Day 24: Half of 2021 wraps up today!

 

Many of the folks who followed me over from SparkPeople.com may remember the pebble jar calendar that I start each January 1, by filling 12 little jars with pebbles numbering the days in a given month:  31 in the January jar, 28 or 29 in leap year for February, etc.

Each morning when I come downstairs, I move a pebble from the month jar into the big center jar, marking the passage of days in the year!  This is what it looked like this morning, with six month jars remaining, and the center jar holding January thru today.  

What have we done with that half year?  I have:

• Got my vaccination against Covid-19, two shots of Pfizer.
• Hugged family for the first time in over a year, and continue hugging to "make up" for that year of loving restraint!
• Had my hair cut in a shop - twice.  Masked, both times, as that is the shop's rule.
• Started working out with a personal trainer again.

I have survived a year of "inconsistent" healthy behavior and pulled myself back on track... and while it's dangerous to say so out loud... I think this might stick.  

Why do I think that?  Because I'm starting to feel more like myself again.  Because I feel like the whole community has pitched in to get that local (county level) Covid 19 risk dial down into the green, six weeks in a row as of yesterday's update.  

The "demise" of the SparkPeople.com, a "safe" (to my way of thinking) blogging environment, has also contributed to this feeling.  It has put a burr under my saddle, so to speak... to pull up my socks, "gird the loins" to use the King James language.  I am determined to be a credit to that site and all we collectively learned from it!  Yes, there are still 48 days left to use it as of this writing, but building a new home, preserving the spirit of Spark, is a project that deserves my efforts.

I'm still looking for a replacement for how I've used the Spark Start page to-do list... but I'm happy with a substitute tracker (cronometer, if anyone wants to know), and I'm so far pretty happy with blogging here.  Still learning some of the tricks and traps here, mind you, but also  thrilled that several of my fellow bloggers are available to follow over here, via my Reading List.  

Bottom line:  the first half of 2021 has been one of forward motion for me, on the whole.  Not perfect, but improving.  Now it's just a matter of maintaining the momentum.

Let's get out and LIVE the best "last day of the first half" of the year that we can.  For it is the one and only Wednesday June 30, 2021 we'll ever get.  And each and every one of us is worthy of the self-care!  💖✨🙏🎇

Day 23: Beginning to look like July!

 

It's beginning to look a lot like July.  On my morning walk, I snapped a quick photo of one of the most well-kept yards.  I am not a gardener or a landscaper, but it doesn't stop me from admiring the art of others!

Also on the walk I noticed that the flags and bunting are starting to show up, reminding me that Independence Day in the U.S. is next Sunday!  Which means that we're only two days out from Canada Day.  My neighbors don't seem to have a clue about Canada Day (July 1) but I've been a Spark friend to enough Canadians to recognize both when their Thanksgiving holiday and their own Independence Day are celebrated.

My Tuesday / Thursday walks are a little shorter than my Monday / Wednesday / Friday ones, because I have the strength training appointments on Tuesdays and Thursday.  Next week, however, my trainer will be on vacation, leaving me free to do some changing up of my own.

We seem to be in a period of grace with the weather this week.  Had a brief shower about supper time last night.  Cool 69*F for my walk this morning.  Highs in the low to mid 80's F.  I am enjoying it, knowing it is temporary, and I'm thinking of those who are having that horrid heat wave up in the Pacific North West and Western Canada!  My news folks told me there was a record high for all tracked time for the entire nation of Canada yesterday.  Hope folks are able to stay hydrated and semi-cool!

Like everyone, I am thinking also of the families affected by the building collapse in Miami.  People will be looking for someone to blame.  Kind of the way humans operate.  But the best we can hope for is finding a way to know better next time, and hopefully prevent a repeat.  That's important, to learn from each tragedy we encounter.

Sorry, that bit was a downer!  I'll leave us with the pep talk of the day:

• Eat to support your health today.
• Remember to hydrate.
• Get outside, safely, if you can!  In nature, if you can.  Even for a few minutes.
• Remember to breathe, and be grateful for the good in your life.  You know it is there!

