Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Weight 122, WW Bluepoints 33. Last night of eating too much and drinking wine in Florida. Today will be the rest of the leftovers then throwing everything out.

It is youngest DD's 32nd birthday today. Saying that number has felt strange and it finally dawned on me last night why. That was my eldest daughter Elise's last birthday. But youngest DD will have many, many more!

I am looking forward to the beauty of New England but not the chill and the more locked down conditions. BTW, when I spoke to my PCP, he said the hospitals in the state were in much better shape in terms of being able to handle patients because they are past the plateau at their peak. Good news. But I had a weird dream that I knew I was going to die because I was in the hospital and about to be sedated to be on a ventilator. I saw Elise and DH. Weird and hopefully not going to come true.

I am off for one last long walk, then packing up today.

Stay safe and healthy!

Weight: 137.2
Veggies/Fruits: 8
Macronutrients: Cals - 1,421, Carbs - 111, Fats - 51, Proteins - 117, Fiber - 26
Fitbit Recorded Sleep: 7 hours (best week of sleep I've had in maybe a year)
Exercise: 7,321 steps

First of all ... jeez, Liz! That's a strange and attention-getting dream you had. I'm not at all conversant with dream interpretations, except that I've heard dreams' meanings are not always as straightforward as they might appear. Still, that's a humdinger!

Yesterday it rained and rained and then rained some more. Temps here were cooler (high 40s). Today it's still raining, but warming up rapidly. Tomorrow the high will be 80. In the Midwest sudden warmer weather means bad storms and the T word. Life this time of year is often a lot more exciting than I'm in the mood for. We once had a tornado come right over our house and land in the field a quarter-mile away. That was insane!

Given yesterday's bad weather, my sister and I opted for a long phone call, which we both enjoyed. We planned, i.e., fantasized about, some local weekend trips and social events we could create this summer that would let us socialize but still respect our needs to social distance and limit the number of people we expose ourselves to.

I'm also fantasizing about a road trip to Mount Rushmore. I've never been to South Dakota (one of the four remaining states I've not yet visited), and I'm sure I wouldn't run into any crowds along the way. Another fantasy I'm having is about driving the Al-Can highway all the way to Alaska this summer. Although that's probably not going to happen this year, I'm going to start researching it to see what's involved. I also checked in over at the Amtrak website to see what train trips might be possible this summer, and boy is their schedule decimated! Even the Acela (high-speed train between DC, NY and Boston) won't be up and running again until June 1, if then.

This morning I have an extra appointment (via tele-visit) with my therapist. Normally, I see him only once a month, but after my recent emotional collapse (not sure what else to call it) I booked an extra session for today. I'm about to overload his email with metrics about my past 9 days' actions, behaviors, feelings, etc. I'm sure he'll be bored silly. But as y'all know, it's my style to journal, count and record everything and then turn in my homework.

And in the Most Excellent News Department, one of my book clubs (it has 6 members) is plotting to meet later this month, thanks to the fact that our yoga teacher who's in the group has volunteered her yoga studio where we can happily social distance. There will be wine!

So things are looking up. That's not to say that's happening every hour of each day. But my overall direction is indeed FORWARD, which you'll recall was my word for 2020. All this bright greenery, more daylight, no new confirmed cases in our county for the last 4 weeks, my ongoing neck lift recovery (it's slowly looking better), and my commitment, despite occasional setbacks, to live while I'm still alive have encouraged me to redesign pandemic life. For now, that means I'm committed to finding more frequent opportunities to connect with other human beings.

My word of the year was thrive. As you may all recall from a Facebook post, I made a magnet out of scrabble tiles, and all the letters fell off and were scattered on my desk and floor one morning when I came to work. An omen, perhaps. I think thrive is too lofty for these times. Survive is a better fit. Maybe evolve.

