I'd like to walk 5 miles a day if I can work myself up to it, although I would prefer to do some on the treadmill and some outdoors. But the weather will have to warm up before I do that! At the gym this morning I walked a little over 50 minutes and 3.3 miles! If I can just maintain 3+ a day for a while I'll be very happy.
The huge section with all the cardio equipment has what looks like a row of treadmills that look out the wall of windows on Sunrise Blvd. I think I would like to check that out - maybe I'll be inspired by a change of scenery. The thing I hate about it is that there are big TV screens in all directions and it's darn near impossible to keep from taking a look. That makes my neck hurt, and the news makes me hurt all over, which is why I got rid of my own TV service! The sound is off and there is captioning across the screen which never keeps up with the picture. I have come to the conclusion that the news programs are a big hoax. They always have at least 3 people sitting in front of the cameras, or worse, sitting around a table, interpreting the news to the public. I don't believe they know any more about it than I do, and they are no doubt speculating about most of it! What a crock! It is interesting, though, to see how creative they can be in saying the same things over and over using different words.
At least the sun is shining today, making the temperature seem warmer than the current 41 degres, at least if you are in the direct sunlight.
I haven't painted the orange yet but it was bothering me because it was so far to one side of the canvas. So I added another orange slightly to the left of the complete one, and it looks like two oranges now. There isn't enough space for much detail, so it doesn't look like much but I hope it will look like another orange!
I have been holding on to a Tiffany style swag lamp (anyone remember those?) that was my Mom's. Ara saw it and fell in love with it, but didn't really want to keep it where she was living in Philly. Now she would like it but first I have to take it to a lighting place and have them replace the electric connections - the cord, chain, the receptacle for the bulb if necessary, etc. It's been stored in my laundry room and was filthy. I cleaned it enough to bring it into the living room, where it is sitting on a quilt on the floor. Maybe I'll get tired of seeing it there and do something about getting it updated. It is pretty - amber and yellow colors. It is extremely heavy for a lamp, and a hanging lamp at that--I would never even try to hang it on one of my flimsy ceilings. I had to lean over some boxes to lift it across and out of the laundry, My back must be in decent shape to not be killing me over that!
I don't care if it isn't even 3pm yet, I'm so hungry I could eat a bear! I'm going to cook my dinner now. I hope everyone is nearing the end of their holiday preparations. For making so few preparations it seems like I have a lot to do!
Sunday, December 18, 2016
Saturday, December 17, 2016
Colder Days are Here
It was so cold this morning I even wore my gloves, but they didn't last too long while trying to make my purchases at the farmers' mkt. I didn't buy much but did get a lot of two different kinds of potatoes, plus some kale and zucchini. I can't stand the foods that I can manage with no vegetables, and I'm not going to blend them to a pulp. The chopped kale last week worked very well in my potatoes, and I even added some to a fried egg.
From there I went to the gym where I walked 2.25 miles! That is approx. 4400 steps! Of course my step counter was all off, so I think I will just keep track of treadmill miles and let it go at that for now. I feel so much better when I hit the 2 mile mark - it is even a marked difference between 1.5 and 2 miles!
I then went to the grocery and ended up with some various soups that I can have, and a bag of dark chocolate chips. They are nice to munch on in the evenings. Feeling lucky, I decided to buy a couple of lottery tickets. I have mentioned before that when I do this, my ticket doesn't have a single winning number on it, ever, but this time I thought I would beat the odds. My good spirits are watching over me and would you believe they jammed the machine? It jammed completely with my dollar in it! I retrieved my dollar at the service counter and passed the Salvation Army bucket at the door, so the dollar went into the bucket. Much better odds of winning with the Salvation Army than with a lottery! Do you think I've learned my lesson though? Watch for my blog in about 6 months and I bet within that time I will moan about buying a ticket with no winning numbers! I am really not a gambler and probably don't spend more than $4 a year on it, if that much.
In a recent post of his, Dizzy Dick mentioned playing Mahjongg on the computer. There aren't as many games available for free for the Mac, so I bought a Mahjongg game online for $3. I played a game a few minutes ago and won, and the message printed on the screen said: "Do not gamble, for it will be your downfall." Words of wisdom, for sure!
