Comfort Foods and a Spring Cold Snap

This has been a busy week.  As my body and mind continue to put distance from the knee surgery my activity level is increasing.  Not just activity of movement.  That is beginning to feel almost natural now.  Though I do still stop and smile every time I walk up steps.  Or raise off of a seat without having to use my arms to push off the chair or car seat.

Busy is becoming meetings, appointments and activities in church and other organizations.  The past week and a half has had only 2 days that I could stay home.  Even though I was home, there were plenty of projects to keep me busy.  While about half of the projects were computer related, the other half had me up and moving.  Grocery shopping was high on the list this week as the pantry and freezer were pretty empty.  Grocery shopping  is a lot of walking and Gene was more tired than I after that.

Today the physical therapist and I agreed it was time to stop the therapy.  Other than possibly a little more flex range there was not much more I felt I needed.  Vince assured me that time and continued flex exercises would get the two where I wanted.  It is all up to me now to continue to strengthen and enhance movement. The completion of therapy called for a celebration of one more milestone on the trip to recovery.

Following today's last therapy session we visited a friend who is recovering from a series of health issues.  Then we came home and I installed some cages around a few plants to keep them upright when they begin blooming.  Pulling some more weeds without discomfort was sure nice.  The ground was wet from an over night rain and the air had a slight chill.  While cool is my preferred weed pulling weather I knew I must pace myself.  I came inside and watched a couple of Monk reruns while enjoying my recliner.

To round out our celebration Gene started a fire to chase away the chill in the air.  And I cooked some southern comfort food:  chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy and a vegetable.  At http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/two-takes-depression/201104/comfort-foods-improve-moods I read about comfort foods and the effects on our minds and bodies.  Sure enough studies have shown we do get a "boost" from our comfort foods.

If you look at me you can tell from my size that I must be on a perennial high.  The scales certainly confirm my steady diet of comfort foods!  But for tonight I am not going to worry unnecessarily about the calories.  I am just going to enjoy the tastes, textures and smells of the food while toasting my toes by the fire.