My Honorable Husband walked into the kitchen this morning and said, “I have a brilliant idea. On the weeks that you don’t have your Hiking Club, let’s go out into the Hill Country and do a hike ourselves.”

When we were younger, we loved hiking together. Most of our vacations have been to the mountains. The two of us enjoyed mountain trails before we had children. Our son was on the Cub Lake trail when he was 3-years-old and our daughter hiked to Nymph Lake when she was three as well. As the kids got older, we took longer trails. Even the years when we did historical vacations, we did a lot of walking – like the Freedom Trail in Boston.

In 2004 HH hurt his knee. He did physical therapy and fortunately avoided surgery. Under normal circumstances he has no pain. But he learned that his strenuous hiking days were over. His knee does not like steep inclines or large rocks. He exercises every day walking on the roads around our home. When we are on vacation, we take long walks on smooth paths. It is the mountain trails that bring back the pain. It was hard for me to accept that when his hiking days ended, mind did as well.

Two years ago God blessed me with a ladies hiking club. I am one of the younger women in the group. A few of these hikers are in their 70s. We are all in the club for the same reasons: we want to stay healthy, and our husbands for one reason or another, do not hike. I’ve had a wonderful time getting to know these ladies as friends as we hike together twice a month.

One day in early January it was sunny and warm. HH and I drove to a lake with the dog and took a long walk on a hike & bike trail. There were no inclines and because the path was for bicyclists, it was smooth enough for him to enjoy without having to watch his feet. Last week we had a coupon for a new restaurant out in the Hill Country. We decided to drive up for lunch and take an equestrian trail that was nearby. I enjoyed both of these outings. It was great exercise, of course, but it was more than that. I realized how much I had missed the camaraderie of being on the trail with HH. Conversation sprang up naturally about issues that we never seem to have time to talk about on an ordinary busy day.

He obviously felt the same way. So we now have a commitment to hike together on the weeks when I don’t have Hiking Club. We will look for more bicycle and equestrian trails. Some weeks we may invite couples from the city to come and join us. This is going to be fun!

Our final day in Colorado was a drive across Trail Ridge Road. The road had been closed earlier in the week. It was lovely to see snow before we returned to summer like temperatures in Texas. The trail at the Alpine Visitor’s Center was closed. It is a short climb to the top of a mountain. We always gauge who is in the best shape by how many times each of us has to stop, and how long it takes us to catch our breath. We found another trail where we could hike across the tundra. The elevation gain was minimal, so we weren’t nearly as short of breath. Nevertheless, we reached an aerobic effect much quicker at 11,796 feet than we do at 1,000 feet. If I lived in Colorado year round, I wonder how the altitude would impact my exercise routine.

We stopped to visit two friends on the way home. One lives in a Denver suburb. He took us to eat at the Castle Cafe. Barbecue chicken was special of day. In Texas it is ok to eat barbeque chicken with your fingers, but I wasn’t sure about Colorado. I ate my 1st piece with knife & fork, but I gave up and ate the 2nd piece with my fingers. On the way out of the cafe our friend stopped to introduce us to some other friends of his. They couldn't shake hands because they were eating BBQ with their fingers. Good, I didn’t commit an etiquette error.

Our friend wanted dessert, and I agreed to share a piece of pie with him. I don’t remember what the pie was called, but it had a graham cracker crust, a layer chocolate, a layer of bananas, a layer of pudding, and whipped topping. It was delicious. I could make this into a very BTD compliant dessert. Walnut crust, layer of chocolate, layer of bananas, layer of custard made with almond milk. I have already made a note to try it when I get home.

Our second friend lives in Lubbock. Her husband recently passed away from pancreatic cancer, complicated by liver cancer. We had a wonderful visit with her. She is very lonely, but her faith in God is keeping her strong. We are eager to be at home and sleep in our own beds tomorrow night.

I made my first trip to Rocky Mountain National Park when I was 9 months old. This is my 21st trip to what I think it is my favorite place on earth. And my favorite place in Rocky Mountain National Park is Bear Lake. Though Les has been to Colorado and to RMNP, he had never been to Bear Lake. So we spent the past two days exploring in the Bear Lake area.

One day we took two short trails. First we walked around Sprague Lake. From the road, Sprague Lake is ho hum. It is in a marshy area, and we have been told that a moose family lives there. If you walk around to the back side of the lake, you get a nice view of the mountains, but it has never seemed to me to be a spectacular view. This week my opinion of Sprague Lake changed. In the fall it is truly beautiful. The aspen groves on the sides of the mountains add touches of gold among the dark green spruce and fir forests.

