an athletic adventure to close out the year — ice skating

 

My international students have done all kinds of crazy stuff while in America including sky diving. I offered them Christmas lights and they responded with NYC. Not in December was my reply. They came back with ice skating. 

The last time I did any kind of skating was roller skating with the teen, Angel and Darrell. I did manage not to kill myself. I thought I went ice skating around the same time with an international student down at the Steel Rink, but I can't find it so it must be a dream.

I picked them up and we went to Biryani City for lunch. They had no wait staff, so you ordered takeout, waited there, and then ate it there. I have no idea who cleaned off the table. I was in the ladies room when it occurred. The girls over-ordered as always and had huge bags of food to take back to the dorm. They got their food extra hot (4 chili's) and said it wasn't spicy enough. My mild food was burning my Pennsylvania German palette.

We went to the municipal rink on Illick's Mill Road. Pre-sales only so I ordered tickets on line. It was an experience. You can only order tickets if you live in the City proper, not Fountain Hill or the township, blah, blah. (It didn't say EVERYBODY had to live in city limits. The school is in the Township and the girls are clearly from the other side of the world.) There's even a map and my house is clearly in the acceptable area. Each time I put my address in it told me sorry Charlie, you're in Fountain Hill. Finally I clicked use the address I typed and it let me proceed. 

Public Skating was from 3-5. It did not take long for the place to fill up. We got our skates and S stood up and started walking like she still had her sneakers on. K was not quite as confident but within a few minutes was walking well as well. I stood up and was okay. walking was another story. I had to hold on to them or to the walls. It was clear I wasn't going to skate.

S went on the ice first and immediately fell. She got up and kept going. She probably fell30 times that first loop around. K fell and came back out to me. The second time they went out together and made a full loop around. K said she fell about nine times. S fell a lot less than she did the first time. I honestly think with a half-hour of coaching they be in the middle skating loops around the others. 

I dropped them at Goodwill to do some shopping. They were walking back to school. I went home not having exercised at all.

Weather:          0 C. The girls were very cold. Overcast, breezy.

no walking yet this week

It's the day after Christmas. I had a yummy dinner with my brother and his wife, her mother and sister. Other than that there was no celebration here. There hasn't been in many years, and golly I miss it. I have friends who talk about finding new traditions as their children leave the nest and how happy they are. But that doesn't apply to me. The new reality is a peace-keeping move. 

Thinking about it, actually, I guess there was a little more celebration. I took my Indian international students—a Catholic and a Muslim— to midnight mass at a church close to the school. It was a beautiful service, even if I was lost most of the time. The carol sing before the service was probably my favorite part. They had hand bells, strings, percussion, organ and the guy who sang O Holy Night knocked it out of the ball park. Most importantly K enjoyed it and was filled with all kinds of spirit when I dropped her at the dorm. According to Wikipedia only 3% of India is Catholic. Imagine our surprise when there was a Indian woman in the choir wearing a sari. The girls quickly tracked down the family and went over and said hi before we left. Since it is so close to school—about a mile — she's thinking of going on Sundays. 

Tomorrow we are going ice skating. If there is a god, please return me home in one piece. Visions of broken ankles...or worse... are dancing in my head.

On Wednesday I went to my friend Angels for mac and cheese, and to string popcorn for the little tree her daughter bought. The dog wanted to eat it off the tree so she had to move the chair.  And she did get lots of broken bits.

Christmas Eve I mad popcorn for dinner--yes that's a dinner here.My brother called and to reach the phone I sat the pot on the carpet. It was hot, and when I hung up the phone I went to lift it. It was stuck. I pulled hard and got it. It had burned a ring into the area rug, adhering the fibers to the bottom of the pot.

You can see in this photo where the carpet is missing fiber down to the backing mat. I tried immediately to clean it, but to no avail. Today I got the idea to heat the pot in the oven, hoping to soften the fibers, and maybe scrap them off. Unsure if the pot was even oven-safe and what kind of toxic fumes might happen, I did it very slowly and with the range hood on full blast.

I had cooked lunch in the oven and ate. I put the pot upside down in the warm oven for 3 minutes. That didn't work. I put it in for another two, still nothing. I turned the oven back on and put the pot in while it was pre-heating. In about three minutes I pulled it out and there was some movement. I put it back in for another three,and it worked! I think the pot is clean and usable again.

What else has happened in the last week. Nothing really. Thursday I hope to do a volkssport walk in Phoenixville. I've never done that one.

I've had a freaking cold the entire month of December and it just keeps hanging on. If there is a tissue shortage the problem is I'm buying them all. I am a snot machine.

Wish me luck skating tomorrow. I'm going to buy tickets now for the muni.

