Tastes of Thanksgivings Past

Living in the present moment is harder to do at the holidays.  There are those decorations accumulated over decades, that bring back memories of holidays past and thanks to our collection of ornaments gathered at countless vacation destinations, vacations around the world.  
And then, well, there's the food.  
This year I cooked.  Really cooked.  With help.  My daughter loves mashed potatoes and took charge of assembling an authentic version.  No skim milk, I can't believe it's not butter facsimile.  She got organic whole milk from Whole Foods, in glass bottles that have to go back to get a deposit refund.   Claiming to be "from grass fed cows on family farms", and mixed with real butter, the mashed potatoes were a hit.  
In Thanksgivings past, when I hosted dinner, I perfected the art (?) of the shortcut.  Stove Top stuffing, boxed gravy, store bought pies, and the infamous green been casserole made with canned fried onions and cream of mushroom soup (light).  
With real mashed potatoes, I vowed to be a bit more authentic this year.
Taking a literal page from the family cookbook (first edition), I made Aunt Edith's 'Zesty Corn Stuffing Balls".  I actually chopped the celery myself.  It was all worth it when my sister-in-law commented, "this stuffing tastes just like your mom's."   It brought back another holiday memory at my other sister in law's house, when she made pasta with sauce.  Upon tasting it, I said, "this sauce tastes just like my mom's".  
"I watched her make it one day and just wrote down everything she did", she said.  It was the real thing.  
Aunt Edith is gone and so is my mom.
Here's the recipe.

"ZESTY CORN STUFFING BALLS

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

4 T butter or margarine

1 17-ounce canned cream style corn

1/2 cup water

1 t poultry seasoning

1/8 t pepper

1 8 oz. package (3 cups) herb-seasoned stuffing mix (I like the plain seasoned croutons)

3 eggs slightly beaten

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

In saucepan cook onion and celery in the 4 Tablespoons butter or margarine till tender but not brown.  Add corn, water, poultry seasoning and pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Pour over stuffing mix; toss together lightly.  Stir in eggs.  Shape into seven or eight balls.  Place in a 9x9x2 inch baking pan.  Pour melted butter or margarine over.  Refrigerate if desired.  Bake in 375 degree oven for 25 minutes."

I confess to two shortcuts in this recipe -- the chopped onions came from Whole Foods and I skipped shaping the stuffing into balls, just pressing the mixture into a large baking dish.

It was good -- one serving of stuffing and the real mashed potatoes were quite enough.

You Really Should (Visit Pittsburgh)

One of my many vices is compulsively searching travel websites.  A recent post on nbcnews.com (which used to be msnbc.com, but MS and NBC have apparently divorced, at least online) was taken from www.independenttraveler.com.  Titled, "9 places you haven't visited, but should", the article by Elissa Leibowitz Poma http://www.independenttraveler.com/slideshow/9-places-you-havent-visited-but-should, listed countries (Zambia, Oman, Singapore, South Korea, Colombia and Armenia), a state park (Valley of Fire) in Nevada and two cities, Chan Chan, Peru and Pittsburgh, PA (no I am not kidding).   
I am truly unlikely to be visiting any of the aforementioned sites soon, except for the one where I make my home, Pittsburgh.
The article, like many of these travel briefs that appear in magazines and websites, provides just a few sentences on each of the nine recommendations.  And for Pittsburgh, after reminding the reader that it is no longer gritty and smoky, thanks to the demise of the steel industry, she highlights the Warhol Museum, Phipps Conservatory and the "historical funicular called the Monongahela Incline".
So, what are the other sites I would add to her list?   On a long trip back from a weekend wedding we attended in Charleston, West Virginia I came up with the following "9 places you should visit in Pittsburgh, if you haven't":

1. The Maxo Vanka murals at St. Nicholas Croatian Church in Millvale.
2. PNC Park for a Skyblast after a Pirate Game.
3. The Nationality Rooms at the Cathedral of Learning.
4. Wild Rosemary Restaurant.
5. Pamelas, preferably in Millvale.
6. The city view from the West End Bridge.
7. The fountain at Point State Park.
8. The parking lots before a home Steeler game for an introduction to 'Steeler Nation'.
9. The River Walk from the Convention Center, across the Seventh Street Bridge and along the river past both PNC Park and Heinz Field.