Now let's all get out and live the best Tuesday, June 29, 2021 we can manage, right where we are in the world and our lives!  It's the only one we'll ever get.  And LIFE is good!

Day 22: Monday offers a fresh start to a new week

Happy Monday, all!  Yes, I still love Mondays.  This morning I'm featuring my oldest (remaining) Spark mug, the orange one.  I used to have a rose colored one and a green one of this shape, but I gave the green one away as a gift to a fellow Sparker that I met in person, and the rose one was a victim of Rubia, who knocked it off the counter.

I had my first mug of coffee then went out for a pre-breakfast walk before the heat of the day will arrive, and came back to have my fruit and oatmeal breakfast.  Today it was a mix of fresh blueberries (no, my state was NOT part of the recall), and fresh strawberries.  I added unsweetened cocoa powder to the oats while they were simmering in the skim milk.  It really does become a satisfying breakfast.  Some fruits invite cinnamon, strawberries invoke chocolate for me.

Edited to add link to the recall, since someone asked:  Blueberry lots recalled

While on my walk, I took note of the tree art (it lives on the far side of the park), in the morning sunlight angles.  Some of you will remember that I documented the whole construction of that tree trunk last year, during the pandemic.  It gave a certain "story" to the slowly passing days.

I thought about the learning process so many of us have gone through during our many years over at SparkPeople.com.  You see, I've been doing that review of old blogs, looking at what I was thinking.  Why did I choose to blog at Spark?  Because it felt safe.  Because I needed an outlet for my thinking.  And because having been through the weight loss/regain cycle many times, I believed I was "wearing out" my in person friends and family with my obsession!

I like to think I have become less obsessed over the years, at least when it comes to allowing my mood to be dictated by the scale.  However, I find I still have to do "whatever it takes", in order to preserve health, if not a number on the scale.

When I walk early, I encounter others who do the same.  I have seen this same couple walking their dogs several mornings.  I asked them the first time if they were a mom and daughter dog, if they were related.  They said yes, they are related.  The adult dog is the litter mate of the young one's mother!

Of course seeing puppies always brings back warm memories of Carl growing up.

Carson (neighbor teen) is outside, mowing my grass/weeds.  The photo is from last year, but, you know, mowing grass is mowing grass!  The light's wrong... it's earlier in the day today than when I took this snap in the heat of noonish!

Now, what was that the other day about recovering from perfectionism?

That's about it from me today, except to say that reviewing those old blogs took me back into my working days, when the process involved:

• Packing a lunch / snack bag for the workday.
• Remembering to eat what was in the bag (and not something from a vending machine).
• Remembering to "go to recess", i.e. TAKE the work breaks I'm supposed to and go take a walk during them.
• And remembering to breathe.

I had to make adjustments upon retiring, but I'm finding as the pandemic becomes more managed, and I am fully vaccinated, some variation of that process is still valid.  It worked for training with a full-time job, it should work as a retiree, too.  

So let's get out there and LIVE this one and only Monday, June 28, 2021 we'll ever get.  For LIFE is good.💖✌

Day 21: Sunrise, sunset... which is better?

 

My favorite sunrise shot from June 18th

My favorite sunset shot from June 26th

There is something about day's start, and something about day's end.  In between the two is the day of LIVING!  At day's start, that is a day of potential.  At day's end, it is a day of completion or accomplishment.

Now don't go telling me that at day's end you have days when you didn't complete or accomplish *anything*!  That is just plain untrue.  You lived.  You breathed.  If you were ill, your body was fighting your illness.  If you were resting, your body was recovering from the stresses imposed on it in the hours or days before.  I think we mistake if we judge a day only by concrete "things done".  

