Only 70%, good neighbours and cheap vitamin C

I am not yet as normal as I thought and bragged about. More like 70 % instead of 100.

Last week was very active. I returned to volunteering with my dear friend Rosie, Tuesday and Friday. We went to the Hot Springs on Monday, and to Nelson by bus on Thursday. Another friend came to deliver home-grown chickens on Saturday and stayed overnight. I love this woman and owe her big time. If I had known earlier that she would come this week instead of the next I would not have offered to take Rosie to the doctor on Friday, hoisting her wheelchair in and out of the car etc. I thought I could handle it all. Not.

The weekend also resulted in indulgence in cake. Trust my friend to bring goodies even when the whole idea was for me to cook for her and get a chance to spoil her! We all had double helpings of cake, berries and whipped cream for desert. I had the good sense to send the remainder back with her, but meanwhile I had also bought a banana bread at the local Christmas fair. It was sliced up for some unexpected but welcome visitors on Sunday morning. They don't eat gluten. Right, I'd forgotten. I'll have just one more slice. And one more. Repeat at intervals till plate is empty. This is why I do not buy or bake tempting carbs.

I had also not been drinking enough water lately. By noon Sunday I was exhausted, by Monday evening I was battling a cold. I so know better! I canceled all activities again and started swilling water with lemon peel powder. 

The cold is on its way out and I have more energy already.

I even started out on a walk. When I don't have to go out for provisions, like I did in Holland, I can get disgustingly sedentary in the cold season. I didn't get far since an old neighbour saw me go by and called me in for tea. It is so nice to visit folks. He even gifted me with a stewing hen. When I got home Old Dutch made the daily veg juice, a chore he has made his own. We needed a vegan dinner today and the net tossed up a recipe for broiled tofu with no cook peanut sauce that was quick and delicious. A new standby. Life is GOOD.

Addendum:

Since we are in the kitchen, let me tell you how to make lemon peel powder. It is rich in all kinds of wonderful stuff. Vitamin C with all the bioflavonoids is only the beginning. Thanks for this recipe goes to herbalist Ian Shillington.

Juice your organically grown lemon. Slice the remaining rind into strips, any old way. Spread the pieces out on a plate and let them sit around. The top of the fridge works for me. The pieces will dry in a few days. Grind them in the extra coffee grinder used for flax seeds and spices. The result is a fine yellow powder with a delicate zesty flavor. I keep it in a glass jar in the freezer part of the fridge. It works in recipes that call for lemon zest, and is also delicious just mixed with water.