What's on your list of best places in the 'Burgh?  

Yoga Classes and Catholic Masses

It's been a loooooong summer vacation from this blog.    And I truly want to get back to blogging, to thinking and writing about health and wellness and to doing more about health and wellness.  This summer has been bookended by two awesome vacations, one in early summer that took me to both coasts (Maine and Northern California) with Montana in between and a late summer trek by car to the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. 


They really are smoky!

What is a vacation?   The word shares Latin roots with the words vacancy and vacate, so it has something to do with space, emptiness and openness.   While there has been frantic activity to be sure, especially in Maine and California with kids, moves and San Francisco sightseeing and visiting, there has been much quiet and solitude.   Quiet and solitude as in not doing much of anything.  In both Montana and Tennessee, there was no access to cell phones, newspapers or the Internet.  In Montana, there was no television.  So, lots of reading, thinking and sitting. 

Yet always from my childhood up to today, there is never a vacation from the obligation to attend Sunday (and post Vatican II, Saturday) Mass.  No matter where we were, we found a Catholic Church.  There was no discussion, no debating, no break.  And as a adult with a family of my own, this tradition has continued.   It has made for some challenges.  Try finding a Catholic Church in Salt Lake City or the Cayman Islands.  Since the advent of the Internet and a great website, www.masstimes.org,  the task has been made much easier.   But what wonderful memories of grand and tiny churches, in places ranging from the Brompton Oratory to Hilton Head.  And on the most recent vacation in Tennessee, the absolute luxury of two Masses (on Sunday and one for the August 15 Feast of the Assumption) that were celebrated right in our rented vacation villa, thanks to two priests who were with our group and vacationing too.   While vacations bring adventure and new places, there is something comforting about finding the universal Church wherever I go.

Lately I have added a new vacation tradition, with taking yoga classes whenever possible while on vacation.  Not as predictably found as Catholic masses and with content not nearly as consistent, I have done yoga in Puerta Vallarta, Puerto Rico, on a cruise ship and on a dude ranch in Montana. 

The photo doesn't do justice to the view from the yoga studio, but you get the idea.

(Note to fellow Yoga Teacher trainees -- the Gatlinburg Tennessee location appears to be woefully underserved.  Wedding chapels abound, but no yoga studios).  I have travel yoga memories now etched in my head, including arising from Savasana this Memorial Day weekend to gently falling snow outside in the Absaroka Mountains in Montana and to rocking on a cruise ship in choppy waters in Alaska trying to keep my balance. 
On vacation, we still eat -- we need to keep those prayer and exercise routines going too! 

No Vacation from Too Many Choices

If you are looking for a quick getaway from Pittsburgh, Philadelphia or the DC area, consider  Bedford Springs.  It's got a lot to recommend it, especially as fall begins to re-color the landscape.  The resort is chock full of historical documents, photographs and artifacts, from the era when Bedford Springs was the edge of the frontier up through its magnificent restoration and reopening in 2007.  The spa, with its mineral baths and European trained aestheticians (I could only understand about half of what my Polish facialist said) is exquisitely appointed.  And for those of you who are golfers, they have that too. 
It was the summer White House for the only President from Pennsylvania (and the only bachelor one), James Buchanan.   Two other Presidents visited there, John Tyler and Ronald Reagan. 

