The great move is over! Well, almost over. Most of the boxes have been opened, the kitchen items have been found and mostly put away, and order is coming out of the chaos. The day of the move was wonderful, a comfortable 23C with clear skies and low humidity. It was just what I’d been praying for, following a week of high humidity and much warmer temperatures. When all was unloaded and the rented truck returned, the four of us (my housemate and I and his two cheerfully helping friends) got on the subway and headed east to a newly opened Turkish restaurant on the Danforth, a Greek/Turkish enclave in Toronto.

The food was excellent. I had a doner dinner plate, thinly sliced lamb roasted with beef, sliced raw onions mixed with fresh parsley leaves, some lettuce. I left the bulgar on my large plate and donated the freshly made (wonderful-looking) flat bread to one of my hungrier friends. My companions, all A blood type, ate huge plates of meat very happily. They are reasonably new arrivals from Turkey, and this was comfort food for them, since they don’t get to eat Turkish food too often these days. One had the doner plate, the same as mine, and two ordered the beef dinner. A large part of my self discipline was the task of allowing them to enjoy their food without telling them it was an avoid meal. We all ordered a glass of ayran, the yogurt/garlic drink which is so beneficial, and dessert as well. Three of us ordered sutlac, rice pudding cooked in milk with a thick creamy topping. The fourth ordered something whose name I’ve forgotten, a type of very fine noodle cooked into a flat cake loaded with so much sugar that it oozed onto the plate. I tasted a very tiny corner of this delicacy to see what it was like. It was crunchy and very sugary, the strands of noodle very thin, really of the consistency of threads. This was followed by glasses of Turkish tea. In between serving food, our cheerful waiter visited with us, telling us various interesting things. I was able to enjoy what I’d eaten without problems such as headache or major fatigue, which I always consider a major accomplishment. Since there were no vegetarian options on the menu, this restaurant would be perfect for B and O blood types (unless you are Turkish and need to eat familiar food, even if it’s avoid for your type). The food was fresh and delicious, the atmosphere scrupulously clean and welcoming.

One of the friends who helped with the move spent most of the trip to the restaurant asking me about the BTD. A young man, he is starting to carry a little extra weight and feeling a little uncomfortable. We’d talked earlier about the fact that my housemate had weighed 180 lb. when he arrived in Canada almost four years ago. After I talked him into eating for his blood type, his weight easily fell to 155 lb., which he maintains effortlessly. I think one of the things that created the sudden interest in the BTD was the statement I made about my housemate being able to eat as much as he liked without gaining weight. How did I get him to eat for his blood type? I made soup for him using black beans, garlic, onion and mushrooms one evening. He ate it that night and took the rest home. He called the next day to thank me for the beneficial meal. He could really feel the difference physically after eating something beneficial. Since that day, he has thanked me at least once a month, often much more often, for introducing the BTD to him. If he goes off the diet, he instantly gains weight, which helps keep him devoted to his beneficial foods. When I went away in February for four days, he had a little holiday from the BTD (and my watchful eyes) and gained four pounds! It's a good reminder for him just how important the BTD is for his well-being.

On Sunday I was not my usual cheerful self, bordering on the edge of grumpiness, which lasted too long. I was really exhausted from packing, cleaning the new home the week before (everything was dirty) and the move itself, and although I’d eaten largely beneficial foods the day before, the sugar in my dessert was not a good idea. My spirits revived enormously when I ate a fresh mango mixed with organic yogurt in the early afternoon. I know, mango is only neutral for B blood type. It’s my psychological compensation for the loss of avocados and persimmons when I started on the BTD, both of which I loved passionately, together with mangos. I am grateful that I can still eat mangos here and there during the summer months when they are so plentiful. I am happy to not eat avocados and persimmons if they are among the many items that created my physical discomforts, pre BTD. The comfort food aspect of being able to eat the mango at all, combined with the yogurt made a definite dent in my edginess that I could feel instantly. I also left the mess of boxes and chaos behind me a couple of times to make a visit to the local grocery store to buy food for the coming week, and later on to walk around my new neighbourhood. It’s like living in a huge park. The houses are old and well established, with large trees and wonderfully landscaped properties. We found the entrance to the ravine, but did not enter just yet. Nearby is a huge park stretching out into the ravine. As my housemate commented, we have bought a neighbourhood, not just a home.

Yesterday I made my first trip to the library of choice, a large, comfortable old building across the street from the T’ai Chi centre, which I also visited. My teacher of many years ago was there, teaching a class that I will join on Tuesday afternoons in September after Labour Day. I need to learn the entire set once again, and I look forward to this addition to my daily routine. Joan, my teacher, greeted me warmly and we chatted briefly about my rejoining her class. I had seen her at Easter when I visited her church and had spoken to her then about her ongoing classes.

There is so much to anticipate and salivate over in the next short while!