The sky is crystal clear and blue. The hot humid days of the monsoon have finally passed. Mornings have been in the fifties or low sixty degrees. This is the time of the year I love best in Arizona. The days still get into the nineties but no more triple digit days!
The summer was filled with doctor appointments. I felt that I should get a "Well Woman" check up because I hit my 6th decade yesterday. So I had eye check ups and new glasses, dentist check-ups and a new crown on one of my molars, a mammogram and my first dreaded colonoscopy. The big "C" was not as bad as I expected. The cleansing part was not so fun but the procedure itself was painless. I had a great doctor and she gave me all the pictures and removed 2 polyps. She said I am fine, no cancer and to come back in 3 years. The mammogram also turned out clean so, at glorious 60 years old, I have a clean bill of health. I feel pretty good about that. Now if I could just lose about 30 pounds!
I started trying out a vegetarian diet after all my check-ups were completed. I have been pretty amazed about it. I thought I would miss meat and not be able to live without it. I have discovered just the opposite! I do not miss meat and I am not any more hungry than when I was eating meat. The astonishing thing is that I actually feel better, have more energy and feel lighter, even if I am not! I used to have a lot of pain in my knees and one of them was swollen all the time and bigger than the other knee. Lately, I have noticed that my knees hurt less and the swelling has gone down so much that both knees are about the same now.
I am back to working out on my tread-climber machine every day and working out with weights about 2 days a week. I have lost about 5 pounds since I started. Of course, the weight thing is still frustrating. It always seems to be two steps forward, one step back. I weigh myself every day. That seems to be less frustrating for me because I see the fluctuations daily. When I only weighed myself once a week, I got very frustrated because, if I gained, it seemed like a whole week had been wasted. Weighing myself every day shows me that I gain or lose every day. Often I can look back and say,"Ah-Ha!" I ate too many chips yesterday!", or "Wow! Sticking to veggies really makes a difference!" I only lost 2 pounds when I was doing my fast and cleanse for the colonoscopy. So eating nothing and starving myself does not really work either. Eating veggies and no meat does seem to work. My mantra has become "No wheat, no white, no meat!"
The chickens are giving us about half a dozen eggs a day now. I don't eat them but Steve does and I give many away to family and friends. I also cook some up for the dogs every day.
Willy has had all his shots now. He and Buddy were also tested for heartworms. They are both clear and have been put on preventative meds. We had lots of rain this summer and, therefore, lots of mosquitoes. Since an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, it was worth it to me to pay the vet and get the protection they needed to stay healthy.
I recently made some pillows and a fall table runner for one of my girls. I have purchased fabric to make some new muumuus for myself. We have a new Hobby Lobby store in Tucson now. And much to my surprise, a Hobby Lobby also opened up in Sierra Vista. Also, Sierra Vista got a new JoAnn's Fabric store, which I have yet to visit. I am excited that I can go to Sierra Vista now instead of having to go to Tucson all the time.
On a sad note, my mother-in-law, Betty Hedin, passed away on Sept 28th. She had been battling colon cancer for about 2 years. She was 83 years old. We were told that if she had had a colonoscopy when she was 70, she probably would have avoided this cancer altogether. That was a powerful incentive to me and the rest of the family to have the procedure done. We will all miss Betty. She was a cheerful, positive person who gave generously to others. We are thankful that her pain and suffering have come to an end and one day we will all meet a gain in Heaven.