Desk used by James Buchanan during his years of summering at Bedford Springs



I thought that perhaps by sitting at James Buchanan's desk, I could break my current writers block (or more specifically, a blogging block).  It's been tough to blog about my current state, which can best be described as erratically compliant and frequently off-track in the eating part of this journey.  I am moving just fine, keeping up with my exercise routine (and the fitness center at Bedford Springs is small, but adequate).  There are several blog posts in the queue, in various stages of progress.  One fact that keeps swirling in my head since I first read about it in the Canyon Ranch Magazine is that we make 200 different food decisions a day.  This comes courtesy of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab and its Director, Brian Wansink.  Yes, people actually research this stuff -- and the results are actually helpful to understanding why making lasting change is so challenging.  
I understand that stopping smoking is difficult and that the urge to smoke is one of the strongest addictions to break.   But the decision is easy and it is only one decision.  Making it stick means repeating the same decision over and over again. 
But decisions about not just what to eat but about portion size come at me from all directions.  First I was skeptical about the 200 number.  Then I got to thinking.  The opportunity to make good and bad choices related to food starts from the moment I wake up until the moment I fall asleep (and occasionally in the middle of the night).   And the barrage of conflicting and confusing dietary advice compounded by vagaries of blood sugar readings added to the unpredictable nature of when and how food decisions present themselves adds up to the exhausting reality that it is possible to make 180 good decisions, and another 20 or 10 or even one that totally screw up the best laid plans.  I have learned that planning is best and that pre-controlled portion size works for me.   And beginning again and again. 

Church Sign Seen on Vacation

How's this for lifestyle change wisdom? Laws are never as effective as habits.

The Maine Idea (Running Away from Rome, Part Two)

Clare says that Maine has more coastline than California. She recommended Camden as a good spot to stay for the Lobster Fest.   And Dolly recommended taking in the view of the harbor from the Camden Deli.  The photo above is trom the upper deck of the deli.  Clare didn't know about specific places to stay; I found the Maine Stay Inn through a combination of Internet and phone calls.  What a find.  
As I mentioned in Part One of the story, Maine Stay is owned by Roberta and Claudio, an Italian couple from Rome.   In a kind of reverse of Frances Mayes' search for a villa in Tuscany that resulted in finding Bramasole and Cortona, Roberta and Claudio looked for an American B&B.  Rome is now a place they visit, not live. 
It was a pleasure to chat with Roberta.  I told her that I found her story fascinating.  She explained that Roman traffic (their commuting time) and tourists (she quoted a number in the millions) made them want to make a change.  She said they had traveled all over the United States, ruled out California because of earthquakes and looked at around 30 B&Bs. 
They wanted a real home, making their search more complicated since owning a B&B often involves living "above the store."  At Maine Stay, there is a renovated barn attached and they have their own space. 
They have infused Maine Stay with paintings and prints and there are beautiful antique pieces of furniture from their home in Italy.   The picture below is one of the parlors and you get a sense of the way they have integrated their homeland in their now home. 

I feel at home anywhere an image of Venice is displayed.  My dad bought a picture of St. Mark's Square that hung over our living room sofa for as long as I can remember.  I think he got it at K-Mart; but he loved the scene.  My aunt and uncle who lived up the street had a similar one.  When we were selling my parents house, Martin rescued it from the dumpster and it now hangs in his apartment.
Roberta is stylish and energetic; Claudio is soft-spoken and gracious.  The B&B is a lot of work Roberta offered, but added, "I love it."  "Visit the gardens", she said.  When another guest asked her about the wicker furniture on the sun porch, she explained that she would be repainting it over the winter.  We stayed in the third floor suite, with two bedrooms.  Roberta had recently converted it from three separate rooms.
There were so many thoughtful touches to the Inn and the grounds.  Fresh cut flowers, homemade cookies and lemonade in the pantry, quiet gathering spaces in the gardens, books about the house and the area and hot-cooked breakfasts.   The artichoke quiche and home made granola with strawberries as well as the scones were extra special. 
It was lovely.  For more on the Inn, visit http://www.camdenmainestay.com/. 

