The tests I took this morning were not difficult, no pain induced by getting the heart rate up to the 136-142/min. range. The BP went way up, but came back down after resting a few minutes. Dr. Barksdale is to call after he views the results to let me know if any problem was revealed. (4 pm update: everything looked perfectly normal, according to the cardiologist.)

Doing without caffeine did not bother me as much as I expected. It would probably be good if I could live without it altogether, but I'm not ready to let go of that yet. I was so hungry when I left the clinic that I immediately started craving Shoney's breakfast bar, complete with sausage, biscuits, and gravy. Settling for a cereal bar instead felt like a major moral victory. With the weight loss still stuck at 4 lbs., I need to forget about Shoney's breakfasts and the rest of the "all-you-can-eat" buffets I so enjoy. Hard to believe there was a time when I was encouraged to eat like that to gain weight. (Note to self: That was pre-1984, Dear, not 2007, so get with it!)

What happened in 1984 to put an end to careless eating? Menopause, and we bought a restaurant where I ate ribeye steaks, baked potatoes and Texas toast laden with real butter every night for supper. Ah! That was some good eating! But the jeans got too tight too fast and the sizes have increased incrementally since then. I was a size 5 when Don and I married in 1975 and a size 10 when we divorced in 1985. Grieving over the divorce, I lost back down to a size 7, but after moving to Jackson in 1987, the pounds again started adding up. I regret ever criticizing my mother for gaining weight, because I've got those same genes. Too bad I didn't take after Dad's side of the family who don't seem to ever be overweight. His dad who died at 63 from a stroke was "portly," but his mother and siblings were all on the slim and trim side. Skip is built just like him.

I got a sad message from him saying their 14 yr old lab Buffy is spending her last day with them today and will enter her next life within a few hours, free of the disease and tumor that is debilitating her. Our sympathy to him and Helen, who will shed not a few tears over this loss. Letting these 4-legged babies go is almost as hard as letting the 2-legged ones go, I'm sure. I dread saying good-by to mine. He's due to come for a visit in the next week or two. I may cry with him.