December 6, 2002

• I’m back, friends.  And I’m sitting pretty, so to speak, on my “new” used ergonomic office chair.  The old one was bent wood and worn out upholstery, cushioned with pillows.  It was a solid thing, set flat on the floor and not easy to scoot around.  This one is steel framed, with padded seat and knee rest, wheels on the bottom and a swivel seat.  I am getting a lot of shameless materialistic bliss out of this.

  
  

  I took Doug to town yesterday because we couldn’t put off getting his new boots any longer.  He squeezed into a back corner of the Salvation Army store and found my chair.  We hit two thrift shops before starting the round of the shoe outlets and department stores.  He scored a pair of great insulated winter boots, plus a cheap pair of low-tops with good traction.  He can slip into them for quick trips out to the woodpile or outhouse.  Everything was on sale and we did great, I think, price-wise.

  
  

  I also did some Xmas shopping for family and bought myself a new long flannel nightie at a great sale price.  It’s ‘way long and flowing, roomy, a quality fabric with woven, not printed, hound’s tooth checks in two shades of blue, with white lace and blue velvet ribbon trim.  I slept in it last night… love it.  I did fail in my quest for new boots for me, so I’m going to be forced to apply duct tape to the old ones, I guess.  No problem:  been there, done that.

  
  

  The whiplash from my fall on the ice is all better now.  I managed to heal it in about four days.  My chiropractor commented once on how fast I healed after a car wreck.  Some of that may come from practice, long experience at illness and recovery.  But not all of it is that.  There is intention involved here.  I’m a healer and have ended up with myself as my primary patient.

  
  

  I encountered an old friend in the mall yesterday.  She was amazed to see me bouncing along with the old spring in my step.  She admitted that she had been expecting a call to my funeral.  It had been three years since I’d been well enough to get out to social events, and about that long since I’d seen her, but we’d talked on the phone and she had heard from Greyfox and Charley about how sick I was.  We had a great little gab fest, and she gave me the email addy of a friend of hers who apparently needs a dose of some of the same medicine I’ve been getting.

  
  

  And here is where I segue into the health update.  I am into the second month on my amino acid supplements for the food addictions.  The only problem I’m having to watch out for continually is anorexia.  A doctor when I was a kid stated the problem as a “defective appestat”.  I don’t notice I’m hungry until I get weak and shaky from hypoglycemia.  Then my tendency is to overeat.   Healthy hunger and addictive food cravings are two very different things.  Now that the cravings are gone, I must try to remember to eat regularly.

  
  

  I’m eating small portions, only enough to sustain my blood sugar.  I’m shrinking (as witness my pants hanging off my hips) but not losing much weight.  Where does it all go?  I know that a lot of the girth was bloat from yeast in my gut, but still it’s amazing to see the difference.  It’s not all in my belly, either.  My face isn’t all puffy now, nor my hands and feet.  I could probably start wearing rings again, but not now.  Why bother?

  
  

  Since I started the new regimen, I’ve had only one glycemic response.  I had bought three big ruby red grapefruit, and ate the first one two or three sections at a time over the course of four days.  When I started sectioning out the second one I was already weak from hunger, and as I worked, cutting the sweet juicy red sections from the membranes, I ate one occasionally.  I probably nibbled half a grapefruit that way, and soon felt the telltale flush and rush, then got sleepy, and then got the not-painful-but-scary sensations in my feet from diabetic neuropathy.  Now I need to section that last grapefruit, but you can bet I’ll do it on a full stomach to avoid temptation.

  
  

  The guys largely get by on quick-fix prepared foods or leftovers from things I have cooked in quantity for that purpose.  We still have Thanksgiving leftovers in the fridge, and another turkey outside in Mother Nature’s cooler, usually a freezer this time of year, but El Niño is making it important to cook it up and bone the meat to freeze for later.  No way will that 24 pound turkey fit in our little freezer compartment, especially since I found a good price on bay scallops yesterday and bought five pounds.
  

  Can you tell from my topics here that I’m hungry?  It’s still before breakfast for me, since I need to wait an hour after taking my morning meds before I eat.  I’ve spent more than that hour here, so I have to go now, get some food and get to work.  I’m percolating two more memoir blogs, one the continuation of my childhood, and the other in the ‘seventies after I met Charley.
  

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  • 1:49 pm
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