Yesterday I got a Type O workout in the extreme. I brought everything down out of our attic. We have lived in this house since 1979, and we have accumulated a lot of stuff. My husband and I opened every box in the attic prior to the garage sale last spring. We sold some and gave a lot to the Salvation Army. There is still a lot that we are moving with us to the new house…wooden puzzles, favorite children's books, pictures that didn't fit in this house, but that might be just right for the new one.

I made countless trips up and down the attic stairs. I carried and stacked box after box in the garage. Both cars will be parked on the street until the movers come on Monday, because the garage is filled with boxes. This was a brutal activity in the South Texas heat and humidity. By the time I was through my clothes were drenched.

Oddly, though I smelled terrible and was covered with dust, I felt great. My body really does thrive when it is doing physical work. All of my grandfathers were farmers and ranchers. Their professions gave them the exercise they needed. In this modern world, on most days I have to invent physical activity like swimming or running. My daily work is usually much to sedentary to count as exercise.

A week from today we will begin moving into the new house. The process will probably take several days. I'm not sure exactly when we will get the computer hooked up.

Right now we are trying to eat up as many of the perishables as we can. I've already defrosted the deep freezer. Now I'm working on emptying the refrigerator. I told my daughter that we'll soon be like people of yesteryear, going to the market each morning to buy food for the day.

Tonight we're having barbequed chicken with artichoke hearts, salad, and parsnips.

I also have to plan for food for the first few days at the new house. Everyone tells me, "Eat out. You'll be too tired to cook." That may be true, but I don't usually get the amounts of vegetables I want from restaurants. There are exceptions, but the closest restaurants to the new house seem to be in the sandwich shop and barbecue style. It will be easy enough to get a salad, but I don't want to live on salad for several days. I think the thing to do is to pack as if we were going on vacation. We'll picnic on our back porch for breakfast and lunch, and have salad at a restaurant for dinner. I can be happy enough with canned vegetables and canned meats. It seems to me that it is going to be very important to stay with the Type O foods when I'm stressed.

If you are uncomfortable with descriptions of female problems, skip this blog.

However, if you have tried to battle a urinary tract infection with the BTD, read on.

I blogged last fall, that the thinner, drier skin that comes with menopause had left me susceptible to urinary tract infections. It has been several months since I had one, but suddenly Sunday night I had all of the symptoms again.

My rule of thumb is that I will try to fight them until I reach the point where the water in the toilet bowl is pink and I have tears in my eyes from the burning. It is now Thursday and I am still fighting. This is the most success I have ever had, but I haven't won yet.

The Antibacterial Protocol in the Blood Type Encyclopedia recommends Astragalus, Kutki, and Polyflora O for Type Os. I had Astragalas on hand. I had another probiotic that contains most of the strains recommended for Type O. I started both of those. The Urinary Protocol recommends Bromelain, Bearberry, Horsetail, and Polyflora O. I had Bromelain and Horsetail. Vitamin C is also recommended. I started those three as well. My doctor, who isn't oriented toward nutrition, natural health, or the Blood Type Diet at all, recommends cranberry juice, so I'm drinking lots of that as well as lots of water.

I have been almost symptom free at night. The time of day that I know I still have the infection is late afternoon. That is interesting because when my children were little and getting over a virus, they were often fever free most of the day, but would pop a fever in the late afternoon.

I will not kid you. It would have been less expensive to take antibiotics than to take all of these supplements. The only reason I am hanging in the fight is because I believe it would be the best if my own immune system could conquer this.

I am encouraged because this is the most success I have ever had in even trying to fight a UTI. I am discouraged because 4 days is a long time to drink huge amounts of fluid and still know that I'm not entirely normal. For now, it's still worth the fight.

I haven't made any Beneficial Veggie Trio since we put our house on the market. Onions don't make the kitchen smell good, and kale is even worse. What I have been doing is mixing several of the beneficial beans from the Menopause book with frozen greens.

Some greens like spinach, Swiss chard, and beet greens are just delicious plain or with a little olive oil. Collard greens, turnip greens, and kale are good, but they are better when I add something to give them extra flavor. Seasoned salt is good, and chopped meat is good. But I really like mixing in a half cup of beans. Adzukis, northern beans, and black beans are all really good. I like the texture and the flavor. Even better is when I add left over beef or chicken to the beans and greens.

Very simple lunch, and very beneficial.

My toe is improving. I didn't think I could possibly survive if I slowed down, but the toe forced me to slow down, and the world did not come to an end.

Sometimes you have to laugh. We're trying to sell our old house and keep an eye on the construction of the new house. Our son needs a roommate for graduate school, and our daughter needs a summer job. I'm finishing the last yearbook deadline, and I'm helping my parents deal with their health problems.

In the midst of all that, I broke my toe. My husband and daughter were watching "Everybody Loves Raymond" on TV. I was getting ready to go for a swim. My thongs were in the garage, so I walked through the den barefooted. A scene from the show caught my ear, and I started watching as I walked. I wrapped my little toe around a chair leg and heard it snap.

There's not much to do for a broken little toe except to tape it to the other toes so that it heals straight. Wearing shoes that give good support helps too. Nonetheless, the next morning, it really hurt. I took Advil for pain and inflammation. The second morning a third of my foot was green, and the toe was dark purple, but the pain was less. I took Advil again to keep the inflammation down. Late in the afternoon I noticed that little blood vessels were breaking in both ankles. That was scary. I got on the internet and found out that a lot of things could cause blood vessels to break. Many of them are catastrophic, but one of the simple ones is aspirin or Advil. I put that together with my BTD knowledge that Type Os tend to have thin blood and stopped the Advil immediately. I increased my Vitamin C and bioflavanoids. The breakage stopped the next day and the red marks began to fade.

I've kept a pretty fast pace this year. I was looking forward to slowing down in July. Suddenly the broken toe has forced me to slow down right now, whether I'm ready or not. No more rushing here and there trying to cram one more thing into an already busy schedule. If something on the list doesn't get done, it won't be the end of the world. I can only walk so fast.

As I was doing the dishes tonight I was listening to a CD. I heard the line, "I must tell Jesus. I cannot bear these burdens alone." I laughed. That is the truth!