It's a damp start to the week here on Britain's western seaboard. We seem to be heading inexorably into autumn now. I don't mind that as it's my favourite season.

as John Keats described it in his Ode to Autumn, written on 19 September 1819 and published in 1820. Things don't change much here.

Hope your week goes well.

Good morning!

We are moving into another hot humid spell. I was hoping all that was over but apparently we are not off the hook yet.

I tend to see Labour Day as the start of fall and I feel all energized and have been pitching stuff out this weekend.

Got a drawer full of photos of animals long passed away that I'm just going to put into a bag and put into the recycling. I have my memories and that's enough.

I'm really starting to understand, for me, the nature of "stuff". As I get older I want less and less of it.

For me "simple is better" now.

Enjoy the week all! I'm off to petsit again tomorrow for 11 days but it will be an easy one compared to the 7 pets.

Dagmar

Dagmar, I feel the same about "stuff". I've been getting rid of it as fast as I can. But I do want to keep photos of long-departed animals and put them in an album eventually. I've also been taking photos of items given as gifts or won in competitions, then chucking the item. We have several large plastic bags full of paper and other recyclables waiting their turn to fit in the recycle can, which is only picked up every other week. But progress is being made and I can can almost walk 1/2 way into the main shed.

Saef, I hope the delay to start work on your damaged kitchen will end soon. Are you in one of those extended stay places with a kitchen, or is it just a run of the mill hotel room?

I read that chocolate milk was the ideal recovery food, but maybe that was for marathons and the like. I'm not sure why fat is now considered important for recovery. Might be just a fad, because I can't see the need except if you are trying to absorb fat-soluble vitamins.

Our weather is quite nice at the moment. Low 90's in the afternoon, dropping to the low 60's at night. Mornings are delightful. I can actually accomplish a few outdoor projects when my wrist isn't giving me fits due to the deQuervain's thing I've developed. I'm seeing my regular doctor for it next week. It might just need a cortisone shot or perhaps surgery.

Last Friday I went on my first post-cancer-dx backpack. It was lovely! Just a short hike in for a one-night stay at a group of off-the-trail small lakes in Mineral King but I enjoyed it immensely. I hope I can go again this weekend.

My DS and DIL are back from Korea and spending part of their two weeks off with us. DS seems to have matured quite a bit and whether it is due to the Army or to our parenting, has seemingly developed into quite a responsible 22 y.o. He is doing well with his finances and has denied DIL a credit card so that they can continue to save. She gained about 50 pounds in Korea due to inactivity and alcohol. I'm sad to see that because I know how hard it will be for her to lose it, but I'm keeping my mouth shut.

I am at 125 currently but would like to see 123 again. Nighttime nibbling is my downfall. I need some new strategies to break the habit.

Alice You're doing so well! Hiking already!

I'm starting the fall season at 133 lbs. even, 2 lbs. below my summer red line weight. I might just reach goal weight by 2017, which will be my 10-years anniversary at 3FC.

I have always been a late bloomer.

Dagmar :

We keep a select few photos of passed pets and currently they're framed, with collars and other mementos in shadow box type frames and hung in the short hallway from the kitchen to the two kids' bedrooms. The hall is referred to the DDH--Dead Dog Hallway.

We're off to Tahoe for the rest of the week. We're looking forward to cooler weather up there. We're staying overnight in Yosemite. I'm taking my hiking boots in anticipation of some hiking.

That is fantastic, Alice! Glad to hear you're doing so well!

We don't have a DHH but we do have a spot in my office with several created dogs (nice wooden boxes). Guess I need a name for it!

My weight is just over my redline so I can see it in sight. Must. Stay. Focused.

Back at work after a quiet weekend. No one home so I got a lot accomplished, though I need to tackle the "stuff" one of these days.

We are kicking off the "working" fall (as opposed to calendar fall) season with a near-90 couple of days and classic Michigan summer humidity. Bleagh. I am OVER it! Bring me the crisp cool breezes and the beautiful colors, please!

We spent a very nice long weekend at a friend's property in southern MI. His family owns about 3/4 of a significant lake and hundreds of acres around it. It is a glorious retreat. I have had some really tense, fast-paced and frustrating last few weeks at work and needed the respite. This should be the last crazy week for a while (good riddance). At least 2 of the 4 people in our department have been on vacation almost every single day of the past month, and it is a HEAVY burden to cover any one of them. The particular combo on Friday just about did me in. It's better this week though, and I am thinking that next week I'm going to take a day off myself.

DS17 had his "last first day of school" today. I think he was ready to go back, though he claims otherwise.

Stuff - way too much of it, tired of it, and invoking some lifestyle changes directly aimed at getting rid of more of it. It drives me nuts when stuff doesn't have a permanent place and just loiters in places it shouldn't. The same objects keep turning up in the strangest places. I hate it.

Alice, I remember hearing about chocolate milk as well. I think the idea is that fat helps with feelings of satiety. I am experimenting with fat myself, having purchased three cups of full-fat yogurt and become a little more lenient about butter. I came of age dietetically during the fat-free era, so this feels dangerous to me.

Yes, my room at the hotel has a kitchen of sorts: Two cooktop burners and a microwave. I really feel the lack of an oven, as I'd been into making egg bakes and muffins, and roasting trays of vegetables and meat. I just made a large batch of chicken soup in a crockpot -- I'll eat it tonight and have high hopes for it.

I like hearing of your hiking, and that you're back at it. I love the idea but lack the patience to hike.

You hikers! It sounds lovely.

Stuff. I don't need it and I get rid of it. I try very hard now not to bring it home but today, for example, I rescued five pots of pelargoniums in very poor condition from the garden of a friend who's gone to live in a care home. I've carefully taken cuttings and, fingers crossed, they will strike but now I have to decide what to do with the pots. Obviously, I can make the decision quite easily - it's the old 'keep or chuck' routine we used to do with the DB's things when he was small - but I still have to think about it! Alice, to be able to walk halfway into the main shed sounds wonderful.

A stupidly busy day running from pillar to post.

And fat. Yes, it's satieting. (Is that really a word?) A small amount with the protein and carb is very satisfying for a long time. And if I don't find it this way, it seems as though I'll find it another.

I have been able to do my yoga workouts at the dogsit. This hasn't been possible since 2010 since all the current dogs will not leave me alone for the 25 minutes the workout takes. The poodle is old enough now - she's 12 - that, after morning pee and her pills, she goes back upstairs to bed. I can work out in peace and quiet and then start to prep her breakfast etc.

Dagmar

So this seems a tad precious to me. Someone mentioned "cruelty-free" ice cream elsewhere. Do they sing to the cows when they milk them?

What on earth is cruel about milking a dairy cow who has been bred for that very purpose? From what I've seen dairy cows are treated very well.

Dagmar

I saw a Morgan Spurlock show (I think) quite a while ago about the dairy industry that was quite horrific. Also, in my state, someone took a video of workers beating dairy cows, which caused a lot of uproar. What happened next was that the legislature passed an "ag-gag" bill that made it illegal for people to secretly videotape agricultural practices. Sounds like a lot to hide. . . The law was ruled unconstitutional, thank goodness.