Retirement Life

Wow my Retirement Life has just flown by!  I want to give everyone an update on what has been going on with me.  Being a retiree has had its ups and downs.

The photo above is myself in the middle, on the left with the Pink T-Shirt that says “Are you Dense” is my niece, and on the right is my sister, also a retiree.

My niece is an advocate for Dense Breast testing, because as I was being diagnosed with Breast Cancer, so was she due to Dense Breasts!  We both are doing well.  But please ask your doctor about Dense Breasts because women with Dense Breasts need to have MRI’s to see breast cancer.  MRI’s are now paid for by insurance if you have documented Dense Breasts.

After my surgeries for Breast Cancer and my GIST stomach tumor, it took me a while to recover.  I have been flying every 6 months from Alaska to Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, WA for treatments and imaging.  Everything is going well and no recurrence has been noted in any imaging.  My energy level has improved greatly this year.

My husband officially started Retirement Life this last year. We began last September to become officially known as “Snowbirds.”

We spent 2 months in Tucson, AZ.  Where my little 4 yr old King Charles Spaniel contacted what is called Valley Fever or Coccidiomycosis.  We almost lost him.  We had to feed him by hand for almost 3 months.  But with medications, prayers and lots of love, he has pulled through, but will need to be on medications the rest of his life.   Valley Fever is a fungal infection that cannot be cured.  So to those of you who travel often in AZ, be aware that animals can get this disease as well as people.  I always thought it was only something people got in the southern states.

Retirement Life took us From Tucson, AZ to the Keys, Florida.  Our children came to visit as did other family and friends.  It was a busy winter with lots of fishing and playing in the sun!

Retirement Life is really busy, which is very surprising to me!  I’ve decided to scale back on posting recipes weekly, I will however still be posting them.

Since I began blogging some 10 years ago about my Gluten Free Dairy Free Life, so many wonderful dairy replacements and gluten free replacements have become easily accessible for those of us who need them.  You can go through my blog and find product reviews featuring really good substitutes.  I have recipes galore you can print off.  If there is a recipe you’d love that is Dairy Free Gluten Free, let me know here.  I’ll do my best to see if I can come up with one.

In April we got back to Alaska.  I began starting seeds for planting out in my garden and greenhouse!  So I’ve been busy with that and it will keep me busy until we leave in September for another season of retiree “snowbirding”.

Dairy Free, Gluten Free & Vegan Resources:

So as I scale back on my recipe sharing, over the years I have come to know some well known plant based authors and cooks who also give lessons.  These people are great resources and I want to share my favorite ones with you:

Mark Reinfeld – Mark has been the number one person who has changed my life from all the  Gluten Free,  Dairy Free and Vegan authorities out there.  I knew why I needed to eat plant based but I needed to know how to make it TASTE GOOD! And Mark makes it taste fantastic!! As the Chef at the Blossoming Lotus in Hawaii he opened a Blossoming Lotus in Portland, OR. With family there, we went and ate and oh my, if I could cook like that I thought, I can be plant based.  It was there I bought Mark’s cookbook ” Vegan World Fusion Cuisine ” which rocked my cooking world!  I then went on to take a 10 day intensive culinary course from him, so informative and yummy!  He currently is offering classes!!  Mark is owner of Vegan Fusion!  He has also authored many other cookbooks which have been my GO TO cookbooks.  He also has a line called “The 30 Minute Vegan.”  I highly recommend checking his cookbooks.

Chef AJ – Is also a huge influencer in my life style changes.  She’s a no nonsense type person. Get on her mailing list and check out her webinars! She is big into SOS – NO Sugar, Oil or Salt. This is hard for me but she had amazing recipes and I Iove her cookbook “Unprocessed“.  She has many online and in person events. I took classes from her on one of the Vegan Cruises I went on.

Bette Hagman – Authors a series of cookbooks called “Gluten Free Gourmet” including GFG makes Dessert, GFG Cooks Fast & Healthy and GFG Cooks Comfort Food.

Miyoko Schinner – Authors a wonderful cookbook on how to make plant based cheese called “Artisan Vegan Cheese“.  These recipes will help you overcome your cravings for dairy!

VEGAN CRUISES:

Holistic Holiday at Sea:

I have taken this vegan cruise and it is a wonderful experience. Classes are great! The cruise is an all-encompassing educational experience with over one hundred classes, workshops and lectures. These classes cover a wide range of holistic health topics including yoga and Pilates, vegan and macrobiotic cooking classes, massage, meditation, integrative medicine and much more. Plus there’s plenty time to play too!  The upcoming cruise will make stops at San Juan, Puerto Rico; colonial Philipsburg, St. Maarten; and sunny St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda.   What a way to play and educate!   This would be a fun retirement life activity for anyone!

Vegan Travel:  This is on my to do list!

Eating this way is my lifestyle now.  If you are serious about making your lifestyle more plant based, look for people who give classes locally or where you travel.  I often travel to Oregon since my family is there.  I have taken classes at Bob’s Red Mill! The classes are wonderful and if you have never been there you must go and at least try their restaurant in the store! Oh my is the food wonderful.

I will be traveling in September (before I head south on our Snowbird adventure) with my Vegan friend Bobbi, and we always try to do some sort of cooking experiences when we travel.  She found that while we were planning a stop in Colorado Springs, CO that an author by the name of JL Fields lives there and gives cooking lessons!  So I will be sharing a post in the future what we learned because we are definitely taking one of her classes.  JL Fields is a Culinary Instructor, Cookbook Author and Consultant.

Just know that whether you Cook Under Pressure, Air Fry or Slow Cook;  I’ll be sharing and posting what I learn in my travels and in my retirement trips snow-birding each winter.

Blessing to you all!  And thanks for stopping in.