I just had a good phone conversation with my dearest cousin. We were both complaining about how tough it is to lose weight especially in our 70’s. She said she used to lose 5 pounds easily when younger, just eating cottage cheese and fruit three times a day for a while. It worked. It was a snap. Now it’s not working that way, plus we’re both on meds that can add on the weight without even trying. We have excuses, too many to count.

I commented on how slim, young and darling she looked last summer when we visited Murdo. She absolutely did. She said she and her husband did a diet program that really worked and she was about 20 pounds lighter last summer, then gained back. At least we have a couple years before the next Murdo Reunion until we need to diet, for real.

We both said we just aren’t motivated nor disciplined right now in dieting. I gained a lot during the pandemic, being at home a lot and stuck inside. I was mindlessly eating. You know how young kids go away to college and gain weight being in the dorms and sadly eat junk food? My daughter called it the “freshmen 9” because students typically gain that much being away from home. I feel like I gained the “pandemic 20”. I just wore the same two pair of stretchy pants and same tops over and over. I should want to look good and get back to being thin. I do exercise a lot and eat sensibly, and after going to a nutritionist, she really helped me lose 4 pounds, but there’s a lot more to go. My cousin and I both agreed, we need a fire lit under us and not a cook stove one, but something that will jumpstart our desire to lose. We don’t seem to care.

What we both said is that 1-we need motivation and the desire to curb our eating and 2- we both need to seriously watch what we eat. That’s a big part of our problem. Plus just having the snacks or treats around the house doesn’t help nor lead us down the right path. I’m buying more vegetables and fruits, using the blender to make smoothies and eating rice crackers as a snack. I’m being good about cutting down on carbs, although bread talks to us both and it says,”Just one piece can’t hurt.” Celery works well as a snack also, but it doesn’t seem to talk the way bread does.

She mentioned that her downfall now is night eating. She wakes up in the wee hours and eats cookies dunked in milk or some other delicious snack. That’s easily what has added on the pounds because my cousin eats super responsibly all day. It’s in the dark late at night when she wakes up and no one is around, she eats, so if you cannot see your food and no one is around, do the calories count?

All in all, my cousin and I did have a good time laughing and joking around about our lives, our family members, and writing for the blog. We always have fun together. My cousin is the cutest and the all time best. She is also intelligent, kind and generous. After a thoroughly enjoyable conversation mostly about our weight, she had to go, so we said our loving goodbyes. Her husband was waiting. She had to get ready. She was going out to eat.

My Cuz, friend, and sister-blogger and I have been chatting about how to lose weight recently. We’re gaining! The good thing is: we exercise a lot. She has two dogs and takes them out separately about 4 times a day. I walk Nincompoop once a day and do my physical therapy exercises that my therapist taught me plus I lift weights. Not heavy ones but just 8 lbs. each. Apparently I like to lift other things besides weights, like forks with food, spoons with any desserts and glasses of sweet drinks and cups of fancy coffee drinks.

Lav came up with a simple drink that’s actually a meal in itself. It can be your breakfast drink, by itself, or lunch substitute or snack. It’s a berry blended smoothie so here she is trying to show us how she “cooks” in her simple way.

If you’re expecting company, you should bake a pie. If you’re going to a potluck, you should bake a pie. If you’re celebrating the good old 4th of July, take a pie. For the red, white and blue Holiday, try green Granny Smith apples and maybe a few other varieties mixed in.

FIRST: Here’s what you will need for baking a special homemade apple pie: 4-5 McIntosh apples, 4-5 Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored and sliced) one cup sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, a little shake of salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and make a double crust pie dough- recipe to follow.

I’m using all Granny Smith apples since I couldn’t find McIntosh ones. Thanks, Granny. Please don’t eat those bananas in the background. We need them for smoothies, but that’s another story.

8 apples peeled, cored and sliced with the lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, dash of salt added. Mix it well and let sit while you make the pie dough.