Now that I think about it, since I downloaded and installed the game on my computer I'm having trouble with a periodic message that the link I wanted had crashed . Usually all I have to do is return to my home screen and try again, and it works. I just now am wondering if there is a connection between the game and the supposed "Crashes" I'm experiencing. I am really sick and tired of dealing with a computer, but dealing with a smart phone would be much worse so I'll try not to complain too much. I watched a local weather station last night on my computer, and one of the meteorologists had her nose stuck in her cell phone for the entire 5 min. or so I watched, and the other one was looking at his computer for info. Is this how the weather is predicted now? I think it's sad, and who wants to watch people on TV giving them information when they can't even be bothered to look at the camera?
From there I went to the gym where I walked 2.25 miles! That is approx. 4400 steps! Of course my step counter was all off, so I think I will just keep track of treadmill miles and let it go at that for now. I feel so much better when I hit the 2 mile mark - it is even a marked difference between 1.5 and 2 miles!
I then went to the grocery and ended up with some various soups that I can have, and a bag of dark chocolate chips. They are nice to munch on in the evenings. Feeling lucky, I decided to buy a couple of lottery tickets. I have mentioned before that when I do this, my ticket doesn't have a single winning number on it, ever, but this time I thought I would beat the odds. My good spirits are watching over me and would you believe they jammed the machine? It jammed completely with my dollar in it! I retrieved my dollar at the service counter and passed the Salvation Army bucket at the door, so the dollar went into the bucket. Much better odds of winning with the Salvation Army than with a lottery! Do you think I've learned my lesson though? Watch for my blog in about 6 months and I bet within that time I will moan about buying a ticket with no winning numbers! I am really not a gambler and probably don't spend more than $4 a year on it, if that much.
In a recent post of his, Dizzy Dick mentioned playing Mahjongg on the computer. There aren't as many games available for free for the Mac, so I bought a Mahjongg game online for $3. I played a game a few minutes ago and won, and the message printed on the screen said: "Do not gamble, for it will be your downfall." Words of wisdom, for sure!
Now that I think about it, since I downloaded and installed the game on my computer I'm having trouble with a periodic message that the link I wanted had crashed . Usually all I have to do is return to my home screen and try again, and it works. I just now am wondering if there is a connection between the game and the supposed "Crashes" I'm experiencing. I am really sick and tired of dealing with a computer, but dealing with a smart phone would be much worse so I'll try not to complain too much. I watched a local weather station last night on my computer, and one of the meteorologists had her nose stuck in her cell phone for the entire 5 min. or so I watched, and the other one was looking at his computer for info. Is this how the weather is predicted now? I think it's sad, and who wants to watch people on TV giving them information when they can't even be bothered to look at the camera?
Friday, December 16, 2016
Ready for the drive downtown!
I will leave in a few minutes to pick Jeannie up and take her downtown to her appointment. I was worried about the drive but decided I'm going to stay off the freeway and I'll take the road I know well.
After the horrendous rain yesterday we have had beautiful sunshine all day, but the air is chilly, and of course, my house is like a freezer!
I hope you all have a great weekend. If you're like me, you still have last minute gifts to buy (probably gift cards for a few of them). There is probably no way to avoid the holiday crowds, so I tell myself to just call up all the patience I can muster and not get upset over anything! Think it will work?
UPDATE:
I'm back and will have to say the trip over in the receding sunlight was worse than the trip back in the dark. I didn't get on a freeway, and Jeannie used a GPS app on her phone to zero us into our final destination. She is going to use this chiropractor that a lot of people she works with use and really like. The place had good vibes and I think she will like it.
I didn't bother with the step counter today as I knew within 15 minutes of putting it on that it was not accurate. I think I will focus on the steps I take on the treadmill. 1.6 miles this morning, and I'm aiming for 2 miles every day.
After the horrendous rain yesterday we have had beautiful sunshine all day, but the air is chilly, and of course, my house is like a freezer!
I hope you all have a great weekend. If you're like me, you still have last minute gifts to buy (probably gift cards for a few of them). There is probably no way to avoid the holiday crowds, so I tell myself to just call up all the patience I can muster and not get upset over anything! Think it will work?