And maybe, just maybe, I'll clean up the dead bird in the cellar. The bird part is long gone, but my aversion to dead creatures holds me back from cleaning up the pile of feathers.

Photo stolen from FB: Hendricks Dave, Angel Ackerman, and the OLPH website.

what a twist

 Yesterday my brother sent me a text asking if I could pick up his wife at the garage. The back-up battery died on the Prius. I said sure. As long as it was after 10, I was taking our sister to the doctor.

Now when I take Sharon anywhere the list grows. Can we go to the bank, CVS, whatever. As long as it is enroute it's fine. Today we were on a time crunch. She was working. She left her client at 9 and said don't move. I'll be back before 10 with late breakfast. The plan was to get her a pancake wrap from Dunkin that she always remarks on during commercials.

The appointment was 9:15. We arrived at 9:10 and by 9;30 she was back in the car. The doctor's office is a mid-century ranch house with a horrible driveway. I park in the driveway so she doesn't have to walk far with her cane. We needed to go to the near-by bank and CVS, then stop at Dunkin. We would make 10 am easy.

I put the key in the car and it didn't start. She called her client. I called AAA. OMG what hell AAA is now. I dialed the number and my phone started beeping like crazy. I got no less than 3 emails telling me to text them. I had 27% battery. Hell no. Then I had to listen to the voice recording telling me to use their speedy text service, some other bullshit, and finally I got to the Dial 1 for this and that. My blood pressure was rising.

Finally a person answers. I explain the situation and tell her I have 27% battery on my phone. Calling me back may not be possible. She tells me someone would be there in 90 minutes. ONE AND ONE HALF HOURS. And it isn't snowing. I go in and ask if Sharon can wait inside. They said yes. She ultimately goes in.

AAA doesn't have white horses to save the day. They have white vans.
 

Ten minutes later Giovanni texts me that he's on his way. He'll be there in 20 minutes. I'm watching the percentage drop on my phone. He arrives. Comes with his little battery charger thing. It doesn't work. Tries multiple times. Still doesn't work. Shows me his gauge. The red line is almost invisble. He tells me the battery is dead. But keeps trying. He asks if I have jumper cables. He tries that. That didn't work. He gets a brandnew battery from the truck to jump from. That didn't work wither. It's gone.

So I said I guess the tow truck is next. Well no. He can sell me a battery right from the van. However, his last stop was a Ford Focus and he sold the battery to them. He only has one per type. He called a colleague. They couldn't come. Poor Giovanni had to drive back to the shop in Quakertown to get a battery and come back. He'd see me in an hour.

I went into the doctor's office and updated Sharon. I told her I had an hour to kill so I was going to do her other errands by foot. In wool clogs. First I walked to the bank, then cut across the Wawa parking lot, and headed toward the CVS. As I crossed the lot I saw the KFC. Well, if we couldn't take the client her pancake wrap, we could take her chicken for lunch. She'd be in heaven. I ehaded back to the car to wait.

Giovanni at work.
 

In about 20 minutes Giovanni came back with the battery. Ten minutes and $188 later the battery was installed. We stopped for the chicken and I had Sharon back to work in three hours, not one. 

But all her errands were done.

And I can still take my sister in law for her car.

Miles/Steps:     maybe a mile
Weather:          mid-30s, sunny
PPE Found:      I lost count there was so much. I bet I could have filled a tall kitchen bag.

 

i did it

 

I did it. I dragged my fat, unfit ass out for a walk today. I did not want to go. I spent the wee hours in my bed hoping and praying for an epic storm and that nobody would show up. But they did. And that is the best part about walking withother people. You're held accountable. Ya gotta show up.

When I arrived at the Hotel Bethlehem for the volkssport walk, people were there. I couldn't go home.

As everyone signed in and went upstairs for the restroom, I explored the decorations. They are pretty much the same every year but they are also larger than life.

The trees are enormous. The nativity is over the doors and is massive. There are trees that go past the balconies and wreaths on all the windows. It was very bedazzled. As was town.

I've had a cold off and on over the past 2 weeks. I think Pat and I keep giving it to each other. Every time I think its gone it comes back. I haven't walked seriously in along time. The lack of content in this blog supports that. I've had one blog post about walking since August.

The Bethlehem North walk goes to the Industrial Quarter and then up Monocacy Street to Moravian. It loops around Moravian, the archives and the seminary and heads out Elizabeth to Center. It returns to Market and then begins again for another 10K. I thought the Monocacy Street hill would kill me. But I made it and only stopped twice. If I would have been alone I would have headed back at Union Boulevard. I don't think that's even a mile.

I was the only one who did the 5K. 

I was parked on Market near Heckweilder. The 5K ends at Main. I went straight to my car. I didn't do the last block. When I sat down and allowed myself to relax, I thought I would caugh a lung out. But I didn't. 

