Staying the Course -- 02-20-2017

[Superbob]

And so another week begins. Best wishes to you all!

It is the final day of the Great Backyard Bird Count (birdcount.org) and I am furiously turning the pages of my bird books, trying to tell the difference between varieties of finches, wrens, sparrows, and warblers. Task made especially difficult when my great walking dawg goes into running mode and chases them all away. At least she hasn't caught any yet! I suppose the folks at the Aububon Society take amateur birdwatchers into account, and figure in that a certain percentage of their observations may not be quite right.. Anyway, we do the best we can.

Yesterday went with son and three grandkids to ballfields for batting practice. Mostly I retrieved the balls they hit -- and a few of them made it to the wall, 300-plus feet away. I did get 3 pitches to hit as my reward, and I made contact with all 3 (didn't swing hard -- didn't want to dislocate anything). Did I tell you I was clean-up hitter on my team back in schoolkid days?). Anyway, it was a gorgeous baseball day with bright blue skies and temps near 70. There were some tournament games going on, too, for kids down from places like Minnesota, and I enjoyed just watching some of that. I now have a roaring case of baseball fever -- Play ball!!!

Though I haven't stepped on scales lately, I have been extra active and reasonably calorie-conscious, so I hope when I step on my cardio's scales next month, I will see some improvement,

Looking forward to hearing from you all.

Cheers,

Superbob

 

[epstns]

That sounds great, SB! We've had some extraordinarily nice weather here for a few days, too. It is just now starting to rain, but is expected to remain in the 60's for a day or so. Then back to "seasonably" cool - not frigid cold like we sometimes get.

We did take advantage or the weather over the weekend, though. On Saturday we drive up into Wisconsin (we're about 45 minutes from the state line) to do some shopping at a few specialty stores we frequent (mostly foods, for some reason). We even got to the Jelly Belly factory store on "Boxload Sale" day, so we have enough spare candy for an army. Have to be careful with that. . .

On Sunday we went downtown. We walked all the way across downtown Chicago and had brunch at a trendy restaurant named "Yolk." We didn't have eggs, though, as we wanted to try their turkey burgers. I'll have to say that theirs is one of the best turkey burgers I've tasted. We'll have to keep them in mind.

After that, we had tickets to the opera. We saw a presentation of Bizet's Carmen, at the Civic Opera House. The House is a magnificent turn of the 20th century building that was specially built for opera. It has been renovated a few times, but still retains its original elegance, with many reminders of the glamor of days long past. Just touring the building is a treat, but then add some great music presented by a world-class cast, and it makes for a wonderful afternoon.

I'm still pushing my way to the gym most days, although I am also still dealing with some after effects of my treatment for "that other" condition. This may be a long haul, as the treatment aggravated a pre-existing chronic condition. Oh, well. We make our choices, then we live with their consequences.

Still here. Life is good. Stayin' the Course.

 

[jwinter]

Good Morning! Spent the weekend with some of the kids in Deadwood SD. Everyone was just wanting to get out and enjoy our nice weather break. Did some shopping and some of us did a wine tasting. I should know better as that led to more wine purchases!

I have been feeling good for the most part but just cannot get my ankles to stay down without the diuretics. Exercising daily, low or no salt, and trying to eat sensibly. My weight varies about 4 lbs both up and down lately so not sure of accuracy until I loose this fluid.

Looks like you two first posters on this thread are doing your best to keep your health.

Time to make out the grocery list and head to town as snow is back in the forecast later this week. I am planning some homemade soups this week as they are so filling and can get more vegetables in.

Trying to keep mindful of staying the course..............

 

[Duffey]

It sounds like all those who have posted are having a good week. Good deal! I think hubby may have the flu. He had the vaccination, mandatory for all hospital workers, but this is the third day that he's run a fever. So far, I've escaped, but I don't know how long that will last.
Our eldest son was suppose to leave Iraq today, but I've heard from his wife that he's having trouble getting out of the country. To say I'm a bit anxious would be an understatemen; I need a big piece of pie and a large scoop of icecream to calm my nerves!
Oh well, guess I'll stay the course in the meantime.

