A week's worth of updates

 A week ago, a quick shower did not last long, and the humid heat remained after it moved on.

We are still in extreme drought conditions, and now our town has asked us to voluntarily restrict outdoor water use.  I'm allowed to water on Wednesday, Friday, and Sundays.  My sister has a different street number (odd versus even) so her schedule is Tuesday Thursday and Saturday.

Stolen from a FB friend.  As good an excuse as any, don't you think?

It might be counter-productive to stir up the dust, too, during a drought.

Yay!  We got rain Saturday evening, too.  Prisoner came in drenched!

Sunday was a quiet day, only the cheeky backyard squirrel dared to interrupt it.

Monday morning I walked around the "big block" to mail my estimated tax payment.  The months fly by, with the big bills showing up hopefully only about once a month... you know the ones, the annuals, the six months, etc., that you plan for and remember to pay.  Thank goodness, in retirement, for computerized reminders, and the backup of paper calendars.

It was another "confuse what day of the week it is" week.  My trainer had a conflict so he could not keep a Tuesday schedule, and he is off to a cross-country camp the rest of the week.  So my only workout with him was on Monday morning.  

I did something political on Tuesday.  I drove across town to sign a petition to put something on the ballot to call for the repeal of a bill the legislature passed this session.  Everybody's entitled to express their opinions in this way.  If you feel strongly about an issue and aren't one to "take to the streets" in protest, signing a petition is something you can do.

I had a blood draw on Wednesday.  The doctor's office called me on Thursday to say thyroid is behaving, and I'm back on the same dosage I have essentially been on for 20 years.

I reserved a kayak for Friday morning. The lake was smooth as glass, and I had a peaceful paddle!  

Saturday evening will be a minor league baseball game with the small family group (son, Dil, and her parents and I).

I signed up for the Cornhusker State Games 6 mile walk, which comes in late July.  I'll have to check with my friend Gerri, as I see she's signed up, too.

Next week I'll be doing cat watch for my other sister again.

As you see, life is going on in these parts.  

Life is Good.  Spark on!

What a difference it is getting a jab these days.

Three years ago, when the Covid-19 vaccines were new, there were big clinics, held in public venues.  Nurses and PAs volunteered to give the jabs to protect as many as possible as quickly as possible.  Since then, we've been through the mutations and strains, the anti-vaxxers and the vax-mandators and the maskers and anti-maskers, the fear and the bravado.  Without much fanfare now, they decide to allow folks to get a second bi-valent booster and I got my email from the health department.  I expect that come the autumn, we'll potentially see a combined Covid-19 and flu vaccine as this phase passes.

Wednesday, nobody else was wearing a mask, even though the e-mail told me to, so I was wearing mine.  I felt like a fish out of water.  The nice public health nurse who gave me my jab asked if I was masking because of the email and I confirmed.  "Do you still have it on your phone?  I want to show it to our IT people, we've been having trouble figuring out why some people get it on their email and some don't."  Sure... so a tech issue clue for them, not just an arm to jab.  She assured me, masking is no longer required to get the shot.

One thing getting my shots through public health channels did for me was to show me who all is relying on them for services.  I've always had job related insurance (until I retired) so coming to public clinics has not been my normal experience.  It was awesome... families... who come in as an entire family:  mom and three kids.  Mom, grandma and grandpa, and four or five kids.  Mom, dad and two kids.  Public health employees explaining things to the clients in various languages, or explaining to the English speaker in the group that they were looking for an interpreter for the patient's language.  Everybody kind, everybody patiently waiting their turn.  One question about immigrants:  what is there to be afraid of?

I suppose one might fear being overwhelmed by numbers, and that's a possibility.  But it all seemed very harmonious when I was there.

Everything was hunky-dory following the shot, and I had a pretty normal day.  Had my Wednesday walk with my sis.  The side effects that I have come to recognize showed up about 12 hours post-shot.  Fever.  Highest I measured was 102℉, around midnight.  Took Tylenol clone, several times, appropriate hours apart.  Did NOT sleep well.  Waved off the trainer appointment Thursday morning, when I took the final Tylenol and put myself back to bed.