The others continued on to the second 5K. past the unknown soldiers, armory (now apartments), around Sand Island, Payrow Plaza and the rest of the historic district.

Miles/Steps:  5K
Weather:      high 30s, sunny, breezy
Wildlife:       About a dozen geese

the swag came at least a week ago

 

This is my swag from this year's Tail on the Trail. It came Dec. 3. Thank goodness for chair yoga, Milly, and old lady exercise class or I would have never finished it walking. The original hat was tan.

Until last Wednesday, I hadn't done yoga since Pam's surgery around October 28. We went last week and it went okay. The instructor will be having her hip replaced in January so we'll have the sub that I like much better. 

Since I haven't been going to yoga, I've been taking Pat to the senior center for old lady chair exercise. She sits off to the side with Sharon and reports how much Sharon doesn't do. The demo's of Sharon exercising in the car on the way home are hysterical. I went to yoga last week she didn't go to class. Neither did I because I had this helluva cold I didn't want to give to the old people. I had already given it to Pat.  Unless Pam cancels out of yoga, Pat probably won't go to that class any more.

Tuesday, I took a Covid test and it was negative so I went to work. I also went for a mammogram. Everything was fine. Cross that off the list for another year.

I had wanted to go to the Audubon walk on the19th, but Pat talked me out of it. She knows how to push all my buttons. And it is crazy to drive 1:10 to walk for an hour. Even though I had spent Friday mapping out a trail to finish up the Montco Trail Challenge on the way home. So not only didn't I do the Volkssport walk, I didn't finish the challenge.

I need to find a partner in walking again. 

athletic adventure: an axe throwing fail

I host two international students at my community college. Both are from India. Each month we get together and do something. Last month when we got together they were intrigued with bowling. So that was our plan for November.

About two weeks ago S wrote and said the international students group was going bowling as a group. Could they pick something else. I suggested axe throwing. They loved the idea. I booked with Skeggy's in Easton and invited Angel alone. She's always saying she doesn't get to do fun stuff. She said yes.

Today was the big day. I picked the girls up at 1:15. Angel couldn't make it so the teen took her place. 

I've seen axe throwing the past few years on television. It looked fun and easy. It was fun. It wasn't easy. I didn't hit the target once. Maybe it was because we were in the 13th unit?

Our coach showed us what to do. Right hand on top of left, put your arms far behind your head, move forward with your non-dominate foot, as you throw.

K took to it like she's been doing it her whole life. She hit the bullseye frequently. We didn't keep score but she won. Hands down. She only missed three times.

S had about a 50% success rate. She often tried a one handed throw. And always missed when leading with her right foot. 

The teen started strong, then she started to tell me what I was doing wrong. After that she didn't hit the target once. I think I passed my bad karma on to her. I felt awful.

Afterwards we went to eat. Or we tried too. The African restaurant was closed. The Indian place was closed. As were the next two. We ended up getting pizza.

byop (bring your own period.)

 

a matter of balance

 

Today is the last day of the balance class Pat and I are taking at Moravian University sponsored by the health department. It's nothing like I thought it would be, but I'm honestly not certain I had a clear idea to start. I thought, I guess, it would just be exercising.

Each week we got a bribe to come back. (Since there was two of us we got two of everything. Several others as well.)

Week 1: Bag, water bottle, pen and book

Week 2: A set of 4 resistance bands (black pouch) These are with my Milly exercise stuff.

Week 3: Another really tough, purple, resistance band. These are with my Milly exercise stuff.

Week 4: Stress/exercise ball. These are with my Millie exercise stuff.

Week 5: Key chain whistle (to call for help if alone.) Maybe I'll hang one on my briefcase/laptop bag for security at night walking across campus. I'm not sure what Pat will do with hers.

Week 6: A set of 2 LED nightlights. One is in the bathroom, one in the garage. The other set is in the cupboard.

Week 7: A suction style grab bar for the tub. We already have one that clamps on the tub so both are in the basement. If you need one, let me know.

Week 8: An emergency kit for the car. I now have the one Vince and his then wife Beth bought me twenty, twenty-five years ago for Christmas, and two new ones. I'm thinking I should give it to a new driver. Old drivers have them.

The book they gave us was divided into weeks. The first two weeks were videos and a lot of talking, testing ... and paperwork. Starting week three we did exercise for about 45 minutes. Mostly rotation of joints —hips, knees, fingers, wrists, ankles — the places that are impacted by falls. Strengthening them should help one avoid falls. Many of these exercise we do with Milly and the chair class at the senior center. But there were new ones too. 

