The Other Child by Joanne Fluke

One day, at Half Price Books, I was searching for some of the Joanne Fluke cozy mystery titles and ran across this.  I like ghost stories sometimes so I thought I would check it out.  It definitely isn't a cozy mystery.

This story contains all the usual elements of a ghost story -- an old house, a child or two, a semi-cra cra woman -- it was all there.  It is about a family that moves from the city to a small, rather unwelcoming, town to live in and renovate an old mansion.  The mansion is full of the original family's things -- furniture, silver, papers, letters, etc.  And there is a root cellar which is the root of the problems that crop up. 

And there is Christopher.

And Leslie.

And the accidents.

I am a bit sorry I read this in the summer.  It is definitely an October sort of read.  And I recommend it to anybody who likes rather predictable ghost stories.

The Pilgrimage

Definition of pilgrimage

1. 1 :  a journey of a pilgrim; especially :  one to a shrine or a sacred place
2. 2 :  the course of life on earth
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Ok, so maybe my recent "pilgrimage" wasn't as grand as this definition would have it but it is a trip we take every year around our anniversary.
   
   
   I speak of our annual trip "home" --to the city our births, the place where our youthful adventures were spent, the place we said we would never leave (until we did) -- San Antonio, Texas.
   
   
   When you say "San Antonio" the image that pops into most people's heads is the Alamo.  Rightfully so.  It is historic and there have been several movies made about it.  My favorite is the John Wayne version of my youth.  There is so much more to San Antonio, however, that most people don't really see or know of.
   
   
   San Antonio is old.  It began in 1718 by Fr. Antonio Olivares when he established Mission San Antonio de Valero which would later become the Alamo.  The Spanish explorers gave the San Antonio river its name because it was discovered on the feast of Saint Anthony of Padua, Italy.  At the time there was an Indian settlement in what is now called La Villita - the little village.  There was also a significant German influence in the building of the city but that goes largely unmentioned.  Some of the most influential families were of German descent and they began some of the biggest and longest running businesses -- Joske's Department Store and Pioneer Flour Mills (Guenther Family) come immediately to mind.
   
   
   Time has passed, the city has grown, city planners have decided to change things up and modernize, many of my childhood haunts have met their untimely demise under the wrecking ball in the name of progress -- many are now just vacant lots.  Makes perfect sense to me.  They have "modernized" our historic schools (tore them down) in the name of progress, they have taken downtown historic buildings and incorporated them into "The Mall" and stuccoed over ornate German built buildings again, to make it more modern.  Bleech. 
   
   
   So, each and every year we make the trip home and peruse what has changed, what hasn't, what we remember, what we don't.  We are tourists in our own hometown.  This time was a bit different.  It was a longer trip and we weren't in a rush.  After two days, it seemed as if we had never moved.  It was a strange feeling.  In the past, when I have left to come home, my feelings have been mixed -- one time I will be homesick, other times I can't wait to leave.  This time was different -- my heart was waving and not saying goodbye but rather -- see you next year! I am truly living in two places and it feels ok. 

In the past we have visited the places of our childhood, our former homes and schools and this time was no different except that we included some different places that had meaning to us.  Or me, mostly.   So, I will share some of these photos with you to show you some of the beauty of this old city.

San Antonio is a Catholic city.  It was founded as such and as such it remains.  Here are photos of two prominent Catholic churches in town.  The first is the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Little Flower.  My great-grandmother attended church here and was buried from here.

The gentleman in the photo, I assume a caretaker, asked if he could comb his hair before I took the photo! He was very nice.  

The next photos show St. Joseph's Catholic Church in the heart of downtown.  St. Joseph's was surrounded by a huge department store, Joske's of Texas, and at one point Joske's asked to buy the church for the property.  The offer was declined so they just built around the church and now the church is jokingly referred to as "St. Joske's".

Magnificent, aren't they?

 

Next are some photos of La Villita. La Villita was the actually beginning of the city, it was originally a small Indian community that the Spanish priests had come to convert.  In my youth, it was a pretty dicey place to roam around, it wasn't "fixed up", it was kind of scary actually.  However, over the years, probably around the time of the World's Fair in 1968, attention was paid to the salvation and preservation of this historic area and it now hosts a good number of high end restaurants and art galleries.  It is quiet and shady and just a magical place to visit.  Of course, it comes to life during Fiesta in April but on a daily basis it is just a pleasant place to visit.

