michael's doctor update

Michael's eye doctor said today that his eye is coming along well and that he can begin running again as soon as he doesn't see the gas bubble in his eye anymore.  He figures it will take about a week more.  There is alittle scar tissue but not interferring with the retina attachment.  He is already planning his next marathon and is at the starting gate ready to run.

We had a very cold and windy social hour last night at the pool.  Everyone ate their fill and hurried home.  It took all night to get warmed up again.  Brr!

So if I write it here then it will be.  I am going to  lose 5 pounds. I know what 5 pounds of hamburger looks like and it aint pretty when it is around your middle. I need to up my running back to 5 miles a day plus some yoga etc..  Now that we are home for awhile I should be able to get back to my self disciplined self.  Eating at home will help, too.  I just have to get back my self control  and not be lazy.

A side.  I do believe that this is going to go down in history as the era of the difficult to open packaging.  Hope it is a short one.

Home Sweet Home!

It may be an awaited change to travel to new places and see interesting things, but there is nothing like sleeping in your own bed when you finally get home.  Key West is interesting with its dichotomy of tourists and locals.  Tourists trying to fit in to what ever bent and locals trying to stay upbeat while enduring the examination of all of the tourists. We had some good seafood, but the best for me was an outstanding thin crust pizza with Italian sausage, sun dried tomatoes and portobello mushrooms. Yum!

Camping out in a tent at Bahia Honda in the Keys was an experience.  I figured the water we would be facing would be the ocean, which it was.  What I didn't figure was that it would be on a mangrove which had a mucky shore that stunk to high heaven.  You couldn't get near it and when the wind blew the smell was over powering. Yuck! We thought we would have an electrical hook up so we could watch a movie after dark, about 6:30pm.  No, not to be.  So bed time was 12 hours long.  Which when you think about it, it takes that long to get 8 hours sleep when you are camping out in a tent.  The air matress was cozy enough, but I can tell you that dressing and getting out of the tent can be a challenge at 70. The second night with the wind and thunderstorm from midnight on for sure.  But, again we had some good eating from the camp stove.  I figured, since I was foregoing all other creature comforts, we could go for some quality fish and steaks.  Yesterday morning, though we bagged breakfast at camp, loaded up everything between rain storms, and stopped at McDonalds for some good old special oatmeal. Pretty tasty, actually!

Today would have been Michael's half marathon here in Key West this morning. He is sure he would have taken first in his age group.   In the five K(which I didn't know at the time there was) I would have been the only 70 year old female.  So many coulda, woulda, shouldas in life.  Oh well.  I enjoyed sleeping in.

My exercise routines have gone to pot, which is bad since my healthy eating has gone to pot, too, lately.  I read that even if you can't do your whole routine when you are traveling, etc. you should try to at least follow it as much as possible.  For instance, my weight lifting program needs to be followed as religiously as possible if I am to gain any benefit at all.  Got to think about  how to accomplish that, since there is not enough room in here to even do push ups.

Interesting message in church this morning.  Churches often  major in minor things and can't even minor in major things. These differences often over shadow the mission of the church. John says that despite our differences we all should be onein Christ Jesus.  Obviously we are not or we wouldn't be sending a message to others that shows how disunited we are. If we have one love of Christ then none of the minor differences matters.  Maybe with more unity we could give confidence to others that what we believe really matters.

Somethings never change

We have been walking alll over old town Key West this morning, taking in all the typical atmsophere.  We finally stopped to pick up some sandwiches to take back to the inn.  Problem was I needed to make a nature call and there was no where around.  So I left Michael to see to the order while I continued on to the room by myself, with instructions given prior to my starting out.  Well, if you know me, the inevitable happened.  I got lost and wandered around many extra blocks looking for the alley you take to gain access to the place.  Finally, I got a call from Michael wondering where I was, as he was already back to the room.  I have to hand it to him, he was pretty smart to use Skype to call me.  Anyway, I wasn't that far away by then, but he knew it would have been futile to go out and look for me.  Well, I did discover a few places we hadn't explore yet. for this afternoon.  But, Michael said he will not let me out of his sight again!  Heck, I got lost all over Europe and never had a problem with eventually finding my way, which I reminded him.

Aagh! 70!

All of a sudden last night, realizing it was the last day of a decade for me, I felt a tremendous urge to stop the clock of time.  It is a helpless feeling that time is one thing you have no control of(unless you die of course, not a pretty alternative).  So here I am today the big, big 7 0 and time just totally disregards my anxiety and continues to march on. 

