the vine

About a month ago a vine appeared in my yard. Then two. Then three. All from Phillpe's yard. Clearly a vegetable. So I let it grow. And grow. And grow.

At first I was hoping it was free squash. Now I'm thinking they are pumpkins. No time for pumpkins to grow. Barely enough for squash if we get a frost. But the one on the patio is inches from my back porch.

Guess I should pull it, and clean up all the weeks around it, but there's flowers and little green things. I just don't have the heart. I'll let mother nature kill it.

-----Update

About two days after I posted this the vine reached the back door and in the house. I pulled it out on Friday the 5th. There was about 6 pumpkins. Most smaller than an orange. One was fairly large, maybe 6 inches. If it was even a month earlier, it might have made it. The vine had grown under the fence, and over a 6 foot tall azalea bush. The pumpkin was on top of the bush.

Everything was composted.

exploring historic hellertown

Bonnie was still recovering from our 5K yesterday so she decided not to come walking. So Lydia and I decided to go to the Saucon Rail Trail. I was there a few weeks ago, and found a nature trail, but didn't have time to explore it.

We parked at the Water Street Park, and got a great space for the Farmer's Market. Then crossed the street to the Heller Homestead. After Lyd took a couple pixs of the homestead we explored. We followed one path into a park, then into a subdivision. It looked like it might be a dead end. But then, across the field we saw a sign for the nature trail. We crossed the field, found the trail, and headed  into the woods, along side Saucon Creek.

We resurfaced at the Homestead. Then went back to the road and  the park where we picked up the Saucon Rail Trail.

The first intersection, at about 1/2 mile,  is the Grist Mill and pony bridge. When I last saw the pony bridge it had no deck. They are done with the decking and it's quite nice. We crossed the street to look at the mill and saw the path that goes around the lake. We took the trail, and went around the pond. The picture above on the far side of the pond.

Lydia really like's these kind of tourist/explore/investigate walks much better than 5Ks. I think that's why she like Volkssport walking also. And I have to admit it's fun. Sure beats a stinky gym.

We headed back to the rail trail, continued to Meadows Road, turned around and came back to the Farmer's Market. Then we shopped. The olive oil we tasted from the family farm in Tunsia was fantastic, but I didn't buy any.

On the way home, we stopped at Giant, bought some bacon (and other items. I spent $35!) and had fresh tomato sandwiches for lunch. Of course, Adonis had his walk too.

Next week we have the Camper Scamper in Horsham. A bit far, but it's a cross country 5K. Can't wait. Race starts at 9 and it will take an hour to get there, so we'll have to leave at the butt-crack of dawn. It should be fun anyway. Hope Bonnie comes along, even if she isn't racing.

corn maze

Today I took three of my host students to a corn maze. Wanted to show them some fall Americana.

I picked a place in Palmer, close to school. It was a nice maze. I had to go to the car and on the way back I said to myself "where are my girls?"

The little boy said "are they big or little"

"Big. Chinese."

"You're not Chinese, are you?"

"No."

"Are they adopted?"

"No they are borrowed." Now he was really puzzled.


I don't think they really enjoyed the maze, but they were polite. Several times they switched to Chinese. I said "I don't know Chinese, but I can recognize unhappy and whiny." Zili became a pro at the map. I think they started having a better time then. They liked the check-ins and playing with the punches.

We did the 1.25 mile trail and it took nearly 2 hours.

They might have enjoyed the hay ride too.

I think from here on in I'll stick with food activities.

morning star 5k

Today was the Morning Star Rotary 5K. I've done this for three years. In that time it started at the Steel, went to the north side and back. This year, it started at the Celtic Classic, zipped thru downtown and Sand Island.

Best part about this 5K is men in skirts. Running. Walking. Blowing Bagpipes. And throwing telephone poles. Really it doesn't get much better than this. (Well actually they don't throw poles till about 5. They were throwing rocks or hay or something.)

It was Bonnies first 5K since she was sick. She struggled. For a while I was ahead. But she caught up. I came in at 50:32, Bonnie at 50:40 and Lydia had a personal best with 55:30. With Hills. She hates hills.

Afterwards we walked around the Celtic Classic, but not much was open.

Then we came home and walked the dog.

strngth and tone = torture

There's a reason this fat girl likes walking. It doesn't hurt. Usually.

Today I went to the Strength and Tone class. Totally different than the last one. Actually my colleagues say everyone has been different.