The Little Church of La Villita

The next photos are just some random places downtown that have meaning to me.

The Menger Hotel of Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Rider's fame.  However, I remember it being the place we would lunch with my Aunt Linnie who worked at Joske's and the place I got my leg stuck in the table leg, cried, got hauled to the bathroom to get my face washed and when I returned they had removed my ice cream.  Not a great memory.  We almost went there for dinner one night but I was afraid of the tables.

I don't really know the name of this building but I believe it is the home of the Sol Wolfson store that my grandmother worked at when she was about 11.

Schilo's -- the best deli in the world.  It has a very ornate bar.  We used to come here when I was a child and I would have recurring dreams about that bar -- I couldn't remember where it was until I walked in as an adult and there it was -- the location of my recurring dream.  Great food.  Really, really great food.

The Tower of the Americas -- Hemisfair '68 -- I worked in the shadow of this very tall building at the San Antonio Independent School District

The Transit Tower, or the Tower Life Building, where my father spent a good deal of his early radio career.

The next photos are of the famed San Antonio Riverwalk.  When I was a child the Riverwalk was nowhere you wanted to be.  It wasn't a "walk" actually but a dirty creek than ran through town where all sorts of unsavory things could surface on a Sunday morning after a wild and woolly Saturday night.  However, again with the city planners, a decision was made to do something with the area which was a good thing -- it has been developed beautifully, is home to lots of restaurants and music venues, and it is a gorgeous, landscaped walk through downtown and they keep expanding it so it goes even farther now.  It isn't scary anymore.

Looking out over Casa Rio Mexican Restaurant

Swim little duckies -- we aren't sure about the yellow one in the flock of brown ones -- a swan maybe?

Waterfall

When I was a child growing up San Antonio had some really nice shopping downtown.  We didn't have malls and we didn't have cars so we had to take the bus downtown to shop.  We would walk up and down Commerce Street and Houston Street looking in all the little dress shops, shoe stores and dime stores.  I remember the way the Woolworth's smelled!  Ultimately we would end up at Joske's -- the biggest store in the biggest state (until we acquired Alaska!). Joske's was the Harrod's of the Southwest.  You could buy anything at Joske's.  There were two places to eat there -- The Chuckwagon which was where we went as children and The Camilla Room which we never went to because we were children.  There was a beauty salon and a bridal salon.  You could buy clothing, and fabric and shoes and saddles -- yes, indeed, you could get anything at Joske's.

See -- you can see the church spire of St. Joseph's in it's little niche created by this giant department store.

Well, Joske's survived well into my adulthood but then it went the way of so many stores being gobbled up by big conglomerates and it couldn't compete with the malls in the suburbs so it changed hands many times and finally just stood vacant for a number of years.  Another mall had been build downtown adjacent to Joske's and finally, in the last three years or so, Joske's was incorporated into that mall.  How you ask?  Well,they retained the complete facade and gutted the inside and subdivided it.  I wanted to see how that was done and if any remnants of the old building were there and I was pleasantly surprised.  Clearly the facade remains and it was cleaned up and refurbished.  It was a lovely building and they have done it justice.  The inside, of course, was different except that there were visual signs of the old store -- the windows were uncovered (I had never seen an open window in that store in all the years we went there) and looked out over the city.  The old, heavy brass doors remained with the hardware still in tact and there are huge wall sized photos of how the store was back in the day.  They look to be permanent and pay great homage to the store that was the biggest store in the biggest state.  

I was afraid it was going to be a horror story but it wasn't and I would rather see it be part of the mall and saved than go under the wrecking ball like so many other things and places have.  It is good.

Another place we visited was Woodlawn Lake.  Woodlawn Lake is situated in an area of town close to Jefferson High School -- a very historic, gorgeous high school -- and it is in the neighborhood that my mother spent her younger years in.  It is close to Little Flower and my mother's entire family lived in this area at one time or another.  We visited this area a while back and I have to say it was pretty sad.  It needed some work desperately and I would have to say that somebody took note of it and much progress has been made.  It is a lovely park now, Woodlawn Lake Park, and it is actually used.  I saw many people walking the walking paths, couples with ear buds walking to the music, moms with strollers, kids playing basketball and Egyptian geese all over the place -- google it -- odd birds with pink legs.  Anyway, this is one area that progress made sense and it looks good.

