Closing the blog starting a new row path with BLEND!

Good Afternoon,
I have today taken the decision to close my blog TheFatdess which kept me company and memories since the 26 November 2008.
This decision comes as the result of a life changing new project I am starting today.
I am extremely exited about the new venture and I will start a new blog with a new title for my new journey.
I will keep in touch with you all and keep sharing my experiences, research and knowledge but in a much larger scale, so you will be able to see more of my work in the coming months.
Until then I will be happy to receive your e-mails and suggestions on my private new e-mail address which is the following:
marybelmultimedia@yahoo.co.uk
wishing you all good health and high spirits
nam-myoho-renge-kyo
Marybel
xxx

Permaculture and my dream summer

Good morning all,
I am feeling like bleah this morning ( girly 2nd day) but also very happy and hopeful.
Yesterday I spent all day in Taplow Court, a great Buddhist Centre singing with the Glorious Life Chorus.
Once back I started to research on how to deepen my knowledge and practice of Permaculture...and I got a great news from my friend S.( the Angel, remember?) about this website:
http://www.rawreform.com/content/view/17/30/
It's the story of a girl like me and possibly you...who used to be sick with hypothyroidism and on levothyroxin and got better through eating only row food. It is a beautiful inspiring story which gives me great hope for the future and also fits perfectly with whatever else is going on with my life.
I spoke to my husband yesterday about a voluntary project I just joined called 'The Allotments Learning Project' and asked him to join- both his brothers work in Agriculture but he was not interested in Mother Earth until yesterday...
So this morning I kept looking at various permaculture networks and community projects around the world and this is what I did:
1) e-mailed my Tenant Management Association and Local Borough
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am a TMO tenant at xxxx.
I am writing to enquire on the possibility to start a Community food growing scheme and small Theatre project this summer, using the green space outside my home which is at the moment not in use by the people living here.
The initiative can help increase access to safe, sustainable and nutritious food and promote well-being in our local area.
We have a small group: BLEND! a project we are promoting with some local artists and families living in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. This individuals can help working as volunteers to develop the design and involve the other residents who wish to take part, increasing safety and community spirit.
Personally I have been trained in Permaculture in 2007 (Brockwell Park Green Houses Community Project) and I am currently a volunteer for the Allotments Learning Project (London Action Trust) and I have a BA in Performing Arts (currently studying for MA in Dramatherapy).
As you might be aware, food growing initiatives are becoming more popular in US (White House/Obama) and UK. Many look at these initiatives as a solution. They may include city farms, allotments, schemes set up on wasteland or school gardens. Growing fruit and vegetables offers a range of health benefits and simultaneously promotes a healthy environment and sustainable development.
I would like to find out the person responsible for this and take the first steps.
My contact numbers as follow:
xxxxx
xxxxx
Many Thanks
Kind Regards
Marybel

I suddenly realised that I could blend BLEND! my multimedia theatre projects I don't have a venue for with my growing desire to grow starting from my backyard!
and :

Hello F.,
I am a Permaculture designer. If you could send me some pictures of your space, I can start designing based on what you already have and what you would like to grow.
Permaculture is a sustainable movement which cultivates in respect with the environment transforming problems into solutions.
I have grown vegetables since childhood in Italy as a hobby and part of my family education.
Since 1997 I have been trained in Permaculture. I am currently helping a few people with their design and creating a network of growers to swap food, seeds, techniques and advice.
I look forward to hearing from you very soon and hopefully to meet you too.
Kind Regards
Marybel
Finally I called my friend H. who asked me to help her growing in her own garden some carrots, courgettes and herbs...here I am starting the network!