Today they dusted off the step platforms from the 90s. I was very afraid. I tried a step class once, and lets just leave it as it didn't end well. The only class I've ever taken—before this summer—that I paid for and didn't finish.

I think this might have been worse. You used the stepper to do crunches and things. What seemed like thousands of them. I cannot do one correctly so now my neck hurts.

My knees are also screaming, but I'm not sure why.

We were supposed to take heavy hand weights, but I took two pound ones. Maybe next time I'll go to three. I'm not interested in being Mighty Mouse. I just want to be able to do the Dirty Girl Run and finish all the obstacles. Build my strength so I can open a jar of pickles.

This is a free class, so I have to do one more before I decide if I'm sticking it out till the term is over.

Speaking of Dirty Girl, here's our T-shirt. Brown with pink letters. Won't stain as badly. I'm hoping to have them done in time for the Making Strides walk in October.

MM from http://oliviaunitycollege.wordpress.com/2011/02/21/mighty-mouse/

prost!

Today Lyd and I did the Volkssport walk at Bear Creek Mountain. Volkssport is a German idea, and this was an Octoberfest celebration. So doesn't it figure that at the check-in point they'd have beer?  I've never drunk beer while walking or hiking, and I have to tell you, if you can't hold your booze, don't do it! I was a bit wobbly going down the hill.

One lady at the table said at the German Volkssport Octoberfest walks, there is beer at every checkpoint. By the finish you are quite tipsy!

I picked up fliers for walks in October and November. No flier for the one like last year in Hershey.

The course was similar to last year—difficult. The first 5K was uphill, rocky, muddy, and pretty rustic. Since we were at a ski resort, on cross country ski trails, it got me thinking about snowshoeing this winter. I know this place allows cross country skiing, but not sure if they rent snowshoes. Then, of course, we also need snow. I'm guessing they don't make snow for the trails.

The second 5K was downhill, sometimes steep.
More groomed paths, but still a nice section deep in the woods. We came out the same place as we did last year, then checked in and came home.

Of course, when we got to my place, we had to walk the dog. He was waiting patiently.

she did it!

Lydia kicked her workout up a gear today. I didn't see it coming. We were walking down Third Street and there's a place near the Steel that has a curved sidewalk and a straight one. She took the curve. Then she yells, "I can beat you". I start to powerwalk. She starts to run. She was tired, but not exhausted. She beat me.

But lets back up.

Everyone met at my house to walk, then we drove down to Union Station. Bonnie could join us for the walk if there was no hills. If we left from my house there would be a hill. I worked out a three mile route that serpentined First Street, the Steel, Third Street, and the Greenway.  Flat as you can get in South Bethlehem.

After the running episode we were walking down the Greenway for the last leg of the walk. Lyd asks about how intervals work. I said when Bonnie and I started we aid from this telephone pole to the next one. We get to the next light standard and she says, let's go. And we did. We went past the next light standard and heard Bonnie shout "how far are you going?" Lydia said "the corner".

She's been bitten by the speed bug. It's good. A change in her workout may jump start her calorie burn again. That would be good.

After we got home Bonnie and I took Adonis for a walk. Don't worry Barb, I held the leash.

Total mileage about 3.5 miles.

Tomorrow is the Bear Creek Ski Resort  Octoberfest, and Volkssport 10K.

----

The picture Bonnie took this afternoon. I went to her house to weigh myself for Prevention magazine. I also needed a full body shot in workout clothes. My weight when I finished the program was 219. Today it's 222. Sh*t. There's a possibility they might pick me.

what a day!

And it isn't over yet.
7 am -- began wash. Multiple trips up and down stairs to machines, and outside to hang wash.
8 am --  walked with ML. She's recovering from back surgery and uses a walker. We didn't go far, maybe 3/4 of a mile, but it took a while. Maybe 35-45 minutes
10 am -- walked Adonis. That's Lyds dog. He was visiting the lady in the yellow chair. (aka the roomie.) 1/2 mile, 1/2 hour
11 am -- went to Greek Food Festival for lunch. Okay, not much walking
1 pm -- 3 miles, 1 hour with Betsy in the 'burbs.
3 pm -- walked Adonis again. This time we took Sharon along too. See above.
4 pm -- wash finally dry and done.

It's 4:30-ish now. I'll be making supper and then heading off to ...

6:30 pm -- Zumba Party in Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness.

I should sleep well tonight.

