Twenty three

The end of my week off has arrived.  It was a good week.  I had an adventure with Carlos and Grace, got some bulbs planted, my recertification tests finished, first mammogram done and new smoke alarms installed.  My niece, Selina, turns 1 this weekend.  I wish she was closer so I could bring her a birthday cake.  I imagine children's birthday parties are different in Germany.  

Its a cold, rainy day and feels like fall.  Dinner is tomato soup and toasted cheese bread.  The comment from s, "Do I have to eat that soup!?".  Yep, that's a lime green dutch oven.  A bit of a whim.  It will definitely still be around for the estate sale, I hope one of the kids likes green.

Twenty two

One of my joys over the last few months has been the opportunity to reconnect with my friend Amy.  Amy and I met in college, lived, traveled, and grew together.  She currently lives outside Washington DC (very far away!).  We connected thru the magic of facebook and when our family went to DC this summer we had a lovely but too brief dinner with her.   It was amazing to see my own Amy (looking amazingly the same) with her beloved gestures and voice all grown up in a new, settled and happy place.  She is now my biggest blog fan!  She sent me a message recently asking about my post-ragbrai riding and I realized that though exercise is a daily part of my life, I haven't written about it.  

I started to exercise in college, mainly so I could eat as I wished.  I have continued to run since college, taking 16 to 18 weeks off during each pregnancy.  Other activities included aerobics during college which evolved to a period using a cross-country ski machine in residency.  Pilates bothered my hip and I never really bonded with the stair climber.  My running has become less frequent as my knees become older.  (Interestingly, after running in the light [as opposed to the dark] the past two days, I am getting negative comments about the speed of my running.  Why do people feel the need to comment?!)  In between runs, I walk and bike as well as spin and hang out on the elliptical trainer in the off season.  I would like to fit in yoga, but haven't managed it yet.  I consider gardening my weight training in the summer; I may try more yoga to replace it this winter. 

 

Still the exercise is to control my weight.  I am not a great athlete, not fast, not strong and I never will be.  I am incredibly aware, however, that this activity is what makes feel feel fabulous most of the time.  I read an article a few years ago that asked the question whether exercise makes people feel good or people who feel good exercise.  I think it is a point well taken but think the former is more commonly the case.  I speak with people daily about how their lifestyle impacts their health.  If only we could bottle the effects of regular exercise, this gig would be much easier.  I have decided that most people can get by fairly well into their early thirties, after that, if they don't move regularly, they feel worse and worse.

Ragbrai, as I have mentioned, is a huge part of my life.  I started spinning to help prepare and I bike on the road once its warm. Usually, I stop riding my bike on the road very soon after Ragbrai and move back inside to spin.  This is partly because the trip out and back to Rock Creek gets very boring after the 20th time (small town, only one bike path)!  This year, I have continued to ride outside because Brother C is here to encourage me.  We often comment that the ride goes faster and the hills are easier with someone to talk to.  Politics and tiny circus are our most common topics.  

Another special thing about this year's Ragbrai was an unexpected weight loss.  Although it may seem riders on Ragbrai would lose weight, it doesn't usually work that way.  So many calories are required to preform the days' ride that most people maintain or slightly gain weight.  That has certainly always been the case for me.  For some reason this year my weight drifted down about 5 pounds after Ragbrai and has stayed.  Although I am delighted, I am also baffled. (and wondering if the scale is not working!)  My life has been a series of attempts to lose that 5 pounds.  The only time I have ever been successful is while nursing a 3 to 12 month old.  Last year my dad mentioned he had given up candy.  I decided to do the same and for the first 3 months of last year, I ate no candy (generally its my 5th food group).  I did not lose one pound, not one.   I must say as I counsel patients it has been bothering me that I finally achieved my goal without understanding how.  I'm sure that weight will creep back on over the winter, but for right now am pleased. 

So that, Amy, is the synopsis of my current exercise routine.  Be careful what you ask, you may get an answer!

Twenty one

As I was mowing the lawn, noticing the fall changes in the garden, a conundrum arose; finish cleaning the house before our guest arrives for the evening or post pictures on my blog about the garden?  (hmmm, I know which Amy will vote for, so, onward!)

I love the color and leaf of this thai basil.  Definitely a keeper for next year. Here in the picture with my favorite perennial geranium.

For next year, more zinnias in more spots!  I love how bright and tall they are.  I used off white nasturtiums this year in the white garden; next year, back to orange and red in a different spot.  Also I need more variegation in the border around the deck. (it will be a good winter project to find the right plant!)  I plan to put in more daffodils this week in the south bed.

A typical sign of s's presence, turned over bricks.  He turns over heavy things looking for bugs and doesn't quite get them back in the right spot.  I noticed a few weeks ago that the heavy limestone pavers were out of place--I've heard of winter heave from freezing, but what could the mechanism be in the summer?  After puzzling a bit, I asked s and he confirmed he's moved on to bigger stones!

