At last January is finally over. The skies are blue and the sun is shining and the winter blues are finally on their way, well at least for today. So what have I been up to? Well I have now taken up yoga as well as Tai Chi. Both are equally difficult for an unfit novice like me but I felt better the morning after the yoga session. The stretching and breathing really made a difference and I had a spring in my step when I woke up unlike when I went to bed and I could not move. In fact during the night, I actually fell out of bed and could not get back in without the assistance of BC.
On Shrove Tuesday me and BC went to friends house for a meal. My friend is some one I have known for a long time and both she and her mother used to call in and see Elsie on a regular basis. Mum and me both looked forward to seeing them as the pair of them are regular rays of sunshine and can brighten up any one’s day. They have also been active members of my barbecue circuit for some time. For the purpose of this blog I will call them Sophia Loren and her Mum. Anyway I digress, the meal was wonderful. It was Italian and we had a massive starter of cannelloni followed by Pork escallops with tomato stew and vegetables. For afters we all had a huge piece of Italian cake smothered in Amaretto syrup and preserved peaches. By this time I was feeling rather full and was convinced I could eat no more when a huge block of Cheddar cheese that had been steeped in Port and was almost pink in colour was placed on the table with some crackers. Needless to say I ate far more than I should of when the chocolate and coffee arrived. Strong rich Italian coffee laced with liquor and topped off with cream and all washed down with several (I lost count) bottles of wine. I really do not understand how Miss Loren and her Mum manage to stay so slim and svelte on a rich calorie laden diet like theirs but they do. I only have to look at Ginsters pasty and 3 inches go on my waist.
After a truly wonderful meal with delightful company during which the time flew all too quickly, I waddled out and set off for home and decided there and then that for the very first time I would give up something for lent. I have now given up chocolate, biscuits and full English breakfasts. To aid me and ensure my will power does not wilt Commander Riker has also given up the same things. Given our combined failure to keep to any news year’s resolutions for the last umpteen years, the abstinence for lent does not hold out much hope but I am banking upon the fortitude and sense of purpose of my good friend CR to keep me on the straight and narrow.
The Traveller arrived at mine a few days ago and we had a drink with Teech. During this session we all decided we needed to do something for our futures and that three heads and combined financial power was much better than one. Thus we have agreed to form an alliance the purpose of which is to buy land wherever we can find it at costs that are agreeable to all three of us. Consequently we are looking at wedges of land in Texas. Will we buy any? I really do not know but the will to do something is there. I have no doubt that before the end of this year we will have purchased something somewhere. As land prices rarely if ever fall, it disproves the old saying that what goes up must come down. For now the dream is a step closer.