24th August – 3rd September: The Thoughts of our Desires.

Melbourne, Florida.

Part 1

Time at Seacamp finished and I am happy in the purest form. What I have been craving for months is finally here. Angela and Carolyn – two friends of mine from work, who left a few weeks early – came down on a Friday night to pick me up, as I was to stay with Angela for a few days – a deal we had made during the period of the two weeks she had been away – at least five letters must have been sent back and forth arranging this – there were no stones left unturned. Angela is a girl who lifts me up good and she is a real looker too. Long silky legs that never end and I hope they don’t. Anyway, I had a great time down there for those last few days, then we all headed back up to Melbourne where they all lived and went to college. Monica – a girl I had never met – came with them – a friend of Carolyn’s. A real go getter; quiet and polite as a mouse, but stick on some music with a pulse and she’ll tear you apart and make you feel alive at the same time. I sat in the back of the car with Angela watching Monica moving energetically and sometimes abrasively in the passenger seat, rocking the whole car sometimes as we drove on the through the state.

We were all happy – world waiting, rushing underneath our feet – felt like I was getting in some good miles and experience with every passing food store. Journey all told was a little over five hours, but feeling like less because for the last two holding Angela’s hand, playing with them, teasing and tricking them, laughing hard, fully belly laughs that hurt the stomach, give them a real workout. It was this time spent in the back of the car that made me realise how I openly wanted love Angela, but I wasn’t sure of her wants. The fingers slinked in mine gave me hope.

Well, hop de hop, we embraced that night after a hearty meal of rice and vegetables, cooked up ourselves, no fuss but tasted delicious. Washed down with wine and beer; perfect night in our eyes.  Both inexperienced, willing to learn, acting like pros – we were good, so we thought, and two bodies that whistle the same tune are telling truths not lies.

Slept hardly any that night, lay there warm and cozy against Angela – who slept more than me, and apologised for waking her, but she said not to apologise, but did anyway and she laughed and that was when I knew – in the darkness, feeling her form, listening to her breaths, that I was smack bang in the middle of it. Morning came harsh to weary and wine soaked eyes and realised I should have picked up a pack of coffee in the store yesterday. Up at seven, breakfast of Lucky Charms (something I had failed to track down for years) and we watched television and by this time it was eight thirty and the sun was illuminating the room and shadows appeared on the furniture and we got in the car and headed over to Angela’s college, a stop off for a semester she says to get in to her major. I waited up at the library on the second floor as she went to class, did some reading on the Ancient Egyptians and the Pharaohs. Egypt were dependent on the scribes, who formed part of the literary movement and held the key to power – information. An honoured profession, writing being an invention of the scribe god Thoth, he of the Ibis head – and my head was feeling glad, not tired, but thirsty for love and knowledge of it all!

Time flew by and at late morning we were headed over to her mum’s house to pick up some bar stools to put in Angela’s apartment – turned out the stools look mighty fine and it was a good deal. Had lunch of Pizza. Greeted by an overly friendly, eagerly tippy kind of guy, but he was a nice guy and so one couldn’t get too mad for not giving us two seconds in peace. The meal was good and with our freshly seasoned stomachs we went to look at the pet store and on the way back, both feeling tired and satisfied – hardly spoke any on the journey, but no need; we were both thinking similar thoughts – I am pretty sure of that. Made plans for the evening to have dinner at Carolyn and Monica’s place – pasta dinner, we made the salad and brought it round. Also made plans for the two of us. I want to make love to you she said. And it was the most glorious sentence of my life. Tonight I said, kissing her and clutching and clawing at her back, pushing her against the frame of the bedroom door, both fully clothed and fully aroused. But we can go through it together, you know, step by step, yeah? – because I wanted us to learn and move in sync and know exactly the thoughts of our desires. It will be perfect, she said to me between kisses and I was sure that was true.

And though we never did make love – she said she was still hurting from last night and I apologised and she sincerely told me it was a “good hurt” and I believed her – we were in her bedroom for an hour, naked, pushing against each other stroking kissing biting pulling everything good and I smiled and she did and we laughed sometimes, not knowing why, but laughing nonetheless. And my it was a perfect night and we both fell into a deep dreamless sleep and wow and wow and wooweee!!!!!!!