After exercise we had very long breaks—sometimes stretching to a half hour — of healthy snacks. You really didn't need to eat breakfast. Fruit, yogurt and these wonderful crackers that are gluten free. Expensive and addicting. Occasionally we had veggies and ranch dip. And Snyder's Honey Wheat Twists. If nothing else I found two snacks Pat will eat without grumbling. The last day we had berry shortcake complete with Reddi-Whip in the can. And it was generic.

The last section was the book. Some reading. Some role play. Some worksheets. Did I learn anything new? Probably not. Perhaps what I learned was the reasons behind things. And the physics of falling. Last week the health department nurse came in and demoed falling and getting up. I'm delighted to report I get up correctly.
 

I'm passing the book to my friend Angel. Maybe she'll find something new between it's pages.

For homework I had to do a house audit looking for tripping hazards. I think I got a 90%. My big one was my thresholds into the house and between the living room and kitchen. Also we need to get a kitchen mat. I've often thought of doing that. Besides, with how soft my kitchen floor is it will be another barrier to falling thru the floor. The vinyl floor covering can only do so much.

Pat was ready to go at 8:30 this morning for the last class. Golly, I have no idea why. I had to cool her jets till nine and then we went to Target and the gas station to use the time. I was hoping to do it after and get lunch out of her. 

The building is the old racquetball club and there are many stairs out front. Each week she says she's not going in the side door, she's walking the stairs. Today we did. I think there was four, then 18, then eight. And when she got to the top she didn't walk inside. She went back down again and walked to the side door. I moved the car. Nothing about this girl makes sense. Like why doesn't she buy clothes that fit—>130 pounds, less than 5 feet, and wearing XXL. 

The car emergency kit give away makes sense when you hear about the last class. When we were talking about safety the conversation always turned to "what happens in an emergency". One of the presenters does the preparing for disasters workshops, so today she brought her Powerpoint. There is an amazing amount of stuff that should go in your "to-go" bag and your "ready-kit". Honestly, it will never happen with me. Only 1% of people in Bethlehem are prepared for a disaster. They pointed us to the US ready.gov site and the Northampton County CodeRED site. Also suggested turning on alerts on your phone (not happening--they are all on off) and downloading the FEMA app.

The biggest takeaway was some settings on my iPhone. (I didn't listen to the Android part.) I use the Apple Health app to track my BP, and I have some info in there. But they had us go to Settings>Health. Inside of course I have location turned off. (Okay, I'm a little paranoid about trackers.) Siri is off. (Golly, I hate that noisy *itch.) and notifications turned off. Below that is Medical Details: Health and Medical ID that doctors can access if you have emergency access on. (I do! Shocked, right.?) Health Data has demographic stuff, blood type (I don't know it. A something), skin type (I must ask derm) and whether you use a wheelchair. Basic Stuff. 

The Medical ID, much to my surprise was already filled in. Since I have Bonnie marked as ICE, she was my emergency contact. But it must have pulled my medical data from my hospital app. I certainly don't remember typing it.

After that presentation we did the exercises and had break. During break we filled out the evaluations. Then after break they redid all the tests again. I was a half-second faster getting in and out of a chair and walking twenty feet. Then they had us do the cross your arms Wakanda style and rise to standing from a chair. I started at 8 and now I do 10. I probably could have physically done more, but my knees said hell no.

 

To end the class we all got certificates.

Sunday is drive-by flu shot day at the new LVH Hecktown-Oaks. I'm taking the twins. One better buy me lunch.

this is my gym today

The neighborhood has become a kaleidoscope of color. All the leaves from the trees are falling. Mine are boring yellow. I'm surrounded by red. 

I thought that it might be soon time for the city to collect them, November has begun. It is supposed to be nice this week so I thought why not. Let's get a jump start. There's still a half of tree to fall. I gathered them into a rough pile and decided to see when collection was. I nearly fell over!

 

DECEMBER 14-16! By that time they will have snow on them and they will stop collecting. The entire south side is that day including the university.  I am so tired of our neighborhoods getting the short end of the stick.  I guess I'll be brown bagging them and taking them to the compost center before my last balance class.

Earlier today I walked in the neighborhood. Since April every street has been ripped up. It's a mess trying to drive here. I guess having shiny new gas pipes will be worth the mega inconveniences.

Pat and I did Milly on Monday and went to the Sr. Center class at one. Our last Balance class is Friday.

Yesterday I picked up this exercise machine from Dave's house for a friend. It's still in my car. I'll need to get it out before I take the twins for drive-by flu shots Sunday.

UPDATE 12/17:

The leaves were not collected. We had a wintery mix scheduled for the 15th,. On the 14th road crews were brining the roads. The 15th they were salting and plowing. My pile of leaves is a soggy, crumbled mess. If I were not so lazy, I'd stick them in my compost bin. They are about 50% broken down.

i'm still standing ... barely

Five days short of a month. That might be a new record.

