My battle with the scale

I'm not making much progress with my weight-loss efforts.

I mean, really, what's a girl to do?

I already eat fewer than the recommended calorie limit each day (and believe me, I struggle to eat as much as I do, trying to get as close to the limit as possible).

I ensure that I get those eight glasses of water each day.

I'm doing 30 minutes every day on the stationary bicycle (I started doing that for the hip mobility, not the weight loss effort, but what the heck ...)

I resisit using the stair lift as much as I dare each day (by the end of the day, I have to use it if I want to get up those stairs).

In a nutshell, I'm doing everything I can to promote weight loss.

And the myfitnesspal.com site indicates that if "every day is like today" I should be xxxx pounds in five weeks.

Well, every day IS like today (and has been for the past umpty dump months).

If what they say were true, I should have faded away to nothing by now.

But my weight goes up, not down.

Withdrawal of wine from my diet has been too recent to know for sure if it's making a difference.

But we're approaching a week without wine (OK, on Saturday we had company so I had wine) and there's been no movement of the scale thus far.

And, just for the record, IF I were to reintroduce my daily glass (or two) of wine to my diet, I could then meet the recommended daily caloric intake.

Sigh.

I'll continue as I am for a while longer (at least for the month of November) and see what comes of that.

BUT, by the end of November, if there is still no movement of the scale in the right direction, it's back to the dietitian, armed with the data of what I've done, to see what she can contribute to the discussion.

I want to lose twenty pounds before I have that hip surgery.

There has got to be an answer somewhere.

Baseball season is officially over

Last night, the 2011 baseball season officially came to an end.

While none of my "preferred" teams was in the final face-off (and certainly my beloved boys -- the Toronto Blue Jays -- were never in contention to make post-season), I was happy to back the St. Louis Cardinals in this latest race.  The Cards were, after all, my very first baseball team love, way back in 1963/64 when I first became a fan.

It was kind of fun to back the Cards again in 2011.  It was even more enjoyable to wake up this morning and hear that they took the series.

Congratulations, Cardinals, on a fight very well fought.  Bet you didn't know that you were doomed from the minute I declared my support for you?  Good thing I didn't watch the games, or you'd probably have been eliminated in four!  I resisted watching because I didn't want to jinx you.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Now that baseball season is over, I'll cancel the HD Sports package on our satellite service -- save a few bucks for the winter months.

Arrrrgh, I'm getting fat!

In spite of my best efforts to LOSE weight, the scale is going the wrong way.

My physiotherapist insists that it is the muscle that I'm building since I've been clocking 30 minutes a day on the stationary bike -- every day, no matter what.  (I'll grant that some of the extra weight could be muscle, but surely not 20 pounds worth!)

Anyway, I've found this very interesting site (I actually happened on it as an app for my iPad) -- www.myfitnesspal.com -- where I can track my food intake, activity level, and weight.  According to its calculations, eating as I do, I should be losing up to eight pounds in a five week period.

Yeh, right!  The scale just keeps climbing.

There are some days on which, according to this site, I'm not taking in enough calories.  It flashes a caution against putting my body into starvation mode (which sabotages weight loss efforts).

By tracking my food intake, I can carefully monitor my calories to ensure that I do take in enough to meet the daily recommended minimum.

Anyway, I've decided that from now on, I will not have wine unless we have company.

That should limit my wine intake to once, perhaps twice, per week rather than nightly (drinky poo time will  now be a glass of water). There might even be some weeks when I won't have any wine.

We'll see if this sacrifice (and it's a huge sacrifice, let me tell you) makes a difference on the scale.

My Weekend Guest

Here are some photos of my recent weekend guest, filling in time until his parents got back from their trip.

He loves having his "own" room at Grandma's place, complete with computer, telephone, and television.

Here he is, talking to his Mom while playing on the computer (and blocking the incoming sun from his eyes).

"Grandma, must you always take my picture?"