TWO: Pie dough – mix together 2 1/2 cups flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 8 tablespoons vegetable shortening and 12 tablespoons chilled butter cut into little pieces. (Have ready 6-8 tablespoons ice water for after when dough is all mixed.)

You can use a spoon, knife, fork or one of these to cut the butter and shortening through the flour making it like coarse crumbs—-

After the pie dough mix looks coarse and crummy, I mean like coarse crumbs, add the ice water a tablespoon at a time and use your hands to push it together. Then form dough into two disks.

This is the flour worked in with the butter and shortening and a little salt and sugar.

Adding the ice water, a tablespoon at a time…

Wrap the two disks tightly in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour— chill the dough disks, not you…you don’t need to chill, or you can if you want. Chill out!

Continuing: preheat a rimmed cookie sheet in oven at 500 degrees.

Roll out bottom crust. It might not be pretty, but you can patch it with a little water and tear edges off as patches.

Place the rolled out crust into bottom of a pie pan and put the apples in. If there’s too much juice, drain some off.

Next roll out the top crust, cut slits – make a design of your choice- fold it once in half, place gently halfway across apples, then open top crust 100% then seal edges. You can use a fork to press edges together or just your fingers pinching top to bottom crusts.

Gently pull entire crust on top of apple filling. Seal edges.

Put pie on cookie sheet in oven and drop temp to 425 degrees for 25 minutes. Then after 25 minutes, rotate the pie and drop oven temp to 375 degrees for another 25 minutes or til golden brown.

Take it out of oven when it’s bubbly hot and golden brown.

Let it cool then enjoy eating it! Add ice cream for A La mode or whipped cream to make it more tasty. Enjoy!

If you’re expecting company, you should bake a pie. If you’re going to a potluck, you should bake a pie. If you’re celebrating the good old 4th of July, take a pie. For the red, white and blue Holiday, try green Granny Smith apples and maybe a few other varieties mixed in.

FIRST: Here’s what you will need for baking a special homemade apple pie: 4-5 McIntosh apples, 4-5 Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored and sliced) one cup sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, a little shake of salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and make a double crust pie dough- recipe to follow.

Those 70ish Girls- The Apple of my Eye: Pie! By Lav

Continuing: preheat a rimmed cookie sheet in oven at 500 degrees.

Roll out bottom crust. It might not be pretty, but you can patch it with a little water and tear edges off as patches.

Tea time is a refreshing part of my day. A fresh hot cup of tea can put zip in your sip and giddy up in your cup. Adding sugar, sweetener, milk or half and half makes it even better. You will be astounded by how to make a lovely start to your day with wet, hot, yummy tea. Cheerio and pip pip.

I was talking with a friend recently about how our children can be so different. She has two daughters. The oldest turned out to be a true joy. So the oldest married well and has several homes plus comes to help her Mother often. The other adult child is the opposite and has a drinking problem plus the older sister supports her. My friend thought maybe without realizing it, she gave the oldest one more attention and the second one was just coming along so closely in age that it wasn’t a big deal. Another baby? We’ve done this before.

I asked how she was so fortunate to have her oldest daughter be so kind, helpful and financially well off (her husband is a successful dentist). She said, “Well, I had the best mother, as an example. Plus, I was given a good education.” Coincidentally she’s the youngest of two daughters also but she turned out to be a responsible and caring person. I then mentioned that my mother also was the best and influenced me a great deal. I agreed that having a caring supportive mother guide you through your early years is important.

Mothers show us the way through examples, talking to us, cooking certain foods, sharing their stories, interacting with relatives, and a myriad of other ways. Which brings us to Mothers Day. My kids ask what I want for this special holiday. I’m of the belief that every day is Mothers Day. It should be. I’ve been lucky all through life, knowing fantastic grandmothers, aunts, cousins and friends who are mothers and set good examples for me.

Mother’s Day! What should we do? But then I am torn between thinking should I ask to be taken out for lunch or dinner or should we just eat at home, barbecue or fix a fancy meal? Gifts? Please, don’t spend your hard earned money on gifts. I don’t need anything. (Hmm, a new Lexus sounds perfect!)

