Tag Archives: health

Some Semblance of a Sidewalk, Some Semblance of a Blog Post

I thought of that title while I was running this morning.  More snow had fallen in the night, but I did not want to go yet another day without at least an attempt, so I got my stuff on and off I set.

Photo taken during cool-down walk.

These are my actual footsteps.  I see that it looks more like a walk than a run, but at no time do I claim to run very fast.  I looked at the plowed road askance (I don’t think I have ever used the word “askance” in a sentence.  Cool!).  It looked wet, slushy, and potentially slippery.  Snow, on the other hand, offers a bit of traction.  Additionally, plowing through the snow takes much more effort than running on a bare road.  Extra calories burned is an excellent idea on Thanksgiving weekend.

And then it got deeper.

Some of the sidewalks had been cleared yesterday and been re-covered,  so it wasn’t too bad running.  I prefer sidewalks anyways as being safer than roads.  Sometimes.  After a while I got to some sidewalks that had not been touched since the snow started to fall.  That was a little tougher to plow through.  I saw where the road had not been plowed as thoroughly and moved out, running in shallower snow.  I kept looking for more partially cleared sidewalks.  That was when the expression “some semblance of a sidewalk” occurred to me.

It was not a long run, but I was glad I went.  I thought I would look for a couple of photo ops on my cool-down walk.  When I got to the second picture, I thought I would walk in the road.  Then a snow plow turned onto the street.  Eek!  I walked back the way I came.

I should get a plant like that.

I do like the look of a dried plant with snow on it.  Then I saw that some people still want their yard waste picked up.

Stick ’em up!

I confess to still not feeling 100% from my illness, so I do not know how much I will participate in Shop Small Saturday.  The beauty part about running the morning and then blogging about it is that I can feel that I have at least accomplished something.  I hope you are all having a delightful weekend.

 

Oh No! Not a Blogger’s Sick Day!

So I missed blogging and running Sunday and Monday then took a three mile run this morning.  I was set to do a Running Commentary Post!  I even purposefully ran by a few places I know I have pictures of in my Media Library so I could illustrate.  I felt rather awful after the run, wondered if I should have kept it to two miles, trudged my cool-down walk, and just managed to stretch before getting in the shower.  Still, this was going to be find.

After a shower and finding an outfit to put on, I fixed myself a nice egg sammich for breakfast, using Heidelberg French Peasant Bread (just to add a little local flavor to the post).  I had big plans in my head to go shopping and get stuff done after writing my blog post and  before covering the Frankfort Town Board meeting tonight.

Then after breakfast, it hit me.  For some days I have been dealing with some sore throat/coughing, which I thought was post nasal drip due to my ever present allergies.  This morning, it was suddenly much worse, with a banging, sick headache.

Only I feel like the real thing.

It’s no fair!  This is Thanksgiving week!  I am supposed to get together with my family and have fun!  Oh well, these things happen and we must make the best of them.  Perhaps it is a 24-hour Bugaboo and I will be fine tomorrow.  I am about to try the effects of a hot toddy.

Take your medicine, old lady!

This is actually from The Atomic Brain, a favorite cheesy horror movie.  She is actually drinking a cocktail, and that sour look on her face is natural.  My hot toddy features whiskey from Cooperstown Distillery, just to give another area business a shout-out.

Anyways, I wanted to post something, anything, so here it is.  As always, I thank you for tuning in.

 

More Pixley Pics

Here are a few more pictures from Pixley Falls, my Friday adventure with my sister Cheryl.  We were happy to commune with nature.

Cheryl agreed to pose a couple of times.

There were several wooden bridges, some of them not actually over streams, due to the dry weather I suppose.

Lovely!

We were happy whenever we saw water flowing.  At least when the water is down to a trickle, you can see the rocks better.  Under the heading, Make a Virtue out of Necessity.

More water, different rocks.

 

With the bright sun shining through green leaves, I could almost believe it was summer.  However, the cool temperature and lack of bugs reminded me it was October.  I did not mind the temperature and I was quite happy about the lack of bugs.

A more dramatic pose.

I should have zoomed in more on Cheryl in this shot.  She took a dramatic shot of me but has not texted it to me or shared it on Facebook, so I cannot include it in the blog.  I feel it is just as well; I am far less photogenic.

I was really happy I had forsaken housecleaning for nature walking.  Being out in the woods is good for you on so many levels.  And I am sure it makes a better blog post.

 

Walking the Blahs Away

I took a walk today, hoping to make a Pedestrian Post with Pictures.  Full disclosure:  I had a hard time getting started this morning and a hard time getting anything done.  The Monday blahs?  Could be, but what is my excuse for the rest of the week?  However, my purpose here is not to whine but to blog, so let me get on with it.