Then he gets back to his game.  But of course, he's also watching television!

No wonder he loves "his" room.

Long Day Today

Today is going to be a long one.

It's physio day, so I have to go into the big city.

But I'm also having my snow tires put on my car (yes, it's that time of the year again!).  The garage where my tires are stored called with an offer I couldn't refuse:  Book before November 1st, and the service is free.

Well, how could I resist that?

I mean, really, November 1st is next week.

And it could be snowing by then.

And frankly, the way our calendar is filling in, I might not have time to get it done if I don't "do it now," as the saying goes.

Since I'm going into the city anyway, I decided to go in early enough to allow the task to be done before my physio appointment.

But it means leaving here by 8:30am and sitting around the shop, waiting for my car, because I don't have the physical wherewithal to go anywhere (and I don't got no friends to come and take me away for the duration).

I'll take reading material, and my iPad so I can amuse myself doing puzzles (I'm between e-books at the moment).  And of course, I'll have my cell phone with me so my little chickadee will be able to phone me ...  I won't really be alone.

To be sure, I'll be ready for that physio session when I get there.

And I'll be sooooooooooooooo ready for that glass of wine when finally I get home late this afternoon.

So much fun ...

My beautiful boy is here for the weekend while his parents are celebrating Porter Airlines' 5th Anniversary.

Yesterday when we arrived here with him, the first question out of his mouth was, "Are we going hunting now?"

We had talked with him earlier in the week and explained that his Grandfather thought it would be neat to introduce him to the joys of hunting.  Obviously, he thought it would be a good idea too.

This morning, he was up well before dawn, again asking, "Are we going hunting now?"  We explained that he had to at least wait until it was light out, and he should have a good breakfast in his belly before heading out.

He ate a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs and then eagerly got ready.

First, Grandpa outfitted him with a BB gun and they went out front with a cardboard box so Grandpa could teach him how to shoot.  Bullseye every time, right out of the gate!

Next came the orange hunting jacket (way too big for him but we improvised).

And off they went, young boy and his Grandpa, into the woods to find birds.

I thought they'd never return!

When they finally showed up, sans birds, he declared that he didn't think he'd become a hunter.  It was too much walking.  I told him that he could have asked to come back sooner, to which he said, "No, I was having too much fun!"

He told his grandfather that he liked it, he just didn't like the part of there being no birds to shoot.  But yes, he would like to go again.

Methinks John has a convert!

I am soooooooooo pissed off

We were supposed to have our hearing tests this morning, an appointment that was made fully a year ago.

Last evening, at about 5:25pm, I picked up a message on the telephone (presumably it was left around the 4:30pm mark while I was talking to my little chickadee).

"Hello Mrs. Fowler," said the voice, "I just wanted to make sure you got the message that your appointment for tomorrow morning has been cancelled because there will be nobody here.  I can offer you something on October 31st if you want to call back."

Well, I hadn't got the message, until I picked that one up.  Not sure which other one he thought I should have received, since no other message had been left.

In any event, I was livid.

We had specifically delayed John's dermatology appointment to piggy-back it with our trip into the city today, rather than having to make a trip in just for that.

So what are we left with now?

We have to go into the city today for John to get his stitches out.

The only saving grace about making the trip is we will be coming home with my beautiful boy.  He's spending the weekend with us and we're going to enjoy every precious minute with him!

As to when we'll have our hearing tests now?  I have no idea because I can't reach anyone until Monday!  But October 31st doesn't exactly appeal to me because that is the day before November 1st when I will again have to go in for my mammogram (which I booked to coincide with my physio day!).

I'm getting really tired of the frequency with which we've been having to go to the city lately.  It's wearing me down.  Feels like I have no time to just be at home, you know?

Another week of drudgery ahead of me.

Again this week, I'm facing three days of having to make round trips to the city.