By 9:30 am, Lydia will arrive to go walking. Hope Bonnie does too.

didn't think things thru, again

As everyone knows, I was in the test panel for the book Walk Your Butt Off. It was fun. I might have learned a few things.

Then about two weeks ago I got a call from the author to fact-check my information. Excuse me? Yes, I'm actually in the book at several places. With my stats and photo. Yikes! What was I thinking?

Yesterday I got a email from Prevention magazine.  They are printing an excerpting of Walk Your Butt Off in the February issue. The email had questions like: Am I still walking? Am I still doing the program? Have I maintained my weight loss? Yikes! They might want to interview me.  I need to send them my current weight and a photo in workout gear.  Hopefully that scary picture will chase them away.

But think about it. This fat girl in a national health magazine, fat. Would I make a good poster girl for walking my butt off?  I don't think so.

But think of the other ramifications—the internet ones. I have done a fairly good job of keeping my private self, private. I have FB locked down tighter than Fort Knox. I have this blog set to non-searchable. I really don't want to be found. I didn't even give them permission to post the blog address in the book.

Something like this will pull all the haters out of the woodwork. So in February, if the blog disappears, and my FB page goes down, you'll know why.

new wawa story

 sxc.hu

If I was a writer, I think I'd hang out at the Wawa, and just cull stories all day. It would make a great situation comedy.

I don't know what time Ft. Hill Elementary starts, but it must be around 9:30. Little boy, maybe first grade, wearing his backpack. Clearly he was with mom andon his way to school. It might be five blocks from the Wawa.

Mom was overweight, but the boy was not. She was in line for a small coffee. Clearly she was embracing a new way to eat how she talked to the boy. He wanted chips. She said no. How about a banana? He asked for something else. She offered him a better choice. Then he wanted candy. Again no. Yet another better choice suggested.

He pouted.

"Why do you only want junk food"?

My guess. Until now she said "yes". Go mom. Don't back down.

strength and tone

 sxc.hu

Yesterday was my first time at the lunchtime Strength and Tone class. My colleague assured me that torture lady from this summer was not the instructor.  She was. The regular instructor was out.

Now it wasn't as horrible as the torture class this summer, but it was a lot of up and down. Can't we do up, then do down, and call it a day? Old fat people with bad joints are not flexible. I guarantee it.

I really liked the up, and could do most of it. I can't do a squat but she told me the demi-pliés I was doing were find. Good thing. That all the further I can go! We used weights and resistance cords.

On the contrary,  I hated the down. I can't do a push up to save my soul. Or a crunch without torturing my neck. I lay on the mat a lot.

There is a niche market out there for exercise. Exercise for dummies. Instead of having this beautifully choreographed routine that no one can do, how about teaching the moves. Show all the ways that it can be done—easy, harder, hardest—and then walk around the room to make sure everyone can do it. Correct their form so that they don't hurt themselves. Then one by one make it more difficult so by the end of the 10 or 15 weeks you can do the whole thing—well. I guess that's what personal trainers do. But I can't afford that. Nor, do I think I have the desire to spend that much time in a stinky gym.

Will I go back next week. More than likely. Trying to tick with my three strikes and your out rule.

Friday, I might go to Bath to the Zumba Party in Pink breast cancer event. I fear it will be a mob scene and I won't enjoy it, but oh well, it's for a good cause. Why Bath? The ABE ones are scheduled while I am away for the Half Marathon.

achoo!

When Bonnie got in the car on Saturday, she mentioned that on top of everything else she had a cold. That was a very important piece of information to remember BEFORE I drank from her water bottle! Com'on we've been sharing food an beverages since we could grab them from each other. Why should this time be any different.

Achooooo!

why do people run?

I have to tell you, it's painful. Never again—unless I'm being chased by a rapist or ax murderer. Every joint hurt. My breast weighed twenty pounds each and pounded in my chest. And I only ran a short distance. It was physically brutal.

Today was the iRun Pigs (get it?) 5K, 1.5 mile fun walk, and piglet run around the bases.

I saw Todd, Jeanine and the kids before the race. The boys were set to do the run. Mom and Dad the walk.

I signed too up with the runners. I ran the first two blocks or so. Ouch does that hurt. I also ran down part of the big hill. Otherwise I walked.

Coming up the hill I met Lyd's bari-buddy Stacey. We walked together awhile. Then she stopped to stretch and I continued.