Lobster Fest 2011

When we arrived at Friendship, Maine, Dolly was just about to set out for the dock to pick up the lobster.   She was gathering styrofoam coolers and chests and we decided to tag along.  In a kind of entourage, some of us on foot and Dolly and Brenda in the car, we made our way to a space where Arnold, the lobsterman, greeted us.  He must be a kind of local celebrity.  Dolly told him that she had purchased a photo of him just that morning during the Friendship Days celebration.  He is pictured on the dock,  with the sea and his work space as background, and the caption reads, "The Office". 
Fifty-five lobster were carried in buckets and then transferred to the coolers.  Still alive, their claws were confined by rubber bands that I was told would come in handy later as guests used them to ping each other.  I don't understand the chemical reaction that makes live lobsters look black and cooked lobsters red. 
As we were leaving, Arnold shared some pictures of a magazine photo shoot (I think he said Vogue) with gorgeous models positioned against the backdrop of Arnold's 'office'. 
In my previous post, I mentioned that Dolly hosts this annual Lobster Fest, a friend and family annual reunion of sorts.  It is the best kind of holiday, one created by a group of friends and family with its own food and traditions.  One of the guests told me that they have been gathering for 16 years and the tradition actually dates back to Dolly's late mother. 
This year, there were a few newbies like us, others who have attended sporadically and some real regulars, for whom this is an annual homecoming.  It was an eclectic mix of ages, geographies, and personalities and we had a splendid time.  Never having taken apart a whole lobster, I would have been lost but for the man at my right who showed me the proper way to extract that sweetest of seafood from the shell and how to crack its claws.  After a few minutes of chatting, I realized that the man at my right was someone I knew slightly professionally  years ago and we reconnected over lobster lessons. 
It was a joy to be part of this special group for a day and to experience a day in the Maine village called most appropriately, Friendship.  Thank you, Dolly. 

Running Away From Rome (Part One)

Looking forward to leaving the sweltering heat and humidity of the 'Burgh and traveling to Maine later this week.  My friend Dolly hosts an annual lobster fest at her family home that I have been wanting to attend for years.  This year it looks like the stars have finally aligned and JB and I will get to go and eat lobster and sit on Dolly's front porch.  She grew up literally across the street from where the lobster fishermen keep their boats (or whatever the correct nautical term is) with a view of the Atlantic Ocean.  She once showed me a coffee table book by Walter Cronkite that had an aerial view of the house and her quaint Maine village.  How idyllic. 
The place I grew up in was a suburb of a steel mill town;  my childhood memories are of hearing slag trucks drive by as they carried the remnants of steel making to another suburb to form the foundation for a new shopping mall.  There was not a lot of physical beauty.  We would take occasional trips to county or state parks and vacations to Boston, where my dad lived just after he immigrated to the US.   On those trips, I caught a glimpse of what people who grow up in coastal areas experience. 
St. Augustine is quoted as saying -- "The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page."   I want to read many pages.  The book, "1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler's Life List" sits on a table in our family room. 
This week I get to go somewhere new that is listed there, Acadia National Park.  Since Clare is spending the summer in Maine, we will get to spend time with her too.  She suggested places to stay, and encouraged us to look beyond the Marriotts, at least for a few nights.  And so we have compromised and I have B&B reservations for three nights.  She further recommended Camden, Maine as a place to stay.  B & B reservations can be a little diffcult to come by for three people during Maine's high season.  After some online searching and phone calling, I found myself in conversation with a woman speaking with an accent I could not easily identify.  At first I thought it odd, since I expected to hear that distinctive Maine pronunciation that Dolly first introduced me to and that I have since come to recognize on trips to Maine with Clare. 
The B&B reservations person who happens to be the owner apologized for her difficulties and mentioned that she is Italian.  Italian??  How would an Italian end up running a B&B on the coast of Maine?  Through the joys of the Internet, I was able to read the story of an Italian couple's life in Rome, interest in US travel and decision to move to Maine.
It's pretty hard for me to understand how someone would want to leave Rome and relocate to a beautiful, yet seasonally challenging place like Maine (think sub-zero and snowed in for months on end).   
I am looking forward to meeting her and hope to post more soon about their travels and ours too. 