Today, I have to go in for that EEG my doctor ordered (he obviously didn't order a sleeping version ... sigh).  Since it isn't a sleeping EEG, we know it's going to show "normal" so it will all be for naught.  Not sure what his thinking is on this one but I'll have the test and we'll discuss it's findings and he will declare all to be well.  Until the next wonky occurrence.

John will accompany me for today's trip just because he's a nice guy like that.

Tomorrow, I'll make the trip myself and I'll first see my dentist and then I'll go on to my physiotherapy session, the first in a month.  I'm very much looking forward to seeing her after this long haul of no treatments.

I'll have Wednesday at home with no commitments.  Bonus!

Thursday I'll again be home and my massage therapist will come to me.  Double bonus!!

On Friday, John and I will once again make the trip into the city.  This time, it's back to the hearing aid centre for our annual hearing test and hearing aid check-up.  I'm quite looking forward to this appointment because I'm sure my hearing has declined again (independent of my recent problems with the ear infection).  For some time now, I've noticed a marked decrease in my ability to decipher what I'm hearing.  I know very well that people are talking to me, or the television is on, but for the life of me I cannot decipher the words I'm hearing.  And it's been causing me concern (not to mention the frustration for John and my little chickadee who have to constantly repeat, even more than they ever used to).  When we finish there, we go back to the dermatologist to have John's stitches removed and to get the results of the last biopsies that were done.

So Friday will be a full day.

But the bonus at the end of it will be our picking up my beautiful boy to bring him back here for the weekend.

Oh what fun we'll have then!  

Genealogy Weekend

I'll spend this weekend doing what I love best -- genealogy.

My good friend, RLR, will be arriving later this afternoon for a weekend of genealogy education.

For her last birthday (which was her 60th) I had researched her lineage for her and presented her with two binders chock-a-block full of documentation.  I also offered to teach her how to use the software to keep track of the information, and how to use the internet to further research her line.

She has since bought the software she will use but has not yet installed it on her computer, nor has she done anything further with the file I gave her.  We had discussed the choices of my spending a weekend at her home or her bringing her laptop to my home for a weekend.  Eventually, my home won out (she hasn't yet seen my sanctuary and we are both anxious for that to happen).

Initially, we almost managed the exercise at the beginning of the month but that got postponed to this weekend.

And now here we are and it's actually going to happen today.

Of course, we'll do some visiting too because the "class" part of the weekend won't really take all that long, so many talks we've had on the topic.

John has been looking forward to preparing dinner for us so you can be sure that today will be spent mostly on socializing.

I guess class won't truly start before tomorrow morning.

On the mend (again)

My ear is mending.

The doctor checked it yesterday, took out the plug, vacuumed it again (have I mentioned how much that hurts?), and put more drops in.  It wasn't as improved as he had hoped but it was better.

I should continue with the drops for another five days, and don't wear my hearing aid until I've finished with the drops.  I'll start to feel much better in a few days.

When I told him that I haven't really felt "bad," other than the itching and the fact that I couldn't hear, he assured me that my hearing would improve once I could wear my hearing aid again.  (You think????)

If by Monday I'm still experiencing a lot of itching though, I have to call him so he can check it again.

And oh, yes I can wash my hair, as long as I'm careful not to let the shampoo/water run into my ear.

What a delight it was to get home and jump into the shower and get my hair washed!

My massage therapist arrived right on schedule and did her thing, putting me into a completely mellow state for the rest of the day.

Today, for the first time this week, I have no commitments.

What a treat!

Another day on the road

For the third day in a row, we have to make our way into the city today.

This time, we have to be there for 9:15am so my ENT can remove this cursed plug from my ear and once again  vacuum it out (torturous!).  I'm telling you, when he puts that suction thingy in my ear, it feels like he's drawing from my toes.  And it hurts like a bugger!

I already know that I'll have to continue the drops for another five days, and I know that I can't use my hearing aid for another two days after the suctioning (have to let the ear heal from the assault of the treatment).

