This is …

my usual and customary route (as recorded in MapMyRun), the one I've been doing the RunDouble Cto5K workouts on:

It's kinda cool to see a visual representation of the run/walk intervals. I'm surprised that the actual elevations don't look as KILLER as they are when you're out there on them, though.

I usually walk a half-mile before I begin the Cto5K part, and then run the last mile home.

The best-laid plans

I had every intention of walking yesterday afternoon when I left the garden center. EVERY INTENTION. All I had to do immediately after work was run to town to pick up eggs, a short trip that wasn't going to take more than 15 additional minutes out of the day.

If you look over there in the righthand sidebar, you'll see the Daily Mile widget says 296 miles. I SO wanted to flip it up to 300 yesterday, which would have meant hitting 300 miles on the 100th day of the year.

Obviously, it didn't happen. It doesn't mean I didn't get a good workout in. But helping to unload more than 400 plants from a delivery truck doesn't exactly translate into miles.

Oh. My. Aching. Arms. Back. Glutes. Calves.

I got to work at 9 and started watering shortly thereafter. We had a few customers, and I wasn't finished watering four hours later when this giant truck pulled into the parking lot. I wasn't expecting any deliveries. Turns out he was a day early. The owner showed up at about the same time, as surprised as I was, and called the landscaping crew away from a job to come help unload.

An hour later the garden center was JAM-PACKED with new stuff. I didn't even have time to take any pictures, but I will today.

I had time as I was leaving Tiny Kroger to snap the next-door bank's time-and-temperature sign. It was 2:11 p.m. (you'll have to trust me):

My husband said when he drove by the same sign an hour or so later it was 87°. High-temperature records were shattered all over southern West Virginia and southwest Virginia yesterday afternoon.

I came home and rested for a bit, then turned some of the eggs into a frittata for dinner. With a foundation of wilted baby spinach and topped with mushrooms, tomatoes, onions and asparagus (the last two from my garden!), it was delicious. We practically inhaled it.

The best-laid plan for today is to get those four miles done, done, done. I work again this morning, but there shouldn't be any surprise delivery trucks showing up. I woke up so early today that I have plenty of time to throw a salad together before I leave for work, and all I have to do when I get home is make a taco-seasoned ground beef topping.

I marvel at you women with children and full-time jobs, managing to juggle way more balls than I do. And then I think of my daughter who has added law school to her very busy mix.

My gratitude for my simple life is boundless, endless. How lucky I am.

A first

Well, maybe not. But a first in a long, long time.

Last night we watched Argo on pay-per-view. AND I DID NOT KNIT!

That's right, folks, I finished the Irresponsible Tam a few days ago. (One of the most unflattering hats I've ever made, sorry to say. I tossed it.) And there's nothing easy on my needles at the moment, and easy knitting is required for television watching. So I simply turned out the lamp and we pretended we were in a theatre.

Our local movie place doesn't have an especially good sound system, so I'm glad it worked out that we could watch this film at home, where we could control the volume and actually hear what was going on. Lots of clandestine conversations would have been lost to both of us had we watched it at the Ritz.

You may have heard that you'll be on the edge of your seat the last 30 minutes of the film, even though you know how it ends. SO TRUE! It really was intense. Not my normal movie choice – I like comedies and romances more than thrillers – but it certainly kept me engaged. The characters were well-cast, particularly the roles played by Alan Arkin and John Goodman.

Walked outdoors yesterday afternoon, surprise, surprise. The predicted precipitation held off all day. We have powdered sugar snow on the ground now, and I don't think we'll have any significant accumulation. The weather people are absolutely intent on covering their asses this year. We've been under far too many Winter Weather Advisories that just didn't happen, sending people running to the grocery for French toast bread, milk and eggs. And beer. Heh.

Because of the cold and slippery streets, I'll be working out indoors. Not sure how I'll distract myself. I have a few things on the DVR I could watch, and more than a few books/magazines on the Nook I could read.

One thing is for sure: While I'm on that machine, I'll be wishing I was outside.

And a one, and a two, and a …

12.12.12

I'm guessing this will be the last repeating date I ever see. Unless science somehow makes it possible for me to live until the 22nd century. (OH EM GEE, what a horrible thought!)

Considering all I've been through so far, and all I've survived, it's a wonder I ever made it to the 21st. And that's a fact.

Nothing, apparently, happened at 12:12:12 a.m. on 12/12/12. Just a few more hours to go to find out about the second set of ones and twos on this magical day. I expect I'll be eating leftovers for lunch about that time. HOW EXCITING!

We had summer for dinner last night – pasta with pesto sauce, to which I added chicken sausages, sun-dried tomatoes, edamame, peppers and onions. The pesto, tomatoes and edamame came from the garden, preserved specifically for a cold and dreary day like yesterday. Summer for dinner, indeed.

