I would have enjoyed the snow, but...

Cliff hasn't been up to par for the last couple of days.  He sits on the couch and sleeps.  His stomach is unsettled.  He had a piece of toast and an orange for supper last night.  I hope he wakes up feeling better today.  He did force himself to bundle up and go clear snow off the driveway with a tractor.  Anyhow, snow days aren't any fun when my partner in crime isn't feeling well.  

 I shoveled the snow off the sidewalk around our house before the snow was done.  We got another two or three inches after I took this picture.  This is not a drift, so you can see we had a lot of snow.  It was so heavy, I did it a little at a time.  Nothing at all like the last snow we had, which was fluffy and light.  This is very hard to walk in, and I am always aware of my knee replacement.  So, I mostly stayed inside.  Cliff and I haven't been on a walk for days.  Looks like it will be awhile yet before we're able to get back to our normal routine.  Once they get our dead-end road cleared, I intend to walk up and down it for half-an-hour daily so I don't get completely out of condition.

I'm guessing we got fourteen inches or so of white stuff, and we are getting another inch or two today.  
I milked Jody this morning.  She still tries to kick sometimes, so I'm glad I have the anti-kick device to put on her.  Since she now lets her milk down for me, I can go ahead and get my half of the milk before I let the calf in with us.  I really feel sorry for the cows because it's so hard for them to get around in this wet, packed snow.  We're going to have some pretty cold nights this weekend, but I am not letting the cows in the barn.  They make too big a mess for me to clean out.  
Cliff and I are slowly but steadily losing weight, so I decided to share my Sparkpeople weight loss chart with my readers.  

It really is so easy.  I won't say we are never hungry, but we only are hungry for an hour or so before meals, which is as it should be.  Food tastes much better if you are hungry.  
I am getting a lot of help from a book called "Skinny Thinking".  It is making me examine why I overeat and giving me steps to avoid eating the wrong things or the wrong portions.  I've been sharing some of the tips with Cliff, so he decided he was going to read the book.  "Cliff," I said, "You will never make it through that book.  It will bore you to death."  
Sure enough, within five minutes of starting to read it, he was sound asleep.  Of course, he wasn't feeling well, so perhaps that was his problem.  Here's a little snippet from the book:  
"The truth is the truth, though. If you want to maintain a natural, healthy weight, you can’t keep your old habits. You can’t continue to eat the same foods you’ve been eating and not monitor portion size. Let me repeat so this is crystal clear: You can’t ever go back to eating what you’ve been eating. You can’t ever go back to not monitoring portion size. You can’t ever go back to eating when you’re not hungry. Thinking you can return to your old habits is the kind of deluded, egoic thinking that has kept you yo-yoing over the years."
I normally refuse to read weight loss books because they don't work, but this one is different.  I think if I keep it handy on the Ipad, this may be the time I lose weight for good.

Something I was reading this morning reminded me of an old hymn that I haven't heard for years.  It's one of my favorites.  



1.Pass me not, O gentle Savior,
hear my humble cry;
while on others thou art calling,
do not pass me by.
Refrain:
Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry;
while on others thou art calling,
do not pass me by.

2.Let me at thy throne of mercy
find a sweet relief,
kneeling there in deep contrition;
help my unbelief.
(Refrain)

3.Trusting only in thy merit,
would I seek thy face;
heal my wounded, broken spirit,
save me by thy grace.
(Refrain)

4.Thou the spring of all my comfort,
more than life to me,
whom have I on earth beside thee?
Whom in heaven but thee?
(Refrain)