Losing a part of me

Category: Travel

  • Day 166

    The day started earlier than needed when a Princess Sophie decided she wanted to go out earlier than usual. Okay, 7am is not really a stretch, so Leslie and I took her for a walk. When we came back, I resumed my normal morning routine. The bathroom scale showed a great number… 2.4lbs down! I’ll take that any day of the week!

    Because of jet lag, a late night, and an early morning we took a mid-morning nap. Afterwards, we took our showers, and I made us lunch. Oh, and I trimmed my beard down and shocked my wife (and not in a very positive way). I’ll remember to not do that without consulting her in the future!

    Leslie asked me for a tuna sandwich for lunch. She says I make the best tuna sandwich she has ever tasted, and I love giving her what she wants. Last night we bought a challah roll for that purpose, and she loved it. I had leftover chicken… and the last inch of her sandwich 🙂

    We spent the afternoon in Niagara. We bought fresh strawberries and cherries from the farmers, and that is really the best way to get them. We snacked on some of them in the car, and they were scrumptious! We also stopped at a couple of lookout spots to look out at nature. It really is gorgeous down there.

    We stopped at a place that has a giant moose sculpture for a bit, and bought some goodies: we bought maple syrup for her to take home to friends, we bought a t-shirt for her son, and we adopted a bunny moose who has tremendous emotional significance for us both, for reasons I will not go into here. He still doesn’t have a name, but I suspect Leslie will love that buddy forever!

    For dinner we had pickerel with dill which was delicious, and a salad of course. We are about to sit down for desert… berries and cherries!

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 165

    Leslie and I are at the airport on our way home to Toronto. Getting through checking in and Security was a breeze… even though the TSA agent at Security was a bit of a prick.

    One of the advantages of flying business class is that when all of that rigamarole is behind us, we can relax in the business class lounge – in the case of American Airlines, the Admiral Club. It is the first time in year I’ve flown American, but the lounge is similar to the ones I am used to. I have a cup of coffee, Leslie has a sofa, and we have ninety minutes before boarding starts.

    This morning my weight was down another pound, which puts me exactly where I was before I got onto the airplane nearly three weeks ago. To be on vacation and not gain weight is a success, even though I was way down for a few days. Damn those tasty treats!

    One thing I am happy about is that my weight stayed stable, but I did not deprive myself. For example, yesterday for lunch we had a wonderful hamburger and fries. I only had beef twice during my stay here… well, three times if you count the pho.

    I will see the doctor on Wednesday, and I am hoping to be at least one but maybe as much as two kilos down. I am crossing my fingers. I have not walked since Thursday, but tomorrow is a holiday for Leslie (and the entire USA) so we will probably go down to Niagara Falls for the day. Tuesday morning I will resume my walking routine.

    Have a great day folks… and I’ll see you in Toronto!

  • Day 153

    I have posted on my blog these last few days, but I have not written in my journal. Why? Here’s what has been going on.

    Friday, I thought I was just exhausted because of the release of anxiety from being allowed back into the United States. I also felt I was catching a cold, which at the time I attributed to sleeping with the ceiling fan on high. Leslie and I went to get our marriage license, and we went shopping for a few things. I am honestly having trouble remembering some of the things that we have done… reasons to follow. Because Leslie is not a coffee drinker, we decided that we would stop at Starbucks on the way to get our license. They did not have the usual low fat turkey sausage sandwich I would usually order, so I decided to try the Impossible sausage something or other. It was very tasty! We came home for lunch – Leslie steamed dim sum for us, which was really tasty! For dinner, Leslie had marinated chicken, and I made roasted veggies. Afterward we went down and sat by the pool with a cigar. It was lovely.

    Saturday morning, I made us an omelet (which turned into a scramble). We made a valiant effort at making coffee in a device she had, but that failed… we decided to buy a French press coffee maker during the day. We went to a mall after breakfast, where I was able to buy Leslie something cute. After that, we found a good shawarma restaurant for lunch which was very tasty. For dinner we went out for pho, which was quite good as well.

    Sunday was Father’s Day, which is still hard for both of us. We both lost our fathers in the past few years, and we miss them. In the morning we went to a Guatemalan restaurant that her father introduced her to. By the time we sat down to eat it was more like brunch, so we did not eat again throughout the day until dinner. I made a breaded salmon with grilled vegetables for dinner which was quite tasty. We spent the afternoon in the pool, relaxing. It was when we returned to the apartment after dinner, both of us extremely sick and run down, that we decided that she should take a Covid-19 test. She failed, which is to say that we are both suffering the effects of Covid. Not fun, but at least it explains why neither of us was in very good spirits or was very energetic these last few days.