Michael Hayward

Wouldn’t it be great if you could eat filling satisfying meals and still lose weight? Well it is entirely possible if we adjust our diets a little. Starvation dieting does little other than lose us water weight in the short term and can be dangerous in the longer term. The best weight loss food is that which satisfies us, provides our required nutrition and keeps us from the temptation of snacking on junk food. Ideally we want something filling so as to suppress our appetite.

So what are the satisfying foods that allow us to do fill up and avoid those evil snacks? Protein rich foods such as lean meat and fish, nuts and beans tend to be very satisfying so replacing some of our carbohydrate and fat intake with protein rich food makes a lot of sense. We can lose weight fairly quickly and we can keep it off too.

We all know that to lose weight we must limit our overall calorie intake to less than our activities require. That way our bodies will start to burn the stored energy reserves of fat in our bodies. The greater the difference between our calorie intake and our energy output the greater the weight loss we achieve. There is a caveat, we do not want to shock our bodies into thinking we are starving or we risk lowering our metabolism and making it harder to lose weight.

So if the best weight loss food is that that helps us feel satisfied and healthy while losing weight lets take a look at some.

Lean meat, fish and chicken are high in protein and are very satisfying. Of course we cannot spoil the benefit by eating fried chicken by the bucket-load. Common sense tells us to avoid fried foods and rich sauces while we are losing weight.

Nuts are naturally high in fat but at least it is a good form of fat and they’re very satisfying, so nuts can actually be a good substitute for other foods we might otherwise eat more of. Again our common sense tells us to avoid the packs of roasted peanuts which are high in calories and added fats.

Beans and lentils are a good source of protein and there is evidence to suggest these help to suppress appetite as well as being a good source of fibre.

Eggs are high in protein and in moderation are good for us. Again use a little common sense and recognise that boiled eggs are clearly better for us than eggs fried or scrambled with butter!

Cereals and grains are good high fibre filling foods and also good for our digestion.

Fruit is a far better choice than processed snacks anytime. An apple probably takes more energy to digest than it adds to our calories but can be a handy snack if we need one between meals.

And let us not forget vegetables, we can think of the strongly colored ones like broccoli and carrot as being healthier than the lesser colored ones like say potato. This keeps it simple and works well as a general guide.

Not rocket science is it? We can identify the best weight loss food through common sense alone!

AJ

If you are going to take up a new hobby, you might as well do something that is productive as well as fun. One such activity is vegetable gardening. Vegetable gardening is a very relaxing activity that millions of people love to do. There is also a certain pride when you know that you can grow your own fruits and vegetables right from your own backyard. In order to become a successful vegetable gardener, though, you must have a specific plan involving the kinds of plants you want in your garden, as well as the placement of these plants.

Basic Requirements for Vegetable Gardening

A flat, level surface is necessary for vegetable gardening to ensure that the water will flow evenly, giving sufficient nourishment to all the plants in your garden. If you have an uneven terrain, some of your plants may drown while others might be dehydrated. Good soil is essential as well so make sure that you buy quality gIf you are going to take up a new hobby, you might as well do something that is productive as well as fun. One such activity is vegetable gardening. Vegetable gardening is a very relaxing activity that millions of people love to do. There is also a certain pride when you know that you can grow your own fruits and vegetables right from your own backyard. In order to become a successful vegetable gardener, though, you must have a specific plan involving the kinds of plants you want in your garden, as well as the placement of these plants.

Basic Requirements for Vegetable Gardening

A flat, level surface is necessary for vegetable gardening to ensure that the water will flow evenly, giving sufficient nourishment to all the plants in your garden. If you have an uneven terrain, some of your plants may drown while others might be dehydrated. Good soil is essential as well so make sure that you buy quality garden soil that is packed with sufficient minerals for the healthy growth of your vegetables.

Choosing the type of vegetables you want to plant in your garden is the fun part. There are hundreds of vegetables you can choose from, but make sure the ones you pick are well adapted to the particular environment and climate in your area. Most vegetables are actually very easy to cultivate if you provide them all their growth requirements.

Planning is very important for the success of your vegetable gardening venture. You need to at least have a general idea of where you want to place your different vegetables in relation to each other. Using pots is a good idea so you can rearrange your garden if the need arises. Of course, your options will be limited if you have a small garden space but if you have a large area to work with, your gardening options are limitless.

One more important element that all vegetable gardeners find very important is the elimination and prevention of garden pests. There are many organic pesticides that you can use to solve this problem without inflicting any damage to your crops.

