When you eat well.

A taste for irony has kept more hearts from breaking than a sense of humor, for it takes irony to appreciate the joke which is on oneself. 

Jessamyn West 

It is amazing in what good a shape my stomach is in, because I ate a very large dinner last night, and on top of that, I ate a big piece of tender and very well braised beef that I had simmering on the stove all afternoon in a heavy enamel pan. I thought maybe eating the beef was going to disagree with me, but it did no such thing and I can only say that it was a true gastronomic experience because I had not had that kind of beef for a very long time. I also had potatoes and gravy with it and instantly remembered that I am a meat and potatoes sort of girl and have been my whole life. 

I cooked a lot of potatoes so that I will be able to fry up the left overs for lunch  today and I am already looking forward to that. It is a very nice thing when you find out that you can eat a "normal" meal and not run into any sort of gastric problems. I think it is taking the tranquilizers that has settled my stomach down so well, which reinforces my suspicion that it was all stress related. I am so happy that I can eat a larger variety of food and now also have chicken and fish and thickly sliced fresh bacon in the freezer. I have given up on the idea of being a vegetarian, because I crave meat and felt my muscles waste away because of the lack of iron. 

While the beef was simmering on a very low fire, I visited my sister and had tea and cookies with her. Her daughter works part time at a tea shop while she attends the dance academy, and at the tea shop they also sell a variety of teas. My sister had a delicious blend with little red berries in it that she brewed in a little tea pot, two cups at the time. It really was very good tea and I do not say that quickly because I am very picky when it comes to tea. We had sweetly sugared, filo dough pretzels with it and those hit the spot. Outside it was cold and snowing, so it could not have been more perfect. 

I was dressed very warm and hardly suffered on my bike on the way home. It seems I have finally figured out how to deal with winter conditions and the one thing you must not care about is the way you look. Comfort and warmth are the two utmost concerns. Therefor I do not wear my fashionable coats, but my truly warm one with the hood. It is the best thing to wear when you are exposed to the elements on your bike. I noticed that in the morning when I rode my bike to my grocery store and found it closed and had to ride it to one in a whole different neighborhood. The most important thing was, that I got all of my groceries done and got them safely home. And Tyke got his "Great Dane" rawhide bone. 

I got a small, with whipped cream and fruit decorated cake and the Exfactor will be here in the morning to help me eat it along with a cup of coffee to celebrate his birthday a day late. He could not come yesterday, because he was in Belgium with his girlfriend. We have been divorced for almost 5 years and they have been together just as long. So you see how some things just have happy endings all around. There is not a hair on my head that would think of being in a relationship now. I would hate to give up my freedom. I like myself too much to be half of a unit.