Tai Chi. Really?

My friend and former co-worker, Kim, found it to be too muddy around her house for our recently taken up Saturday morning parallel dog walk.  But she had found this "contribution" class, all stages and ages, of Tai Chi, in the park, in the open air, at the same time as we had been walking the dogs.  That became our Saturday outing.  I managed to convince Ember to take her nap in the crate and I headed over.

At first, it was three of us newbies hunting for the class, because the location on the posting was pretty vague.  Eventually a fourth lady showed up. She had met the instructor and found a way to call her.  This cleared up the confusion about where in the park the class was to set up, and we compromised.

I had never done Tai Chi before.  I had seen a couple of videos of it but hadn't taken a class or anything.  But I was curious.  The instructor assured us that she had taught every age from preschool to seniors over 90.  Cool, all of us are in between those ages!  My observation is that the body feels the workout later.  It's slow and feels relaxing; the stretching and breathing is a similar focus to yoga.  

After the class, Kim and I discussed and decided to do it again next weekend.  I will try to remember two things for next week:

1. Bug Spray
2. Walk the dog early, so she doesn't feel "left out"

After Kim drove off, another lady who had attended the class asked if I was going to walk some more.  She seemed a little lost and maybe in need of a walking partner.  I told her I was indeed going to walk, but I needed to go home and make that a walk with my dog.  I invited her to come walk with us, and she did.

It was starting to get steamy, so we made the walk shorter than what Ember and I normally cover.  Besides, the other lady had left her keys and water bottle on my kitchen counter, and she only had about half an hour to devote to this activity.

The photo is of Ember panting on the deck later in the day.  

Sunday the 7th of June

Ember and I got out walking early, when it was only 69℉.  I was once again drenched in sweat by the time we returned home, 1.84 miles later.  

After that it was a lazy, wasted day!  We napped.  We streamed old TV shows and dog rescue videos.  Mommy ate pizza and shared some.

Monday the 8th of June

An early nice long leash walk, well-behaved.  Ember met a fellow human walker.  Big guy, kind of the size of my son, tattoos on his arms, also like unto my son.  After greeting her the young man asked, "Is there anything I can pray about for you?"  I thought for hardly a second or two, "Pray for the world.  For the whole world," I said.

My needs are small, I thought, as Ember and I walked on toward home.  Whatever your faith, it cannot ever be wrong to pray for the world, can it?  Pick whatever need you feel we need most: peace, health, comfort, full bellies, hope, justice, honesty, wisdom for the leaders... and extend the petition to include the world.  As I walked, I did just that.

We had a low-key Monday, "Mommy and me" day.  Ember had her third or fourth play session with the herding ball.  This time, she defeated and deflated it!

Tuesday, June 9th

Tuesday is Ember's favorite day.  It's the day she gets to go play with her puppy friends after four days of just Mommy and the cat!

While she was off doing doggy things, I dropped some recycles at the center, did a bit of grocery shopping, and paid some bills.  I also took a wee nap and read a few chapters in a novel I have going.  It was hot outside, and I was glad to have a relatively peaceful day!

Wednesday, June 10th

Ember and I were just about to head out on a leash walk when the skies opened up.  It was brief, but it was rain.  Ember is not a fan.

We got a rainbow out of the deal, but before it started raining, not after, as is usual!  Guess it has to do with the timing of the front.

Anyway, we went on our coffee run, then Ember got a consolation prize in the form of a beef bone.

After the rain passed, after the pup finished with her bone, I started to pull her harness down to go for a steamy walk (it was already heating up) when the phone rang.

Hallelujah, it was the deck guy.  Next week, on Tuesday or maybe as late as Wednesday, they will start my project.  I agreed to give him a check for the downpayment this afternoon, then Ember and I headed out on our, as predicted, steamy walk.

He popped by and collected the check.  Ember loved him.  He proclaimed himself to be an enabler of her putting her paws on him.  After he left, Ember and I continued with our quiet day, with an extra treat trip to the DQ to share a kiddie cone.

Thursday June 11th

Thursday started early.  I woke at 3:38 a.m. to rain on the roof.  Went back to bed but not for long.  By 4:30 I was dressed and Ember barked from her crate because the sky was making too much noise for her liking.  I flipped on lights and went down, letting her know it's OK, it's just a thunderstorm.  I can't help thinking about the last big thunderstorm that upset her, nearly a year ago, in August 2025.  During that one, she "lost it" and when I tried to defend the couch cushion, I got bit.  To the tune of stitches.  This time, she's a grown-up, and when I opened the door, she actually went outside in the ruckus, and came back, let herself be dried off with a towel, then snuggled into a dog bed for more sleep.

After the sun rose (albeit behind layers of clouds), we went out and surveyed the yard.  Mr. Sturm und Drang had left her one sizable branch to chew on, from a neighbor's tree.  On the drive to day care, we had to detour around a few such branches from other trees, each of which was taking up one side of the street.  Garbage cans were also knocked over and their contents running loose.

Despite all the drama from the sky, routine was followed.  Pup got her breakfast and morning treats and made it to play with her puppy friends. 

I was feeling quite lazy. I did make it to the library to swap out books, and to the grocery store for a few essentials. 

Friday!  Yay!  We survived the week!

Friday dawned nicely cool.  The Prisoner came out of his "melted" afternoon stance for a regal morning pose on the deck rail.

Ember and I set off to explore the neighborhood.  It was trash day, but she did a pretty good job of leaving other people's trash alone.  She even left two unfortunate birdies that did not survive the storm alone.  But there was one bag of "ewwww!" that she found to roll in.  I wiped her off with some of those doggy cleaning gloves after we were done with our adventure.

We added a trip to the store that lets her come in with me, and one of the staff was in the entrance, ready to greet her.  The other clerk got her to sit for her treat.  And I got her to get back in the car without a whole lot of drama, too.

Once again, life goes on.  It is good!  Keep Sparking, my friends!