Starting Again

Plugged my Jawbone (that had previously stopped working) into my tablet and viola, it worked! So I took that as a sign that I should get moving again. I've been sidelined for so long that I'm woefully out of shape. I have been going out more and walking around stores, etc., just to get moving. Today I walked from our house down to the recreation center which is about 1/2 a mile there and back again. So I did 1, 888 steps. More to go. I have to beat back this pre-diabetic condition I've let myself get into. I've set a goal today of 4,000 cause you have to start somewhere! Onward and upward.

Boogers

Felt kind of achy yesterday so I was plied with alka-seltzer plus and slept a lot. Better today but still a little boogery...know that's not a real word but it describes my condition at the moment.

We had a good time this past week. Had all our kids here and grandkids too. It's been a long time since we've had them all here at the same time so having them all here was a real treat. Evie traveled here from Seattle and it's the first time she's been here for Thanksgiving in about 10 years. Pam came in from San Angelo. In the pictures you can see that Cyndi is on crutches. She is on them beause she just had surgery to have some screws removed from her heel. Her body was rejecting the metal in the screws and lots of inflamation and infection was growing on the screw heads. She feels much better now it has all been removed and can walk for short periods of time. Stitches come out in a week or so. Second family pic back row, me, Lauren, Pam, Frankie, Frank, Derick, front row, Evie, Cyndi, Mom, Krys

We started decorating for Christmas and took these photos when the outside was done. No decorations on the inside right now.

The little birds shown in the photo appeared today (Dec. 1) on our windowsill. Don't know if they are baby cardinals or bluejays. Usually baby cardinals are mottled but these little ones have different coloring so it's hard for us to tell what they are. The tiny bird with the black and white face is a chicadee. It's so much fun to watch them interact. Speaking of interacting I thought the photo showing 'family interaction was very telling of todays methods of communicating. True we were not having a meal at the time but we were sitting around the table talking to one another...

while others were talking and using different tech methods of communication at the same time.

Evie riding the train!

me, Evie, Krys

G-Kids Lauren, Derick, Krystal and oh...Fanita too

family where I can't see me! Too short ;-)

Family interaction?

Family

Chicadee

young cardinals or bluejays?

Thunder and Lightning

Woke up to thunder and lightning this morning and rain! Yay! Just raises my mood immeasurably. Also our daughter and granddaughter that live in San Angelo are coming for a short visit. That merits another Yay!
Oh and I did get to order my Game of Thrones book. If you just put in the title of the book the set comes up, if you search science fiction and fantasy books then all the single novels and sets come up. Guess it's a glitch in the search engine of B&N that does that. Anyway all's well that ends well.
I've just thought of another good thing too. The Dallas Cowboys can't lose a game today because it's a bi-week for them. ;-)

Autumn Is Here..Not !!!

The calender may indicate that it is Autumn but alas around here the temperatures do not. We should be around 86 this time of year but for the past three days we've had highs in the 100+ range again. 90 days of 100+!  Our average temperatures for this time of year should be around 84. Right now it is 88 thanks to a 'cold front' that blew in this morning. Highs in the 90's are forecast for the rest of the week. Ick! Parts of Texas were lucky enough to get some rain yesterday and the day before but only a spritz and sprinkle fell in a few places in the Austin area. The leaves are falling from the trees and they are brown but it's not because the season has changed it's because they are dying from the intense heat and lack of rain the area has had in the last year. Very depressing and I could just scream when I watch the Weather Channel and hear them wax poetic about blue skies and sunshine making for a perfect day, weather wise that is. We're up to our dried out eyeballs with sunshine and if I sound cranky and grumpy it's only because I am. Oh to have a few cold rainy days that allowed you to sip hot tea or coco and slip into some fuzzy socks and curl up with your favorite honey or blanky and be all comfy and cozy. Umm...bliss.
My granddaughter and I went to see the movie 'Contagion' which is about a fast moving virus that kills thousands of people and wouldn't you know it...my granddaughter got sick. 101 fever, nausea, the whole bit. When she was on the mend I got sick but with different symptoms so I don't think she passed on anything to me.  We are both feeling much better now. The movie did make me mindful of a couple of things. Wash your hands more often and don't touch your face unless you have clean hands.
Our grandson started school at the Aveda Institute  http://www.avedainstitutesbb.com/austin-salon.php
and we're really proud of him for deciding on a career and going for it. I'm really looking forward to him doing my hair. :-)

More heat on the way

August is here and the 100+ temps that have been plaguing us since May is expected to intensify with record temperatures coming in the next few weeks. Please, anything over 90 is the pitts. To make matters worse no rain is in the forecast for the near future.

I am still walking though and if you get out on the road by at least 7:30am the heat is not so bad.

There are some new works of art on display in the park down by the river. This time instead of decorated guitars we have decorated cows. They are very cute. The one pictured is my favorite because she is all dressed up for her run/walk and has a cuter outfit than me . The blue head band looks way chic on her ;-)  I will try and post photos of the other cows later on.

