checked out the new sidewalk

Today it was 75, bright and sunny. Did I mention it's still February in Pennsylvania? I called Bonnie and asked her if she wanted to walk. She had already gone out. No excuse to use the car. Had to pick someplace in town.

Where to go? That's when I realized I need to get a life. A new sidewalk gets me excited. I put on my Birks and hit the concrete. (My feet are starting to look like moms. Gross. Arthritis in my freaking toes. Lucky me. My Birk days might be over soon.)

I went up my street to Delaware and headed towards the bridges. It was there I discovered spring bursting out all over. Including daffodils breaking grounds and blooming crocuses.


I crossed at Third and New and headed across the bridge. It's been open about a week for traffic, and a couple days for pedestrians. The other half of the bridge is now being torn down.

The first thing I noticed is the horrible tunnel is gone. That was creepy at best. What's really cool is several attempts have been made at putting art in it. I doubt if the filled it, so if it's uncovered during the next renovation, what will they find? I would have put stuff in there like a time capsule.

The next thing I noticed were these brass disks. They are embedded into the sidewalk and are a good 10 inches in diameter.  Each direction they are facing you for half the bridge. The north side ones are facing south. 

Here it is. You can see the disks in this picture. What you can't see is that the higher part of the side-rail is over the railroad tracks, not the river. Interesting. The north side end is brick to match the bricks on the Center Street hill. The southside is all concrete.

You also can't see that the stairs aren't done. These are the stairs to Sand Island. I think the ones at Second Avenue are a little further along. The landings are round.  There is also an open area in the side-rail directly facing the blast furnace. I wonder if there are going to make a little step-aside to do photography. That area is always cluttered with shutterbugs and selfie takers.

This sign was at the skateboard shop on Fourth Street. I don't know, it felt pretty much like spring, actually close to summer, today.

Miles/Steps: About 4
Bathrooms:  none used
Wildlife:       none
Weather:     Early spring!
Extra:          Lots of people out enjoying the day. I was rarely alone waiting to cross the street.

i am not in nome yet

And it really pisses me off.

February and March are the Idita-Walk and I always participate. The event has gone thru some changes the last two years, and probably not for the better.

When we started doing it there was a large group of people. As each of us arrived in"Nome" they would bring something with them. For example, David brought the bourbon. We also tracked the weather. (It's 22 with a blizzard on the way today.) And eventually the dog sled race (9 more days till the start.) David and I each picked a driver and we would email back and forth who was in front. Over the course of the five or six years, people have dropped out. I think I'm the only one left. 

And I am not motivated. Normally by this time I am at the Nome Nugget Inn waiting for the race to start in Anchorage, and arrive in Nome. Taunting the others from the warmth of the inn.  With walking around campus and just small walks in the hood, I am making painfully slow progress. Sadly, I am in first place. Only about 20 people are doing it so far. I'm guessing this virtual race will go the way of the dodo bird.

I have been doing lots of stairs. 3 flights to the parking lot, and 6 to the office every day I'm there. I have been joined in the stairwell by a few of my colleagues. Apparently, I have made the elevator uncool. If the fat girl with bad knees can do the steps, so can they. You have to love peer pressure.

I also took a couple longer short walks -- like this one to check out the new stairwell at the Fahy Bridge. The new half of the bridge is open, but the sidewalk isn't open yet. Nor any of the stairs. As soon as they are, you know I will be crossing them.

The weather has been beautiful and it kills me not to be out taking huge morning long walks. However, my workload right now doesn't allow it. A deadline ... or six ... always get in the way.  Or a trip to a meadery, but that's a story for a different day.

Today I was going to walk to my aunt's viewing, and then realized it didn't start until an hour later. Drats. No viewing or walk for me. I'm sure my students would appreciate the day off but that isn't happening. So off I go.

