Some quetions answered

I've been wondering since I was driving through the southwest, what is the meaning of the name "Alamo".  I noticed that word or name in a lot of names, such as "Alamogordo".  I wouldn't have thought anything of it except I know "gordo" means "fat", so what is a fat alamo?  Alamo is a poplar tree, and so Alamogordo must mean fat poplar!    There were other alamo names and i wish I'd written them down.

I have been looking at topics in a forum from Dr. Bergman's clinic, and found out that I should use the juicer for vegetables and the blender for fruits, which makes a lot of sense.  The juicer gets rid of the undigestible fiber and parts of the veggies leaving 100% nutrition in the juice, whereas fruits contain phytonutrients that are best retained in the blender.  (Not sure of why that is, but it doesn't matter to me).  Certain fruits such as tangerines, grapes, etc. don't lend themselves to blending (at least in my blender), so I will throw them into the juicer for a bit of sweetness.

Dr. B. also told me how I can alleviate the backache from leaning over the counter for a long time, and that is to open a cabinet below where I'm working and raise one foot up and rest it on the edge of the cabinet floor, and switch to raise the other foot after a while.  This takes the pressure off the lumbar spine.  I would think anything a few inches high that you could rest your foot on would give the same results.  I often find  I get a backache when working in the kitchen and don't know why I never thought of this.

While on the treadmill today, which is on the 2nd level of the gym, I looked down into one of the exercise areas and was treated to a great show.  A man was using a jump rope and you could hear that thing cutting through the air.  He was fast, and added a lot of flourishes as well.  He had the attention of several guys who tried it.  I'm wondering if he's a boxer or in training to be one.  My dad used to be a boxer in his teens and early 20's, and I remember him still being able to dazzle us with his expertise.

I always loved jumping rope - it's what girls did during recess and after lunch, and on the sidewalk at home.  A few years ago I thought I would try to jump into a Double Dutch and couldn't even figure out how to enter the ropes without getting them wrapped around me.

And speaking of exercise I think I will try to sell or give away the damn elliptical I bought during a lapse of my brain.  I watched the video workout that goes along with it and realized I'll never even try all that stuff.  I don't think I can walk and chew gum at the same time!

It's been fairly cool - or I should say, not hot - this morning.  I didn't turn on the swamp cooler until about 3pm.  It is so wonderful to wake up during the night and realize I'm nearly freezing in the breeze that blows through the open windows.  I'm anticipating winter! 

By the way, the header photo is of the James River taken from the Blue Ridge Parkway.