I got back on path for a few days last week. I continue to do well with meals and to wander with larger snacks - planned, but consumed larger. Ouch.

For the birders: Saw a Broad-winged Hawk yesterday. It was doing its lazy circling as it gained altitude on a thermal. That's pretty unusual for my area although they're fairly common over the mountains just an hour west of Boston. My first Yellow Warbler and Orchard Oriole of the season were both expected and joyful. Yay for the annual migration of birds to remind us that the seasons are changing.

Good morning all! Bill I like what you said about the birds reminding us of the season changing. And a hawk - impressive!

DH was away for the weekend so I got a lot of reading for pleasure done. Mudpie did step in for DH and sing me the "senior cat wailin' blues" several times, just to give me a break from the reading.

I found myself decluttering, both online and in the house. I did all of the errands but stopped several times in between to sit down, drink some tea, and read.

The sun finally has some warmth in it. I actually wanted a salad for lunch on both Sat. and Sun. and was able to enjoy one each day.

Oh and I'm down 2 lbs. from last week. :

Dagmar

After weeks & weeks of thinking of doing it, and never going, yesterday I finally got out into the fields at the wildlife conservation area. I was looking for warblers, but all I saw were a few blue-gray gnatcatchers in low-lying bushes, which I tried in vain to turn into northern parulas. There were white-throated sparrows and Eastern towhees scuffing up the leaf litter. (The towhee chipped but did not sing for me, which was disappointing, as I love the "drink-your-teeeeeeeea.")

I also drove out to the wetlands and the observation deck to look at the nesting eagles. This made me feel rather melancholy, as my late father used to camp out here for a couple hours on pleasant afternoon with his Swarovski spotting scope -- the best Christmas gift that I ever gave him, hands down -- chatting with the birders who dropped by, and if they were novices, always offering them a look at the eagles through the scope. My binoculars were very weak, so I could barely see the head of the sitting eagle. (My 16x50 Bushnells were inundated in the flood and filled up with muddy water, and now they won't focus.) There were Caspian terns cruising along in the background, too, but I just recognized them by their way of flying and their size. Another dilemma: I need to decide whether to junk the Bushnells or spend $$ to get them fixed. I sat there in the sun on the bench where my father used to sit. I feel close to him there. I'd like to donate some money to get a nameplate and "In memory of" placed on that bench but can never get through to the right state DEC person to talk about doing this.

I was also reading a book that I saved from the flood by dint of tossing it into my suitcase when I packed for my motel evacuation. (Remember, no one knew where Hurricane Irene would land, and some commentators thought it would just be a rainstorm with power out -- in which case I would've had a dull night in a hotel & would need a book & flashlight to help pass the time.) This was “Within the Plantation Household: Black and White Women of the Old South” by Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, a historian whose political stance I don't share, but whose book was fascinating. I got this at a plantation gift shop last spring when I visited Charleston and have finally gotten around to it. Glad to have bought this one.

Good morning all.....

Hope everyone's weekends were wonderful.

My weight is up still (or again-- not sure which) and I definitely think much of it is due to bloat. Not 100% sure why but could be some restaurant meals this weekend. I went to Bikram Yoga yesterday afternoon and developed a bad headache when it was almost done. The headache got progressively worse through the night and today is lingering but not as severe. Not sure if that is due to fluid retention too? I actually weigh more today than I did yesterday which rarely happens after Bikram, leading me to believe I'm retaining major fluid. I'm also quite sore from my "boot camp" workout on Saturday so I'll work to shred the fluids this week.

I worked my last official day for Weight Watchers yesterday. Unfortunately when I got there the computers were down, causing us to do everything by hand which is 1 million times harder. We were going to have me say goodbye to the members but it didn't happen. The leader was so apologetic, but I sent her an email to read to the members, so hopefully they will be okay with my leaving-- I know many of them look to me for advice and inspiration weekly so I hate to leave them in the lurch.

Now I have to go back to being a regular member. Finding time to make a meeting here or there, weighing monthly, etc.

