In the week and half since I gave up sugar and Splenda, pears have become my new treat. Not only are they crispy, sweet and delicious but they come in such pretty colors too. This sketch is a celebration of their gifts.
But meanwhile, giving up coffee didn’t go as well….
After five days of feeling wiped out, depressed, listless and witless I couldn’t take it anymore and finally had half a cup of coffee. That’s all it took: within a few minutes I was back to my old inspired self again and the blues were gone. Yay!
Maybe I’ll try to quit caffeine when I’m retired in a few years, but for now, each day is too precious to spend feeling like a zombie.
Jana Bouc, Artist 
22 replies on “Sweet Pears and a Buzz with Busby”
I have tried to give up coffee so I can sympathize. Talk about witless! Since I only drink it in the AM, I insist that all things are just fine:)
Hope you had a good holiday.
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Thanks Libby. I appreciate the commiseration! Jana
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Jana:
I also have had to tweak my bad habits over the past several months. I was never a coffee or soda “addict”, but now, all I have is one small cup of BLACK coffee in the morning. Can’t believe how well I have adjusted to this…used to take it light…it only took about 3 days to get used to it, and now I prefer it that way! The rest of the day I drink water–which is not only healthier, but non-fattening, filling, readily available, and free in restaurants! If you are used to drinking a lot of coffee, and want to cut back, I would suggest you do it one-cup-at-a-time rather than cold turkey. Feeling edgy and depressed is not good, but a lot of caffeine isn’t so great either. Good luck!!!
BTW, I LOVE the colors in this pear painting! Very alive!
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Thanks Rita. Great advice! And I have a big bottle of water with a little lemon in it sitting beside me right now. Jana
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Great pear painting – glad they are helping with the sugar thing.
As for coffee, well I used to drink it all day long and can’t see that I shall ever give up. However, I have cut down drastically and now only drink three cups a day. Small cups, not huge mugs! I make sure that I drink the last before 19.00.
As I have cut down to only three cups per day, I buy the best coffee I can afford and drink it mindfully!
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Thanks Margaret. I’m doing the same with the coffee, getting the best, making it with care and drinking it mindfully. I’m even beginning to appreciate the unsweetened flavor of my one morning cup and afternoon cup of tea too. Jana
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Loved how you made the buzz drawing in black and white! It really gave me the feeling of your pre-caffeine fuzzy pain.
And you painted the pears with JUST the right amount of sweetness.
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Thanks Carol. And it was funny how Busby was peering at me from around a corner, sort of trying to size me up, like he’s wondering who is this lazy person who is usually a blur, running around doing this and that but now has a lap to sit in while she lays around staring at the ceiling. So glad that’s over! Jana
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Beautiful pears. I don’t aspire to give up coffee but you are inspiring me to give up sugar and sugar substitutes. And you always inspire me to paint!!
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Thanks Carol, It’s a really different life without the sweeteners. I’m still surprised every time I taste the real flavor of food. It’s not as “sexy” as it would be with sweetener (if you could ever call oatmeal, for example, sexy) but maybe that’s good too since I’m less likely to eat as much of it, whatever it is. Jana
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Welcome back to the “dark” roast side. Happy New Year.
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Thank you so much for the laugh! Dark (roast) side indeed — love that Peets dark roast! And now that I’m enjoying my coffee again I can enjoy a good laugh too! Jana
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DEAR JANA.: its been a year filled with lovely surprises from you.HOW CAN i THANK YOU ALL THE BEAUTY YOU BROUGHT INTO MY LIFE!to top it all you send me those pears Cezanne would not be ashamed to signDONT BE DEPRESSED.From my remote country I quote TENNYSON.RING OUT THE OLD RING IN THE NEW,RING HAPPY BELLS ACROSS THE SNOW -even if i am in torrid summer-Your faithful fans wish you a very happy new year and may God bless you
your admires rae
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You are so kind and really made my day. Thank you for your wonderful support. I cherish your comments! Jana
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Oh, I feel for you. For reasons that I will not go into, I went off coffee when I finally went back on days in 1995, then slowly cut out to decaf. I did not feel like the Real Me for years until I was helping in a shelter, one night after Katrina hit the Gulf and I hit the coffee. The Real Me (96% caffeine, I betcha) returned for one glorious night. I have returned to being Ms Droopy Drawers and am considering your short coffee boost in the am…It would be comforting if I could pull that off. Congratulations for the creativity to try a variety of solutions. And I LOVE that cat…
annie
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Hi Annie. Wow. I so relate to your story! But years of not being the real you? That’s rough. But on the other hand, I guess if the real us is 96% caffeine, how real is that really? Your “Ms Droop Drawers” cracked me up and I was telling a friend about your comment today. I hope I can keep it under control. It’s so tempting to go for that bit of extra energy (and then stay up too late, not be able to get to sleep, wake tired, need some coffee… you know what I’m talking about). So if you’re getting by without it, after all this time maybe it’s best not to even go there. I managed to stay off it for a whole year a few years ago but eventually it crept back in.
Jana
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Good for you for letting go of sugar and splenda, that is quite an accomplishment. I let go of coffee a few years ago but I do love my black tea and drink about 3 large mugs a day. I think doing one change at a time is a very good idea.
Elizabeth
Elizabeth’s Blog – http://maoma3.blogspot.com/
Elizabeth’s Flickr Gallery –
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Thanks for the encouragement. I think it was too many changes at once (my mom kept trying to tell me that but would I listen?). And I’m really appreciating and enjoy the the small amount of coffee and tea I’m having now! Jana
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Love the juicy pears! And completely understand giving up on giving up caffeine! (funny how that came out!) I’ve given up on coffee so many times that now I don’t even try. I just say, I will only have two cups a day and they will both be first thing in the morning. The rest of the day I drink water. Besides, I read somewhere that coffee is good for you! 😉 (And please, don’t anyone burst my bubble! I’d like to go on believing that!)
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Oh yes. Me too! I’ve given it up so many times too. But in reasonable quantities I think it is good for you and it’s almost like taking my vitamins — that one half caf morning cup just makes my day! And thanks for the reminder to drink water. I often forget! Jana
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Laughing here. A few years ago I tried to cut out coffee because my eyelids were twitching. I looked a little strange, and perhaps slightly dangerous. So, like you, I cut out coffee – cold turkey. Oh, the horror! So, I just cut back. We mix regular and decaf in the morning, and I only drink decaf after noon. No more twitching, and I still get to smell the coffee in the morning, drink it with breakfast and out with friends, and my eyelids stopped twitching. Perhaps the thing here is moderation.
I should give up my Splenda, but I think I’ll just stick to one packet a day, then maybe every other day… I pretty much try to stay away from sugar (Except in Christmas cookies and birthday cake).
Anyway, happy new year, and thank you for sharing your thoughts and art with the world.
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I know exactly what you’re talking about. I’ve had that eyelid twitching thing too, but it wasn’t caused by coffee, rather by spending too much time with a certain family member who shall go unnamed here. It sounds like you’ve found a good moderate and sensible solution to those pesky little temptations that can turn into monsters if you let them. I am so enjoying my morning coffee and mid-day cup of tea. Ahhh, such a relief. I’m learning to like it unsweetened. If I was only using one packet of Splenda a day I wouldn’t have worried about it. But I was buying industrial boxes of the stuff at Costco and using about 20 or more a day. Definitely had a sweet-tooth but now that I’m not abusing it I’m really enjoying the freedom.
Jana
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