Barbara J. Hamby

sign-up for our email list

A Twelve Step for What?

It’s come to my attention that there aren’t enough twelve-step programs around. I’m addicted to ice cream and in withdrawal after a month without any. I walked down the ice cream aisle at Safeway today and turned my head away. My reason for abstaining from my favorite food, other than weight, is an effort to determine if I’m allergic to dairy products. If I am, woe is me.

I’m also abstaining from products containing wheat, but not as religiously. I’ve eaten a couple of ginger snaps today. Walking through a grocery store is a little different when you’re trying to figure out if there’s anything left to eat other than fruit, vegetables and nuts, that doesn’t contain dairy or wheat.

I looked for goat cheese and found sheep cheese. I thought, Why not try it? $14.49 for a small wedge is why. Sheep farmers must be making a killing, considering the price of wool and sheep cheese. I’ve seen sheep being sheared, but not milked. It may be more of a hassle than I imagine.

Today we nailed down reservations for a cruise to Asian countries. On May 17, we will fly to Osaka, Japan, where we board a cruise ship for Hiroshima. We will have seven hours there, then two days at sea. Approximately 14 hours in Vladivostok, Russia the next, will be followed by a day at sea. We will be in Pusan, South Korea, for nine hours and have another day at sea. We have two days in Shanghai, then our final day at sea and eight hours in Dalian, China the following day. The ship’s final destination is Beijing. We have arranged to be there two nights and hope to see some sights in the area.

With the new digital camera, and the old video camera now up and running, we hope to have a good collection of pictures with which to bore relatives and friends when we return.