05/25/2020, US Memorial Day

Diane S.. missing your voice too ! Liz, your stair treads are pristine ! Good luck with the battle of banana bread ! DD, thanks for the lime reminder ! I, too, am noticing air flow potential both inside and outside. Who'd have ever thought we would focus on such things ? Shirl, good for you for sleeping in ! Remind me, will you be based on the farm or in the city when John is away ? Peps, your phrase passive participant resonated with me. It reminds me to be fully invested in being present. Good job with the water...your scale measure will catch up. Don't forget, your work with the trainer means some muscle repair and renewal. Ceci, LOVE your sea lion ! Glad Splendid Spoon is inspiring a reset. I'd describe bison as earthy rather than gamey. I did a coffee, salt and pepper rub and it was fabulous.

The weather was great yesterday. I was able to finish mowing the back yard and do the front. Remember the nextdoor neighbor, on higher ground, who flooded our yard when his ice rink melted ? They put in an inground pool late fall, and are just now getting to grading and putting in the cement apron. When they pumped off the pool cover...all drained into our yard. We figured that pumping off the pool cover is an annual one time event..not a big deal.. it soaks in within a couple of hours. Now, they have installed an underground drain pipe for back washing and lowering the level of the pool, and you guessed it, it discharges ten feet from the fence. They just don't get it and we choose not to let it be a burr in our saddles, so we edged 5" down along the fence and buried five sheets of roofing metal against the fence to divert the water flow from our property. It actually looks pretty good and it felt empowering to be proactive rather than reactive. Grilled boneless ribs for dinner tonight... do you all pre-boil or bake on low first prior to grilling ? It is too warm for a crockpot or even the instant pot.

Have a memorable Memorial day !

Weight 122.6, WW Bluepoints 12. I did okay yesterday with a couple of unplanned but low point snacks added. I did NOT eat the banana bread and DS finished it. Yeah!

Yesterday I was able to walk at one of my favorite places. It is conservation land donated to the town by the previous owner and is a wonderful place to walk or beach with a dog. It is the only beach here that allows dogs in season. The parking had been blocked off but is now available in our phase 1 reopening. See the pictures below of this beautiful spot: the Knob in Quissett Harbor, Falmouth. Today I will probably park at another beach lot and walk in a pretty neighborhood along the water. It is kind of cloudy but feels warmer this morning.

Happy Memorial Day to all of you and any families who have lost soldiers. I am sure I mentioned previously that I have friends who lost their oldest career military son in Iraq years ago.

Stay safe and healthy!

Beautiful pictures Liz :)

Thanks! It is easy to find beauty here (Florida not as much).

Diane S.-please return! You are our hero! Did you say that the University will not be opening in the fall?

Peps-Are they also saying your schools won't open in the fall? I know there were CDC guidelines posted recently that were pretty unattainable imho. I need to follow your water lead. Mine is dismal and no doubt a contributor to my hunger among other things like headaches. It's a challenge not letting little hands tip it over and running off to the bathroom. But I even think my allergies and even skin allergies could benefit. I mean, what's the cost? I don't know about revisions. I'm sure you could do a band. As Liz mentioned, the sleeve was supposed to be the first step in DS, but I agree you're too small and the tradeoff probably isn't there anyway. And I know you can do bypass--in fact that's been recommended to me for my reflux issues. What don't you like about Rny? I wonder if a sleeve could be revised to just a tighter sleeve. I'm pretty sure our stomachs stretch to accommodate more food so why not? Of course that's a very personal decision and only you can know what's right. My 0.02 for myself has always been I don't look at it as a moral implication or not. I look at it as a medical condition. If I had a bypass or valve that needed correcting, I would do it. If I needed surgery to help me remain healthy, I'd do it. I know my aunt had "stomach stapling" in the 80s and about 7-8 years ago revised I think to a band.

Liz-just gorgeous pictures. I'm surprised that churches are opening so quickly there. Actually, I take that back. I think technically ours opened first phase. More of a constitutional concern. One locality tried to put them off and the attorney general sent a threatening letter. But in practice, in the 3.5 weeks that we've been open, few churches have. My home church opens to a limited capacity by reservation on June 1 and hopes to open back up by July 1 but is of course waiting to see.

Shirl-that is quite a list!

