Sometimes I feel this diet is as hard now, if not harder, than when I started 5 ½ years ago. Yes, there are avoid foods that I never eat now, like peanuts, chicken and soy. But, some of the avoid foods that I should have gotten over by now still creep into the old mouth occasionally. I’m stuck on the 6-8 oz of coffee in the morning. I still haven’t been able to take the plunge into abstinence. It’s scary.

On another note (oh yes, the pun is intended), I had an excellent musical weekend. Our barbershop coach from San Jose was up giving private vocal lessons Friday and a full day workshop to the chorus in Saturday. She has discovered a new way of singing that is so inspiring. It is not her method, it is someone else’s, but she says it is going to revolutionize the way singing is taught in a couple of years. Everything is thought about and done in the area of the head above the portal bones (upper jaw). You visualize breathing through the sinuses and eyes, then send the sound backward into your head, never letting it down into your throat or chest. It is truly amazing. We stayed in key, made really big sounds and didn’t run out of breath. I’ve always had trouble attacking notes right on key, tending to want to slide into the right note. With this method, I am spot on most every time. After an hour lesson and the full Saturday workshop, I think I’m ready to take on the world now.

Of course, we had our usual potluck lunch at the workshop. I stayed away from the wheat. Other than chicken, the only proteins were processed meats and cheeses. So, I ate some of those to keep my energy up. There were plenty of raw veggies and fruit to fill up on, too. The desserts were maddening. I ended up indulging in two dollar-sized chocolate chip cookies. Didn’t I say this diet is as hard now as it ever was?

Oh well, the daily battle goes on.

We’ve had a couple outings for dinner at friends’ houses this past week. I have always adhered to Dr. D’s advice about eating in other people’s homes. In Eat Right 4 Your Type he says to eat what is served graciously, enjoy the company and don’t stress about the avoids you may be consuming. Two outings in four days just about did me in. On Friday, we were served a beef stew with lots of potatoes. The side dishes were corn on the cob and corn bread. It was all delicious and the company was great. The next morning my eyelids were puffy and I was having carb cravings, but nothing I didn’t expect. Then Monday was a visit to another friend’s house. He is a fantastic cook, and he fixed us a Chinese meal. The proteins were shrimp and beef. I could see cornstarch and other unidentifiable things going into the sauces. Sesame oil and seeds covered the asparagus. It was an excellent meal.

Well, Tuesday I got up feeling sluggish. I debated whether to call off a golf game or not. I played anyway, but it was a chore. I was able to squeeze in a twenty-minute nap before going off to a meeting and chorus rehearsal that evening. I could hardly sing. My throat seized up, and I felt that I was forcing every note. Wednesday morning I woke up CRANKY. I knew something was really out of balance. My throat was still raspy. So, it was suck on the Proberry 3 bottle and take the Chinese Herbs my acupuncturist had given me for colds.

I’m better today. Still don’t know if I can sing or not, but I have more energy. I’m glad for the immune system support those supplements gave me. Otherwise those nasty lectins would have gotten the better of me.

And I am forever thankful for my friends.