Well, I don't feel old.  Really, life is pretty good to me at 70.  No major health problems or aches and pains.  No worries and no stress in my daily life.  I have fun things to do that engage my time and attention (finally finding my passionsince retiring).  I have a wonderful family and great friends.  I have a husband who treats me well. And I sleep well every night. So what more is there to ask for at any age?  Guess 70 isn't going to be so bad after all.

Ohmm Balance

I got an early birthday present in the mail yesterday and just had to open it.  It was a yoga kit from my daughter who is always looking out for my best interest, as I am hers.  So I started practicing, with the aid of the DVD.  First off he talks about balance; going from imbalance to balance in your life.  Sure makes sense.  So when you look at imbalance, I know it isn't just balancing on one leg kinda balance.  It applies to all aspects of our life.  Play, work, meditation, inspiration.  When there is too little of one, it affects your whole being.  Take your home.  If it is in disarray there is chaos in your mind which extends into your daily life, affecting your well being.  Yet if ordering your home is your full focus, then other things suffer and go out of balance.  So we need to do a self analysis once in a while to check the balance in our life.  Do we take a balanced regard to our physical body so that that it has the strength to balance our mental being?  When our mental being is in balance then we are aware of the need to balance other aspects of our life such as our spiritual nature.  Oh how wise we become when we turn 70 years of age!  And it is a great time to do a self check.

Michael's eye is much improved, but he is still on restriction from any physical activity except an exercise bike, which we don't have.  He said that when he went for a walk yesterday he could see the gas bubble bouncing up and down as he walked.  Not a good thing.  The doctor is concerned that the gas bubble could hit the newly reattached eye wall and cause the retina to unattach again.  Not what we want to happen.  So he is patiently biding his time until he is given the go ahead from the doctor.  That means no biking in Key West this weekend either, but we'll do some beach walking.  This is a great opportunity for him to reexamine the balance in his life, too.

It really is quite simple

Okay, so I'm preachy.  When I was a kid I always gave my dad topics that I felt would make great sermons for him to give on Sunday morning.  I don't recall ever hearing him preach on any of them.  So I guess it is the frustrated preacher in me that keeps coming out.  And a blog is a harmless way for me to give my opinion without getting my lights punched out. 

So what about those Baby Boomers turning 65?  Talk about a drain on the health care system and your tax dollars.  Some are doing great,exercising, etc.  Sounds like more, however, are over weigh, diabetic, hypertensive and have all kinds of health issues from not taking care of themselves.  Sure things just happen as you get older, such as Michael's eye problem.  (Of course he'll never admit it.) Yet so much of their health problems are due to just plain laziness.  It is easier to eat out frequently than to cook a healthy meal.  It is easier to take the elevator than climb the stairs.  It is easier to sit around and watch TV than  to go for a walk or exercise.  Everyone knows what to do, but only those who can see the handwriting on the wall do anything about it.

It was a cold, windy mrning for a run, but I still go four miles in anyway.  It actually feels better than when it is warm.

So if your mom has been known to give good advice historically then I advise one to take her advise by maxing out a Roth account for 2010(not too late) and again in 2011 and putting the rest of a reserve into a Money Market for emergencies.  Remember, the byline "a sage of Montana" is such for a reason.  Amen

Barns Stink

When I was nine we stayed at my great uncle's dairy farm in Wisconsin for a few days.  The first time I went out to the milking barn the smell was so strong to me I couldn't stand it.  However by the end of our stay I couldn't smell anything when I went into the barn no matter how hard I tried.  I believe that is the same with our other senses, too.  If we view something violent or take part in a violent game against people long enough we become desensitize to seeing someone killed.  It is just another target.  It isn't much of a stretch to becoming desensitized to real people being killed.  Guns in so many hands, which we have no way knowing if they have the stability to handle them responsibly, is like a game of Russian Roulette.  You never know when they will kill for real.  Life means nothing to them and killing is just an extension of a game they have played or what they see on film. Sure, we want to preserve all of our rights as Americans, but I certainly doubt that our forefathers had the present state of America in mind when they penned that amendment.  Is it worth it when so many innocent people die everyday?