    We spent Monday chiefly in bed. We ventured out only to get the necessary supplies – that is, we found a Jewish delicatessen that makes chicken soup with matzah balls and kreplach, which we took to go (along with a couple of nice deli sandwiches). Leslie called in sick (and considering that her team had an in-person lunch meeting, everyone will agree this was a good decision), and we did little other than resting. For dinner, we polished off the rest of the soup, as well as the sandwiches (they were large sandwiches, so we only had half of them for lunch). Additionally, Leslie did her best to finish her leftover shawarma.

    Tuesday (today) Leslie decided to work… mostly because she had no customer calls, so she could log on and do research without actually speaking with anyone. We went back to the deli for more soup, and for dinner I made chicken and salad. While she is still feeling like crud, I can tell that Leslie is on the mend, comparing her ability to sit upright today to yesterday. I am really getting better, although that is not to say that I want to go for a run yet.

    I was very excited to see that my weight is where it was Thursday morning. I say that because Friday through Sunday it was up about five pounds, which I initially attributed to the travel (which always adds some weight), but also to the delicious tacos we enjoyed when I arrived. I do not know that I did anything special then through now to lose the weight – I have certainly not been exercising, but at least my portions are much smaller than they usually are. I hope I can continue with that going forward… large portions equals slow or no weight loss.

    Have a great evening folks!

  • Day 114

    So yesterday was one of the great romantic days… and no, I did not take time out to blog.

    There will be, at some point in the next week, a full article on Operation National Proposal, the way I proposed to Leslie, the planning, and the lead-up. I will not go into more detail now other than to say that she said yes!

    I have not been eating very well these last couple of days, but I have also not been eating terrible. Yes, I had desert with dinner both nights, and I should not have… but I am on vacation. Yesterday morning I had a vegetarian omelet with a bowl of bran flakes, and some fruit (the fruit down here is absolutely amazing!!). For lunch, my fiancé and I shared a cheese sandwich, and yes I had two glasses of champagne to celebrate. At dinner I had a beef stir fry, some noodles, potatoes, and veggies. Could have been better, could have been much worse. Again, the desert… oh, and I had a glass of rum in the evening. Gotta do it when you’re in Vuba!

    I do not know if I have gained or lost weight so far. I suspect I’m about the same. However I have lost the weight that I have been carrying for seven weeks that was Operation National Proposal; planning, perfecting, putting the pieces into place, and executing… all the while keeping Leslie in the dark. Down to the peacocks it was perfect and it was magical!

    Okay, today is a do-nothing day. Have a great one folks!

  • Day 110

    Travel, whether by air or by car, will always wreak havoc on the bathroom scale for a day or two. The fact that I am up significantly from Thursday is frustrating, but not overly worrisome. The fact that I did indulge somewhat – I had more peanuts than I should have, I had some karnatzl from Smoked Meat Pete’s, I had Corn Flakes for breakfast, and at lunch on Friday I helped Red with some of her poutine… not a lot you understand, but some. Also, of course I had two lovely chicken meals on Saturday – are factors as well, and I will not blame the entire weight gain on travel. I did not let myself go this weekend, but I did not completely maintain discipline.

    I will say though that I did show a level of restraint that I did not previously think possible. There are two feats that I accomplished that I am more or less stunned by.

    1. Saturday afternoon I went to West Island Bagel, and I picked up a dozen Montreal bagels (If you are not familiar with this delicacy then you are missing out!) that were fresh from the oven. I split the bag into two bags of six, which then sat in my car until yesterday evening. The first six I gave to Ryan and Lyndsay, who took care of HRF Princess Sophie for the weekend in my absence. The second six are in my freezer, and I will defrost one tomorrow morning for Leslie to enjoy with Kraft Crunchy Peanut Butter for breakfast. If she wants a second one, she shall have it!
    2. Last week Lyle asked if, while I was in Montreal, I would mind stopping by Smoked Meat Pete’s to pick up a pound of Montreal Smoked Meat for him and for Dorothy. There are some people who will say that they will do anything for friends, and there are some who mean it. I assure you that while Lyle knows of my weight loss plan, that was not on his mind when he asked me to walk into this den of iniquity, this garden of temptation, the home of my absolute diet kryptonite. I figured if I was in for a penny, I was in for a pound… I asked my son (the elder) if he wanted a pound for them to enjoy as well. That is how and why I found myself, returning from the cemetery, standing in line at one of my favourite Montreal delicatessens. It would have been so easy to order the two pounds of meat, and a medium old-fashioned sandwich with extra mustard and a side of fries. How easy it would be to justify that on the day of my father’s yahrzeit I should go and indulge in his favourite meal… it was a tribute and a memorial, and not an indulgence! No. I ordered the meat, and a side order of karnatzl, which was my only deli cheat. It was not good… but it was orders of magnitude better than it could have been, and better than I expected!

