It's a mind-wipingly cold but brilliantly sunny day. Saturday is market day, and we are lucky here in downtown Dartmouth to have two to shop at. At the Alderney Landing Farmer's Market, I bought a pork roast on sale from Aunt Leola (I think the name of the farm is Meadowbrook) , whole wheat bread, parsnips and local cold-pressed canola oil. Also a pair of homemade mittens from Romana. At the Harbourfront Market, potatoes, and milk at Moffat Pharamasave's low price of $3.33/2 litres. I love to be able to shop for groceries in my neighbourhood, though we don't yet have a grocery store ( I'm hoping for a Pete's Frootique or a Co-op).

This afternoon it's off to see my nephew... all 34 lovely pounds of him. When I think about how many nephews it would take to equal my current weight I am aghast. But at least I'll be walking to see him- that's a good 20-30 minutes round trip.

My efforts to control my portion sizes are meeting with some success. I stick to one plateful at supper time and am consciously decreasing the carb portion of the meal and making sure i get my veggies. I am also trying to eat more slowly, which my family has been telling me to do for ages. I think I need to slow down generally- too often I am trying to do a number of things at once, and am barely able to concentrate on any of them. I've noticed that whether I'm praying or vacuuming or getting dressed, I approach everything like a steam engine ploughing through snow- with never a minute to digest what I'm doing in the present moment. It seems that slowing down could help solve a lot of problems on this planet. Ironically, it might even help me lose weight. When I walk, I get pins and needles in my feet and pain in my leg if I go too quickly...
so I am able to walk farther if I just slow down. If I eat more slowly, I feel more satisfied with my meal and give myself time to feel full, so will eat less. It sounds good, if counter-intuitive, and worth experimenting with.

And now it's time to fold laundry, eat soup and take a little nap before heading out into the cold again....