Where is Ann? David? Miss Bonnie? Everyone else?

My weight was UP 0.6lbs. Ugh totally feel you, Peps. So annoying when you do everything "right" and only to gain. And why is it that makes me just want to pig out? But I had planned to loosen the reins this weekend and you know what? After eating on Saturday night, my weight yesterday was down! Go figure.

Rich and I smoked a beautiful brisket on Saturday and took it over to my parents. The girls have now gone swimming at their grandparents' house twice.

I'm so frustrated with the news consumption. I typically listen to NPR news briefing on Alexa, check out Fox News homepage, then CNN. Everything is so mixed up!

I think currently the plan is for schools to open back up in the fall. I'm just really concerned about the consequences of them not. Most businesses here were work from home or closed for this spring stint. But if that's not the case in the fall, are kids being left home alone? Are parents having to pay for some type of daycare and expose kids to the same risk anyway? Worried some of these kids will fall behind and never be able to catch back up.

Yesterday was a really hard day for me. Surprisingly, more with my granddaddy. He died on the Sunday before Memorial Day 10 years ago. Just 5 days after VSG. I was so blindsided by it. I was overcome by all he has missed. The actual anniversary won't be until Saturday but of course yesterday was Sunday before Memorial Day.

Diane S.-I'm with you on college football. THAT will be the sport hard to swallow a shutdown. But I'm now thinking that may happen...

Loved the picture of your girls on FB BB - they are too cute

During World War 2, my Grandpa had 5 brothers serving overseas at the same time. My Grandpa was married and had children, instead of drafting him for overseas duty, he and my Grandma and family were moved to California to work in a shipyard. He was worked as welder. 2 brothers are buried in Europe, 1 returned with shrapnel in his body. Memorial Day was a somber day for my grandparents.

My in laws are buried in Fort Snelling, which is our military cemetery in Minnesota. My father in law was a pilot in the air force. We used to go to the cemetery on Memorial Day for years after they had passed. Now, as time passes and the loss isn't raw, we don't feel the same need. I've thought about it this year though, as we just had the anniversary of my sister in laws death.

Instead, we will do some yard work and be grateful for all that others have done for us.

My father's family was lucky in regard to wartime casualties. My grandfather fought in WWI and came out without a physical scratch. I'm sure he had emotional scars, but they were not discussed. My dad's oldest brother fought in WWII from 1943-45 in Europe. My dad applied to the USAF for an airplane mechanic training program and was accepted. It was one of those 'serve 18 months and be in the reserves for 5 years' gigs. When we went to war in Korea in the 50s more than enough young men signed up to join the USAF so my dad was never called to serve again. Both of his other brothers were drafted, but neither saw combat.

My mom's family in Germany, well that was a completely different story. For them WWII didn't end so well. Makes me sad because my grandparents were anti-fascists. My grandmother spoke openly against Hitler and my grandfather refused to join the party until he was forced and threatened. But, my mom's family was not the only family to suffer...

I have agreed to do the family gathering. Should be okay. I will stay outside and only go in to use the loo, if needed.

Hydration remained a focus yesterday, though I did not get as many ounces of water down the hatch as I did the previous day. Food intake was non-diety, but healthy. Bathroom visits were many yesterday. As a result weight was nicely down today.

My goal for the family gathering today is to enjoy the company and the food, but to focus on making nutritious and healthy food choices. Social occasions are still very difficult for me to navigate, so I won't beat myself up, but I do want to try to make some choices that will help strengthen my self confidence about my ability to triumph over my emotional dysfunctions around food. BABY STEPS.

Today I also want to say thank you to all of you, who for the past years have kindly listened and supported me in my journey- the healing from my eating disorder and all the emotional baggage that accompanies it. The journey is a tiresome one and a bit like a broken record. I appreciate so much the lack of judgement and empathy I feel and experience here.

I hope we all will take a moment to remember our dear Shel today. I miss her and continue to be so grateful for all that she added to our lives.

I was thinking of Shel too - I was looking at the picture she took that I framed and hung in my bedroom earlier today. Remember that great graduation party she did for her daughter just a year ago? She wanted everything to be so special and it was!

Shel pops into my thoughts often and they always bring a smile. What an incrediable lady x I miss her so much