Butter Rationing

 

Ever so slowly, I feel I am creeping towards working out a new lifestyle of eating for me.  Because we are all unique individuals, with different needs and desires, it has been confusing sifting through piles of nutritional advice to work out what will work for me as an individual.

One food item with contentious connotations is good old butter.  Yes, it contains saturated fat and a fair share of calories, and an excess is certainly bad for you.  But it also contains vitamins A, D and E, as well as being a good source of calcium. 

For good health we need to have fat-soluble vitamins in our diet, and it seems to be generally recommended that a person has 1-2 servings of fat each day (most people have much more than that).  

My conclusion is that butter, in moderation, can be a healthy part of my dietary plan.

(photo taken from Mainland web page)

Being a great fan of butter (and eating far too much of it!), it is not something I wish to give up completely. 

There seems to be two alternatives open to me: severely limit how much I eat and/or mix it half and half with a cold pressed vegetable oil.  I may try the latter during winter, but for now I will restrict the volume I eat.

A standard serve of butter is 1 Tbsp (14g or about ½ oz).  By cutting the block of butter into six portions, then each portion into six pieces, I can get 36 serves of butter out of one 500g packet – it will last me longer than a month!

This afternoon I divided up the butter and wrapped each portion in tinfoil before freezing it.

There is one thing I think I will change next time, and that is to use unsalted butter.  Salt consumption is something I also need to keep an eye on and I would rather add my own salt as needed, so I can better control exactly how much I eat.

As an aside, I was nearly thrown out of bed at 2am this morning when we had a reasonably strong earthquake (4.8).  It must have lasted nearly a minute, and everything in my room rattled loudly – it was rather unnerving!

Stay happy 😊

Margaret.

 

Rusty-Sitting

 

I am house sitting for a few days, caring for my little friend Rusty while his owners are away.  Apart from the rain and a clock ticking, it is very quiet here this morning. 

I have just read the news and there are weather warnings out for several places in the top of the North Island for severe gale force winds and torrential rain.

It seems likely that we will receive some of it as well but I don’t imagine it will be too bad here.

I was rudely awoken yesterday morning at around 5.45am with my bed shaking badly and a loud roaring noise.  It took me a moment to waken properly and realise it was an earthquake!

This one was about 50km (25miles) away from us – a 5.1 (on the Richter scale) at a shallow depth of 7km near Te Aroha.  The biggest quake I have actually felt for some years.

The cats were unperturbed and nothing was damaged, but it was the end of sleep for both Son and I.

Have a great day everyone 😊

Margaret.

 

Earthquake Drill

 

This morning, at 9.30am, was the time given for this year’s National Earthquake Drill. 

It is called New Zealand Shake Out and is designed to test how ready the country is to face a major earthquake and/or tsunami.

There are around 20,000 recorded earthquakes in our country each year – thankfully, only about 250 of those are felt!

I set up the alarm on my phone, as earthquakes can happen anywhere at any time and I wanted to be “caught out” while doing normal things.

I happened to be hanging out the washing.  I’m not exactly sure if I reacted correctly – after the first “what’s that noise?” (it was my alarm), it was “earthquake!” and I imagined the earth rolling beneath my feet and grabbed hold of the clothesline to steady myself.

Then I remembered a friend telling me how her mother had been hanging out the washing when the 7.8 Napier earthquake struck on 3 February 1931.

The ground opened up all around her in great cracks, and the poor woman fell to her knees and prayed.  When the shaking stopped and she opened her eyes again, all the cracks had closed up and the ground was back to normal.

What a frightening experience that must have been.

I’m grateful that I have only ever felt minor earthquakes, as I know others who have experienced major quakes and never yet met anyone who enjoyed the experience.

Be prepared and stay safe,

Margaret 😊

 

Earthquake Drill

 

At 9.30am this morning we had New Zealand Shake Out – a simulated earthquake event to remind/teach people how to react if they find themselves in a major earthquake.

The main instruction is to Drop, Cover and Hold, until the shaking ends.

Son and I used the occasion to discuss Home Safety issues – such as which pieces of furniture we should try and avoid during a shake so as not to be injured by items flying off shelves etc.

At precisely 9.30am I happened to be walking through the living room.  No tables here, so I dropped to my knees, covered my head with my arms and tried to make myself as small as possible (not easy!).

Son braced himself in the hall doorway which he was walking through at the time.

I have been through many earthquakes, none of them too serious, and they are usually over before you have a chance to react.  But earthquakes are unpredictable, and one never knows when the next big one might strike.

All the flat land here was ocean before the 1931 Napier earthquake

Hopefully none of us ever has to experience a major earthquake disaster, but the odds are reasonably high (here in New Zealand) that we will do so at some time in our lives.  Those who have been through such disasters already, will tell you that it pays to be prepared.

Stay safe,

Margaret 😊

 

For anyone wanting further information about earthquake preparedness, or information about how to respond to other natural disasters, the webpage getready.govt.nz/ has good comprehensive information that can help.