Hopefully, my life gets back in balance soon, and I start walking, and blogging, much more.

what's old is new again

Two years, almost to the day, I received a call from Lafayette asking me to come back. At least until they can hire a full-time person. There was one part of me the wanted to scream "go to hades, you screwed me after 16 years of service" Another voice —mama's— said "don't burn your bridges". I said yes.

It will be a huge inconvenience. I have adjusted well to my new life and it leaves time for leisure as well as walking. I eat better too because I cook my food. After saying yes, I went into full panic mode. What happens if I end up getting trapped there for another 16 years? I tend to stick in my comfort zone and resist change. I sent panic emails to Angel, and her, being an angel, just tried to calm me down. For every panic attack there was a solution.

Today was the big day. Day 1. I was feeling overwhelmed. I already had conversations about parking lot passes, and door swiping and I wanted to go screaming the other direction. I didn't.

The office is now on the 6th floor of the Alpha Building in Easton. We park on the 3rd floor of the parking deck. I see a lot of stairs for the next few weeks. They kept mentioning elevators. Like they were important for healthy, able bodied people.

 I arrived, the parking lot pass worked on the first try,  and parked on the 3rd floor, almost on the roof level. I walked up on the roof and took a picture of the Crayola building's mural. I think I've seen it before, but not sure.

Then I walked down the stairs and went to cross the street. The crosswalk was crayons!

I found the building's side door, and used that key fob. It too worked. Then I hiked up the steps to the 6th floor. Allowing two able bodied 20-somethings to pass me. The stairs are weird. From 1-2 is on case, then you walk thru a lobby, enter a door, and go up the rest. I couldn't use the key fob to get into the office. I'm swiping and nothing is happening. I see Terri at her desk and call her. It's the only number I remembered. I was swiping the call box. Not the door!

The space is clean and new. Or as new as you can get in a 150 year old building. It looks like a high end design firm. Not a campus building.

 We have a beautiful view of the college and Centre Square.  The walls are grey with accent walls in blues and reds. Every space has at least one floor to ceiling whiteboard. The carpet is patterned. ALL of the furniture is new, including the desks. It's cubical, without being cubicles. I liked being out in the bullpen. The uppity-ups, have tiny little closets with a glass door. No windows. No views of downtown. No sunlight.

And guess what? All the desks change to STANDING DESKS with a push of the button. I put mine up and left it there. I haven't stood for 6 hours in a long time. My legs were starting to get tired. I didn't have my mat. Kevin went up and down all day. Since the bathrooms are in the hall, we have to take keys to the bathroom. I almost left them in there today. That's when I noticed I didn't have my tracker on.

I walked around a bit after work. Don't think I got any serious walking in but I did walk the additional three flights up to my car. So that's nine true flights of stairs in one day.

Haven't met the new boss yet. I hear he's better than the last couple. We'll see.

Erwin welcomed me back. I said it was temporary. He snickered and said "welcome back". I think he thinks I'm staying. I'm not. They better be advertising for a new person.

saturday

I am drowning in work. No time for good walks this weekend.

The first one was the beautiful gazebo on the lawn between buildings. If you look carefully the craftsmanship isn't perfect. I'm thinking it's a class project. And a pretty on in the snow.

They remodeled the Classroom Center over the summer. Yesterday I noticed the fancy new furniture has outlets and USB ports!

One reason to go to this training is they feed you breakfast and lunch!  Then you run up and down the stairs to different classrooms just like a college kid. I met one of my old Girl Scouts at one of the sessions and walked with her to lunch. She has had numerous surgeries on her knees so we took the elevator. I think it's the first time I was ever in NCC's elevator! That included the 70s as a student.

After the meetings I met with Khwala and took her to the Johnston estate so she knew how to walk there for her internship.

Then we went over to the park so she could see the spooky house. There was a really nice view of the creek with the snow so I snapped a couple pics.