I walked alone along a path by the stream feeding the lake, hoping to get a photograph of wild life, but it was a “wild moose chase.”

Then we took the trail around Bear Lake. It is a short trail, that can turn into a long walk when you stop to take pictures every few yards. The shear face of a cliff on Halletts Peak rises above a blue lake that looks like a gem. Trust me, it is so beautiful that there is something worthy of a photograph at every turn of the trail.

The next day we returned to Bear Lake, to take what my family has always called the trail to the three lakes. The trail to Nymph Lake is very easy. DD took this hike when she was 3 years old. The trail continues to Dream Lake, but it becomes a little steeper. To me Dream is the prettiest of the three lakes. The third part of the trail to Emerald Lake is more strenuous. HH was not sure that he would try to go all the way to Emerald. His knee does not like inclines and it doesn’t like stepping around rocks. The trail to Emerald has both. We took it slow, and I think it helped that I stopped often to take pictures. He made it all the way. Emerald is dramatic. It is right at timberline, so there aren’t many trees. The water color is stunning, and the rocks are sharp. The mountains rise straight above you.

We sat on the rocks, ate our lunch, and soaked in the view. I had trail mix, an apple, carrots, and beef jerky. HH had a turkey sandwich, carrots, and chips. The chipmunks were delighted to have my apple core.

Rocky Mountain National Park is my favorite place. Bear Lake is my favorite part of Rocky Mountain. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Psalm 121:1-2. I lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

At each of the lakes I looked at the mountains. I was reminded that whatever national or international crisis was on the news; whatever difficulty confronts my family; God who created this majesty cares for me.

The weather forecast has been a little questionable the past two days. Clouds and snow flurries were predicted for yesterday. This morning the website said that Trail Ridge Road was temporarily closed. We decided to stay at the lower elevations.

Yesterday morning we walked along the River Walk in Estes Park. Living in South Texas, we have been to the San Antonio River Walk several times. There the river is slow and peaceful. The River Walk in Estes Park is beside a rushing mountain stream. The water makes a delightful noise as it tumbles downhill over the rocks. We walked for nearly an hour and never came to the end of the paved path. But we were getting hungry, so we headed back the other direction.

We are sharing a condominium with a long time friend named Les. He and HH wanted to go to Subway for lunch. Subway is ok. I can always get a salad, but just around the corner from the Subway I had seen an India Buffet. While they got sandwiches, I went to the buffet. We met to eat at a table beside the river.

There were two vegetarian entrees on the buffet. One was mostly eggplant, so I didn’t taste it. The other was really good, after I picked out the cauliflower. There were three chicken entrees, and all three were outstanding. Chicken Curry, Chili Chicken (which is nothing at all like Mexican Chili), and Chicken Masala. They had green beans cooked with onions and seasoned perfectly. But the best dish of all was called Swag Mushroom. It was made with spinach and it was delicious.

The men had an ordinary lunch, but I had a feast. The irony was that I paid less for all I could eat Indian food than they each paid for sandwiches and chips.

When I got back to the condominium, I googled Swag Mushroom. I got a lot of random results from tents to urban slang, but no recipes. I’m so disappointed. I had wanted to make it when I got home.

After lunch we drove into Rocky Mountain National Park and went to the Alluvial Fan. Les and I climbed to the brink of the falls. There isn’t a trail. You just pick your way over the boulders until you are at the top. HH did not think his knees would like that kind of activity, so he sat in the shade and enjoyed the view.

Today we took the trail to Cub Lake. It is near Moraine Park, which is one of the places the elk are hanging out this year. Our trail passed 20 yards from a heard of elk resting under the trees. The unique thing about Cub Lake is that water lilies grow all around the edge. From the ridge above the lake the dark blue water and the light green lily pads are striking. The trail went through several aspen groves that were at their peak. I never put my camera away. I was taking pictures constantly. It was a feast for the eyes.

Lately my computer has become a black hole, and all too often exercise falls into it. I love my work as a photographer, writer & graphic designer. I also love corresponding with friends and family. I brought boxes of interesting family history documents home from my parents’ house that need to be scanned and preserved. All of this activity involves a great deal of computer time.

I start the day with a plan: take care of morning correspondence, spend a couple of hours on my business, exercise before lunch. After lunch spend another couple of hours on professional business, then spend an hour or two taking care of the house or working on family business. Then it would be time to fix dinner.

