Me Update: Work, Health, Going Paleo...

I haven't really written much lately, but loads of things have been going on.  We'll start with work...I'll keep it brief...

Our contract is up on1/31/2015.  So far the good new is our work duties for the next contract will stay the same.  We know nothing about funding yet, and we don't know if the contract will have to go out for rebid or not.  Those last two things are the semi-bad news (semi because it isn't really bad yet).  There is nothing I can do about any of it, so I'm not worrying about it.

On to health, the main thing I've been obsessing working with lately.

I was diagnosed with celiac back in April, and I've been eating a gluten-free diet since May.  I was expecting my overall health, which I think is actually pretty good, to improve.  I was hoping that by taking gluten out of my diet, I would improve my depression, fatigue, sleep problems, and anxiety.

It didn't happen.  Maybe I was expecting too much, but I didn't notice a change at all, except I started obsessing working to find really good non-gluten options for cookies, cupcakes, and especially bread.  I bought expensive products and expensive ingredients.  Some of them wound up in the trash.  It became frustrating and made me even more stressed and anxious than I already was.

Between the money, stress, and lack of any obvious symptoms whether I ate gluten or not, I really just got more stressed and anxious.  I was also hoping to lose weight, which didn't happen.  I actually gained a few pounds after going gluten free (I blame my trial-and-error gluten-free goodie quest for this).

Back in May, I attended the Gluten-Free Group of Gettysburg, which is sponsored by the Gettysburg Hospital.  An incredible group!  They had three tables of free gluten-free goodies and three local gluten-free bakeries selling their wares.  It was a great, friendly group of people, too.

The speaker was one of the hospital's registered dieticians, who talked about the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Paleo Diet, which is a more restricitve version of the Paleo diet specifically designed to get your autoimmune disease under control and heal your body from the damage that is (in part) feeding it.

It seemed hellish restrictive to me, and while I was facinated by it (people in wheelchairs from MS and Rheumatoid Arthritis have had their symptoms completely disappear!) I decided it wasn't for me.  Don't really have symptoms, do I?  Don't need it.

But I was curious, and I kept the paperwork.  I'd always thought Paleo was a fad diet with a catchy name.  Oooo, let's eat like a caveman!  Ha.  Seriously?  But in the couple months since the talk, I couldn't get it out of my head.  The man's father, who has parkinson's, went on this diet and his symptoms went away.  The moment he went off the diet (because he had to go in a nursing home) all the symtoms came back.  There was just something about the science behind this that one couldn't dismiss.

About a month ago, for some reason I decided to look up the general Paleo diet.  I found myself on a website called PaleoLeap.com, which has extensive information on the science, why's, and how's of Paleo.

I was hooked.  I'm such a science geek, and I just devoured the nutrition info.  I couldn't believe how vegetable oils affect our bodies.  The BS I've been fed about what triglycerides are.  How bad beans and grains, ALL grains, are for the human body!

And this was part of what I needed!  That obsession with finding a wheat-alternative and acceptable, tasty baked goods was doing as much damage physically as it was mentally and emotionally, and I didn't realize it.  When I realized how stressed out I was trying to find pasta and bread I could choke down, added to the Paleo info, it was a no brainer.

So, I'm off ALL grains (including corn).  ALL legumes (including soy and peanuts).  ALL vegetable oils.  Paleo also doesn't allow dairy, but I'm doing limited dairy.  For now, I'm not following the AIP, but I might try it out in the future.

I'm going to stick with this for about 6 months and see what happens.  So far, the changes I'm seeing are minimal, but it's only been about 3 weeks.  I'm down 4lb.  I felt out of control when I was struggling to find a wheat-alternative; now I feel more in control by saying I don't eat grains, so it is now a non-issue.  That one step has greatly improved my outlook and taken a huge stressor off my back.

I'm going to update things here on a weekly basis (fingers-crossed)  I'll also add some really good Paleo blogs on the right bar when I get time.

Garden, or Not

We didn't do a garden last year.  I was fed up from previous years of no help weeding, planting, weeding, picking things out to order, weeding, seeding, weeding, harvesting, and weeding. 

Did I mention weeding?

I did plant garlic in the one herb bed we have, and it was a sorry crop.  Small.  Tasty, but small.  I didn't even plant garlic this fall, since technically I'm not allowed to really eat it anymore (but I do).

The garden was in rough shape.  We had a lot of work to do to bring it up to speed.  There was an overgrown butterfly bush in there, the tomato cages are still in place from 2 years ago, and removed an awful excuse for deer/rabbit fencing which was made more difficult due to the wild morning glory vines that were growing through it.

