Very ethereal-looking outside my office window today. Since we are diagonally across from “the castle”, which was, in Boston’s early colonial days, a fortress of some sort, one might almost imagine a foggy day in London. But I keep expecting to see whispy bits of ectoplasmic wraiths floating along, dressed, undoubtedly, in Patriot’s garb and carrying trusty (or not so) Revolutionary War rifles…blunderbusses, or some such early weaponry. And of course a colonial lass or two, perhaps with a few muddy offspring trailing in her wake.

Ah, well. So much for times past and gone.  Sufficient unto the day are the struggles therein. Or some such. DS is safely back in southern California. They had a 45 minute layover in Cinncinnati which turned into an overnight when their connecting flight was cancelled because of mechanical problems. Delta. So much for choosing one of the more dependable carriers, eh? Well, at least they were put up in a hotel and given a (miniscule) food allowance. They were extremely glad to get home, though, finally, on Saturday morning. I was glad to HEAR that they’d made it home safely.

It was lovely, having him home. But this time, I think, it really hit me that my *little* boy is all grown up with a life of his own, and no longer dependent on “Momma”. Wow. You can’t imagine what a revelation that was! I mean, honestly, up until now, I’ve always thought of him as a “kid” - but he isn’t. He’s a real, bona fide grown up. Scary, eh?

Well, scary - but kinda nice, as well. My kiddos have turned out alright. They really have. I just can’t wrap my mind around where all those years went. There’s a lot to be said for remaining in the moment - old Ram Dass, and his “be here now” philosophy. We’ve got to squeeze every last bit of enjoyment out of every minute with each other, because these minutes - and days, and months and years - pass very quickly.

Well, either my allergies are kicking up a storm, or I’ve got some other nefarious flu bug or virus because I’ve had a sore - REALLY SORE - throat and dry cough and clogged-up sinuses since yesterday, and am feeling like ka-ka, quite frankly. So am I staying home from work? Oh, of COURSE not. Another day, another deadline, I always say. I’m home now, though. (I started this at work this morning, but didn’t have a chance to finish it). The sun, ultimately, did show it’s face for a while this afternoon, which made me inordinately happy - happier than I was, anyway. I can go for several hours without experiencing any major symptoms (just this scartchiness in my throat and general fatigue, and then in the blink of an eye, my nose clogs, my eyes water, I cough & sneeze and feel like a wrung-out dishrag, and then it passes and I’m okay again for a while. Well, all I can say is that I’d BETTER recover by Friday, because I have no intentions of missing our little getaway in the mountains with all of our strange (and wonderful) friends. I am in dire need of a dose of those eccentric professors, mad scientists, warped physicists and playful poets. I need a good debate. I can feel the pressure building. I’d prefer being a little skinnier than I have managed to get (what with the shameless gorging I engaged in from time to time while DS was here) but in the final analysis, I have to say I just flat out don’t care. I yam what I yam, and all that. That’s ONE thing I don’t intend to stress out over this coming weekend. All I want to do is relax, unwind, chat, holler a bit maybe ;)  and enjoy myself. Hah! If I want to, I can dress myself in multi-layers like some sort of wood nymph and cover anything I don’t care to display in brilliant costume, for which I shall be complimented and fawned over. Oh, okay, Maybe not fawned over, and maybe someone will say, “No EMS for the Zoe, I see…” (Eastern Mountain Sports - it’s one of those stores that sell outdoor gear and khaki shorts with a dozen pockets, etc. I have them in khaki, loden and camoflage… ) and express their concern that my layers of brown and green chiffon, while indeed fetching, may prove chilly once the sun sets - it isn’t fully summer yet, after all…

I have made two lovely new meals for us over the past two days. The first is a recipe I found on the ‘net at some diet site I think - anyway, it has Thai elements, I think. I used the *Smart* pasta thin spaghetti - cooked it and then tossed it with shrimp in a sauce made with peanut butter, chopped scallions, thinly sliced red bell peppers and red pepper flakes. It was to DIE for. I used to buy the great big jumbo shrimp to make any sort of recipe like this, but would cut the shrimp into manageable pieces. Now that the jumbos are $13.99 a pound, I’ve been getting the medium/larges for $6.99 a pound. They taste every bit as good, and I don’t have to cut them up. What was I THINKING before? A half pound is plenty for DH and I, so it turns out to be quite an economical meal for the two of us.

Tonight I made a stir fry with *pretend* (soy) chicken strips. I cubed a sweet potato, left the skin on, and started that cooking in a skillet with some olive oil. After it had been cooking for about ten minutes, I added celery and some sliced carrots. I covered it for about ten minutes and then uncovered it and added good-sized chunks of red pepper, green pepper, onion, and the faux chicken slices. I added maybe half a small bottle of adobo marinade that DH picked up at the market - 20 calories in two tablespoons and no fat. It was a little spicy, but the stir fry turned out delicioso! I served it over brown rice. I think MAYBE the next time I make it, I’ll add some fresh pineapple chunks. I think they’d be a nice complement to the spiciness of the sauce and the texture of the vegetables.

I’m glad that DH is fairly adventurous about what he eats, because I do enjoy messing around with new dishes, and I have to admit that they don’t all always come out so great. They’re always perfectly edible, just not always somethiong we can’t wait to try again. These two dishes are definitely on our “do again” list though. I’m even thinking the peanut butter noodle one would be good, too, with the faux chicken slices instead of shrimp. Also might want to try adding some sliced black olives?

I STILL haven’t gotten on the scale! Can you believe it? I think I’ve developed quite a phobia over it. I don’t feel like I’m actually dieting, anymore. I just know that I’m cooking very differently these days, and don’t seem to have much desire for sweets and all that starchy bread and such that I used to love so much. I still think some of these things TASTE good, but I don’t crave them a bit. Of course, maybe it’s just old age - maybe my body just can’t handle all that it used to. <shrug> I dunno.  

Okay, off to bed for moi…I’m starting to stuff up sitting here and I need to take my medicine and make myself prone.

Hugs to all,

Z