It’s a great plan…but. Sometimes I get bogged down in correspondence. Sometimes I get so involved restoring pictures that I lose track of time. It is as if I fall through a black hole when I am in front of the computer. I look at the clock, and it’s time for lunch. No exercise.

I adjust the afternoon plan. If I work really hard, I can exercise before dinner. That black hole opens up again, and suddenly it is dinner time. All too often I end up squeezing in an exercise video before bed time.

Of course this doesn’t happen every day, and I have some excellent exercise videos. Some are aerobic. Others build muscle. But the exercise I like best is to get outside and run or bicycle or haul rocks around the yard. I also feel intuitively that exercise does me more good when it comes earlier in the day.

I feel like I am sitting too much. I need to make some adjustments in my schedule, and I need to side step that black hole.

A lady in our neighborhood was told by her doctor that she needed to start an exercise program. But she has mobility and joint issues that keep her from participating in most normal forms of exercise. What to do? Last summer she bought a set of water aerobic CDs and asked a few friends to join her at the pool 5 mornings a week. The group has grown to 15 – 20 women. One of my friends goes 2-3 days a week and has been after me to give it a try.

I went yesterday, had a lot of fun, and did indeed get my heart rate up. When there are beads of sweat on my brow while the rest of me is cool in the water, I know I am working hard. The exercises aren’t particularly difficult to do, and the CD is easy to follow. The water adds resistance which makes the exercises more strenuous. The water also buoys you up so there is no stress on your joints.

The thing that impressed me the most is the initiative of the woman who started the group. She didn’t make excuses about why she couldn’t exercise. She is not a fitness expert, but she found a program that is effective and safe. She organized this herself, rather than waiting for a gym or the Y to start a class. Though she still has health issues, she is noticeably more mobile than she was last summer when I met her at a party. She has not only helped herself, but she is also helping her friends as well as a growing circle of other residents.

I like a lot of variety in my exercise schedule, so I won’t be at water aerobics 5 days a week; but I hope to be part of the group once a week for the rest of the summer.

I’m back from a morning bicycle ride and very thankful to ESS for making this ride such a pleasure.

If you are a long time reader of this blog, you may remember that ESS made his first appearance about a year ago. He and DD met last June and began dating. I called him ESS because he was an Exercise Sports Science major. By the time he and DD met, he felt God calling him to be a pastor. He was so close to graduation that he finished the ESS degree and is now going to seminary. I believe God will use his interest in sports as a connection point when he talks to young people about the Bible and their relationship to Christ.

ESS has participated in several sports, but his primary sport is bicycle racing. And on his last visit to our house, he did something to my bicycle that has me feeling young again.

Sometime last fall I punctured the tire on my bike. I didn’t ride for a few weeks until I could get the bike into a repair shop. The next time I rode, I felt like my balance was off. It wasn’t a big deal; it was just a little harder to control the bicycle on hills. I had this problem once before on a windy day, but this time the wind was calm. I thought it would go away as I got back into practice. But it didn’t. Then the weather got cold and I stopped riding for the winter.

I had forgotten about the balance issue when I took my first ride in the spring, but I noticed it immediately. It was not my imagination. I was working so hard to keep the bicycle steady that I would come home with sore arms. This was ridiculous; bicycling is supposed to work my leg muscles, not my arm muscles.

It was also discouraging. I know that to stay in shape as I get closer to 60 years old, I have to keep my core muscles strong. One of the early signs of loss of core strength is lack of balance. I wasn’t having trouble with any other exercise, just bicycling. But whenever I rode, I felt old.

One day I went for a ride and as I struggled to keep the bike going straight up a hill, I noticed that the center of the handle bars was not lined up with the front tire. I blinked and looked again. It was off by at almost an inch. I guess the repair shop didn’t check the alignment, or maybe it was bumped getting it out of the trunk. No wonder I was having to struggle to keep the bike upright, and no wonder my arms were tired.

DD and ESS came for a visit that weekend. He found the tools he needed and aligned the handlebars. Today’s ride was a pleasure. My legs are tired, as they should be, but my arms are normal.

Here are two things to consider from my experience. First, are you taking care of your core muscles? They are the key to balance and the key to being able to enjoy the strenuous exercise that is so beneficial for Type Os. Second, never jump to conclusions with anything regarding exercise and health. The solution may be as simple as finding the right size Allen wrench.

It has nothing to do with this blog, but you might be interested to know that when DD graduated, she applied for jobs in the city where ESS goes to seminary. She was blessed with a position in advertising and social media. Now they get to spend more time together than weekend visits between classes. I am very happy for the two of them and for DD’s wonderful job, but I sure do miss my kitchen helper and exercise partner.