From Red Lion, PA

Well, it's not Tuscany or the Napa Valley.  But this Fourth of July weekend brought a lovely, characteristically American, surprise quick trip to wine county, PA.  A dear friend from California returned unexpectedly to the area due to a death in her family and asked me to accompany her on the drive to return her daughter to York, PA.  The drive time allowed for great catch-up conversation and we reflected on family, relationships, life, health care and friendships. She arranged for us to stay overnight at the Red Lion B & B.  Most of my overnight trips are to places like Fairfield Inns or Courtyards (got to use those Marriott points!).    The B & B was lovely and the owner-couple also run a local bakery-tea room.  Dani, the wife, is an accomplished pastry chef and she prepared a great breakfast of French Toast (I nibbled); fruit cup, bacon and raspberries with cream.  The raspberries were tiny and picked from the garden outside the inn.  We were seated at an outdoor table with a couple who were in the area to attend a Mennonite wedding.  We had a delightful conversation about the wedding, and they shared stories of the ceremony (lots of a capella singing), the food (a sit-down dinner served family style) and the interaction of men and women (apparently not much).  We talked about various ethic wedding and related food customs.  It was the kind of conversation that would not spring forth at a chain hotel, where CNN blares and USA today provides reading material for isolated, silent dining.  

Before heading back so she could catch her flight, we stopped at Brown's Orchard and Farm Market in Loganville, PA; the photo captures part of their nursery operation.   Adjacent to the store is an outlet for Logan's View Winery. 
We browsed and I bought local cherries, zucchini, potatoes and three bottles of wine.  The winery is new, offering its first wines for sale in August 2009.  The grapes are grown on Brown's land and the fruit wines are made with fruit from Brown's orchards.  One of the wines is a cherry one, so I am looking forward to serving it with their cherries as a dessert.  It's a strictly grown and produced local proposition.  I picked up the Brown's newsletter and during the long PA turnpike ride home, I read it.  It was packed with information about local artists, local performances, a feature on all the employees they have named Linda, their 'pick our own' program for fruits, a farm-based summer camp and recipes.   

 I am going to try this one which comes from www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org.  

Watermelon-Blueberry Banana Split (Serves 4)

2 large ripe bananas, 8 scoops of watermelon (take out the seeds), 1 pint blueberries, 1/2 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt, 1/4 cup crunchy cereal nuggets or granola ( I think I will use nuts instead)

Cut the bananas crosswise in half, cut each piece lengthwise in half.  For each serving, place 2 pieces of banana against the sides of a long shallow desert dish.  Place a scoop of watermelon at each end of the dish.  Fill the center with blueberries, Stir the yogurt until smooth, spoon over the fruit.  Sprinkle with cereal nuggets or granola. 

I loved this getaway and the fact that the places we patronized were local independent businesses, made possible by American entrepreneurs (and not a McDonald's or Wal-Mart in sight).  Happy Independence Day!   

Airplane Yoga

If you have noticed a paucity of posts lately, it's because I have been traveling this month.  I love to travel; and I know that it's not just the destination that matters, but the journey. But seriously, traveling coach on US Airways is no fun. My usual m.o. is to bury myself in a book and a couple of trashy magazines.  I read "The End of Overeating" by David Kessler M.D. and found it a fascinating read about how our appetites have been manipulated by the culture, the media and food manufacturers so that our bodies and our brains are totally misguided and confused; and a great profile of the newlyweds William and Catherine in Vanity Fair and a wonderfully decadent Spa magazine that made me want to immediately plan my next getaway.   But since "moving" is part of my new m.o.,  I talked myself into experimenting with airplane seat yoga.  I have taken enough gentle yoga, including chair yoga, over the past three years that I figured I could come up with some poses that would incorporate stretching, breathing and relaxation to help me tolerate two cross-country flights.
My yoga teachers, Jen in particular, focuses always and fundamentally on the breath.  She teaches four-count breathing, although I like a five-count.  In and out, rhythmically, it is calming and creates a certain mindfulness.  These are some of the poses I came up with that created more of a relaxing physical experience to complement the escapist and sometimes mindless reading I do in flight.  (OK, the lawyer in me comes out.  I am not an expert and not a yoga teacher.  Do these at your own risk!)
While breathing,

