Friday, December 10, 2010

Just Catching Up

The house is decorated for Christmas, the Christmas cards are addressed and ready to mail as soon as we put together the annual newsletter; and the shopping is done. The only other things left to do are baking cookies, wait for two packages to arrive and wrap the gifts. Not bad. I do believe I am ahead of the game this year.

Since last I posted; I have really cranked up the distance in my walking. My first big accomplishment was walking 5 miles. I was very proud of that, I still am. However, my proudest day came when I walked 8.5 miles. Not that I walk the longer distances every day, I don't. But I try to get in as many long walks as I can in a week. As long as my feet are OK I am OK to walk and the secret to happy feet for me is wool socks. I don't get blisters when I wear wool socks and good shoes.

Who can say, maybe my next milestone will be a 10 mile walk. I would really like that.

There is always hope.

 

Friday, November 5, 2010

This and That

I talked to a friend today about the high cost of my prescriptions. I told her that I am considering tapering off and quitting all of my prescriptions. She understands the temptation though she did not encourage me to do it. I know that I am far from being alone when it comes to this financial struggle. The cost of medicine just keeps going up and the amount of my co-pay keeps getting higher as the list of drugs approved on the formulary continues to shrink. Who can say what new charges will be added to the cost of my prescriptions in the new year? I was shocked when I saw the Benefit Tax added to the bill when I paid for new glasses a few months ago. Benefit Tax? PLEASE! Will there be a Wellness Tax levied against my prescriptions in 2011?

It snowed today; flurries really, it was the first snow I have seen this season.

I devoured Lee Child's latest book, Worth Dying For, it was packed with Reacher action. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes a good thriller.

It looks like we will be going to JB's for Thanksgiving. We were in Boardman last weekend and we made the decision before we came home that we would be back for the holiday. It should be fun, JB does things right.

I'll let you know tomorrow if my plan works out, I hope to walk 4 miles in the morning. I really enjoy my longer walks. I lose myself in my music and go. As I said, I'll let you know.

There is always hope.

 

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Walking With Blisters

Every time I sit down and try to compose a blog post, I draw a blank. Try as I may I can think of nothing to say. The words are just not there, the rhythm and the flow that make writing enjoyable. I have decided to put all of that aside and try to trundle on with nothing more for inspiration than my desire to create.

I walked 4 miles on the Kokosing Gap Trail yesterday. It was a perfect day for walking, the sun was shining and the temperature, though cool, was warm enough to keep me outside and moving. I broke no land speed records with my 23 min. miles but I met my goal of 4 miles and I am happy with myself. Given the time, most days I can walk anywhere from 3-5 miles with blisters on my feet being the only hindrance. I have discovered that wool socks minimize the chances of getting blisters and I am hooked them and no longer interested in any other sock. Time to order new socks mine are thread bear and giving me blisters. The only thing I know to do about blisters is to use alcohol to dry them out and tape them over with moleskin to prevent further irritation.

November. I'm not ready for it to be November. In the natural flow of things November is the beginning of the end of the year. My internal clock is still set somewhere in August. No, I am definitely not ready for November.

And there you have it. A post, albeit a little scatterbrained but a post nonetheless. Now I believe I will go douse my blisters with alcohol and then I will call it a night. I want to get in another 4 miles in the morning.

There is always hope.

 

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Living the Dream

"Living the dream, each and every day," said a man in the next isle over at the home improvement store. Hmm, I thought; living the dream. A popular phrase right now, everyone wants to live the dream. And why not? We certainly work hard enough for it, sacrifice for it; we will put almost anything on the line for the sake of the dream. Just what is this dream that every wants to live? Could be something we hope for, something ambitious and difficult to attain; perhaps it is nothing more than an idle hope that is unlikely ever to be realized, it could be something beautiful…a place or thing that we desire because it is beautiful. It could also be a person, a special someone that brings joy and hope.

What about my dream, I wondered? Do I have one, am I living my dream? Yes and yes. My dream begins with Don because that is where I begin, there can be no Betty without Don. Now I have the foundation for my dream and I can begin to build upon it. I want to express my feelings with words, I want to write and I do. I want to live in the country far away from the fumes and noise and the scary crime in the city, I do. I want peace and solitude and the luxury of knowing that we own the eight acres that our home sits on, we do. I want a home I can be proud of that is comfortable and safe, I have it. If I put these things all together I have my dream and I am living it, every single day. You can't ask for much more than that.

What about the other dreams? Peace on Earth, a fast economic recovery, jobs for the jobless, affordable healthcare for everyone the list goes on for a very long time. I think about those things daily, our service men and women, the wars we are fighting and every day I say a prayer for all the people I cannot help. I suppose that would be the ultimate dream, being able to fix those problems or at least give support where needed. Only the elected few have that kind of power, the ability to say that they are living that dream.

There is always hope.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

The Walk is In The Music

I am determined to get something done today. I say that every day and seldom accomplish more than my walk and cooking dinner. Today I will try a different approach; I will try to do a job before I walk. It will be a job that needs doing (no problem finding those) and one I can finish in a fairly short time period. There is no end to how lazy and pathetic it all sounds but the truth is I am as unmotivated as a person can get. Drat this cabin fever!

It is snowing again, Haley is happy, no school today. The forecast of 6-10" changed to 8-15" of new snow by tomorrow. That means I will be walking on my treadmill for quite a few days. The Park doesn't do a very good job of cleaning the roads these days, they stay icy, and snow covered until mother-nature helps out with thawing what the plows missed.

Enough of that. When I have the luxury of walking outside, I listen to music. My favorite companions lately have been The Great Lake Swimmers (they are fabulous), Glenn Miller, Percy Faith & His Orchestra and Medwyn Goodall. I have learned the hard way that when walking it really is all in the music. The mellow, peaceful music that I enjoy most is not to be tolerated when walking; it slows my pace and time stretches to eternity. In short, relaxing music turns walking into a punishment. I was very disappointed when I discovered this as I seem always to be searching for a clam center and music helps me find it. It has taken a while to wrap my mind around the thought that walking for exercise is not an exercise in meditation. I think I've got it now.

I feel obligated to state that I am so very thankful to God for my very small inconveniences and annoyances. These are troubled times and millions suffer here and abroad. Cabin fever breaks come spring and a healthy walk can be accomplished with a few clicks and changing the music. Snow melts and we really have no where we have to go. I am blessed.

There is always hope.

 

Monday, February 8, 2010

Frustrations of Winter

Cabin fever, that's what I have. The knowledge that hundreds of thousands if not millions of other people are suffering from the affliction does not relieve the distress. I am so tired of being cold, even in the house, and being restricted in where and when I can walk outside that I am near to pulling my hair out. If cabin fever were the biggest problem the world had to face, it would indeed be a wonderful world.

Putting the frustrations of cabin fever aside, this last 12" of snow was beautiful to look at. We are looking at a real marsh mallow world. On the realistic side, the roads when we went out yesterday were not quite as cleared as they should have been. This leads me to wonder what they will be like when we get the next 6-10" tomorrow.

If my frustrations were manifesting as energy I could be spending a very productive winter giving the house a good cleaning. Instead, I feel tired and sleepy most of the time. It is a huge chore to cook and do my walk every day; after that, I have just enough energy to shower and become a lump on the sofa. The house is a dusty mess and laundry is never done. I do vow it's enough to depress a person if one had the energy to be depressed.

As for today, the sun is shining, it is a balmy 22 F and I am thinking about walking outside. Of course, there is always the treadmill. It doesn't matter where I do it as long as I walk for 1 hour every day.

There is always hope.