​     Even though we were not with family, we had a really wonderful Thanksgiving.  We invited over neighbors who were also alone, and we had a lovely time together.  I created an entirely keto Thanksgiving meal, including a turkey, cauliflower dressing, a six-layer salad, spicy almond bread, and cake with a cream topping.  Our guests brought Hawaiian rolls and pumpkin pie, making the meal more traditional and carb-filled for those not committed to keto, so it worked out quite well for everyone.  We're enjoying our time here.  It's been relatively warm remaining in the high 40s and dropping to the low 40s overnight.  However, we're heading into some frigid weather this coming week.  Temperatures will drop below freezing tonight, but they'll warm up during the day.  Then we're facing several days where forecasts predict temperatures remaining below freezing during the day and possibly snow.  I don't mind the snow as long as we can continue traveling to Canada to our workout place.  We still enjoy going to Grandview Aquatic Center in Surrey, British Columbia.  It's a wonderful space.  It has an Olympic pool perfect for Steve and his lap swimming, along with a sauna and a steam room he enjoys.  I stick to the exercise room using some equipment but mostly doing my high-intensity walking routine.  It's been working out quite well because it gets my heart rate high enough.  I manage to meet or exceed my 30-35 minute daily cardio goal as I walk four to five miles.  So this month makes my being on keto for one entire year.  The month of September marked my first anniversary on keto.  I've lost 15 lbs and managed to keep the weight off.  I still need to lose another 15 lbs to get to my goal.  I'll continue to stick to keto even though I'm losing weight more slowly than some people do.  The side benefits, particularly seizure control, are a huge benefit.  I'm also scheduled for another colonoscopy in the next couple of weeks.  The doc wants me to have one every year because of the large polyps discovered and removed last year.  So far, I'm healthy and happy.  I'm staying busy writing and producing lessons for the slavery textbook.  I don't know if it will ever be helpful to others, but I will continue to work on it because it's a worthwhile project.  

We're back in Birch Bay after a pretty tedious journey.  There were high crosswinds in Bellingham, so we could not land there.  Consequently, we landed in Seattle, and our option was to return to Oakland or find another way home, which we chose to do.  We rented a car, but they wouldn't allow a one-way rental allowing us to drop the car in Bellingham.  Instead, we had to drive back to Seattle to return the rental car and then back home again.  Neither Steve nor I am very interested in Seattle anymore.  We used to love that City, but it is changing due to the homeless problem.  Northwest Washington's terrible homeless problem seems to be at its worst in Bellingham, the little town near us.  However, our little space in Birch Bay doesn't draw anyone because it lacks a daily food source and a place to sleep.  Once, however, we did have a person show up for several days.  He was sleeping at the public beach access across from our house.  His presence was extremely suspicious, especially because Birch Bay is not "on the way" to anywhere.  In fact, it is a huge diversion off any beaten path unless one is traveling by water.  Of course, I wanted to call the sheriff, but Steve felt sorry for the guy and discouraged me.  Instead, he helped the guy.  I had purchased many food items for Steve to take out on his crabbing and fishing trips, including peanut butter crackers, sardines, smoked oysters, raisins, cranberries, and all kinds of mixed nuts.  There was enough to survive for quite some time.   In any case, Steve felt so sorry for the guy that he gave him all these bags of snacks one evening.  The following day the guy was gone, and so was the neighbor's boat.  When they reported the theft to the Sherrif, he explained that a theft ring was operating in the area, and the guy probably took the boat up to Alaska to dispose of it.  My precious husband provided him with all the food he needed for the journey, plus more.  Steve is so kind, but I rub this in every chance I get.  But I digress.  Our trip back and forth to Seattle was long and uneventful.  We finally settled in, and I've gotten right back on track with my keto meals.  I'm delighted that we had food available, so I was not tempted to go off the deep end.  I'm happy because I've dropped a couple more pounds and want to keep that momentum going.  I still have about fifteen pounds to lose.  We finally went on a massive grocery shopping trip yesterday and purchased everything necessary for our Thanksgiving meal.  I'm going to create a very keto Thanksgiving feast, including a fresh turkey, a seven-layer salad, cauliflower dressing, cream gravy, and oyster bisque.  This should be delicious!  Thanks to some new recipes, we've actually been having some really excellent keto meals.  I'm going to bake another almond cake, but I'll make a lemon sauce topping this time.  We'll miss our family this Thanksgiving because no one can visit Birch Bay.  Sadly, when people grow up, they have other responsibilities and can't just bounce around like before.  Harold and Jake are both working, and Jake is in the middle of his master's program.  Stef, Brandon, and Isabella are all working and do not have the time to head this way.  We decided not to impose on them this season because they're all swamped.  I'm going to send them a Christmas dinner as their gift, and I hope they enjoy it.  Ken and Trudy will be in San Francisco with Kelsey's little family, and Stevie wants to work every extra moment as a DJ over the holidays, which is his first love. I guess it's just Steve and me for the holidays in our cute little house with fabulous mountains, water, and wildlife views.  We're also hopping back and forth to Canada.  The decorations in White Rock are lovely, as is the food in the many available restaurants.  So, we're not going to be suffering in any way.  Also, Stef might be able to come for the New Year celebration, which will be great fun!  In the meantime, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