Gradually, over time, I got up, napped, got up, went to pick up a prescription when I was feeling particularly OK.  Then another nap.  It's now almost 36 hours since the shot and I'm pretty much getting over the side effects.

Anyway, as of Friday morning... back to regular life.  Onward.

Life is good.  Spark on.

Outta gas by Sunday

Old photo from 2021, Carl flopped down after a walk outside in the heat.  But it captures how I'm feeling on Sunday:  out of gas, tapped out, exhausted!

Saturday about suppertime I had received the text from my older sister that she made it home, so I was done with my cat-medication duties.  Whew!  

The kids and my co-inlaws had scheduled a Sunday morning kayak outing on a lake on the other side of town, but I was just so bleary on rising (after sleeping in 'til nearly 7) that I bowed out of the adventure.

I delayed deciding until the last possible minute, as Carl was going to be there, and he's a huge draw.  As soon as I messaged them my regrets, I knew I did the right thing.

I haf household chores that I could/should take care of but I didn't even have the oomph for them.  Even after "sleeping in", I took a nap.  

I woke up around 3 p.m. and finally felt a more human level of energy, so tackled grocery shopping.  I found the videos of Carl at the lake, which made me laugh.  He did not capsize any boats today, but he did get muddy water into his mama's kayak.  He acted as a tugboat on a leash in the shallows before successfully getting up onto his daddy's boat.

According to his people, this was Carl's longest successful ride in / on a kayak yet.  They will turn him into a boat-dog eventually!

I'm thinking it was probably a better learning experience for my favorite pup without an extra person to distract him from his purpose.  

The video of him swamping Lacey's boat was pretty funny... it did not sink.  Carl was in the water, towing his Dad's kayak and tried to climb up onto the back of his Mama's.  Shriek and giggles ensued.

Carl got hammock time with his dad after all the water sports were over.  

Here's hoping for a restorative week ahead.  I have two trainer sessions (Tuesday and Thursday) and my second bi-valent Covid-19 booster (Wednesday) scheduled.  That's also part of laying low today, saving up health and energy for anticipated side effects.

Remember to take care of yourselves, and listen to your own needs, not just what you've been invited to do.

 

Catching up on Memorial Day

 My big revelation for Friday, May 26, 2023 is that barbed wire was invented the same year Nebraska became a state!  Learned from Chrono.  

I find this game amusing and play it once a day.  Then I take a medium term memory test and play the same game on a different device, and if I learned from earlier play, I should be able to beat it again, quicker!  But, of course, I don't always remember everything.

On Thursday afternoon I went to visit my sister, the one with whom I swap kitty care.  She is also the sister who has adopted the family iris raising hobby.  She has taken pains to try to re-create a garden with the hybrids that our paternal grandparents created and nurtured.

She has added a few varieties over the years, and some of them have become favorites of mine, so going over to see them is a treat.

We took a "proof we were together" selfie, as the two of us only do this a couple of times a year!

Suddenly, I found myself at Sunday... whatever happened to Saturday?  To be honest, it got consumed by a trip to the grocery store and a binge-streaming of Yellowstone season 5 (I'm guessing this is the first half) that showed up on Peacock this week.

I made my classic Greek salad for Sunday afternoon's cookout over at my son's place.  

Meanwhile, I put the leadup to the Indianapolis 500 on in the background.  This was my dad's thing, and it was generally listened to on the radio at the end of the church picnic, car radios.  My dad was a fan of automotive sports.  His dream was that cars would be speeding by outside his grade school window at 100 miles an hour.  He told his teacher so, and this is one of the family stories that has been repeated long enough for it to be "settled fact" in the minds of at least his older children.

What?  Did it happen?  Well, not entirely.  The school building is gone, and an interstate highway runs by where it used to stand.  The speed limit in that section is 65 mph, as it's within the city limits of Omaha, Nebraska.

My contribution, ready for the feast. I left for my drive across town before the race concluded.  I lazily looked up the results on Monday, Memorial Day.  Most of the names were "new to me", although they must be good drivers to even be in that race.

It was a lovely cookout on Sunday.  Carl had been taken to a beginning agility class in the morning, and they are thinking about whether to sign him up for more.  It's expensive, like hiring a personal trainer for a dog!  Or preschool for kids.