Soft Saturday...and catch up

I like to think I will have a Soft Saturday today...even though I started by watching an Italian programme called Annozero.
In "Complotto" is the title of the last episode which talks about the disgusting possible liaison between Berlusconi and a minor with the involvement of the whole family.
What's worse is that the little girl, just turned 18 told the press that she calls Silvio Berlusconi 'daddy' and he will take care that she will have a great future career both in show business as well as in politics.
Personally I did not mind having porn star Cicciolina in the Parliament back in the 80's as she was also a very intelligent woman but I find Mara Carfagna very difficult to digest...
If you don't follow international politics, you might not know she was a topless model who became a minister after a 'friendship' with the Italian premier.
I am sorry for all Italians myself included beyond belief as we now have proof that he is connected to mafia and P2 but yet we cannot do anything to get rid of him! It makes me sick!
And talking about digestive system, my brother suggested that I go to see a new doctor in Milan for my problem with weight and possible thyroidism.
I will see him but will not accept any operation as usual.
I am free of my husband who went to see his family abroad and I am having a great time at the gym.
I have been going almost everyday and will go again today at 16.00.
Since I saw my GP last week and she told me I hadn't lost any weight I did not stop for a second...I started running to every possible aqua class.
I do feel as bloated as a balloon and I have a very strong desire to lose some weight before summer...I would be very happy even with a size 16 just to go to the beach in Sardinia in June...
And this is the most stressful part: I now have two job offers but I cannot start work because I am still waiting for the CRB check to come through.
So disappointing! I really do need some money for my holidays and I am willing to work for it but everything is stuck!!!
The very positive note is that I have increased my chanting of nam-myoho-renge-kyo (www.sgi.org) and my study of Buddhism in the last week with a fantastic increase of my energy levels.
Also yesterday I invited 10 women for a catch up dinner and we had a great time. We enjoyed a buffet and got to know each other much better. We had a great laugh about families and cultures.
Now I will go to do a bit of chanting.
XXX
M

Dramatherapy Assessment at Roehampton University

Guys I geel better already<
what a wonderful day!
Assessment day for the MA in Deamatherapy at Roehampton University. A real treat.
A morning of improvisation and an afternoon of devising and performing with a one to one interview.
A model of efficiency with the lovely background of Richmond Park...wow!!!

A film idea

Good morning all,
as it happens on a Sunday morning I woke up with a film idea!
{No, I will not tell my husband as every time I come up with a new idea he drops, putting his head between his legs, holding it with his hands...'Why?!? Why do you have all this different ideas everyday...why can't you just sit and watch TV like everyone else?'
Well...because I am a genius! That's why! Ha ha...My lovely husband, M. R. E. I. A. ...yes, his name is quite long...is a gentleman by birth but very modest in this lifetime. He doesn't like planning too far into the future and is a very down to earth kind of guy, that is why I have selected him to be my partner in life Or...'Kosen Rufu Partner' as we say in the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin.
This means a partner which will support me into achieving peace in the world.
Anyhow, I, as a multimedia Artist 'a tutto tondo' as we say in Italy, a 'all round' Artist...my imagination is vivid and my ideas grow like mushrooms in September...
only every single day.}
So yesterday I met my long time friend opera singer M. She is also Italian living in the UK for a while. She is also a member of the 'Glorious Life Chorus' like myself. She is also singing in the Soprano section.
She is interested in creating an art group and in sharing her love for music with others whit in the community and we started to talk about BLEND!, my multimedia community project.
Then I told her: -' My all time hero is Mater Teresa of Calcutta' and my idea of being an artist is to put arts at the service of others to bring happiness and joy...and she told me: -'Me too..'
So we have decided to collaborate and we will meet next Monday again to chant, go to the gym, sing and plan art projects...
I want to do one about Hypothyroidism...and a book and a movie and a SPA welcoming people suffering from Hypothyroidism to give them hope.
The hope many doctors took away from me...saying my Thyroid is fine, the values are correct and I cannot expect to lose weight...bla bla bladibla!
Last week I saw a specialist endocrinologist Dr. S. J. H. which I call 'Dr. Urine' (because the only propositive action he took was to give me two 2.5 lt. tanks to fill up with piss in 24 hour for a new test!). This man, is considered to be one of the best endocrinology experts offering consultations in two major London Hospitals. I met him at UCH. He also operates in a private clinic. I did not have a great opinion of this character. First of all how can you trust a doctor who doesn't even look at you in the eyes, let alone visit you?
He told me that everything was normal and my values look perfect. I don't suffer from thyroid disease. I then asked him:' So why I don't feel any better?'
He told me, calling me 'darling', that I couldn't expect to feel better and lose weight...then he went on to explain that he just assumed I had always been fat and coming from a family of obese parents. Imagine that!
Am I the only person to wonder how some people became doctors and on what basis they are given so much credit and responsibility?
I then asked him:'Are you saying that there is no cure for this condition?'
My simptoms are still there:
-constipation;
- nails breaking;
-hairloss;
- weight gain;
- fatigue;
-poor slip;
-memory loss;
-intollerance to cols;
-headaches;
-boils;
-puffy face;
-haemorroids;
- painful irregular periods...
but I also Have some of what Dr. Peatfield decribes as Symptoms of Low Adrenal Reserve:
-Dark Rings Under Eyes;
-Loss of Body hair;
-Poor Exercise Tollerance;
-Palpitations;
-Back & Loin Pain;
and some others are the same, like cold and fatigue...
if Dr. Peatfield has been stopped working for 18 months by GMC...you can read all this story from:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1332644.stm