Spring comes to Austin

Winter has gone and spring, well almost summertime temps, have come to Austin. SXSW, the Travis Co. Rodeo, the Texas boys high school basketball championship and a few demonstrations at the capitol have made for super crazy traffic which includes not only the four wheeled kind but the two wheel and foot kind. It's nuts. The parks are a dizzy crazy quilt of fences and cars parked in every little niche they can find. Celebrities have descended en masse to sell their latest projects so if you thought you saw a famous face on the Hike and Bike Trail you probably did. Thankfully SXSW will be over after this weekend and we'll only have the rodeo until the 26th and the Cap Metro 10K on the 27th.
I've kept up my walking routine but I think I gained some weight recently. I would increase my mileage but when I go over 5K a day or an extra day a week my left hip starts hurting. But my weight tends to go up and down 5 to ten pounds and while it was cold we made a lot of heavy comfort food type meals in the crock pot so hopefully I'll lose it now that salad and lighter meal days are here with the warmer weather.
Photos: 1. Mountain Laurel, 2. Wisteria 3. Wisteria  and red leaf hedge outside our bedroom window 4. White Iris in front yard 5. Bright pink geraniums and St. Francis statue off the front porch
Between the Mountain Laurel and Wisteria the yard is full of heady scents!

Winter comes to Austin

Winter showed up in Austin last night, well acutally it's been here all week but it just snowed last night. Not much I know but for us it's something rare to enjoy for a while. My mom had fun walking on the snow and making a snowball. The sun is out now and most of it is gone but that's winter in Austin.

Little critter and a lily

You can find the most interesting things on a walk here in Austin. I came across the little bird shown (you have to look close to see him/her) on the Hike and Bike Trail. I tried to shoo the little critter closer to the river because it had wondered close to Riverside Drive which is a long way from the river, at least for one so tiny. Alas I could not do it so I found a Park employee and later saw three of them gather around the place I last say the little bird and I hope they got it back where it was supposed to be. I think it was an egret or another water bird from the same family. The yellow lily photo was taken in the front yard. Guess lilies love the heat and humidity because they are looking beautiful.

Photos

Photos taken recently. Flower baskets are a story all thier own. Let's just say they had a hard journey getting here but they were worth it in the end. The purple daisies arrived 4 days late and a bit wilted, the carnation, daisy basket arrived fresh and are now on my dresser looking pretty. Thanks Pam! We were at our sons house over the weekend for a delicous dinner and he and Sandy made us feel very welcome. The photos of our son and my mom were taken at his house. Cyndi and Derick arrived later on Mother's Day after we got home dressed in outfits Derick had made for the kids he looks after at the Boys and Girls Club. They gave us quite a giggle. My walking is harder this week because not only has it turned quite warm but the humidity is high too. 73 temp and 87 humidity! Blech.

Roundup

Place Austin, TX


Name & City
 Bib No 4730
Age 65
Overall 595
Chip Time 58:18.38
Gun Time 1:01:19.00

That's me in the red visor. Didn't do as well as last year, about 2 minutes more this year which surprised me because I felt good except for a couple of blocks near the end. There were people older than me who had fantastic times and people younger than me who had crappy times so I guess I should be happy with what I did.  I'm thinking about taking the training classes for the CapMetro for next year but they don't start until October so I have lots of time to talk myself out of it. I do want to break the 50 minute mark so it's something to think about. The picture below is not at all flattering but the face I was making was near the two mile mark and I knew hills were coming up. Not my favorite things.

First posting of the year

As you can see I haven't posted anything since the first of the year. After fighting with blogger for half an hour today I remember why I almost quit doing it. Evie did want to see some of the pictures I took of our garden and of places along my walking route. Speaking of my walking route I do have some things to write about that are pleasant. Two different ladies stopped me while I was on the road (one got out of her car) to tell me that they had been watching me for several years and were inspired to get out and do some sort of exercise. They both said they admired my willpower and I told them thanks but willpower had little to do with it because I do it for medical reasons. One said I looked 'terrific' which was nice to hear. It was very nice of them to stop and give me compliments and encourage me to continue on. Having said that I will tell you that I signed up again for the Texas Roundup which is on April 28th. My doctor wanted me to sign on for the Cap Metro 10K but I'm not ready for that, maybe next year if I'm still around and able to walk. My medical tests were good by the way with cholesterol and tryglicerides way down. Trying my hand at meditation but so far I'm doing poorly. Frank's checkup with the doctor who did his leg surgery (17 years ago now) was good and his x-rays clear. Also his bladder cancer is in check with no new signs so that's a wonderful thing to hear. The first one was taken in January when it was snowing, the second this week in April when it was raining, same location.

Yellow rose blooming in our yard. It appears they are long lasting ones and we look forward to seeing many more of them bloom.

Pink and lemon zest petunias. Really pretty and they'll bloom until it gets too hot.