Why haven't I posted? Because I haven't done anything worth writing about. I've missed three great walks for a variety of lame reasons.

On September 24, I planned on doing the Hibernia County Park walk with the Chester County Rovers. It was an hour and twenty minutes away. I left the roommate get into my head about wasting gas and driving three hours to walk for one hour. I ultimately decided not to go. It was a beautiful day.

On October 2, I planned on hiking with Get Out Lehigh Valley. It had poured the day before and was supposed to pour that day as well. The hike at the Horth Easement was near Jacobsurg State Park and advertised rocks, roots steep hills and lots of mud.I cancelled. I would have fallen in the mud. Now in the balance class I'm taking cancelling plans because of fear of falling is a big no-no. I did it anyway.

On October 8 I was excited to do the walk at the Philadelphia Navy Yard with the volkssporters. Friday, as I was driving home my check engine light came on. Instead of the Navy Yard, I went to the garage. Five days and $1000 later, the car is running better than it has in years. 

I fell three times last week. It might have been two. One I think was a dream. I find it odd, since I'm taking a balance class. Navy Yard day I tripped over the  corner of the carpet and flew across the family room, landing on my knees and propelling the recliner backward and to the left a good foot an a half. I hurt so bad I just wanted to sit on the floor and cry. But instead I carefully crawled to the couch and lifted my butt onto it. I didn't stand for an hour. My knee felt like pincushions for about four hours. They still hurt. But not as much. My wrist hurt. And I might have hit my head. 

The next day I went to help a nonagenarian. She wanted to change from summer curtains to winter ones, and cover the air conditioner. In the bedroom I stand on her cedar chest. Forgetting that my knees hurt I decided to jump off the cedar chest. My knees said hell no. I hit the floor and rolled. I missed he scooter by an inch. Maybe less. I also missed the bed and the bureau. I got up, grabbed the ladder and did the curtains in the living room. My knees were not happy that afternoon once the adrenaline rush was over. The third time I don't remember...but it seems so real. I think it might have been a dream, but I'm always tripping over the roomies feet because they block the doorway. (Don't even go there.)

I haven't been a total lazy ass.  I've rode the Cubii a little but my knees screamed last week. Did Millie, but not the Senior class (one week it was cancelled, and last week no car) or yoga. I've been going to balance class which is also an hour of exercise. And walking around the neighborhood. But really, does anyone want to read about that? I think not.

Yesterday I took my international host students to Philly to Wonderspaces. It's in the Fashion District Mall, and designed for the Instagram generation. 15 rooms each having a different, very photographically theme. The exhibits change periodically. The two above are there favorites. The top one is a shadow wall but as you move it changes color and pattern. The bottom one is lights hanging like rain curtains programmed to music and they go on and off and change color. You walk thru them and make them move. They didn't care for the projection mapping.

They also enjoyed this one. There were three of these in the room. This square one, a triangular one, and a sphere one. They moved at 30 MPH and they changed as they moved. The shapes got bigger and smaller, they changed into a spiral. It was cool. The kids tried to take a video. I don't know if they succeeded.

The is place was right next door to the Reading Terminal Market. It was packed, but we went there for food. They found Indian cuisine and were very happy. I have never had Indian food that I haven't likes, but I didn't pick well. Not so good. But there was rice. I can't make rice here, so it was a very welcome choice.

They wanted to go to the Magic Garden in South Philly. I said no. There was no way I was driving to south Philly on a game day. Too many drunks. So we came home.

tangled

 

 

Today was the first day I haven't gone to chair yoga in many weeks. Maybe months. Pam is off on vacay, then the holidays, then surgery. I probably won't go again until December.

Instead I invited Pat to go to the class at the Senior Center. Remarkably she said yes. It begins at 1. At 11:30 she was headed out the door. The look of disappointment when I told her we had another hour was priceless.

We parked in the lot at Union and Old York Road and walked to the towers. Like Sharon, she would not join the group in the circle. She sat with Sharon as a wallflower. Apparently I put my chair in her line of vision, because she told me about it walking back. I don't know how much she did or didn't do since I could not see her. She told me the only thing she didn't do was the chair rises. Sharon, according to her, only did maybe half the exercises.

Pat knits. A lot. This weekend my sister came up from Kentucky and brought her yarn. Then Sunday my sister-in-law told me there was a huge bag of yarn for Pat at her moms house. We picked it up today. (I don't envy her mom cleaning out a house of 70 years of stuff. Yikes. (I'd probably call an auction house and have them do the work. I'm lazy.) It will be months before I hear "I need to go to the yarn store".

We did not do Milly this week. We went for covid shots instead. 

