Diet Coaches/Buddies - Walk was degraded to tea on the patio as DW was physically exhausted after tending her group's plant sale. They sold most of the plants - all at bargain prices. Heroically, she only came home with two - and even those are destined for our DD's yard not ours. "No more room." So we sat on the patio and heard tales of our DS's long weekend in a camper van. There is an AirBnB-equivalent for camper vans. Works the same way. They drove to the house of a young woman with kids who didn't need her van for the other 50 weeks of the year when she wasn't taking her kids to the beach. Checked it out. Drove off as if they knew what they were doing. All worked well. He used "fresh water," "gray water," and "black water" in sentences expecting us to know what they meant. Also campfires, hot dogs, and smores. Yep, smores despite being two adults.

Eating was on plan with an unplanned dip into a dish of trail mix offered at tea with DS and DW. CREDIT moi for the day despite being a deeper dip than necessary to be polite. Unfortunately, it contained tree nuts and dark chocolate. Sat there not just calling my name, but singing the Hallelujah Chorus. Dinner was leftover pasta salad, deviled eggs, and green salad eaten on the patio in very strong winds. A "cold front" is moving in.


maryann - Kudos for tossing food that can become a problem. A "lazy Sunday morning" is just right.

Karen (karenrn) - Ouch for the snag in the backpacking reservations. Funny story of the grown duck that likes to be picked up and petted.

curlyjax - Yay for a fire pit evening with friends of different ages.

Readers -

Exercise yesterday was functional; walking around the grocery store, then 3 other stores looking for clothes. I need some more skirts/dresses I can wear to work, since I live in them for the summer. Two of the stores had dressing rooms that were open, and you could tell consumers were taking full advantage by the amount of clothes heaped on the “I don’t want these” rack. I brought home things from Savers as well and will try them on, and maybe even return what I don’t want today. Trying things on was a reminder of why I need to get on the ball again for losing weight; I want to look cute in these dresses and not pregnant.
I have today off and am doing one more car thing and then will be done with cars for awhile I hope. I have a big crush on one of the garage owners so I always enjoy going there
Tonight’s dinner will be salmon so back to healthy stuff again.
Maryann- I know what you mean about Sundays going so fast.
Karen- I had to look up those Hoka shoes, they look pretty comfy. It’s great DH will join you on some hikes.
Bill-LOL at the treats singing the Hallelujah chorus, I know that feeling well! The trip your son went on sounds fun.

Yesterday was actually anything but lazy. I did lots of yardwork, cracked pecans and worked out. Food was not great.

I have to remember what I learned from the Hungry Brain. The closer I get to moving my set point down, the more the hormones release their hunger demons. The solution is lots veggies, no variety and cut sugar , fat and salt. It seems to always come back to that. At least I do not chastise myself for weakness. It is a biological response.

BBE: Just got to the place in Sapiens where the ag revolution is demonized. I can't keep from thinking that the writers has never had a bladder infection or a tooth ache. If he had, he would be grateful for the surplus of food that allowed people to specialize in medicine which allowed for the development of wonder drugs. Told my farmer husband the basics of the theory that hunter gatherers work less than farmers. He couldn't stop laughing. I have appreciated the thoughts on our ability to create fiction is our true dominant characteristic. I think I am done with the book though. I am so glad I don't feel the need anymore to finish everything.
Karen: What a life indeed teaching yoga on a paddleboard. I haven't put that on my "maybes' for a second job after retirement.
curleyjax: good for you for getting somethings to wear for the summer.

I'm listening to the book The Rise: Creativity, The Gift of Failure, and The Search for Mastery by Sarah Lewis. Today she talked about a paradox that I'm experiencing right now. Creativity requires isolation -- but not too much. Creativity requires time -- but not too much.

So, I have a long list today -- an artificial way to reduce the amount of time devoted to creativity in a way that can force things to happen. And, I'm feeling anxious about it. Ha!

This is my reminder that food won't fix anxiety -- especially the kind that I make for myself to push myself in creative ways.

Exercise +30, 1020/1400 minutes for May

Good afternoon coaches,

Food was on plan yesterday, but some off plan snacks today. I did hike 3 hours with my weighted backpack on this morning and then walked Otis. I've been gathering some financial stuff for retirement planning. I haven't ever finished the job. I start working on it and then get distracted (probably because it provokes anxiety) and set things aside. I know I had better follow through on this. I think maybe we should consolidate our accounts. We could move out of the Vanguard mutual funds to the equivalent ETFs at the other brokerage firm and then everything would be at one place except dh's 401k. Even that could be transferred in once he is retired.

GardenerJoy I probably should look at ways to increase my creativity. I feel like I don't have any at all.