If you have a little more open space at home, you can go for regular home vegetable gardening as well. This is a more structured type of gardening in which you can lay out your garden more systematically than when you are using random containers.

If you live in a cramped apartment or high-rise condominium where there is no backyard to plant in, you have to use your creativity in order to create your own indoor garden. You can use any kind of containers to serve as an improvised garden plot and place this near a window in order to get as much sunlight as possible.

When it comes to productive hobbies, nothing can be better than vegetable gardening. Not only will vegetable gardening provide you with fresh vegetables to serve your family, but it also has therapeutic and relaxing effects on your body and mind. Regardless of what kind of vegetable gardening you choose, planting your own vegetables will definitely be much healthier and cheaper than purchasing them from the local grocery store.arden soil that is packed with sufficient minerals for the healthy growth of your vegetables.

Choosing the type of vegetables you want to plant in your garden is the fun part. There are hundreds of vegetables you can choose from, but make sure the ones you pick are well adapted to the particular environment and climate in your area. Most vegetables are actually very easy to cultivate if you provide them all their growth requirements.

Planning is very important for the success of your vegetable gardening venture. You need to at least have a general idea of where you want to place your different vegetables in relation to each other. Using pots is a good idea so you can rearrange your garden if the need arises. Of course, your options will be limited if you have a small garden space but if you have a large area to work with, your gardening options are limitless.

One more important element that all vegetable gardeners find very important is the elimination and prevention of garden pests. There are many organic pesticides that you can use to solve this problem without inflicting any damage to your crops.

If you live in a cramped apartment or high-rise condominium where there is no backyard to plant in, you have to use your creativity in order to create your own indoor garden. You can use any kind of containers to serve as an improvised garden plot and place this near a window in order to get as much sunlight as possible.

When it comes to productive hobbies, nothing can be better than vegetable gardening. Not only will vegetable gardening provide you with fresh vegetables to serve your family, but it also has therapeutic and relaxing effects on your body and mind.

Elizabeth T James

Cooking vegetables can be tricky. Over-cooking vegetables can make them bland, soggy, and most importantly, can remove the necessary nutrients that are bodies need to remain healthy. Boiling your vegetables is the biggest culprit for robbing cooked vegetables of their nutritional components. It also turns this crisp and fresh vegetables into a lifeless, tasteless form.

Vegetables are essential to the human diet and make up a great part of our daily vitamin requirements. There are methods to cook vegetables in a manner which does not deplete these nutrients which are listed below.

Steaming

Steaming vegetables is always a great way to enhance the flavors of your veggie recipe. Cooking vegetables in this manner will leave vegetables crisp and bright in color.

If you do not have an official vegetable steamer, a steamer can be fashioned out a of pot, a metal colander, and a pot lid. Place a small amount of water in the bottom of a the pot. Fit the metal colander into the pot. Start to boil the water. It’s that simple!

Using a Wok

The secret to how a wok works is that it cooks quickly and at a very high temperature. Because of this, vegetables retain their flavors, textures, and colors with only a minimal amount of nutrient loss.

Paying attention to this cooking process is crucial because most foods are cooked over intense heat in a matter of minutes. Again, no matter which method is used, you do not want to over-cook the vegetable in any way.

Grilling

There’s room on the grill for veggies so why not? Many vegetables grill well, but some aren’t cut out for it, especially those high in water content. Cucumbers don’t make the grade, nor does celery, and lettuce. But even a slightly skilled backyard chef can do wonders with asparagus, eggplant, onions, peppers, and even cabbage.

An example of a delicious vegetarian recipe using the grill is:

Grilled Portobello Mushroom Sandwich

Ingredients:

*1 large portobello mushroom, cleaned and stemmed

*1/4 medium green bell pepper, halved

*1 thin slice red onion

*1 whole wheat hamburger bun (split) or whole wheat sliced bread

*2 tablespoons fat-free Italian salad dressing

*1 slice (1 ounce) reduced-fat part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preparation:

1. Brush mushroom, bell pepper, onion and cut sides of bun with some dressing; set bun aside. Place vegetables over medium-hot coals. Grill 2 minutes.

2. Turn vegetables; brush with dressing. Grill 2 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Remove bell pepper and onion from grill.

3. Place bun halves, cut sides down, on grill. Turn mushroom top side up; brush with any remaining dressing and cover with cheese, if desired. Grill 1 minute or until cheese is melted and bun is lightly toasted.

