This much-used expression is today being employed opposite its normal meaning. All the hard work in the world wasn’t going to help me this week. Once I realized that any kind of exertion caused pain and swelling I stopped doing it. Even low impact things like, alas, shoe shopping caused a need for ibuprofen upon completion. So the Weight Watchers “activity points” I could employ when I wanted a glass of wine or an English muffin did not exist. Not that I was in much of a mood for wine during the worst of the post-surgical fun. So I watched everything I ate and counted points diligently. And as it turned out my scale wasn’t messing with me; if I averaged the weights taken in different parts of the room I came pretty close to the WW scale weight. I wonder if all that running around the room counts as “activity points”? Sadly, my weight stayed the same. I was disappointed. When the counselor who weighed me asked what kind of a week I’d had I told her about the surgery, and I learned two things. The pain medications are all sodium based, so I was probably holding water from the extra salt. And when a body is in pain it sometimes holds on tight to… everything. Water, fat, whatever. I heard stories of people eating next to nothing and gaining 7 pounds in a week just from the meds and the pain. So, Pain = Gain, or in my case, no loss. Could’a been worse.
All that is behind me, because as of that day I no longer needed the pain meds and the penicillin ran out the day after. The swelling seems to be pretty much gone, and the doctor was pleased with how the stitches were healing. And no more bruise. So the challenges now become entertaining, eating out and Memorial Day.
Our book club met at my house this month, with a special guest appearance by my dear friend Teresa Flavin, whose third young adult novel The Shadow Lantern will be released in the US in July. The book club read the first two, The Blackhope Enigma and The Crimson Shard, which we timed to coincide with Teresa’s visits to Boston from her home in the UK. An impatient lot we are, so I ordered the UK version of the third book from AmazonUK, and by chance the Mattapoisett library had done the same. Teresa has been a guest lecturer in the Mattapoisett school system a few times, and her books are popular with their students, so hats off to a forward thinking librarian for giving the kids the ability to read the trilogy as soon as book three was available. And for having it in the stacks so between us we had enough copies to all read it before our meeting. So, shameless plug time: if you have a young adult to buy a gift for Teresa’s trilogy will be available in its entirety here in the US in July.
Teresa arrived in Fairhaven in time for lunch. We dined on my previously mentioned WW lasagna recipe and salad, and she remarked she’d never know we were dieting. Our book club is more like a great potluck with a bit of literary discussion and a lot of girl talk. The host provides the entrée and the remaining attendees bring appetizers, salad, beverages and dessert. We eat good. We also try to keep to a theme if there is an obvious one in the book. This time, not so much. The only food referred to was a brownie in a coffee shop, and while my husband would happily eat brownies as his main course I needed a real meal to serve. The cover of The Shadow Lantern has a skeleton on it, and the lantern was lit by a candle. OK, it has to have bones and be cooked over fire. How about Jamaican Jerk chicken? So that along with sweet potato salad would be the entrée. The member contributions were wine; veggies and dip (I think Melissa knew I was craving crunch); field greens with crumbled cheese, walnuts and the biggest blackberries I’ve ever seen; naan bread hot from the oven; and a warm rhubarb crisp with vanilla ice cream for dessert. Told ya we eat good. I tried to keep the veggies high and the dip low, watch portions and limit the wine. I don’t think I did so well on the wine. I added up the points and certainly ate into my weekly bank of emergency points and we haven’t hit Memorial Day yet.
The next day Teresa, Steve and I hit Freestone’s in New Bedford for lunch, as we wanted to visit the newly renovated Seamen’s Bethel. Freestone’s has always been a party place, where we’d go for a drink during the Christmas Stroll or before a performance at our local theater, The Zeiterion. It was a rainy cool day, which helped me stay on plan, as all I wanted was a cup of hot tea. Freestones also had a “Healthy Options” selection, and that, along with a cup of soup helped to keep me on the straight and narrow.
We’re hosting a Memorial Day cook out, again, a potluck. I thought ahead enough to buy some low fat chicken sausage along with the Bubba Burgers, hot dogs and linguica. And a watermelon. So I’m hoping to get enough exercise between now and then to bank a few more points. Our WW leader says the food on the plate at a buffet or a party like this should look like islands, not continents. Take a little bit to try, not a full serving of EVERYTHING. And I’m going to try to listen to my body when it says it’s satisfied, and then stop eating. Perhaps even Fresca instead of a beer. Hmmm. We’ll see about that one.
I hope you all have a safe and happy Memorial Day. Pray for those we’ve lost, and those who protect us. And thank a veteran.
Peace,
D.