We are so incredibly busy trying to figure out and plan our next several months with trips and graduations, etc. Yesterday we booked me to go to New York for my gay cousin's wedding. What do you get for two men in their 50's????? I'm at a loss-- I haven't seen him in years and years. I will also see his mom (my aunt) that I haven't seen since I was a teenager as she and my uncle divorced. I picture her as she was all those years ago, but I suspect she has changed somewhat!

My dd (17--senior in high school) is so moody. I know that she is stressed about college, where her friends are going, prom (she is going but doesn't have a date yet), etc. Her best friend (a guy) just decided where he is going this weekend (USC) and I know she is disappointed-- she is happy for him but disappointed that he isn't going where she is-- as they had originally planned to do that. A funny thing (to me) about her. She has never learned to ride a bike. Now she feels she needs to before going away to college as the campus is huge and she won't have a car for at least the first year. She is planning on teaching herself this summer. We'll see how that goes. She found someone that is selling a bike so we may buy that one.

Michele What do you get for 2 men in their 50's? Ask them! I'm sure they will be more than happy to give you some ideas. I always ask now, rather than giving something to a relative stranger that they will either throw away, hide in a closet, or regift.

Dagmar

LOL. I'm acquaintances with someone who was friends with Hugh Hefner. When he had a wedding (this was about 20 years ago) they went to his wedding and gave him a toaster.

No advice, really. Perhaps ask the aunt if they're registered. If not, perhaps a nice vase?

My DS recently got married. I haven't given him a gift ,yet. When I asked what they would like they said'Your good wishes will be enough." I thought about what I could get since he gave me no clues. I have a cousin who is an artist, I have several paintings of his. I am going to give DS and DIL one of his paintings, not something new but something I think they will like.When my nephew got married a few years ago, I had the same dilemma , what to give them. I have a lot of crystal that are family heirlooms, more than I can use. I inherited it when my mother passed away. My brother didn't want any of it. I had a compote dish that had been a wedding gift to my grandparents I gave it to my nephew and his bride as a wedding gift with the dates of his great grandparents wedding. They were thrilled with it.

Hi all,

I am so enthused for a return to normalcy! I had a nice week mostly off from work, but am ready to get back to routine. And smaller portion sizes. I'm also starting a new phase of my NRLW workouts this afternoon and am downright excited to to get to the gym and try out this new workout. I don't think I need a reminder of the changing seasons. We're teetering towards summer here and I need to change my schedule, exercise, and eating habits accordingly or suffer the consequences. But the birds are telling me the season anyway. Sandwich, Caspian, Royal, and Least terns are forming their nesting colony nearby, and making a big racket about it too! Emma is also shedding like crazy. Must be summer.

Speaking of decluttering, I've nearly finished the great wardrobe clean-out. I cleaned all of my hanging clothes, shoes and the carpet beneath them, and everything in my dresser and cleaned the dresser itself. I've got a decent sized box of giveaways, and tossed stuff that needed to be tossed. I was somewhat surprised to find how many things are closer to fitting than I thought, and fewer clothes than I thought went in the "get rid of" box and instead are "on probation". This was the push I needed to rev me up for refocusing on losing a few more lbs in the more normally scheduled month ahead. BF also finally convinced me to turn on the AC early this year. I also found that mini, renewable dehumidifiers do exist, and have purchased one for my closet - FYI in case anyone out there could benefit from this info.

My food obsession this week: homemade salad dressing. At least, I've got great plans for it. I'm tired of bottled dressings and whenever I've made my own dressings they are delicious. I found this website which has tons of great ideas! I'm thinking Alton Brown's honey mustard will be made for dinner tonight.

Michele, do your friends have a registry? Could you ask someone who's seen them more recently what they might like? Cash or a Visa/MC gift card are always nice, I think. Or, a gift with a gift receipt discreetly tucked inside. I don't think there's anything wrong with cash and a note saying "Use this to enjoy your new life together!" I'm sure you will miss and be missed at WW but you are always so busy, hopefully you will have a little more time to yourself now.

Saef, an optics place might give you a quote for repair, so you can find out the cost before you commit to getting the binoculars fixed. It sounds like birding is something you enjoy and should get your binocs fixed or replaced! Glad you finally got outside and saw a few birds, even if the sights weren't as impressive as you would have liked.

Have a great Monday all.

Up a little after an indulgent weekend.

