Scenes on Sunday ~ Jerome, Arizona
at least Arizona is different
Arizona is also big and mostly empty
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
I don’t know what happens upstairs
but they serve a great burger
Songs on Saturday ~ Bruce Springsteen
I desire very little
but the things I do consume me
Dancing In The Dark is my favourite Springsteen track, for a reason that goes back a long, long way ~ another time, another place, another woman.
Not all romances can have a happy ending.
Try and bring the dancer back into your life.
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Road Trip
Jerome Arizona
Waiting For A Star To Fall
she was like a falling star I tried to catch in my hands
I only got burned
All men eventually meet that one woman, that star that burns too bright in his heart. All men dream of walking alone with her in the moonlight. All men are destined to have their dreams and desires destroyed. Lucky men come back from that and have some fun with someone who knows what love is.
there are nightmares calling,
shooting stars falling,
brightly burning,
for an instant.
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
she’s not hiding her light
Food on Friday ~ Healthy Recipes
healthy eating is a way of life
Most Americans are unhealthy. The USA spends twice as much on heathcare as the average OECD country, yet has the lowest life expectancy and highest suicide rate among the 11 OECD countries. Almost half of adult Americans are obese, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the USA, and almost 35 million Americans have been diagnosed to have diabetes. Most of these illnesses can be put down to unhealthy lifestyles ~ about one third of Americans are classified as ‘physically inactive’, and the US Department of Health says 80% do not take enough exercise to be even moderately fit and healthy. Things are not much better here in England.
To eat a healthy diet, to live with a healthy lifestyle, isn’t difficult. It does mean giving up a couple of things; drinking and smoking chief among them. There are also some things we should consume a lot less of; refined sugar, caffeine, stuff made with white flour, dairy, canned food, fast food, processed food, take out meals, sugary carbonated drinks, and anything and everything with high fructose corn syrup in it, (HFCS).
Now that I have to control my recently diagnosed high blood pressure, the kinds of dishes I’ll be eating are shown here.
Petra at Food Eat Love has a great recipe for Beef with Ginger and Grapefruit. Beef is more than just OK, and both ginger and grapefruit are great for keeping one’s blood pressure under control.
Beef with Ginger and Grapefruit
Oily fish is very good for our health and so are cilantro and citrus. Tiffany at Creme de la Crumb combines these ingredients in her Baked Honey Cilantro Lime Salmon in Foil. An easy and healthy 30 minute dish. Supposedly, honey has some surprising health benefits.
Baked Honey Cilantro Lime Salmon in Foil
A good breakfast is important to maintain a healthy blood sugar level. Jessica Merchant has a collection of her 10 Favorite Weekday Breakfasts. From that I’m featuring these Pumpkin Protein Pancakes, so easy and so healthy.
Pumpkin Protein Pancakes
A healthy hearty diet need not be lots and lots of salads, we can also eat comfort food and Holly at Spend With Pennies has a great side dish of Colcannon ~ mashed potatoes and cabbage, fabulous served with corned beef. Potato and cruciferous vegetables are good for helping to control one’s blood pressure. (there is the obvious farting issue when it comes to eating lots of cruciferous vegetables)
Colcannon
Joy the baker has this very interesting dish; Mushroom and Brussels Sprout Hash. Brussel Sprouts are cruciferous vegetables and really good for us, and mushrooms have lots of potential benefits when it comes to preventing cardio vascular diseases.
Mushroom and Brussels Sprout Hash
Tieghan Gerard at Half Baked Harvest has this very attractive recipe for Healthier 25 Minute Kung Pao Chicken. I have just got to try this easy, healthy dish ~ using brown / wild rice.
Healthier 25 Minute Kung Pao Chicken
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
alcohol is not part of a healthy diet
but a glass of good red wine is probably beneficial most evenings of the week
Food on Friday ~ Hypertension
if you’re not hungry enough to eat an apple;
then you’re not really hungry, just bored
Yesterday I was diagnosed as having high blood pressure and told that I need to have a battery of tests, and prescribed some powerful medicine to help me. To help myself I need to change my lifestyle;
- eat a heart-healthy diet with less salt, less refined sugar, and less caffeine
- get my weight into the green zone body mass index, which means losing about ten pounds
- take regular exercise ~ which is a bit difficult given how much I hurt
- give up booze and smoking ~ which is OK because I’ve never smoked and haven’t taken a drink since Christmas
The type of menu I should be on includes;
From Jessica at How Sweet Eats, Shredded Citrus Brussels Sprouts Salad with Avocado and Pomegranate.
Shredded Citrus Brussels Sprouts Salad with Avocado and Pomegranate
Salmon and other oily fish are good too. A recipe by Chungah at Damn Delicious; Lemon Dill Salmon in Foil. I love these easy ‘wrapped in foil’ dishes.
Lemon Dill Salmon in Foil
And last for this morning; a collection from Delish Magazine; 33 Amazing Broccoli Recipes Even Broccoli Haters Can’t Hate. I’ve chosen to feature this Better than Takeout Beef and Broccoli.
Better than Takeout Beef and Broccoli
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jack collier
jackcollier7@taltalk.net
The Minimalist Baker
Hypertension
one way to get high blood pressure;
go mountain climbing over molehills
I have a home blood-pressure monitor I almost never use, except last Sunday morning I did. My blood pressure was so high, and my heart rate so low that I really should have called for an emergency ambulance right there and then. Of course being a stupid guy I didn’t ~ even though I had a stack of other warning symptoms that indicated a hypertensive emergency. Going into a hospital full of covid patients isn’t something I wanted to do.
