Lent Without Carbs

The month of February has been really hard. It started on February 1 when Lisa and Aaron wanted to have Alex’s birthday party “with the family” (their words, not mine) on Saturday, February 1, a week before his actual birthday on February 7. So Linda and I complied. We jumped through hoops to find a Feingold-compliant cake recipe, buy all the ingredients, and actually buy a new set of three 9-inch cake pans. Linda spent all day Friday baking, cooling, frosting, and decorating the cake, with pink frosting colored with natural food coloring and fresh raspberries to make it look like a birthday cake Alex had seen in Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. Aaron grilled some steaks, beef hot dogs, and veggie hot dogs. Then we watched Alex open his gifts from Grammie and Lola. The bad thing was that Lisa was very sick with a fever and bad cold and so it wasn’t much fun for her.

So when we went to Tracy on our usual Wednesday afternoon (the 5th), it felt sort of anti-climactic because Alex still had not had his actual birthday (the 7th). We knew that Alex’s grandpa Steve (“Pap”) and his girlfriend Joan would be coming to visit them for Alex’s birthday and they had an outing planned for Friday, the 7th. Which was perfectly okay. We had no problem with Lisa and Aaron wanting to have separate events with the two sets of grandparents. But then, on Saturday morning, the 8th (when Steve and Joan were still there), Lisa messaged us saying that Aaron had smoked some brisket and we would be welcome to come out.

By that time (probably because I had had too much leftover birthday cake), I had a sore throat and did not want to re-infect Lisa (who, by now, had gotten over her bad cold). By Sunday, the 9th, I was really sick and felt like death warmed over. By Wednesday, the 12th, I felt better, with just a lingering cough, but Linda was starting to get a sore throat. We went to Tracy anyway. By the time we got to Tracy, however, Linda felt really bad and Lisa kept giving her Emergen-C and hot tea to make her feel better.

The next week, Linda got a notification from Batra Vision that they would be able to do her cataract eye surgery on Wednesday, the 19th, so Linda made every effort to get well before then. By the 18th, she did seem to feel better, with just a lingering cough, so she had the cataract procedure done on the 19th. We were prepared that I would drive her home from the San Leandro Surgery Center. She stayed in bed the rest of the day, trying to be very careful to not disturb the plastic eye shield that had been taped over her left eye. She was to return to Dr. Batra’s office for a post-op follow-up the next morning at 10 o’clock.

But she got deathly ill on Wednesday night, not related to the eye surgery (and she could see with the left eye just fine now), and on Thursday morning she was unable to even turn over in bed, much less stand up and walk, not even to go to the bathroom. She had me call Batra Vision and re-schedule the appointment for 2:15 p.m. But she was even worse after noon, and she called and re-scheduled the post-op appointment for 10 o’clock on Friday. I drove again and let Linda get on her scooter to go in to the office. Again, she got right back into bed when we got home, and stayed there for three days, not eating or drinking. She developed cold sores on her lips and ulcers inside her mouth.

On Sunday morning, the 23rd, Lisa and Aaron planned a picnic with their friend Brad in San Leandro, and Lisa asked if she could bring us anything. We discussed items and she brought a bag and left it on our porch because our doorbell wasn’t working (needed batteries) but I didn’t know it. So she just texted me. I was pissed beyond belief! Plus, by now, web clients were breathing down our necks!

Fortunately, Monday was quiet and I got quite a bit of writing done on Adventist Vegetarian Diabetics. Linda was still not eating or drinking, so I knew that I would have to drive to Alameda by myself tomorrow if we were going to get any more groceries. I knew the way from having gone to Alameda (to the farmers’ market and Trader Joe’s every Tuesday since 2012). But could I actually drive there without hitting anything or anyone? I had no choice but to find out! I put my wallet, phone, and keys into my smaller beige bag and grabbed a smaller supply of reusable grocery bags and even managed to carry a travel mug of hot (instant) coffee with me to the van. I carefully backed out of our driveway without scraping the side of the house on my left or knocking down a carport support on the right.

Well, I missed the first left turn off Wicks and went down to Fairway to turn left and decided I liked that way better anyway. It was taking 100% of the brain cells I have left to concentrate on driving, accelerating and braking, stopping at red lights and behind cars that were stopped, and going around stuff in my lane. But I got to Alameda and was actually able to make a left turn into the Bank of America parking lot and there was a space right in front of the ATMs. I got my $20 and headed out through the South Shore Center side of BofA where I could turn right and then left at a traffic light. I found my way to Webster Street and then to Santa Clara (another right turn) and then into the farmers’ market parking lot. Where there were no parking spaces! I managed to back up (again, without hitting any cars or pedestrians).

I was lucky there was no traffic on Santa Clara so I could turn left and then try to guess where another parking place might be. On the plus side, I didn’t have to find a place with enough space in back to get out the scooter. On the other hand, I didn’t think I could parallel park anywhere. I ended up going back down to Central and turning right on Webster again. I decided on impulse to pull into a parking space in the small lot by the dollar store, the one that Linda won’t go in to any more because she thinks it smells bad. I grabbed the green bag that I usually take to get eggs in and just then realized that I had failed to bring back the empty egg cartons. It was then that I also realized that I had failed to get my sunglasses! So I got the spare sunglasses from my visor and they didn’t fit well, even when I first got them (that’s why they were a “spare” that I kept in the van), but the fit was now nearly impossible to put over or around my hearing aids! But I suffered with them. When I came back from the farmers’ market with just one dozen of eggs, I put them in the van then went into the filthy dollar store. I found a pack of square foil burner bibs, a pint jar with a lid (for future batches of blueberry-lime-chia seed jam), and a bottle of sriracha sauce, all for under $5.