Ultimately we crossed the finish line almost together. My text with my results is on the right.

Meanwhile Sharon and Lydia arrived and met up with Todd and Jeanine. The all walked together. I was waiting for them at the finish line. Along with a couple more of Lyd's bari-buddies.

 I  headed up the stadium stairs to meet them and there was thunderous applause behind me. I spun around. Here a young man did the walk with his walker. Lyd said he used his wheelchair a bit too. He crossed last but he was so proud. Dad followed him with the chair. He was greeted by Ferrous, FeFe, and some people too.

Pigs staff was taking pictures. I'm sure they'll show up on the fan page soon. No sure if any of us are in them. That's me with Barbie-Q below. She's very petite. Especially next to the other pork racers. I'm wearing the shorts I bought yesterday. They worked great. And a new hat Bonnie bought me.

i heart lighthouses

Everyone knows that. We're doing the Atlantic City Half Marathon in October so I thought, let's see if there is a lighthouse in AC. There is. The Abescon Light.  And it can be climbed...all 228 steps. photo from lighthousefriends.com till I get there to replace it.

Then I thought, wonder what is close by. I thought I remembered one in Brigantine. There is. But it's not a real lighthouse. It was created for tourist, just like Lucy the elephant.  Great photo op. No exercise. Okay, so what else is there?

Tucker's Island is about a half hour north is Tucker's Light which was decommissioned when Abescon was built.  Actually, this is a reproduction. The sea ate the original. Must have been hungry. Actually erosion has moved it 6 miles from it's original location. It's a little house-like lighthouse.

Another half-hour north is the Barnegat Light.  (217 steps). And about a half hour north of that is Sea Girt, another house-style light.

Five lighthouses in one trip? It is possible. Head out 78, take a right at the Garden Sate Pkwy and just keep on getting off exits. Not real practical with a 1/2 marathon too. Especially since each stop would add at least an hour to the trip. For me, Absecon and Brigantine are a sure-bet on Saturday. The boardwalk—if it's open—has limited appeal to me. (Something better be open. I want Fralinger's taffy!) We do need to go to the sports expo and pick up our bibs and swag. Perhaps Tucker's too? Might be tough. Our free pre-race dinner is at 6. Maybe on the way home we can go to Barnigate. But then again, we might be too tired.

Need to talk to the scoobies.

I just remembered the lighthouse challenge is that weekend. Basically you try to visit/climb every lighthouse. Be still my heart. One. Year.  I. Will. Do. This.

OMG. The lighthouse challenge site says Absecon has night climbs during the challenge. My heart is palpitating with excitement.

no more pink sneaks?

I've been noticing for awhile that my pink sneakers are shot. Just look at the bottoms. From what I read you have about 600 miles in a pair. I'm well past that I'm sure. Sadly I just bought them in February or March.

So I said to the roomie, "wanna go for a ride in the car?" Amazingly she said yes. So off we went to my favorite sneaker store New Balance. A corporate sponsor of the 3-Day, all their shoes are made in Massachusetts. That's right. We still make a couple things in America and I'm buying them.

As you've seen in many posters my sneakers are pink. A percentage of the sales go to Koman. I'm looking at the clothes and the clerk asks if I need assistance. I point down and say "Need these in a 10."

"Pink has been discontinued."

"What?"

She shows me gray. "They have plenty of pink". The thought behind the color change is that the pink gets dirty quickly. Personally I don't mind dirt, but I guess others did.

I was disappointed but I bought them. They also had a sneaker slide in the same gray, much less pink, but the insole has the Koman logo. Guess my shopping trip can go in the budget as philanthropy!

While I was browsing I found this shirt. Now if you've ever sat in one of my classes, this typeface —hobo—is on the never-use list. (Morris Fuller Benton, 1910.) It has been miss-used and abused so badly since the advent of personal computers. Clearly this is warped for effect.

I was also looking at pants. During the summer I've been wearing my regular shorts. I have yoga pants and knee length pants that I wear. However, neither of them are really practical for Zumba, or Stretch and Tone, or any type of group aerobic-like class. I need shorts. I want them tight, but not spandex. And I want pockets. I kept going back to these and leaving them. They were a bit pricey. Finally, when the clerk asked the inevitable "will there be anything else?" I said "yes". Then I asked her about how they fit. That's when she told me they have a built in panty! She said they are form fitting but not tight. They move with you, but won't stick to you. And they aren't baggy. I bought them. Both the t-shirt and the pants fit like a dream. The shorts are exactly what I wanted. You'll see them tomorrow. I'm wearing them for the Iron Pig 5K.