If you click on this photo and make it bigger you can see lots of history here -- Little Flower, The Transit tower, the Tower of the America's and this little lighthouse smack in the middle of the lake that has been there all my life.

 

So, that was just a brief overview of our 2017 Pilgrimage to San Antonio.  We did other things, of course, like eat at our favorite anniversary restaurant, Fujiya's, and barbecue at Bill Miller's and Mexican food at Jacala's and Teka Molino.  We drove around our old houses and schools and libraries.  My elementary school has been torn down and rebuilt.  I realize it was necessary for the education of the kiddies but the new school just doesn't have the same historic, vintage look to it and I don't think it ever will.  Standard issue modern architecture.  Nothing to write home about.  

It was a good trip -- I am already starting the sightseeing list for next year!  See you then, SA!

By Jove, I Think She's Got It!

Ok, peeps, the word on the street is that Moi is weight challenged and not in a good way.  I need to take 75 pounds of me and put it someplace else.  "Just stop eating" they say.  "Move around more"  they chide.  Not. That. Easy.

I have been on a diet since I was about 14 years old.  Ever since my Bobbi Brooks skirts went from an 8 to a 10.  I was officially fat at that point and not fond of the concept.  Plus, I had long hair and split ends.  I was a hot mess.

Solution?  The hair got cut into a cute little "bubble" style which I wish would come back INTO style because it really worked for me.  Now it is considered an "old lady's" haircut.  Blah.  I digress.  I bought a small little calorie counter at the grocery store and set about making things better.  I was crazy.  I wasn't fat.  At 20 I weighed 129 pounds.  I wasn't fat.  But my brain was -- Hahah! Crazy body image disorder.

Fast forward through life, two kids, great stress, personal loss, illness, medications, etc. and here I am needing to do something with this 75 pounds. In my mind I can see this cute little blob of fat, on a skateboard, chained to me and I have to drag it everywhere I go.  It has eyes and a sneaky little grin.  It follows me everywhere, especially the fitting room.  It is so annoying.

I am a champion calorie counter.  I don't even have to measure anymore, I can eyeball a half cup of anything.  I am not great at math but 3500 calories = 1 pound is ingrained in my brain.  Calories in/calories out was my mantra FOREVER.

For whatever reason, it isn't working right now.

I read a book called "The Obesity Epidemic" by Zoe Harcombe.  Well, I tried to read it, very technical and statistic laden, but the gist of it is that the calories in/calories out concept doesn't work.  Not all calories are the same.  3500 calories out does not necessarily mean one pound lost.  She talked about a low carb eating plan.

I am a carboholic.  I never met a cookie I didn't like.  I broke my cookie addiction a few months ago and didn't understand why I didn't just melt away like the Wicked Witch of the West.  Hmmm......could it be because I just replaced the cookies with things like crackers and pretzels?  I wonder.  Sometimes I am so dense.

So, because I can't do anything in moderation, I decided to go very low carb -- as is no carb.  The first day I ate no carbohydrate.  Felt great.  Second day, not feeling so great but did virtually the same.  I had lost three pounds (all water, I am sure, who am I kidding!) Day three I woke up and thought surely I was bound for glory.  I was shaking like I had the DT's.  I could barely hold my head up.  I was close to tears.  I had Carbo Flu.

I have enough health "issues" that I don't need to complicate my life with that.  So, after I ate some cereal and sugar laden yogurt I headed off to church to pray my way out of it.  During coffee hour I had a conversation about it with a friend of mine who is pretty nutrition savvy because of her own health issues.  As we talked a lightbulb started to slowly flicker. Calories aren't equal.  You can't live without carbohydrate.  Balance.  All words bouncing around in my head.

My friend suggested two things -- a look at the American Medical Associations suggestions on macronutrients in our diet and to look back at the dietary requirements when we were children in the 1950's and follow that.  I did both.  Note: I won't be going back to jello salads of my youth, however.