     This is our last week in Waianae, and it has been very exciting!  Even though I misinterpreted the whole thing while watching it all happen, we witnessed a movie production crew, along with all of their gadgetry, land at the marina.  The last person to disembark was the guy who starred in the movie Aquaman.  I didn't recognize him, but one of our friends at the marina told us what was happening.  They are making a movie called Water Warrior, and Jason Mamoa is the star!  When I told Stef about it she got really excited.  She said she loves Aquaman, and the star is very popular.  Had I realized anything happening at the time, I'd have acquired an autograph.  So,  as usual, although I was present at an actual event, I didn't get it until it was over, and everybody told me how terrific it was.  Initially, I thought all the activity was a research expedition and that they were bringing a lot of equipment in after taking oceanographers out.  They utilized an overwhelming amount of equipment during the water filming.  In fact, they brought things in on four boats and towed two old-looking pontoon-type sailing vessels.  These apparently were specially built for the movie.  I got pictures of the vessels thinking they were antique vessels because I was still so out of touch with what was happening.  So that was our major event during this Waianae this visit.  We really had an excellent time.  The weather is changing and began doing so this month.  We're having lovely breezes and low temperatures in the high 70s to the low 80s.  It is so comfortable and pleasant.  We're enjoying every minute.  Also, my diet is going well, and I'm sticking to it.  I'm still trying to create delicious recipes that are personally appealing.  I found an excellent way to use my red chili without including the beans, which is a big struggle.  I'm making a red chili with chicken and putting it over the cauliflower bake I enjoy.  This combo is absolutely luscious.  It satisfies my chili cravings.  Sometimes cravings become acute, and you've got to figure out how to satisfy them, or you'll do something that causes a big failure.  Sadly, I'm not losing any weight lately, even incrementally, but I am not gaining either.  I will have to do a few days of fasting when I return to Birch Bay.  I'll also increase my cardio exercises.  I planned to do that here, but I failed to follow through.  However, I am happy because I finally forced myself to complete a hard-to-write true tale.  This one was particularly difficult because I had to face truths about myself in its telling.  While it was difficult to recall, it is time I took a good, hard look.  I was reading a book today that asked, "What is the one thing you would change if you could?  What is the thing you really regret?"  My involvement in this last tale is one thing that I would undo if I could.  Writing about it helped me process more of the facts and continue forgiving myself for my participation.  I'm on my final walk along the bay, and it is gorgeous.  There are ocean breezes and scatterings of paddle boarders, surfers, and snorkelers throughout the waves.  The little restaurant has live Hawaiian music, and it's completely peaceful.  Everyone is having a good time!  We will return in March and then head to Birch Bay in the summer for the fabulous weather.  We're looking forward to seeing Stevie, Stef, and her family during the holidays.  Jake and Harold will probably stay around Waianae and enjoy the holidays without us.  It'll be different, but change always happens as everyone grows.  I thank God everyone is growing!

​     This week I cheated a couple of times with an almond butter-slathered high-carb tortilla.  That tells me I am craving some more bread, so I baked a couple of things, including spicy almond bread and cinnamon cake.  Steve and I each had a piece of spicy almond bread and found it delicious!  It really hit the spot for me, so I think it will help me resist that carb craving that caused the tortilla dive.  By the way, the tortillas did not exceed my carb count, and I am sure I stayed within the fifty grams that I'm allowed per day, but I still want to stay away from refined flour and high-carb-count food items.  The key is preparing foods in advance and having plenty of items readilly available with various textures and tastes.  That makes keto easy and successful.  It is easy to do with advanced planning and preparation.  Because we return to Birch Bay next week, I am doing mental inventories of what we have available there.  We have plenty of salmon and crab, so it will be easy to get keto going again.  I'm already monitoring the weather forecast in northwest Washington.  The 10-day forecast so far shows rain, rain, rain, rain, and then sleet, sleet followed by rain.  The days remain at about 40°, and the nights are in the 30s.  The weather will take some serious adjustment, given the beautiful days we experience in Waianae.  It started hot here in Waianae, but it's beginning to cool off because we are entering the winter.  We will return in January, which is this area's perfect time of year.  The days stay in the low 80s.  The nights cool off beautifully, no matter what the season.  However, I'm very excited to return to Birch Bay.  We plan on visiting our Canadian friends often and, of course, our favorite restaurants!  I'm especially anxious to return to Cilantro's, the delicious Indian restaurant in White Rock.  We also sometimes like the cold weather, particularly during the holidays, although the rainy days get rather oppressive over time.  I think we're going to try to take a few trips to the mountains, particularly up to Mount Baker, because it's so beautiful in the winter.  Steve and I haven't done much driving around lately to look at the scenery, so I'd like to do a little more of that.  It'll be easier for us to leave our Hawaii place because Jacob and Harold can watch over everything.  However, they do not take care of things the way we do and so we know when we come back, we'll have to get everything into shape.  That'll be okay.  I'm sure we'll manage.  We think we'll spend time with Stevie and Stef, so we must figure out our fall and winter schedule.  We're looking forward to the holidays and visiting our family and friends!