1. Chin to Chest
2. Chin to Ceiling
3. Lower Ear towards the shoulder and use your arm and your head to help with the stretch.
4. Wrist Circles
5. Point and Flex the Feet
6. Spread the Toes
7. Seated Twists, putting one arm behind your back and and looking over your shoulder, with your other arm on your knee or your armrest
8. Mini Hip Circles
9. Open the Tray Table, rest your head on your arms and lean forward as you exhale to get a deeper stretch
10. Mini Cat and Cows, rolling your shoulders forward and backward
11. Eagle arms
12. Raise your arms overhead and stretch
13. Slide your arms forward down your legs as you bend forward, getting a deeper stretch as you exhale
14. Pull your bellly into your spine and your spine into your belly.
15. And for final relaxation, put your seat back and breathe. 

The photo above is of the Napa Valley and was taken from the Wine Train.  A relaxing dinner and ride that included a memorable sunset.  Makes the coach travel worthwhile. 

Connecting the Dots at Canyon Ranch

Clare just drove off to return to Boston; Spring Break is officially over.  Four days, 11 lectures, nine exercise sessions, four consults (naturopathic doctor, diabetes educator, nutritionist and exercise physiologist) and three cooking classes (the last one just about an hour from now) -- this constitutes the educational portion -- there will be more later on the eating part, particularly portion size -- of my Canyon Ranch experience.  And, off the program, I asked to meet with the Human Resources Director here to see what I could learn about how they recruit, train, feed, promote wellness and reward their employees.  I am well aware that most people could not do this experience and I am grateful (one of the lectures was on gratitude) to be able to do it, share it with Clare, and develop an even better plan to put flesh on the bones of my initial plan to Eat, Mind and Move. 

Don't you love stories?  This is from the lecture on 'Taking It Home'. 

Tapping Story
"Ever heard the story of the giant ship engine that failed?  The ship's owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure out how to fix the engine.  Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was a youngster.  He carried a large bag of tools with him and when he arrived, he immediately went to work.  He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom. 

Two of the ship's owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do.  After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer.  He gently tapped something.  Instantly the engine lurched back to life.  He carefully put his hammer away.  The engine was fixed.  A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for $10,000.  "What, the owners exclaimed, "he hardly did anything."   So they wrote back and asked for an itemized bill. 

The man sent a bill that read:  "Tapping with a hammer -- $2.00;  Knowing where to tap -- $9,998. 

Moral of the story?  Efforts are indeed important, but knowing where to make efforts in your life makes all the difference" 

Spring Break

Oscar Wilde once said that “youth is wasted on the young”.    I feel the same way about Spring Break.  After all, college kids get Christmas break, Easter break, summers off and all those long holiday weekends.    Starting Sunday, my third Spring Break experience begins with Clare.   No, we are not planning on getting into a drunken stupor and sunburned in some exotic location, although we have done that (the sunburn and exotic location, not the drunken stupor).  We are going to a real, honest to goodness, health spa.   I keep hoping there is some herb, spice, acupuncture, acupressure, vitamin supplement, meditation, yoga posture or pill that will make my numbers better – or maybe even cure me!  But deep down, I know better.  The schedule is full of lectures, fitness evaluations, exercise classes (kettle bells, anyone?), hikes and cooking demonstrations.   It will be fun to see Clare and to travel; more later. 

