Thoughts

I alluded to my being the fat broad previously, but also working on relieving myself of that particular title. ;)

I've come across a way I think will work for me. Combined from experimentation on my own and some things I heard an individual discussing, it consists mainly of eating five or six meals a day...about 200 calories give or take, each meal....which for me comes out to about every two hours or so. I do not eat anything at all after 1900 hours and I get to bed, or try to, around 2000, getting up around 0600 to get my son up for school. Added to this is exercise I like..and that consists of hiking. Today, for example, we walked a mile and half up Summit Road to Roaring Falls, then back again. It was in the 20s out and absolutely lovely for a walk. We took a few pics; one of the nifty things here in the Winter is that the water seeps from the various conglomerate stone facings and creates sheets of water and icicles, quite pretty.

So three miles, somewhere in the region of 1200 calories a day, give or take and adjustable for exercise, and plenty of sleep. It is early going yet but so far it has proven fairly easy to stick to...the hardest part seems to be remembering to eat every two hours instead of waiting longer. This whole exercise keeps the blood sugar levels pretty stable through the day which is an excellent thing.

Note I do not restrict the type of foods I eat with one exception; for these first couple or three weeks I will keep processed carbohydrates to a minimum. After that though, they'll be back in measured amounts. Essentially, I can eat what I want..in reasonable amounts and it leaves me without the feeling of deprivation. Perhaps I cannot have everything at once but that's fine...having something later is more like a treat and not taking foods out of the equation gives me a plethora of different things to eat. It does mean I do not eat out but then we do not do that anyway, save on rare occasions.

We shall see. It isn't really a diet and the exercise is what I love doing anyway so I am not in danger of stopping...in a month I will take stock. I can say though that already I feel better, more alert, no sugar crashes or highs, just a nice steady level of activity. Once in a while a nap..but they are short ones. :) Huzzah for naps! Hehehehe

Oh, we are also making the effort to reduce the amount of gluten in our foods..'wheat belly' may well be playing a part in things here even though we are not allergic or sensitive to it. Gluten is powerful stuff and can affect even those not allergic or sensitive. Interesting things.

Along with today's hike, along Summit Road, the which leads to the top of Mount Toby (the which is naturally named after Toby of Southfarthing fame) ;), I decided on some other things too. Primary among them is footwear. I've talked about this before but today's hike brought some things home to me.

Here in Rándiromar we are on the East bank of Anduin and a bit West of the northern Eaves of Mirkwood...well into the wooded foothills regions that surround the Grey and Misty Mountains, in the northern areas of Rhovannion. Terrain is hilly and often rugged. Summit Road is graveled...although in places this is not easy to tell. Chunks of masonry have been used to augment certain places and the area is pretty enough, and a touch wild for being so close to a settlement....(yes, I am playing a bit with scenics...the mountain really is called Mt. Toby though).

Walking up the rolling landscape, sometimes quite steep, on this gravel, I realized soft boots won't really cut it, and neither will ankle high boots. For one thing, the stone is rough and rugged and support is needed. For another, the injury sustained by me left ankle in the combat with the dragon a few years ago means it requires something more supportive and stable than an ankle high boot for sustained use.

Pondering this situation today I have decided to experiment with a pair of the oh so common Minnetonka moccasins by augmenting the soles, adding insoles, and reinforcing them via the use of stiffer leathers applied to the basic suede structure of the boot. I will add a cuff to the top to help protect that portion of the laces while also reinforcing the toe area, sides, and adding in a heel cup. I have no clue how this will all turn out but if it works they should provide some damned good boots and be very consistent with Middle Earth style in the process.

Being as it is Winter, although snowless just now, I also turned my thoughts to Winter Ranger wear. Pack covers of white, woolen clothing, my wooden snowshoes and even skis. Skis are thousands of years old, as are snowshoes....so quite compatible with the kit I feel. Especially for anyone spending much time in the Mountains or Northern Reaches. Since the Hithaeglir are not far off, and since we often get a lot of snow during Winters, they seem a wise thing to include. Of course, Climate Change is rearranging how things work and we are definitely without snow thus far, still we got a load of it last October.

Winter wear makes things more challenging in a variety of ways. The need to wear multiple layers increases bulk, which adds weight, which makes the fit of some kinds of gear more problematic, not to mention the loads necessary to carry in addition to Winter clothing. Something I had not turned much thought to before but am now doing so.

As one of the Rangers of MERF who hunts a great deal, I have my new annual sportsman's license with stamps for archery, primitive, bear, turkey, migratory birds and even fishing. Ought to be a good year, or I hope so anyway, at least in this regard. I have some serious misgivings about the year in general but there it is; nothing I can do about any of that save be prepared. Which I am.

As we go along this year I will cover a variety of things, such as Land Navigation and its various applications, survival year round, wild edibles and medicines, tracking and trailing, sign language, tactical deployment, scouting in the tactical sense, and various other bits and bobs as they come to me.

This'll do for now though.

Vendui

Eledhwen Rándiromar Anduina