Twenty

One of the perks of my job is the occasional gift that comes my way.  At Christmas patients bring homemade cookies and candies.  The delivery of a baby often brings thank you notes with pictures, flowers or edible treats.  A few weeks ago I delivered a gorgeous baby girl to a lovely couple.  They will be wonderful parents and are delighted with their new baby.  They dropped off a thank you basket of fruit to the office yesterday.  I brought it home; K and s are quite impressed.  s said last night (after discussing the pros and cons of having a job which brings one into contact with blood) that he is definitely going to be a physician if people bring you gift baskets.  This morning, noticing my casual attire, he asked if I was going to work today.  When I told him I am off, he said "yea", closely followed by "darn".   I asked him to explain.  He replied "Yea, cause we get to walk to school, darn because maybe you'll get more gift baskets if you go to work."  I have mentioned to my children many times that the opportunity and ability to do the work I do everyday is a gift in itself; it appears that the gift basket has made more of an impression for now.

I'm not much of a crafter or project person.  Although I grew up in 4-H and know how to sew, quilt, knit, crochet, tat, needlepoint, embroider, cook, bake and work in the shop, those projects have largely fallen away in the busyness of life.  I have been blessed with a childcare provider who enjoys crafts and has spent large amounts of time crafting with the kids.  It has developed their fine motor skills and given them patience.  I am eternally thankful for this, and many other roles, Angie has had in my kids' lives.

So, when the note came home Monday night that K needed a replica of an Iroquois long house made with representative materials by Friday, I had several gut responses--so little notice; argh, a project; anxiety about butting heads with my daughter over details; so little notice.  That said, we consulted Wikipedia, I started turning things over in my mind and I had a light week at work.  My first attempt to attach pine needles to cardboard failed and left me pretty sticky.  Next I (yes, I.  As my husband pointed out, I took control in order to get the project finished) cut out cardboard and used twigs from the garden to construct a semblance of a longhouse.  (see above)  K did watch almost the whole process.  (We only had 15 minutes until Biggest Loser!)  After my husband pointed out my over involvement in the project I was repentant and K and I came up with a new plan involving using leaves and a glue gun to cover the cardboard.  

We think the new longhouse is beautiful and a bit whimsical.  We didn't use wood or thatch to form the walls, but other products from trees.  I'm a bit worried about that, but K isn't so we'll see what the teacher thinks of our effort.

Nineteen

s likes to draw.  He is learning to read and has started adding captions to his art.  This piece made me think of my dear friend Greta.  She makes beautiful drawings.

If you misspell her name, it comes out as Great.  I also like to call her Sneaky Songe.

Eighteen

Even for adults, punishments can teach us something.

In the summer of 2007, I received two driving awards.  That's what my brother in law Dan calls speeding tickets, and that term always makes me smile.  Prior to that summer, my most recent ticket happened when K was 6 months old.  Getting two speeding tickets within 2 months was surprising, and needless to say caused me to change some habits.  S would ask, "Why don't you want to go to driving school, mommy?"  I make it a habit to know what the speed limit is and to try to stay 5 miles under, just in case I lose my focus and my speed drifts up.  On highways and interstates, I set the cruise right at the speed limit.  After time I even moved to driving 2-5 miles under the speed limit on road trip.  I discovered it is much less stressful to stay in the right lane most of the time rather than always worrying about passing.  I think its likely safer as well.  As I get more life experience, I worry more about unpredictable things happening on the road.  

This summer my friend Marie and I saw an accident happen right before our eyes.  We were driving down a highway when 1/4 mile ahead of us, a small car veered right into the path of a greyhound bus.  The bus turned toward the ditch to avoid the car, probably saving the driver's life, but the force of the impact tipped the bus into a deep ravine.  As we were the first on the scene, we stopped to help.  The elderly man who caused the accident was alert, stable but confused.  I am sure his medical status  caused the accident.  It reminded me vividly that we never know what is happening in those other cars on the road.  I have forgotten many sad and disturbing sights, but for some reason this incident has stuck with me, fresh in my mind.  I imagine as I get older, my driving will become more conservative.

As I heard my husband and a friend speak recently about their frustration with slow drivers, I realized that those speeding tickets changed the way I drive.  Driving just a bit slower is less stressful, feels safer and saves gas as well.  As I am also trying to be less focused on time, not worrying about arriving 6 minutes earlier in Iowa City seems like a good change.

Margie and Carl Gartner were lifelong friends of my maternal grandparents, second parents to my mom.  I love this story about them.  I dearly hope I live long enough and slow down enough to drive making only right turns.

Seventeen

Pictures from the Homecoming parade.

Also, we met friends at a nearby lake on one of the last warm days.  I didn't bring along swimsuits, but that didn't stop the kids from hopping in the lake.  S in underpants, K fully clothed!