Tuesday, June 28, 2016

redundancy, self-ratification, and travel

This has been the busiest spring in my entire life (with second-place going to our move to college in '74)!  On Saturday afternoon, we got back from an extended-family vacation, including a side-trip to visit my mother in Arizona, and a VERY sad trip to our daughter's veterinarian.  :-(  RIP, Spenser -- i miss you dreadfully!



He was the perfect poster-puppy for taking your dog off grain-based kibble -- only going to Taste Of The Wild was enough to improve his dental health, weight, and anal-gland problems.  The breed is predicted to live 15-18 years, and he was 16.  We woke one morning to find that he could not stand up anymore.  ...It was time.  He passed away peacefully in my arms.

We missed most of June in Missouri, going to TX, AZ, and FL (Disney and Universal parks with our daughter and family), and returned to St. Louis in a heatwave (97 degrees and 60% humidity).  I could only laugh when i saw our garden again for the first time -- the dill and cilantro looked like they were on steroids!  The zucchini with the weeds growing among them looked like a miniature jungle, and the tomatoes were sprawled like couch-potatoes in their grandma's basement.  ;-)

I ate horribly during our Florida idyll!  I drank lite beer in the parks, when available, to rehydrate and fuel my mad dashings (not to mention my standing in lines) between roller-coasters.  I ate pizza and hot-dogs-with-buns, and ham sandwiches on rye....

And ya know what?  I didn't gain fat.  And ya know the difference between Florida and the Mediterranean countries we visited earlier this spring?  SUN.  Our rental house had a screened-in pool, beside which we spent much of our after-park-hours.  Every morning I put on a hat and used zinc-based sunscreen on my nose, chest, and lower arms, but my legs soaked in the rays in a natural fashion.  I made an effort to get sun on my shoulders and back, too.  In Europe i wore trousers most of the time, and in Florida i wore shorts.

Over a comparable period of time, i walked a little less here than there (about 40 miles vs 50).  I remembered my vitamins about as frequently, and had snacks more often in FL but dessert more often on the ship.  (I also pretty much wore out my Vibrams by the time the second trip was finished -- i'm asking for new ones for my birthday!)

So what's the secret -- vitamin D?  Other beneficial effects of the sun?  Dopamine?  I did have a lot of fun, riding roller-coasters and interacting with our grandchildren.  I had a WONDERFUL time in both places, and though it was often exhausting, i wouldn't have missed either experience for the world.

8 comments:

  1. You certainly had a very busy Spring, and I hope you can enjoy your summer, although it may be tinged with a little sadness ...
    That is a beautiful photo of Spenser - may he RIP

    Good wishes to you

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Jan. We haven't been without a dog in so long, the house just feels empty. I go to open the door to the garden, turn around to call him and there's no one there. :-( But till we finish doing some of our travels, we agree we'll have to wait. Maybe i'll sign up to walk shelter dogs, when the weather cools off a bit....

      Delete
  2. I am sorry to hear about Spencer--I know he was dear to you. My dog eats home-cooked paleo, with the odd bit of cheese, and vets always remark that her teeth aren't slimy like most.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. When i learned about "paleo for dogs" i considered raw-feeding, but since other people took care of him occasionally, i decided to just go grain-free. His teeth stayed beautifully white, when he wasn't stealing kibble from my daughters' dogs!

      Thank you, too, Lori!

      Delete
  3. I am sorry for your adorable dog passing out.
    Thank you for coming back to us, you were missed.
    I live in Florida, and so far I have not noticed it is a uniquely slimming place, but I have noticed people often comment about not following their diets during travelling without usual consequences. May be it is something in changing own routine in a more exiting way.In my case eating wheat is never a good idea, after my last time it took about two months for a finger joint to stop being inflamed. For me lowcarbing is mostly a general health maintenance remedy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's going to take awhile for my knees to stop hurting -- that was the worst of eating so badly! My weight only stayed stable, i'm sure, because i really didn't pig out, consumed very little sugar, and played HARD. I also think that my allergies were a lot better there. I slept well, and as i said, got a lot of good sun. Nothing like reduced stress and plentiful dopamine, to make us feel good!

      Thank you for the condolences, and the welcome-back message! I hope to write more, now we'll be at home again awhile!

      Delete
  4. Kind thoughts for Spencer. I have a no grain doggie myself...Otis lab-mix. Anyway I get a lot of emails from my vet for teeth cleaning and he hasn't needed any in the 6 years he's been with us...hmmm.
    I love vicariously through others in their travels as my work eats up my precious time on earth....that will change soon. Glad to see you back.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Lauren! ...Amazing isn't it, how dropping that "essential" food-group causes so many problems to go away.... ;-)

      Retirement IS wonderful, freeing up time to do so many things we've put off! I'm REALLY lucky that my husband is an outstanding money-manager -- we've gotten to do things i had never hoped to.... The sunroom and garage additions, and the garden designing are ensuring that when we STOP traveling, we'll have a lot of pleasure in just staying home and enjoying it! :-)

      Delete