Maybe you’re feeling the same. Mother’s Day can be a bit stressful and frenetic with your kids being extra nice because it’s required on Mother’s Day. I’m just going to sit back and enjoy the day. All 3 of my adult kids can’t be here, they live far away, but one of our sons will drive here and spend the weekend. The other two will call. So just having them give me some of their time is the best gift. We gave them a gift also by showing them the way. Sure, we weren’t perfect moms, but we tried and learned as we went through motherhood. It’s not just one day out of the year. Your job as a mother never ends. Have a wonderful Mom’s Day and even if you’re not a Mom, remember yours.

MG: Hi Lav! Are you all ready to fly across the pond to attend King Charles the III’s coronation?

LAV: I’m really nervous (Lav will write her own story outlining all the trouble she is having preparing for the biggest event of her life, so far.)

MG: Oh pshaw, Lav. We’ve been across the pond a million times. That’s why Windy and Airy are still on the payroll. We’ve been waiting our whole lives for this. I’m going to hang up right now and call them to make sure they remembered to gas up the plane. Last time we flew across the pond, we had to land on a ship because we ran out of gas? That admiral guy was kind of upset when we came out of nowhere. You’d think he’d never seen a nose-dive before.

What time does the invitation say we have to be there?

LAV: What invitation? I thought you had the invitation.

NINNY DOG: And aren’t those Royal Corgis pretty yappy and uppity?

You know it’s time to drop those pandemic pounds and start getting around without huffing and puffing. Start slowly by exercising a bit more and eating good stuff. Eat half if you can, of your normal portions. That way you won’t feel like you’re missing out on your favorite foods, yet you’ll be cutting down on calories. Portion sizes and calories go hand in hand and we often think we should eat like we’re still 25 but we do not need as much sustenance nor calories in our 40’s, 50’s and on and on in years. Lav recently consulted a nutritionist. They are professionals with great advice and meal plans. Choose one who will follow through and stick with you to monitor how you progress.

Lav was trying to lose weight on her own. Later, she found out that a nutrition expert is the best way. Let’s check in on her.

I’m going for a walk now. That’s another great way to stay healthy. If you can’t get outside, just do an indoor walk. Keep moving and grooving!

My cousin, MG, is a great wife, mom, grandmother, writer, blogger…geeze, auto correct wrote “booger”…and a camper, and when younger, a runner. But a talent that amazes me and shocks me is that she is also a poet. She writes lots…gobs…of touchingly funny, witty and lovely poetry. Honest.

If you have never ever read her poetry, I suggest you purchase one of her books of poetry. It will blow you off…uh…away. One I personally like is titled: A Whimsical Day. How many people use the word “whimsical”? Maybe 6? It does have a musical ring to it. Sounds better than A Musical Day. I’ll give her that. Bet you can find many poems in Rhymes For All Times that you will like. How does she do it? It all works and even better- her poetry rhymes! You will be caught up in her story, even His Story, her journey through life, her emotional experiences.

As I said earlier, she was once a dedicated runner. She ran marathons. She ran in competitions. She ran for fun. She looked super thin and fit. AND when we met last year in Rapid City for the All School Reunion later in Murdo, she looked like a svelte, fit and healthy youngish ex-runner. In short, MG looked great. How can she be a poet on top of all that? It’s not fair.

Some people just have loads of genes in their cards that make them successful. MG was dealt a good hand. Every bet she placed paid off. Almost. So I guess you’ve gathered that I am jealous of all her accomplishments. Who wouldn’t be? No, I am not jealous. Much. But we should all try to be more like her. I’m starting today. Pretend it’s yesterday. Yesterday was Mary Day. No, sorry, May Day.

Lastly, I have decided to gather my wits, whatever is left of them, and try a poem. I am dedicating this to my cousin, Queen MG, with due respect and regard for her work.

