Losing a part of me

Category: Food

  • Day 311

    Friday was a perfectly normal day in the Garvis household. Leslie and I did some shopping in the morning, and then in the afternoon she took a nap while I relaxed next to her. I have been experiencing a minor discomfort in my torso; it is not a stomach issue, rather in the muscles around my back and into my sides. It is nowhere near the level I would need to even speak with a doctor, much less make an appointment to go see one. Still, it is there, and I will pay attention to it.

    After waking from her nap, Leslie prepared her special chicken salad, which I look forward to trying today. You see, after the preparation it must sit for twelve hours, so I did not even get a taste of it. I am eager to though and will report back tomorrow on how wonderful it is. We decided to add one ingredient to a small portion of the salad, and so one of the containers will have dill in it.

    For lunch we picked up food from the prepared foods section of the supermarket. Leslie opted for pasta salad and a couple of meat balls. I chose a Thai chicken curry soup which was scrumptious! For dinner we had Chinese food, which will likely be my last really bad cheat meal before going back onto the program. Of course, there are leftovers of that and the Italian food, so those will be eaten before they go to waste.

    As will always be the case after indulging in Chinese food, my weight was up slightly this morning. Was it worth it? I do not know. I think Leslie’s Lemon Chicken was, but my General Tao Beef probably was not. There is a huge container of leftovers in the fridge, and I strongly suspect that most of the beef will end up going into the bin.

    Leslie is sad that we only have two more days together before she returns to Dallas on Monday. I am trying to keep that out of my mind, and just enjoy our time together. For the next two days we still get to sit together, laugh together, go to sleep and wake up together. It is difficult, but I try to focus on that… and not what will be after Monday’s dreaded drive to the airport.

    This evening we are going to Lyle and Dorothy’s for the Thanksgiving meal that was aborted Thursday because of Lyle’s health. We are both nervous that Lyle will be overdoing things less than two weeks after suffering a stroke. We have voiced our concerns to Dorothy, and she promises us that she is doing most of the work. I think we cannot help but to be concerned about our friend. We told them that we are really looking forward to seeing them, but take-out fast food would be fine with us, whatever would require the least effort on his part. In any event, I am sure it will be a lovely evening; however concerned we are, he is a big boy who will decide for himself what he can and cannot do.

    The weather forecast says it will be sunny with a high of 11° Celsius today, which means there is a good chance that Leslie and I will be enjoying a cigar on the balcony before we head to Hamilton. We have a couple of minor errands to run along the way. We will make a pit stop at Bulk Barn to collect some peppermint hot chocolate powder for her to take home with her, and we have to stop in at Pet Smart – or another pet store – because Princess Sophie broke her name tag yesterday. We have nothing else planned for the day, only to be together and to enjoy being together. It is a gift that we appreciate so much more for our long and frequent separations.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 310

    My diet buddy had to cancel yesterday’s meeting for professional reasons. She is a teacher in a school and was acting principal yesterday. There was an accident with the school bus, and she had a lot of reports that had to be written. That is a perfectly understandable reason for canceling!

    Leslie and I spent a few hours with Lyle yesterday, and he shared with us his holiday slide show. It is amazing how people go on vacation differently, and how different their telling of a trip can be. Lyle, for example, is a master chef, and a genius of the culinary arts. As such, there were scores of pictures of food, and he gave us a detailed explanation of every dish that they ate during their ten days in Italy. If it was me, expert in many things but not in foods, I might have had a picture or two of a couple of dishes, but I would have simply raved about how wonderful the food was.

    One possible unexpected consequence of the telling was that after seeing so many pictures (and hearing the explanations) of unkosher meats, I got queasy in my gut. Queasy might even be the wrong word; I was in pain – so much so in fact that I ended up in the washroom twice while we were there, and then after an uncomfortable drive home, once when we were here. It was a weird sensation, knowing that I was having those sharp pains, but also, not having eaten since morning, I was hungry. If ever two diametrically opposed pains there were!

