2/3 gone, delivery, rain, calorie counting

The Year of our Lord Two Thousand and Twenty is now two thirds gone. It is a shame to have wasted half of this year on COVID - but we did. Oh well. There is no getting those days back. Hopefully, we will start to see some recovery soon in individual lives, in small businesses, in our churches. All of which have been horribly constrained and adversely affected by the reaction to the virus. Hindsight is always 20/20 it is said. Perhaps that will be true as we look back at the series of profoundly incompetent mistakes made which brought us to where we are today. Through all of this Mama and I have been very fortunate. We are somewhat isolated – both geographically and electronically. Our agrarian adventure on the farm has provided the insulation from the nonsense and the daily activity we needed to be able to live our days fairly close to normal. Our animals depended on us keeping our routine. It has enabled us to keep our minds and bodies healthy through the turmoil. Praise the Lord for that continuity. But it would be nice for the world around us, at work, at church to feel the same relief. As a gentleman in our church prayed to dismiss the service Sunday night, he mentioned keeping us safe from the virus twice in that prayer. There is still a lot of unwarranted fear attached to this bug. That to me is the saddest part of all this hype. The effects of that fear will stretch out further than any of us now realize.

Mama and I are going to get a pig this evening. We have talked about it for some time and the seller we found a couple weeks ago contacted Mama Sunday to say they had a little female left. She is about 12 weeks old. I am guessing she will weigh about thirty pounds. She is a Duroc. Mama and Grandpa like that breed. They all taste the same to me. I have a pen ready. At least I believe I do. I will know more as the pig tests the boundaries of that enclosure. It is always interesting to see just what weaknesses an animal can discover about their confinement, especially pigs. Over the next couple weeks she will root every inch of the pen and the fencing that surrounds it. Fortunately, once they get used to their area, they have no urgent desire to escape it. In fact, it is often very difficult to get them out of that enclosure when you need to.

Today is the very earliest Mama and I could get the pig. We were supposed to begin teaching Yan Lin (Cheyenne and Aubrey’s mom) English last night, but Mama begged off because Mama had had a very full day and did not feel up to keeping the commitment. We had already scheduled around those lesson when we scheduled the appointment to get the pig. Hopefully, we can be faithful to that teaching routine in the coming weeks. I do not think it will take long to get Yan to the point that she is proficient enough to continue on her own with Alex’s help. She has been hearing English for over ten years. It is only a matter or building the recognition of the written word with the spoken word she has been immersed in.

I am hoping we have a break from the rain we are expecting all day today to get the young pig home from the seller’s farm. If not, it is still very warm so the pig will get a bath on the way to her new home. It may not be to her liking at first, but you and I know just how lucky this pig is to have Mama watching over her.

The forecast is for over two inches of rain through the day today. Whether or not that happens remains to be seen. We were supposed to get almost an inch through the night but got less than a quarter inch. As always, we will happily take what we get. We need rain badly. On the one hand, Mama is thrilled about the rain. On the other hand, she is nervous about traveling in the rain. She will be going to Sam’s today -as well as several other stores in Denton. She does not like driving in the rain. She always manages, but it certainly causes her a lot of angst. We are starting to get all the food items we need to feed Nate, Cori and the kids as they spend the next week or so with us. The birthday bash is not until the 19^th – we moved it a couple weeks to allow for more planning time – but we still need a greater supply of food in the house to make sure we have enough for an extra crew of six. Today will be Mama’s head start on accumulating those extra needs.

I started counting calories yesterday. It is easier than I had thought it would be to get the numbers. It is not so easy to make the count fit the diet. In my research, I found that in one meal of pinto beans with dirty rice, I had consumed 2400 calories. Far, far more than I had expected until I knew the caloric value of the healthy meal I had eaten. No wonder I was having trouble with my weight. I have committed to eating 1400 calories per day. That should enable me to lose a pound per day if I keep my activity level where it is currently – 8-10k steps per day. What has shocked me most is the foods that have the highest calorie count. Healthy foods. I will learn the balance, but it will take some work. What I have to concentrate on is not eating empty calories – foods devoid of any nutritional value. I can say this much, counting and adding up calories is easier to me than counting carbs. The only other nutritional item I concern myself with is the sodium content of foods.

For my blood pressure’s sake, I have to pay attention to that as well.