But I really do hope that when I get home today, I'll finally be able to wash my hair.

I mean really, do you have any idea of how gross my hair is having not been washed since Monday?

Everything I read and hear talks about how our ability to produce oils reduces as we age.  By the time we are in our 60s, apparently, there is virtually no oil production.

Yeh, in your dreams baby.

My hair is still super oily, as is my facial skin.

I can truly say that I've not noticed any reduction in the oils in either my hair or face.

And today, Thursday morning, my hair is stuck-to-my-head oily.

Feels disgusting.

Looks even worse.

And I have to go into the city looking like this.

Good thing I'm only going up to his office and back down to the car.

Because I would hate like hell to be seen in public looking like this.

Better not be in an accident en route.

(At least I'll be wearing clean underwear ...)

Never-ending fun around here

Oh dear, the fun just never stops around here.

My ENT specialist managed to see me yesterday.

And thank the good Lord that he did.

My left ear is badly infected (having festered since last Thursday, and worsened as I continued to thrust my hearing aid in and through the swelling).

He stuffed a cotton plug into the ear canal, explaining that it is the only way the antibiotic drops can get into the ear, so severe is the swelling.

I have to put four drops into the ear twice a day for seven days.

And I have to see him again tomorrow so he can remove the plug and check on the progress.  (If the plug comes out in the meantime, that's OK too -- it means the swelling has subsided, which is a good thing.)

Thrown into the mix is another trip to the city today because this is John's date with the dermatologist to have his basal cell carcinomas removed from his face (they will be scraped and burned off).

So for someone who cancelled her physiotherapy session yesterday because she wasn't "up to making that round trip,"  I have now had to do just that yesterday, again today and will have to do it yet again tomorrow.

That's three consecutive days of trips to the city.

When I'm already not up to snuff.

Just asking for a fibro flare-up, I say.

Fortunately, John has been doing the driving which helps alleviate some of the pressure but still not very good planning ...

Woe is me

Yes, that's what I said.

"Woe is me."

Last Wednesday afternoon, my doctor called me with the results of a urine test that we did after I had complained about the sudden urgency I was experiencing every time I had to urinate.  Test came back positive for a UTI.

Doc ordered antibiotics.  Two capsules twice daily for seven days. OK, I can do that.

I'm almost finished the antibiotics and the urgency has stopped so I guess they've done what they were supposed to do.

Except I haven't been well since I started taking them.  I've done an awful lot of sleeping in the intervening days though.

Felt fine BEFORE I went on the damned things, other than the urgency was quite annoying.

On Thursday morning, after we went to vote we stopped at the grocery store.  And while we were walking through the place, my left ear did some wonky thing, causing me to wonder if perhaps the battery in my  hearing aid was about to die. Wasn't the battery (I get a signal when it's finished), but the left ear was definitely weird.

By Friday, I noticed that I was having difficulty putting the hearing aid in my left ear.  Hmmmmmmm.

By Saturday, it was really difficult to put that hearing aid in.  Double hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

What the hell was going on with my ear?

By Sunday, I was really beginning to get concerned.  I was also spending an inordinate amount of time sleeping.  That night, I could feel that something was amiss in my ear, almost like it was scraped raw (probably from forcing the hearing aid into place).

Yesterday, I managed to get the hearing aid in and wore it all day but my hearing was not as it should be.

I got through the day anyway (my stepson and his wife joined us for Thanksgiving dinner).

This morning, I called my physiotherapist's office to cancel my weekly session.  This, after she's been away for two weeks.  I'm just not up to making the round trip into the city.

I've put in a call to my ENT guy to see if he can see me on an emergency basis. I can no longer continue forcing the hearing aid into my ear and what little hearing I have in that ear is now totally obliterated.  By what, I know not.

I don't know what I've done to the ear, but it's driving me nutso.  Obviously, it needs attention and I shouldn't leave it any longer.