    I had a small bite to eat when I was finished in the washroom, and then Leslie and I relaxed for a couple of hours. One unsurprising consequence of the slideshow was that both of us were in the mood for Italian food, and I made reservations at a restaurant in Oakville that I have loved for years and have not been to in quite some time. Leslie took one look at the menu and knew that she would be having the mushroom risotto – she is an absolute fiend for mushrooms! As I am eating differently than I did that last time I ate there, I also picked a mushroom pasta dish. Not only am I eating much less meat than I used to, I am also reticent to eat meat in restaurants that might serve pork. Also, the mixing of meat with cheese is forbidden. As such, the vegetarian options are simpler. It was truly tasty! For dessert, I had a chocolate tartufo (which is an Italian ice cream) while Leslie enjoyed her cannoli siciliano, which were both out of this world!

    With all of my cheats yesterday, I expected my weight to be up a pound or even more this morning. I stepped onto the scale and was shocked to see that it was down; not only was it down, it was down nearly six pounds! It was down to what I weighed two weeks ago, right before my knee started to hurt, and before my weight loss slide started! In disbelief, I stepped off the scale, moved it a few inches, and tried again, and then once more. While all three measurements were slightly different, they were all within the margin of error. Is it possible that my bowel issues yesterday afternoon cleared out some sort of blockage that has been causing my weight gain this past fortnight? I do not know, but I am really hoping that it is not an anomaly. I will continue as I have been these last few days and will once again resume my strict regimen once Leslie flies home. If I am back to where I was, then I will be thrilled. I have been thinking these last couple of days that when I got back to the routine, I would have nearly ten pounds to lose to get back into best-weight-yet territory. If this is the truth, then it is really only 2-3 lbs.

    We do not have a lot planned for the day. I know we have to do some shopping for groceries – we have to buy challah for the Sabbath, and Leslie wants to make chicken salad, so we need the fixings for that – but aside from that, I think we are going to spend a quiet day close to home. It is nice out, but extremely windy, and unless the wind dies down throughout the course of the afternoon, I do not see us sitting outside on the patio and smoking. The forecast does predict that the wind abates by about 3pm, so that might be a possibility, but we will play it by ear. One of the great parts about a lazy day – and a day when neither of us has to work – is that we can do that. No plans, we will just do what we want to do.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 308

    Today’s was an expectedly disappointing weigh-in at the doctor’s office. I know these last two weeks I have been taking a much laxer and cheat-friendly approach to my weight loss, and that is partially because of the utter agony I was in for ten days, and partly for other reasons which I will not rehash here. I know that in two weeks time – at my next weigh-in – I will be back on track.

    My knee is still bothering me, but much less that it was just two days ago. This morning I took Princess Sophie for her walk, and we did the long walk around the park for the first time in a couple of weeks, just because it was the first time that I could walk the 2,000 steps without being in utter agony. Also, I would think, because Her Floofness has been completely unimpressed by the onset of the cold weather and snow, and this morning the snow had melted (it was warmer yesterday), and though it was chilly, the wind has died down and the sun was shining.

    Yesterday’s dinner was homemade chicken soup with matzoh balls. I am so happy with how the soup came out, although my matzah ball technique needs some work. They tasted great, but I want to work on the size and consistency. That will come with practice. I am just glad that I had not disgraced the name of my ancestors by making lousy chicken soup. There are some things that every Jew should know!

    This afternoon we will drive to Cambridge to spend a few hours at Ryan’s cigar lounge and man cave (the heated garage). I am looking forward to seeing my friend who I know has been suffering from a few issues and can use a friend to talk to. The cigars will be a secondary benefit… although a real one!