Today my team teacher and I were chatting about how this kind of adversity can strip you down to your essential nature. Teachers who are very controlling are not doing well in this new normal. Some of my biggest challenges have been trying to persuade adults to show kids some grace. I've got students doing homework at midnight because they are taking care of siblings, or sharing a computer, etc. Sorry if they can't finish the essay the exact way you want it....

Liz your dream is very powerful. I think all of us of a certain age ask ourselves, what if... your brain asked it in a very vivid manner. It reminds me though, that I still haven't done an end of life directive. This pandemic reminds me I should, not because covid 19 will get me (although it could, the same way a car accident could), but because it's just a responsible thing to do.

Very interesting, insightful post, DD.

Coincidentally, during my therapist visit this morning I asked him several times to describe what he's seeing with other patients, and I asked him to describe what he sees any patients doing who are actually thriving in this environment. At first I backed off from using that word, but then said, "No, I'll go for thriving, since there might be some folks out there who are actually thriving right now."

The word he then used to differentiate the "thrivers" was control, as in what they are NOT doing. He explained that he sees those folks trying to find new perspectives about this way of life, being curious about this situation, experimenting with new ways of living instead of trying to control things to get back to the way things used to be.

So interesting to me that you are using those words as well.

Good Morning - from chilly Australia but the sun has started to peek thru so it should warm up. Better nights sleep so feeling much better

Weight down again to 172.26 - still too high but heading in the right direction !

My eldest son moved home yesterday and its so lovely to have him back - I have missed him. My youngest son and his girlfriend came for dinner last night too. I made a huge chicken, bacon, leek and vegetable pie with Fillo topping. It was a hit and my youngest took a huge helping for his lunch at work today.

We are off to get more firewood tonight after work as we have had the fireplace roaring to keep mum toasty so that will be my exercise. My mum is making mince tonight so I will only have to do the mash so that will be a nice break

Thats about it for me. I had best get back to work - motivation isnt the greatest at the moment

Liz - thats some dream girl - Would have shaken you up - travel safe and be well - my friend

Love to you all

S

Greetings Special Friends

Another day of not much doing. Big outing was to drop stuff in the bank night deposit. I wiped the handle off before and after I touched it. Then on to the drug store. The price of Skinny Pop sure is going up. I snagged the last two bags.

DianeM I so LOVE your short hair cut. Its really quite hip. Not everyone can pull off a super short cut but you can. Now just add some spikes!

Weird dream indeed Liz. But I bet its just your mind and heart's way of visiting your DD and DH. No need to put any more stock in it than that. I often dream of my family when we were young. I also had a dream I got ahold of Trump's tax returns and was running around looking for a copy machine.

Ann, tell us what good ways you figure out to safely party. I am thinking of a bottle of wine and a couple of beach chairs 10 feet a part. Have not yet worked out how to pass wine back and forth. Maybe single servings. Reminds me of a fun time years ago when I had out of town guests and we went to this one beach, set up a table with home made pate and wind on a big old washed up log, and kicked back. Wish I had a picture of that.

We are working on a plan to submit to the county to open the studio safely. Of course, I am making it into a dissertation with drawings and discussion. Probably over doing it.

Shirley, I want that pie!!! Savory pies are so good and not common in the US. Yay you.

Diane S

Haha, your dream about the tax returns!!!

Diane, when we did a social distance tea party with my Mom, I packed scones, cream and jam in a desperate paper bag for her, along with a plate and plastic knife/fork. I wiped all the containers down a climax wipe as I put them in the bag. Since my hands were freshly washed, the wiping was probably overkill.

If I were going to share a bottle of wine, I'd probably pour some into a water bottle so each "party" could serve themselves exclusively from their own container, and of course disposable cups.

LOL! Your post above is replete with Quarantinian Freudian whatnots ... "desperate paper bag" and "a climax wipe"! Love 'em! Thanks. :)

My autocorrect on my kindle has the weirdest sense of humor!! Usually I catch them, but I was rushing, as my husband announced dinner was ready. I like to reinforce his cooking my arriving promptly at the table and ohhhing and ahhhing.