Sunshine again...

As generally happens, after my month of forced withdrawal from alcohol, and in this case sugar and coffee as well, I feel no need to return to any of them.  I don't know if I feel any better or any worse without them, but none of them is particularly good for the body, so I choose to leave things as they are.

As expected, the hardest to give up was the sugar, and a few days ago I had a real craving for a cup of good coffee,  but didn't indulge because it was too much effort.  My coffee maker and grinder are stashed away and I didn't want the coffee badly enough to get them out.  I don't miss the wine or brandy.  I don't expect any of this to be a life-long effort, but I also feel no need to rush out and indulge in any of them.

The sweet tooth will get me first.  With Valentine's Day coming up, the urge to cook something wonderful and chocolaty will get the better of me.  My new Bon Appetit has brownies that look absolutely mouthwatering.  I will bake some, take them to work to share, and try not to eat too many.

My blood test results showed good improvement in most areas, which shows that my dietary efforts aimed at boosting my immune system have worked.  Unfortunately, I still show signs of some kind of anemia, despite added iron and B-12.  I have a minor auto-immune issue with my thyroid, and this may be what is skewing these results.  It's too bad I don't have a doctor who understands looking for root causes of disease, rather than treating symptoms.  It's not his fault -- MDs are not trained to do anything else.  He seems to feel that my problems are minor -- which they may be -- compared to the 'really sick' people he sees all day long.  I, on the other hand, care about preventive medicine.  I want to stay healthy, rather than wait until I'm 'really sick' and then have my symptoms treated with a drug cocktail.  Thanks, but no thanks.

So I rumble along, wanting more blood tests but never sure Medicare will pay for them, and I certainly can't pay for them, so I do without.  And do what I can on my own to stay healthy.

What's your weekend been like?  Mine has been semi-lazy.  I ran my errands, made attempts at housework and yard work, but mostly, haven't accomplished much.  This morning, I put my old heater on Craig's List as a freebie and a man from Dalton drove down to get it.  It's a natural gas heater and he has propane, hopes he can convert it since the only heat he has in his house is electric and he can't afford that.  He has several hundred gallons of propane in a tank.  I hope he can convert it and make it work.  It's off my back porch, finally.

The Brat and I are enjoying the sunshine.  Each day without rain or snow or bitter cold is a gift.