Living and eating well after weight loss surgery is the topic of Susan Maria Leach's book "Before & After".  In June 2001 Leach weighed 278 pounds and could not even tie her bathrobe.  She decided it was time to do something about it and had her stomach reduced to the size of an egg.  At the time of the book writing she weighed 135 pounds and wearing a size 8.  This book is her journey from being too big to enjoy her life to being able to truly enjoy life to the fullest.
                                                                     By the year 2003 more than one hundred thousand people had weight loss surgery.  This does not end the battle with food, however.  There are so many adjustments to make physically and psychologically.  Only a few bites can be eaten at a time and no sugar.  This causes "dumping" which is exactly what the term implies.  The stomach cannot handle it and gets rid of it rapidly.  The problem the mind is still as addicted to food as it was before the surgery.  Relationships change as you become a new person in both looks and the way you look at life and what is important.

The book covers these things as well as answers question such as: insurance questions, how fast will one loss the weight, how to answer question others may have about the decision, the pain involved and many more.  In that your food intake will be different cooking and preparing will also be different.  There are 100 low carb, high protein recipes for a healthier , happier and slimmer you.  I would recommend this book to anyone who is considering weight lose surgery.

Janette Oke is writing a series of homespun pioneer adventures and joy of Clark and Marty.  If you like "Little House on the Prairie" you will love these books.  The second book of the series is "Love's Enduring Promise".  Janette Oke was born in Champion, Alberta Canada during the depression years on the Canadian prairie.  Her Father was a farmer.  She and her husband were pastors of churches in the United States and Canada.
                                            "Love's Enduring Promise" continues the story of Clark and Marty who were thrown together after the deaths of his wife and her husband.  They now have growing children and are raising them in their prairie home.  The beginning of this book is the day they are raising a new school house, but do not have a teacher.  Marty reaches out to her neighbors to help even though her responsibilities at home are increasing.  The book covers joys and trials of life on a homesteader's farm.  Not only Clark and Marty but others in the community.  There is not an actual plot in the story, but follows events that go on in daily lives out on the prairie.

We learn about the close knit relationships when families must depend on each other for survival.  I recommend the series be read in order so you can follow the families through the generations.  Clark and Marty need to guide their daughter to womanhood and her choice of a partner.  We can see the love and caring that grows in a community of believers.

Bowling is a sport that can be enjoyed by young and old alike.  As we age we may have to change the way we still bowl for safety purposes.  It is important to do some light stretching to warm up because of our flexibility.

Seniors cannot bend or control the wrist as we once did therefore a back brace or wrist brace may be necessary.  Bowling shoes need to fit securely and clothes worn loosely.

As our weight changes so must our bowling ball.  The wrist band must be worn when being measured for a new ball.  An extra hole can be drilled in the ball for better control when throwing.  It is important to watch the weight of the ball so you do not get too tired after three games.  Preventing damage to the elbow or wrist may be a simple matter of just having the proper ball.

Max Lucado was born January 11, 1955 and is a best selling Christian Author and Minister.  He preaches in the Oak Hill Church in San Antonio, Texas.  He has written more than fifty books and has sixty five million in  print.  He has won several awards and has several books on the bestseller list right now.  After preaching for twenty years he was forced to leave the pulpit for medical reasons.  Lucado has returned as co-pastor and continues to write.                            Max Lucado was the youngest of four children and grew up in Andrews, Texas where his Father worked in the oil fields and his Mother was a nurse.  While attending Abilene Christian University studying to be a lawyer, he was required to take a Bible class and took a mission trip.  This changed his life and goals.  Writing a column for the church newspaper while serving as minister in Miami, Florida started his career as a writer.  These columns were compiled to form his first book.

As a newly wed he and his wife moved to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil as full time missionaries.  After his Father died of Lou Gehrig's disease they returned to the United State to help his Mother.

Many of his books are daily devotionals and inspirational thoughts for each day of the year. 

For anyone who is a lover of both trains and the old west the book "Trains of the Old West" by Brian Solomon is one you must have.  Brian Solomon is a freelance writer, photographer and editor who happens to love the railroad.  He has a degree in photography from the Rochester Institute of Technology and has worked as a professional photographer in California.

"Trains of the old West" explores one of the most exciting times in the United States History and tells the stories of famous trains during those times.  It tells of the pioneers who faced and overcame obstacles to put those trains across our west and form a nationwide rail system.  The photographs are historical and some contemporary and a unique tribute to the adventurous spirit of the early railroads and those that made it happen.
                             

The coming of the railroad changed the frontier which ended one era and began a new one.  The wild and open frontier was now connected to the rest of the United States.  This changed communication, economy and civilization itself.  Even the landscape itself changed as open prairie and plains became acres of cultivated farmland.  Of course along with these great advances brought new problems.  This book is a look at the men and machines that drove this turbulent period of our history;