Miles/Steps:   1-ish, with lots of stairs
Bathrooms:    Have you ever been in NCC's bathroom? They range from awful to disgusting. Slightly better on weekends. I might even give it an I-2.5. (Normal days, 1.5)
Wildlife:         I heard a lot of birds, again. Deer, skunk and dog prints galore.
Weather:       High 50s, sunny. 
Extras:          Joyeux Anniversaire Khwala!

it finally snowed!!!!!

No enough to get my snow shoes out, but it was wet and heavy and real snow. About 5 or 6 inches I think. We even had a snow day from school, which was great because I was on deadline for a work project.

After shoveling out the front (Twice. The bun-head next door cleared of his car onto my sidewalk!), back, and garage. I probably shoveled for a good hour. I did a short walk to Ahart's for bread and milk. Really. First time ever and no French toast in sight. Just a bitchy roomie who didn't have bread. Whatever I was making for dinner required the milk.

Maybe, if we're lucky. We'll get another one.

Miles/Steps: Maybe 1-3/4 miles
Bathrooms:  none
Wildlife:       none
Weather:     Dang cold. Below freezing. And the wind chill took it down another 15 degree's.
Extra: It's amazing how many people do not shovel their walks.

a meeting and a walk

Today I had a meeting for a "service learning" project for my students. Basically a non-profit get free design work.

Today's meeting was with the people from the Johnson estate. Archibald Johnson was the first mayor of Bethlehem.  The estate is hidden, or so I thought until today. Lydia and I found the park in May of 2014, after much searching. Today was quite a different story. There was a sign at the turn, a new parking lot and even a trail sign.

The meeting was at the Archibald Johnson house. I thought there was only one. The mansion that Lydia and I found at Housenick Park. I went there and arrived with 5 minutes to spare. Nobody else was there. I called my co-teacher and left a message. Then I emailed her from my phone. Nothing. 10 minutes later some birders came.  I decided to take my cue from them and go hiking.

Sadly, the rest of the estate has fallen further into disrepair. The house is now boarded up and the shutters closed.

The stairs are closed off and crumbling. The tennis court is overgrown.

I wandered around for an hour. I was about to hit the port-o-potty when my phone rang. It was the co-teacher. "Where are you?" I'm at the estate waiting for you. "No you're not." WTF? There was another property? So I leave the park, return to Linden Street and go up Santee Mill Road to Camel's Hump and the right house. Basically, Mr Johnson owned all the property from Camels Hump (he named it) all the way to the old K-Mart.

All's well that ends well. And every meeting is better with a hike!

Miles/Steps: 4.5-5 with the dog walk
Bathrooms:  Never made it inside 
Wildlife:       I heard a lot of birds. There were a lot of birders with big scopes and SLR cameras with huge lenses. Sadly, I don't know bird calls 
Weather:     60 or so. Yeah, tomorrow we are supposed to get a foot of snow. Or none.

Extras:        The estate has their own limestone kilns. The question is why?

another trip to the garage

The part came in for the drivers seat in my car so it was back to the garage today. I have to get it done before the warranty expires in April.

If it's a garage day, it's a walk day. Once the nice weather hits and my BP stabilizes again, I can do the full 5-ish miles.

My appointment was at 8. I dropped off the car and went to Club Avenue and got the 8:10 bus. When I reached downtown I had planned to walk the rest of the way. But the bus switched it 's sign to South Bethlehem, and it was going to the Sands.

At the Sands, I hopped off the bus and walked the Greenway home. Probably close to the same distance, but no traffic, construction, or wind.

I was hoping to do the reverse going back, but they picked me up. It's nice, maybe I'll go around the block.

Miles/Steps: 1.5 +
Bathrooms:  None. 
Wildlife:       None. Not even a freaking squirrel. 
Weather:     Overcast. Probably in the high 30s.  Some wind.
Extras:        There is a little library box on the Greenway now, near the Lodge. It needs books. The only thing left in there is a romance novel, 2 self-help books and a hardback book about AA.

holy moly 168/100!