So.  We also are working on doing some layered cardboard-and-hay beds for this year a la Ecologia.  I'm hoping that will work out.  We've gone to a couple of their tours, they are AWESOME and we hope to do more with the techniques they have taught us.

I am planning on using up seed I have from previous years, and I think the only thing I need to order this year is onion seedlings.  Maybe some fruit plants/trees/bushes. 

Two of the four raised beds are cleaned out now.  Onions, spinach, and peas are planted in one with a couple artichokes thrown in for kicks and giggles to see what they do.  The other bed also has peas and a mess of beets.  So far, the peas and spinach are sprouting, but I think I only saw one beet.

We started tomato plants inside.  The are tiny right now, but will be big strapping seedlings before too long.

I'm looking forward to having fresh veggies again.  My health issues forced me to take a good, hard look at my diet and I can tell you, it hasn't been great.  It used to be, but then I cut out a bunch of stuff because of the gastroparesis...things like raw bell peppers for lunch and strawberries and asparagus and salad.  I'm inserting them back into my diet.  I like them.  I need them.  They are back.

The (Inevitable) False Start

I officially pushed the Gluten-Free button on Monday, April 14.  I went in to work and made a cup of my coffee alternative, Dandy Blend, only to realize sometime later that day that it has roasted barley and rye in it. 

I threw the Dandy Blend out that night.  Switching to tea and the occasional decaf coffee when I can’t stand it anymore.

On Tuesday night, I realized the melatonin supplement I take before bed has wheat in it.  That also got thrown away; I still haven’t replaced it but I have something earmarked on Amazon.

Tuesday and Wednesday were totally gluten-free.

Thursday I had a doctor’s appointment.  She sent me for bloodwork that needed to be taken while I’m eating a gluten diet, so I’ve been glutening the hell out of myself for the past few days, eating things I’m guessing I won’t be able to again.  Ever.  I will have a Kit Kat before it is all said and done. 

I’m going to re-push the Gluten-Free button after we go out for our anniversary dinner this weekend, so either Sunday or Monday.  Then, that will be it….unless the bloodwork comes back with questions.  I’m also getting tested for milk, corn, and soy allergies since the villi atrophy can be caused by those, too.  We’ll see.

After reading some of the things some people have to deal with, and some things that have been said to Celiac people, I am thanking my lucky stars that I know food as well as I do, that I can cook raw veggies, that I can cook from scratch at all.  Some people think white and wheat bread are….made from different things!  Like there is a grain called “white” and one called “wheat.”  Seriously!  WTF, people. 

I already got rid of some cereal that only I eat, the two bags of whole wheat flour, and the graham flour went out to the chickens.  I kept the all-purpose flour and the regular pasta for the Hooband because he asked me to.  I guess he plans on using them sometime when I’m not eating or not around.  I still need to delve deeply into the cabinets, see what has been lurking there for a long time, and purge it as well.   You know, those things you forget are back there for years?  Those things.

I’m collecting recipes (Oh, that reminds me: Must. Weed. Recipes), and planning meals for the week so there is no last minute what-do-we-want-to-eat-tonight baloney. This is also going to make this year's garden that much more important....but that's a post for a later date!

Gut Feelings, 4: New Doc, New Diagnoses

So.  A new doctor, a new diagnosis, a new eating plan, and a new set of questions.

First, I like the doctor.  He threw his pen down 4 times in shock of what tests and procedures had NOT been done at various times in my medical story.  I like that.  He is a squirrelly little guy, not what I expected, but he definitely knows his stuff.  I like him.  But of course I liked the other guy, too, so we’ll see how this goes.

He wants to do another endoscopy on me with biopsies this time, as Barrett’s Esophagus cannot truly be diagnosed without biopsies to check the cell structure.  He will also measure the hiatal hernia and a few other things that have never been done before.

He diagnosed me with gastroparesis, which is delayed emptying of the stomach.  Literal translation is “stomach paralysis.”  Mine is not bad, thank goodness, as some people are on all liquid diets or feeding tubes because they can’t tolerate foods at all.  I knew I had delayed stomach emptying, but my previous doc left me feeling that it was a minor symptom of my existing gut issues.  I had no idea it was an actual condition or something that stood on its own, so to speak.

There is no cure, no drug to fix it, and diet changes only manage symptoms.  You can’t make it permanently worse by eating wrong, but you will exacerbate the short-term symptoms.