I’ve been working on some very detailed graphic projects. Spending that much time on the computer makes my shoulders stiff. I’ve also some tough decisions to make. That also makes my muscles tight. I am usually very faithful to exercise, but I let a few days slip by without any intense Type O exercise.

Last night I resolved that no matter what I would get some exercise. It is so dry in South Texas that most of our grass is dormant – at least I hope it is dormant and not completely dead. Usually mowing gives me a good workout once a week, but not this summer. However there was one patch of grass along the driveway that decided to try and go to seed before giving up and turning brown. I cranked up the lawn mower and knocked down the tall seed stalks. Then I put on my swimsuit and headed to the neighborhood pool. I swam laps for 35 minutes.

It was the first time I had been in the lap pool since last year. The water felt good and the exercise felt great. My muscles responded by loosening and relaxing.

The pool is on a hill with views to the south and west. As I swam the sun was setting. Each time I made the turn I could see the colors of the clouds change. It was aesthetically soothing. I got out of the water physically and emotionally refreshed.

Now that the weather is hot, the hiking club is tubing. Today was my first time to go. We are in a serious drought in my part of Texas. While other parts of the country are seeing storms of unprecedented strength, we are already under water restrictions. This does not usually happen until late July or August.

Because of the drought, there is no current in the rivers. Today, the wind was pushing us upstream about as fast as the current was taking us downstream. You probably think that is hyperbole, but it is not. We gradually drifted upstream with the wind, and had to paddle back to our starting point.

God is so good. When I thought I wanted a job, all of the doors were tightly shut. God knew that I would have as much as I could handle with family matters. Now that my parents’ house has sold, my work load is picking up. I am doing a 12 page annual report for a client. I’ve been up until 2 a.m. two nights in a row to meet my deadlines. (If your graphic designer doesn’t treat you as well, perhaps you need a new graphic designer. I just happen to know someone in Texas…)

Because of the late nights, I arrived at the river ready to relax. There were six of us tubing today. We floated around rather lazy like for an hour. Then I was ready for action. My muscles had been sitting in a computer chair for long enough. I told my friends I was going up river. No one volunteered to join me. They were having too much fun drifting and talking, but I had to get moving. I paddled upstream for a half mile or so. I saw a mother mallard with seven ducklings following her to the other side of the river. I saw fluorescent blue dragon flies. The sun was hot, and the water was cool.

By the time I paddled back to where we got in, everyone else was eating lunch. I had the same thing for lunch that I would have had today if I had stayed home. English peas with chicken and hummus. Parsnips with flax oil and cinnamon. If I had eaten at home, I would have said, “That was a good lunch.” But somehow when you eat outdoors after enjoying both total relaxation and a strenuous work out, the food just takes on incredible flavor.

Wow, I wanted to shout. This is a really great lunch!

The last two days of the trip, we didn’t have wifi, so I couldn’t blog. We spent one night with my husband’s cousin in New Orleans and one night with a good friend in Houston. We got back home today, and I’m looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight.

All of the people we visited are more aware of healthy eating and exercise than average. Though they don’t follow the BTD, they all had plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. No one served a lot of dessert, which suited us just fine. We did a lot of walking on this trip. When I walk on a vacation, I always have my cameras with me, which means I have 6-8 pounds on my back. However, I missed the intense exercise I get when I am at home.

We had several long days of driving. My husband and I take turns behind the wheel. When it’s his turn to drive, I read or sleep. When it’s my turn to drive, I do isometric exercises. It makes the time go faster, and keeps me from getting stiff in the car. I start by squeezing my quads for five minutes. Then I do shoulder shrugs for five minutes. I alternate lower body, upper body isolating one muscle group at a time.

I read a book one time about a lady who had been very ill. She was confined to her bed for a long period of time, and worried about whether she would ever regain her strength. She began to observe her cat, and realized that cats never do aerobic exercise. In fact, cats appear to be downright lazy, yet they have excellent muscle tone. The lady noticed that her cat slept for a while, then did a series of stretches, then curled up for another nap. She began to stretch with her cat. You’ve already guessed the happy ending. The more she stretched, the stronger she became. One day she could get out of bed, and before long, she was walking and resuming normal activity.

While I drive I think about that cat. I squeeze and stretch my muscles. I’m serious about this. I work hard enough to get warm, and I turn all the air conditioner vents my direction. Still, I miss intense exercise.