then this is a fantastic story for a movie!!!
My friend S. already told me she agrees.
She is my Fb Angel, remember? The nutritionist which from time to time supports me, encourages me and gives me advice... Here part of our concersation this morning- talking of another doctor who called me two days ago:
M:- 'I explained to him that I know what is like to be well
and it is completely different
well I am very much overweight
exactly double my normal size
I lost 4 Kgs in 1 year of diet, exercise and medications...I am on Reductil from 2 months too
I am always tired
I sleep a lot
cannot go out twice on the same day'.
S:-'how many hours do u sleep a day?'
M:-' I don't have the energy
it feels like no power
8/9
sometimes 12
and I am always so cold
that often my skin hurts'
S:-'obviously your meds are not working for u'
M:-'that's what I think too'
S:-'hows your memory?'
M:-'and also I became more sensitive to noyse
bad
who are you?
haha
sorry, couldn't resist!'
S:-'lol
would u ever self medicate?'
M:-'Yes, under guidance'
S:-'according to sttm site...'
M:-'I would like to make a movie about this awful situation
yesterday I met a friend who is an opera singer
and had similar problems...'
M:'-i know someone who followed the notes on sttm and came off thyroxine and went on armour now feels fantastic'
S:-'and we were talking about opening a spa dedicated to people suffering from this
really?...I saw a guy on youtube'
S:-'totally ric?'
M:-'I was hoping to do something like this under Dr. P's advice
do you think he will recommend this?'
S:-'yes
he does not rate thyroxine
making a movie about thyroid is a fab idea...thyroid needs more airtime'










he does not rate thyroxine

making a movie about thyroid is a fab idea

thyroid needs more airtime

Down the Hypo...

This morning I felt really DOWN!!!
Moody since Satrurday...period...ok nothing new. But today, Tuesday and still so Blue?
Not usually like me...Sobbing in the morning, no energy, cannot be less interested, sto fighting...as if possessed by somebody with a totally different personality...I want to start a movie-documentary project on this disabling sneaky little disease which is taking over my life.
But not now.
Now I have just deleted all appointments for the day and overslept.
Program for the afternoon:
oversleep.
I have lost loads of bodily fluid...no wonder I feel drained.
Soon
xxx
M

MARYBEL'S HEALTHY CAPONATA

Today dear friends, I am going to share with you one of my biggest family secret recipes:MARYBEL'S HEALTHY CAPONATA.
This dish is my personal healthier interpretation of my mother's interpretation of an ancient and famous sicilian recipe called Capunata.
It is a cooked vegetable salad with many variations according to local area, social class and personal taste. The dish was then imported in various italian regions with more variations...you can find many information on this famous and popular thish online...but I will tell you that it came to us from the Arabs and this is probably why it is so popular with my Moroccan husband. The queen ingredient is the aubergine.
As I am on constant diet, I avoid frying as much as possible, therefore follow the process decribed below:

INGREDIENTS FOR 2 PEOPLE
(We keep it in a box in the fridge and eat it cold as a side dish as well)

3 potatoes
2 aubergines
2 peppers
2 onions
3 garlic
later add:
capers
olives
olive oil (extra virgin, of course)
vinegar
half tbs of brown sugar.