UPDATE:
I'm back and will have to say the trip over in the receding sunlight was worse than the trip back in the dark. I didn't get on a freeway, and Jeannie used a GPS app on her phone to zero us into our final destination. She is going to use this chiropractor that a lot of people she works with use and really like. The place had good vibes and I think she will like it.
I didn't bother with the step counter today as I knew within 15 minutes of putting it on that it was not accurate. I think I will focus on the steps I take on the treadmill. 1.6 miles this morning, and I'm aiming for 2 miles every day.
Thursday, December 15, 2016
RAIN!
I can't remember the rain and wind being this heavy in Sacramento for a long time. It's the way it used to be frequently throughout the winter. This morning the winds were around 25mph but the rain was scant, so I ran a couple of loads of laundry across the street to dry them in the dryer. I'm glad I got that chore finished before the downpours began.
I had an appointment with the dentist so he could check the healing on the last work he did - the visit lasted only about 5 minutes and I was told everything looks good. I had another errand to run which was so difficult in the heavy rains, heavy enough traffic, and deep puddles of water on the sides of the roads and in low spots.
Coming back across the bridge over the American River I got a glimpse downstream and was shocked! Over the past few years a low spot in the river has stayed above the water level and even had small trees growing there. Today either the river has risen considerably, or it has washed away the trees and "island", or maybe some of both. I wonder if the water levels are just from the rain or if they are releasing water from Folsom Dam, which they do when it gets to a certain level. They also plan for snowmelt in early spring, when all that lovely snow at Lake Tahoe begins running down the mountains. I don't think there is another state quite like California, and especially the constant worries about water - too much or more likely, too little! It is the stuff of newscasts and weather reports.
I am so hungry, so what have I been doing? Sketching an orange on a small canvas to add to my collection! I did the first one in my sketchbook and checked colors to be used, then with my water color pencils I drew the fruit onto a prepared canvas. It's nice to have something to work on when the mood strikes. I'll have to say that my orange looks pretty good, but then when I start applying the paint I always lose something in the process. I'm not sure what it is, but maybe I should stick to drawing and forget the paints. I love working with a paintbrush though, and want to figure out why I can't seem to make it work as well as I hoped.
For the heck of it I will show you my initial sketch as well as what I've put on the canvas as a guide. (Click to enlarge)
Sorry they are so light. I think the paint will cover the lines of the water color pencils, but I don't want to make them too dark. I hope you can see them. I don't know what I can do about my judgement of space though. As hard as I try, and as sure I am that I am drawing in the center of the canvas, it always is more to one side than another. That's a problem with my perception, and I guess I have to make it as part of my style. But there is a part of me that wants things evenly spaced, and perfect!
Tomorrow I am driving my daughter to an appointment downtown - she is still unable to drive after her foot surgery. Imagine me, on a Friday afternoon, driving in town! The mapquest directions send me onto the Freeway 50, and then off on the Cap City Freeway for less than half a mile. I wonder if she would be upset if I drove Folsom Blvd. most of the way. I can drive on the freeway but it's when I have to merge that bothers me. I can glance to the side easy enough but when I need to look closely and be sure I can move, then my eyes are off the road longer than they should be. I'll do fine, but I fret about such things in advance!
I had an appointment with the dentist so he could check the healing on the last work he did - the visit lasted only about 5 minutes and I was told everything looks good. I had another errand to run which was so difficult in the heavy rains, heavy enough traffic, and deep puddles of water on the sides of the roads and in low spots.
Coming back across the bridge over the American River I got a glimpse downstream and was shocked! Over the past few years a low spot in the river has stayed above the water level and even had small trees growing there. Today either the river has risen considerably, or it has washed away the trees and "island", or maybe some of both. I wonder if the water levels are just from the rain or if they are releasing water from Folsom Dam, which they do when it gets to a certain level. They also plan for snowmelt in early spring, when all that lovely snow at Lake Tahoe begins running down the mountains. I don't think there is another state quite like California, and especially the constant worries about water - too much or more likely, too little! It is the stuff of newscasts and weather reports.
