Hey All,
I missed you! School starts next week for the kiddos (both in middle school now), so I should have more time to spend here. I have had one BUSY summer!
Just got back from a long weekend of wine-tasting in Walla Walla with friends. On Friday I walked with a friend just looking at all the cool old houses and parks and such. So many homes had vegetable gardens in the strip between the sidewalk and street! I was envious of all the ripe tomatoes and zucchini, wondering if mine will ripen before fall. We walked for about 6 hours in 100 degree heat. We went for a late lunch and I had the waitress fill my water bottle, but the trout tacos came, and I forgot about the water. That evening we walked back to town with when more friends arrived. I was feeling off, everything had a surreal feeling to it, so I hardly touched my wine or food. Got up the next morning so dehydrated and dizzy that I passed out while trying to get water from the bathroom tap. I fell hard on the marble floor. I cut myself from my shoulder to bum on a towel rack. Thankfully my head landed in a cardboard magazine holder and did not hit the floor. One side of me is all black and blue, and I feel like I have been in a car accident! Years ago when I lived in California, I fainted several times when I'd get up in the morning - first when I hit puberty and in college usually after a long day spent cycling or cross country skiing. I seem to lack a sense of thirst, so I usually set myself a schedule to keep hydrated, but I completely forgot while I was away. I drank a bunch of electrolytes and other than being really sore, I think I am fine. It may be that other thing too, at the opposite end of puberty!
My hens are still laying like mad! The dogs found another nest in the woods full of eggs. Blue egg-layers seem to hide the most eggs. I am hoping to get rid of some roosters by fall. I still have the 3 beautiful bantam cochins. I made friends with the garden hose when I need to go near Cinnamon S--- Head, and he is a good boy now. He runs to the back of the run whe he sees any human approach, no more garden hose needed. The other boys will eat from my hands. I still have the 4 chicks that belong to DD's friend, only now 3 of them are crowing. That mkes it 10 roosters and 23 hens! It is much too noisy here! At least the eggs are yummy - I have been mixing my scrambles with Walla Walla onions and the Washington cheese that comes in a can (and I have to admit, as wrong as it sounds, canned cheese tastes good! much better than the squirty stuff in a tube we'd eat during camping trips in the 70's)
I bought myself a scale for my birthday. Stepped on it and was quite frightened by the numbers - the Dr's scale is correct! I am now going for a walk every morning and I go canoeing or hiking or swimming in the evenings. I've lost 7 pounds in 2 weeks (but it all cuts into the time I spend here too). When I went to the festival at Mt. Si, I bought myself a salad for lunch, and took what I would have spent on an elephant ear and donated it to a woman who walks for a cure for Crohn's. I won the raffle! $50 steak dinner, a great, big water bottle, tape measure and a few other random items. I found that woman to be quite inspiring. She had weighed over 400 and had a heart attack at 38 years old. She has now walked off 150 pounds! Her first walk she fractured her foot right at the start, but kept walking because she was afraid she'd die from the next heart attack if she gave up. I don't have quite as much to lose, but I am using her example to keep me motivated - not sure what I will do when the rain starts up again; maybe I'll buy myself a raincoat and walk in it.
I missed you! School starts next week for the kiddos (both in middle school now), so I should have more time to spend here. I have had one BUSY summer!
Just got back from a long weekend of wine-tasting in Walla Walla with friends. On Friday I walked with a friend just looking at all the cool old houses and parks and such. So many homes had vegetable gardens in the strip between the sidewalk and street! I was envious of all the ripe tomatoes and zucchini, wondering if mine will ripen before fall. We walked for about 6 hours in 100 degree heat. We went for a late lunch and I had the waitress fill my water bottle, but the trout tacos came, and I forgot about the water. That evening we walked back to town with when more friends arrived. I was feeling off, everything had a surreal feeling to it, so I hardly touched my wine or food. Got up the next morning so dehydrated and dizzy that I passed out while trying to get water from the bathroom tap. I fell hard on the marble floor. I cut myself from my shoulder to bum on a towel rack. Thankfully my head landed in a cardboard magazine holder and did not hit the floor. One side of me is all black and blue, and I feel like I have been in a car accident! Years ago when I lived in California, I fainted several times when I'd get up in the morning - first when I hit puberty and in college usually after a long day spent cycling or cross country skiing. I seem to lack a sense of thirst, so I usually set myself a schedule to keep hydrated, but I completely forgot while I was away. I drank a bunch of electrolytes and other than being really sore, I think I am fine. It may be that other thing too, at the opposite end of puberty!
My hens are still laying like mad! The dogs found another nest in the woods full of eggs. Blue egg-layers seem to hide the most eggs. I am hoping to get rid of some roosters by fall. I still have the 3 beautiful bantam cochins. I made friends with the garden hose when I need to go near Cinnamon S--- Head, and he is a good boy now. He runs to the back of the run whe he sees any human approach, no more garden hose needed. The other boys will eat from my hands. I still have the 4 chicks that belong to DD's friend, only now 3 of them are crowing. That mkes it 10 roosters and 23 hens! It is much too noisy here! At least the eggs are yummy - I have been mixing my scrambles with Walla Walla onions and the Washington cheese that comes in a can (and I have to admit, as wrong as it sounds, canned cheese tastes good! much better than the squirty stuff in a tube we'd eat during camping trips in the 70's)
I bought myself a scale for my birthday. Stepped on it and was quite frightened by the numbers - the Dr's scale is correct! I am now going for a walk every morning and I go canoeing or hiking or swimming in the evenings. I've lost 7 pounds in 2 weeks (but it all cuts into the time I spend here too). When I went to the festival at Mt. Si, I bought myself a salad for lunch, and took what I would have spent on an elephant ear and donated it to a woman who walks for a cure for Crohn's. I won the raffle! $50 steak dinner, a great, big water bottle, tape measure and a few other random items. I found that woman to be quite inspiring. She had weighed over 400 and had a heart attack at 38 years old. She has now walked off 150 pounds! Her first walk she fractured her foot right at the start, but kept walking because she was afraid she'd die from the next heart attack if she gave up. I don't have quite as much to lose, but I am using her example to keep me motivated - not sure what I will do when the rain starts up again; maybe I'll buy myself a raincoat and walk in it.
