Perhaps there will be détente in the house with a cat sitter coming in to feed the cats. It might have blown over by the time she returns.

My next door neighbors left town this morning for a week on a cruise; this means my dogs won't have anyone to offer their pre-dawn treat over the back fence. I'll put the bark collar on Pepper to nip her barks in the bud, but they'll still all loiter out there wondering where Cecil is. My solution is to set my alarm for 5am, to go out and offer each of them a treat (from my own stash) then everyone come back in the house and I go back to bed.

The box of okra arrived in Michigan within 3 days and were in perfect condition. I think this is the beginning of something that will benefit us both - I can offload the okra surplus and she can have fresh organic Texas okra. The stuff that arrives in the store has been off of the plant for quite a while.

I'm within a pound of my weight loss goal, so once I land on 150 I'll switch over to 1200 calories a day to maintain that level and use intermittent fasting days if I need in order to maintain that weight. I'll probably have a range of three to five pounds in either direction. To celebrate I'm going to buy a bottle of my favorite Scotch. I've stayed mostly away from alcohol for 2022, but I can add back modest amounts, as with other favorite foods. Portion control is important.

There are a lot of things in my closet that I never got rid of because I really liked them (jackets, vests, blouses) that I can now wear; I kept them with the hope that I'd eventually get back to my old weight. Escaping a stressful work situation, repairing the knees, and taking control of my diet are all parts of a process. It isn't like a young woman losing weight and suddenly becoming more noticeable to her peers and the world around; at this age I'm still invisible, and thanks to COVID and 18 months of no hairdresser, I have grown out my own ash/gray hair color. Now it's about how I feel about myself, not about what the world thinks about how I look. Now it's about building up stamina to go along with the slimmer self. And I need to get back to my dancing classes.