I also think we are capable of having too ambitious a "to do" list at day's start.  Day's start does involve some hopes for the potential day ahead.  Some things are not optional.  We may have to work, to earn a living.  We may have appointments.  We may be in charge of the family's meals and getting the children to their school, activities, and so on.

During the past year, the year of pandemic, we may have been forced to take a step back from the level of activity that had us thinking we were running on a treadmill and never stopping.  This happened to both Sister #1 and to me.  We stopped doing some things to keep ourselves and our community safer.  And, surprise, now that we're both fully vaccinated and we CAN get back out and do?  We are each in our own way choosing carefully which things in our lives are indeed worthy of being on that list "to do"!

And yes, the sunset paddle was awesome and peaceful.  The water was quiet.  My friend Gerri came this time, as she was out of town for the sunrise paddle date.

A little artistic angle of Gerri, resting and watching that sunset.

I breathed in watching the runners and walkers getting a little activity on top of the dam.

It was late (for me) when I got home and showered, but I took the restful feelings into my good night's sleep.  And now, it's another day's start:

May we all remember to fully LIVE in this one and only Sunday, June 27, 2021 we'll ever get.  For LIFE is good.  💖💪🙋

Day 20: A little bit of cattitude!

This has been a week with a lot of changes in it for the furries.  They are not particularly fond of changes to their environment.  This was perhaps the last straw!

First on Monday, one of the trees went completely away.  And then on Friday... their entry way was completely swapped out and it doesn't smell the same!

However, each of them has been in and out at least once this morning.  I wonder if cats have the same twenty-one days to establish a new habit... that's the old saw for us humans, right? 

Speaking of establishing new habits, this is my 20th day blogging over here... so it's almost a habit.  For those who are just getting started on a new platform, allow yourself those three weeks to get used to the navigation and tools.  I've been sharpening my skills over on the Archive blog, as I'm still working on the migration of old blogs.

Link to OKM's Spark Archive

So, it's SATURDAY, gang!  Big weekend plans, anyone?  I have household chores (who doesn't) but at the end of the day, I have a reward activity planned:  the sunset paddle.

Now I'm off to LIVE the best I can, this one and only Saturday June 26, 2021 we'll ever get.  Because LIFE is good!  💖💪😍

Addendum:

Grocery trip went smoothly.  Not too busy.  I had been noting others paying attention to rising prices at the grocers, and this morning it struck me that way, too.  BUT, fortunately, not so much that I won't be eating healthy picks.  

I decided I should drop in at the Community Free Market, since son's GF Lacey and her parents are so involved with it.  It's kind of like a flea market, but no money.  You bring stuff that you're ready to part with, and if you see something someone  else is letting go that you like, you take it off their hands.  There is no requirement to bring something to pick out something to take home.

I did neither, but I did see some people I know and like.

Lacey and her dad Bob greeting folks, and very happy for a good turnout.  It was outdoors in a picnic shelter, and advertised as "mask friendly" event, in case anyone was not vaccinated or not yet ready to let their faces out, even if vaccinated.  I even ended up shaking hands with one of Lacey's friends (we're both fully vaxxed.)

The mythical son was there with my favorite canine, too, and after looking around a bit, we went for a walk in a different neighborhood than I normally do.  

They hold these events about once a month, so I will have to see if I can get my act together to take some things to give away next month!

I was impressed with how well behaved Carl was with the numbers of people around.  Yes, he did jump some, but his Daddy was there to correct him.  Socializing.  Maybe someday he'll be calm and well behaved enough (with some refresher training perhaps) to join Brody and company in working with not kids, but in son's case, probably older folks.💖

Bonus Blog: There goes the old door!

 

Here was the old door with the ragged screen, after I took the drapes down:

Yep, that screen was shredded by Diamond and by Carl.

Before the big show began.

Three dudes, two named Kenny, one named Josh, are my Pella expert replacement door installers.  I think the Kennys are a Jr. and a Sr.

Work in progress... out with the old...

Quips one of the Kennys:  "We'll be back tomorrow to put in the new door."😁

Prepping the space, with waterproofing.