Maryann It's good you know the key to getting through the hungry time when you're weight is going down. I need that.

Curlyjax Good for you for going out and getting some new things for summer. It's nice to have some new things.

Bill The camper van on loan sounds like a great thing. My friend would like to buy one, but they are quite expensive. It really is the truth that some foods sing the Hallelujah chorus. I just have a feeling some people don't hear it as well as some of us.

Waving to Penny.

Well it's time for Otis and I to go sit outside. Dh is finished with his daily golf practice in the backyard. It's in the low 90's today which is cool for us, so I had better enjoy it.

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Managed to run an errand while doing an errand. Felt like a military planner. Such joy from such a small success. I bought fifteen boxes of my favorite morning cereal on special sale. Gladdens this heart, it does, to score a victory over the store. But there was a loss. I was designated to pick up a baguette to go with freshly made chicken noodle soup. I chose a new brand from a bakery in a nearby town. Thought it must be good if the supermarket was selling it at the same price as the know good brand, Iggy's. What a mistake! White Wonder Bread in the shape of a baguette. Feel robbed. Fortunately, as far as financial loses go, this was as minor as it gets.

Time consumer was preparing and running a Zoom meeting last night. Because it was Zoom instead of face-to-face, we gathered folks from Taiwan, Florida, Kansas, and different nearby towns. Zoom does have that advantage. Felt so strange casually chatting with a friend in Taipei who was back home visiting her mother. COVID just flared up there; she might have challenges getting out. Reminded me how easily I can be focused on life only within a few miles of my house.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - Refreshing to hear the recognition of the need for both isolation and time - but not too much of either. It annoys me greatly that I can face an unexpected large chunk of free time and then waste it.

maryann - Neat that you got what you wanted from Sapiens and feel free to move on. I, too, have trouble with his demonizing the agricultural revolution. Don't much fancy myself chasing rabbits with a club to feed my yelling children.

Karen (karenrn) - Such a gift to your kids to get all your finances into one location. I was amazed to confront that I'd casually plopped a few dollars here and there without thinking about someone else having to track it all down. We're down to a small number of places now.

curlyjax - Congrats for getting out to buy yourself some clothes. Try to remember that it will get warm again, LOL.

Readers -

I got a lot accomplished yesterday; switched winter tires, dealt with clothes from yesterday and bedroom, washed and vaccuumed other car, dealt with a finance thing, returned rented textbooks, did my weights and made a healthy salmon dinner. I also ate too much crap after dinner on the justification that salmon doesn't have many calories, but ah well. FYI winter tires are heavier than summer ones, or at least mine are. Today I will be driving around a lot, but it will be good to be out of the office anyhow.
Maryann- good point on biological response to hunger.
Gardenerjoy-balance is key for sure, including creativity.
Karen-I definitely procrastinate on that stuff too. My financial advisor told me the same thing, to consolidate, but I haven't done it yet.
Bill-i'm definitely focused on life near me too, I forget that the virus is looming large in other places.

Phone check in.

Attended the celebration of life for Ben. Paid my respects to the mother and father but didn’t stay long. Too hard to look at the slide show. Came home not feeling very well and went to bed at 6. It will be helpful to have that done.

Food needs tweaking. I am not eating proper meals and I feel nauseous which could be the med I am on. I just need to get through this week.

wave to all

Quick check-in due to another day of a long list. Tomorrow will be more relaxed by design, if all goes to plan.

Early tomorrow morning, I'm going to try to catch the lunar eclipse live on video. We won't get the totality here, but with modern technology I can watch as it happens in Australia or wherever the telescope with the most clear view is broadcasting.

Exercise +50, 1070/1400 minutes for May

karenrn: I would argue that planning trips, including hikes, and then implementing them is a creative act. In fact, I think Sarah Lewis would argue the same. In the chapter that I listened to this morning, she discussed a guy doing a solo trip on foot to the North Pole, in the way of old explorers. He calls himself an artist.

Good morning coaches,

Great early morning hike today without the backpack. I've realized that I seem to do better when I do my journal page at some point in the day to include a to do list. I got off track doing that some time ago and hadn't started back up, but I will today. I was able to have a supportive call with a friend this morning that made me feel good. She lives in Vancouver BC and has not been able to leave the city for 14 months. The pandamic has been really hard on her. Hopefully she will be able to get her second vaccine before too many more months pass and get away for a bit. I realize I am really fortunate to be able to get outdoors and pretty much go where ever I want now.

GardenerJoy Thank you for including my travel planning in being creative. Maybe I can build on that.

Maryann Oh the celebration of life sounds so difficult to get through. I hope the nausea passes soon whatever it is from.