I am so hungry, so what have I been doing? Sketching an orange on a small canvas to add to my collection! I did the first one in my sketchbook and checked colors to be used, then with my water color pencils I drew the fruit onto a prepared canvas. It's nice to have something to work on when the mood strikes. I'll have to say that my orange looks pretty good, but then when I start applying the paint I always lose something in the process. I'm not sure what it is, but maybe I should stick to drawing and forget the paints. I love working with a paintbrush though, and want to figure out why I can't seem to make it work as well as I hoped.
For the heck of it I will show you my initial sketch as well as what I've put on the canvas as a guide. (Click to enlarge)
Sorry they are so light. I think the paint will cover the lines of the water color pencils, but I don't want to make them too dark. I hope you can see them. I don't know what I can do about my judgement of space though. As hard as I try, and as sure I am that I am drawing in the center of the canvas, it always is more to one side than another. That's a problem with my perception, and I guess I have to make it as part of my style. But there is a part of me that wants things evenly spaced, and perfect!
Tomorrow I am driving my daughter to an appointment downtown - she is still unable to drive after her foot surgery. Imagine me, on a Friday afternoon, driving in town! The mapquest directions send me onto the Freeway 50, and then off on the Cap City Freeway for less than half a mile. I wonder if she would be upset if I drove Folsom Blvd. most of the way. I can drive on the freeway but it's when I have to merge that bothers me. I can glance to the side easy enough but when I need to look closely and be sure I can move, then my eyes are off the road longer than they should be. I'll do fine, but I fret about such things in advance!
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Just a quickie
I applied the spray finish to two paintings and I'm glad I took them out on the front porch. That stuff has some strong fumes! The paintings are dry and the signatures don't seem to have been affected. I settled on signing them just Gypsy.
Traffic is the worst I've ever seen - taking my granddaughter home from our ice cream excursion was slow as the roads were packed. I didn't realize Joe was coming back with Keira to pick her up at my house, and we were sitting in the car outside his house waiting for him to return. I was glad to finally get back inside my own house and away from all the traffic and noise.
Has anyone else been inundated with spam comments from the same person? I have received the same long-winded story from the same person for several days' posts, and deleted them completely. Why do people do things like that. This one wasn't even trying to sell me something, except maybe to refer me to a good spell-caster to change my bad luck to good. I have mostly good luck and will just leave it alone!
I'm tired and will go to bed early tonight. See ya tomorrow.
Traffic is the worst I've ever seen - taking my granddaughter home from our ice cream excursion was slow as the roads were packed. I didn't realize Joe was coming back with Keira to pick her up at my house, and we were sitting in the car outside his house waiting for him to return. I was glad to finally get back inside my own house and away from all the traffic and noise.
Has anyone else been inundated with spam comments from the same person? I have received the same long-winded story from the same person for several days' posts, and deleted them completely. Why do people do things like that. This one wasn't even trying to sell me something, except maybe to refer me to a good spell-caster to change my bad luck to good. I have mostly good luck and will just leave it alone!
I'm tired and will go to bed early tonight. See ya tomorrow.
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Check my Math?
I don't think my step counter has been working properly, especially when I walk on the treadmill It doesn't matter how fast I'm walking or what my stride is, each .01 of a mile is two steps; that would make it 20 steps for each .10, or 200 steps. So multiplying the 200 steps (.1 mile) times 10, would equal one mile at 2000 steps. Does this make sense? I am good at some types of math and not so good at others, and i have been counting this in my sleep and always come up with the same answer.
So today I walked 2.1 miles and the counter was barely over 1000 steps, which included what I had walked up to the time I got to the gym. I think the same thing happened yesterday as the number of steps was low and should have included walking around Michaels and Target, but I'm sure it was way low. I may be wearing the counter in the wrong spot - supposedly it should be approximately in line with the seam line in the center of your pants leg, or halfway between your middle and side. I will try for a few more days to see if I can get it to be more accurate and then what do I do. Back in the late 1990's I owned two pedometers, both gave accurate and almost identical readings. They involved counting strides, so I had to divide the total number by my stride, which was 2-1/2' at that time. It has shortened up considerably since then, but stride is not part of the equation on this counter. Why is it that as things get more technical and can give you more and more information, you still can't rely on them!