The AMA has a list of how what percentage of each macronutrient is considered acceptable and balanced -- carbs (45-65), protein (10-35) and fat (29-35).  I decided that instead of counting calories I would keep track of my macronutrients and keep it within their guidelines.  I think I have figured out that 150 calories of cookies is not going to be the same as 150 calories of brocolli or 150 calories of steak.  It just isn't.  There is this thing called food value or nutrition going on and that is more important than calories.

I know I sound incredibly stupid but blame it on my generation.  Growing up the idea was to eat less and move more if you want to lose weight.  It is called The General Principal. You have to cut down 3500 calories to lose one pound.  If you cut 500 calories a day at the end of the week you will be one pound lighter. There are a couple of reasons why it might not work -- if you cut down on food you also cut down on energy which makes moving around a little less probable and again, calories aren't equal.  You can cut out 3500 calories in cookies or you can cut out that much in real, whole food and depending on which you choose, you possibly could be cutting out necessary nutrients leaving you with just the fast sugar rush of the cookies and the eventual sugar crash which is oh so amusing.

So, I fired up MyFitnessPal on my phone and started logging in my food paying attention to the percentage of macronutrients and keeping it within the AMA suggested amounts.  I am pleased to tell you that it hasn't been difficult at all to do this, makes more sense to me actually and I haven't gained back the initial 3 pound loss but have gone on to lose 1.5 pounds more.    And I haven't been shaky or feel like my blood sugar has tanked.  All of this since last Friday.  And a side note, my step count has doubled.  Does that mean I have more energy or just more laundry requiring me to walk back and forth to the washer?  It is something to think about.

So, have I finally discovered the Holy Grail of weight loss for me?  Have I finally come upon an eating plan that will let me lose weight and keep it off.  Have I figured out a way to eat that is healthy that I can actually stay on?  I don't know.  I will let you know.  But, for now, I am celebrating my 4.5 weight loss like I have won the lottery!

A Week --

I can hardly believe that a week has passed since I was here last.  It has been a rather uneventful week -- and slow -- but I can handle slow since some of my facebook "friends" are already counting down to Christmas.  I don't really understand that but since I don't do it I guess it doesn't really matter.

Anyway, I digress.  The week started out with me having a bit of minor surgery.  As many of you know I underwent chemotherapy treatment almost four years ago.  This treatment required me to have a port installed.  Well, I never really made friends with this port -- I didn't name it or anything -- I just put up with it.  It wasn't completely dreadful but it was never really comfortable either.  So, last doctor visit, The Man, Dr. H. asked if I was ready to lose it.  I said "yes, please" but I had a pang of guilt.  I shouldn't have been so callous toward the port -- after all, it did help to save my life -- but, well, I get sappy over strange things.  So, Monday was the day.  I was elated on one hand and slightly terrified on the other.  It wasn't done in a hospital setting but right there in the doctor's office.  I was sort of anticlimactic, actually.  Nothing to write home about.  However, because of my feelings of guilt toward the port -- I brought it home.  In a jar.  It looks brand new.  Like it could be recycled.  Sometimes I am so odd.

So, anyway, I haven't experienced any ill effects from the removal except the reaction to the adhesives on the tape.  I discussed my reactions with Dr. H so he used something that I wouldn't react to.  And I didn't.  I was to remove the bandage after 48 hours.  I did.  However, I decided that I still needed to cover it so I had some gauze pads and paper tape -- good to go, right?  Wrong.  By the next morning I was reacting to the adhesive on the tape.  So, I used some old paper tape I had had for at least ten years.  Yep, still reacted so I took the whole mess off and decided to just let it go.  I am still itching and have little blistery places.  I am healing nicely and the whole area is just a little tender, not painful, but itchy.  I guess I should have followed his instructions and just uncovered it.  Next time I won't try to be so proactive.  I hope there isn't a next time.