I was going to title this post "Working out with Jackson" because yesterday was so cold and so dreary that I – gasp! – used the elliptical for 45 minutes instead of walking outside. And I watched part of Pollock while I ellipsed. I quit after I'd worked up quite a sweat and he figured out that dripping paint was more his style than brushing it on.

After I got cleaned up, Eleanor and I worked a little more on the doll I'm making for our youngest grandchild. I'm knitting the head; the legs, body and arms are done, so I'm definitely on the home stretch. Eleanor (Roosevelt) provided the entertainment via another film, one which chronicles her work as an ambassador to the United Nations following World War II. One scene showed her knitting.

Considering my recent denture adventures, I couldn't help being fascinated by actress Jean Stapleton's teeth. Eleanor Roosevelt had quite a toothy smile, and there must have been some capping going on to make Archie Bunker's wife's mouth so … um … big.

Good movie, though. I'm a great admirer of Mrs. Roosevelt. And of watching movies while I work out. Or knit.

September 25 - Frame

A bit of misty blue sky framed by the trees.
A foggy start to my workout today. Finished in the sun!

They're called leaves …

because you're supposed to leave 'em on the ground.

Actually I will rake them to add to the compost bin. The sadly neglected compost bin. We've been dutifully adding banana peels and coffee grounds and vegetable peelings, oh my, all summer, but there hasn't been much grass to rake or other organic matter to add to the mix. Last time I looked it resembled a witch's cauldron of black, gooey, bubbling slime.

Ick.

But a little leaf matter should help, and a lot of leaf matter will help more. I'm going to load the leaves in the wheelbarrow and run the string trimmer through them to help them break down more quickly. Not sure where I read that tip, but it's a good one.

I usually rake and bag most, if not all, of the fallen leaves, to use throughout the year, but I ran out this summer. Thus the primordial ooze.

My workout yesterday consisted of vacuuming and mopping the acre (actually it's only about .02 of an acres, but it felt like an acre. Or two.) of flooring in the house. And I didn't even clean two of the rooms. It's been getting cooler at night and the lemon and lime trees were still outdoors. I've been wanting to move them in, but like anything else on anyone's agenda, you have to start at the beginning.

I was absolutely not going to move two trees into my living room and then mop around them. Which doesn't mean I won't be mopping around them from now until next spring. But it's important to start out right.

Lemons!

The lemon has grown quite a bit since I brought it home a year ago, so I clipped some branches and lost a ripening lemon in the process. I tried to avoid the fruited limbs, but had to sacrifice one in order to be able to sit in the nearby chair. Once the fruits are all ripe I'm going to whack it back into shape. It's growing every which way right now, and the only pretty part about it is the lemons. Well, the container is nice.

A real decorating statement.

As opposed to the lime tree container, which is just a huge black plastic pot. I can't find anything I a) like and b) can afford to put the pot in, so black plastic it is! It matches the piano, I totally planned it that way.

We're going to have to get a hand truck to get them back outside next year.

I had lots of other stuff to write about today, but this is turning into a chapter. Week Two, Day Three of the Up and Running plan happens today. No rain in sight, and so far it's a perfect first day of autumn here in the Middle of Nowhere. I hope it's perfect where you are, as well.

Is it over?

I was eager to get out and do Week Two, Day Two of the Up and Running program yesterday. Eager, I tell you! The temperature was pretty darned perfect – low 60s – and the humidity was not even close to being a factor. The rain (we ended up getting about 3.25 inches altogether) was long gone. Blue skies, great weather, a previous day of rest, and a good dinner the night before. I expected to rock the workout.

AND I DID!

I wanted to go a little farther (or is it further?) just because it was a pretty day. How often do you want to extend your workout because it feels good to be moving, or it feels good to be outside? For me … not very often. Yesterday, however, it was like some fit young thang took over my body. I went twice as far as I had on Monday, extending the initial five-minute warm-up walk to nearly half an hour. Total time was just shy of an hour. I should have walked up and down the driveway to hit the 60-minute mark, but I'm trying to rein in my OCD tendencies.

Although the vernal equinox doesn't happen for two more days, I am official declaring:

SUMMER IS OVER!

Don't get me wrong. I like summer. Crops grow in summer, I spend many productive hours 'putting food by,' the sheets always get line-dried. But this summer, um, sucked. The derecho that roared through June 29 kind of sucked the life and energy and motivation out of some of us (I'm not naming names, but one of them starts with a D).

My non-productive garden is a mess, but since today is a non-workout day I have plans to finish pulling the tall weeds and to till an area to plant onions and garlic. (It's still a little early to plant, but it's a great day to plow.) And who knows, I might even go for a walk.