Overall I feel way better in general than I have been. I think exercising regularly is the primary reason. Tracking fitness progress --> feeling like I have "earned" my daily bread (figuratively, bread daily isn't for me). Also, I've been "in control" so much more. I think it really helps having a fairly low-stress job, a stable living situation, and a well established routine. My hat is tipped to everyone who manages to maintain healthy lifestyle and habits on top of a giant pile of stressmess.

My afternoon "black pack" and I were charged by an adult male swan today. Across the pond he came, about 3 ft. above the water. He was totally puffed up and vigorously slapped the surface of the water with his feet before landing below us (we were on a boardwalk that half-encircles the pond and is raised above it). His neck was puffed up to the size of an eaves pipe!

Little Nellie the havanese was so taken aback that she peed all over her feet. Luther the lab growled vigorously. Max the poodle ignored it. I was mightily impressed by the swan's size and strength. And total attitude of majesty - we all instantly knew who owned the darn pond. I threw him a small dog biscuit as a token peace offering. He took it in his beak but then spat it out.

I'll have to see what these guys eat and bring some along. It would be useful to have him be indifferent, rather than hostile. I don't want to have to wash Nellie in same pond every time we walk along the boardwalk.

I will be much more respectful of distance when kayaking through a bunch of these guys in late May.

Dagmar

That sounds about right, Dagmar. Swans are territorial, aggressive and afraid of nothing on this earth that enters their nesting territory.

The different varieties of wild North American swans are hauntingly lovely birds, with a unique, sort of cooing cry, but probably you encountered a mute swan --- they're the ones with the orange beaks, and they sometimes swim with their necks in an "s" curve. They've been introduced from Europe, and though they are technically "wild" nearly all of them descend from zoo, farm and estate escapees. They have become a problem in some areas. Some wildlife management programs have resorted to egg-oiling and other measures to control the population. The aggression that you experienced can deter or oust less common, native waterfowl that also want to nest in the same desirable areas.

The other wild native North American swans -- the tundra is the more common, the trumpeter less so -- are some of my favorite birds to observe during the fall migration. I don't know if it's because they're so big, and so elegantly long-necked, or so very white, but when a flock of them lands in a beaten-down brown cornfield to peck up some corn, it feels like a visitation. And watching lines of swans flying overhead is also exhilarating. When they land, the wings are so big, it's like laundry snapping in the wind. As I said, the noise they make is more distinctive than the usual honking of geese. It's like a whoo-whoo-whoo -- it's like oversized mourning doves cooing -- there is nothing else quite like it.

But yeah, stay the heck away from their nesting areas. They will beat you up. They're beautiful thugs.

A hotel here has a flock of flamingos. Last year a baby was born (hatched, I guess I should say) and the hotel had a naming contest. Don't remember what the prize was. But they are beautiful birds, too.

Our golf course has a couple "swans" (floating statues) used in hopes of keeping the Canada geese from landing. They don't scare any of them. Nor does the "coyote" that stands guard on another pond.

Some golf courses here hire people with border collies to scare off the geese. They're pretty effective but have to come back on a regular basis to keep the geese away.

Dagmar

Our course has a guy with a chocolate lab. She chases off the geese but leaves the ducks alone. So cute to watch her in action!

My office park in Connecticut is overrun by geese for a good part of the year. One of the buildings occupied by a venture capital firm hired a border collie to chase them off the property. Her name is Chavez. (Yes, like the president of Venezuela.) She has harlequin markings on her head, with white eyelashes -- I've never seen a border collie marked like that & wonder if it is a flaw or desirable. Anyway, she is one of the most focused and intense-looking dogs I've ever seen, a Type A dog if there ever was one, and thus perfectly appropriate for our office park environment full of Type A venture capitalists, hedge fund specialists and technology consultants. (Yep, we've got a big mysterious hedge fund situated right across the lawn from our back entrance, and as a matter of course, some of its members are currently under investigation by the SEC. One of those geniuses even yanked off his laptop hard drive when the investigation began and tried to chuck it into a dumpster in Manhattan. Chavez is much, much smarter than that particular money man. And probably a harder worker, too.)

Excuse me while I go off and work on some news items about tech firms buying other tech firms. These days it's always because they want a cloud solution.