    Team Canada squares off against the Belgian squad today, in our first World Cup match since 1986. I remember watching that last match (I was laid up in bed with a broken leg and watched it in the comfort of Donnie and Iris Hersh’s condo). We did not score a goal in that (or any other) match. Our Mitch’s-adult-life World Cup debut has us facing the top ranked team in the world, but I am still hopeful. After all, if Saudi Arabia (ranked 51st) can upset Argentina (ranked 3rd), then hopefully Canada (ranked 41st) can upset Belgium (ranked 1st). I will not be watching the match. Not only is Leslie trying to avoid the World Cup, I know that everyone at Ryan’s hates soccer. It should not be an issue today.

    My plans for today are to not go off track too badly today. I will limit my snack intake and will be good. After all, I seldom overeat when I am smoking cigars! Tomorrow is American Thanksgiving, and while it not a holiday here, Leslie has the day off, so she and I will go to Lyle and Dorothy’s for dinner. We have been looking forward to that – they are absolute magicians in the kitchen, and we know that dinner with them will always be our best meal of the week. We are also looking forward to catching up with our friends.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 301

    I lost nearly one pound from yesterday, and while that is certainly progress, it is very slow progress. The only cheat I had yesterday was some homemade chicken soup. I know a lot of people will agree with me when I say that it is unfair that medicine (Jewish Penicillin) can hinder weight loss. At least my weight dropped back below the 310 lbs. mark.

    My knee is still in a lot of pain. As I lay awake last night, I thought of the exercises I did at the gym last Thursday and Friday that might have caused it, and I figured it out. The pain is not the fault of my trainer, it is the fault of her client who pushes himself harder than might be smart sometimes. I have to remember the difference between ‘in pain’ and ‘injured’. I also have to remember that I am not a 22-year-old kid trying to be the best in the world anymore. Before I realized that it is almost certainly muscle pain from the workout, I took a Tylenol with Codeine last night. I do not know if that helped me get to sleep, but I did sleep through the night, only getting up once to pee… and while I did not fall right back to sleep, it was not more than fifteen minutes.

    It snowed yesterday during the day, but by the time I took Princess Sophie on her walk yesterday evening it had all melted. It snowed overnight, and that snow is fresh on the ground… and covering the trees and the cars. As such, Her Royal Floofness took about fifteen steps outside, looked at me, and said ‘Nope. Let’s go inside and wait for spring!’ Okay, it wasn’t quite that bad… but she was truly having none of it. She peed a bit, but whereas most days we go on a 2000-step walk, today we did not get out of the parking lot of the building. I am hoping that she does not get impatient during the day and beg to go out – I am teaching all day, and during lunch my ex-wife and I have a meeting with a school psychologist about our son the younger. If one of the neighbours knocks and asks to take her out then absolutely, but other than that, my girl is going to have to wait until class is over to go back outside. Hopefully by then the snow will have melted.

    Today is Wednesday, which means that we are two sleeps and a wake from having my beautiful wife back in my arms. Yes, I truly miss her that much. Despite knowing that I will not have attained the weight I was hoping for leading up to her visit, I know she loves me anyways… and did when I was nearly ninety pounds heavier. I will love her always!

    As expected, Her Floofness is now with Susan for the day. Hopefully she will get to go out once or twice. Hopefully it does not snow any more today, and she remembers that winter is a part of life in Canada. I know that she is looking forward to moving to our new home in Texas as much as I am, but for different reasons! It might snow one day or two in a year in Dallas… not quite like Canada’s winter.

    My plan for the day is to keep on track as well as I can. Because I have a meeting with the school psychologist at lunch today, I will be having my daily meal in the evening (early evening, as soon as I finish teaching). I will have a couple of meal replacements throughout the day, but there will be no other cheats today!

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 299

    There are some days when you have no choice but to cheat on your weight loss program. Yesterday was such a day. I was picking Lyle and Dorothy up from the airport and driving them home. They were coming home from Italy, and I had joked with them to bring me a pizza. I could not believe it when they did! Rather than coming home from the drive and having a meal replacement, I had a slice of cheese pizza. It was a pretty big piece, but I did not think it would do too much damage.

