Wishing You a Happy & Productive New Year!

This year our family is looking forward to new members arriving. There's not much that says HOPE like a newborn baby.

Each new year is a tabula rasa, a blank sheet, to be written on in our best hand. I hope that our actions, in the aggregate, will inscribe this new year in such a way that we can look back proudly on our accomplishments. We will never walk this path again. We write in stone. Pray we write well.

Hope your Christmas was a good one!

My family has been to see each other in various places... Enjoying the catching up of news and the sight of loved faces. Face to face meetings are more than just seeing and talking. I believe that the scent, touch and body language of our loved ones fills the space in the meetings. Physically touching is so very important to our animal nature.

My brother has some traits that are remarkable in these transient times. He works to keep his family close and to keep his friends. He has never lost a friend, to my knowledge, and actively works for their success. When he has a business going he finds ways to profit his friends, who then work hard to make the business a success. Quid pro quo. He is well known in his business circle as one who treats his colleagues as well as he wanted to be treated when he worked for others. He makes friends wherever he does business. He gives, of himself, his time and his experience.

My brother also leads the way in family relations. He epitomizes the loyal, generous patriarch. He reaches out to us, even to the ones who are veering off the path and headed for trouble. I admire his constant reaching out to the extended family... Even those who might not answer him this year, but might the next. Gradually they realize he is not a fair weather friend. He treats family as if they were friends and works to make them his friends.

Back on the wagon!

OK, friends, start praying for this old tub of lard to shed some poundage! I'm using the website 'Calorie-count.com' to post food, exercise and thoughts about my struggles. The website has lots of solid info on nutrition and health. There's also a nice forum at 'Caloriesperhour.com' that seems supportive, along with calculators to see what you have to do. I used their calculators to find that my BMI is 35+ and it'll take me 18 months to lose this 77 Lbs. That's June 07! Sounds like by that time this new way of eating will be engraved in my head.

It didn't accrete quickly, so it will have to slide off gradually too! That's assuming no backsliding.

This is the third day, so I'm not feeling deprived yet. If I can manage it I won't get far enough into the calorie deficit to feel as if I'm starving. I really have to control the desperation that that engenders.

I have to push myself on the exercise part. Macks would love to help me with that, I think!

We have been given 3 gifts of oysters, so one of my meals today was 2 cups of them. I shucked them... then ate them, like the walrus in Alice in Wonderland... or was it Through the Looking Glass?

Musings

I’m thinking of doing a portable beekeeping library to carry to the meetings and let folks check out books. I have a step by step booklet on queen rearing which I think my fellow beekeepers would like to borrow.

I used a stethoscope to listen to my hives today (Friday- 48F so far). Most of them in the sun were flying. The ones I knew were weak were still alive, according to the hum I heard through the box walls. Mine aren'’t taking down any feed. This time last year they were all still taking down HFCS and brooding. This year they had no brood in October, except for the weakest one, which had a small patch.

Sledding & “Grown-up": Maturity is facing responsibilities, doing what you need to do, unpleasant or not. You can sled and clown around all you want and still be grown-up! When you're young is the time to experiment, and learn by failure/success. When you have youngsters/oldsters depending on you, you won’t have the latitude of your youth. When I see a fine young man working to improve himself it makes me proud to be his friend.

She's Home !!!!

I thought I'd posted here in the recent past... Sorry, I must have done it in my daydreams!
Sam's had another IVIg treatment that knocked him silly for about two weeks. BA massaged his feet and did him worlds of good, which helped him through the bad parts.

GT is in the states for about 3 weeks, too short a time to do all she needs to do. My brother invited her along on a trip to see the California part of the family. Babies galore! She's trying to see everyone, and still get the medical appointments and repacking done. Grenada is now in the past and she'll be doing hands on training and classes in St Vincent and the Grenadines, just Northeast of Grenada. She already has a apartment and will share a car with Julie to get around to the clinics. Busses are too undependable and dangerous for single girls. They'll still have to cook for themselves, though. She will at least be with her classmates. The class has shrunk by about 100 to 250. GT really misses some who were close friends, but have to decelerate. I'm pleased she's worked hard enough to stay up with the class.

In May GT returns for her Medical Licensing Board Exams. I think she'll chose the 6 week program in Delaware. Clinical Rotations start in the fall, hopefully in a setting where she won't have to travel extensively. Then she'll get assigned her place of Residency or Internship.