No More Travels!

Another beautiful day, and I made a quick trip to the Sac Food Co-op. It's 3rd Wednesday so I get my 10% senior discount, which usually insures I buy more than I intended to. I found a recipe for an Italian soup that I want to try, so I bought a number of fresh veggies plus organic ground beef. It is basically a minestrone soup, and some of the ingredients are the same as the "Mamma Mia" soup Donald makes.

I'm looking for high calorie, high protein nutritious foods that are super lightweight and that can be carried on a backpacking trip. I'm thinking I might try to get back into backpacking when I return from NY - something like the John Muir Trail or a section of the Pacific Crest Trail, or equivalent. From my experience on the Appalachian Trail a number of years ago, I couldn't carry the weight of the amount of food I needed to maintain my body weight - in the area of 4000 calories a day. I tried hard, adding liquid margarine to just about everything I ate for the caloric and fat value, but it didn't make much difference. I'm going to try to be smart about it this time, and plan well. Eating enough and drinking enough water were really hard to do, and I probably failed miserably at both. The secret will probably lie in carrying lighter gear to allow for more food.

I like having a Mr. Coffee again, although I'll admit the Melitta makes tastier coffee. The Mr. Coffee keeps it warm which is a plus, and it is a simpler process than the Melitta. With the Melitta I filled a large mug with hot coffee, and poured the rest of the pot into a thermos to keep it hot. I'd rather just drink a smaller amount at a time and set the pot back on the warmer. No doubt it will use more electricity but I actually use such a relatively small amount of electricity per month I'm not worried about it.

I am so looking forward to my visit with the eye surgeon next Monday. He is going to write me a prescription for glasses, at the least for reading glasses. I don't need long distance correction, but do need the reading plus something for the 6' to maybe 100' range. It is a real problem for me because I like driving with no correction except when I'm approaching signs, exit ramps, intersections, etc. I'll have to rely on Dr. G to fix me up with something I can use.

I am really feeling great lately. I still often need a nap about 2:00 pm though, and I wish I could get through the day without one. I can if I'm involved in a project or have something to do, so I hope the long distance driving will be good until about 3:00 or 4:00 pm. Time is passing so quickly and I'll be on my way before you know it!