    I was wrong of course. Over the past four days my weight has skyrocketed. Where I was hoping to stay below 305 lbs. a few days ago, I am now relieved to be just slightly below 310 lbs. and I am extremely upset about it… doubly so knowing that I am working all week and will not get to the gym at all. I will have to redouble my efforts to stay on track with my food intake. That is actually going to be easier this week than it was last week, as I will be teaching.

    The weeks when I teach during the day are the easiest ones to stay on track with. After my morning routine (which starts earlier because I set an alarm to wake up) I am at my desk by 8:00am (7:30am on Day 1 of the class). During our morning break, I will prepare my salad, and get the chicken ready to cook. About 30 minutes before the lunch break, I will walk into the kitchen (while still lecturing) and turn on the air fryer, so that by the time it is time to break for lunch, I can enjoy my meal in a relaxed fashion. While I might enjoy some mints or lozenges during the day, there is no other opportunity to eat.

    When the class is done, I will take Her Royal Floofness for her second walk of the day – that is, unless one of the neighbours asks to visit with her, at which point it might be the third or fourth walk. I will come back in after that and have another meal replacement. The rest of the evening is mine to relax. I suspect that I will need to go shopping this evening, as I think I am going to run out of lettuce with lunch. All I have to do when I go to the supermarket is remember that I am six pounds heavier than I was Friday morning. If I do that, my eyes will not be tempted by the myriad temptations available at the store. Oh, and I should check to see if I need milk.

    To continue the pattern of the last few nights, I did not sleep well. I fell asleep just fine, but once I wake up to pee, falling back into slumber eluded me for a long while. I have too many thoughts racing around in my head, and I cannot figure out how to put them aside. Try as I might, the second half of my nights have been much less restful than the first half. This has been going on for a few nights now, and I am paying the price for it during the day. I am tired… almost constantly. Fortunately, Leslie will be here in four and a half days. I always sleep better when she is next to me. For many reasons aside from sleep, I am literally counting down the hours! It is 110 hours as of right now, for those who might be curious. I cannot wait to have her back in my arms again.

    I should write a few words about the weather. Friday it was 21° and sunny. This morning for Princess Sophie’s walk I donned my ski jacket for the first time, as the temperature was hovering around 0°. I was even thankful that my leather gloves were in the pocket, else I would have had to keep my hands in the pockets the whole time. The calendar might say that winter arrives on December 21, but every Canadian will tell you that the accompanying weather comes much earlier than that. There were snow flurries yesterday, but only a couple. It would not do for the cold and the snow to come in one jarring moment, so I was grateful that at least the skies are clear today. Partly because I am teaching, but also partly because of the predicted (and actual) cold, I put on a t-shirt this morning… under a long sleeve button-down shirt. While I did not put on my winter boots, for the first time since April I wore my Blundstones for our walk. I know the insulated boots will be needed soon, but I will wait for real weather for that. The calendar be damned, winter has arrived in the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 298

    Yesterday evening I indulged… and I paid the price this morning on the scale. Sorry, not sorry! I was hungry in the evening, and I decided to make myself a salad. I was going to put some canned salmon on top but when I opened the cabinet, I saw the packages of gourmet smoked salmon that Leslie bought me as a present. I should have portioned it out so that I had enough for a couple of meals, but no. The entire package went onto the salad. It was delicious! This morning’s weight gain was ridiculous, but that is partly because of the high salt content of salmon and should correct tomorrow. I just have to stay on track today.

    I should mention that mid-morning I had an extremely large bowel movement, and there is a very good chance that if I were to weigh myself after that, my weight would be more in line with what I was hoping for this morning. Nothing doing, I will wait until tomorrow morning.

