right equipment beforehand. Come prepared with the right clothing, shoes, and other gear so you can get through the run without any distractions or issues. If you’re going to be a serious runner, it’s a good idea to choose shoes for your foot type (narrow or wide). Break them in beforehand, as well. Also, keep in mind that outside factors can affect your run, such as weather and terrain.

Run when you can

When you’re a busy professional, sometimes you have to seize the opportunity to run whenever you can. This might mean going out for a jog on your lunch break, or waking up earlier than normal to run, so think about the option that makes the most sense for you. Some people don’t do well with a routine that doesn’t have a schedule attached to it, but when you’re busy, sometimes you have to learn to work around things a little.

Training to be a 5K runner is a lot of hard work, but it can be very rewarding at the same time. By utilizing the tools at your disposal, you can ensure that you’re able to keep your body safe and in great shape as you go. Keep comfort in mind as much as possible so you won’t cut down on your run time with aches and pains.

Julie Morris is a Life and Career Coach, and can be found at JulieMorris.Org.

Resistant Starch & Bone Broth

Posted on September 25, 2019September 25, 2019 by Sandy

Hi:

It’s funny the things that we do because we think that one thing (or another) is “better for” us.

I’ll give you an example. I have always really loved (and sometimes had a craving for) white rice. Butofcourse, white rice is not GOOD for you, BROWN rice is good for you. So I would always dutifully order the brown rice with Thai food, etc. – because, ya know, it’s BETTER for you.

Yeah…….Nope.

I have done a couple of those personalize nutrition (i.e., “match your DNA to what you eat”) tests. My favorite still being Habit for the presentation value alone – but I’ve done GenoPalate, etc.

Funniest thing? My DNA doesn’t like brown/wild rice. My DNA likes white rice.

I’m taking college-level Biology as a required prerequisite for my Nutrition degree, and my husband’s cancer profile has changed (Stage 4), so I’ve been consumed (Ha, ha) by nutrition.

Thought I’d share.

Resistant starch is what your gut microbiota (“gut bugs”) eat. It’s also called “pre-biotics.” (Probiotics are what makes the bugs themselves.) Because hubby was recently put on a huge dose of antibiotics due to pneumonia, we knew that he’d wiped out his gut bugs. And we needed to get them back – fast – especially as the current cancer regime he’s on (Keytruda) relies on you having a good, working, force of gut bugs at your disposal.

Moreover, we were instructed by our non-Western doctor, that, since practically no one eat animal protein “head to tail” (e.g., including offal and bone marrow), the standard daily diet needs to be supplemented for optimal health. Enter – bone broth.

So this post is just a quick one to show you (a) how to make a prebiotic to feed your good gut bugs that is also delicious (if you like white rice!) and (b) give you some pre-made bone broth ideas.

Broth Number One: Shelf Stable Kettle & Fire

Why yes, I do make my own bone broth. But it’s messy, takes a long time, and (since you need to freeze it or it goes off), can sometimes not be available right when you want it. By way of an aside, to be prepared to make your own bone broth, put “wiggly” veggies, sprouted onions, the parts of the chicken you didn’t eat, etc. into a huge gallon Ziploc in your freezer – once you have a couple of them, add them to a stew pot with some apple cider vinegar and water and spices, and then boil, boil boil. But I digress. (How unusual.)

Because it’s shelf stable (without any nasty preservatives, pasteurization, etc.), Kettle & Fire is my favorite. Since both the beef and the chicken have basically zero flavor profile, I use this as a base for everything from smoothies to rice to oatmeal to keto pancakes. Our non-Western medicine doctor actually recommends at least one cup of bone broth a day. It could be as “broffee” (bone broth with some butter, coconut oil and salt in it, blended up frothy in the morning), as a quick pick-me-up mid-day, etc. It’s also great right before you go to sleep – and gives your gut bugs something delish to devour while you’re snoozing.