I got everything unpacked as quickly as I could and went to the fitness center this afternoon. Hurrah, the elliptical trainer was repaired while we were gone. I did 25 minutes on the elliptical and 25 minutes of weights. Walking is good; stretching is good; but this was real exercise. Running is definitely on the agenda for tomorrow.

I had a great blog for April Fool’s Day, but life has been so busy and distracting. Here it is April 5 and I haven’t posted it yet.

I’ve mentioned that I’m in a hiking club. Our leaders came up with the idea of a “mystery hike" for April Fools. They sent out an e-mail telling us where and what time to meet. We were told to wear hiking boots and long pants because there were snakes and spiders. We were also told that we would be eating afterward at a restaurant which was not friendly to vegetarians.

You can imagine the conversation I had with my husband.
“I’m hiking with the club on Friday”
“Where are you going?”
“I don’t know.”
“When are you coming back?”
“After lunch.”
“Where are you having lunch?”
“I don’t know.”

There were 17 of us on this hike. Only the four drivers were given directions to our first stop - an ice house with lots of bathrooms. After our rest stop, we learned that we were hiking at Palmetto State Park. I had never been there before. It is a park along the San Marcos River. All of the nearby country is rolling ranch land with an occasional mesquite or oak tree. But along the river it is a tropical paradise with lush foliage and dwarf palmettos.

The trails were well maintained. We walked for a little more than two hours getting glimpses of the river through the trees. We have one birder in our group, and she pointed out many birds and imitated bird calls. The wildflowers were just starting to come out. It was a lovely hike – and we didn’t see a single snake.

After the hike we drove into Luling and ate at the famous City Market. Its barbeque is legendary and the line was long. The brisket was very good, but the side orders were limited: white bread, crackers, pinto beans and potato salad. I was happy with brisket and beans, but I probably wouldn't go back again. There are too many other barbeque restaurants with equally good beef that offer cole slaw, sweet potatoes, green beans and other sides.

All in all it was an April Fool’s Day I will never forget.

Yesterday 13 lucky ladies in the hiking club loaded up our cars and drove to Austin. There is a green belt in Austin called Lower Barton Creek with a hike and bike trail. We hiked 8 miles in delightful springtime weather. The skies were cloudy so it was not too warm. Little violets and big red bud trees were blooming beside the trail. The trees all had delicate green buds. It was enchanting. Spring has not yet arrived in the higher elevations of the Hill Country where I live.

We had all packed lunches and at the 4-mile post we began to look for a place to eat. Around the bend were some large boulders under a cliff. It was the perfect picnic area. I took two sushi nori rolls for lunch. Both were made with turkey and feta cheese. They caused quite a bit of comment from the other ladies. I also took a sweet potato, an apple, and a bag of carrots and celery. I anticipated being hungry during a long hike.

As we got close to the end of the trail the ladies began to talk about a famous little food stand called The Mighty Cone. The consensus of the hikers was to stop at The Mighty Cone before returning home.

I had guessed correctly about the amount of food I needed, so I was not particularly hungry. It’s never a good idea to eat just because everyone else is eating, so I went along for the fun, but did not order anything. The menu at The Mighty Cone is limited. You can get a cone with shrimp, chicken, avocado or a combination.

As my friends picked up their orders, I have to admit, I have never seen anything remotely like the fare served at The Mighty Cone. They started with a paper cone. In it they put a flour tortilla, so that the tortilla also took on a cone shape. In the cone they put a scoop of Cole slaw. On top of that they put the toppings. All three were deep fried. Now, fried chicken and fried shrimp are common, but I never imagined deep fried avocado. On top of that was drizzled Thousand Island dressing.

I was so glad I had not ordered. It was a nightmare from a BTD or any other kind of nutritional perspective. But the ladies all seemed to enjoy it.

No experience should ever be wasted. As I was preparing my lunch today, I had a bowl with leftover ground beef, mustard greens, and black eyed peas. I sprinkled on some curry powder and turmeric before I warmed it up. I fixed my husband a turkey sandwich with some Cole slaw. Suddenly I thought of The Mighty Cone. Into my bowl I put two handfuls of chopped cabbage. It added a lot of crunch and I liked it.

So hurrah for The Mighty Cone with its nest of Cole Slaw and meat on top. But spare me from deep fried anything, particularly deep fried avocado.

I got an e-mail Tuesday from a friend in El Paso who had been without water and electricity for a week. It has been so long since my last post that perhaps you thought I was one of those casualties of the extraordinarily cold weather. No. We have power, we have water, we have food. We’ve just been staying close to home and wearing lots of extra clothes, trying to do our part to avoid more rolling blackouts and stay warm at the same time.

