post-trip check-in

During my time in Spain I allowed myself to eat and drink what was in front of me: croissants for breakfast, beer and wine with meals, cheese and olives, rice dishes with seafood. I gained a few pounds back but this morning I was back down to my pre-trip weight. My belly is still soft and big. I may have lost weight but it's still settled along my abdomen. Next goal; another ten pounds in six weeks, or by the end of September. I need to buy more eggs and cottage cheese, and berries. 

The trip logistics all went well in spite of an unexpected mishap with Arun's passport; he didn't realize that it needed to be valid for six months beyond the trip date. He came to the airport but the wouldn't let him board so he and his mother, who also met us there, went back home to try to get a rush passport renewal in time for them to get to the village for the eclipse. They had an appointment for 5AM on monday, got the passport by noon on Tuesday, then made it to Zaragoza by 1pm on Wed where they were picked up by Blas and arrived in the village in time for the amazing eclipse viewing! We drove to a hillside and sat on folding chairs with eclipse glasses for all. Primi was there too, having been ferried out with her wheelchair to the village, then settled in a chair outside in the front patio. Ruben and Coba were there as were Carmen and Quique, Rosemary's friend Carina and her caravaning friends Melissa and Michael. They had rented a camper and made their way to the village and then joined us on our return to Zaragoza before continuing on their wandering way. Ruben made us a paella on a giant pan. When we got back to Zaragoza, Blas made us squid ink rice with seafood and it was wonderful!

The weather was blistering hot so we spent a lot of time indoors in the middle of the day with brief excursions to the Pilar, the Seo, and the Aljafería. We had a magnificent meal at the vegetarian restaurant Baobab and tapas in the Tubo. I was low energy because of the heat but managed to get around at a slow pace with Loren and his walking sticks.

to Spain!

 Tomorrow we go to Spain! I'm trying not to be anxious about the trip to the airport. I will take a Lyft at 8PM to get there to check in by 9 for a 12:30 flight. It's non stop 7 and a half hours so we get into Barcelona at 1;30 in the afternoon. We have tickets on the AVE for 4pm so with any luck no bags will go astray and we'll arrive in Zaragoza in the early evening. Then we have a stack of birthdays: Blas on the 10th, Arun on the 11th and Radikha on the 12th. I should get some little gifties. I can give Blas the Colson Whitehead book The Underground Railroad. I can give the Coffee book to Arun. what can I give his mom? 

it's going to be 100 degrees in Zaragoza. I need to get some sunscreen for my arms. I packed sundresses and tshirts.  I'll wear the skort and I have a cotton bucket hat for the sun.  I packed underwear and socks,  a sleep tshirt since I seem to have lost my cotton nightgown and only have flannel and warm pjs. I will suspend my weight loss diet and try to just eat sensibly, not gorge myself on olives. I need to eat a few things in my fridge tonight and tomorrow and take out the compost and the trash.I also need to leave the lead paint form for Kari and Jason and ask them to keep an eye on the drain if it storms. I can hear thunder now!

We will go to the village for the total eclipse of the sun. Carlos and Marisa will be there as well some friends of Rosemary's who are renting a camper. It will be somewhat cooler there but still hot. 

I will see if I can get a Spain football jersey while I'm there. 

celebrating Spain's win

 Yesterday we went to a bar to watch the World Cup final match. I've watched most of the matches on Telemundo so I didn't want to miss the grand finale. The first bar we wanted to go to, a Spanish culture club called La Nacional, was full so we went across the street to a little dive bar. I lucked out and got a seat right in front of a TV and was able to watch in comfort while Rosemary and her friends stood. I had two beers, the first time I've had that much to drink in months. After Spain won the game, I treated myself to a bacon cheeseburger and fries in the sports bar near my house. I was uncomfortably full after but it was fun to have a break from my regime of austerity.

I just ordered some popcorn from Rancho Gordo. It's not cheap but it's very good and I don't know where to find the crummy popcorn in my local grocery store.  

slog

 Checking in with my weight loss timeline: I'm 2-3 lbs behind. I had calculated a straight-up one pound a week loss but I need to be patient. I'm at the beginning of July and I'm down to 172.8 171.7. Drop by drop. I feel as if I've lost weight around my thighs and belly but I still have the basketball tummy when I look in the mirror. I need to focus on my accomplishments: my blood work showed that I am no longer in the pre-diabetic zone with my Ac1 or blood glucose and that my liver markers are back in the normal range. I also showed a reversal of fatty liver with my liver ultrasound. I have an appointment with the liver specialist at the end of the month. I'm making slow progress!

Iris Van Herpen at the Brooklyn Museum

 Yesterday we went to the Brooklyn Museum to see a show of Iris Van Herpen's couture called "Sculpting the Senses."  I especially like the Muses tab because you can see how the gowns look on people who are not models on a catwalk.

Alcohol free

Down 14 lbs  but I still can't see it--my buddha belly still makes it look as if I"m pregnant. Patience! it's coming off, slowly but surely. Yesterday I treated myself to a dinner with Rosemary at the vegetarian Ethiopian place, Bunna Cafe. We get the feast for two which is scoops of nine different vegan dishes. Our favorite is the mushroom but I also like the beets, the collard greens, and the kabocha squash. 

I have not had alcohol since I began my clean living program back in February. Every so often I miss it but it hasn't been hard to live alcohol free. I ordered a beer a Bunna and it turned out to be non-alcoholic. A sign.  I had been drinking a tall beer 4 times a week. Saving money, saving my liver.

 Yesterday I cooked a pot of field peas with goat meat in the crockpot. I had never had them before and looked up recipes. They are not regular peas that have matured and dried but a bean, and are common in the South. They are really good combined with Rao's tomato sauce with sausage and mushroom.