Until November, for about six months, I tracked my blood pressure several days a week. My goal: get my meds reduced. And it worked. He reduced the one. I told everybody, next time I went I'd get him to reduce the other one.

Right after the new year I decided I better start tracking again, if my goal to have my meds reduced was going to come true. That's when I got my first wacky reading and ultimately my own personal machine. I bought the machine and the batteries that came with it didn't work. I finally get more batteries and take my BP. High. Say what?

I repeated that process about 5 times in January. Always high. The bottom number was always 80, but the top number always. I was out of meds and something was wrong. I needed to make an appointment but I was dragging my feet. I love doctors that much.

Monday, I think, I went to the grocery store. I had to get something from a bottom shelf and felt light headed. Shit. Now I am positive that something  is wrong. When I returned home my BP was 160/80. High, but not lightheaded high. I did it again Tuesday and it was 188/80. I called the doctor. Appointment was Thursday, 10 am. Wednesday it was back down to 155/80.

Yesterday was the big day. Happy things happened. Un happy things happened. First happy thing, no co-pay. Saved $25 because my insurance deems an annual check-up a necessity. Then we go in the exam room and they weigh me—another happy thing. I lost 7 pounds since October when I was there last, Then the bad news. I am down to 5'8''! And then more bad news. She takes my BP and it is 168/100! Holy Moly! She told me not to worry, he'll take it again and she leaves.

It was nearly a half-hour of stewing and drawing until the doctor arrives. There was an emergency.  He could see I was unhappy. He didn't seem worried.  W spent time talking about other stuff. I asked him for a referral to a dermatologist so I could have the moles on my face removed (plus others). He said it would take 9 months to get in. He gave me a referral for a plastic surgeon. He wouldn't leave a dermatologist touch his face. And the wait time is a month.

I also don't have to go for a colonoscopy. I got the FIT test instead because there is no family history. The kid is in the bathroom. Basically you put a "hat" in the toilet and catch the sample, then you take the probe an stick it in the poop, put it back in the container and mail it away. No drinking slime and pooping all day.

My blood work with include Hepatitis C because us boomers partied thru the 60s and are at high risk. Talking about high risk, on the suggested things to do list was an HIV/AIDs test. Really, if I was engaging in risky behavior that was causing HIV/AIDs I would have been tested 30 years ago. And a tetanus shot. He also gave me a script for the GYN/OB. Again. And a ACI test, again.

We ran out of ways to procrastinate. It was time. He took my BP. It was 148/88. Significantly different. It was similar in the other arm. So my meds changed. I pretty much am back at Square 1, Dec. 2008. I'm starting over. And it sucks.

I have to go back for a BP check in a month, and to see him in 6 months. Here we go again.

so I'm doing this

The college's Wellness Warriors are having a challenge for February. And sitting all day at a desk is not an excuse. They've given us desk exercises!

The goal is to increase the amount of physical activity that's performed during working hours. Were suppose to take time each day to do these exercises and other movement activities (walk to the next office, don't email) will provide a multitude of health benefits—physiologically, emotionally, and intellectually.

It goes From the 6th to the 27th. I picked up the exercises on Monday.

Also starting today is the Idita-walk. I walked Adonis to celebrate.

Tomorrow is doctor day. It won't be pretty. My BP is out of control again, and running high.

shelter update

The chili was wonderful. I will never have that combo of odd ingredients again, so it's a meal that will not be replicated.

It was full that night. At least 20 women plus the volunteers. They actually had to move beds into the lobby. The gym was full.

The pot of chili filled the crock pot to the brim. It was so full that the lid almost didn't go on! The ladies liked the chili and the toppings bar. And oh my, who knew brown rice would be such a hit.  One lady took a bowl of brown rice, ate it and then came back for her chili. Note to self. Take brown rice. There was one serving left. It's in the fridge for my sister Sharon.

Above is my host student Khawla. She, a bunch of students from Ursinus, and another woman helped out.