On Friday we go back to balance class. Yes, she is going back. And packing a sweater. Then we'll pick up groceries at Giant. I need to refill my freezer. Defrosting it was this weekends work-out. My hands were sore from ringing out towels.

roots and rocks and drops, oh my!

 
A few weeks ago I was looking for something on Google Maps and found Ithaca Park in southwest Allentown. I didn't know there was a park there. But what drew my attention in was the dotted line next to it. Wait, I say to myself. That's a trail. I zoom in and dang it isn't it a trail—the Wilderness trail. I looked it up online and it turned out to be part of the Wildlands protected forest on top of South Mountain. It was a mile long (up to six) and dumped into Boroline Park and connected with the trails on the other side of the park. I took a screen shot and waited for the perfect day to explore. Today was the day. 

Ithaca Park is a neighborhood pocket park. No potty. No parking. You park in the street. There are swings, a play set and a basketball court. Period. I didn't even see a bench for the moms to sit on. The neighborhood is 60s-70s ranches.

The trailhead sign was pretty obvious. I immediately became worried seeing the stroller parked under it. I went back and got my hiking stick.

It's blazed green with signs that say the "Wilderness Trail". According to the map it's six miles. I was a bit puzzled. I decided to walk for a half-hour or so, and turn around an come back. I am in no shape to do a 12 mile round trip. Hell, I'm not in shape to so a 5 mile round trip.

I immediately understood why this was the wilderness trail. This was typical of the first section. Roots galore. And rocks. At the top of the mountain their was a power line so it was weeds that were chest high. And some serious steep descents. I almost turned back a couple times. I spent time trying to navigate how to get down them without falling. And wondering how I'd get back up them. This was also the time I remembered the Girl Scout buddy system. At this point I had seen no one. If I fell how the hell could I tell 9-11 where I was when I had no cell signal.

The path was narrow and I assume that it gets used a lot by bikers. Fallen trees were cut out like this, with and without rocks, and some just had to be climbed over. There were giant rocks that I assume the bikes went over. I went around. I would walk this trail after it rains. It would be really slippery.

I saw four bikers. I saw at least a dozen people fly by me in both directions including a man with two children. I said to him Ah, you must be the owner of the stroller. He said, I'm so glad it's still there. At that point he was carrying the little one.

I came to a split. I saw no signs on either side, so I backed up to the last marker. It was on the right so I took the right path. In Girl Scouts I learned that the side of the trail the sign was on was the way you went. I was confused because there were no more signs. And the old-school flashing was red. I walked another five minutes and then dug out google maps. I could clearly see the split and that I went the correct way. But the top path was marked "wilderness". The bottom path was marked "alpine". I've walked the Alpine trail before on the other side of Boroline Park and it's red I was fairly sure I was right. But I had not idea where I was on the line. I'd been walking for an hour and it was supposed to be a mile. Sure that I went wrong, I turned around and headed back. Even me, pokey Pete, doesn't take an hour to walk a mile in the woods.

I was a few feet away from the split when I saw this sign: "Alpine Street Trail". It confirms that I was indeed at the correct spot.  I guess I just didn't go far enough.

My iPhone has a Health program. Something on it is a Health App, with a walking steadiness feature. I turned it on. With notifications. Of course, I actually have to have my phone with me for it to work. I'm going to keep it on thru the duration of my Balance class.

To end, after two, maybe three weeks of not walking in the morning with Pat. Today we did the morning half mile. I can't figure her out. Last night I rode the Cubii for a half hour. 

Miles/Steps:  2.2 miles
Weather:       high 70s, sunny
Surface:         dirt, leaves, roots, rocks, erosion ditches.
Bathrooms:   0
SLF killed:     0
Wildlife:        1 dead deer, two does chasing each other, lots of birds and things singing. Lots of rustling. Maybe mice and squirrels. Maybe chipmunks.

can you believe it? two gayles!

 

If your name is common like Joyce or Kathy or Bob or Dave, you're often in a room with same named people. Heck it happens so much in my family that the name has to be prefixed with their spouse. For example, Barbara's David. One year on Martha Stewart's television show she had an audience filled with Martha Stewart's. (Stewart had variation in spelling.) This stuff doesn't happen to Gayle's. Until today.

I signed Pat and I up for a balance fall prevention class hosted by the Health Department. It's 8 weeks. It began today. I wore sneakers and exercise pants and we didn't exercise. Not until week three.

When we arrived we were greeted by this tote bag. Inside was a water bottle, book, pen and a bottle of water. Next week we're supposed to fill the bottle they gave us. I'm not going to. It's plastic. It will sweat like crazy and it will be warm. I'll stick with my metal one, thank you. Since we each got one, I'll give my book to Angel after it's over since she didn't want to commit to 8 weeks. (It's a good thing she didn't since her work schedule changes about week 4.). I'll write in pencil so she can erase my answers. She fall as much, if not more, than I do.