Bait and Switch at the Jesuit Retreat Center

I've been looking forward to this retreat for a long time, Friday through Sunday at the Jesuit  Center in Wernersville, PA  (near Reading).  It attracted me because it was being given by a Paulist priest, Kripalu trained yoga instructor, Father Thomas Ryan.  Since beginning a yoga practice, I have searched for ways to understand and integrate it with Catholic Christian spirituality.  I have learned from a dozen or so teachers from various traditions and taken classes in different cities, countries and even a cruise ship.  Some teachers focus only on the physical and others incorporate chant, discussion of chakras, Sanskrit words, meridians and readings from eastern mystics.  This makes me a bit uncomfortable, since I am pretty much a color inside the lines Catholic.  This weekend was titled, 'Pray All Ways', with one segment dedicated to praying with yoga.  The first session on Friday night was listed on the schedule as meditation.  But at the beginning of the talk, Father Ryan drew a different inspiration from the day's scripture readings for the first week in Lent, set aside his planned topic and replaced it with an entirely new one that was not part of the program -- on Fasting (as in not eating food!).  Needless to say, this challenged me at my flabby core!  I was looking forward to some gentle yoga, silent prayer and relaxation, nothing too hard, and all of a sudden, I am listening to a compelling, cohesive presentation of Catholic Church teaching (from an apostolic constitution from Pope Paul VI and a pastoral statement from the Catholic bishops in 1966) on the value of penitential practice, including fasting.  Talk about a bit uncomfortable?   But, wait I'm diabetic --remember?  As if reading my mind, he said, "And if you're diabetic, maybe your fasting takes the form of fasting from second helpings..."  And another of his points that I recorded while furiously taking notes was, "What we have yet to understand is that the body tolerates a fast far better than a feast."  That was just as I was thinking to myself that maybe I should call Dr. Natalie to see if missing a meal sometimes might be a problem.  My bemused reaction to that thought was that if I don't call her for permission to gorge myself from time to time, do I really have to be concerned that missing a meal or two is grounds for serious medical consultation??  Especially if I am drinking vegetable broth or diluted fruit juice and lots of water?  I think not!!
Anyway, somehow I know that in God's providence and sense of humor, it was no coincidence that he changed his message; this is one I need to relearn.  And I bought his book, "The Sacred Art of Fasting".   Check out his website for http://www.tomryancsp.org/. 

About the Move Part and Shopping for Fat People

It's probably obvious what the "Move" part of this blog title means.  I need to move more and better.  Growing up, exercise was not something that I saw older girls or young women do.  We ran and played a lot as kids, but by high school, gym was something I tried to get out of every week.  My mom and aunts certainly did nothing like formal exercise.  Now they gardened, hung clothes out to dry, cleaned and ironed (none of which I do) and walked up and down steps all day.  Maybe it's a socioeconomic or ethnic thing.  Some of my friends had mothers that swam or played tennis or golfed.   And I do try to exercise, but nothing too hard.  For the past three years, I have done yoga fairly regularly.  Not the 104 degree, sweat like crazy, Jennifer Aniston, Bikram-type.  Mine is more like the stretching, twisting, reaching, building flexibility type.  After three years, I am very flexible, but still fat.  When I first met Clare in London last December to help pack up her dorm room, in the first 24 hours, I commented to her that there seemed to be no fat people in London.  Well, maybe a few that could be labeled as pleasingly plump.  One day, while Clare was in class, I was at Harrod's and decided to shop for them.  They were a rarity.  Especially truly obese people.  Clare said it's cultural, a combination of portion sizes, physical activity and a largely snackless daily routine.  One of my favorite places to shop is Whole Foods and there is one in London.  It is about five times the size of the one in Pittsburgh.  One of the things I immediately noticed and took a picture of as an example of the 'portion distortion' we have in the US was a Cliff Bar.  Same flavors as here, but about half the size.  Ditto for the yogurt at Starbucks. 
Anyway, Dr. Natalie says "Not exercising is not an option."  So I am exercising more, at least 150 minutes a week or an average of 30 minutes five times a week.  I got that down, now she says I need to build more muscle, do strength training.   Going to an E.P. to get an exercise prescription.  
Day two of no candy, and day two of writing notes of gratitude.  So far, so good.