This seems to be the summer of eating trials. Tomorrow hubby and I are leaving on another trip. This is the one we have been waiting a long time for. We’re going on a motorcycle tour of the Alps. We haven’t been to Europe for about 25 years, when he was in the military. I wonder if it’s the same as I left it or really different.

Of course my tummy has been in knots for days. There is so much to prepare for here so that the business can get by without us for the ten days we’ll be gone. I’ve been checking the weather reports for where we will be touring. It was looking like all rain for awhile, but things are improving. We’re, of course hoping for warm and sunny weather, but we’ve packed all our rain gear just in case.

I’m afraid I’ll be somewhat at the mercy of the food gods as to what I’ll be eating. I know I’m going to be tempted by all sorts of things. But, I think I learned a lesson from my trip to South Carolina that my gut doesn’t absorb foods that it’s not used to eating any more. (Hmmm, could I be getting older, too?? That’s another blog). I hope I can find a happy medium. There’s nothing like suffering on the back of a motorcycle!

Anyway, it will be an adventure both riding and eating.

I’m back from ‘barbershop school’. It was amazing. Three packed days of classes and singing and contests and entertainment. It was held on a college campus, so the food was all served cafeteria style. Since we were in the Deep South, there were plenty of avoid foods available. I did my best to make reasonable choices. Grits were served every morning. Oh, how I wanted a serving of those lovely grits! I managed to stay away from them, and was able to avoid all the corn products that were obvious. For breakfasts, I always had eggs, and a small portion of bacon. I cannot resist a crispy piece of bacon when it is staring me in the face. There was always fresh grapefruit, apples and bananas available in the mornings, too. Do you want to know what other kinds of food they served??? Well, there were biscuits, and french toast, and pancakes and muffins galore. The usual cold cereals, milk, bagels, peanut butter, jam…and well, you know. Lot’s of things I (we) used to eat.

My body had a hard time getting used to the time change. So, after forcing down breakfast at what my body thought was 4:00am, I was not hungry for lunch a few hours after that. So, I would skip the lunches and have a Unibar around 3:00pm, which was noon to my stomach. By dinner time I was hungry. They had enough choices that I never had to ‘choose’ chicken. Unfortunately there was a lot of starch served to fill in the gaps of small protein portions. So, I had some noodles here and a slice of bread there. There was plain rice one evening, which made me happy. There was always an ample salad bar available, but there were no compliant dressings, so I chose the ranch. And the DESSERTS!! There were tables of desserts. Cakes, cookies, apple crisp, krispy treats and a soft serve ice cream machine. I was able to avoid them all till the last evening when I poured myself a bowl of the ice cream. Whew! I almost made it though!

A consequence of these food choices resulted in some, what you might call, ‘gut reactions’. I did suffer for an hour or two every morning. I was lucky the classes were only about an hour long apiece. The change in weather could have affected things, too. The humidity was very high and it was very hot. I am not used to going from air conditioning to hot, humid air so many times in one day. By the end of the week, my ankles were very thick from the swelling. They don’t swell in the Northwest where I live now. But I do remember when I was growing up on the East coast, my ankles would always swell in the summertime. Even when I was as young as twelve.

But, despite the few inconveniences, it was a most valuable experience. I’m already planning next year's trip.

This past Sunday I spent the majority of the day selling hot dogs at our city’s annual street fair. I helped out in the men’s barbershop chorus booth. They pay the women’s chorus a portion of the profits for helping them out. Anyway, these were the famous Canadian Jumbo hot dogs. I used to love to eat them before I knew how bad they were for me (and anyone else). They used to be made from all beef. Now, since the Mad Cow scare, they are made from all pork. They did smell mighty tasty, though. I think last year I did eat one while selling. This year I made sure I filled up with a lamb chop and a banana before heading for the fair. That helped keep the temptation down to a minimum. While working, I looked up and down the food vendor strip at the choices people had to eat. Beside us was a trailer selling elephant ears. Sugar and wheat. Across the way was a Vietnamese booth. There probably was some beef available over there, but it would have been difficult to determine what other ingredients were used . I saw people walking by with corn on the cob. Fine for A-types, but I’m sure half the folks were O’s and others. There were hamburgers, corn dogs, deep-fried vegetables, strawberry shortcakes and other sorts of delicious-looking desserts. Lots of wheat and sugar. And of course, every booth had the obligatory array of soft drinks. I would hope that most of the folks taking in these foods were eating them for a ‘special occasion’. But, from the looks of fully one-third of them, I think it was normal fare for them. There were many overweight and obese people walking around with these foods in their hands.

