Day 3

Well today I did the letter of my Lenten Retreat but not sure if I nailed the spirit. My wife and had freshly made guacamole on whole wheat pita for breakfast. We concocted a rice pilaf our of organic red and brown rice, vegetable broth, grape seed oil , onion, garlic, corn , feta cheese, and Parmigiano-Reggiano for dinner. Since I just had a granola bar for lunch I really chomped down on the latter, which was quite good. We had a bunch of frozen melon in the freezer and we blended that with some leftover fruit juices into a really terrific smoothie. So no meat, nothing from a restaurant , so I did the Lent Rules. I gave up nothing at all but I figure that we would have gone to dinner out tonight so I am putting $50 in the till for the Royal Ottawa.

I guess that there are a number of thoughts going through my head. Like usual, they are disjointed, somewhat random, and do not really make sense necessarily. But that is why I blog.

So thought 1 – I really had a wonderful day of excess with respect to food. Here I am in the Ottawa Valley in late February, a snowy and windy February’s day and I am eating avocadoes, limes, whole wheat pitas, rice form California, cheese from Canada and cheese from Italy, melons from Mexico , juices from Florida. I am not sure that eating fries and a Big Mac from the Arches would have made a lesser impact on the planet, and that includes the wrapping!

So thought 2 - Of course from a health view point I am way ahead of the Big Mac. I am just oozing vitamins and fibre which is very good.

So thought 3 – I am very blessed and lucky. I had incredible food. I experienced love, freedom and employment today. I was able to laugh. My back is better today and I did not need the muscle relaxant (although I may take a hit before bed, which is a blessing as well). I was able to do a hill climb on the treadmill today.

So what can I take away this third day of Lent? I am blessed. I know I am blessed. I have good things. I know I have good things. I was able to help the Royal Ottawa.