    My plans for the day are simple. I am taking it easy until I hopefully drive out to Milton to spend a couple of hours smoking cigars with Eduardo and Sam. At 5:00pm I have to be at the airport to pick up Lyle and Dorothy, and then drive them back to Hamilton. I do not plan to spend a lot of time with them once there, for two reasons: 1) They will be tired and want to unpack after a long flight, and 2) I have to wake up early tomorrow for my class, which means that I should get a good night sleep tonight. Of course, I will also have my regular meal in a little while. After the scale shock this morning, I will do my absolute best to not stray far from the food plan!

    We are now five days away from Leslie’s upcoming visit, and I am really excited. I miss being with her, and while the video calls are nice, they are small consolation for not being able to hold my wife in my arms. As I told a friend yesterday: I married her because I do not want to spend another day not being married to her. The distance truly sucks.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 295

    My weight seems to be back on track today. While I am still 1lb above my best weight from a few days ago, I am a full 3 lbs. down from yesterday’s disgusting reading.

    The thing is, I stepped onto the analog scale at the gym yesterday, which is probably more accurate than the one I have at home. I did weigh myself after my workout, which can be deceptive, but the needle was straddling the 300 lbs. line. I would be extremely happy if that was the accurate reading; with that said, I have been trusting my bathroom scale at home for nearly 300 days of weight loss, and however inaccurate it might be, it is a mostly consistent inaccurate.

    I went to the gym yesterday, splitting my time between the treadmill and the elliptical trainer. While I know how long I was on the two machines (slightly under an hour), I do not have accurate measures of my distance or pace. Had I written down what registered on the machines I would have that information; unfortunately, based on my redundant fitness trackers (fitness watch, smartphone app) I have nothing other than the times. I have to remember going forward that when I am holding on to the handles of the machine (which it likes to prod you to do for heart rate monitoring) it is impossible for those devices to detect footfalls… or if not impossible, then at least highly inaccurate. With the elliptical trainer, you do not have a choice. On the treadmill, I do. I’ll remember that from now on.

    This afternoon I am working out with my personal trainer for the first time in five years. While I did work out with a personal trainer when I was living in Ottawa in 2018, I always preferred working with Kezi, who I worked with for a few years when I was previously living in Burlington. We had our first session together on Tuesday, but that was just for her to see where I was at, what my goals and expectations are, and to weigh me. Today is when the real workouts begin. She did give me a series of eight warm-up exercises that she wants me to do prior to our session. Stretching and warming up has always been my Achilles heel. I know that they are important and will go into the gym today 30 minutes early to get that done. I know that I am not a young man anymore, and the chance of injury is higher than it once was. I promise to do the stretches!

    Last night when I came in from the balcony, I decided to crack open the clothes-that-do-not-fit-yet bins. We did not go deep into the short sleeve shirts because it will not be t-shirt weather for a while now, but I did pull out three long-sleeved t-shirts that fit just fine… and which definitely did not fit when I packed them into the bins. To my slight disappointment, there were no Size 40 pants. This is because when I was losing weight last time, I ordered a few pair from Amazon, but slid down to the Size 38 so quick that I was able to return those and exchange them for the smaller size. I do have two bags marked Sizes 38/36, which I know will take me a while to open. In the meantime, in a few weeks I will likely be buying a couple of pair of Size 40 pants (my 30” inseam should not have changed).

    The number of clothes-that-do-not-fit-yet bins has shrunk from five to two or one, depending on how we classify the Taekwondo bin (much of which did not fit, but would fit now). I was able to amalgamate a couple last night and eliminate one more this morning. I had one that was suits; one suit is still going to be tight, and the sports jacket does not fit… yet; they are close enough that they can be taken to the dry cleaners and then hang in my closet. There are two suit jackets that are too big, and they are going into the ‘donate now’ bin today. Even if they did fit, I am not sure I still have the matching pants. Nevertheless, dropping from five do-not-fit bins to two is a huge sign of amazing progress, especially on days when I look at myself and still see a fat man.