Curlyjax Boy did you ever get a lot done. Did you go to work too?

Bill Zoom certainly does have it's advantages. I used to use it a lot to visit with my son when he was in Thailand. The main thing is I had to remember the time difference. Regarding consolidating finances etc. My biggest worry is that I have only one child who may be living in Thailand most of the time by the time we die. Sometimes I think we should down size and get rid of everything now so we aren't a burden, but that is ridiculous. As good as I feel now I may have 25 more years. It can't hurt to get things as organized as possible though.

Waving to Penny and now on to my journal page.

Good evening!

The work weekend is over and I ened up not working out at all, and comfort eating. By my second day off, things are calming down and I am back to controlled eating and got my workout in. If only I could get a grip.

I've got another afternoon on the river beach tomorrow and then this weekend my oldest best friend and I are driving to the ocean beach for the weekend.

Karen, that is great your dh was a good hiking companion. His golfing must be maintaining some bit of fitness.

Bill, not sure how Idaho vs Oregon came up? Maybe I missed something. I can relate to your comment about wasting a free block of time. I could get so much more done!

Maryann, Sapiens might be a partial read for me too. I already had to turn my Kindle to airplane mode to prevent the library from taking back. My daughter is keeping me busy with Harry Potter- we are taking turns reading aloud.

Curly, yay for new clothes! The backyard fire pit gathering sounds so fun.

waving to Joy.

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Excitement was making a pilgrimage to Home Depot to waddle through their plumbing section trying to figure out how to replace the faucet-shower set on the old claw foot bathtub on our third floor. We haven't showered up there since the kids were little and a second shower was necessary for sanity. The old faucet-shower set now leaks into the tub so it's turned off. The components are frozen together preventing a quick and easy replacement of a washer. Like everything in plumbing, if it's old, it uses connections that are different than all the ones being sold in the stores. Maybe I've devised a solution. The good news is that I only have two weeks to fix it. Not everybody thinks that taking a shower in an old-fashioned claw foot tub is exciting, but it's a nice option to offer guests so they don't have to get in line for the second floor shower.

Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Breakfast consumed some of the "French Bread" from before. With enough butter and marmalade, it's just fine. "So is a sponge with enough butter and marmalade," DW offered.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - Thanks for the tip; I'm watching the lunar eclipse live as I type at this very moment. Neat to know that you're up and watching, also. I did enjoy the thought that I could just hop on a plane and watch the real thing from Australia. Wouldn't that be a kick?

maryann - Continue to send supportive thoughts as you process the loss of your student, Ben. Hard to imagine.

Karen (karenrn) - Can certainly imagine that Zoom is a great help with keeping in touch with your DS in Thailand. I was recently reminded that Siam renamed itself to Thailand only in 1939, then went back to being Siam for four years, then back to Thailand in 1948. So definitely on my Bucket List. Have you been?

curlyjax - That's a lot of stuff completed in one day. LOL that winter tires are heavier - I've never thought about that.

Penny. - Love the notion of reading Harry Potter back and forth with your DD. The Idaho-Oregon topic was just because it was in my news feed - you didn't miss anything.

Readers -

Exhausting day yesterday. I drove around showing my replacement the ropes. Visited my favorite chocolate shop for the last time; its too far from my home fortunately, but is near a former work site. Didn't get much else done. Today is work from home. It's going to be very hot so i'm glad I don't need to drive around. I have 20 dollars in Kohl's cash I may try to spend after work as its only good for a week. I suppose I could try to order something online but I do like to try dresses etc on.
Karen- no, I didn't work Monday, I really can't get much done on a work day. You do indeed have lots of time left to organize finances etc!
Bill- good luck with the plumbing. Cool you got to see the eclipse!
Gardenerjoy-I like the idea of trip planning being a creative venture, that's a good point.
Maryann-Sending supportive thoughts too. Hope you're feeling better today physically anyhow.
Penny- I need to get a grip too. your beach trips sound fun. How fun to share HP with your daughter.

Phone check in.

Yesterday was senior rally. It was fun to cheer the kids on. It was in the stadium. This was the freshmen’s first real high school experience. A good day.

I am really improving on the climbmill. I did an hour with a weighted pack.Food isn’t ideal but I have stayed away from red light foods, weighed twice and do some healthy tweaks.

I successfully viewed the lunar eclipse this morning on a site called Virtual Telescope Project. I'll use the same site this afternoon to view the Super Moon rising over Rome. (11) The SuperMoon rises above the legendary skyline of Rome - 26 May 2021. - YouTube

Exercise +40, 1110/1400 minutes for May

BillBlueEyes: I was hoping that watching the eclipse would fit nicely into your morning routine!