It is important to me to run or walk every day, for my mental and physical health.  Yesterday I did not walk very much but did some work out in the yard so pretended that counted.  This morning I could not convince myself to run, and it was afternoon before I finally got out and walked.  First I wrote some post cards to a few of my post card peeps.  Regular readers may recall that I like to send post cards to people who could use a pick-me-up or that I just want to say hello to. I put them in my bag along with my cell phone, my notebook (the paper spiral-bound kind) and library card (it is on a key chain) in case I ended up at the library.  I put on my Garmin and off I went.

It felt good to walk.  I saw a dog standing in front of a house and wondered if I should turn town the next street to avoid him.  Then I saw his person putting what I thought was doggy doo in the trash.  The dog was patiently waiting for him.  What a good dog! I didn’t turn.

“He was so nicely waiting for you just now,” I said to the person when I reached them.  “What a good dog!”

“He was waiting for you,” the guy said. “He wants to say hi.”

I said hi and asked if I could pet him, and did.  He was a very sweet dog.  I continued my walk, turning down Main Street.  I soon came to Herkimer Reformed Church.   That church always fascinates me, because it has a graveyard.

I may walk in and read some of the gravestones one day.

I did not pause long, because I was, after all, walking for my health.  I proceeded past Basloe Library, where I did not take a picture, and to the post office to mail my post cards.  Then I continued my walk, deciding not to end at the library after all.  I got to pet another dog, a cute little puppy.  I asked the guy walking him if I could.  He said yes, but the dog was a little skittish.  He picked him up and said, “You’re OK, Ace.”  Ace let me rub his chest a little (most dogs like it when you do that).

I took one other picture.  In an overgrown lot, I noticed some cool-looking yellow flowers.  I suppose there are apps that tell you what different flowers are, but I don’t know from apps.  Maybe I could look for a book on flowers at the library, when I finally get there.

Is it just me, or do they look a little Halloweeny?

I walked for over a half hour and was glad I went.  I see I have blathered on for quite some time in the blog post.  If you have read the whole thing, I thank you.

 

Thirty-Three Minute Thursday

I missed out on running a Two-Mile Tuesday and am not yet ready for a Three-Mile Thursday, but as I was running this morning, I realized a Thirty-Minute Thursday was within reach.  Then I decided to add another “Th” with three more minutes’ running, and felt I had a shot at a Running Commentary Blog Post.

If anybody has been paying much attention lately (I famously never do), I have not been blogging as regularly as I like to.  I like to be a daily blogger.  How I managed it before for long periods of time and keep falling short lately, I do not understand.  So it has been with my running.  I do not aim to run every day, but three to five times a week has often been doable.  Did I mention I missed a whole two weeks recently?  Oh well, these things happen.  All we can do is our best.  Or something like that.

I got a slow start this morning.  I had half a cup of coffee leftover from yesterday (waste not, want not) that I re-heated, then I made some more (I don’t have one of those fancy one-cup makers).  While it brewed, I scrolled Facebook.  A friend had posted a picture and said, “Do it anyways.”  Good advice. I commented, “OK, but I’m having more coffee first.”

Maybe it only seems steep to me.

There really isn’t much to say about the run itself.  It felt pretty good after a sluggish start.  I even ran faster at the end.  For one reason, I only wanted to go 33 minutes, not more.  I mean to start adding more spurts of faster running.  I think it’s called fartlek (teehee; I said, “fart”) or more boringly interval training.  Now, nobody needs to mansplain these to me or share helpful links. I am just going to run how I run and hope for the best.

 

Walking, Sharon, Walking, Snowball, Walking, Books, Walking…

I went for a walk instead of a run this morning so took my phone in hopes of making a Pedestrian Post with Pictures. I met with some success.

Lots of blooms!

I was interested to note a Rose of Sharon with a lot of blossoms.  Yesterday I spent some time trying to rescue my own Rose of Sharon from the encroachments of  the wild grape vine which has been taking over my lawn (there may be a good horror story there).  I noticed a few blooms but could not stop to admire them amidst my clipping and pulling.  I must spend more time waging the battle against the grape vines.  Why, oh why, could they not be grapes which could produce wine?

Another healthy bush!

A block or so later, I admired this snowball bush.  I would like one of those myself.  I love how the blossoms turn brown in the fall.  Also you can clip the white ones and put them in food coloring to make colors.

Alas, nothing I wanted to read.

I walked for a while with no more photo ops before seeing this Little Free Library on the road that is really a parking lot between Park Avenue and Church Street near the school.  I continued my walk looking more for shade than picture opportunities.  It was becoming warm, although I thought I had gotten out early enough.  I suppose I am more sensitive to the heat than some.  Back home I went into my own backyard to take a picture of my own Rose of Sharon.

I do love flowers!

I zoomed in.  I tried zooming out to show how tall the bush has gotten, but I had nothing to show perspective.  Another opportunity to miss my wonderful husband, Steve, who would have been happy to stand there looking cute.  But I do not mean to introduce a sad note.  My walks and runs are for my mental health as much as my physical well-being.  Being able to use them for blog posts is merely a welcome side effect.

