We are on our way home after spending a couple of days with my mother in Cedar Rapids.
The goal is to put some significant miles on each day. I have doctors appointments, tests and labs next week. Age has caught up with me, and I've needed to make some lifestyle changes in an effort to control blood pressure and cholesterol.
The days of eating whatever I wanted are over--at least if I want to avoid medication. I'm confident that the blood pressure is back to normal,except when I'm anxious at doctor's appointments. The jury is out on cholesterol until the next blood test.
I thought I had a clean family history with regard to those things, but conversations with my mother have revealed that my dad did have some of those issues. He just didn't tell us kids about them. Oh well, I'll control those things that I can control. I've lost 20 pounds since March and seemed to have stabilized at a more healthy weight. I've been following Michael Pollan's advice: eat real food, mostly plants, not too much. That has ended the frequent evening bowls of ice cream and batches of chocolate chip cookies.
We're in eastern Kansas tonight, and the temperatures are over 100 degrees. Fortunately, we are at a COE with electricity, and the a/c is working in the trailer.
Dinner was Mexican food at the small restaurant behind Julia. The servers were two young teenage girls. We couldn't see any Mexican workers, but maybe there was a Mexican cook in the back. I don't know. No margaritas available, but they had beer in the cooler. Interestingly, the server told us that she wasn't allowed to serve us beer, but that we could help ourselves, use a provided bottle opener, and the beer would appear on the bill. Kansas alcohol serving magic but no complaints from me.