They also mentioned there would be some sort of swag every week as an incentive for you to come. Also at break we had fresh berries, yogurt and granola. Not a bad reward for a free class.

There was 14 people (with four on the wait list), three instructors and four Moravian occupational therapy students. The limit is 12. Next week they are splitting us into two groups and the wait list people will join us. Pat and I are in Group A with the other Gayle. How they will split three instructors is a little puzzling.

They made it clear that no exercise till week three. We did introductions and that's how I discovered a second Gayle. I describe Pat as a ''weebles wobble but they don't fall down." I on the other hand, face plant (gasp) a lot but hadn't done so in 2-3 years until about a month ago. I'm tired of ripping up my knees and forehead. I even showed them my souvenir stone in my head. (The one that the dermatologist insists on measuring ever year.)

We watched a fairly long video and had an even longer discussion. I think the bottom line of this class is exercise, activity, strength training goes a long way in keeping you fit and in balance.

The schedule:

1. Intro. (duh.)
2. Exploring thoughts and concerns about falling
3. EXERCISE and fall prevention (a lot of these Milly does on Monday's)
4. Assertiveness and fall prevention
5. Managing Concerns about fall prevention
6. Recognize fall-ty habits
7. Recognizing fall hazards in the home and community. (Demo's!)
   
8. Practicing No fall-ty habits and putting it all together.

I'm hoping once we get to week three there is more doing, and less sitting. I think Pat is going back next week, but who knows if she'll stick it out. The building is a fridge so you need to dress warmly for class.  I went back to the car and got Pat's sweatshirt.

Chair yoga class is on hold now. Pam is on vacay, the high holiday days, and then a hip replacement. It probably will be December before I go again. Yes, I could go alone. But who wants to go that far just to do an hour yoga class.  I will still go to the one at the senior center. Maybe Pat will come.

For some reason we no longer walk in the morning. She spent the summer developing a good habit and gave me something to look forward too, and now we don't want to go.  It all started when Sharon gave us that Cubii. But she doesn't ride it that I know of. I'll never figure her out.

chair volleyball?

Today we had a volkssport walk on the D&L beginning at the Virginia Forrest Recreation Area outside of New Hope. A total of seven people came, and one didn't walk, they rode their bike.

This section of the towpath is not especially interesting. And because of the dry summer the canal was filled with weeds. There were a couple of spots with puddles. I'm not sure if it will recover or nature will just reclaim it.

 I found this set of stairs from the canal to the water. There is no apparent reason why they are there.

 As we walk, we talk. The turn around point was the Lumberville Pedestrian Bridge. After we turned, I started talking to a member I haven't seen since before the pandemic. Her husband died about five years ago and she moved into an apartment at a senior community.  There she teaches Mahjong. She also started telling me about chair volleyball? Say what? They set up chairs in a volleyball court and you use a giant beach ball. You cannot hit underhand. And more importantly you have to have one cheek on the chair at all times.  A internet search failed to find any public groups in the Lehigh Valley. It will have to go on my Athletic Adventures list along with Pound and belly dancing.

This isn't a wide path, you can tell by the photos that the width changes frequently, but the bikers were pissing me off today. They'd make us move right toward the weeds. Sometimes stepping into the weeds, praying I didn't fall into a dry canal. It's a 6 feet deep trench. There was plenty of room, most of the time, for them to get thru. They were just being asses. Rant over.

The weeds on the right are the canal.

 

Miles/Steps:  4 miles
Weather:       low 80s, sunny
Surface:         gravel and grass
SLF killed:     1
Wildlife:        dead deer

creative tracking

As you know the Cubii came to live at my house the other day. Pat has used it a few times, as have I. 

On the first day of using it, I realized that my tracker was on my arm, and it wasn't tracking my "steps", so I laid my arm on my leg. That sort-of worked but it was boring and my back kind-of started hurting.

The next morning I came up with the brilliant ... not ... idea of laying it on my leg. 15 seconds later it was on the floor. Not learning from my mistake, I put it back and what do you know, it happened again. I went to the kitchen and got a safety pin. I kind of wound the fabric around it and pinned it. It worked. I did 15 minutes.

That night I wanted to see if I could do an entire episode of a TV show. It would keep me from stalking the fridge. The safety pin moved around a it. What did I have that was bigger? A clothes pin! This works pretty good. Again, I wind the fabric around the strap and clamp it. I had to move it to take the pic.

Ohhh, I bet a binder clip would work even better.