They called and asked if they could come early, and I said sure.  This way we have a better shot at them being done before the thunder boomers show up later today!

The new door is a little smaller than the old one, so there's a bit of shimming, leveling, and adjusting to be done.  We knew all of this ahead of time, because of all the measuring that their salesman John did when I placed the order.  Seems like a well-oiled operation, and the installers worked as a team. 

There is still some woodworking to be done, and the screen needs to be added, but the door is now essentially functional.  It has the blinds inside the glass... no dusting required!  

Now with the woodwork on and the nice, soft, practically mosquito net screen added:  

User training was the last bit.  And here we have the finished product!

And the room is back in place, too.

Day 19: Start your Friday with a pep talk

 

Rubia on the cat tree

Good morning!  I actually set an alarm this morning, so I would get up in time to put the trash to the curb.  I did not want it blowing away in any stray weather that would sweep through overnight!  And I was sleeping so nicely when it went off.  I rarely wake to an alarm any more... even when I set one, my body seems to decide it is time to get up a few minutes before it would go off anyway.  Not so this morning!  It would appear that my week-long "short sleeps" led to a really good sleep last night.

Now, it is a new morning.  I have been on my walk, where I mused over whether moss really does grow on the North side of the tree trunks... if it does, based on these snaps... the path in the park is not a straight north-south line!  (But then I already sort of knew that.)

West side

"South" side

"North" side

The healthy ladies in the Park

And the group of healthy ladies who have been out at various times throughout the pandemic and beyond, when I walk.  I have seen them use TRX straps in the shelter, and aerobics on the tennis court or on the grass.  The grass was wet today, so... 

And it was early morning today, walking before breakfast to escape what will be another hot, humid day.  Don't you love Summer?

Now I have to get started making sure the house is ready to host the home improvement dudes who will be showing up around noonish!  

LIFE is good!  Let's go LIVE it, today!  Spark on!💪💖

Day 18: Thunder and Lightning

Good Morning!  Would you believe I've already had a nap this morning?

Brandon Hammons captured this photo, and posted it in the Facebook group Nebraska Through the Lens:  "Ominous shelf cloud illuminated by lightning approaching Platte Center around 1am this morning!! This squall line packed a wallop!!"

The storm arrived overhead for me about 2:30 a.m., and woke me. 💤 There were rumbles on high, and I knew that severe weather had been predicted overnight, so I flipped on the TV, and sure enough, the weathermen were up and commentating on that famous (or maybe not so famous) Midwestern Sport: watching and warning the populace about what was on its way and where it was headed next.  They said this system was clipping through the state at about 50 miles an hour!

I traipsed down the stairs to see if the kitties wanted in, but they were nowhere to be seen... I shrugged my shoulders and decided they must be hunkered down, and they are on their own, I offered!

After the front passed and it quieted, I went back to bed for that nap.  Got up again before six, and am now simmering the steel cut oats, listening to another front of storms coming through, and to the next shift of weathermen.  

By this time, Rubia has decided she'd rather be inside, so she's occupying the other side of the table I'm typing at, sleeping as only a confident cat can.  

Like it or not, this one and only Thursday, June 24, 2021 has begun!  Let us get out and LIVE in it, for LIFE is good.  💖💖

Day 17: Under construction and heavy lifting

 

The BLUE Spark mug

Happy Wednesday, all!  We have had a step-back from the extreme heat of last week, but it shall be temporary.  Yesterday was quite pleasant, especially in the morning.  Today is also presenting a pleasant morning, after having heard thunder yesterday evening.

Yesterday, over on my (still over there) Spark blog, I announce that I have begun re-publishing some of my old entries, in a separate blog, here.  

Fair warning, it is very much "under construction".  I am taking it slow.  I have copied a selection of the blogs to PDF format, and as I publish them here, I have to copy and paste a lot.  I am in fact making a few tweaks... adding a photo, perhaps, if the original was ALL text.  I made a small correction for historical accuracy in the "For whom the race is run" blog.  The emoticons that I had sprinkled the blogs with... gone.  Etc.

