THE LIGHTER SIDE CAFE TUESDAY NOVEMBER 2

Hi friends,

I was up and at 'em early today and had the laundry done and put away by 7:30 AM.  One benefit of hotel living is the multiple machines allowing us to do lights and darks simultaneously.  I am heading to the Cape in about an hour to meet the home inspector. 

It's funny that you and Pam both talked about food scarcity, Ann.  I am hearing a lot about it even though I have not grocery shopped except for a few incidentals and snacks in over a month. I thought the prices looked very high at the local store here, but then realized it is all over on things like hamburger!  I read that the lack of help is keeping shelves empty - it is not the lack of food but rather employees to do the work to keep everything stocked.  Ugh. I hope people decide they want to work again soon.  

Not sure if I told you that our NJ family all has RSV.  We are particularly worried about 3 month old Blake.  It's very scary for kids.  

Work is getting busy with travel on the upswing and events around the country.  I'll be in the office tomorrow and Thursday.  We hired movers for Friday and both the furniture delivery from the store and landscapers are coming at the same time.  So much to do.  We are nearing the finish line in some ways but a lot left to arrange and sort through. Once we are in, we can take our time and get it done. 

Pam, I love the idea of a turtle race.  You live in a fun area. I have never heard of that!  :-)  You have more fun in LA than we do up here, I think.  Glad you stocked up on holiday booze for guests, etc.  Glad Total Wine refunded you.  Good thing you checked the receipt. Sometimes I don't do that.   I do love a nice glass of cognac.  We make the Swedish Glogg at Christmastime and a little sip goes a long way.  

D&D are doing well now  Douglas was quite repentant about his naughty behavior trotting off at high speed to visit the neighbors.  He's so social - I should have figured that's where he'd be. Usually, he is trying to get into someone's party or family gathering and he LOVES going into any stores that allow him entrance.  

I just finished watching a good mystery on BritBox called The Long Call. It takes place in Devon England and the scenery is spectacular.  

Pam, I will check out the Jodi Picoult book. I have to be in the right frame of mind for her books, but she is a compelling writer.  I am working on a series of British mysteries set in the early 1900s.  Very good. 

Waving to Sue. I hope you have a good day off today.  Have fun with your VBF.  Nice to have a light school schedule this week.  I am going to get a mini- Jersey Mike's sub for lunch.  They are so good and not terribly big. 

oh, I had not heard about WW changes. I canceled my membership for a bit. I was not following it living here and wasting money.  I will rejoin when we get settled.  I must have just missed the news. 

TTFN....

Good Morning!

Debbie and I walked at 7:30 and then I enjoyed a breakfast of yogurt, blueberries and muesli. Lunch will be homemade chicken soup and a salad. Dinner is crab au gratin and more salad. I spent a LONG time in the checkout line at Walmart, surrounded by candy and chips, but resisted throwing any into the basket. Yay me!

My plan for the day is to pick pecans and then attempt to dig sweet potatoes. At 5:00 is the Blessing of the Graves at the little Episcopal church where my parents, paternal grandparents and great-grandparents are buried. That will make a full day for me, especially if I work in a post-lunch rest time.

For some reason, DH's blood sugar crashed after he took his meds today. This happens occasionally and the only thing we figure is he hit a blood vessel instead of tissue with the injection, so had a rapid uptake instead of over several hours. He's okay, but it leaves him feeling tired for hours, so he's been napping.

The new WW plan is supposed to roll out 11/11/21 in the USA, but Australia has already rolled out, so there is lots of info being shared. Here's a recap from the General Discussion thread:

"The points calculation is a new algorithm. It will be based on age, sex, height, activity and metabolism (whatever that means is yet to be seen)

You can grow your points budget by:
Eating non starchy vegetables (1 extra point per serve…there is a reference list)

Drinking more water (1 extra point per 1.75 litres…sorry don’t know the US equivalent)

Exercise (pts added to budget dependent on age, sex, weight…but amount added to your budget is unlimited/not capped).

Roll overs same as usual

No mention of Blue Dots.

Eggs zero no matter what you choose

Avocado and guacamole (if no added sugar) is zero

Live virtual sessions to learn all the basics, first session is not until tomorrow evening. Mini sessions for those who are more tech savvy beginning 8th Nov

Program booklet available online to look at, and strongly suspect is what will be given out in workshops.

No new food guide in the WW Shop, and don’t think there ever will be for this plan as values may change depending on your zero list/personalised plan.

The personalised assessment appeared and questions asked:

*are you diabetic/pre-diabetic
*how often do you eat vegetables
*how often do you eat fruit
*Do you often eat…..
(list consists of sweet snacks, salty snacks, fast food, alcohol, breads and crackers,
*what protein sources do you eat
*what starchy carbs sources do you eat
*activity-do you wish to measure time or steps (I based mine on steps)
*how many steps do you average a day during the week
*how many steps do you average on the weekend"

I like the idea of a personalized plan and that natural sugars won't be penalized the same as added sugars, something that has bothered me about the current plan. It will be interesting to see how it all goes. Past updates have caused system crashes, etc.

Judy - I know you are busy now, but at some point after you are settled, I would love the Swedish Glogg recipe. Our little Leah had RSV as an infant and was hospitalized for a couple of days. DD3 was lucky in that we arrived for a visit, the same day Leah was hospitalized and were able to care for Madison. Still, it makes us worry about Leah catching Covid, since the RSV made her so very sick.

Ann - I know you will be relieved to get past the Lyme disease issue. Praying your test is negative! With the rising food prices, we are trying to use up leftovers as much as possible. We can afford food, for which I am grateful, but there's no sense in throwing it into the garbage after paying a premium price.

Sue - Enjoy your day off!

Good Afternoon, WW Friends ~

Happy Tuesday!  I seem to have missed posting yesterday, but it was a busy day.  I heard from my GF with the DH in the hospital with COVID.  She has tested positive and is feeling okay and has an appointment for infusion of monoclonal antibodies tomorrow.  She related that when she talked to her DH yesterday he said he felt the best he has felt in a couple of weeks.  His pulmonologist came in yesterday and told him that without the vaccine he most likely would not have made it through this episode.  That's scary!!  Of course, we are all grateful that he was vaccinated.  There's a huge difference in leaving the hospital walking or in a body bag.  She and I ended up texting through most of The Voice on TV. Nice long visit to while away the time.....

This morning I went to the Fitness Studio for my class, and found out that I needed to update my Silver Sneakers enrollment.  I had signed up in March, 2020 right before they closed.  We reopened in June 2021 and I asked at that time if I needed to re-enroll?  They told me that I showed a renewal date of October.  I never heard anything, and the person at the desk has changed; but today she told me when she logged me in it showed "inactive".  After class I went across the street to the high school where the Fitness Desk is located and it only took a minute for the guy to find me and had me sign two forms and I was done.  He then scanned my key fob and it worked! So that's done!

I came home and took a fabulous hot shower and got dressed to go meet VBF for lunch. We went to a place we don't go to very often and never been to together. We ordered the Chicken Strawberry Salad that I had the last time I was there, and loved!  We both agreed it was absolutely awesome!! So flavorful, and colorful, and satisfying.  We even ordered the medium instead of the large size. YUM!!

It is unusually cold here today and I came home after lunch and got into my sweats and fuzzy socks and plan to stay indoors the rest of the day.  I may read and/or nap this afternoon, and then make a nice supper before DH gets home.  I'm not ready for the cold .... but it's here.

BBL.  Make a great day!!