When we returned home I sat down at the computer to type this up. The roomie says, "if they discontinued your pink shoes, maybe you can find them on the internet." Some days she's so smart. I searched. I found. I bought. The girl who three years ago did the 3-Day in Birks, now has three pair of sneakers.

Now I just need to find out in NCC is still recycling the old ones. If worse comes to worse I can take them to the Nike store in Tannersville. They always have a bin.

walked tomorrows 5K today

Bonnie and I walked today. She's not back 100% yet and didn't sign up for the Iron Pigs 5K which is tomorrow. Yesterday I picked up the packets, and the map was inside. So we walked the route today! It took 50 minutes and we did not power walking at all.

Most of i is in the ball park, but both the run and the 5K take the hill up to the stadium. The run is also on the American Parkway.

Why is that important? I need to finish in less than 45 minutes tomorrow. I'm signed up as a runner. The walk, which Lyd and Sharon are doing, is only 1.5 miles. Seriously?  On one hand I'm glad that this is a family event—a run, a fun walk and a piglet race for the kids—but there's many people, like me, who would want to do the competitive walk.

So tomorrow for the first time I'll be run-power walk-walking hoping to be finished in time. Maybe it will be the start of something new.

Or maybe it means I'm in much better shape than I think I am. Or maybe both.

I signed up for another cross country race, it's called the Camper Scamper and it's in Horsham. A little bit of a drive, but oh well. The whole walk is in the camp ground. Hopefully the trails are a little more groomed than at the farm. It's Oct. 2.

Next week is the Volkssport Octoberfest "walk" at Bear Creek. It's more like a hike. But it's fun.

Need to do longer walks before the AC Half Marathon.


And I need to buy gum before tomorrow!

Left: This black walnut was on the road into piggie park. Look at the size! It could have been a green grapefruit. You don't see stuff like this in the gym.

got stuck in a meeting

And missed my Sculpt and Tone class at the college's gym. Hopefully next week. It's described as a full body workout. A fitness toning class that uses low weight and high repetitions to effectively sculpt and tone the body's major muscle groups.

My colleagues said today was lots of crunches. I can't do a crunch to save my soul.

3 trails, a balance beam and a couple of boy scouts

This morning the scoobies arrived for breakfast at the crack of 9, and we ate a hardy breakfast of waffles from my new waffle iron. The old one met an accidental death a few months ago.

Then I gave them three ideas for walks—the 'hood, the Palmer bike trail, or Jacobsburg. Sharon picked Palmer so off we went.

I've walked the beginning part a lot, but the end only a few times. I decided we would start at the end and work our way to the falls. (It's a U shaped trail about 6.5 miles long.) We were heading down 25th street, and suddenly there was traffic. Lot's of parked cars. We couldn't get near the park. A marathon was running thru!

Fine. We'll go to Hugh Moore. Nope, that's where the marathon was headed. Off to Plan C, the other end of the trail, the part I always walk. It had probably been 40 minutes since we left the house before we started walking.

When we arrived at Fairview park, Lydia said "swings" and pointed. I said on our way back. Sharon chose to stop and wait there. We walked to Bethlehem Township, spun around and came back to the park. Sharon was sitting under a tree waiting. (Total walk about 4 miles.)

The first apparatus we encountered in the playground was a long bar, with a handle. It kind of acted like a zip line. I think I was too tall and too heavy. I couldn't put my feet out, so I tried to put them back, and as you can see I landed on my knees. Clearly I need to work on upper body strength.

 Then we hit the swings. After swinging we went on the balance beam. It moves. I had Birks on so I took them off and held on to Lyd frequently. I had a lot of trouble getting up and down. I am not flexible anymore. As a kid I always walked on retaining walls and hopped off the edge.

Lyd did much better when it was her turn. I think it's because she's 2 decades younger! Sharon didn't try.

When we arrived back at the car, the scoobies needed the bathroom and I needed gas. We headed to the Wawa next door, and encountered some fine young men in uniform, selling overpriced popcorn. I'm a sucker for Boy Scout caramel corn.I think the same thing happened the last time I walked this trail at the beginning of the school year.

I pulled up to the pumps, and left out the scoobies. Before they left, I went to give them money to get me caramel corn, and I had no money, no credit cards, no drivers license. It was all in my backpack from yesterday. Oops. Lyd loaned me money for gas and popcorn!

