Working around food all the time, you’d think that when I get home it would be the last thing on my mind. It’s not. However, standing over a hot stove is! That’s probably because my work shoes are either getting worn out or I need to simply face facts and invest in shoes that really support my foot and aid my posture. I’m sure a new pair of MBT shoes would go a long way toward easing my back, hip, and leg pain.

That’s probably what holds me back the most when I get home. I just can’t bear to stand on my feet another span of time, and that’s what’s needed to prepare home cooked meals.

I finally broke down and made myself some granola yesterday. I needed the grain, nuts, and fruit that makes up any kind of granola. It’s a good thing to add to your diet, especially if you make it yourself so you know what’s going into it.

Keep in mind that when I make it, I throw things in until it seems right. I start with about 5 cups of old fashioned oats. They give you a nice texture when toasted in granola. I added some sunflower nuts, wheat germ, pecan pieces, and coconut. Then, I mixed in some canola oil, brown sugar, cinnamon, and honey. I mixed everything well so that all the oats had some oil and sweetness on them.

I put it in my electric skillet on medium heat, then just stirred it often until it was toasty. I didn’t use any additional fat in the skillet. Granola won’t stick.

When it was done, I tossed in some Craisins and mixed it all together. I let it cool so that the oats would remain crunchy before I packaged it in airtight containers.

Home made granola is great as an out-of-hand snack, stirred into yogurt, eaten like cold cereal, or cooked like oatmeal. It’s also a great topping for muffins and is even good on ice cream.

When all the kids were young and at home, I used a whole large box of old fashioned oats and made the granola in a roasting pan in the oven. Even so, it only lasted a few days!

Granola is like salad - use the ingredients you like because there really isn’t a right or wrong way to make it.

Almost every employee where I work comes in with a music device attached to them and headphones on. Without fail, they will ask if they can wear the device and headphones while working. Well, no. They need to be able to hear me or another manager when we speak. They also need to be able to hear the equipment beep when food is done cooking. In fact, there are a lot of things they need to be listening to when they are on the clock.

Now, I don’t mind if they attach the music thingy when they’re on break. That’s their time. I’d do the same, if I had one of those devices, I suppose. In fact, sometimes I wish I had one so that when I’m home, I could listen to my music without bothering anyone else in the house!

I tend to be a throw-it-together kind of cook, so it’s sometimes hard for me to write recipes for you here. However, I do my best to make notes when I try something new so that you can also try it in your kitchen.

For instance, a couple of days ago I fixed what I call “camp food”. This can be almost any combination of ingredients all cooked up in a single skillet. This time, it was boneless pork chops with redskin potatoes and Vidalia onions.

I used Pampered Chef Barbecue Rub on the chops, which I then browned in about 3 tablespoons of canola oil in the skillet. I washed and cubed 5 medium sized potatoes, and sliced two medium sized Vidalia onions very thickly. I added the veggies to the skillet, put in about 3/4 cup of water, then covered and simmered it on low heat until the pork was done and tender.

I removed the lid and let the juices cook down into a sauce. I served this with home made fried apples for a delicious and hearty meal.

Growing older is hard, you know that? It is replete with ailments, aches, and pains the like of which I never had before. I tend to bruise more easily than in my younger days. I also wind up stiff-jointed when I arise in the morning. Add to that the fact that my job requires me to be on my feet almost all of my shift, unless I’m running schedules or ordering supplies, and you have a recipe for Plantar Fasciitis.

I’d been complaining to Son that my left heel hurts a lot. It’s like a sharp, stabbing pain in my heel. His first thought was bone spur. But after looking up Plantar Fasciitis on the web and reading what the Mayo Clinic had to say about it, I’m convinced that’s my problem. At least I know that it doesn’t require surgery to make it better and that there are things I can do to alleviate the pain.

Apparently, it comes with the territory when you’re over 40, on your feet many hours a day, and overweight. I’m not much overweight, but if I lose a few pounds that might help the problem some. I can’t do much about the “over 40″ part or about the amount of time I am on my feet. However, I am seriously thinking about getting a night splint. Do any of you have this problem?

It really is beginning to interfere with some of my household duties and my duties at work.

If I didn’t need the money so badly, I’d have called in and not gone to work over the weekend. I was getting sick. Most of Friday morning I spent dozing. I’m sneezing, have a sore throat, achy, just plain miserable. But it was a lot worse over the weekend. I had a fever and chills. I’m pretty sure I caught this bug from a fellow at work who was very sick last week. All I wanted to do is go to bed. I drank some hot tea with lemon, which helped me sleep and helped to break the fever.

I have my appetite back now, so I suppose that’s a good thing. This “bug” went around to everyone, I think, and I blame it on the excessive rainfall we’ve had this past month. I really think it has something to do with molds growing everywhere. It seems to start out with a sinus infection then grows from there. Just about everyone I know has had a bout of this illness.

I haven’t even felt like cooking while home, which makes this bug a pretty effective diet pill! I did keep using hand sanitizer while at work and steered clear of any food contact so I wouldn’t pass it along to customers, but they will probably get it anyway just because so many people have it right now.