THE TRY IT DIET By Val

My cousin inspired me. You might know her name, MG.

My old plan was bombed and blown apart … kinda like Napoleon Bonaparte

Eating was my Waterloo, bet you’ve been there, too.

I’m trying to lose weight and right out the gate, I tried a new diet! You might wanna try it.

You just eat the same and you’re not to blame.

Hey, believe me it won’t sting, so here’s the truthful good thing:

Just eat one half of everything.

Boom.

Yesterday I attended an invitation only “Bow wow and Meow” Breakfast at a lovely hotel banquet room. It was for donors and volunteers. I drove along the beautiful Pacific Ocean for about 40 minutes in slow traffic, but I made it on time. After checking in with the SPCA workers, I entered a huge room with 32 tables set for 10 people each, white table cloths were laid out with glasses of orange juice, ice water, and plates, mugs and silverware set atop tables in an unusual manner: fork and knife aside a sparkling white plate, then another fork and knife laid across the top edge of the plate on the table. There was a large serving plate with pastries and another plate with sliced honeydew melon, fresh pineapple, and strawberries. Thermal type coffee pots were brought out also. I randomly chose this table with the board member’s name set up on a card in the center of the table. Her name was Joan and I didn’t know any of the nine people at my table but Joan took care of that almost from the beginning. I felt at home with fellow animal lovers and immediately started to relax.

Joan greeted me and made me feel comfortable and happy. She got me a name card and a server to send hot tea since I’m not a coffee drinker. She was a gem. Everyone started chatting about their admiration for what the SPCA does and how they themselves help either with donations or volunteering. One lady wore a beautiful beige and pink sweater set with stitching of dogs and dog paraphernalia all over it. She even had a necklace with a dog pendant and earrings to match. The other lady next to me talked about the four dogs she and her husband adopted from the SPCA. She explained their breeds and how she’s trained them and loves them. Another lady loves horses and another birds. They asked me about my dog, Ninny, and would I adopt any cats or more dogs but I said my husband wouldn’t approve that. (I often use him as an excuse for not doing things) We had fun together. We were all in love…with animals.

The one nice older gentleman sitting next to me left for a minute and the handsome president of the SPCA sat down there to chat with the beige dog-decorated sweater gal. When the nice gentleman returned, he said, “I leave for one minute and you 9 ladies don’t even save my seat for me!” He said it in a funny way and was smiling. The president laughed and got up apologizing.

After we ate for a while and watched the large screens showing animals, rescue teams, and SPCA volunteers and employees over the years, the board president got up to speak and introduced the man who had taken the chair next to mine. He was the President and CEO for the entire SPCA and gave a great speech. We hadn’t had the Bow wow Breakfast since 2019 and now some people wanted it called the Bow wow and Meow Breakfast so he agreed. However, he would not let anyone add on The Whinny, Squeak, Tweet or Chirp Bow wow and Meow Breakfast. This got a big laugh.

He asked people to stand who have donated for 5 years then 10 years, 25 years and so on. Next he had volunteers stand and I proudly stood up. Then he had a rescue and animal officer who handles animals in danger or abused animals get up and speak. This young man told about horrendous rescues during the winter storms and after the levee broke on the nearby river, his team, police officers and National Guardsmen went out to rescue people’s animals. They had to use high water vehicles and sometimes wade through waist deep water to find scared and hungry animals. He said one rescue that stuck out in his memory was an older lady who had evacuated and whose house was flooded, calling to ask if the SPCA could find and save her older blind dog and her parrot, who were her only companions. They did end up rescuing her pets and many others.

I had one of my best days at this breakfast hearing stories about 250 animals rescued during the floods and how many pet owners relied on this great organization to save their beloved animals. Lastly, adorable pets were brought up onstage to our oohs and ahhhs! We all loved this part the best, especially seeing little puppies. (Please adopt when you can.)

I also ate quiche and home fries. It was all delicious. It was fun to be there with over 300 lovers of animals and share the love.

Love to eat breakfast with lovers.