Turns out the diet for this excludes EXACTLY WHAT I HAVE BEEN EATING THE PAST FEW MONTHS to control my acid reflux:  nuts (because they are alkaline), dried fruit and whole grains (because they soak up stomach acid).  All these things take so long to digest they are not recommended for GP.  Great.  Also, no (NONE) raw veggies (this means no salads), no veggies or fruits with skins (apples, green beans, dried beans, celery, figs, etc.).  No berries. 

All veggies need to be cooked.  I can have potatoes (white or sweet) without skins, most other root veggies, some greens, cooked peas (shelled), carrots, tomatoes (but I’m not supposed to have them because of the GERD), etc.  No beef or pork.  Chicken and fish are ok but I can only have 2oz portions at a time.  Protein drinks, soups, purees, smoothies, juices, etc., are recommended as supplements.  Dairy is ok. 

So, at this point I’m wondering if the GERD exacerbates the gastroparesis, or vice versa.  We will see how things turn out as I change my diet yet again.  I’m eating a small meal about every 2 hours.  One thing I can say is it is helping me with some slow weight loss.  My meals tend to look like this:

• 9:30 – Cascadian Farm granola with almond milk 
• 11:30 – an Orgain shake  
• 1ish – leftovers or soup or something similar.  I hate soup. 
• 3ish – crackers with almond butter and a banana   
• 4:30 – yogurt or cottage cheese and a hardboiled egg or something  
• 6:30 – dinner.  This is my biggest problem, as my husband is a serious carnivore and I     can’t really do that anymore.  So, I make a “normal” dinner, then eat what I can.  I usually go to bed hungry and wake up even hungrier.

I didn’t have any of these gastroparesis symptoms until a couple years or so after I started taking Prilosec.  I really do think the meds caused it or made my stomach somehow lazy, but very very few studies have been done on anything with GP, so the doctor pretty much told me the answer was no, there was no correlation.  Right.

I’ve found a fantastic resource in Crystal Saltrelli, CHC.  She is a certified health counselor who has gastroparesis and has worked to gather information to help sufferers deal better. She has videos, books, podcasts, a blog, and has worked to put a lot of information into the hands of people who have this condition.  I'm grateful she has.

Meet the Flockers!! Part 1

I thought it might be fun to introduce the chickens one at a time. We currently have an even dozen: 8 girls and 4 boys. We have gotten chickens in three batches:

1. The first 8, which consisted of 6 "Easter Eggers" and two Marans
2. A batch of 5 Jersey Giants we found on Craigslist, and
3. 2 more we came home with from Virginia, a buff Cochin and a buff Orp
   

This is Larry, the EE rooster we named after my dad. He's a decent rooster, not too aggressive but he will bite and while you can pick him up, he doesn't like it. My father is enamored with him and asks about him constantly. He even has several pictures saved on his computer and he uses them as desktops.


Honey, above, is a wheaten Marans whose comb is so long if flops over. She was the Hen Of Choice (HOC) at first, and was extremely timid. Recently she's gotten a bit more assertive. With the comb-over (hahaha!), she also looks pretty stupid for some reason and we made fun of her horribly, as in "Mama asked 'Brains or comb?' and I said "COMB!!'"

Peaches, who is a small EE hen with peach colored feathers only on her "chin" or muff. She's a quiet thing and doesn't seem to have much personality.

This is Daisy, the buff Orpington. We got Daisy in Virginia at about 6 weeks old, along with Tubby (below) and attempted to bring them home in the same Rubbermaid tub. Tubby beat up on Daisy, and we were concerned about permanent damage, hence the picture above. 5 hours on my lap, the FedEx driver almost drove off the road when he looked down and saw a woman with a chicken on her lap! So, the obvious name to me was (Driving) Miss Daisy.

Flash forward 6 months only to find out Daisy is a dude. So, Duke? It won't matter soon enough....

Tubby, aka The Fat Chick is about 2ish, full grown, and by far my favorite (don't tell the rest). She is just SO impressive in size and, uh, proportion. When she hops down off the roost you can feel and hear the THUD. If you hold her long enough she will fall asleep in your arms. I LOVE to watch her run, she looks so silly!

I had read that Cochins were fairly docile, but she uses her size almost as a battering ram, charging a group of the others if they look like she has food and scattering them, then digging in herself.....over and over. She also has a deep voice and she seems to bitch constantly, it is really easy to stereotype her into "fat human"

…….Or Not.

OK, so that didn’t work. Sorry about that.

