October is a GREAT Month!

I love October. It is my birthday month. It brings cooler weather. It ends with Halloween! It is my favorite time of the year!

This morning we are getting some badly needed rain. The high temp yesterday was in the mid 80's. The high temp today is supposed to be in the 60's. This is quite a cool down! I am waiting for the rain to stop so I can do my run/walk today and I am really looking forward to enjoying the cooler weather out there!

While waiting for the rain to end, I made myself some breakfast. I have NOT been a breakfast eater, in the past, but I have been trying to change that. I fixed myself some oatmeal and an organic grapefruit. I have a 'thing' about grapefruit. The first diet I was ever on was the "Grapefruit and Boiled Egg" diet. YUCK!!! I was about 11 years old then and in 5th grade. To this day, the thought of those two flavors together can make me gag!!!

But still, every once in a while, I will try grapefruit. Most of the time it is not a pleasant food to eat. They are supposed to be very good for you, so I keep trying to like having them ... but not more than about once a year!
Lately I have been trying to buy a few things that are organic, in the fresh produce section of our store. I saw the organic grapefruit and thought, "What the heck, let's give it a try!"

When preparing breakfast, I cut the grapefruit in half. I then got the little knife, with the serrated edges and curved blade, out of the back of the knife drawer. I realized that this was the exact same knife that Mom and I used on all those grapefruits, some 45 years ago! I resisted the temptation to dowse the top of the grapefruit in sugar to make it sweet and edible. I even made myself sit down at the dining room table with my oatmeal and grapefruit and spoon. (Usually I would be in front of the computer). I ate the oatmeal first and kept staring at the grapefruit. "How sour was it going to be? Why did I buy this stupid fruit anyway?"

Finally it came time to spoon out a segment of the grapefruit. I put it in my mouth and was ready to cringe and pucker up from the tart and sour flavors that I knew were coming.

What's this? It is almost sweet tasting?! It doesn't have that sour aftertaste that reminded me of the aftertaste of vomit! It isn't tasting like the grapefruits I have been getting for the past ten years or more. It isn't full of watery, tasteless, lip puckering, liquid! There is actually a substance and a full bodied taste that is releasing the most amazing flavor! Why, this thing actually TASTES GOOD! Even the juice was like dancing droplets of cool goodness on my tongue! I was amazed. The juices were so full of a delightful flavor AND I didn't need sugar to mask any sourness!

My guess is that the organic factor might have made the difference. I have found the organic apples have more flavor in them too. There is something about the natural flavor of a naturally grown fruit that brings out the sweetness. I recently had found the organic apples in the store. I bought a bag of non-organic Red Delicious apples at the same time. The non-organic apples were woody and flavorless. The organic apples were sweeter and much tastier.

Not all organic foods taste better enough to warrant the added expense. I have not found lettuce to be better or worse, for instance, so I buy the cheaper of the two in that case.

I wonder if kids growing up now a days, will ever think that these foods from the past, taste better? I am reliving my childhood when I find naturally grown stuff that is rich and full of flavor. My children don't have that in their upbringing as much. Would something I find delectable, taste funny to them because they never had it as they were growing up? I wonder?

Well, the rain has stopped and it is time to grab Ziva and head out. The air is so fresh and crisp and clean! I can hardly wait to hit the trail. I will leave you today with this photo:
That is me on the left, from about five years ago. That is also me on the right, taken just last week. I am wearing the same costume in both photos. The brown dress had to be taken in, over eight inches to fit the new me. I kinda like this new me, even if she is a challenge to fit clothes and costumes on!

Bye for now dear readers! Go do something and get away from your computer for a while!!!