I also provided an introduction entry, which I am updating as I go along.  That said, if you *do* decide to meander over the the archives, read the entry with the label "Start here" first!

I am providing labels, since I don't really have much control over the order they display in if you view "all".  I'll be updating that introduction entry as I add "groups" of blogs with same label, to kind of explain the relevance of that set of blogs to me.  Gee, I'm doing "author notes"... who'd have thunk it?

OneKidsMom's Spark blog archive

The heavy lifting is all about the emotions that looking back at history can give one.  I started with the blogs that Spark had "featured".  But then I discovered that I wanted a collection of blogs associated with a particular time in my life.  And I went "dumpster diving" through the pages and pages of old blogs, and discovered that some things happened nearly five years ago, and it seems like a lifetime... and yet those events had a huge impact on getting me to where I am today.  So, fellow bloggers, brace yourselves if you decide to follow this example.  It's kind of like cleaning out the attic.  I know that several of you have already done it, and I'm late to the game, having chosen to start up the "new entries" before cleaning... typical me!

Kind of like "moving day", though, you eventually have to do it, even if it means just leaving it behind (the easiest decision)!  

Enough of the archive, on to today's pep talk!

I'm up, breakfasted, and dressed for my trainer workout.  I'm ready to take on this one and only Wednesday, June 23, 2021 we'll ever get!  How about you?  LIFE is good, let's go LIVE it!😍🙋💗💗👟

Day 16: A lot happening all at once

 

Everything seemed to happen at once, yesterday.  A number of things I had been putting off and set myself the task to do today:  a haircut, and new shoes (last pair was purchased in May, last year!) for regular walk/running.

The haircut salon was still masking... rules vary, different places, but I'm OK with "whatever".  She got me back to my normal Summer cut.

I had "get new shoes" on my list.  I looked up online to see if my nearby Fleet Feet had my favorite model in stock, and the website said "nope".  So I decided I would actually go in, and see what they *did* have in my size.

They were busy.  Some were masking, some were not.  I waited my turn, and as it happens... they had two pair of my favorite model... in my size.  My size were the only ones they had left!  Guess Lori (the store owner) has me and my normal purchases planned into her inventory.  Those shoes waited for me!  I bought both, so I can trade them off.  And this morning I'll be walking in "new shoes"!

The next surprise was the personal trainer texting me about a forgotten Doctor appointment, so shifting my workout from today to tomorrow.  OK, no problem.

Then the replacement door/window company (Pella) called to confirm that yes, they WOULD be here Friday to install my new door.  The salesman and I had picked the day, but with the anticipation that with supply chains and such being pandemic affected, we speculated that it might not happen; but here we are, it's going to happen!

The biggest surprise in the day was the tree service company showing up.  No call ahead, no e-mail ahead, just... here.  The anticipation for THIS work was that it would happen "in 8 to 12 weeks", back when I got the estimate.  

It was a good day, probably the coolest in a while for outdoor work, and that's what they did.  The half dead smoke tree went from this:

to this:

It's not quite done, another crew will come and clear out the big chunks.  I do not know if they will grind it to ground level... kind of expect they will.  Whatever... there will be a follow up photo on another day!

And the tree that always seems to grow shrubbery at its root went from this to that, left to right:

 

All in all, a busy day... pandemic times got me used to having "just one thing" on any given day... this is probably the busiest I've live in quite some time.  

And with that, I'll call it a blog, and head out for my pre-breakfast walk in those new kicks!  Here's hoping that my Spark refugee buds join me in making good choices for this one and only Tuesday, June 22, 2021 we'll ever get.  Because LIFE is good, and we are worth it... let's go LIVE it!😍💗💨💪🙋

Day 15: In the Spirit of SparkPeople - realistic goals

 

The trusty Spark mug

It's morning, fellow refugees!  Monday morning, at that!  How did the weekend go?  Are you assessing how you did?  Giving yourself some kudos, or some corrections?