So, the rest of the week has been mostly just resting to heal and doing a bit of housework and laundry.  I have started back on my 6 week challenge with Jenn.  While I was resting I got to thinking about what my physical needs are and mostly I need help with my mobility.  I don't move around enough and then when I try to jump into an exercise routine I fail miserable.  So, that got me to thinking about a dance class I took in college.  It was half jazz and half pilates and stretching.  It was wonderful.  Painful but wonderful.  I remember how it transformed my body and how I felt so strong.  I remember the exercises pretty well so I decided to try to do that.  Keeping in mind to be careful of my arm I set out to recreate my college experience.  Of course, I couldn't do as many reps as I did then but I am hoping to work up to it.  I have to say that after doing this for a couple of days my ankles and feet are less painful and I think that this is what I should have been doing all along.  I surprised myself that I can actually bend over and touch the floor.  I didn't think I could do that.

Yesterday I was hit with the worse case of boredom I have experienced in years and years.  I am usually not bored but yesterday nothing was interesting me.  So, I pulled out a small cross stitch project.  I made good progress on it and maybe have a renewed interest in the craft.  I used to do all manner of needlework but somewhere along the line the desire just left me but this was fun last night so maybe I can keep it going -- if I choose small enough projects.  I will post a photo of my finish when I...finish.

Today is grocery shopping.  I don't really care for any of the grocery stores right around me so I have to travel a ways to go to the one I sort of like.  I don't like grocery shopping much at all but it gets me out of the house and it gives me a reason to walk so it is beneficial in that regard.  I don't understand why we don't have more grocery stores -- it almost seems like companies don't think we need groceries anymore.  By my daughter's house they are building grocery stores on almost every corner but not in my part of town.  It is really odd.  I know that people are able to order online these days but I don't think enough people are doing that to close down bricks and mortar stores.  I don't even think I want to start shopping online.  I would never leave my house!

So, that is my week.  Not very interesting - trust me -- I know.  Maybe next week will be better.

Sunday Stealing

June 3, 2017

The Random Questions, Part 683

Welcome back to Sunday Stealing which originated on WTIT: The Blog

authored by Bud Weiser. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. You may have heard the expression, “honor among thieves”. In that age-old tradition, we try to credit the blog that we stole it from. We also provide a link to the victim's questions in our "Previous Victims" widget. (It's our way of saying "Thanks!") Sometimes we edit the original meme, to make it more relevant to our global players, to challenge our players, to select the best questions, or simply to make it less repetitive from recently asked questions from a previously post.

We found this gem from a blogger named Kontan from Kontan’s Place. She explains that she stole the questions from "Tense". But, it was probably stolen at that blog as well. So, of course, that will be as far as we go. Tracing back our theft's thieves might take some time. Please consider liking WTIT on Facebook. Click here. Or on Twitter @wtit.
 
Sunday Stealing: The Random Questions, Part 683 


1. How old do you look? About my age --
 

2. Where do you live?  Texas

3. Are you waiting for something? Yes, I am waiting to go to a doctors appointment later today

4. What’s one pet peeve of yours that is not common?  I don't have pet peeves -- I don't think

5. Do you want/have kids?  I have two kids and I wanted them.  They are all grown up now and really can't be called kids.

6. Have you ever thought about converting your religion?  No.  I started out Methodist, became Lutheran, became Episcopalian and am now Anglican.  I think that is enough conversion.

7. Last shocking news you heard?  That a relative has a terminal illness

8. What was the last thing you drank? Orange juice

9. Who do you most look like in your family?  My father

10. If you could have something right now, anything, what would it be? Somebody else to go to the grocery store for me

11. Where does most of your family live? Texas

12. Where did you grow up? San Antonio, Texas

13. Where do you want to go on vacation?  I would love to go to the Northeast, like Boston, but the reality is I am going to San Antonio -- maybe.

14. Have you ever had a panic attack?  Yes

15. What can’t you wait for? Nothing right now

16. When’s the last time you told someone you loved him or her and meant it?  Yesterday

17. Have your parents ever smoked pot? Oh good grief no. At least that I know of.

18. Want someone back in your life?  Well, I wouldn't mind having my parents back.  Every now and then I think I would like to touch base with an old boyfriend but having him back in my life?  Uh -- no.

19. What do you order at the bar?  No bar -- don't drink.

20. When was the last time you cried really, really hard?  I don't remember

21. What are your nicknames? Liss, Lissie Lou, Mom, Nona

22. What is your favorite thing to eat with peanut butter?  I don't eat peanut butter anymore

23. Where were you on July 4th, 2008?  I have no flipping clue.  Probably at home or my daughter's house.  I don't "do" the 4th of July.

