The Healing Power of Friends, Green Beans, and NCIS

Some days I just can’t stand any more.

No more bad news about things that are unhealthy, that cause cancer in rats, that cause diseases in humans. No more being told that having a drink is good for me… and also that it’s bad for me…all from well-meaning people with studies to back them up; that the linings of cans contain BPA that is terrible for me (and BTW, even BPA-free plastics aren’t) and good luck finding things in BPA-free cans. And you can’t find most of the things that come in BPA cans in safe (so far) bottles. You’ll just have to can your own. But wait, there’s still more.  Just to make things interesting while you’re out shopping for things to can in your spare time–  BPA is in receipts and money, too. Good luck avoiding those, although money may be the easier to avoid.  BPA is probably in credit cards, too, for all I know, just hasn’t been discovered yet.  Start saving up beads to trade.

No more political ads, one side of which I always turn off because I can’t stand to listen; no more being hated for my political views (but always in the impersonal aggregate, you understand—not you, just others like you) and, amazingly, of being disenfranchised by my own side and not even knowing it because I, (and I quote from an email sent to me in order to show you I’m not making this up):

“live in the part of the country where news is controlled by right-wing people. They own the media out there. If you lived in a more progressive part of the country, you would hear much more about what is so dangerous to our democracy. Those people not only will try to buy the media, they will try to buy the election for their candidates.”

I actually received this as part of an email telling me why I, as a woman, am having my vote suppressed. Guess I just dreamed all those trips to the voting booth.

But today I fought back.

First, I began my day, after the usual breakfast, cleaning up and other morning routine, by having tea with a friend at Caribou Coffee. After a relaxing hour and a half of conversation, tea and the antics of her fairly new baby, I headed to Mustard Seed Market and Café to pay for a cooking class for which I registered by phone yesterday. Here’s what I’ll be learning to fix in a week and a half. (That’s the time until the class, not how long it will take me to cook courses!!) We’re spending Thanksgiving with friends, one of whom has celiac disease, so these offerings hit the spot.

Menu:

wild rice stuffing (vegan)
gluten-free pumpkin quinoa cornbread
sweet potato salad with rosemary honey vinaigrette
pumpkin pie (vegan, gluten-free with a raw crust)

My next stop was the market where I came across green beans on sale for $.49/lb.  Last week I had green beans from the farmer’s market and roasted them, which I hadn’t done for a long time. They were so good that I ended up eating the entire batch for dinner. So roasted green beans are on the menu for tonight, my comfort food for the day.

The final part of the healing process is to kick back and watch “NCIS” and “NCIS Los Angeles”, shows with lot of action, where the good guys generally win, the bad guys get theirs, and the main people like each other. How nice! Today that will be particularly satisfying as I’m struggling to get a large house ready to put on the market, wrestle the 27 years and four people’s worth of “stuff” into boxes/garbage/recycling, get the yard looking great, clean, prepare meals, stay in touch with my far-flung family, and not totally lose my mind…all as quickly as possible.

So tonight, I’m thankful for friends, Caribou, roasted green beans, “NCIS” and “NCIS Los Angeles” and my Guinness, whether or not the latter is good for me. Sláinte!