Next stop was to be South Shore Center. Could I identify the street where I was supposed to turn left? Nope! I turned one street too soon, but it put me in the very back of South Shore so I was good. Now to find a parking place that was not handicap accessible but still convenient for my odyssey to Trader Joe’s. Ah, yes, here’s one!

I sat there long enough to finish my coffee, continuing the tradition that Linda and I had established on the days when we couldn’t afford to go to Wescafe or Starbucks. I checked my phone and it was down to 37%, even though it had been fully charged when I left this morning. I took a quick look at my grocery list and attempted to commit it to memory, before getting out of the van and getting out my collapsible shopping cart. The reusable bags and my purse were significantly smaller than usual.

The shopping cart angels were with me when I got to Trader Joe’s and I got a cart (with working wheels) right outside the door of the store. I remembered what was on my shopping list but I had to ask an employee–twice–where something was, even though I had passed right by it several times. Other items I had to stroll back and forth aisles several times before I could find the items. By the time I got to the cashier, I felt like I deserved to get two Montezuma’s 100% Black Chocolate bars!

Back at the van, it was easy to load in my two bags of groceries and the collapsible cart. My phone was now down to 25% so I plugged it in so it could charge on the way home. The challenge now was backing out of the parking space since I couldn’t see very far in either direction so I was pretty much relying on luck.

On impulse, I decided to drive back to Webster and turn on Haight to see what our “old” home looked like. After eight years, Linda still did not want to see the house. Ever again! So, I decided, this was my chance. And even though I had driven this route many times during the 12 years we lived on Haight, I had to drive around and around before I could find it! I pulled off to the side of the street opposite the house, just to look. Our former neighbor, Brenda, told us a few months ago that she thought Piombos had sold both our house and the one next door that she and Bob had lived in. Brenda and Bob’s old house had been painted and looked much better than when they had lived there. But our house looked sad. The grass was cut and the front bushes were trimmed–sort of–but the awnings were faded. The side bushes were grossly overgrown, almost up to the upper floor windows, and the back fence was rotted and halfway fallen down. I wondered if anyone had ever fixed the hole in the basement ceiling where water had leaked through. And I wondered if anyone even lived there now ! But there were cars parked in front and on the side, just where we used to park when we lived there. It made me sad, and I will never again suggest to Linda that we should go “take a look” at what used to be our dream home!

Eventually, I made it back home, with the final challenge being to get into our driveway, once again, without scraping the side of the house on the left or knocking down a carport support on the right. My phone had charged up to 78%. The mail had been delivered, so I could stick it in one of the bags and take everything in to the house, unload the groceries, and put away the empty bags. I checked on Linda and Emily who were just waking up from a nap. It was time to feed Emily and bring milk which Linda was now requesting to drink.

Now it was time to reward myself with a fizzy apple-flavored Bubly for a successful trip to Alameda and back!

I have become increasingly frustrated with high blood sugars and weight gain! Sometimes I’m convinced that it’s the pregabalin (generic Lyrica) that’s responsible. I’m using too much insulin, too often, and I can’t seem to stop eating sunflower seeds and black chocolate. Then someone on Facebook posted a funny meme about “Fat Tuesday” and I suddenly realized that Lent begins tomorrow. Even Loren Seibold posted an article in Adventist Today about “Shrove Tuesday” and ended with a snippet about “Pancake Tuesday” in Europe. And another Facebook friend posted that iHop is giving away a free stack of pancakes before 7 p.m. So I decided I wanted to make some cream cheese pancakes for supper and see if I could get Linda to eat a few bites. Which I did.

It was then that it occurred to me that I should “fast” for 40 days (of Lent) and try to lose that last 10 lbs. once and for all! And try to get my blood sugars and insulin levels down. And (although I won’t tell anyone) I want to make it a Carnivore Fast (is there such a thing?)! Well, I’ll try it for at least one week (from Ash Wednesday, February 26, through Tuesday, March 3) and see how it goes.

I just ordered Carnivore Diet Intermittent Fasting: Increase Your Focus, Performance, Weight Loss, and Longevity Combining Two Powerful Methods for Optimal Health Kindle Edition. Lord knows, I need to increase my focus! My brain fog is getting worse, so much so that I don’t want to talk to or write to anyone, about anything, even in a Facebook group. Or maybe especially in a Facebook group!

I will also need to commit to keeping a complete record in MyFitnessPal of what I eat. Possibilities include:

• eggs
• bacon
• butter
• heavy cream (in my coffee)
• sour cream
• cheeses (all kinds), including cottage cheese and cream cheese
• plain unflavored full-fat Greek yogurt (like Fage 5%)
• tuna
• sardines
• grass-fed beef
• pasture-raised chicken
• wild-caught salmon
• and bone broth, with butter, to drink