So, I was peddling poison for profit. Granted it was a non-profit group I was working for, and I did feel obligated to help. It just seems overwhelming to me that there are so many people out there that cannot relate what they put into their mouths with the state of their health. And that leads us to the current health care situation.........but I’m not going there in this blog.

I’m traveling to Greenville, SC this week for barbershop school. We’ll be studying any and all things related to barbershop music. I’m pretty psyched for it. It’s being held on a college campus, so the food will be presented cafeteria style. I’m hoping there are enough choices of compliant foods available. I’ll take a few Unibars along just in case. I’m hoping my resolve will last through the temptations. Sometimes it’s easy, like at the street fair this weekend. Sometimes are tougher.

Hubby and daughter left last Wednesday on a trek down to Monterrey for the Moto-GP races. They put both their motorcycles in the trailer, hoping they would get a chance to ride on some of the beautiful roads in that area. They are scheduled to be back Monday night.

So, I’ve been by myself in the house, sort of. We hired someone to rebuild our deck. He started it last Wednesday, and has been here at the crack o’ dawn every morning. It’s been lots of pounding and sawing all day long. Luckily, being Sunday, he didn’t show up this morning and I got to sleep in a little bit. I’ve been trying to stay away during the daytime. The noise can be pretty disruptive.

What have I been eating while the cats have been away? Not as many beneficial choices as I hoped I would have. The first night I immediately sought out some fresh liver. Cooked up half with a huge Walla Walla onion. It was really tasty. If you recall, I’m not allowed to cook liver in the house. Hubby gags on the smell. That’s an appropriate reaction for an A blood type, I suppose. I had exactly the same meal the next night, with a little green salad. Then, Friday night I strayed a bit. I was invited out to a restaurant with ‘the girls’, as one of the women’s husband was performing with a blues band there. I chose to eat oysters. It was an avoid choice, but I rarely eat them. Were my eyes swollen the nest morning? Yes, Ma’m!! Last night I got in too late from golf to think if there was anything in the fridge to eat for dinner. I had already had eggs and spelt toast for brunch. I was tired and feeling lazy, so made a grilled cheddar cheese sandwich on spelt bread. The cheddar is avoid for this nonny, but there was no mozzarella. My lunches have all been the usual yogurt, cottage cheese or eggs. Rainier cherries have been the fruit of choice. I've eaten a few Unibars. (I'm trying to go slow on them until NAP gets some more in). Oh yeah, and I’ve been munching on a bag of Terra chips. The oil seems to be the only avoid in that. I haven’t had enough vegetables this weekend, that’s for sure. I think I’ll go for broke and hit the grocery for some more liver tonight. I don’t know when I’ll be able to indulge again. But will definitely go heavy on the greens. The body is craving them.

I’ve been trying to get out on the golf course a little more lately. After all, it is summertime! The weather has not been cooperating in the warmth department, but I’ve managed a few dry, if not chilly days out there. But, I’ve noticed that the etiquette of my gal buddies has been declining. They talk too much. And they talk incessantly. Good golf etiquette means that if someone is getting ready to take a shot, then you stop your conversation until that person hits the ball. It’s not happening, ladies. There are some of my partners that just cannot stop talking. I can stand over the ball forever waiting for quiet, and they just don’t get the hint or they keep talking in a loud whisper. So, I guess it’s up to me to change the way I deal with the distraction. I like these women, and love the socialization (and exercise) that happens during a golf game. But, it’s getting so I dread meeting up with certain ones of the group. I haven’t quite figured how to deal with it. If I ask for quiet too many times, then I will be considered a ‘you-know-what’ ‘b’ word. Can’t have that. If I let it continue to ruin my golf game, then the game will become less attractive to me and I will more than likely stay away more. So, the dilemma is there. I haven’t figured it out yet. Unfortunately, this is one problem I don’t think BTD can solve.