Texans are smart, independent, and tough. We have the best economy of any state during this recession. We brag a little, but we have a lot to brag about. However, I will admit that we are wimps about winter.

A half inch of snow paralyzes a city. Below freezing temperatures lead to school closures. We tell horror stories about walking our dogs in 16 degree weather. My daughter said that she braved the icy streets to go to Wal-Mart to get bottled water and fresh fruit. People were stocking up on frozen dinners to eat in case there was another power outage. Laughter is good for you, so I’m glad the rest of the country is getting a good laugh at the expense of us Texans.

Even our wildlife is soft and weak. My husband has been refilling the bird feeders every day, and the deer are hanging around waiting for me to put out leftover scraps. We look out the windows of our warm living room and remind them of their cousins in Colorado.

I’m just as wimpy as the rest. I have zero desire to go outside and walk or run. Taking the dog to the top of the hill and back makes my hands hurt. I don’t want to go to the fitness center either. There is an air conditioner for hot summer days, but no heat. Yikes, those metal weights are cold in a freezing room. I get to feeling all comfortable in my sweater and jeans, and I dread changing into workout clothes and exposing my skin to the 68 degree air in the house.

To my shame, I have taken several days off from exercise. But I have enjoyed something new in the way of exercise. When DD was home at Christmas we went to a couple of used DVD stores looking for movies. What we found was an amazing collection of discarded exercise DVDs. They must not sell well, because we bought several for next to nothing.

I have two kick boxing workouts that I really like. I actually got warm enough doing one of those DVDs to get down to a T-shirt! I have an aerobic walking DVD that gets my heart pumping. There is a fat burning DVD from the 80s that I can hardly do because I’m laughing so hard at the clothes they are wearing.

I’m a Texan. I’d rather be outside running or swimming or hauling rocks. But when the temperature doesn’t get above freezing for two days, an exercise DVD is a good alternative. One more thing. If you come to Texas, I wouldn’t say the words “global warming.”

Yesterday was a good day for exercise and beneficial eating. The ladies hiking club took excursion at Bastrop State Park. Bastrop is also called Lost Pines because it is an isolated Pine forest in the middle of the Texas Prairie. The temperature was 23 degrees when we got in our cars. That may not seem cold to you, but 23 is extreme for South Texas where some winters the temperature doesn’t get below freezing. Two ladies dropped out of the hike because of the weather, but nine of us bundled up and began the long drive to Bastrop.

We enjoyed a 2-hour hike. The sun came out and warmed the air. The bright green pine trees were a beautiful contrast to winter brown. The trail was a blend of strenuous and relaxing. The smell of pine needles was refreshing.

After the hike we drove into the charming town of Bastrop. The historical buildings of the old downtown area have been preserved and converted to cute shops and cafes. Our group chose a café called Gracie’s. Though the specialty of the day was chicken fried chicken, but I was confident I could find something BTD friendly on the menu. Two of the other hikers also follow the BTD. One is Type AB, and she quickly settled on soup and salad. The other is Type B and she chose a tuna melt.

I found a chopped steak dinner with potatoes and a vegetable of the day. I asked if I could substitute a salad for the potatoes. I was told “no substitutions” in a rather emphatic way. I must have looked disappointed, because the server said, “We have two vegetables today, corn and green beans. You can substitute one of the vegetables for the potatoes.” Now I was happy. I ordered a chopped steak dinner, with the onions, but without gravy and two portions of green beans.

The server gave me a long look and said, “No gravy at all; not even on the side.” I said, “No gravy at all.” She shook her head, but followed my instructions. The meal was delicious and well cooked. After lunch we wandered through the shops before we started for home. On every level it was a beneficial day.

My Honorable Husband injured his knee in 2005 and got incredible relief with physical therapy. He has no pain with normal activity, but if he walks for very long on a steep incline he has soreness and stiffness for several days. It terrifies him. He thinks he has reinjured the knee and is doomed to surgery. This means that the mountain hiking we both loved to do is severely limited.

Last summer in a chance (or perhaps providential) conversation with a woman in the neighborhood, I found out about a lady’s hiking club. There are about 25 women who hike in nearby state parks every Friday. It took a while to get connected, but on Friday I took my third hike with the group.

These ladies are serious hikers. Most of them are grandmothers, and they hike because they believe that if they stay physically active they will age more gracefully. The first two hikes were steep and aggressive. I met ladies who have hiked in the Alps and on the Appalachian Trail. I was glad in was in good enough shape to keep up.