24. If you could go foward in time, how far forward would you go? 5 p.m. today

25. If you could go back in time, how far back would you go? Back to the 50's again -- sounds like a song.  Although, with that said, the 60's were great -- maybe travel both decades.

Happy Birthday, Hubs!

Today I will tell my husband "Happy Birthday" for the 51st time!  That in itself is sort of amazing.  However, here is something else that is sort of amazing  --

His mother was here and able to attend his family birthday gathering.  Not many 70 year olds have their mom at their birthday party.  So, here is a lovely four generation photo -- they all look pretty perky, don't they?

We had dinner at Cousin' Bar-B-Q with Granny, our daughter and son-in-law, our daughter-in-law and three granddaughters.  Our son and grandson were at a previously committed activity.  What a great photo that would have been however.

So, Happy Birthday, Hubs!  You still haven't told me what you want as a gift. 

The Start of Summer, Debbie Macomber and my 6 Weeks to Summer Challenge

Hi, there! Did you think I had disappeared?  Nah, I never REALLY disappear-- I might get lost once in a while but I am never truly gone.  So, where  have  I been you might ponder? Well, ponder no more -- I will share my incredibly mundane existence with you.

The Hubs and I are babysitting this week.  We are at my daughter's house during the day through Friday while Mom is finishing up in her classroom.  Today was an especially good day because Bean decided the thing to do was to surprise her mother by cleaning the WHOLE house -- spotless-- and she did.  I did very little and it wasn't really the whole house but enough so that Mom was quite impressed.  She thought it was fun!  Yay!  Who am I to tell her that after about the first 35 years it gets really boring?  I will let her figure that out on her own. 

Then, I finished the first book in the Cedar Cover series by Debbie Macomber.  The title is "16 Lighthouse Road".  It was a great read.  Of course, I will have to start the second one now -- another series I am roped into -- but I think it will be ok.  I enjoyed this one even though I had seen the miniseries.  The odd thing is that when I first saw the books in the bookstore I wasn't interested.  When the miniseries aired originally, I wasn't interested.  Then I watched it on Netflix and it was really good and the books are really good so what do I know?  Don't listen to me except yes, they are a good read.

My 6 Weeks to Summer challenge has gotten a bit derailed.  I sort of ruined myself on Saturday.  We went to the zoo.  It was the hottest day of the year so far.  The heat index was 103.  I wore Tieks and decided the thing to do was to carry the cooler.  Granted, it was nylon but fully packed it was like a bunch of bricks.  I walked from the car to the ticket counter and I was done -- and we weren't parked far away.  So, for the next four hours I was in severe pain with aching feet and knees, I was exhausted from carrying the cooler and I was annoyed that I was such a disaster.  So, Sunday I couldn't move or walk, I was in so much pain, Monday was a little better -- not quite so tired but still oh so sore.  Tuesday better and am just now feeling like I can actually stand on my feet.  Note to self -- next time I head to the zoo, everybody carries his/her own lunch or we eat at the cafe.  Done.

So, yeah, summer has begun for us, the weather is warm and a bit stormy right now and I am looking forward to many days of reading and decluttering and getting back to my challenge but I am not up to exercising quite yet.  

Unconscious Mutterings -- Week 746

 

 

Here is another offering from Unconscious Mutterings hosted by LunaNina at subliminal.lunanina.com.  Check it out if you would like to play along.

 

 

 

     Week 746

7 hours, 7 minutes ago

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Corner :: store
2. Establish :: build
3. Cartoonish :: got nuthin'
4. Request :: special
5. Disappointing ::  my diet
6. Recluse ::  spider
7. Anti- ::  against
8. Jeans ::  uncomfortable
9. Ridiculous ::  almost everything
10. Soul ::  deep

TeamUnleasedFitness -- 6 Weeks to Summer Challenge -- Day 1

I have joined a group on Facebook called TeamUnleasedFitness and we are beginning a 6 weeks to summer challenge.  You choose your method of exercise and your eating plan and you are accountable for reporting in.  It began today so here are my photos and stats --

my mineral water and my pedometer-- sorry it is sideways

let's bring in the e-reader

and the pedaler

This is the most fun thing to do as far as I am concerned.  I am limited by allergies as to how much outdoor exercise I can get in so I try to do what I can indoors.  And see, I can read while I pedal and drink my mineral water and watch the cardinals out the back door!  It is a win-win.