P.S. Welcome to all the new readers who have stopped by. I hope you'll become regulars. And welcome, too, to a new advertiser. Need coupons? They're just a click away!

Fresh from the garden. And the gym.

Seven spears of asparagus made it from the garden into our quiche for dinner, along with a couple of Egyptian onions. I'm anxious to plant some red and regular onions, but the earth is still too heavy and wet to work in. The quiche was delicious – whole wheat crust, fresh shrooms (from the market, I haven't gotten into growing my own. Yet.), Swiss cheese and cream from the cow down the road.

The gym was really crowded yesterday morning. I was following a couple of women around part of the circuit and ended up doing way more sets and reps than I usually do because they were chit-chatting more than they were working out. Oh, well, I think I'm the one who will end up benefitting from the workout.

The free-weight area also was busy. I'm very self-conscious back there. It's tucked around a corner from the main part of the gym, and I'm usually by myself. Yesterday there were three guys and another woman all working with weights and pulleys and stability balls. I managed to do 50 crunches on the ball – first time I've gotten that many done.

I have an incisional hernia from gallbladder surgery more than 20 years ago. Crunches usually make it hurt like HELL, but maybe the work I've been doing has been making that area stronger.

For cardio, instead of the treadmill I chose to ride an exercise bike, after reading Jen's post yesterday morning. I was a puddle of sweat when I got done. My perception of exercise bikes is that since you're sitting down, you're not working as hard. Of course it all depends on the amount of resistance you choose to use, and I decided to make it challenging enough to bust my theory into pieces. It wasn't the same as a spinning class, but it was much harder than the treadmill. And, I hope much more effective.

Thanks, as always, for your comments. Diandra, we made our pins with pin backs and small squares of wood, to which we decoupaged the printed designs. No machine necessary, just a willingness to get your hands sticky! It really was pretty fun.

My ginger-haired friend hit the nail on the head when she reminded me to accept others' good opinions. When I was newly sober, there was one person who really, really, REALLY didn't like me. The other 99 people in the room thought I was just fine, thankyouverymuch, but you know who I worked on, don't you? I bent over backwards trying to justify my existence to the one percent who wanted me to go away. I thought I was so done with that. Progress, not perfection.

Darn it.

Have a great St. Patrick's Day, and if you drink, have a green beer (or a Bailey's Irish Cream!) for me. Mmmm.

PizzaPizza

Friday night used to be pizza night here in the Middle of Nowhere. Because of my new schedule, I'm going to move it to Thursday. This week, however, it's tonight.

Last week I tried a 100% whole-wheat crust to which I added wheat gluten, ground flaxseed and wheat germ. It tasted good, but it was heavy, dense. And the recipe only made enough for one crust.

My old recipe ( a combo of white and wheat flours) made two crusts, one for now and one to freeze, and the frozen one always had a better texture than the fresh one. Really, I should probably just spend one morning making pizza dough and freeze lots of them. That's how organized women do it, right? REALLY, I should probably spend THIS morning making pizza dough. Hmmm. Y'all are so good to help me plan my day. Heh.

©Debora J. McNeer

Mmmm, pizza, pizza!

I broke down and bought a bag of King Arthur White Wheat Flour – at almost $1/pound, it's pretty spendy, but it will work well in my favorite crust formula. I have onions, peppers, 'shrooms and olives for toppings, along with a little bit of sausage. Add a big salad, and a Phase II South Beach dinner is served.

I had a good workout at the gym yesterday. I've been using the machines for lower body – leg press, adductors, abductors – and free weights for upper body, with the addition of a couple of the pulldown machines for back and shoulders. I joined the gym January 23 and have progressed from NO dumbbells to 15-pounders. I'm amazed at myself. I hope to walk today, weather permitting.

I'm still posting daily photos using prompts from FatMumSlim. Today's is "neighbourhood." Since FMS is in Australia, she's already posted hers, and it's a real 'hood, with houses right next to each other. I don't even think of where I live as a neighborhood. I truly live in the Middle of Nowhere, I haven't been kidding about that. I hope to be inspired when I walk today to come up with something. I guess that's the point of the prompts, right? To inspire your creativity?

And speaking of prompts, this month's theme at BlogHer is "Whether." So far I've chosen not to use the prompts. But after four solid months of daily posts, the well is beginning to run dry, despite the rain we've had lately. I feel stale and tired and repetitive. How many times do you need to read about dumbbells and pizza and the weather, oh my?

As I might have said previously, however, the prompts feel like homework. I've been out of school for decades now, and I don't need no stinkin' homework. I do need some inspiration, however, so I might just step out on that limb, take a risk, live on – gasp! – the edge. It's been a while.