This past year has been…..enlightening….challenging….a bit scary at times. It’s been fun, funny, sad, full of love and joy, new people, ideas, and things. Chickens. New neighbors. Food. Gifts given and received. Flowery language. Too much CNN, dammit. Hope and frustrations and everything in between.

I’m going to try this again, but I can’t promise anything. I have some pictures to post, stories to tell, grief and pain to get out of my system, and growth to explore.

I’m going to attempt to post a few times a week, sometimes long stuff or pictures….sometimes just a quote that caught my attention and why it struck me. Sometimes it might be just stream of consciousness stuff. Sometimes it might be personal issues. Sometimes it might be work related, as that is a major upheaval right now.

I’m also planning on pointing towards a few blogs that have resonated with me lately.

I’m not going to be updating the garden blog, but I’m not going to take it down. Just an FYI. I’ll post a note there explaining all that, though. I may want to pick it up again in the future, and I know I will refer to it at times.

I’m hoping to also promote some discussion and thinking and questioning, too! It should be fun...

Long Weekend

I had a 3-day weekend, but not because of the holiday. Yup, I have to work Memorial Day. Stinks, but I do get to take the holiday whenever I want. We call it a ‘floating’ holiday. They do come in handy sometimes.

I swear, I will update the garden blog later today, but I have to find time to edit the pictures. I keep thinking that by the time I get around to that the veggies in the pictures will be grown, harvested, and eaten! I hope to get to it tonight. But, we RAN this weekend. No extra time to do much of anything that didn’t absolutely NEED doing.

Friday, I had off. We had one of those wonderful early morning phonecalls that you know is bad news and, yup, Matt’s uncle died Thursday night of a massive heart attack. This is the same uncle that fell down the stairs a year and a half ago, and since he’d recovered from that he’d taken to treating himself like crap, ignoring the diabetes, gaining all the weight back, and drinking hard liquor practically by the case. So it wasn’t exactly unexpected, but still. He also leaves a mess with 5 ex wives, children by those wives, and no will. One of the sons has already pretty much cleaned the house out. Stay tuned.

I liked him. He was a bit raw, don’t get me wrong, but he was what you saw and was unapologetic about it. You have to admire that. He was well-traveled and appreciated the finer things in life, good food and wine, etc, and went out the way he wanted to: after a great meal and good drink.

I filled the car up with gas, drove by the dentist and paid the $1 that my insurance wouldn’t pay from my last checkup and cleaning. The office manager at the dentist and I had a good laugh over that: $1.

I took my dad to breakfast, where he talked motors, lawn mowers, and carburetors. Oh, and my new cousin. It seems that my uncle who died in 1981 had a daughter that has been trying to find his family for years, and finally she did. She’s 29, lives in the New Orleans area, and dad has been corresponding with her, sending her pictures of her dad, etc. She also sent pictures of herself and her family. It is very interesting to look at her pictures. It’s like looking at me, but it isn’t me. There is a TV show Matt and I like called Dead Like Me where these ‘ghosts’ go around helping people through passing into the next (whatever it is we go to when we die). The main character keeps going back to see her family, but when she’s within sight of her family they use a different actress to play the character (to represent that the family doesn’t recognize her as their dead daughter). She looks similar to the main actress, but not quite. That’s how it is to look at my ‘new’ cousin: very similar, but not quite. It is really strange.

Anyway, we did that. I hung out with mom and dad for a bit and talked, then went to get my hair cut. MUCH needed haircut, it’s been about 3 months. Turned out nice, too. The salon is in the outlet shops here in town, so I also went to Dress Barn to see if I could find a nice top to go with my black pants or skirt for the funeral/memorial. I did, but I didn’t want to pay $35 for it. I’ll manage with something else.

We went to our favorite Asian/sushi restaurant for dinner to check out how it is after its new management took over. Very nice! We were really pleased. Then, grocery shopping.

Saturday, we met Barbara from Virginia for breakfast, she was up to go to her son’s wedding (which was going to be big, fat, and Greek). It was a really nice visit. Then, we went to a winery to meet some total strangers to drink wine with.

Let me explain. Matt and I decided we needed more socialization. We were becoming like Max. He doesn’t know he’s a dog, he thinks he’s a person, and he doesn’t understand why he doesn’t quite act like we do. He hasn’t been socialized with other dogs to know how to act with dogs, either, so he’s sort of in his own in-between world. Well, Matt and I need to be a bit more socialized with people, because we don’t know we’re people and we don’t understand why we don’t quite act like other people. We don’t think we’re dogs, though, don’t worry! So, we joined up with a local fun-times group through Meetup.com. They go on hikes, they go on bike rides, they go to wineries, they go to brewfests, they have get-togethers at people’s houses, sporting events, etc. You go to what you want to and don’t go to the rest.