    Today is the day. No, it is not the day that I fly to Cuba on holiday – that is tomorrow. However, knowing that this evening I will be picking Leslie up from the airport is, for me, more exciting than going to the island beach vacation paradise. That she and I will be doing that together tomorrow is gravy, but I would be happy just having her here. We have been apart too long! I have a lot of errands to run today, but the last checkbox is to drive to Pearson International and to wait in the Cell Phone Waiting Lot for the call that says, ‘I have my luggage.’ I miss her so much!

    What else do I have to do today? Let’s see… I have a few small things to do, but they are just close-to-home errands. I am not going to go on one of my long walks – I do not want to get onto the airplane tomorrow feeling zonked. I will try to see my son the elder (smoked meat is a good excuse) and possibly even my son the younger (as I will not be able to see him this coming weekend, owing to my being out of town). Like every Israeli, I am not one to pack the day before I travel… but I will do laundry and organize my stuff. I did not look in the fridge so I do not know if I have food in the house, so I might need to do some shopping. Other than that? I have gone to the bank, I have bought everything that I think I need to bring to Cuba (including for my buddy), and if someone were to call me right now to say ‘Mitch, you have to go to the airport in 20 minutes!’ I would have everything I need to throw into the suitcase and go. Of course, I do need my girlfriend to get here, but I am set to collect her this evening!

    One thing that I will do that will affect my blog readers: After posting today’s article (which you are currently reading), I am going to receive a notification from WordPress that reads something like: “You are on a 110-day streak!” While I might be able to blog every day from Cuba, it is not always guaranteed that the Internet will be available. What I will do is this: I am going to write placeholder articles for every day that I am away, and I will schedule them to post at 4:00pm every day. That way, if I am able to connect and post then great, but if I am not, then I will not lose my streak. Yes, that is petty… but what are we gonna do, right?

    Oh, I came to a decision this weekend. I am finishing my current games on Words with Friends and will then uninstall the game from all of my devices. I have been playing the game religiously for eight years, and I decided it is time to stop. It is a good distraction and timewaster, but just maybe I have wasted a little too much time on it.

    I am stressed. I am really looking forward to seeing Leslie tonight, which will make my life better… and then we go on vacation, which will make our lives even better.

    Have a great day!

  • Day 108

    Yesterday was a long and tired day. As I mentioned, I drove overnight from Burlington to Ottawa. I finished my presentation at 10:00pm, packed, and got into the car. I actually enjoy driving at night, and split the time between talking with my girlfriend and listening to an audio book… and smoking cigars of course. I pulled over at 2:30am to close my eyes for an hour and a half, and finally arrived at my office at 5:00am, where I slept another couple of hours before my friend showed up. I was under no delusion that at my age and size that sleeping in the car would be overly comfortable, but it was not too bad.

    Yesterday’s breakfast was an omelet with cheese and onions, and lunch was a hamburger – no bun. Dinner was a mixed shawarma plate with salad but no rice or potatoes or bread. I actually did pretty well getting through the day! Really, the only cheating I did was the number of peanuts I snacked on. I will work on that today, but today won’t be a difficult day… I will not be spending a lot of time in the car. Yes, I will be eating a couple of meals, but I can be smart about them.

    It felt really good when my buddy looked at me yesterday and said ‘Wow, you’ve lost weight!’ I look at myself every day and do not see the progress in leaps, only in minor increments. When friends who have not seen my in several weeks see huge improvement, and point it out, it makes me feel wonderful. Yay non-scale victory!

    It’s a beautiful day in Montreal, and I am going to take it easy… after seeing my dad’s widow for lunch, I will just spend the day with friends. Have a great day folks!

