I think that I give myself a hard time for not reading, but I actually do read. I just don't keep a record of it or have the books lying around because they're usually from the library. So I'm going to start putting them here with the label, and I can go back and see that I haven't actually rotted my brain.
Here's what I've got now:
I like Dr. Chatterjee - he's earnest and engaging with this health messaging. I think I heard him on the Calm app and have looked at his website, videos, and now this book. It's not revolutionary - his pillars of health are Relax, Sleep, Eat, Move. Less stress, more quality, higher quality unprocessed foods, and physical activity. He likes to put things into small bits, so he has strength training ideas that only take five minutes, for example. It's appealing and I'm sure he's not wrong. i know I'm in a health echo chamber, and I'm ok with that.
When Dear Friend came, she wanted to go out for dinner so we went to a place with high reviews and I was as always here sorely disappointed. We then met up with her son's friends for grocery shopping, and then we went to our favorite ice cream place.
Going out to eat has always been our thing, but I put my foot down and asked if it would be ok for us to eat at home. I had a fridge of food - kale-white bean soup, red-cabbage-garbanzo salad, quinoa-cucumber-feta salad, plus a winter squash I wanted to cook up. Not only does the food that I prepare taste better than almost all food I can buy here, but it makes me feel better - and it's less expensive than eating out. Yes, I enjoy our ice cream place a lot, and I will continue to go there from time to time. But sweets need to be occasional.
And she was fine with that, and she enjoyed what I prepared and asked for recipes. She is a good cook, as is her husband, and her youngest son is very skilled in the kitchen. Usually when I'm visiting or living with them, we eat at home a lot. We have just been in the habit here of going out, and I'd like to change that.
The dog was quite good with the visit - I let Dear Friend know that she'd been snappy and to avoid extended physical contact, and that seemed to work well. Now she's exhausted and she'll sleep the day away. it's so hard to be good.
My garden is looking good - peas coming in, and arugula and turnips. Favas and garlic are continuing along, and Dear Friend brought some raspberry canes that I put in so berry row is done now. I think I'll grow potatoes in pots and I need to buy good seed potatoes as Friend ate them all and didn't understand that we save them. She didn't really save me much of the produce this past year that I had planted in her garden, so she's going to be more on her own to plant. I'll remind her, but I'm not going to take so much initiative to grow her food if she's not going to share much. We also didn't let her know that Dear Friend was here, which maybe I should feel guilty about, but don't. We didn't discuss it, just neither of us contacted her. I think we have some boundary issues - she feels that she needs to be here the whole visit and tries to commandeer it, but I think what really pushed me was when her niece was here. I understand it's her niece, but we also have an independent relationship, and Friend wouldn't let us have any time without her and she was almost dictatorial about when and how I could see her. It was just kind of weird and I realized how this has been an issue that has bothered me. But also like when she has had some other friends in town whom I get along with but am not particularly close, I don't feel the need to intervene in their visits at all. Anyway, I don't think that this needs to be an issue at all or even discussed, I just don't always need to tell Friend when I have visitors, and we're fine.
On another note, I've had this feeling of low-level anxiety for a few days. I don't know if it's related to sugar intake, possibly. IT's just an uneasy feeling I can't shake. IT could be work-related, but I'm not sure. I'll be careful to limit sugar intake and see if it goes away, and increase physical activity. I definitely need to include some strength training.
Yesterday I wrapped up planting all the native plants I'd purchased over the past few months. I'd been trying to figure out ideal locations, etc., but finally gave up on ideal and just got them in the ground. Our rainy season ends in a couple of months and it will be nice if they are at least a little established.
I think I have a lot more food than I can eat before it turns, thanks my farmers market eyes and a big bag of salad greens that won't last as long as the rest (collards, etc.). I'll prepare a lot to share with the little free refrigerator this week. I'll need more lemons.
It's another beautiful day, and I'm feeling really fortunate.
Oh, I forgot to weigh myself today before I ate. First Sunday in six months that I haven't stepped on the scale, and not the end of the world.