This was our first Meetup. We had a great time! It is a new winery called Serpent Ridge, south of Westminster, MD. They only have 5 wines right now, all dry. I don’t particularly like dry wines, but these were really good! We got one bottle and will probably keep an eye on them as they grow. Very nice. And the group was nice, too! I think there were maybe 14 people there (the group itself has over 300 people), most of them we liked. A few were much more interested in subtly explaining to us how much money they had. The rest were wonderful. Our next Meetup will be kayaking and picnicking sometime in July and we’re really looking forward to that. New Meetups are posted all the time, so we might go to some of those, too.

After that, we went home and cooked up the crab legs we’d gotten. I think that it has been almost a year since we’d had a crab leg feast. It was lovely. Later, margaritas enjoyed while we burned up some hemlock branches and watched the stars come out.

Sunday was a work day. Garden and garage. Both will be explained more fully in the other blog. Also, I made Rustic Rhubarb Tarts and they were wonderful. I really couldn’t taste the vanilla in the compote, but they were still good. Also, the pressure tank for the well died, so we had to run and get another one, which Matt will install sometime today.

Silly things and Fire

A general ‘update’ post for the past few weeks. Not much going on here, so I’ll try to do a few Subtitles to break down my thoughts and make it all just a bit more organized, if not interesting.

General
Still waiting on a measurable snow here. Several dustings and some ice, nothing serious. I was sick a week ago, some stomach virus. Ick. Max and Matt are well. I’ve joined Facebook. Ordering seeds for spring, check the garden blog for that stuff.

Visit
Matt’s brother came out from San Diego for a week between Christmas and NY with his wife and their daughter, who is 12. We don’t like or get along with Bro. By ‘we’ I mean the entire eastern seaboard. Ok, I’m exaggerating, but only a little. They couldn’t get gone soon enough for me. I get along OK with the Wife, and the 12 year old is a blast, but the Bro is a….piece of…..work.

Fireplace
I may have mentioned this before, but we (ok, Matt) installed a propane fireplace in the house which has helped tremendously with heating costs, as propane is cheaper than heating oil right now. Propane makes me nervous, and I was concerned about this unit, but all’s well.

New Car
So far, the new car is very nice. We’re averaging about 32 MPG. There are a few things I don’t like. I hate the security system. I keep accidentally setting it off, and I don’t know how I do it. I think once I accidentally hit the PANIC button on the keyfob, but otherwise I don’t know.

This car has an automatically adjusting rearview mirror. It senses light and automatically dims, which is pretty nifty, with the exceptions of the following:

• It doesn’t do it during the day, so if you are getting tailgated by anyone with their lights on you just have to live with it
• It doesn’t do it during dusk, see above.

I would happily rip the thing off and replace it if I could. I’m still adjusting to the controls for everything being different and apparently designed for a space alien with arms at least 1 foot longer than mine. When I’m sitting in the car and need to close the door I have to practically get OUT of the car to reach the door handle, which defeats the purpose.

Mom
Mom recently had her first cataract surgery. It seemed to be easier than just about any other ‘procedure’ out there nowadays. She goes in for her second one the beginning of February.

Business
My jewelry business is slow, and I’m to blame. I did do some sales before Christmas and have been doing some restringing for friends. I really need to get over my shyness and get out there to some shops and schmooze.
I also can’t seem to get into the Business Blog I started, and the last time I updated it was before Christmas. I just don’t know what to write about. I need to get on the bandwagon for this again.

I’ve also decided Etsy is a lost cause for sales….but a really nice option for a cheap online showcase that looks professional, so I’m going to stick with it. It is just not my market. I have

I did pay my 2nd round of PA state sales tax ($5.05) successfully. And I’ve got my books done for tax season, so yippee for me.

Work
We have a new administration with new leadership on the DHS level, but so far nothing has really changed here. There are some presidential appointments still needing to be filled (FEMA and USFA administrators, their deputies, etc), but I don’t expect some of them to be filled for months. Probably little will change here.

Our contract is up this year, but I’m going to do a separate post about that special, special process.

Food
I haven’t been cooking as much as I usually do, I’m just too tired by the time I get home from work. I MEAN to cook, but I just never get there.

We found a new, really nice restaurant called Café del Sol. They do salads, wraps, Panini, pasta, specialty pizzas, and the best homemade potato chips I have ever had. Really great place.