  • Day 104

    Microsoft technology is annoying me again today. I am not spending the same time trying to figure it out as I did a couple of weeks ago, I just shifted to another computer. Argh. You would think that a set of technologies that I know so well would not be quite so frustrating.

    I went to bed yesterday evening knowing that I had eaten more peanuts than I should have and knowing that I had an extra meal replacement bar in the evening. I had to assume that my morning reading would not be a pleasant one. Quite the opposite, I was down significantly… back into the ‘lowest weight since starting the diet’ territory. I am not giving up on my diet, but I might just give up on trying to understand how this damned weight loss thing works.

    I have been thinking a lot these past few days about what my long-term diet strategy should be. I am now mostly used to living without breads and starches. I am not eating out, and I am losing weight. Unlike my previous attempts at this diet program, I am only partly relying on the meal replacements. Yes, they are helpful… but as the world loves to point out, they are not a good long-term strategy.

    I counted this morning, and I have about 12.5 boxes of shakes left. With my current plan, that means I could go another twelve and a half weeks before having to either buy more or end the program. I think what I might do is continue as I am until I run out of product, with three exceptions:

    1. I will be off the program for my week in Cuba, which starts one week today.
    2. I will be partly off the program for my week in Dallas, which is in in 32 days.
    3. Leslie will be in town in July, and immediately after that I am going to a buddy’s wedding in Long Island.

    The key to everything – the long-term strategy – is knowing that I can take those breaks from the program and not go nuts and keep my weight stable (or even continue to lose weight) without the meal replacements. I have to believe that if I am able to keep my food intake to under 1800 calories, and more importantly stay away from carbohydrates and starches, I should be able to continue on the right track. I suppose that should be my ultimate goal.

    I have struggled with my weight all of my life. Yes, I was slim for a few years – that’s what being in the military (and eating and working out accordingly) will do. It is easy to blame my mother, but she is dead and I am not. Whatever trauma she inflicted on me, I have to overcome. Whatever bad eating habits she gave me, I have to unlearn. There is nobody but me who can fix my flaws. I was going to say that there is nobody but me who suffers from the results of them, but that is not true. The people who love me suffer. Leslie and my children would suffer if I were to have a heart attack, stroke, or any other obesity-related illness or death. I have to overcome these for me, but also for them.

    The last few days have been difficult for me. You might or might not know that the Hebrew calendar is different from the Gregorian calendar that is in common use in the western world (and most of the eastern one). My father passed away on April 19th last year (although because of time zones, I actually found out on the 18th). The funeral was a couple of days later, on April 21. The first anniversary of his passing was therefore two weeks ago yesterday, and of the funeral, a couple of days later. Unfortunately, on the Hebrew calendar the anniversary (yahrtzeit) is this coming Sunday. It feels therefore that I have a three-week mourning period for the anniversary. It has taken a toll on me, and I have been in pain from it. More pain that usual… I miss my father every day. I miss being able to call him, to know that he is just on the other side of a phone. I have felt that for an entire year, but this three-week period seems harder than most. I will be visiting Montreal to visit his grave on Sunday, and I will say the Mourners Kaddish for the last time in the year. I have recited it twice per day, every day, and I realized this morning how strange it will be to not have to recite it anymore. The prayer is not what makes me miss him though. I miss him every day, and I have to assume I will continue to miss him whether or not I am obligated to recite a prayer. Anyways, I am hoping that after Sunday I will start to break out of my funk. Leslie coming to Canada the following day, and the two of us getting onto an airplane for a romantic getaway the day after should help, I would think!

    My son the elder is coming for a drink this evening. It will be wonderful to spend time with him. While I see my son the younger every couple of weeks pretty regular, my deal with Aaron, so as not to make it feel like pressure, is that I let him approach me. This morning he sent me a text message inquiry about something, and I took that as an opening to invite him for a drink. It is supposed to start raining in the next hour or so, and the hourly forecast shows a 90-100% chance of rain through at least noon tomorrow, so it is unlikely that we will sit out on the balcony. That is fine, I know he is my inverse – he much prefers the drink over the cigar, where I much prefer the cigar over the drink. Frankly, that has been the case for my entire adult life. While there have certainly been days when I said ‘Wow, I need a drink!’ I have always done my best to temper my intake. I enjoy a dram, but it is seldom that I feel the actual need for it. When I was his age, I certainly drank more than I do today… I was in the military. He drinks a lot, and I do my best to not lecture him about it. He is sensitive, and I know that every time I trigger him – usually accidentally – he pulls away from me. That is not what I want. I want him to want to be in my life, and to have me in his.