My porcedure is very easy, simple and faster than many of the original recipes. It is also much healthier as I avoid frying as well as overcooking.
In a short time you will be able to prepare a wonderful colorful dish which you will be very proud to serve to your friends and family.
I peal, wash and cut all vegetables in small cubes.
I usually start with the potatoes as they have the longest cooking time. I put a little oil and water (about 2 tbs each) in an oven tray and mix the potatoes coating them and and adding salt and pepper to taste. I then place the tray into the bottom of the oven at high temperature for about 10 minutes and thel lower.
In the mentime I cut the rest of the vegetables. You can also add celery, carrots and tomatoes if you like. Add all the vegetables mixing everything together.
Finally add the capers, olives,basil or origano according to your taste, a bit of vinegar with half tablespoon of brown sugar and a little olive oil on top.
This dish is best eaten cold as a side dish or on top of a bruschetta as a starter.
Enjoy this healthy treat
XXX
M

Radish, my new friend

Radish (Raphanus sativus) is my new friend...apparently it's one of these vegetables which help with the thyroyd function...
This morning I went to Portobello market and I bought 5 bunches...I just had one for lunch.
Today I am not feeling very well, might be PMT but I am very happy and proud of myself. Last week I managed to attend two aqua classes which are getting more and more intense...a sort of boot camp...
As I am feeling down and craving anything...I bought many 'good stuff' = foods which are supposed to be good for me.
Some of them will be consumed as snacks, others as meals.
As this afternoon the sky is gloomy the market was not as busy. I got my favourite fresh free range eggs from the 'chicken specialist' stall.
Two packs of sunflower seeds should keep the munchies away...I also got some dark chocolate 75%...for the antioxidants.
Today I will teach you a new recipe: Marybel's healthy Caponata.

Newly found inspiration: winning hope

Good morning to all followers, declared and non...may you feel the healing I am experiencing right now.
It is like starting to wake up from a long nightmare. Not completely awaken yet but already feeling better.
The reason? A post-modern multidisciplinary combination of factors.
First of all I have finally found a suitable new job. I will be proudly switching my career focus to social work, after a lifetime of volunteering I have decided to follow my heart and go for it.
Finally I put an end to the upsetting long string of letters with the same dry message:-'sorry to inform you that you have been unsuccessful on this application but we wish you good luck for your job search'!
After a period of asking myself where all this brilliant candidates with better qualifications and experience than mine hide on a daily basis -maybe they live in a sub town of geniuses...certainly I didn't meet any of them in schools, hospitals, agencies and offices I have used recently...
My focused chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to find a job that I truly enjoy, that inspires me and gives me a clears career path connected to my passions and life experiences has finally manifested. I had no doubt...there was one somewhere...but it has been hiding really well.
Finally I heard the words:' you were the best candidate' and 'I look forward to working with you'.
Wow! It's a completely different tune! A different music style all together.
And wait to read what follows as it is just amazing.
I will be working with elderly individuals suffering from dementia.
My friends reaction was comparable to the one I got when I found my first job selling books in 1989! Just because I love books so much I was over the moon but my excitement was hardly comprehended by everybody else around me.
The main point is: I have discovered some very important information.
Hypothyroidism is one of the possible causes of Dementia. My first benefit will be to change my deepest karma by helping others suffering from the one of the worse consequences of my own personal disease.
My second benefit is that while studying to prepare for this job I have discovered some very useful information about my illness that no doctor, dietitian or nutritionist was able to offer up to now.
My third and most important benefit is that I love my manager already, after only two meetings. She is a very clever and sensitive woman with a great taste in choosing candidates.
So I have decided to change the colour of this blog from a depressing black background into an healing blue.
According to Colour Therapy the color blue relates to the Troat Chakra.
The organs associated to this particular Chakra are the troat, the lungs and the endocrine gland is the thyroid gland. I have also managed to discover what caused that burning sensation: the upper digestive tract can be affected by imbalance in this area.
According to the Colour Therapy professionals blue relates to self-expression. Do you remember my article on the matter a few weeks ago? I invite you to read it again.

