Day 31: Gram's Gingerbread

We went to visit my Gram today, we took her favorite gingerbread to her. She fell again this week, the day she told me she was doing 100% better. This time she bruised up her ribs and back. The worst part for her is not being able to get around to see her friends.

My Grandparents had been dating before World War II. Just before Gramp went into the service my grandparents married and lived together for five or six months. Gramp shipped off to the south for basic training and became so sick with chigger bites he was hospitalized for a couple of weeks. To remedy the situation, the military shipped Gramp off to Iceland with a bunch of bars and stars. Gram said he had never worked so hard in his life as in those three years he was stationed there. He taught skiing and rifling to Allied soldiers. He also mastered and taught the art of ice lodge making, "a fine business if you're planning on staying in it awhile." After three years in Iceland, Gramp taught in England and North Ireland for a year.

Meanwhile, back on the ranch, Gram organized the entertainers for the military hospitals. Part of her job was figuring out the transportation. "Black girls rode the tour bus to the hospital. White girls rode the tour bus to the hospital. But you could never mix the two, even if they were in the same act. Opera singers would sometimes come perform, we had all sorts" She also took care of my father.

By the time my Gramp returned from the war ("There was no such thing as leave back then,") my father was almost 4 years old.

Gramp passed a couple years ago. I, miraculously, was there as he passed. I have an intuitive gift for such things. He had been riding the roller-coaster of non-hogdkins lymphoma for a couple of years. He passed a week after Gram and Gramp's 65th wedding anniversary, and two weeks shy of his 91st birthday.

I can still hear his friendly, "well, Hello!"

Gram's Gingerbread

Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8x8 inch square pan-line with parchment.
Whisk together:
1 cup flour (5 oz)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour (4 oz)
1 ts baking soda
1 Tb ground ginger
2 ts ground cinnamon
1/4 ts ground cloves
1 ts ground cardamom
dash of cayenne
1/4 ts salt

In a large bowl, whisk:
1 stick softened butter
until creamy. Add and beat until lightened in color:
1 egg
1/2 cup brown sugar

Gradually beat in:
1 cup dark molasses

Add the flour mixture and stir until combined. Mix in:
1/4 cup finely chopped candied ginger
1/2 cup boiling water.

Pour into pan. Bake about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely (if you can). Slice into 2x2 squares and serve.

Non egg alternative: pour 1/4 cup lukewarm water and 1 Tb ground flax seeds in a food processor and turn on for a few minutes until the mixture thickens. Use in place of egg. BTW this works for lots of other batter recipes as well.

It was a rest day today. I pick up my swimming tomorrow. Yay!


My (projected) Week Schedule

Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Warm up/easy swim Freestyle 300 yards (10 laps) Cool down (4 laps)
Cycle commute
10-15 minutes basic flow yoga, 10 dips and 20 crunch sit ups on the big ball – do ONE set!

Tuesday Thursday
Warm up/walk 10 min, Run 25 min, Cool down 10 min
Cycle to and from work 7-10 miles each way
10 push-ups, 25 crunch sit ups, 15 ball squats, and 10 lunges, each leg. Keep good form do ONE set!


Saturday
Early in the morning, a nice little 25-35 mile ride

Day 26: Exercise

"I'm so proud of myself," I could hear the smile in my 91 year old Gram's voice. "Yesterday I asked the doctor when I could begin my exercises again, he told me I could start whenever I felt up to it. So yesterday I did half my usual amount, and today I did the full amount." Gram was down for a couple weeks after a fall which caused a pinched nerve in her leg. She is a tiger.

On their wedding night, my grandparents stayed in a posh hotel. On their way to their room late that night, my gram discovered a wheelchair parked outside another guest's door. Gram sat down in the chair and Gramp sashayed her around the hallway. In my imagination, Gram is wearing a ball gown and a fur stole. Gramp, ever dapper, is wearing a tuxedo. Both are shimmering with suppressed glee and wheelies.

My Gram was a war bride. She married in a tailored navy blue suit with a string of pearls about her neck. She comes from "Society," but has always determined her own standard of joyful living. Against the wishes of her parents, her wedding dinner was a picnic under the trees.

My Gram paints, these days. Watercolor. She has always painted, but finds more time to do these things now. It fills her mind with focus on positive things. She paints the things she loves: birds, rabbits, turtles, Mammoth, dogs. Her mind is sharp, even if her brush stroke isn't. My Gram has a shake in her hand which makes painting and even writing difficult (I have never heard her complain of this, only observed). I have realized over the past year the importance of persisting in doing things I love, even if I am not as good as other people, or even as good as I once was. Perfection comes with the exercise.

I am on day two of my newly planned schedule. My swim was unexpectedly lovely this morning. JE and I rose before the sun and walked to the heated pool. This was the first clear morning in ages and the stars were in full force with a low moon. The pool was dark and still, but when we broke the surface, a million dark rainbows glided in waves across the bottom. We swam until the sunrise. My bike is in the shop and I got off work a bit early, so I walked 45 minutes to meet JE, who flew past me in the car. He picked me up and since all I could think about was Korean BBQ, he took me to pho. True story.

Foodwise: Loads in and loads out. I am keeping a record of this, not too sure I want to share. This whole thing with the calories I burn and the calories I eat aren't congealing in my understanding. I get the gist, but when I eat 3000+ calories I have a huge sense of guilt, even though I am burning half of it in my exercise routine. This is causing me some distress, and I need to do some reading to understand what my body needs while I am wreaking so much havoc on myself. Any objections? Please comment. Any support? Please comment