The good thing is that my legs don't ache as much today - yet.
I took my car in for an oil change this morning; I had the last change in May and had driven approx. 3000 miles between then and now. That car needs a good trip somewhere!
I want to take my granddaughter Alyssa out one afternoon this week when she gets off school - maybe wander through the dollar store and stop for ice cream. We are both the oldest kids in our families, with our parents all being middles or babies, and no one except another oldest can understand the stress we bear having to be mature and give good example all the time. I want to keep track of how she is doing, although I really can offer no advice (except grin and bear it, and it will make you stronger, yada, yada, yada). She needs to vent once in a while to someone who understands.
This has been mostly a dreary looking day with a few sprinkles every now and then, but it doesn't feel quite as cold as it has lately, and will be a few degrees warmer tomorrow. Of course nothing lasts for very long and we'll be back into the upper 40's for the weekend.
I get a daily blurb from the Sierra Club, and today's offering is this quote:
"I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I spend four hours a day at least—and it is commonly more than that—sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements.
~ Henry David Thoreau"
I got a kick out of reading this - what a twit Thoreau was! Wouldn't we all love to spend 4 hours a day (at least) absolutely free from all worldly engagements. Maybe when we are sleeping (unless you're a new Mom or Dad).
A comment on my last post was about difficulties with Blogger. You should use AOL. I have been writing them for the past several years, that when I click REPLY to an email, the cursor is now sitting on the SEND button for the reply (but it isn't visible until I move it). If I remember I move the cursor away from that demented spot, but I often forget and then in the middle of typing my reply the darned thing decides to SEND. The last time I sent feedback to AOL they responded by saying they could not change that feature, but would take my other suggestions into consideration! All they would have to do is to move the options, i.e., SEND, SAVE, SPELLING, and DELETE over one space. Not being a developer I don't know exactly how to do this, but they are making the bucks to figure it out and I feel AOL is really unconcerned with customer satisfaction - unless of course, you are using your smartphone for everything. All the changes and modifications seem to be for the benefit of phone users, and I even received that excuse from one complaint I made about another issue. Sorry, we are modifying this to enable users of smart phones...... They get us hooked on the convenience of computers, email, etc., and then do what they damned please and leave us in the lurch. I sure wish I had an alternative, especially for email. I'm trying to use gmail more often but I dislike it since they reduced the working area to - you got it - to be used on phones.
I think all this walking makes me grouchy!
So today I walked 2.1 miles and the counter was barely over 1000 steps, which included what I had walked up to the time I got to the gym. I think the same thing happened yesterday as the number of steps was low and should have included walking around Michaels and Target, but I'm sure it was way low. I may be wearing the counter in the wrong spot - supposedly it should be approximately in line with the seam line in the center of your pants leg, or halfway between your middle and side. I will try for a few more days to see if I can get it to be more accurate and then what do I do. Back in the late 1990's I owned two pedometers, both gave accurate and almost identical readings. They involved counting strides, so I had to divide the total number by my stride, which was 2-1/2' at that time. It has shortened up considerably since then, but stride is not part of the equation on this counter. Why is it that as things get more technical and can give you more and more information, you still can't rely on them!
The good thing is that my legs don't ache as much today - yet.
I took my car in for an oil change this morning; I had the last change in May and had driven approx. 3000 miles between then and now. That car needs a good trip somewhere!
I want to take my granddaughter Alyssa out one afternoon this week when she gets off school - maybe wander through the dollar store and stop for ice cream. We are both the oldest kids in our families, with our parents all being middles or babies, and no one except another oldest can understand the stress we bear having to be mature and give good example all the time. I want to keep track of how she is doing, although I really can offer no advice (except grin and bear it, and it will make you stronger, yada, yada, yada). She needs to vent once in a while to someone who understands.
This has been mostly a dreary looking day with a few sprinkles every now and then, but it doesn't feel quite as cold as it has lately, and will be a few degrees warmer tomorrow. Of course nothing lasts for very long and we'll be back into the upper 40's for the weekend.
I get a daily blurb from the Sierra Club, and today's offering is this quote:
"I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I spend four hours a day at least—and it is commonly more than that—sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements.
