Haloranch

Tomorrow I lead my first Rotary meeting. When I think of it, my stomach floats up and I feel like I'm dropping down an elevator shaft. I don't like it. And yet, I can't stop my mind from drifting to tomorrow's meeting, over and over and over. Each time, that queasy floaty feeling of stomach seeking exit through mouth returns. God, I wish it were tomorrow night.

We had company for dinne last night. The gentleman who hosted us when we were in Albany is here with his wife. They spent the weekend in the mountains and actually did the drive from Banff to Jasper to our house in one day! That's a lot of driving but we anaesthetized them with wine when they arrived and made it all okay. We had a large dinner. I should have made less, but it's always a struggle for me to cut back because I want to be hospitable and I equate hospitality with generous food and drink. We had blue cheese stuffed apricots as nibblies with our wine (thanks Vanessa!) Vanessa is the Recipe Queen. She loves to pore through new recipes and try out any that look appealing. When she hits a winner, she tells me and doesn't let up until I promise to try it. The cheese crowned tenderloins we had as the main course are also thanks to her keen eye for the delicious different. Dinner: shrimp with aioli sauce laid out like flowers curled around a dollop of sauce, stem...

Hans has been doing brilliantly in golf. At this rate he'll able to keep us in luxury items after he retires!! The day before he didn't win any prizes, but he did card 78, the lowest he's been since New Zealand. Yesterday he and his team won the tournament and so got first crack at the prizes. He chose a Stormtech rain outfit in a matte pewter colour but when he got home, discovered it wasn't a jacket and pants at all, but 2 jackets. Evidently they weren't sets so it's not like someone else is walking around with two pants. So I'm getting a jacket and we can match when we go for walks. After it fits.

http://articles.health.msn.com/id/100110384/ Say good-bye to the old stereotype of weight lifters being stupid. According to this article, iron-pumpers and exercisers may not only be building their bodies, but their brains as well! Of course, this information was no shock to me. During yesterday’s 3 treadmilling episodes I reflected on Newton, definitely a strange man, and why he kept the news of his calculus invention a secret for 27 years. Seems being in shape and engaging in regular exercise continues to have unseen and far-reaching benefits. What a blow to academia.

Hans and I joined a group for dinner at the Rusty Pelican. My eyes zeroed in on the seafood platter: lobster tail, shrimp, scallops and a piece of fried snapper which came with fattening carbs or Caesar salad. Yes, I chose the Caesar! Can you see my halo? Better yet, can you see me shrinking? Maybe it's still too soon but keep watching. We had a bottle of deliciouws Kendall-Jackson Sauvignon Blanc from California. It was cold and crisp, just the way I like it. And as good luck would have it, the other 4 in our group drank red wine so Hans and I had the whole bottle to ourselves. Mwa ha ha. I tried in vain to be circumspect but couldn't make my lips form the word "no" when he kept topping up my glass. Oh, and the Hurricane Shrimp? None of us ordered it but we all mentioned it in honour of our absent guest, Dick, who was driving north out of Houston towards Ft. Worth even as we were enjoying the meal he was planning on hosting.

It's a gorgeous, sunny blue day outside, and there's an Alzheimer's Break in the park outside my office. I guess they forgot they had already had one on Monday in my building. They are serving free coffee and cake. Most days the thought of free cake would get my adrenaline surging and I confess that even now, I feel the tug of temptation. But, I've been labouring so hard (and often!) on the treadmill that I'm actually going to resist the cake. The free coffee is appealing though. But even there, I'm afraid it's appealing only because I'll be closer to the cake...

I can't seem to get the mountains out of my mind. So many times I've seen them, but each time is like the first time. The sky was so very blue, and the snow was so dazzlingly white. I caught my breath each time I looked up. You couldn't paint that picture; it would look fake. With a thick blanket of trees across their feet, they looked like a row of ancient women warming their toes under quilts. We took photos but I'm not posting them because they don't do the mountains justice (and also because I don't remember how!)