Back again!!

I am stunned to see that it has been a week since my last post. I guess that may be a measure of how uneventful life has been. I have had to switch my morning walks from the beach to the inside roads because of the rising tide. For two days last week I walked with Emily and Rosa, two friends and morning walk devotees. It was fun and they showed me some new, alternative routes. I was on my own again this morning.

Yesterday, stay-at-home Sunday, I made some whole-wheat english muffins, a spinach pizza and a pot of quinoa-lentil veggie stew. It was a successful experiment with the pizza dough which I had made previously and frozen. Although it refused to rise again, it baked up beautifully. I just love Sundays.

Relaxing Sunday

Had a most relaxing and enjoyable day yesterday, my stay-at-home day. I didn't even have to go out for groceries. I made hummus for the first time and it's awesome. My daughter used to make hummus and I didn't particularly take to it back then but it is really nutritious and will be incorporated into my diet. Then I made some almond nut-butter. Awfully good and good for you.

Then I made a chicken-garlic pizza from some dough I had refrigerated. I wasn't too happy with the performance of the dough and I will have to experiment further. The successful recipe I have for whole-wheat pizza dough makes enough for three pizzas so I would like to be able reliably to freeze or at least refrigerate the dough. That way, I can make pizzas as desired and not have to freeze them in meal portions - although that works extremely well. I make a 12-inch pizza, cut into four portions, eat one, refrigerate one and freeze the others in individual freezer bags.

I made Greek cinnamon-stewed chicken for supper. Simply awesome. I scrapped the orzo it called for though and served it on whole-grain rice. Orzo has a slippery-slidey texture that I find disturbing,,,it feels pre-digested. Rice is bold and substantial. I have four portions frozen and waiting for me.

All the while I was working in the kitchen, Phil Mickelson was winning the Masters and Tiger Woods was not redeeming himself. Doing all this cooking in one day kind of screwed up my eating schedule but not as badly as usual. I now have enough information on nutrition to develop my own personal meal and snack plan and will do so this week. I am pleased with the results of my weight loss program. I hope to get a set of bathroom scales today so that I can monitor my progress and maintenance when I reach that level.

Had a lovely walk on the beach this morning. I committed today to get a new pup. It's a Shar Pei-Yellow Lab mix and the pups are beautiful.

I plan this week on experimenting with sprouting some grains. I'm advised the only bread I should be eating is sprouted-grain bread so I hope to give it a try. I used to sprout mung beans and alfalfa back in the vegetarian days - should be fun.

My bass is alive again!!

Spent a wonderful afternoon yesterday with my friend and fellow bass player Michel Gauthier installing a new neck on my Fender Precision Bass. Sadly, the bass was caught in a flood (as was I) just after my arrival in Costa Rica. The neck warped and the instrument was barely playable.

Happily, I was able to buy a replacement neck through Ebay and have it shipped to friends in the U.S. who brought it here to the rainforest. Thanks Brent, Renee, Hope and Al. I have had the neck for some time but had not got around to the surgery. When Michel told me he had done this before and offered to help - I gladly accepted. Four hands are better than two on this kind of job.

We stripped the original neck of hardware and removed it, then installed the new neck and transferred all the hardware to it. It was a tedious, meticulous operation that took the whole afternoon. But at the end of the day my old '73 Precision was restored and is playable again. This instrument has quite a history and has traveled thousands of miles with me. It fed my family for years. I am glad to have it back. Thanks, Michel.

Snowbirds

The snowbirds are leaving the rainforest. They do this every year - back to the U.S., Canada and other destinations. But they'll be back next year. Meanwhile, this community shrinks to a mere shadow of it's former self. Social life is drastically curtailed and the rain visits upon us. The countryside is transformed as the rain paints the hills green and all the flora that have been dormant throughout the dry season are resurrected to restore the lush, green luxurious tropical veneer. This is, in my opinion, the most beautiful time of year here and I look forward to it.

My sister and brother-in-law left today to spend six months in Canada as they do each year. They will return in October.

I have resumed my morning walks after several days during which I have been down with the flu or, as it is known here, grippe. I don't know where I picked it up but it sure put me out of commission for several days. I stayed home so as not to share it with anyone. I got a lot of reading and sleeping done, at least. My energy level has not yet been restored but I am going back to my workout program today......that should help. I am delighted to report that I have lost fourteen pounds since I began.

By the time the snowbirds return, I will be a new man.