[gardener]

Kaiser, You're inspiring me! Since July, I'm up 10 pounds, mostly in the waist. I bought some new jeans at LL Bean. My wife commented that I had 6 pair in the closet already. I didn't reply, yes, but 3 are 34" and 3 are 35", and the new ones are 36" (and I'm wearing them low--it would take 38" to fit at waist level).

I can't claim that the added girth is the product of not lifting (I'm still at it) or of cycling (my balance is crappy, and despite what they say, people CAN forget how to ride a bike). It's eating. The carb load accelerates 2 weeks before Halloween, when Hershey bars take up brief residence in the pantry.

And now the really dangerous time begins. (I've been through this before, 10+ pounds July to November and another 7 by New Year's.) My wife is a supeb baker and she makes over 30 different kinds of cookies, half traditional German sorts, half southern American (sand tarts and so on). The smell of sugar ? It's like a tom cat with a nearby female in heat. It's hormonal, almost as insistent as horniness.

So I've started on Atkins. It's not the best way ro go, but it's the only way that has half a chance in the sugarplum and fruitcake cookie season.

Good luck--and hope your Thanksgiving was great. It's an intense time for me. Thursday was Thanksgiving. Friday our two sons and their families were with us to celebrate both sons' birthdays. Yesterday was our 46th wedding anniversary. Next comes Christmas, then New Years, and then my birthday--one of those that ends in a zero. (Well, it's 70!)

I note yours falls right before T'giving this year and some years on it. I'd prefer July to January, but then I'd be someone else. Cheers!