Most of them are also interested in eating healthy. In so many situations, people give me strange looks when they see what I eat – like a meat and veggie bowl when everyone else is eating sandwiches. Not the hiking club ladies! There are certainly lots of sandwiches, but there are also a lot of salads and trail mix. There are even others who eat veggie bowls like I do. I’m probably the most serious about the Blood Type Diet, but several follow the basic principles.

On Friday we took a guided hike in a protected natural area. The weather was perfect, and the docent filled us with knowledge about truly native plants as well as plants that are encroaching in Central Texas. The walk, fresh air, and good conversation were rejuvenating.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that DD has a young man in her life who is an Exercise Sports Science major (He is also Type O). We were talking about running the other night and ESS told us something that may solve a mystery and facilitate a more complete healing of my knee.

He was talking about a professor of his who has run multiple marathons. He trained hard and ran long hours – always on the safe side of the road, facing traffic. Continuous running with his left leg slightly lower than his right, took its toll on his body. I’m not sure whether his bone growth was affected, or whether his joints were damaged, but ESS said that when he took off his corrective appliance, the class gasped at how crooked he looked. He urged them to run half of their time on one side of the street and half on the other.

This morning I went for a run. I was listening to J. Vernon McGee on my MP3 player and enjoying the cool temperature. About 20 minutes into the run I remembered what ESS had said and switched to the other side of the street. At first I didn’t notice any difference. Then I began to feel something. It wasn’t pain – more like a stretching sensation.

Now I am wondering…could running on the left side of the street have contributed to the patella femoral syndrome in my right knee? I worked hard on my quads all summer, so I rarely have pain anymore from everyday activities, but I still can’t do lunges.

I remember severely bruising my right knee in high school. After the injury healed, I would occasionally get a weak feeling in that knee, but it was not a problem until 2008. I never could pinpoint why I developed patella femoral. Now I’m wondering about running crooked.

I’m going to try running 1/3 on the right side of the road, 1/3 on the left, then 1/3 on the right. I’ll blog about the results of my experiment.

We spent an interesting day at the Charles Town Landing Historical Site. The original 1670 settlement has been restored. We learned about life in the colony and enjoyed the archeology exhibits. We walked a big loop trail that took us from one end of the compound area to the other. On one side there was a ship building exhibit featuring a Ketch sailing vessel built by hand by the docents. On the other side was a wildlife exhibit featuring local animals in their natural habitat.

We asked one of the docents to recommend one of her favorite nearby restaurants. She sent us to T Bonz. The food was delicious. I had a burger & vegetables. DD had a salad & eggs. We got a side order of broccoli and shared. Though there were plenty of beneficial choices, HH chose an avoid sandwich – steak, turkey and bacon. DD and I couldn't talk him out of it. I don’t know if his stomach bothered him. After all our warnings, he knew better than to complain.

Our last day in Charleston we packed a picnic and drove to the Isle of Palms. The kids and I went running on the beach, then jumped in the ocean to play in the surf. HH decided to be cautious because of his cornea transplant. He has healed beautifully from the surgery and his vision is better than it has been in years. He is still cautious, and he did not want to risk getting sand or salt water in his eye. He took a nice long walk on the beach. Then we pulled out the lawn chairs and ate our picnic while we listened to the water. So relaxing.

Then it was time to come home. I am getting ready to have an estate sale at my Mom’s house. HH is learning to take care of our house so I can spend more time next year developing my photography and publishing business. DD headed back to college for her senior year. SS finished grad school today. He is a physical therapist, and he is returning to Texas to practice. We are back to the real world, but the real world is a pretty interesting and exciting place to be.

We have had two more days of interesting sightseeing, scrumptious food and unusual exercise.

One day we toured a plantation just outside of Charleston. There were alligators walking free on the grounds! I picked up one bit of blood type trivia. Sickle Cell Anemia is an inherited blood disease that mostly affects people of African descent. While the disease has many disadvantages, one advantage is that it provides protection from malaria. On this particular plantation, for large parts of the year all of the activities, including management of the house, gardens, and crops, were entirely handled by black overseers while the white owners fled for less mosquito prone climates.

Another day we toured the USS Yorktown, a retired aircraft carrier. The kitchens on board were certainly not organized to provide WWII era soldiers with meals related to individual needs or blood types. Nor was the concession stand set up to provide healthy meal choices for tourists. We were glad we had packed a picnic lunch in our backpacks – turkey on oat bread for my husband, PB&J on Ezekiel bread for DD, salmon and English peas for me.