'Speech, communication, the ability to communicate our needs and requirements. Spirit of truth and purpose.' (http://www.colourtherapyhealing.com/colour/blue.php)
Last night I have also cooked some Kombu seaweed. This is a food rich in iodine which is crucial to help healing from Hypothyroidism as well as to prevent Dementia.
This link gave me some more information on natural remedies and dietary requirements for people suffering from low thyroid function:
http://www.naturalways.com/thyroid.htm

Apparently together with all refined foods, saturated fats, sugars, and white flour products, brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, kale, mustard greens,also peaches and pears have anti-thyroid substances and may suppress the thyroid function. They do not mention the strawberries though, which previously we found part of the 'no no group'.
While advising to consume at least half the amount of food as fresh and organically produced it confirms my love affair with Kefir is great as the enzymes from live foods help to maintain a proper metabolism.
This link also finally mentions what the hell WE ARE supposed to eat...do you agree that usually it is merely mentioned what to avoid leaving a big space for confusion?
Here a POSITIVE LIST OF FOODS WE SHOULD BE EATING TO HELP THE THYROID FUNCTION, ladies and gentlemen:
* ALL FOODS RICH IN VITAMIN A - yellow vegetables, eggs, carrots, and dark green vegetables (excluding the cabbage family).
*ALL IODINE RICH FOODS - fish and sea veg:arame, kelp, dulse, hijike, nori, wakame, and kombu. Seaweeds are very nourishing to the glands.
*BLACK AND RED RADISHES were apparently used by Russian doctors as a cure for Hypothyroidism : 'Raphanin, the main sulphur component in radishes, is chiefly responsible for keeping the production of thyroxine and calcitonin (a peptide hormone) in normal balance'.
*SEEDS, NUTS (no pinuts) NUT MILKS ( I love the Jamaican green coconut...they sell in the summer in London...cannot wait!Last year I drunk 2 on a row and the jelly...yummy!)
*VEGETABLE JUICES 'includes the juice of a few radishes, carrot, tomato, celery or zucchini, with a pinch of kelp' - I stopped using my juicer as the dietitian told me it was better to consume the products including the fiber to avoid assuming too much sugar!!! Well I will start again from tomorrow!
- beneficial ingredients for vegetable juice combinations include: alfalfa, all leafy greens, beet tops, carrots, celery, green peppers, parsley, seaweeds, sprouts, and watercress.

I also started to take vitamin B12 everyday as I do not eat meat and this is mainly found in meat...
Another 'new entry' is the Bach flowers 'Wild Rose' remedy.
This remedy is for people who have accepted all that life throws at them and have given up the struggle for fulfilment. Instead they have resigned themselves to the way things are, to the extent where they don't even complain or seem particularly unhappy. Instead they shrug their shoulders - there's no point complaining or trying to change - and seem happy just to drift through life.

The remedy is given to reawaken interest in life. The positive Wild Rose person will still be a happy-go-lucky type, but instead of apathy will feel a sense of purpose that will bring increased happiness and enjoyment.
Dr Bach's description:

Those who without apparently sufficient reason become resigned to all that happens, and just glide through life, take it as it is, without any effort to improve things and find some joy. They have surrendered to the struggle of life without complaint.

That was me...almost.
Well it is working, I feel more positive and 'combative'.
I have noticed last night during my late aquaerobics session with the pretty young instructor all the girls fancy. He pushed us to work so hard that I almost had an heart attack...but I didn't give up. Let's fight and win together!
Ciao
XXX
Marybel

Bad news from Italy

So dear followers,
I have been very busy this month in analysing and following political and news from my own countries of origin:
Italy and Sardinia.
So sad...not only the tragedy in Abruzzo and the lack of social politics.
Very worrying the embarassing power of criminal Silvio Berlusconi.
It is not only a matter of monopoly of the mass media, of conflict of ionterest...
It is becoming so explicit his connection with P2, mafia bosses which he is taking to Parlament with him and making immune from following the law...I am even more upset by the knowlege of his increasing influence in Sardinia through Capellacci and extremely dangerous for the economy and environment of the island...
I wish he would stop ruining our country and be called to pay for all his mischievs and give the money back to our nation.