I was getting on the scale this morning (yes, I'm one of those "every day, pop up on the scale and see what it says" types), and patting myself on the back, before a number would even appear.  Because I *know* I've been doing the right things for myself.

I know I've been eating my fruits and veggies.  I know I've been drinking my water.  I know I've been getting some moderate (and fun) activity in, and regularly.  OK, maybe my sleep hasn't been as long as I'd like, but it's summer time, and the sunlight does linger!  But I'm mentally giving myself credit for doing the things that I know will support my health and well-being.

So when the scale pretty much said, "meh!", it was NOT going to bother me.  Instead, I went down the path of, "I did NOT do the weekend overindulge and see the scale RISE thing!"  Good for me!

You see, for the pandemic year, and if I'm honest with myself, pretty much since retirement, I've been on the old path of the yo-yo... being good "for a while", then indulging for a while.  This is NOT a good path, and I know it.  It's how I got to my highest weight back in 1989, and how after maintaining a healthy weight for nearly five years, saw it head back that way in 1994-1995 (worst rapid gain, ever!)... etc.  What I have learned since is to look at the reasons for eating, to do the mental emotional work needed to understand what feelings ARE, and try to recognize and deal with them before having to do a post-analysis when I find my spoon at the bottom of an ice cream carton!

Back on the path of self-care with more consistency for the past few weeks, I am well aware that so far, this is NOTHING in the timeline of self-care.  But it *is* a motivating start.  

Some things we just have to forgive ourselves for if they throw us off track for a while.  And we have to remind ourselves regularly that we are worthy of that self-care, "no matter what".  The important message to self is to treat this ONE day as though it is the only one I have.  Because it is.  

So let's take care of ourselves, with good nutritious food, with moderate activity, with hygiene, with mindfulness... and with compassion for those selves on this one and only Monday, June 21, 2021 we'll ever get. Let's LIVE, for LIFE is good!💗😍🙏🙋

Spark on!

Day 14: Carl's Saturday adventure

 

Carl behind tree.  Barb behind camera.

On Saturday, my people all went on an adventure.  This is the spot on shore they picked out from which to watch one another and me.  Me?  I'm Carl.  I'm a big boy now, over 2 years old. I'm still learning things, but mostly I know my place in the pack, and my people see that I get what I need from life.

Yesterday, they gave me a chance to try something out:  getting on a little bitty thing they call a kayak with my person, my special person!  I didn't stay long, because it was wobbly, and I like having my feet in the water!

On the kayak with Jon.

I like having my feet wet.

But then they left me on shore with Grandma while Dad and his special lady paddled away.

And further away...

Until they disappeared behind a point, in the bigger lake.

Grandma held the leash while they were gone.

While they were out of sight, Grandma tried to distract me and took me walking in the park, but I kept looking back at the spot where they disappeared, and whining.  I sometimes barked, too.  And a looooong time later... they came back!

They said they had paddled all the way around to where they normally play water fetch with me, to see if the beach was still flooded over there.  (It was.)

Then other pairs went out, but Daddy stayed with me, so I was much better about it.  I still greeted each team with an "I thought you were gone forever" look and jump and lick when they came back, though.  Have to do my job in the pack, don't you know?

Lacey and her dad.

I tried to swim after them.  See my cool life jacket? But Dad had the leash on with all the people around.

Last pair to paddle out were Grandma Barb and Lacey. 

They explored the backwaters, not the big lake, which is also what Lacey and her dad did.

And they came back safely, too.

The two grandmas swapped hats while Grandma Barb paddled.  Then after we all just sat around and chilled for a bit.

It was a great day!

Then the people packed everything up, including boats, and we headed home.  Life is good!  A dog's life makes their people's life better!

Love you, Sparkly people... you make my Grandma happy!

- Carl