Happy Halloween everybody. Hope you get lots of treats and no tricks. Here it's sunny and cool which is what a lot of people call a beautiful day. Frankly at my age I call any day I'm alive to see beautiful. :-) I kept up with my walking since my last post (time off when I was ill) and after a short while of doing 2 miles, I'm back up to my 3 + miles again. Sometimes I wonder why I keep this blog when there is posting I can do on Facebook and Twitter. And sometimes I wonder why I post on any of kind of page. Guess I like the blog because you can write as much as you want and have your pictures too. I still haven't figured out how to keep things aligned but it'll come with time. Here in Austin they have passed a resolution or a law or something banning texting while driving in a school zone. Exactly how they are going to enforce it I haven't a clue. We were behind someone texting on their phone on our way to the grocery store this morning. Their car was weaving from side to side and going 30 in a 50 mile an hour zone. Morons. I'm now home and watching football with Frank. When I get bored with the games I'll watch a movie on my laptop or write or paint some. Always something to do. Anyway ta ta for now.

Spotty week

Ah here it is the weekend and I've only had 4 days of walking in. The long weekend we took cut into my walking schedule or at least that's what I'm blaming it on. I did try to walk a lot while we were away to make up for it.
While we were away I was amazed by the fact that even though I had taken my laptop with me I did not even unzip the bag and get it out. Didn't miss it. I did use my cell phone and text and called the family a few times (and once our friend Karla got an errant message from me) but I didn't feel the need to check email or read the news, etc. As it turned out I didn't miss much email wise because when we got home I checked it and out of 57 emails only two were from people I knew. One friend and one family member, the rest was newsletters, sales ads, and garbage...of course the spam folder was full. Gotta love that delete button.
This week we've been enjoying cooler temperatures for a couple of days. We were at 95 on Thursday, 81 on Friday before the front moved in along with some much welcome rain, and today it's nice and cool without rain.
It's fantastic that President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize although it caught me by surprise. My thoughts on it are that the world was sick of us throwing our weight around and kicking sand in their faces and just were plain pleased and happy that diplomacy is back on our agenda for getting along with the rest of the earths inhabitants. I think it was a we're happy with the new path of your country award rather than an individual award. Anyway an award for peaceful endeavors is a nice thing.

The photos below were all taken in Butler Park which is located between Barton Springs Rd and Riverside. Since the recent rains the flowers have been spectacular. Click on the small pics to see the large ones. They make wonderful background photos for your desktops. :-)

More Rain!

More rain last night and this morning made my walk much different from yesterday. It could have been 5 to 10 degrees cooler to be perfect but I won't complain too much since the rain is so very nice. While traffic was heavy the hike and bike trail was almost deserted. No dogs running around, no young moms pushing huge strollers, and no people sleeping on the benches. Loved it! Froggy would have liked the puddles. :-)

Tuesday feels like Monday

Well the summer is officially over and I wish that Central Texas paid attention to the calendar. Alas triple digits are in the forecast for at least a couple more days and only 10 percent chance of rain. This is not good. Summer, summer, go away, don't come again til June 2010. Took a couple of pictures of a display near the Hike & Bike Trail. It's meant to encourage people to clean up after their pet and I hope it has good results. The hill shown is dirt that represents the collective poo that all the dogs in Austin proper produce in one day. Ick! Had a nice walk yesterday and today despite the heat.

It's raining, it's raining!!!

What a fabulous afternoon! We're actually getting some rain showers and thunder storms. :-D The unsteady clip below shows RAIN WATER coming off the patio roof and some of the yard. You can see the big brown swath cutting across the back yard due to lack of the wet stuff and only being able to water it twice a week, and sometimes only once a week. We are loving this even though it won't make a dimple in the drought conditions we've been having. For this moment, it's wonderful.

Too hot, too hot

Haven't been blogging or doing anything much these days. I go out early on my walks and sad to say am doing less distance at this time. About 2 and a quarter to 2 and a half miles instead of the 3.1. They are predicting 105-106 today with a heat index of 110. The normal temperature for this time of year is 94. No rain. Heat advisories are in effect for most of Texas. In a way this weather is almost as debilitating as the cold is where my brother lives. I have been watching the Tour Du France now that Lance Armstrong is back in it and marvel at how far and how fast those men go on their bicycles. Have also been following Lance on Twitter and had to chuckle at this photo he posted. He said it was a little bit of home. The photo was taken in Barcelona. I would think it was done by a Longhorn fan because of the orange and white but then there is the owl...hum...could it be the collaboration of a Longhorn and Rice fan?

Memorial Day Weekend

2009 is flying by with the summer months coming up. It's already been hot here in Austin and not much rain but somehow things are pretty and green. It's been up and down for walking weather but I've managed to keep up my usual 3.1 miles a day, 5 days a week. There is a Triathlon on Monday but I decided not to enter that. ;-) Didn't want to embarrass anyone, mostly myself! Things are kind of quite which is not a bad thing. We're going to Frankie and Sandy's for Memorial Day to visit and try out his new grill. Should be fun. Cyndi and Pam are visiting their sister up in Seattle and by all accounts are having a great time. We talked to them this morning using Skype and it was fun. The photo is of Sammy, Pam, Rick, and Lauren's new addition to the family. He's a cutie!