Calendar Moments, Health Thoughts

I looked at the calendar this morning and it really hit me that Thanksgiving is in three weeks. No, really, it is! Sorry if you didn't realize, but it's on the early side this year. Perhaps I should be grateful that we have ours in November, not October, the way our neighbors to the north do (any Canadians reading?): October has been such a blur, as it is every year, and when I contemplate November, well. Here it is already, ready or not.

I hope my November will be a tad less crazy than October. That doesn't seem like too much to ask for. I'm still feeling a little over-stretched today, to be honest, and though you haven't asked, I'll tell you that I haven't gone back to the Y yet. Partly their schedule, partly mine, and only a little I-don't-wanna, really.

I did go for a walk on Sunday, thirty minutes* of striding and puffing and not stopping even up a moderate hill. (I didn't bring my camera, so I wasn't able to stop for all the tempting photo opportunities; this is key for me.) And the amount of laundry I got through over the weekend made for a lot of stairs. But I know I need to get to the Y, and I should be using the stationary bike in my living room as more than a clothes hanger. I don't wanna do that either, but these last few pounds I've gained are past my tipping point, plus my doctor is displeased with my blood pressure**. Sigh. Aging sucks.
*And even after that short amount, the soles of my feet were slightly tender. I have such wimpy feet. Walking as the sole method of exercise will not work for me.

**First time I've ever had that kind of trouble, and I'd rather avoid medication if I can, I guess.

After work tonight, though I didn't get to the Y, I went to Wilson's and loaded up on healthy foods. Have to have them around in order to eat them, right? I had a salad for dinner, not a common happening for me, and it was pretty good. I also got cider, and I'm going to try it in my smoothie and see how I like that.

The cashier at Wilson's was in training, checking with the bagger for which codes to enter, and my, but it seems like a lot of numbers to learn. She would guess on some, though she wasn't usually right, but when she got to the star fruit, she said simply, "I don't even know what that is." And when my mother reads this, she will boggle at the idea that I buy star fruit, since she has a friend who gives them away by the bag from the tree in her yard, and Mum doesn't even like them! I like them well enough, for once in a while. I guess today was that day.
Another Wilson story: I was at a Starbucks recently and someone asked me if I got my bag at Wilson's. I said, "Uh, no?" before I realized what she meant, and she was right: Wilson Leather, not Wilson Farms!

Healthy food to end the day, a cleaning at the dentist to start it ... you'd hardly know it was Halloween, would you?

*****

I had an even happier calendar moment today, or rather calendar/map moment, when I was considering my trip to Webs on Nov 10th (to see Franklin Habit, yay), and realized that on the way back, I could swing in to the Wegmans in Northborough by barely going out of my way. Wooo! Wegmans! I am going to be one happy (and worn out) camper by the time I get home that night.

*****
File this one under both The Kitchen is a Dangerous Place and under I Am Amazingly Clumsy: I managed to give myself a "paper" cut on a piece of tin foil. Yes! It can be done! Without even trying, might I add. It's on the palm of my hand, halfway between the base of the thumb and the first finger. That's going to be all sorts of awkward, I can tell already.

All right, I'm going to watch the Bruins rerun on TV (god bless you, NESN) and move the clothes off the bike. Maybe I'll even ride for a few minutes!

Time to Get Packing!

(Yet here I am, blogging...)

The latest on the weather forecast in Rhinebeck makes me laugh at the idea that they claim to know ahead of time: from a previous forecast of a 60% chance of rain Saturday, we're now down to 10%! Partly cloudy Saturday, and mostly sunny on Sunday with also a 10% chance of rain (earlier today it was 0%, by the way). Ha! I'm still going to wear my boots, because it's raining there today so the ground will probably be messy and the grounds are not all paved, but at least we shouldn't be dealing with rain and umbrellas and all that. Hooray.

I have my packing list drafted and crafted, ready to go when I finish here. Up to a few years ago, I used to write out a list every time I was going away, and finally I copped to the strategy of keeping one on the computer. Then, when I realized I was changing certain things back and forth based on my destination, I started keeping multiple versions. Now I have "going to Grandma's and staying at the house" versus "going to Grandma's and staying at the motel"*, I have a list for flying (which is generally but not exclusively to Florida these days)(and not often enough, either), and I have a separate one for Rhinebeck.
*They're not very different, but hey, they are different.

It's broken down by what goes in the overnight bag (clothes, bath kit, and "things"), what I want to have access to in the car, and what I want for the festival itself. I figure out what I'm going to wear, what I need to do before I leave in the morning (you can't pack your glasses Friday night if you need to use them Saturday morning) ... planning is part of the anticipation is part of the fun!