Sharon finally decided on the giant box of kettle corn.

Next week Sharon and Lyd are purging another room of her house. Sunday they'll walk. Lyd picked Jacobsburg. Hopefully Bonnie will come along, or walk with me on Saturday.

south bethlehem rocks

So often I hear negative things about my side of town. Let's face it. The north side gets the lion's share of the publicity, and my guess, funding.

Today was different. South Bethlehem rocked. We showed our stuff. Hopefully people come back.

We all met at my house and walked thru Lehigh and down the Greenway to the PBS station. They were having an open house. The Steel was also the finish line for the Via Marathon. After the tour, we headed back to the Greenway for the 150 Pennsylvania Civil War Roadshow. There was a tractor trailer that folded out into a museum. The displays had excellent typography. I had my picture taken. They'll email it to me. Then I'll post it.


Outside there were a few stands, and then up on the Greenway were the reenactors. Nobody was camping, but from the doctor we learned that the "working girls" had to be examined and tested for STDs and received a paper to show their guests. Sounds modern. There was also a school teacher, a person looking for donations for the troops, and a couple others.

Then we left the 19th century, walked two blocks, and landed at Veg Fest. We spent at least an hour walking around. By that time we were really hungry. But instead of standing in line in the heat, we went to Horn's. Yes. I finally got to Horn's. It was everything I've heard—delicious and expensive.

After lunch we walked home.

We walked 3-3.5 miles in a very long four hours. Not bad for Bonnie's first trip out since getting off the DL.
 --------------

9/19--found the link for the photo at the civil war truck. Made a scrapbook but couldn't save it to my desktop. Oh well. It was fun anyway.

incompetent

Yet another post to vent. Again, I promise tomorrow we'll be back to walking.

I am really discovering how incompetent I am as a homeowner. I need to pay people to do everything. That's fine. I just don't know what people to hire, and how to pick them. So I often end up with high priced companies, rather than people who are passionate about their work.

It starts with the garage window. I broke it, but can't fix it. I bought glass, and the little metal things and a cutter. Now I need a handy person.


Now lets move to the yard. I overhauled it a few years ago it looked great. Now it looks like poop. Today I was attempting to weed—they grow super well in a drought. (Why is that?) And finally realized I just have no time to garden. Three jobs, walking, volunteering, and running a house will do that. I think I need to switch it back to a yard. But there's a huge rose bush in the middle of it. Can I move that myself? I doubt it. I'd put it in front of the garage. But before that I'll need to buy stones, how many I'm not sure, to put in front of the garage. Maybe out 12 inches. Nothing grows in that space. Then put the bush. (Or maybe not. Just looked. I think it will overtake my solar clothes drying system. Perfect where it is.) But before anything, I need to find someone to build a little wall next to the garage to close the space. It's only about a foot wide and maybe four feet high. Keep out animals, keep in children and Adonis. I had some cinder blocks stacked, but they fell over. I think a ferel cat does it. And I'd like to install the rain barrel I made last year. It's useless in the garage. Maybe I'll freecycle it next year.

Then there's some smaller plants, and the rhubarb  to move. After a few times mowing the weeds, they'll turn into really crappy grass which will match the rest of the yard.At least it will solve the overgrown week issues on the lawn area.

Two major projects. Make that three. Or four. The deck needs to be replaced. I never maintained it and boards are coming up again. I want generic Trex. Again, need a handyman. The current one was put in by my brother about 20-25 years ago and he's dead. Thank goodness the neighbor fixed the one fence. But I really should have one on the other side. They have pit bulls. I'm terrified of pits.

The biggest problem is the kitchen. There's large soft spots in the floor. In no time they will be holes. I agree with everyone who says I should gut it and start over. Better resale value. As I see it here are the major problems in the kitchen now. I'm guess this will cost $25K+. I have $15K saved.

Floor. Rip the whole thing up and the sub floor too. Marry/sister/whatever the floor supports and that should fix most of the termite damage. Level the floor. That would be an amen moment. Replace the sub floor and lay cork flooring.

Drop Ceiling. Rip it down. I think that's where the mice live.

Electric. Rip it out and redo it. Neither the kitchen lights or the back porch lights work in humidity (all summer). Back porch doesn't work in the cold either. It's getting old.