Rain Rain Go AWAY, dammit!

We had ANOTHER 4 inches of rain last night. This is a total of around 12 inches in the past month. The potatoes we have in the lower part of the field aren’t coming up, and at this point I really don’t expect them to, I’m sure they’ve rotted. So. Well. At least the rest seem to be ok, but we still have 200lb to plant. Please check out other gardening-related news in my new gardening blog.

I also will be talking about this in my garden blog, but I went to an event this weekend and Hundredfold Farm in Cashtown, PA. It was really nice, I met Angie at my parent’s house in Gettysburg, then we drove over together. The event was fairly well attended, had house tours, a greenhouse/wastewater plant tour, and many vendors and speakers.

Hundredfold Farm refers to itself as an ‘Intentional Community.’ There was a Christmas tree farm for sale and a group of people bought it out from under a housing developer. They are keeping the Christmas tree farm going, while building sustainable housing (limit of 14 houses) on part of the property. The houses are modular (NOT mobile; one of the young men on my tour was really snotty and referred to it as a ‘glorified mobile home’ and the homeowner icily set him straight), they have solar arrays on the south-facing part of the roof, and all the wastewater from the houses goes to a greenhouse system where it gets broken down by an artificial marsh into usable water, which they then reuse to flush their toilets and they hope in the future to use it for irrigation as well.

I went to three speakers:

The first one was a Penn State professor who talked about the need for solar power, the state of the energy crisis we’re in the beginning of, and was very interesting. He made a good point: as much as we’re complaining about gas prices, we’ve been spoiled by cheap energy for way WAY too long, and he said that the majority of the country would find 30 miles of driving to be worth $6 (as opposed to the alternative, which is not going wherever it is you want/need to go). I also had a great time watching a 4-year-old playing in a mud bog.

The second speaker I went to was Thom Marti from Broad Valley Orchard, a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm north of Gettysburg. He talked on Food Security, which working where I do I immediately thought he was going to talk about the security of our massive food supply. But no, he talked about the security of our micro food supply, as in do you know where your lettuce comes from and how it’s grown? I will talk more about this in my garden blog; he was veeeery interesting.

The third speaker was my coworker’s husband Jim talking about electricity conservation. This was basic stuff I’ve heard before: turn off lights, buy EnergyStar appliances, etc.

My coworker also went to the Sustainable Eating workshop, which I wanted to go to but went to the last house/greenhouse tour of the day instead. I’ll probably get the Sustainable Eating scoop and write about it in the garden blog later. Stay tuned.

Angie and I went to dinner at the Appalachian Brewing Company in Gettysburg. We each had a nice beer (her: Stout, me: Maibock), and some good food. We gabbed a lot, tried to solve the world’s problems, talked about parents, and had a nice time.

I went home and tried to crash but wound up only getting 4 hours sleep.

And on to the Busiest Day of My Life So Far…ok, not really but it was the busiest day I’ve had recently...Mother’s Day.

I got up early (thanks a lot, Max) and drove over to New Oxford to visit Matt’s grandma Mary V. She’d ordered some tomato plants through me and I needed to drop them off. We visited, she’d made coffee cake (of course) and I had that with her wonderful coffee. She makes the best coffee on earth. Matt’s uncle Bobby came by with his two golden retrievers. Bobby is in the middle of a quiet divorce, so he was very scattered.

After a couple hours there, I drove back to Gettysburg to pick up my mom for our annual trip to Isabella’s in Frederick. We just barely made our reservations and had a nice lunch. They’ve taken a few things off the menu and added some new dishes (ATTENTION TIM!!!). The old standby’s we had were marinated eggplant salad, sautéed spinach with pine nuts and golden raisins, melon with prosciutto, French fried asparagus, (I’m starting to drool just writing this), meatballs in tomato sauce. New dishes included a really spicy shrimp with garlic and onions, and my personal new favorite stuffed dates wrapped in bacon then breaded with Panko bread crumbs and fried served with a goat cheese cream sauce. OMFG, they were really good. I think we had a couple others, but I can’t remember right now.

We drove back to my house so I could show mom the veggie garden and pick up Max, then headed back to Gettysburg. Mom did her online registration for our August cruise, Max and I went grocery shopping, then….finally….home. Matt called, I watched TV and had a baked potato for dinner, followed by some vanilla ice cream and a homemade strawberry-rhubarb sauce and a Tylenol PM. I had a good nights sleep last night, much needed.