@dorisena I'm 15 years behind you, and I hope to be doing as well as you when I'm 84. It's funny. I used to think 80 was ancient, but the closer I get, the more my definition of ancient keeps moving.

Spring through the fall I get quite a lot of exercise. We have ten acres, with most of it in pasture which our neighbors are using for their horses and cows. I have a lot of flower beds, a big 50'x50' fenced garden full of perennials with spaces left for vegetables. I've been cutting asparagus for a couple of weeks, onions are coming up, potatoes planted, and I bought seeds for beans, acorn squash, pattipan squash, crookneck squash and gourds. I'm still trying to find delicata squash seeds, and cucumber seeds are on the way from Gurneys, along with strawberries and more asparagus. I've always thought a greenhouse would be a good thing to have. We at least have a cellar where I have grow lights for plants to overwinter and keep peppers and tomato plants until it's time to set them out.

I agree with you how good it is to have our hands in the dirt, even if it's just to pull weeds. It's a deferred gratification planting things - the ultimate pleasure is enjoying the produce and flowers. Anticipation!

My father had diabetes but was in denial for a long time and kept on eating the way he always had. I heard him say that he'd go ahead and eat the pie a la mode, and take an insulin shot afterward.

I know that the PT gave me a bunch of stretches to do, but I don't like doing them, and now that it's yard work season, I get a lot of stretching and bending and more walking than my feet want. Today I'm putting a new belt on my riding mower and hoping that that is what is needed to get the mower going.

A healthy body can be part of having a healthy mind. I commend you for maintaining a good balance in your life. And not just physical balance.

After eating fresh vegetables from the garden to the table during the summer and fall, along with supplementing at the farmers market, commercial produce is rarely as good as what we raise ourselves. I bid you well in growing, harvesting and eating from your own garden for many more years.

Jim

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