BIG NEWS from the Middle of Nowhere

We have a gym! A gym, a gym, a gym. With machines. And weights. And wi-fi!

Oh, and I JOINED IT! Today. Four hours ago. I've already done my first workout, 2 sets of 10 reps on a dozen MACHINES and 20 minutes on a fancy-schmancy treadmill. Wanna know how fancy it is? I'm not making this up: JILLIAN talks to you on it! And you can travel the world with Google Maps if you want to.

I thought I'd better concentrate on not falling off, so I'll save the world travels for another day.

It's only twenty-five bucks a month, and the Grand Opening offer is if you sign up and pay for six months you get a month free, so of course I signed up and paid for six months. That'll take me to July 23, about the time the garden is exploding. I'll reassess whether I want six more months then or if I want to wait until September to re-up.

Not many people are this excited when they join a gym, but I'll tell you what: I've missed living near one for 15 years. It's still 12 miles away, but that's a helluva lot closer than none at all.

I'm planning to go three days a week, but I might go more often if I love it. So far … I love it.

Wow, what a workout. Part Two.

Modern houses, those built in the past dozen years or so, have high ceilings, reflected most noticeably in the kitchen. Oh, that vaulted cathedral ceiling in the living room looks good, but it doesn't affect you unless you have to change the bulb in the ceiling fan/light combo.

Kitchen cabinets appear to be mounted at least a couple – maybe even as many as six – inches higher from the countertop than mine were 30 years ago. And said cabinets go up and up and up.

Yesterday's workout, therefore, involved lots of stretching and climbing as we unpacked half a million (okay, 500) kitchen boxes. This woman can cook!

First I had to measure, cut and place a million square inches of shelf liner. Then it went like this: Zip open a box, retrieve the contents and put them on a counter, determine placement, grab a stepstool, lift, stretch, deposit, repeat.

Zip, retrieve, place, grab, lift, stretch, deposit, cough, hack, ouchwhat'sthatburningfeelinginmychest, repeat.

I started coughing shortly after arrival on Thursday, but figured it was just the dusty environment of the garage. Yesterday, though, it was the kind of cough you try to suppress because it hurts so. damned. badly.

Along with a sore throat.

So, um, yeah, I'm sick. At exactly the wrong moment. Here I am, trying to earn the help-someone-move star in my crown, and I can barely lift my head off the pillow.

I exaggerate. About barely lifting my head, but not about being sick. I'm armed with Zicam and Mucinex and will soldier on. We should get the bulk of it done today. I am planning to go home tomorrow. I'd love to leave this cold in Tennessee, and arrive in West Virginia all healthy and stuff, but I think I'm going to limp into my own house – the one with the cabinets that fit me – and head straight for bed.

What a workout!

Okay, so I got up yesterday at around 6 a.m. to get ready to drive to Tennessee.

Actually, that's a lie. I got up at 2 a.m., but not because that's when the alarm went off. That's when the phone, which is on my nightstand, rang. After three rings, I finally fumbled the handset off the base and sleepily said, "Hello."

I'm not one who panics when the phone rings in the middle of the night. I'm more likely to be annoyed. Especially when the woman on the other end said, in a slurred Southern drawl, "Is Eustace there?"

I'm also not one to be polite at 2 a.m. when I have to get up at 6. "No, you have the wrong number."

Before I could hang up, she said, again in that syrupy drawl, "Well, then, is Verna Lee there?" If Eustace wasn't here, I was pretty sure Verna Lee wasn't either.

I wanted to tell her to put the whiskey away, but I said, more firmly, "No m'am [oh-so-politely], you have the wrong number. And it's 2 a.m."

Click.

So then I was up for a couple hours. I went back to sleep around 4:30, got up at 6:20 and was on the road at 6:55.

Seven hours later I was at my destination.

And seven hours after that I was in a Mexican restaurant. In the interim I walked back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, a million times [okay, maybe a thousand] between a Pod and a garage. Lugging boxes. That, my friends, was the workout, which I will count as both upper- and lower-body and cardio. So there.

Helping someone move can be fun, under the right circumstances. We cranked up the music and had as good a time as one can, while lugging a thousand boxes full of someone else's stuff.

I slept poorly last night on an Aero bed (which, as portable beds go, is pretty nice), and am on my way out to get some food. The only sustenance in the house is a bottle of non-dairy, sugar-free hazelnut creamer, a jar of coffee beans [one major food group covered] and two loaves of two-day-old sourdough bread.

Don't ask.

After breakfast, today's [and tomorrow's and probably Sunday's] workout will be lugging those boxes to their respective rooms and putting things away.

So. Not the plan I planned, but the results will be worth it.