Carl's snout is all healed up and we're waiting for the fur to regrow over the spot where the stitches were.  We'll see if the fur grows back in black or white.  We could have a "Harry Potter" look if it comes in white.

The birds all came outside in their cages.  Even Ollie, who lives with Lacey's parents came along in a travel cage.  It was my first time meeting Ollie.  Ollie likes to watch videos, but he was not into showing off his vocal skills on Sunday.

Ollie is a lineated parakeet, for those who hadn't read the long-ago blog and don't care to dig for it.  He chirped to me when we first greeted one another.

Scout and Kiwi, the cockatiels, also came out on the deck in their cage.  They were very vocal.

These two live with my son and DIL, and Carl, but they live in a room where Carl is not allowed, unless they are in a cage, of course.  I get treated to videos of them perching on the ceiling fans, or hopping about while the crack between the fridge and counter is "baffled" by a plastic glass.  I've learned a bit about birds since my son's association with his wife and her folks.

Speaking of birds... my niece in Utah is raising orphan mallards this year:  a clutch of seven!  Their mother was killed while they were quite tiny, and the ducklings were handed over to my niece and her family to raise.  They have experience with poultry, and a few years ago raised a mallard for release.  That mama mallard came back to hatch her broods on their land, including 13 ducklings last Summer.

The videos of the new babies having their first swim outdoors a week ago were precious!  I'm amazed at how fast they have grown.

The drive home from the cookout was accompanied by some welcome mist and sprinkles.  Unfortunately, on my end of town, it was evaporated almost immediately!

Monday morning I had set my alarm for 5:30 because of the cat medication schedule at my sister's house.  They expect their medication and breakfast around 6:30 a.m.

As I started my drive, I was thinking how much I love summer mornings, when it's light and the roads are not yet busy.

The kitties were happy to see me, and the one who needs the meds ate hers, obediently while the other one got plain treats.  Meds, and no food for either until the one eats her meds.  Clean out the litter box.  

Then breakfast.  Proof of life, Memorial Day.  Their mom and her friend made it 370 miles down the road, taking the scenic route through Western Nebraska.

That brings you up to date with my life.  Here's hoping all of you have been enjoying the holiday weekend (if you're in the US) and reserving a part of your consciousness to remember that this is the day we honor those who paid the ultimate price for our freedoms.

Life is good.  Keep Sparking!

A peaceful morning paddle

 For whatever reason, I was just exhausted on Wednesday.  Managed a couple of loads of laundry, and that's it.  Wednesday afternoon, kid sis waved off the weekly walk, needing some decompression time herself.  I was just as glad, as I had worked out the differences with the kayak rental place, and had a boat reserved for Thursday morning at 9.

Thursday morning, the forecast was saying the 9 a.m. hour had a 30% chance of rain, but the sun was out and bright with just a hint of clouds in the West.  So I went down to the glossy, calm lake and had a lovely solo paddle.

As usual, I parked on the other side of the lake, and walked over to the launch point, then paddled around the corner to see what I could see.  This early in the season, the algae hasn't taken over our little lake yet, but with the drought conditions the water level is low.  And at 9 a.m. and about 70℉ with just enough breeze to feel cool on the water, it was very pleasant.

I set the RunKeeper to "other" and mapped the whole activity as one, rather than trying to break it up into walk and "row".  I actually got a decent map out of it by doing so.

I tried taking a few photos, but was having "technical difficulties" with the waterproof case on the phone, so they are fuzzy.  Several folks were fishing from the shore so I was being careful to avoid tangling their lines.  One pair of kayakers were fishing from their craft.  In the end, I was generally just enjoying the paddle.

The best photo, in terms of clarity, was the lake from my parking spot, framed by the spring foliage.

Geese and ducks were bobbing about.

Gal and her canine companion.  They could have taught Carl a thing or two about riding on a kayak!

This one of the pedestrian bridge I walk over between the parking lot and the launch point was taken from a distance out on the lake.  It was about my turn around point, as I was starting to notice the precursors to blisters on my right thumb.  Early paddles in the season lead to this if I'm not careful, so I came in at about 45 minutes.  