    Today is going to be another gorgeous day in Burlington, Ontario… one of the last ones of the season, it would seem. While both tomorrow and Saturday have forecast highs of 14°/13° Celsius respectively, tomorrow has an 80% chance of rain, and Saturday will be cloudy all day. With a forecast high of 18° today with sun all day, it will be my last day to sit outside comfortably. I will do just that. I will see if Eduardo wants to come over again, knowing that he would have to come earlier and leave by 4:00pm, so that I can get to the gym for my torture session with Kezi!

    I am making one minor adjustment to my nutrition regimen today. Prior to my workouts, I am going to stop and pick up a handful of dried fruit – usually apricots, but that can change at a whim – to get some carbohydrates before I hit the gym. Walking is one thing, if I am going to be doing anaerobic muscle-building exercises, I should have some carbs in my system for fuel. Aside from that, I will try to not cheat today. I will have my usual lunch, and then I will have a cigar on the balcony… whether Eduardo comes over or not.

    My diet buddy is on her way home. She checked out of the hospital yesterday and crossed the border into the USA. Today she and her partner will be flying across the continent, arriving home sometime this evening I would imagine. We knew in advance that we would not be checking in today, although she has been sending me progress reports, so I know she is okay. I look forward to chatting with her again next week. How cool would it be if by then I drop below the 300-pound mark!?

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 291

    While I did take small bits of snacks at Ryan’s place yesterday, it was not nearly on the same level as last weekend. I did, however, forget my meal replacement bars – or at least, I thought I did – which meant that I accepted the proffered dinner of a steak sandwich, which I shared with Princess Sophie. It turns out that the meal replacements were in the car, and I could have avoided all of it had I realized that. Sigh.

    My weight this morning is .2lbs up from yesterday, which is really within the margin of error. I am going to the doctor’s office tomorrow and am praying that I am at least 1kg down from two weeks ago, but if I cheat today, that is unlikely. We all know what that means of course… I cannot cheat today! I forgot that I finished the last of my chicken yesterday, which means that I have to go to the supermarket to pick some up today. While I am there, I also need onions and tomatoes. Lord knows, I have enough carrots and celery to sink a ship… owing to my miscalculation regarding the requirements for my chicken soup.

    Speaking of which, I did what I could to remove the schmaltz from the chicken soup, which is now in a jar in my fridge. All seven containers of chicken soup are now in the freezer, and I am somewhat reminded of my mother’s kitchen. Miriam z”l did not have a lot of fine qualities, but she did make fabulous chicken soup. Seldom could you open one of our freezers without finding frozen containers of chicken soup. I can assure you that her soup was much better than mine… and likely any other that I have ever tasted. Of course, those freezers (yes, there was always a second freezer in the house) were replete with everything you can imagine; the Tetris game that I play with my cigars in the humidors is amateur hour compared to how she would pack a freezer. Of course, anyone who disturbed her methods would feel her wrath, but then I did not ever have to work hard to feel that.

    I was speaking with Leslie about how much we miss one another last night. It really is hard to live separately. We are really looking forward to seeing each other in twelve days time, but we both truly long for the day when we can live together forever. Our generation was instilled with the mantra of ‘Good things come to those who wait.’ This is a concept chiefly foreign to the younger generation, who have been raised with the concept of immediate rewards. I know we both have to wait, and eventually the State Department will issue my visa… but the time predicted for that to happen seems so long to us both. At least we have the means and the ability to visit so that we can spend time together every month… but we both feel that each time we part it is harder and harder on us. I pray for a quick response and a positive outcome!

    My plan for the day: I have to go to the supermarket to pick up some chicken and veggies for lunch (for today and the next few days). After that, I am going to Georgetown to a herf with some of the boys up there. I have to be prepared to hear a lot of racist jokes and far-right opinions. I have not yet decided if I am going to keep my opinions to myself or not; this might be a good opportunity for me to practice my reasonable voice. We’ll see… sometimes it is just less stressful to hold my tongue. If there is food at the herf, I will abstain. That is one of the reasons my lunch is so important! I thought about defrosting a steak, but after having the steak sandwich yesterday, I think that would be ill-advised. My gout has not been bothering me since I started taking the preventative meds daily, but why tempt fate, right?

