LAID BACK IN NAPA, CALIFORNIA

Nine A.M. on Friday morning in Napa.  It’s cool and cloudy outside; inside, the aroma of breakfast is in the air, the little electric heater keeps us warm and cozy, and NPR is our entertainment.  Thus begins another laid-back day in Napa while we await a change in the weather in Oregon.

The Napa Elks Lodge (click here to read our review) has just twelve spaces, shoehorned onto a small plot behind the lodge.  With a central – but quiet - location, easy access to an adjacent paved trail next to the river, full-hookups, cable TV and WiFi ($10 for Napa Elks Lodge members, $20 for those of us from other Lodges) these are highly desirable spots.  Two sites are permanently occupied (one filled by the host), leaving 10 sites available for travelers.  Part of the entertainment for us is watching the turnover of sites. 

Most nights we have been here, all sites have been full, though we’ve seen up to three empty sites for a couple nights.  Yesterday, two sites next to us opened up around 9 am.  By 11 am, one was full – and around noon, we had new next-door neighbors, Gisela and Bill, Boomer friends!   Like us, they plan to wait out the Memorial Day campers here in Napa, and it is good to have them next door.

Yesterday was Weight Watcher weigh-in day for me.  Since we’ve left Sacramento, I don’t plan on continuing to go to meetings.  Each time I attend a meeting, I pay $13 to get weighed, pick up a short brochure with a recipe and inspiration for the upcoming week, and listen to the leader and other group members discuss challenges and triumphs of the week past.  I liked the meetings when I was learning the new Points Plus system and going with Sydney, but it’s not so much fun when you have to find a meeting, pay $13, and “meet” with a group of people you don’t know and won’t be meeting again.

So, I just haul out my own scale and weigh myself on Thursday morning.  Yesterday I was pleasantly surprised (shocked, actually) to find I had lost .2 (note: that is zero point two, not two pounds) pounds since last week, which had also shown a small loss.  Considering the amount of socializing we have been doing in the past two weeks – and our current location in one of California’s well-known “foodie” destinations – I was thrilled. 

Then I sat myself down for a little motivational talk of my own, reminding myself that – especially in this lifestyle – there are ALWAYS “special” occasions to blow off the structure of Weight Watchers.  Friends park next door or, like Pat and Becky did on Wednesday, drive over to visit.  Or the weekly farmer’s market has great BBQ.  Or winetasting is everywhere your turn.  Or, or, or…  So, for at least a couple more months, I just have to remind myself that I really want to fit more comfortably into my clothes, and practice restraint!

Thus motivated, I pulled out my WW cookbooks, planned meals for the next few days, and Odel and I headed to the nearby Nob Hill Market.  The new recipe I tried last night is a winner: Pork Chops with Asian Pineapple Salsa.  It was a delicious meal (I ate one WW-sized serving, Odel cleaned up the rest), but the Asian Pineapple Salsa was the star – incredibly simple to make, and it would be delicious on fish, chicken or tofu as well as pork (which could have been pork tenderloin as easily as chops).

I have three more new recipes to try this over this long holiday weekend.  We’ll hit the farmer’s market again tomorrow morning, and see what else his happening in Napa or Sonoma for the holiday.  Odel continues to work on his knee, which now includes two walks a day along the adjacent paved riverside trail.  My allergy has diminished significantly; the cause is still unknown, but we are beginning to believe it is NOT a result of the renovations.  Only time will tell, I guess –  I am simply happy that I no longer need steroid cream to feel human.  :)