1.  Gracie’s having a rude awakening, guys.

2.  She’s been struggling a bit, as thirteen-almost-fourteen-year-old goldens are wont to do.

3.  The good news? Gracie’s tests look decent. None of the things I thought might be wrong are actually wrong.

4.  The bad news? Gracie’s too chunky for her own good.

5.  Shocker, I know.

6.  We take responsibility for this. It’s not like she feeds herself.

7.  She lost way too much weight a couple of years ago but while we worked to help her get some pounds added back on we somehow slid right past “excellent!” and into “whoa!”

8.  Boo for us.

9.  Bigger boo from Gracie, though, because she’s about to endure the crashiest of crash diets.

10.  We had a “gently ease her toward a better weight” plan. Then I heard back from our vet.

11.  The vet’s response — and I’m paraphrasing — was something akin to what the hell, she’ll never lose the weight like that.

12.  Ahem.

13.  And that is how our Gracie girl found herself waking up today to half a breakfast.

14.  Well, technically she has a serving…if it’s what you’re eating then I guess that’s your serving.

15.  It’s just that this particular serving size is basically half of what she had yesterday.

16.  I’m writing this post Thursday night and fully expect this change to be met with all the fury of a hungry fur ball denied.

17.  Oh well, positive thinking everyone!

18.  I’m positive Gracie’s gonna be pissed.

19.  Bygones.

20.  We’re only at twenty and my eyes are closing.

21.  NOT GOOD.

22.  Seems like that soda at dinner isn’t really pulling its weight.

<<<<<<<<<<  eight hours of sleep later…  >>>>>>>>>>

23.  I went on a little outing with a friend yesterday.

24.  We ended up grabbing dinner at a place in the mountains and let me just say this.

25.  Nobody, and I mean nobody, can do delicious gluten free like someone in a crunchy granola hippie dippy mountain town.

26.  Side note: For my non-American readers, “crunchy granola hippie dippy” may be unfamiliar. Let us delve.

27. Hippie dippy references a place where back in the ’60s you’d find Make Love Not War signs, maybe some peace signs thrown up, that sort of thing.

28.  Crunchy granola…well, I don’t know if that’s a layered nuance to hippiness or literal reference to eating habits.

29.  I lean toward hippie dippy and do indeed love granola so perhaps there it is.

30.  Side note #2:  tone matters.

31.  My “crunchy granola hippie dippy” is highly affectionate. You may also encounter it used in a more derisive tone.

32.  Try to take that into account while out here on the worldwide interwebs.

33.  Side note #3 and my last, I swear: Hippie dippy towns tend to slow down and take it easy. People are more concerned with quality of life than checking boxes on a spreadsheet.

34.  The town of Mayberry on The Andy Griffith Show has a similar “slow down” vibe though it leans more toward law and order, do the next right thing and it’ll all be fine. (Or fiiiiiiiinne as the southern accent yields.)

35.  I find it interesting how many Andy Griffith fans land in the derisive “hippie dippy” commenters category. Just leaving that here for your consideration today.

36.  Phew! Anyway. I’ve found mountain towns, particularly liberal/progressive/”granola” ones, are wildly invested in making sure everyone enjoys their food.

37.  You’ll see more vegetarian and vegan options here too. Maybe because they feel life’s too short to only eat salad? I dunno.

38.  But it led us to Coyote Kitchen in Boone, North Carolina where hand to God I enjoyed a plate of gluten free corn and poblano hush puppies. HUSH PUPPIES. When I say I GIGGLED.

39.  The offering was impressive enough but the fact that they were delicious too??!! I just don’t have enough adjectives to describe what it’s like for a gluten free girly to sit before a menu with endless choices, all of them looking amazing.

40.  If you’re in the area I highly recommend dropping in. Their food is delicious for glutteny-people, too, another feat that granola entrepreneurs have mastered. Because life’s too short to be sad about your food.