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 289

    I predicted correctly after I came home and had a second meal – having already eaten a salmon salad sandwich with Lyle and Dorothy – that I would be gaining weight today. It was not the chicken and salad that I ate at home that hurt me though, it was the ridiculously large bun that Lyle served that sandwich on. It was tasty, but it was neither low-calorie nor low carbohydrates. As is always going to be the case, the bread did fill me up, but by the time I arrived home (nearly six hours later) I was famished.

    As a result of that, my weight peaked slightly above my best-since-meeting-Leslie weight, and I am disappointed by that… even if it is only .2lbs. Still, I was hoping that my weight would be dropping slightly, not rising. I have to be good this weekend, or else I am going to pay the price. What exactly is that price, you might ask? I don’t know… but I wanted to be under 300lbs for my weigh-in at the doctor’s office on Monday, and that is unlikely to happen now. I would like to be under 295lbs by the time Leslie comes in two weeks, and that is still possible… as long as I can get off this slide that I’ve been on. Yes, I am only up 1.6lbs from my best weight, but I wrote an article a couple of years ago called One Pound Lost is Three Pounds of Progress. The corollary to that is one pound gained is three pounds of regression. I have to get back on track.

    I had my check-in with my weight loss buddy last night. It will be our last check-in before her surgery, as she is flying to Mexico today for it. Next week, she will be flying home (so no meeting). I am keeping her in my thoughts and prayers, and hope that when we speak in two weeks time, I will be back on track.

    I have no plans for today, but I will go to the supermarket to buy challah for the prayers this evening. My hope is that the challah will be my only cheat of the day. I also hope that tomorrow morning I get on the scale and get a wonderful surprise. We’ll see.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 288

    An entire pound gained? That is just preposterous. I must protest! Okay, there is no protest and no appeals process. My weight is back above 305lbs… but not quite back above the best-since-meeting-Leslie weight.

    I took on a very ambitious endeavour last night. I made chicken soup… from scratch. It probably does not sound so ambitious for people who spend a lot of time in the kitchen; for someone who cooks every day, but almost always the same simple items… yeah, that’s ambitious. I started in an Asian market, where I bought the chickens. I also picked up some vegetables from different sources. My buddy Lyle told me how much to buy – and considering he gave me the pot, boy did he over-estimate that – and I came home, put everything into pots (I had to pull out a couple of extra ones), and started the process.

    I do not know how good the soup will be. I have made chicken soup before, but never from scratch. Also, I followed much more Jewish recipes, which did not involve an Asian market. Anyhow, the three pots simmered overnight, and will cool all day. This evening, I will remove all of the solids from the pots, at which point I will likely be able to consolidate into one pot.

    My plans for today got complicated when Lyle asked if I was still willing to drive him and Dorothy to the airport today. I am happy to do so, but that eats my afternoon… literally. He wants me to come over for lunch at noon, then after lunch enjoy a cigar with him. Around 3:30pm we will drive to the airport (they live in Hamilton, but they are flying out of Toronto Pearson), hoping to avoid traffic on the way there… and on my way back. I am happy to do the favour for my friends and know that the lunch they are going to make will be very tasty.

    What else is going on today? Nothing that I can think of. It is a foggy morning, but the forecast says it will start to clear up around noon. Hopefully, this evening will be a good night to sit on the balcony with a cigar. We’ll see about today… but the next four days are going to be nice, so it should be a good weekend to relax.

    I am still frustrated that my weight went up yesterday. I am no longer less than five pounds from dropping below the 300-pound mark. I hope to be able to do that before my weigh-in at the doctor’s office on Monday, but even if I do not, it is a goal to do that by the time Leslie

    Have a great day folks!