4. Cut pepper into strips. Place mushroom on bottom half of bun or on a slice of bread; top with pepper strips and onion slice. Cover with top half of bun/slice of bread.

Makes 1 Serving

Lina Smith

24th August – 3rd September: The Thoughts of our Desires.

Melbourne, Florida.

Part 1

Time at Seacamp finished and I am happy in the purest form. What I have been craving for months is finally here. Angela and Carolyn – two friends of mine from work, who left a few weeks early – came down on a Friday night to pick me up, as I was to stay with Angela for a few days – a deal we had made during the period of the two weeks she had been away – at least five letters must have been sent back and forth arranging this – there were no stones left unturned. Angela is a girl who lifts me up good and she is a real looker too. Long silky legs that never end and I hope they don’t. Anyway, I had a great time down there for those last few days, then we all headed back up to Melbourne where they all lived and went to college. Monica – a girl I had never met – came with them – a friend of Carolyn’s. A real go getter; quiet and polite as a mouse, but stick on some music with a pulse and she’ll tear you apart and make you feel alive at the same time. I sat in the back of the car with Angela watching Monica moving energetically and sometimes abrasively in the passenger seat, rocking the whole car sometimes as we drove on the through the state.

We were all happy – world waiting, rushing underneath our feet – felt like I was getting in some good miles and experience with every passing food store. Journey all told was a little over five hours, but feeling like less because for the last two holding Angela’s hand, playing with them, teasing and tricking them, laughing hard, fully belly laughs that hurt the stomach, give them a real workout. It was this time spent in the back of the car that made me realise how I openly wanted love Angela, but I wasn’t sure of her wants. The fingers slinked in mine gave me hope.

Well, hop de hop, we embraced that night after a hearty meal of rice and vegetables, cooked up ourselves, no fuss but tasted delicious. Washed down with wine and beer; perfect night in our eyes.  Both inexperienced, willing to learn, acting like pros – we were good, so we thought, and two bodies that whistle the same tune are telling truths not lies.

Slept hardly any that night, lay there warm and cozy against Angela – who slept more than me, and apologised for waking her, but she said not to apologise, but did anyway and she laughed and that was when I knew – in the darkness, feeling her form, listening to her breaths, that I was smack bang in the middle of it. Morning came harsh to weary and wine soaked eyes and realised I should have picked up a pack of coffee in the store yesterday. Up at seven, breakfast of Lucky Charms (something I had failed to track down for years) and we watched television and by this time it was eight thirty and the sun was illuminating the room and shadows appeared on the furniture and we got in the car and headed over to Angela’s college, a stop off for a semester she says to get in to her major. I waited up at the library on the second floor as she went to class, did some reading on the Ancient Egyptians and the Pharaohs. Egypt were dependent on the scribes, who formed part of the literary movement and held the key to power – information. An honoured profession, writing being an invention of the scribe god Thoth, he of the Ibis head – and my head was feeling glad, not tired, but thirsty for love and knowledge of it all!

Time flew by and at late morning we were headed over to her mum’s house to pick up some bar stools to put in Angela’s apartment – turned out the stools look mighty fine and it was a good deal. Had lunch of Pizza. Greeted by an overly friendly, eagerly tippy kind of guy, but he was a nice guy and so one couldn’t get too mad for not giving us two seconds in peace. The meal was good and with our freshly seasoned stomachs we went to look at the pet store and on the way back, both feeling tired and satisfied – hardly spoke any on the journey, but no need; we were both thinking similar thoughts – I am pretty sure of that. Made plans for the evening to have dinner at Carolyn and Monica’s place – pasta dinner, we made the salad and brought it round. Also made plans for the two of us. I want to make love to you she said. And it was the most glorious sentence of my life. Tonight I said, kissing her and clutching and clawing at her back, pushing her against the frame of the bedroom door, both fully clothed and fully aroused. But we can go through it together, you know, step by step, yeah? – because I wanted us to learn and move in sync and know exactly the thoughts of our desires. It will be perfect, she said to me between kisses and I was sure that was true.

And though we never did make love – she said she was still hurting from last night and I apologised and she sincerely told me it was a “good hurt” and I believed her – we were in her bedroom for an hour, naked, pushing against each other stroking kissing biting pulling everything good and I smiled and she did and we laughed sometimes, not knowing why, but laughing nonetheless. And my it was a perfect night and we both fell into a deep dreamless sleep and wow and wow and wooweee!!!!!!!

Michael Hayward