Walls. Only one is drywall. The rest are plaster on the top and nothing on the bottom. My parents pulled out the damaged wainscoting that was there and put up cheap 70s paneling.  There's nothing behind it. Drywall and insulate. What a concept.

Nothing I've listed so far is a want. It's all, I think a need.

Wants? A dishwasher. Battle dishes will then end. Maybe battle mice too?

A tile backsplash. Maybe glass. I was drooling over some in Home Depot tonight. Ask Sharon.

I want two big ceiling fan/lights. If I can't run the a/c I want to at least have air circulating. Maybe even eat at the table again. What joy. Oh how I miss my table cloths. But I live with a slob.

Dream: Rearrange the floor plan of the kitchen. Relocate the sink, stove and the fridge to actually have a working triangle. Get rid of the freezer. Get rid of the big table. I just need a small bistro table. The roomie eats over the sink or in her chair. And maybe a pantry closet.

When I had the furnace installed, I asked about it being cold downstairs and hot upstairs. He said I needed a new circulator. I think new baseboard heating units would help also. An on-demand hot water heater would be nice. But my current one is fairly new. One of the gizmos that makes the water hot upstairs without letting it run would be swell. I waste so much water in the winter waiting for it to get hot.

Since I need three sigs for a home improvement loan, and one of the three people doesn't believe in loans, the kitchen remodel won't happen. Not for a long time.  Hopefully the floor will be repaired before the hole opens up. And though I dream about cork, more than likely I'll just buy vinyl.

The other stuff will happen. Bit by bit.

the week from h-e-double toothpick

You know they old saying "what comes in two's comes in three's". This was my week. Bad karma was running amok!

So this post isn't about walking. It's about my really bad week. If you want to stop reading now, you may. Tomorrow there will be a cool (at least I hope so)  walk posted. All about veggies, public television and the civil war. Oh yeah, walking too.

Monday started with a downpour at the 10K. I came home wet and tire, parked in the garage and went about my life. Tuesday morning I couldn't find my keys anywhere. The house looks like someone broke in. Pat searched the trash. I broke the window to the garage, opened the door, and looked in the car, nothing. Finally, the car pool picked me up and I bummed  a ride to school. Weds morning I woke very early, and worked on my class. As soon as it became light, I needed to work on finding my keys.

Light arrive and the search begins again. I looked in the yard and the patio. I called Ford and found out it would take a tow, $150 and an hour to fix the problem. I returned to the car, this time with a flashlight, nothing. I contorted myself into various positions, and found 40 cents. I was about to give up and the flashlight glimmered on something. It was oval. I pulled. It was the keys. In a hole under the seat slider.

Wednesday afternoon UGI put a "safety inspection" notice on my house. We made an appointment for today. The line is fine, but it's rusty. They are going to send someone else out to check it. They might replace it. He leaves and comes back. Forgot to check your meter. He goes back down, reads the meter, and leaves. We go to Saylor's for meat. When we returned there was a message from UGI. Apparently the electronic reader outside does not match the one inside. Swell. I needed to call for an appointment to reprogram it.

Did I mention that the battery light has been on in the car all week? The battery is 6 months old.

Yikes, what else can happen?

Tuesday night Sharon was sleeping in the living room, and I worked my third job of the day in the kitchen. I heard scratching. It creeped me out. I went upstairs to work.

Today we were wrapping the meat to put in the freezer and I opened the drawer with the small knives and gizmos. MOUSE SHIT. It wasn't there Wednesday.

My friend Tracy, who's an animal rights activist, suggests humane traps. I prefer the 59 cent ones, but don't like to look at dead animals. And my brother Henry, who set and tended the traps is dead. So I had to buy the no-see ones. So tonight I went to Home Depot and bought Decon and the covered traps, as well as window stuff. They did have the humane traps. I didn't buy them. They are rodents for Pete's sake.

Saturday, after walking, maybe I can get the scoobies to help me with battle mice.

fizzy water

It's clear. I am not addicted to the sugar in soda. It's the bubbles.

Today for lunch we went to a college hill pizza joint, and I ignored the to-die-for cannoli's, and the soda and went straight for the sparkling Italian water Pellegrino.

I've had this once or twice before so I knew what it tasted like. I was a bit surprised it was still bottled in glass.

It's naturally carbonated and then they add more, plus calcium, chloride, flourine, lithium, magnesium, nitrogen, potassium, silicon, sodium and strontium.

But mostlly it's fizzy.

