Weighty matters

Thursday is my usual day to weigh, and this morning started off really badly, because I had gained almost two lbs. It was, to say the least, depressing, and the cloud has hung over me all day. I reviewed the week in my mind to see what bad things I'd eaten--two pirogues, scalloped potatoes, 2  bites of chicken Kiev, 2 good-sized pieces of Black Forest cake (not all at once--in three meals), one egg over easy, one piece of wheat toast with a tiny bit of butter and jam. That's not two lbs.! I would stop paying attention to the whole thing if I could just stop gaining weight and stabilize, but I envision myself becoming a fat old lady--not an attractive picture. People say to me "Why worry about five pounds?" But now the question should be "Why worry about eight pounds?" and I think that's good reason.
But in a way I blame Weight Watchers. In the good old days, before friends (?) led me to the program, I ate carefully but well and didn't seem to gain weight. For breakfast out, with that egg, I'd have had hash browns and bacon; if I wanted chocolate I ate it. No more Every point adds up. I am measuring and weighing my food, and I wonder if I'm not thinking too much about it. Betty suggested tonight that she has a book about hypnotizing yourself into weight loss, and Jordan is to bring me the South Beach Diet book tomorrow night. Maybe I'll just quit weighing so religiously, entering points nightly, and try to eat sensibly and see what happens. I'll give it one more week, but I am reminded of the book, Life is Too Short: Eat Dessert First.
Even though I like to cook, I'm careful about what I cook and the portions I eat--I do think small portions are a big part of it. But today I was delighted to receive from the Dallas Morning News a book to revieew entitled 97 Orchard. It chronicles the food of five families, immigrants from nothern Europe, who lived in the same tenement in New York City over a thirty- or forty-year span covering the turn of the twentieth century. I can't wait to dig into it tonight.
If we have another freeze--perish the thought--I'm done for, but my front porch is full of greenery. With Greg's help, it boasts hanging baskets (ferns, sweet potatoes, and wandering jew--I don't get enough sun for flowers), there are sweet potato plants in pretty pots on either side of the front steps, and newly planted herbs in my wonderful old concrete planter boxes--I bet they've been here since the house was built in the 1920s. Last year during the spring and summer I was wrestling with the retirement questions, and I don't think I ever paid attention much to my porch--just let things that had wintered through come up as they would. This year I'm paying attention. Porch parties in the near future!