Here's hoping he can fit me in by at least tomorrow, when John and I have to go to the city for his appointment with the dermatologist.  Perhaps we could kill two birds with one stone.

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving day.

On this beautiful summer-like autumn day, what more could a person ask?

My happy dance is over

Uh oh, I think I jinxed them.

Yup.  Those poor Phillies.

I had so wanted Roy "Doc" Halladay to finally have his chance for that coveted World Series ring.

And this year, it looked like he was actually headed there.  His team had the best record in all of major league baseball, coming out of the regular season.  But when you get into post season, your regular season record don't mean squat.

The Phillies were paired with the wild card St. Louis Cardinals for the National League Division best of five series. They were tied at two games apiece as they went into last night's sudden-death rubber game.

The Cards beat the Phillies, 1-0, last night, eliminating the Phillies from the post season.

There goes Doc's chance at that ring again.

All because I had to do a happy dance when the Yanks were eliminated.

It's all my fault. Really it is.  I knew it wasn't nice to take pleasure in someone else's misfortune.

The Arizona Diamondbacks were also eliminated last night (again, because I did my happy dance?), so even Johnny Mac is out of the running for further post season glory.

I'm so sorry Doc and Johnny.  Next year, I'll keep my views to myself, honest.

With all my "favoured" players out of contention, my baseball season has come to an end for 2011.  It matters not to me how the rest of the season plays out now.  (Although being an American League fan I guess I will pull for that team to win the Series, now that neither Doc nor Johnny Mac will by vying for the title.)

And you know what the irony of this situation is?  That it was the Cards who defeated Doc?  And that I today do a happy dance every time someone (anyone) beats "dem damn Yanks?"

Way back in 1964, it was my love of Elston Howard, catcher for the New York Yankees, that solidified my interest in baseball.   (I still have a soft spot for catchers.)  And my favourite team back then?   The Cardinals (they took the World Series, beating dem damn Yanks four games to three).

No 'splaining for some people's interests, is there?

The Yanks are done ....

The Yankees were defeated last night in their quest for the American League Division pennant.

They didn't make it past the semi-finals.

Detroit beat them three games to two.

That means that the Yankees won't be vying for the World Series this year.

I know it's not "nice" to take pleasure in someone else's misfortune, but ...

... see Bonnie do her happy dance.

Enjoying my "alone time"

The past four days have been "alone time" for me.

John has been away, bird hunting with his son.  They left Saturday morning and will return today.  

Anyone who reads this blog knows that I cherish my alone time.

Normally, John and his son go hunting in Saskatchewan for a week but they declined that trip this year, choosing instead to go to a closer hunt camp and traipse around the woods in hopes of finding birds. But only for four days.  *Sigh*

Anyway, on Saturday, my first alone day, my little chickadee came to visit with my beautiful boy.  We spent an enjoyable day making curtains for her new front door window (she loves them!).  Day one of alone time down.

On Sunday, my good friend, LC, (my other daughter's real mother) came to hang out with me for the day.  Again, it was a nice day, time we don't often get to spend together and we both enjoyed it very much.  Day two of alone time down.

Yesterday, I truly had alone time.

And I did nothing.

Nada. Barely even approached the computer.

I sat and read all day.  OK, I watched some television too but mostly I read.

Good for the soul.  Day three of alone time down.

John called last night to check in.  They are having a good time, albeit not a very successful hunt.  They don't know what time they'll be heading back today.  I cautioned him to call and give me a head's up of when to expect them so I could "shut down the party" before they get here.

Today, thus far, I have done my 30 minutes on the bike (have I mentioned that I never miss that particular activity, no matter what) and I've had breakfast and read my newspapers.

Now, on my last day of alone time, I'm going to start processing the umpty-dump pieces of supporting documentation that I have downloaded vis-a-vis my family tree.  If I don't get started on that project soon, it's never going to happen.  It had been my plan to spend all four days of my alone time on that task.

Oh well, better late than never, as they say.