What a peaceful start to my day!  I'll have some luncheon, and this afternoon head over for "kitty medication routine training" as starting Monday I'll be in charge of the morning shift at my sister's place.  

Life is indeed good.  Spark on!

Uneven joggers

 

Saturday afternoon I woke from my nap to a message from my nephew-in-law.  He wanted to try a first attempt at a training run.  I warned him I have not even walked over two miles in a while.  He warned me that his "best" mile used to be five minutes.  OK, so 23-year-old speed demon, out of training, meets 70-year-old overweight out of shape former triathlete.

We made it work, with intervals around the lake.  Very easy intervals.  Based on traffic and available landmarks, I'd point out something 25 yards ahead or so, and send him running on ahead to wait for me to catch up.  Must have looked a little strange to the folks we passed, one by one, but we made it work.  Walk for four minutes or more in between the jogs.

In the end, we averaged a bit under 18-minute miles.  I told him to let me know when he wants to do it again.  He messaged me to remember to stretch and hydrate.  And I feel pretty OK today (other than the air quality and allergies).

I took another nap Sunday afternoon and was feeling motivated to eat better Monday.  If I'm going to support this kid in his triathlon dreams, I'd better make sure I'm in at least enough shape to be a cheerleader!

Memorial Day cookout at son & DIL's place is set for 2 p.m. next Sunday.  

Monday I finished devouring a book:  The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid.  Just what I needed to rekindle my reading goals of 2023.  A "can't put it down" kind of a read, where you know there are twists, but you have no idea what kind.  If you are a Desantis fan of "don't say gay", this book is probably on your banned list.  

Tuesday was the usual workout with the trainer.  As I was getting in the car after my workout, to drive home, the phone rang.  Welcome to the modern age, eh?  I saw it was my elder sister, and since I've been expecting her to check in about kitty care (she and a teacher friend are heading out on a decompression trip soon), I picked it up.

The trainer is headed to visit his son, daughter in law, and grandchildren over Memorial weekend, so I'll have a couple of days to fill in with other activities.  Working on getting a kayak rental for Thursday morning but having some technical difficulties.  I e-mailed the owner, and we'll get it worked out, I'm sure.

That's about it... making things work, a little more active, a little different sleep patterns... Summertime is almost here!

Life is good.  Spark on!

Sneezin' Season

 

May 5th.

May 13th

May 15th

May 17th.

Ah-choo!  'Nuff said.

May 19th:

Monday evening I booked my first kayak session, for Friday (opening day for my regular rental place).  I got on the phone with my kayaking partner, Gerri, and we found a time we could both go.  I'm hoping my old joints with fold and unfold appropriately for a good time on the water.  Gerri was walking around the lake while we talked, and she says the water level is low.  Hoping some rain comes along to help with that.

Tuesday was the usual trainer appointment, after which I was just wiped out and nodded off in front of the TV.  The afternoon nap is fast becoming a "thing" around here.  Tuesday the mowers came, too.

Wednesday was laundry day and sister walk.  

Thursday was another trainer day, and the bug guys came in the afternoon to treat the outside of the house/yard.  I took my allergy meds, then a nap in the afternoon, and still woke up swollen.  Air quality is not great, dues to smoke drifting down from wildfires in Canada, which is the opposite direction from where we usually get our drifting smoke!

I had a home Covid test that was going to expire this month, so even though I strongly suspected "just knew" this was allergies, I used the test.  Negative.  Have two more that are good through August, so I should be OK for the Summer, and I didn't toss that one without using it (funny how we have habits out parents learned in the Great Depression).

Kid sis signed up for an "organize your home" class at the community college in July, and I bit and signed up for it, too.  We shall see if it's meant for seniors or youngers.

Smoky air was still "hanging about" on Friday, so I was back on the allergy meds and hoping for the winds to change.  They kinda sorta did, and I made it out to paddle at 6 p.m. with my friend.  Sunlight on the water, windy at times, and very enjoyable.

Saturday morning I'm moving slow, but moving.  The arms are testifying to the different motion of paddling.  Looking forward to the next outing.

Life is good.  Spark on!