Which leads me to start thinking about a Soda Stream again. The price has come way down, and I could make my own fizzy water. (I've tasted the soda mixes. Yuck.) Maybe I should ask Santa.

dead last, but finished

Today was the Saucon Valley 10K, on the SV Rail Trail. It was dark and gloomy at the beginning, so I took the pix in the lot and left my camera and phone in the car. I took the iPod and put it in a zipper bag and put it in my pocket.

While waiting at the start line the skies opened up and it poured. I never noticed the race started. I didn't hear a gun, or an announcement or anything. People just started moving.

Last night I downloaded the stop watch app for the iPod. It was hard to set squeezing one finger into the zipper bag. I set it as I walked, so I might have started a little slow.

It was a rail trail. Flat, gravel and crushed stone. Normally at streets there are gates so people don't drive on them. All the gates were open and there was volunteers crossing everyone.

This was a run, but walkers were allowed if you could finish in under two hours. No support services would be available after 2 hours. I thought, no problem, right? Wrong.

I was dead last the whole race, and the longer I went the further behind I was. They had removed the cones at the turn around, I almost missed it. The second last crossing wasn't manned, and I thought shit, how slow am I going? The last crossing was unmanned and the gates were closed. I was really worried.

I finished in 1:44:something. I was going to take a pix of the iPod screen, but apparently it resets in the time it takes to walk to the car. Officially I'll be listed as DNF (did not finish) because they were giving out the awards when I came in, and nobody was at the finish line to take my tag.

Dead last but finished. Guess I should be proud that I finished, but I'm not. That is a 17 minute mile. Not good enough for the marathon.

When I got back to the car, there was a message from Lyd on my phone. She was cheering me on. I felt like the girl in the car commercial.

slate heritage trail

Lydia likes to come here for walking—she can leave Adonis with Pat. Pat loves Adonis. It's a win-win. But I feel guilty making her schlep to south Bethlehem, two times a week. And on a long holiday weekend three.

So yesterday I suggested with do the Nor-Bath trail. It's 5.5 miles one way, so I knew that wouldn't work. I needed to measure. So I went to traillink.com to get the map. Great site if you're doing rail-trails. I blew up the map and saw something in small type. Northampton has a entrance to the D&L Canal path. Cool. Northampton to Slatington is 11 miles. But I know they have markers every mile, so figuring out distance would be no problem.

I placed the link on her FB page and asked if she'd rather do that. It gave me a choice of 35 pictures. I picket the covered bridge. I didn't remember seeing that in the description. How would you take mules and a boat over a covered bridge?

So I went back to trail link to check it out. There is a Slate Historic Trail that branches off the D&L. That's the one we—Lydia, Sharon, and Lyd's friend Dawn—did. It's 3 miles long, perfect if you are training for a 10K. And it's paved.

It took us awhile. We read all the signs, climbed on the slate, and generally were pretty touristy. I now really know why they call it the slate belt! The benches on the trail were slate. The comfort stations at the lot, and the covered bridge were slate bricks. (Inside and out. Really rugged. With sliding barn style doors on the stalls. And signs carved into the slate.) Not to mention the cliffs of slate on either side of us.

It took a little longer to get to Slatington from Northampton than I thought. But it was worth the ride. We are now interested in new sections of the D&L both from Slatington and Northampton, and I really want to go further north. Maybe one day I'll finish it!

Tomorrow is the 10K. Going to try and download a stopwatch app on the iPod so I don't have to fuss with a watch. Though if it rains, I'm leaving it at home.

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Update: It's downloaded and appears to work. Looks pretty dummy proof. Perfect for me.

i get easily distracted

I take a lot of photos while walking. Things that catch my fancy. I get easily distracted.

The flag was painted on the side of the State Theatre. I took this last week. It was for a veteran's benefit concert

 This is a garden store sign, in an alley in Easton

Today, on the new section of the Greenway. Looks like a railroad office of some sort.

 Morning glories in the weeds.

The Walnut Street Pony Bridge

 Good idea, even without an ordinance

 Grist mill stone. There were three or four

 This is concete, so I'm gussing it was in the building. Too bad it cracked in half.

 Locks on the street gates to trail. Clearly the fire department has a key.

 waterfalls, clearly man made, in the Saucon Creek

 This old railroad signal on the Saucon Rail Trail is cool. Paint it multiple colors and it would be sculpture.

Barn ruins at homstead. Who built barns out of stone?