~ Henry David Thoreau"
I got a kick out of reading this - what a twit Thoreau was! Wouldn't we all love to spend 4 hours a day (at least) absolutely free from all worldly engagements. Maybe when we are sleeping (unless you're a new Mom or Dad).
A comment on my last post was about difficulties with Blogger. You should use AOL. I have been writing them for the past several years, that when I click REPLY to an email, the cursor is now sitting on the SEND button for the reply (but it isn't visible until I move it). If I remember I move the cursor away from that demented spot, but I often forget and then in the middle of typing my reply the darned thing decides to SEND. The last time I sent feedback to AOL they responded by saying they could not change that feature, but would take my other suggestions into consideration! All they would have to do is to move the options, i.e., SEND, SAVE, SPELLING, and DELETE over one space. Not being a developer I don't know exactly how to do this, but they are making the bucks to figure it out and I feel AOL is really unconcerned with customer satisfaction - unless of course, you are using your smartphone for everything. All the changes and modifications seem to be for the benefit of phone users, and I even received that excuse from one complaint I made about another issue. Sorry, we are modifying this to enable users of smart phones...... They get us hooked on the convenience of computers, email, etc., and then do what they damned please and leave us in the lurch. I sure wish I had an alternative, especially for email. I'm trying to use gmail more often but I dislike it since they reduced the working area to - you got it - to be used on phones.
I think all this walking makes me grouchy!
Monday, December 12, 2016
Just a few errands today
I will try to keep this post short (and every time I say that I end up with a really long one!) I haven't felt like my old self today, but feel really emotional and don't even know why.
I did well at the gym - walked over 2 miles - and had no problems with the machine whatsoever. I'm so glad to know what caused it to stop abruptly yesterday, and I'll be careful to not let it happen again. With all the walking, my legs hurt.
Going to Michael's was a big waste of time although I did get the spray varnish. The can is covered in warnings in 3 languages, but it doesn't say much about how to use it. I know how to use spray products, but would like to be told about how far away from the canvas should I hold the spray and so on. I just looked the entire can over again, and it says to go to their website for instructions, which I did. I have never seen a less informative or less understandable website! Nothing there except to allow acrylic paint to dry 4 days before spraying, and I had to really hunt to find that info!
I thought Michael's wanted way too much money for simple fine line sharpies so I left my car there and walked all the way down through the shopping area to Target, which was even worse. I didn't even see the kind of sharpies I wanted in that store, so I left without buying anything. I'll find the products eventually and in the meantime I'll make do. I have been buying ball point pens at the Dollar store but I notice their quality isn't the best, nor do the pens last long at all.
I mailed my package to NY at the Post Office first thing this morning. I'm always in better frame of mind when I come out of there than when I go in. Even though the lines were longer than usual they moved quickly and the postal employees are so darn friendly it's nice to do business with them.
And with that, I'm outta here for the day.
I did well at the gym - walked over 2 miles - and had no problems with the machine whatsoever. I'm so glad to know what caused it to stop abruptly yesterday, and I'll be careful to not let it happen again. With all the walking, my legs hurt.
Going to Michael's was a big waste of time although I did get the spray varnish. The can is covered in warnings in 3 languages, but it doesn't say much about how to use it. I know how to use spray products, but would like to be told about how far away from the canvas should I hold the spray and so on. I just looked the entire can over again, and it says to go to their website for instructions, which I did. I have never seen a less informative or less understandable website! Nothing there except to allow acrylic paint to dry 4 days before spraying, and I had to really hunt to find that info!
I thought Michael's wanted way too much money for simple fine line sharpies so I left my car there and walked all the way down through the shopping area to Target, which was even worse. I didn't even see the kind of sharpies I wanted in that store, so I left without buying anything. I'll find the products eventually and in the meantime I'll make do. I have been buying ball point pens at the Dollar store but I notice their quality isn't the best, nor do the pens last long at all.
I mailed my package to NY at the Post Office first thing this morning. I'm always in better frame of mind when I come out of there than when I go in. Even though the lines were longer than usual they moved quickly and the postal employees are so darn friendly it's nice to do business with them.
And with that, I'm outta here for the day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