I did about 40 minutes. Mostly I was bored, even watching tv. But then the show was boring. I've tried most of the things on the ad. I've played on my phone, done puzzles and read. Reading is like reading in the car. Much longer and I would have been hurling. Is it going to make me fit? I doubt it. But that night when I went to bed my core muscles hurt. That was quite the surprise. Maybe it was a co-inky-dink.

In other "news". 

This week I also to chair yoga, no senior class. It was cancelled. 

Pat and I didn't walk several times this week because it finally ducking rained! Apparently she'll melt if she goes out in the rain. Analogies to the wicked witch of the west have been made before. Maybe there is some truth to them?

Today I made us appointments for Covid Boosters. Then we'll go to the drive-by flu shots in November at Piggy Park. I'm not sure of the date yet. My guess is Nov. 6. They haven't updated the website yet.

Real Content Alert! Tomorrow I'll be walking on the D&L with the volkssport group. Sunday I'll be meeting and walking with my new international host students at Housenick Park. (They put a virtual tour of the house online if you want to see it.)

look what came to live at my house

 

When I was watching Sharon after her knee surgery I discovered her Cubii elliptical machine and rode it. Pretty much every time I went. I don't like gyms and I'm not really one for gym equipment in my house.

Her client (she's a home health aid) also had a similar item. The client is 96. The new braces on her legs/feet don't fit on the pedals. Friday she told Sharon to take this home to Gayle. She did.

Saturday I took her shopping. She went without her Rollator and only used a cane. She did well. I had to carry her stuff upstairs and I had to pick up the "Cubii". It was smaller and had a power cord. WTF?

She asked which one I wanted. I told her which ever one she didn't want. But I wanted to try out the clients machine. I found an extension cord, plugged it in, and picked up the remote. I put my feet on it, and without doing anything it started to move like a bicycle. Then I turned it on. It did all the work. I just had to sit my fat ass in the chair and watch my legs move. You could probably ride that for an hour without getting tired. I rode it about 5 minutes and did break a little sweat.

That's the one Shaon decided to keep. I brought the Cubii home. I set it up in the office so we could watch tv and use it. Pat tried it yesterday, and I heard her using it this morning. Maybe it will be a good thing. 

I did not Move with Millie today. The young person next door came over to do the grass. Surprisingly Pat did it alone. But Millie wasn't there. She was sick. They played a recording. When I came in Pat was doing it. Sitting in her chair moving and counting.

 

I also signed the two of us up for a balance class. Pat doesn't fall but I do. (Check out all the typos on the flyer.) It's two hours for 8 weeks. That's a big commitment. I'm guessing that there will be a fair amount of talking as well.

need to make a decision soon

 

I need to make a decision about the walking Olympiad in Texas mid-February. Early registration closes September 30.

This is the 18th IVV Olympiad*, and it's the first time it's been held in America. That's big. I may never get the opportunity to do it again. Bonus, it's 2.5 hours from Mexico so I'll be able to walk over the pedestrian bridge and visit another country. If I had a bucket list, that would be on it. For those of you who fly that's no big deal. I don't fly. Other than Canada and Mexico, the only other countries I could visit would be by boat. That's really expensive.

 
I regress. The event is a total of eight days. The Olympiad is five days and the IML Texas Trail Roundup is three. I think the IVV has the Trail Roundup every year, like we have the IVV Freedom Festival in DC.I figure I'll need to have almost three weeks if I'm planning on grabbing a couple of states for my 50 States Book.  I have 17 out of 50. I know I will never get them all but since I'll be driving thru those states why not bump up my totals a bit. I think I can get six. Or was it seven.

So today, in my sketchbook I wrote a Pro-Con list. It also has potential "solutions". Some of them damn good if I must say so myself. I can start asking around if someone wants to take a 3-week road trip. I'll drive, do all the gas, pretty much everything. As a passenger you just need to find cheap motels and eats on an app. Angel would go. I'm sure of it. But getting three weeks off work would be nearly impossible. And I'm not sure her body could stand all the walking even if we took the train. I have other friends that might go as well, but again, at our age body parts are wearing out.

I'd need to get over my fear of extreme weather and random violence. Because it's just going to get worse. I need to get over the extreme right politics of Texas because depending on election results, Pennsylvania might actually be worse. 

Almost everything on this list can be overcome by being clever and resourceful except one. Finding a Pat-sitter for three weeks. I can't see how that would be even remotely possible. Unless a miracle drops from the sky, the conclusion is I stay home. It sucks. But that's the reality of being a caretaker.

*There are three groups involved this event: The AVA—The American Volkssport Association (based in Texas); the IVV—the International Association for Popular Sports (based in Germany); and the IML—the International Marching League. (I can't figure out where they are based.)  Volkssport walks around the world are marches, but we don't use that term here in America.