Not getting what we “need” in what we eat (again – we aren’t breaking bones up to get the marrow, or eating offal) can help cause “leaky gut,” arthritis, inflammation (gout), joint pain, etc. Especially if you are eating any gluten, which wreaks havoc with inflammation/joints/etc., it’s imperative to have something to combat our “standard daily diet.”

Oh and hey – FWIW – if you add turmeric and black pepper (black pepper increases the effectiveness of turmeric by an exponential value), you can even more boost the inflammation -effect.

HERE is a coupon for Kettle & Fire. If you use it, I get “Healthy Sips” (which basically gives me some free product at some point), and I think you get 10% (or maybe it’s $10) off your first order.

I’ve tried just about all the varieties of the K&F bone broth – my current favorites “as” broth (v. as additions to recipes instead of water) are the Chicken Coconut Keto Curry, the Chipotle Beef, and the Chili. But they’re all great.

Bone Broth #2: Broth Plus Chinese Herbs If You Like: Osso Good.

The other recommended bone broth is NOT shelf stable, so you need to keep it in your freezer. This bone broth, however, has had the Chinese herbs added to it that our non-Western medicine doctor recommends, for use during chemo, for anti-inflammation, ulcers, etc. These four particular ones are Ener-Qi, Revive (the gut), Immuni-Qi, and (Total Body) Recovery.

HERE is a link to Osso Good. I think if you use this coupon, we both get some $ off – you on your first order, me on my next order. Think it’s $15.

Osso Good has a lot of different flavor profiles, a cleanse, a Whole 30 program, and the like. I have used and liked a lot of their different broths in the past, because they have a good Marketing department (ha!) that about once a quarter does a real blow-out sale. (And, we have a second freezer!)

The bone broths from these two companies are different – I use both, for different things. Again – I tend to reach for the K&F more often because it’s shelf stable, so can be right in the pantry.

White Rice: The Prebiotic

As I mentioned, a great prebiotic (the stuff that your good gut bacteria need to eat) is made out of cold sushi rice and coconut oil.

Recipe

This recipe “grosses up” perfectly – I usually make 2-3x the below every time. Still (at least at that multiple) only takes about 20 minutes.

Boil 1.5 cups water (I actually use the K&F Bone Broth). Once it boils add to it 1 c. organic sushi rice (wash it after you measure it) and 3 Tb coconut oil. Let simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. The clinical tests have had better results with actually “cooked on the stovetop” rice, i.e., NOT a rice cooker, InstaPot, or microwave.

Once the rice is cooked, “fluff it up” and then put it directly into the fridge to chill, to re-heat later. Don’t just “steam it and eat it,” or “cool it on the counter” then refrigerate it – again – in measuring the resistant starch that forms, this is the best way.

When you heat it up to use it, the sugars (digestible starch) are “bound” in the rice grains and the starch is set up into its prebiotic form (what gut bacteria eat) (resistant starch). This also means there isn’t an insulin spike when using it this way. This is because only your gut biome can eat resistant starch, your body can’t break it down so just passes it on (to the waiting gut biota).

REMINDER: white rice is better for you than brown rice. Brown rice has phytic acid (an anti-nutrient that stops us from absorbing minerals) and arsenic (which is concentrated in the thin outer layer that makes brown rice brown). So if you were eschewing white rice for brown on the thought that it was “better for you” (even though you liked white rice more), you can stop that right now. :-)

HERE is a podcast about Resistant Starch.

Vegan Keto ? That’s a thing?

Posted on September 12, 2019September 13, 2019 by Sandy

So.

Hubby has Stage 4 bladder cancer. That means his bladder cancer has now left that general area, and has filled his lungs and is also in part of his muscles around his lungs.

I know – sucks.

The oncologist said he has “6 months to a year” to live (that was a month ago). It’s apparently a “10 month average.” Yes, we’ve been back to Broffman/Pine Street Clinic (previously discussed). We’ve also gotten him appointments with one doctor in Sebastopol (who will do the Vitamin C/doxycycline treatments), the big Cancer Center at UCSD, and a doctor down in San Diego who I mentioned before. (I’m not doing a lot of links here – and I have notes to write up, etc. – but basically treating this right this second as a “repository” versus an “information” blog.)