Who else will be at Rhinebeck? Based solely on blogs I read (and Ravelry), I know that Drin, the woman who designed my favorite-ever sock pattern, will be at Rhinebeck, so I can thank her in person (she's even going to be at The Fold's booth, where they sell my precious Socks That Rock, so it's already my first stop); the Yarn Harlot will be there (not as an author this year, but as a knitter); Anne from Knitspot; and Bezzie from Random Meanderings (as she says, "assuming no one gets a stomach bug, mystery rash or it promises to rain a lot"). I'm pretty sure I'll be able to bring myself to say hi to Drin, but I imagine that even if I see the others (and I would recognize the middle two at least), I won't be able to bring myself to accost them. Hi, I'm socially awkward! How are you?

*****
A couple of Y-related notes: I was going to go next Wednesday, but the pool is closed Wednesday for a meet. So then I thought I would go Thursday, but a friend is going to here from out of town and I'm having dinner with her*. Should I still try to go after dinner, or is that setting myself up for failure? Or is it more of a failure to keep putting it off? I can go Friday. Have to consider. I will of course report back.
*Getting this program started is important to me, but she lives in Minnesota, and I don't get to see her very often. 

As for the locker question, the woman at the Y told me that anyone is free to use a locker during a visit*, but if you want to leave things there from one visit to the next, you have to rent it, for an extra $10/month. She said that it's nice to be able to leave shampoo etc there, and you can run your swimsuit through the "salad spinner" until it's almost dry, then hang it in your locker and it will dry the rest of the way.
*I ought to ask them: I assume you can bring your own lock** to use during that visit, but I'd better verify. Even if I bring no other valuables, I have to have my car key with me, and I'd hate to think someone could take that!
**And then I'll have to get my own lock. I do own one (from high school, thank you!), but it's on the storage area in my basement. Actually, I wonder if a little travel lock would fit?

If this becomes a regular habit, I can see where that might be preferable to hauling things back and forth, but to start, I'm going to consider the carrying part of my workout.

*****
Watching that Bruins game last night was painfully awesome. I've missed hockey so much! Last night should have been the 4th game of the season, the home opener ... damn them all. I told myself that I wasn't getting excited about the potentially promising news in the lockout this week, but I'm cast down anyway now that it's all falling apart. Whatever, NHL/NHLPA. Whatever. Anyway, it was wonderful to listen to the skates and the whistles and the thumps, to hear Jack's enthusiasm and Brick's insight, and even knowing that the Bruins would win, I got irritated by Montreal scoring and excited when the Bruins did. It was great. Damn it.

Looking at this fan art about hockey made me feel better. I highly recommend it, for other hockey fans, if you need to get the taste of the lockout out of your mouth.

Also check out the store: there are about 50 shirts there that I want.

There. I feel better now.

Off to pack!

Y? Well, Y Not?

Tonight after worked I stopped in at the Y to see what it was like, the first step toward joining and getting swimming. Well, if Internet research counts as the first step, this was the second, but the first step out in the world. I'm trying not to lose momentum on this idea, even though it's such a busy time of year. Either the doctors are right, and exercising will lead to losing weight will lead to curing all my health-related problems, which would be great, or they're wrong and they can shut up about it.

Do I sound skeptical? I am. I admit that I don't believe that losing weight will help the arthritis in my hands, for instance. Yes, the exercising might, granted, but doctors are always "If you'd exercise and lose some weight..."

Not that I really think they'll shut up about it, even if I'm not successful. Whenever I am unsuccessful at exercise, which is every time I try, it's always because I didn't try hard enough, or long enough, or the right kind of exercise, or I wasn't eating well enough (read: little enough), or there was something I was doing wrong. Yes. I sound bitter. I feel bitter.

However! I went to the Y anyway! The nice woman took me on a tour of the facilities, gave me a pool schedule and a one-week pass so I can try it, and they're even doing a food drive so that if I join in the next few weeks and bring in five non-perishable food items, they'll waive the joining fee. So there we are.

We meaning me, literally, but you, vicariously. Keep asking how it's going, if I don't bring it up, would you? I want to try this for a few months, at least, and really give it a chance. A little external motivation, gently applied, would be appreciated. After remaining pretty much at the same weight for my months of unemployment*, I've put on a few pounds since I went back to work, and I didn't have a lot of "give" in the wardrobe to start with, if you know what I mean. And I expect you do.
*Not an ideal weight, mind you, but it stayed fairly level. Next best thing, really.

Right now, here's how I feel about this plan.

But I will persevere. Shortly. Next week, actually: there's no point in starting to use a 7-day pass the day* before you go out of town for two days. But next week. I'm thinking Wednesday or Thursday. We Shall See.
*No, I'm not going out of town tomorrow. I had something else I had to do tonight, and have plans tomorrow night. Friday's open, and that's the day before I go out of town. See? Makes perfect sense in my head.

Does anyone else swim for exercise? Want to advise on the advisability of goggles, or any other tool, technique, or equipment? They don't require swim caps; do I want one anyway? Will I want to rent a locker there? I'm thinking I'll just load up a tote bag with my stuff and keep it in the car, at least until that gets old. What haven't I thought of? (I know, epic question.)