    Okay, it is nearing lunchtime, and I will prepare my chicken and steamed vegetables. Have a great day folks!

  • Day 90

    It is hard to believe that today is my ninetieth day on the program. I have not lost as much as I would have liked, but I have covered that before… I am not on the program religiously, but a modified program. Hey, losing nearly fifty pounds in ninety days is nothing to sneeze at, is it?

    Yesterday’s workout was great, but there is no question, you really do feel it later in the evening. I have a new diet buddy that read my article on Food Addiction and told me that she will now be reading my blog for encouragement. She also told me she would love to walk with me. I told her I would be delighted, but she would have to be able to maintain the pace that I was at yesterday. I do not want to make her feel bad if she cannot keep up. We all need to start out at our own pace.

    On much the same topic, yesterday was the best single-day views on my diet-blog, www.losingapartof.me. I find that on days when I share a specific (and topical) article with one of the Facebook groups that I am active on, I see a real spike in readership. How cool would it be if even twenty percent of those people subscribed… or at least read the blog on a regular basis!? All told, yesterday’s total views peaked at one hundred and seventy-nine… and while the majority were from North America, there were viewers from ten countries and six continents in total (although only one hit each from Asia, Africa, and South America)! Considering my average readership has been around 450 views per month, that is really exciting.

    I am proud of my weight-loss, but I am also proud of my writing. Knowing that there are so many people out there fighting the same fight that I am is heartwarming and being able to share with them is great. Don’t think for a minute that my current readers (especially my number one fan) are not enough for me… I write for myself, and hope that along the way, somebody thinks that what I wrote might be important or relevant to them. In the meantime, with all of the views yesterday, I only added one follower… which is exactly the same number of followers I added on the previous day.

    I would have preferred, after yesterday’s strenuous workout, to see the numbers on the scale down this morning. Alas, that was not the case. Instead, I am up half a pound. I am looking forward to my weigh-in at the doctor’s office tomorrow, where I can be assured of the accuracy of the scale. Until then, I have to suffice myself with the knowledge that if I am going to weigh myself every single day, then my body weight will not drop consistently every single day… and even days of perfect behaviour will often only show results a day or two later. That is the reality of life. That is among the myriad frustrations of dieting and weight loss.

    I am super excited that I have my ticket for Dallas booked. I got a frantic call from Leslie worrying that she did not have staples that I use daily, such as a coffee pot or an air fryer. I know she is just excited that I am finally coming to visit and wants me to feel perfectly at home. There are no problems, only solutions; When I first moved into my apartment, before I bought my Ninja coffee station, I bought a single-cup filter coffee filter which I will bring. As for the air fryer, I lived without one for what – forty-nine years? I can live without one for another week in June.

    The only cheating I did on the program yesterday was an extra meal replacement bar in the evening. I figure I burned a lot of calories on my walk, so an extra 160-calorie bar won’t hurt me. Still and all, the higher-than-yesterday weigh-in bothered me… and I have to remember that it was not a meal replacement bar that caused it.

    I have a lot of work to do today, and I am glad the temptations of good weather for sitting outside are completely absent from the forecast of the day. As HRF Princess Sophie and I took our morning walk, there were cars covered in yesterday’s snow – a true sign that the temperatures had not risen sufficiently to melt it. Additionally, while the wind was certainly blowing unpleasantly this morning, Environment Canada has issued a Special Weather Statement warning of strong winds and wind gusts for this afternoon and evening (with northwesterly winds gusting 70 to 80 km/h). All of that, I assure you, is conducive to my not going outside again today, other than to take my pup-princess for her evening walk. With my frustrations with technology abated (for the moment), I hope to be able to make good headway in putting together the slides for my upcoming class.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 65

    I am off to Montreal this morning. After my shake (which I am drinking as I type) I will pack HRF Princess Sophie into the car – her kit is already packed and ready to go – and I will drive her to the dog sitter’s house. From there, I will drive straight east – I have a couple of stops to make along the way, but all in all it should be a rather quick drive.

