Claire Green

I made myself a standing desk just using various cardboard boxes to elevate my keyboard, monitor and mouse. I draped a thin cloth over it to make it look more presentable. I work part time..4 to 6 hours a day, and it took about 3 months to adapt to standing most of the time as opposed to sitting. I stillhave a laptop and alternate back and forth, but do stand most of the day.
It has made a huge differnce in how I feel.

I also recently added this to stand on, was amazingly easy to adapt to, but did need to raise everythign by about 4 inches. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZEDD8OI/ref=s9_acsd_hps_bw_c_x_3
I do not stand on it all day, but alternate.  Looking up at my monitor when i stand on the floor without it, is helpful I find, instead of always looking straight on or down if working on my laptop.  

I have one of those yoga balls, and I use that now for lying on to extend my back (like a supported back bend), helps reverse all that slumping we do!

Good luck!

Here in sonoma county, northern california, home to Luther Burbank, I have had fabulous luck growing nopales by vegatatively propating pads I bought from the hispanic grocery store. I have 7-8 plants on the top and flanks of my hugelkultur bed and they are very happy. I planted about 12,  some did not make it, but the ones that did have really taken off.

I think the ones from the store are selected and grown for their qualities as nopales...few spines, tender.  So far I have not gotten any fruit but I harvest the paddles often (I LOVE them!).  It is amazing how fast to see the pads grow from small buds to harvestable pads, given a little water.  I noticed my pads were doing nothing, until I broke down and watered them with the soaker hose.  But I only did so twice all summer long....and we get no rain at all from May to almost November.  I also noticed that when the pads first bud out, they are covered in spines, but they seem to lose most their spines as they mature.  What spines they do have are easy to peel, I never need to wear leather gloves.

My favorite way to cook them: seared trimmed of spines and whole in a hot, dry cast iron pan with another smaller cast iron pan nested on top as a weight (or similar pan)...I usually do 3-4 minutes per side. Sprinkle with soem garlic salt. Eat as is or add to salads, ratatouille, pair with roasted peppers, as a layer in a dagwood sandwich, added to ground beef for stuffed peppers, tacos filling, etc.

Also, brushed with olive oil and grilled...yum!  
I substitute diced nopales for okra in jambalaya...very good.  I also blanch diced nopales, then drain and add to diced jicama, jalepeno, cilantro, pinto beans, in a cumin lime vinegrette as a side dish.

Hmm, I buy nopales at the local market and they are easily handled and spines removed with a knife dragged parrallel to the surface of the pad on a cutting board. I guess the variety found in stores is less gnarly. I started 12 paddles in one gallon pots of cactus mix and hopefully in the spring I can plant out and be eating my own this time next year.

Jambalaya
Substitute fresh, trimmed and cubed (1/2 inch) dice cactus for okra in any jambalaya recipe.
I like to make mine more paleo friendly with very little rice...maybe 1/4 cup of dried rice for a recipe that serves six and really pile in the veggies: tomatoes, green and red pepper, zucchini, celery, onion, okra and nopales. It is a great summer, autumn dish to use up the garden bounty.

I also love nopales diced and lightly sauted and folded into scrambled eggs or as omelet filling with some goat cheese.

They go well in Indian food....substitute for okra... I esp like with tamarind sauce.

The entire paddle is excellent when cleaned, bushed with olive oil and sprinkled with garlic salt and then grilled. I always grill extra to add to tortilla soup or ratatouille or have in eggs.

happy eating,
claire

Yes, I agree, i was just looking at all the lush growth of the oca tops wishing I could eat them.