Some folks say that a Vegan diet is the best way to corral cancer. Others say that a Keto diet is. So, we just decided – Fxck it. We’ll do Vegan Keto.

I’ve had a number of articles open on my computer for quite some time, and it’s time to put the links somewhere else to refer to. So – here they are:

Vegan/Low Methionine Diet Starving Cancer Cells: HERE

Methionine Restricted Diet (plus food tables showing Methionine content): HERE. Note from this article:

If a methionine restricted diet is indicated for me, how much methionine should I be eating each day?
The RDA (recommended dietary allowance) for methionine + cysteine (adults 19 yrs+) is 19 mg/kg/day, while the EAR (estimated average requirement) is 15 mg/kg/day. People should not dip too much below these levels as they represent the lower end of what is needed for human health. Methionine-restricted diets allow 800-1200 mg methionine per day for most adults. For methionine alone, 15 mg/kg is thought to be a reasonable lower limit. So, if a therapeutic, methionine-restricted diet is indicated for you, multiply your healthy body weight by 15 to find a level of methionine intake that is appropriate. Let’s say your healthy body weight is 60 kg, you would need 900 mg methionine per day.

Hubby weighs (+/-) about 90 kg. So that would mean about 1350 mg per day. If you look at the table above, 3 oz. of salmon is 640, so you can see that this is going to be . . . interesting. I think that I might still be able to make egg cups (which he likes), because 1 egg is 132.

Ketogenic diets and cancer: HERE

Top cancer-fighting foods: HERE.

Top cancer stem cell killing nutrients: HERE

More about keto and cancer: HERE

So far I can tell you:

*The Trader Joe’s Jackfruit Crabcakes aren’t terrible. They come 4 to a pack and we had them with a vegan aioli that wasn’t terrible either. NOTE: If you don’t know what “aquafaba” is, it’s the juice from the inside of a can of organic chickpeas. You’re welcome.

*Zoodled zucchini with Trader Joe’s pesto is pretty good. Don’t use a ton of it – it is not vegan as it has cheese in it, but again, we’re just trying to do what we can. I added a jar of their sun dried tomatoes (squeezed the oil out of them by hand), and a bunch of their pine nuts. Since the pine nuts are raw, I toasted them in my big cast iron skillet in a little coconut oil until they turned brown. Very tasty.

Beyond Burgers are also not terrible. They have no soy, GMO, etc. – which is all good when it comes to the “stop cancer” diet. We tried to use the Miyoko’s Sharp English Farmhouse Cheddar (local company), but that was not a win. Didn’t melt, and had a super odd taste. It tasted a bit like those “faux” Hick’ry Farms cheeses that we would sometimes get in my youth. We have a few other Miyoko’s things to try, but this wasn’t a win. HOWEVER, their butter is NOT terrible – a little salty perhaps (we’re used to using grass-fed unsalted butter) – I had some today on a keto cracker with almond butter.

Sabra Olive Tapenade Hummus. This was a big win! I bought it one day and the next day 1/2 of it was gone. “Someone” had had a “midnight snack.” Since hubby is supposed to be doing intermittent fasting, when I queried him about it the next morning, he said “Oh, yessssss, I’m not eating until noon.” (Um, I’m not sure that’s how it’s supposed to work, dear . . . )

Non-dairy Yogurts: We have tried Forager (this is at Costco, which is a plus), Kite Hill, and Lava. All in the plain varieties (too much sugar in the “flavored” ones, which cancer loves nom nom). Hubby doesn’t care for coconut-based “dairy” and so those are off the list. Soy is suspect vis-a-vis cancer in a lot of reports. But these three yogurts have been pretty doggone good! Surprising, actually.

That’s about all I have to say for now – just more of a “where can I store this information for myself for later” than anything else. So no purdy pictures and all that.

My question to you:

Any recipe that you have that could be considered as “vegan keto“? Want to pass it along?