    Yesterday had some difficult moments for me. My empathetic side can get the better of me, and when those that I care for are unhappy then I am too. It is maddening when there is nothing I can do to help them. I know that things will get better… but the bad days are bad.

    I kept to the program yesterday, although I was downing the lozenges like candy as I taught last night. I do not know if that was a result of the trauma, or if it is just that they were there and readily available. I also do not know if it is the reason my weight was up this morning. I will endeavour to do better today.

    It will be a long but relaxing drive to Montreal, with only my audio entertainment and my cigars to keep me company. Have a great day folks!

  • Day 30

    It’s been just about a month, and I am down just under 30 lbs. One pound per day. How could I really be disappointed by that? If I was following the strict program, then it would have been more. I have stated before that I suspect the moderate approach will give me the best chance for long-term success.

    Yesterday I went to prepare a salad with my dinner, only to realize that I had no lettuce… or cucumber, for that matter… but it is the lettuce that is usually the base of the salad. For a minute I considered going shopping, but realized the weather was not quite agreeable to that. Instead, I took the bag of shredded carrots that I had and used them as the base of the salad (rather than an almost-garnish). I chopped tomato and onion onto it, sprinkled some pumpkin seeds, and then a drop of oil and a healthy portion of balsamic vinegar. It was unusual but not unpleasant.

    I think my class is going well. I am enjoying teaching them, although I had a mic blunder yesterday. Prior to class I was speaking with Leslie on the phone. Thinking my computer mic was muted, I told her of two students who I know are phoning it in… they have not done any of their labs, and I do not think they are even sitting through the class. I do not know if they are having their program paid by a government program which mandates they attend… and then I realized my computer mic was hot. I apologized to the group and took the opportunity to remind them that I mark attendance for those who log in, but the school has a record of who is doing the labs and who completes them, and that is out of my hands.

    —

    I was halfway through this morning’s entry when my phone dinged. A buddy was downstairs waiting to come up. I haven’t seen him in a couple of years, and it was great to sit and chat with him. The original purpose of his visit was to bring some cigars that I was buying from him, and we sat outside and enjoyed a beautiful cigar. Despite the chill, it is a beautiful sunny day, and we had the heater going. Once it was too cold to continue, we sat inside with another cup of coffee discussing cigars and golf and dogs and whatever else we wanted to. I really enjoy it when friends come to visit. I do not mind smoking alone, but cigars are a social lubricant best enjoyed with friends – old or new.

    Something that I have to be more mindful of is my water intake. The fact that I have been drinking a lot of coffee does not change the fact that I need to drink a lot of water, and I know that I have been neglectful of that the last week – since driving to Montreal, I suppose. If there is one thing you do not want to do when you have a six hour drive it is to drink so much water that you need to stop to pee every fifty kilometers. Leslie asked me about it Wednesday, and I confessed that I was not drinking as much as I should. I have tried to remedy that, and am so grateful for her help!

    I suppose I do not have a lot to report today. I have to go shopping now – I am woefully short of salad fixings, and I am out of chicken as well. When I come home, I will prepare a meal, and I will likely sit outside to finish the cigar that I left over. I am a firm believer that you finish a cigar in one sitting, and if you let it sit too long it goes bad. The 2-3 hours that this one will have been sitting should not be too rough, but if it is, I will just pick a new stick.

    I always look forward to the weekend (as does everyone, I suppose), but knowing that tomorrow Leslie is coming I am looking forward to it even more. It is so exciting knowing that my baby will be in my arms in just over 24 hours. I have mentioned before that she is very supportive of my diet, and I have been trying to make her understand that just because I am on this program does not mean that she has to be. As such, I made a date for us to spend the evening with Lyle and Dorothy on Sunday. Lyle is a world class chef, and Dorothy is an amazing baker. When we were last there, Lyle discovered that Leslie loves mushrooms, and promised to make her something special on her next visit. The fact that I will not be able to enjoy that something special does not mean that we should not go and spend time with our friends, and yes Leslie should enjoy her mushrooms and homemade pasta and all of that wonderful stuff. Lyle is aware of my dietary restrictions and will likely make me a fabulous piece of chicken or fish to enjoy while they are indulging. I am really looking forward to it… but I saw Lyle last week and Dorothy a couple of weeks ago, and I have not seen my girlfriend since December. I am really looking forward to her visit!

    Wherever you are and whatever you have planned, you enjoy your weekend, and I will see you all soon!