So, with some rest, meditation, extra potassium, no salt, no caffeine, no booze, (I don’t drink anyway, nor do I smoke), and some dark chocolate my blood pressure is now just far too high and not fucking dangerous.
Today, and finally, I had my very first ever telephone conversation with a doctor.
The upshot is that I’m now on blood-pressure medication, which I expected. It’s called amlodipine and comes with a stack of nasty potential side effects. I am also being scheduled a blood test, which I half expected. What I didn’t expect it to be scheduled for an MRI and a CT scan.
It seems that I may just be a lot sicker than I thought.
Some say that high blood pressure is the silent killer. And that you can keep your blood pressure under control if you live a healthy life. All I know is that risking a stroke isn’t worth the dubious pleasures of smoking, drinking, and being overweight.
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
stiletto heels are enough to give me high blood pressure
Wants, Needs, Desires, and Shoes
why women desire more shoes and men don’t have a clue
hideous fuck me heels
It’s a funny thing, most men will buy themselves a new pair of shoes for a very special occasion, a new job, a first date, getting married….. Or, if the shoes they habitually wear are so down at heal and scruffy that even spit and polish will no longer make them presentable.
In contrast most women will buy new shoes just because they like them, or to feel better, or because they like shopping, or they’ve bought a new dress / suit and they need shoes and a purse to match. Women will also buy new shoes for a very special occasion, a new job, meeting old friends, vacations, a first date, getting married…..
But then most women like shopping, especially with his credit card, and most men don’t like shopping at all. And most men can’t understand that at all, but then most men don’t have a clue about women.
A woman needs to know but one man to understand all men; whereas a man may know many women and not understand one of them. ~ Helen Rowland
But then, most women know that most men are just a life-support system for their penis.
It’s a fact that women write almost all the books on human relationships, marriage, sex, and love ~ and that 80% of the people who buy these books are women. Perhaps men would understand women better if they made an effort, and yet men don’t even listen when their partner is trying to talk with them. A lot of men equate their wife / partner / girlfriend attempting to have a conversation as nagging. And only women nag. A man may criticise, find fault, complain, and go into ‘problem-solving mode’ ~ but that’s not nagging, that’s just passing on their years of accumulated masculine wisdom.
When women nag, go on and on about something, they firmly believe that their ‘nagging’ shows that they care about their man. She might know she is being irritating, but she can’t help it because she’s a nest-builder, nurse, manager, and mother. And, she knows that she’s telling then truth.
The fact is men and women are very different, right down to the structure of their brains, bodies, emotions, feelings, and instincts. There is no equality of the sexes, which is why women desire more shoes, and men don’t have a clue.
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
the holy grail?
five inch Jimmy Choos
Choices, Chances, and Changes
your decisions create your ultimate destiny
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some women choose to drink alone
for a while anyhow
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make good choices today
so you don’t have regrets tomorrow
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change is inevitable, success is optional
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life is the sum of all your choices and chances
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she did not love you
but you took a chance because your love was true
it turned out that was the wrong choice
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the true measure of intelligence is the ability to change
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a wise man sometimes changes his mind, a fool never will
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
there are far better women ahead
than the ones we choose to leave behind
Happy, Joyous, and Free
the only real prison is fear
don’t be afraid to go out at night, learn self-defence instead
Here in dismal grey England I’ve had an epiphany, not religious but perhaps spiritual. Lockdown goes endlessly on and and on and on ~ yet I am not going to waste my time being depressed, negative, and unhappy. What’s the point in that? Depression and misery never made anything better.
Instead of accepting that I’m imprisoned until Easter, at least, I intend to become free, adventurous, and charming again. I will be sexier and enjoy my life and loves more than ever before. People, places, and things I might have balked at, avoided, or eschewed in the past will now be on my agenda. There are a few exceptions to my venturesome audacious bucket-list; all of Africa, most of South America, booze, gambling, and drugs. Other than that I’m going to be bold, daring, and damned happy. Timid security isn’t on my future agenda.
Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. ~ Helen Keller
The thing is, how can I do any of that when it’s against the law for me to go anywhere or meet anybody? Well, I am not against breaking bad laws, and anything to do with the coronavirus is a bad law on its face. But more practically, what can I do right now;
- Use the internet to connect more deeply and intimately with like-minded people.
- Go through my wardrobe again, get rid of anything that’s too dated, unflattering, or of inferior quality.
- Use the internet to buy some better attire.
- Improve my immune system by eating better and more healthily, drinking enough good fruit juices and lots of water, taking the right high-quality supplements.
- Exercise as much as I can, getting my trim shape back, and improving my energy levels. Meditate when I can.
- Get a solid 7 or 8 hours good sleep every night, rest when I feel weary during the day.
- Stretching my mind by reading more difficult and inspirational books.
- Get back to studying art, geography, literature, music, psychology, and sociology.
- Husband my resources until I can get back out there again.
All that means is that I am going to live as well as I can despite this fucking never-ending lockdown.
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
yoga is great exercise
just you try keeping that position for 5 minutes each side
Tunes on Tuesday ~ 1960s TV Dance
there’s nothing sexier than a 1960s TV star ~ maybe
Perhaps I’ve gone overboard on dance compilations today, but being a child of the sixties these clips bring back some memories.
Anyway I can dance a lot better than anyone and everyone in this compilation.
(Except Dick Van Dyke)
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
1967 Plymouth Barracuda
426 cu in (7.)L0 HEMI V8