I put my pedometer in the photo as well because I count walking as exercise, even if it just back and forth to the washing machine.  I like to know, at the end of the day, how much walking I have done. 

I do have a Garmin Vivofit fitness tracker but it irritates the skin on my arm and it isn't waterproof so I find myself taking it off and putting it back on all the time.  It is annoying.  I like the pedometer just as well.  My house is built in such a way that I can walk laps through it, each lap being 100 steps.  It works well for me to walk like this -- haha -- the washer is  on the circuit so I can do the laundry while I am walking. 

So, for my pedaling today here are my stats --

Speed -- 14.5 mph
time -- 30 minutes
distance -- 6.9 miles
calories burned -- 168.5

I will edit this later with my daily total of steps.  I can guarantee you it won't be the recommended 10,000 -- not even close -- but maybe I can challenge myself each day to do more. 

Whatever I do, I need to get out of this chair and move around for sure.  So, welcome to day 1 of my challenge.

Him or Me

Here is a new-to-me meme for Saturday.  I snitched it off of Joysweb.  It looks like fun.

 

 

 

Him or Me

Welcome to Saturday 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme! 

Saturday 9: Him or Me -- What's It Gonna Be? (1967)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) In this song, a man pleads with his girlfriend to make up her mind. Do you consider yourself decisive?  I am very decisive.  Most of the time.

Since this song is all about either/or, we're using that as our theme this Saturday ...

2) Choose a condiment: Catsup or mustard?  Mustard

3) Choose a sci-fi series: Star Wars or Star Trek?  I guess Star Wars as I have never watched Star Trek but I haven't seen all the Star Wars movies either.

4) Choose your spy: James Bond or Jason Bourne? Bond, James Bond.  Sean Connery James Bond to be specific although I do like Daniel Craig as well.

5) Choose your winter sport: Football or hockey?  Football

6) Choose your breakfast: Pancakes or waffles?  I make chocolate chip pancakes for the Bean all the time so I guess pancakes.

7) Choose your side: French fries or potato chips?  Neither.  I can eat only about three french fries and I just don't care for potato chips.

8) Choose your chore: Washing dishes or doing laundry?  Wow, this one is a toughie.  Neither?  Ok, if I had to chose one it would be laundry.

9) Choose your nextdoor neighbors: Munsters or Addams Family?  The Addams Family -- tv cast -- I like John Astin and I always like Carolyn Jones.



 

Thanks so much for joining us again at Saturday: 9. As always, feel free to come back, see who has participated and comment on their posts. In fact sometimes, if you want to read & comment on everyone's responses, you might want to check back again tomorrow. But it is not a rule. We haven’t any rules here. Join us on next Saturday for another version of Saturday: 9, "Just A Silly Meme on a Saturday!" Enjoy your weekend!

Bridging

This year I had the honor and privilege of helping my daughter with her Girl Scout Daisy troop.  This was their second year as daisies and a busy year it was! There were service projects like making dog toys for the Humane Society and collecting used eye glasses.  They learned new things like compassing while visiting a nature preserve. They studied their faith during Jubilee Year of Mercy. They laughed, they cried, they giggled, they ran, they turned cartwheels and tonight...

They bridged.

 That means they completed their second year as Daisies and tonight they became full-fledged Brownies.  In order to do this certain criteria had to be met.  They had to have an older Brownie talk to them about what it would be like next year as they start their time as Brownies.  Then, in turn, they had to talk to a younger Daisy about some of the things they did during their time as Daisy.  For the most part, we could do any sort of ceremony we wanted -- it could be simple or elaborate, indoors or outdoors, short or lengthy -- but we had to have a physical bridge. 

So, here are our girls on their bridge.

And, of course, there had to be cake.

So, our girls are growing up -- they are Brownies now! One even told us that she thought she had grown as she walked over the bridge.  I wonder which one that was?