 

Popping in for a Pedestrian Post

I went for a walk this morning hoping to make a Pedestrian Post with Pictures.  I was afraid it would be a little warm but felt I needed the exercise.  A nice breeze blew some of the time, and I appreciated when I could find a little shade.  I did not see any photo ops at first, then on Main Street, I saw some nice flowers in front of one of the apartment buildings.

I like the white ones that spill over.

I appreciate when people do things to brighten up the area.  A little ways down, I saw some more.

Hmm… nothing spilling over.

Then I took a picture of four pots in a row.

Waaaait a minute!

After I took the picture, I realized these were artificial.  Were the others artificial as well?  I did not go back and check.  However, a little further on, I saw some flowers that were definitely not artificial.

Perhaps not as colorful, but what are you gonna do?

I said, thank you, Mother Nature!  I continued my walk, feeling I had taken enough pictures for a decent post.  That was good, because I did not see many other flowers.  I guess I walked on the wrong streets.  Then I saw one lone poppy.

Remembering our veterans!

It looked so much like the ones the veterans hand out for donations, I had to take a picture.

I enjoyed my walk a great deal, and it felt good on my legs.  Now I have made a blog post, and that feel pretty good, too!

 

Will My Garden Grow?

Hello and welcome to another Waste Not Want Not Wednesday, the day when I use up some of the pictures I impulsively take as I go about my business.  Full disclosure:  I have not felt well all day, sorry for whining about it, but if this post is not up to par, so to speak, that is my excuse.  I know, what is my excuse the rest of the days? Never mind that, on with the post.

Isn’t that lovely?

I had to pause during one of my walks to take a picture of this flower.  I think it is some kind of lily, but I don’t know from plants.  My own garden, container and regular, has not progressed as planned this year.  However, it is only June.  I might still come up with something, maybe even something this pretty.

Now there’s something to aspire to!

This was outside the post office; I took the picture yesterday afternoon after I had mailed a letter to a sister-in-law and a bill.  It makes me feel bad for not doing my container garden yet.

Who could resist a turtle?

This was on Main Street in Herkimer.  Isn’t he cute?  I have a few frogs I could put out, again, if I manage to get my garden together.

Now I have inspired myself.  I can’t do much about my garden tonight, because I have a Town Hall meeting to cover, and my stomach is quite upset (I hope the meeting does not get too dramatic and really upset my tummy).  But tomorrow, I do not have anything on my schedule.  I can finish cleaning my deck!  I can visit a couple of greenhouses!  It will make a great blog post!

 

Another Lameheaded Blog Post

The lightheaded crap continues, but I want to make a blog post regardless.  In my favor, today is Lame Post Friday.  I can make a foolish post and it will be OK.  I know, what is my excuse the rest of the days?   My problem is I am trying to write more and having the stupidest time doing it.  So why not spend some time writing about not writing?

Likewise blog posts.

I will also point out that I am writing pre-coffee or -tea.  I am at my sister Diane’s house and am the first one out of bed.  I managed to sleep in till after six, then read a book in bed for a while, so there’s that.  Oh dear, my head is spinning in an uncomfortable fashion.  I tell myself it is nothing to worry about.  It happens and then it stops happening.  All I have to do is wait for it to stop happening.  Oh dear, now I am not writing about not writing; I am writing about my stupid head.

Apparently my brain would die.

 

Maybe I could just take my head off.  The above picture is from The Brain that Wouldn’t Die, I add, just to explain the caption.  The nice thing is, this nonsense has gotten me over 200 words.  I am going to lie back down until the spinning stops and try for a better blog post later.

 

 

Lightheaded Lawn Longings

I missed making my Tired Tuesday post and it looks as if I am having a real Wuss-out Wednesday today.  I have that light-headed thing going on.  It is not exactly a headache, although one neurologist told me it was migraine.  Well, it is tiresome to go on about my symptoms so I will stop.

Probably the best year for these.

I throw in a picture to pep things up.  This is the rhododendron in my back yard (wow, I seem to have spelled it right on the first try!) some years ago.  I don’t think it is blooming yet this year but I would need to go out back and check.  My back yard is not in such good shape these days, although I did manage to mow it once (perhaps you read my blog post about it).

And this was a good year for these flowers, whose name I have long forgotten.

I saw some leaves from this one when I mowed, and tried to avoid mowing them down.  They moved from where I first planted them. I do not know how, but I am nobody’s idea of a horticulturalist, or even much of a gardener.

I know I’ll have some daisies!

So I guess I am just sitting here with my head spinning thinking about the yard and garden I am not currently working on.  Maybe after a nice cup of tea I will feel better and do something useful.  In the meantime, at least I have made some semblance of a blog post.  Once again, I thank you for tuning in.