 

[epstns]

jwinter - Home made soups are always good. My DW loves to make soup, and she's good at it. At home, you can control the sodium and fat content, while making wholesome and most tasty soups. A couple of my favorites are, in no particular order, vegetable, mushroom-barley, beef-barley, chicken, lentil as well as any cross-mixture of several (like vegetable-beef). My mother used to make soups, and my DW got some of mom's recipes when we first were married. . . so I guess I can still have mom's soup even though she's been gone for many years.

Duffey - STEP AWAY FROM THE PIE! Do not linger near it, lest it work its mighty magic and de-rail your efforts. Maybe a nice cup of tea (easy on that honey, too) will speak to you. . .

 

[Duffey]

Thanks, Steve, I needed that extra bit of encouragement to stay the course! It also helps that there are no sweets, no snack items, nothing(!) in the house to derail the diet objectives. My dessert fantasy is just pie in the sky dreaming!

 

[epstns]

I guess I must be the masochistic one. I keep a "snack drawer" in my office, replete with bags/packets of candy, crackers, cookies and even fruit. The secret is steely self-control. What I don't eat makes me stronger. . .

 

[Duffey]

I guess I must be the masochistic one. I keep a "snack drawer" in my office, replete with bags/packets of candy, crackers, cookies and even fruit. The secret is steely self-control. What I don't eat makes me stronger. . .[/Q
Wow, that is incredible, Steve. I bow to your self-control!

 

[pellicle]

. I keep a "snack drawer" in my office, replete with bags/packets of candy, crackers, cookies and even fruit. The secret is steely self-control. What I don't eat makes me stronger. . .

same ... although I use mine for small "thankyou's" for folks in my office ... now when it comes to Chicken Twisties I have to get my co-worker to put them in his draw ... normally within a day I've forgotten its there ... then I'll stand up and say something like "man I could go a chicken twistie" and he produces a bag that I've forgotten about and I'm like "Wow, thanks mate !!"

reverse psychology ... works even on myself

;-)

 

[pellicle]

Perhaps as an alternative, come over here and come out cross country skiing a bit. It'll take your mind off food and 2Km through this will wear some of the energy storage off ...

snow depth is about a meter

 

[epstns]

We've often thought about cross-country skiing. There are some pretty good trails not too far from us, either in northern Wisconsin or in Michigan. I'm just not sure how my pacemaker would react to the effort level required. I do fine on an elliptical, but I keep it to about a 12-minute mile pace, for half an hour at a time. I probably could go longer, but not faster. At that rate, by the end of my half hour, my heart rate is in the 140's. If I let it go over 160, the pacemaker thinks I'm in afib, and cuts my pacing rate down to about half. No fun after that, at least until I slow my pace and let it catch up.

 

[Superbob]

I'm sure cross-country skiing is wonderful exercise and sport for those in condition to do it. But those of us who are old and have enlarged hearts may just have to enjoy it vicariously, looking out windows of the ski lodge while making use of the exercise room. Appreciate the thought and the beautiful snow photo, but here is a cautionary note for those with certain heart conditions:

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-hearts-cross-idUSTRE61P51Y20100226

 

[FredW]

Gave up the other diets and this week started the "Grandkids-visiting" diet. That is where you set good examples eating vegetables, no snacks, no sitting in front of the TV, and acting wise. Then their parents buy ice cream to go with a Croquembouche my wife made for a birthday and you gain back the two pounds you lost setting good examples.

On a more serious note, we tapped 12 maple trees, collected 40 gal of sap and boiled it down to about a gallon of maple syrup. The sap collecting is good execerise, but the. Maple syrup taste testing is not weight friendly.

 

[dornole]

I'm wrecked from vacation immediately followed by an out of town funeral on the opposite coast . . . hoping that by resuming healthy habits I will soon feel better.

 

[Duffey]

Gave up the other diets and this week started the "Grandkids-visiting" diet. That is where you set good examples eating vegetables, no snacks, no sitting in front of the TV, and acting wise. Then their parents buy ice cream to go with a Croquembouche my wife made for a birthday and you gain back the two pounds you lost setting good examples.

On a more serious note, we tapped 12 maple trees, collected 40 gal of sap and boiled it down to about a gallon of maple syrup. The sap collecting is good execerise, but the. Maple syrup taste testing is not weight friendly.

Fred, it sounds like you had a great week. Grandkids and maple syrup . . . doesn't get much better than that!