Last night we drove to Sullivan’s Island and ate at Seels. The rest of the family raved about the fish tacos. I thoroughly enjoyed my flounder with collard greens and sweet potato fries. After dinner we went for a long run on the beach. Running on sand works different muscles, I learned when I hopped out of bed this morning.

Tonight we had dinner at Jestine's Kitchen, a downtown restaurant famous for soul food. My meal was outstanding: meatloaf collard greens and okra gumbo. There is a hike and bike trail over the Ravenel suspension bridge where our son likes to exercise. DD and I power walked the bridge after dinner. We not only got a good work out, but we saw a beautiful view of the water and the downtown skyline.

I’m starting the third week at my parents’ house. My sister and I have made so much progress. We have one room and one closet left to investigate. I have eaten really well - only two avoid foods. I think that is somewhat extraordinary for being away from home. One of those was a dessert for my sister’s birthday. The other was potato chunks that came with one of the most amazing egg dishes. It was a Greek frittata. The eggs were topped with asparagus, artichoke, sun dried tomatoes, and feta cheese. It was an outstanding combination.

I have made sure to exercise every day. It’s best if I get up early and walk or run before breakfast. Once the day starts, it’s hard to find time as we get busier and busier with projects. Sometimes exercise comes in surprising places. This morning, for instance, I realized that I had gotten the day wrong for the heavy trash pickup. We suddenly saw the truck a block away and raced around lugging a picnic table, ping pong table, three computers & two monitors and a mattress & box spring out to the drive way. That will get your heart racing.

For the most part, I have eaten meat and veggie bowls. Meat choices have been ground beef, rotisserie chicken, brisket, salmon, and turkey breast. Vegetables have included peas, green beans, parsnips, mustard greens, sweet potatoes, turnip greens, carrots, black beans, pumpkin, broccoli and more. My niece teases me about the combinations I put in a bowl. I think adding hummus to green beans or barbeque sauce to turnip greens tastes good, but she laughs calls it “Aunt Suzanne’s food.”

We had someone majoring in Exercise Sports Science over for dinner this week. He made some comments about muscles that I found intriguing. The conversation started when I said that because I was so sedentary as a child, I had never developed my upper body muscles. He said that my muscles were fixed genetically; that I was born with all of the muscle tissue that I would have, and that what I did in childhood couldn’t change that.

I said I knew too many people who had been very scrawny, but through weight lifting had built up lots of muscle. Arnold Schwarzenegger certainly wasn’t born looking like he looks today! I also mentioned the constant battle that women over 50 fight with losing muscle mass.

ESS countered with information that was new to me. There is a difference between skeletal muscle tissue and muscle fibers. Skeletal muscles are the long cells that are attached to the bones. These muscles are determined genetically. The ones you are born with are the ones you will have for life. He gave an example of someone he knew who had a severe injury that resulted in the loss of a large part of the skeletal muscle on the calf of one leg. Years later after the injury had healed, the muscles were still missing and one leg looked very different from the other.

Muscle fibers (which come in three types and determine whether someone is a good long or short distance runner) can be built and can be lost. This ties in with what my PT son once said about the body not beginning to build muscle tissue until six weeks after an exercise program is started. The long skeletal muscles do the extra work for a short term increase in activity (like a New Year’s resolution to start an exercise program). The body waits until it perceives that additional strength will be needed for the long term before it starts construction of muscle fibers. It is the fibers that add bulk and tone to the body. Muscle fiber cells can increase; they can also shrink and be lost.

I asked about fat, hoping that what I had heard about fat cells was false. Unfortunately it is true. Fat cells can be created, but they cannot be destroyed. “This,” ESS said with a smile, “is why liposuction was invented.

When a person overeats, fat cells are created. Once they are there, they never go away. They can shrink or fill up, but they are permanent.

So what does all of this anatomical knowledge mean to those of us on the BTD.
1. Beware of any kind of overeating that adds more fat. You may tell yourself that you can lose the weight. In reality, you can shrink the cells, but the fat tissue is there to stay.
2. Take your children’s weight seriously. They will pay the price later in life for fat cells that they build when they are young. Children won’t understand this. It’s just another responsibility of being a parent. (I strongly feel that it is NOT a government responsibility, but a parent’s responsibility.)
3. When you start a weight program, do not be easily discouraged. You will not start building fibers for six weeks.
4. Especially for women, weight lifting is a lifetime commitment. To keep our bones strong, we have to keep those muscle fibers working.