nice day for a walk

Last night I got an email from my brother telling me he's lost 9 pounds since the challenge began. (Happy dance). He also mentioned I hadn't blogged in a week. I knew that. I just had nothing to say.

We didn't walk much at lunchtime. I didn't walk Friday with Betsy. I didn't even do great walks over the weekend. Sure I walked to Ahart's a couple times. And around campus a bit. And to the Wawa. But nothing that really adds up.

Until today.

Easton is having the Art of Urban Art Festival all over town. It runs thru October.  Today we went back to check it out.

I went down last week with my boss. Officially we were measuring banners and counting light poles. Unofficially we were looking at art and peaking in the galleries. Then the sky opened up and it poured. We took shelter in the Williams Visual Arts Center. I thought about blogging that adventure and totally forgot. Maybe it was because I didn't have my camera.

Today I had the camera.

There's one more withing walking distance. We'll get that next week. It's stairs, so we'll climb the art. I'll be sure to blog that. There looks like a lot. Maybe 100. Don't worry. I'll count them.

Saturday I'm going to a rain barrel making class. While I'm in Easton I'll find the other four in the west ward and post those also.

The art: Top to bottom

• "Love Motel for Insects" Brandon Ballengee (the one that looks like feet)
• "The Nest" Shayna King
• "An Untamed Place" Martha Posner (the one that looks like a bed)
  "Bushkill Overflow" Amanda Schachter and Alexander Levi. Yep it's made out of umbrellas.
• I don't know. It was in the sculpture garden. It looks like iron tombstones
• The Bushkill Creek, from the WVAC sculpture garden
• I posted the "Bushkill Curtain" by Stacy Levy previously

Now I'm kind-of anxious for the art trail to open in fall. It's going to run adjacent to the Bushkill creek. Wonder if we can walk it at lunchtime?

great day for a walk

Bonnie arrived around 11:15 for walking. Sharon immediately left. She wanted a head-start because we walk too fast. The plan was to go up Bishopthorpe and then out Seneca. We left about 5 minutes after her, made two stops and waited for traffic on Broadway. We blew past her at Mohican Street. (photo one. Sharon would call this a big-butt shot.)

Then we headed back down to Uncas Street and out Ostrum/Brighton toward the bridge. One of the residents was still saving their parking spot. I wanted to leave them a note that said "winter is over. take your chair inside". Really. The snow Friday was really wet and sloppy. (photo two)

We crossed the bridge and Sharon rested while we checked out the new ramp construction. It will enter the bridge right before the black arch on the south side. (photo three)

Then we headed out Third to New, up New and back Fourth. At the Loose Threads Boutique there were some really cool fabric birds in the window. (photo four) We went inside. Here they were sculpture from ArtsLehigh. The clerk told us that there was art along Third street as part of this project. We had walked past the Banana Factory and didn't even know! Had we known, we would have gone the extra two blocks.. I need to go to Tallarico's for chocolate bunnies for my girls, so I guess I'll carve out some time to check out the art.

When we reached the five points, Bonnie and I headed up Wyandotte and Sharon headed home down Broadway. She beats us home.

Afterwards Bonnie helped me clean the mouse poop out of the high up cupboards and pulled all of mom's "good" dishes and stuff down. I have had many fine meals on those dishes. Bonnie even took them home and ran them thru the dishwasher. Now that they are out I'm using them at Easter. The food will still taste awful, but it will look good!

jingle bell run/walk

Today was the Jingle Bell Run/Walk sponsored by the local Arthritis Foundation. It's a cause near and dear to me since my mom, and her mom, and her mom...you get the idea...all had it. As do all of my siblings and maternal relatives in various degrees. Walking is one way I'm trying to fight it off, but the knees are not taking the hint.

This is always a fun event. First of all they keep up the finish line till everyone crosses. But because it's a Christmas race with prizes for costumes, many people dress silly. Tons of Santas and elves. Dogs and kids dressed up also. One trend I saw this year was red and white stripped knee high with fur tops. I'll have to look after Christmas and get me some of those.

The runners go first. Someone fell getting out of the gate and the ambulance was put into service. Hope she's okay.

Then the walkers. They allow kids and dogs and strollers. The walkers follow the same route as the runners. But there are only 3 winners in each gender. The runners go by gender and age. No way I'll ever win, but today I finished in 51.04. I wish I would have downloaded my old blog. I think that one was 1:01.0. This time that won't happen. My cousin Cindy sent me a link to have your blogs printed like journals. Too bad it isn't compatible with my breast cancer blog sites. Those I extracted as generic text files and archived.

The final group to "hit the streets" are the kids. Their course is in the parking lot and I think it's one mile. Maybe next year I'll take some with me. I wonder what the low age is.

Sharon borrowed my camera, so I took some pictures with my phone. I hoped to download them here, but it didn't work. I have to wait till later.

The race started and ended at the community college so I'm taking the opportunity to get some grading done while here. Nobody will sit next to me in the computer lab, I'm sweating like a pig!