We celebrated an early Independence Day on Thursday of last week, so that left the weekend open. Well, we just mainly worked around the house and in the garden to be honest. But by Sunday I was getting a bit of cabin fever, so we decided to have a day on the town for a change.
Our first stop was this little Vietnamese restaurant in a suburb of Birmingham. We hardly ever go to that particular area because of the horrendous traffic but it wasn't too bad on a Sunday and we had a great lunch! These spring rolls are absolutely to die for! I could just eat that until I was a big balloon ready to pop!
These are actually photos from another time we ate there but what we had was similar, so it's close enough! ha! To me, Vietnamese is very different from other Asian food; I guess kinda how Thai is different flavors and such. Very distinct. I enjoy it though.
So, we stuffed ourselves good (or at least I did) and then went a few doors down to do a wee bit of shopping. Which means I bought a bar of fancy soap and some popcorn. Yes, I know...we live right on the edge.
We did go to Whole Foods and do some real grocery shopping though and they had some of their chicken on sale, which meant we could actually afford to buy a little. ha! I don't shop there much but do get some stuff I can't buy anywhere else, like non-gmo canola oil and decent coconut oil and a few other things.
Then we went by the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. I have posted about them before and I always recommend out of town folks to stop by there if they are looking to see the sights. It was a cloudy day and the lighting was just not right for many photos but I did get a few.
These were some of the most exotic water lilies I had ever seen.
I know I look horrible but it was a very warm and very humid day. You trudge your way through a July day in Alabama after a week of heavy rains and see how you look at the end! And besides, the rabbit was the main focus anyway!
We were excited to see that the Gardens have added a good size bee colony to the grounds. These were right near the extensive vegetable gardens they grow there.
This is on the path to the Japanese Gardens on one end of the property. Those gardens are my favorite as you all probably know.
Not a lot going on down there though; didn't even see many koi in the pond, which is unusual. We did see quite a lot of turtles though....which may explain the lack of fish....
So, we had a very nice day but I was hurting rather extensivly by the time we got home. I really was a bad girl this past weekend. I went on a bender the likes I've not done in a while, eating sweets and bread, corn and fries and all kinds of starches. Something I rarely do, especially the sweets; I don't know what got into me really. Even finished off a small bottle of Knob Creek and had some wine, later of course! And let me tell you....I am paying for it now. I hurt so bad. I hurt so bad I finally broke down and took some Diclofinac for the inflammation. I don't like that stuff because it really affects my kidneys but I was desperate. I was doing okay this morning, and even worked out yesterday, but by this afternoon I couldn't sit, I couldn't stand and laying down even hurt. So, I learned my lesson on that one. I had read a little while back where a number of people advocate a starch-free diet for the treatment of AS, and I really didn't put much stock in it to tell the truth. Well.....I changed my mind today when I realized just how much starchy stuff I stuffed the past few days! I know it's going to be hard but I'm going to give the starch-free thing a whirl. The sweets are no problems really (cakes, cookies, breads) but I love popcorn, potatoes in all forms and stuff like that. I've got to get off my ass and make that big jar of kimchi tomorrow too.
So, I may not post much in the next few days or I might come here and tear us all a new one as I go through the DTs! I've also started a new herbal regiment for inflammation that my herbalist friend is guiding me through. I'll keep ya'll posted on how it's all working.
6 comments:
At least you know why you hurt and can fix the problem. But you sure seemed to have a wonderful day
Hope you get to feeling better really soon.
Awesome outing! I beg to differ, both you and the rabbit look great. I love how you are listening to and learning from your body. <3
For the record, you could never look horrible. I try to visit the botanical gardens whenever I visit a place that has anything close. It's a civilized sort of vacation for me.
Ditto Pablo's comment on the Botanical Gardens. That is always our first stop when visiting an urban jungle.
While my wife was going through residency, we had an apartment only three blocks from a Vietnamese restaurant and we absolutely loved it. We ate there a couple times a week mostly because it was so cheap and of course tasty. I love their lemon grass sauce which comes with some of their dishes. It is the right combination of spicy and sweet that just clicks with my taste buds. Since then, we try to hit up one where ever we go.
The gardens are beautiful, as are you and your gardens, too!
I'm a big fan of Pho-An Vietnamese soup, which is kind of a homey, soul food for the Vietnamese people, I'm told. Kinda like beans and cornbread for us. But I sure like it.
Hope the change in eating does wonders, and you're back to throwing and gardening soon. But sometimes it really is worth it, huh?
Hey Jo! thanks! well, I'm hoping I can fix the problem! we'll see..:D
Hey Erin! well, thanks! I felt pretty rough though! lol! I am trying to learn anyway.
Hey Pablo! Awww, thank you...Well, if you ever get to Birmingham..or Huntsville or Mobile for that matter, check out the gardens! I think you'd be pleased.
Hey Ed! Oh yeah, I had the beef on noodles with the lemongrass sauce..love that stuff! I'm not much on some sweet flavors with meat but the lemongrass is wonderful.
Hey Sis! I hope it helps too. Big time. I've got to try the soups next time we go there. I've heard they are really good.
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