I found that there were so many interruptions to my daily exercise routine that I needed to get up earlier and get out before daylight to get a run in.  Not like men who can clean up in five minutes, we women need time.  Lots of time.  If I don't get my run in in the morning it just isn't going to happen.  It just takes making the decision to do it and then it is easy.  Right

Arizona disaster

I have been disturbed by the shooting in Tucson.  Yet, I have been also encouraged by the new outrage against it that I have been hearing along the airways.  As I, many are deeply disturbed by the type of rhetoric that has led up to this event.  We rail at the insensibility and evilness of the talk we hear about Americans from the Taliban and Al Qaeda.  Yet we hear incendiary talk daily coming from our own citizens against their own just because they have a different political view.  Is it a wonder that our own fanatics or crazy people pick up on this tone and go the next step and actually do what others verbalize.  Some think their language isn't responsible for what has been happening and quote the first amendment rights to freedom of speech.  I say, where is your sense of decency and responsibility for your actions?  We expect our children to talk nice, yet some people believe that doesn't apply to themselves.  Wrong.  I hold all those who talk violence responsible for the violence that is carried out by others. I wait in hopeful anticipation that people will stop the eager listening to this kind of talk and demand that changes in political rhetoric begin today.

Michael's surgery

Michael's retina surgery went well and he is sleeping it off.  My goal is to control his pain the best I can.  I gave him his Tylenol with codine and he woke in pain an hour later.  So I gave him an additional plain 500mg Tylenol and he has been sleeping since.  I'm staying as quiet as a mouse so he can sleep, but I know the pain will wake him  again soon.  I think we would rather go through it ourselves than to see someone else hurting and you can't do very much about it.  Time will be the healer and you just have to wait it out.  Ok, where is the time capsule?

Listen to the old Jewish grandmother

I've heard it said that you should never brag about good luck or you may regret it.  Must be something to it because here it is the first of the new year and Michael has a torn retina and has to have emergency surgery to reattach it.  Ok, so it was just there waiting to happen, but it will sure keep me quiet about my good fortune next time.

The older we get the bigger the picture we have of life.  We have a panorama of the past, our younger years, all the way through to what it looks like on the older end of the spectrum. We see the folly of youth that think what they do has no lasting effect on their future.  And we see the regret of the elderly for wasting  the opportunities of their youth.  My advise to the young is floss, eat right, exercise, pray and laugh heartily so that when you reach the other end of your life you have all the advantages possible given to you to enjoy a great life during your senior years.  Use our view to allow you to avoid future regrets.  Amen

It was a very good year!

First I need to apologize for spelling Michael's name wrong.  A typo I didn't have time to correct.  In an ideal world all errors would be corrected before publishing. 

Now on topic.  Yes, for me I would have to say that 2010 was a good year.   No, I'm not richer or better looking or even younger looking.  No, I didn't take an exotic trip anywhere, meet anyone famous or accomplish any extraordinary feat.  And I didn't even run a marathon much less run any races.

What made it a good year was that I did travel to spend Christmas with family.  I did enjoy the company of good friends throughout the winter months. I did increase my daily running.  And I did begin the next level of my love of art and expression.  Those are the kinds of things that make my life good.

The way I see life is it's important to enjoy each moment for what it is than to live for the big wows.  When they say it is important to be where you are, in the moment, I can't agree more.  It may sound simplistic, but it's so true.  I feel the happiness of Zoey when she heard her name and her excitement to get walking on the trail.  I feel the pleasure of having freshly, pressed sheets on the bed.  I feel laughter well up in me when I read a good book that has a humorous line.  I revel in the time I have to do the things that are fun for me such as crossword puzzles completed, writing on my blog, listening to great musicians and their selections, getting together with family and friends, cross country skiing at night and even my morning jogs when my thoughts can wander the gammit.  The secret is living and relishing each moment.  Let the past be and don't worry about the future.  The more I practice this philosophy for life the happier I become. 

So I can't anticipate anything but a wonderful 2011.  My wish for everyone is the same.

Michaell's 2010!

He made it and then some.  Michael came home yesterday after his run, completing 2002 miles for the year. So I said to him, "Why stop there.  Go for 2010."  Of course, not that he hadn't thought of it before.  So out he went again in the afternoon to complete 2010 miles. Now he has to do 2011 for this year.  Wow, this could get out of hand!

So, I've thought about some resolutions for the year that I could work on.  If I commit them to my blog, then I may be more likely to keep them, I'm thinking.  Well, could say that I will run 25 miles every week.  That's not too much of a stretch and if I make it a priority, a doer.  I thought I could learn to appreciate heavy opera.  That would be educational and good for the brain.  However, Michael may not be in appreciation of this if he is subjected to it on a daily basis.  So we'll see.  I'm going to check out the library and study up, and I'm thinking maybe I'll find something to appreciate when I hear those screeching  sopranoes.

I'm going to complete reading (which I started recently) the William Barclay series study of the Gospels.  They really give me a deeper understanding of what the Apostles were trying to convey in their writing.  Not always to be taken a face value.  Actually, they weren't much different from us with our doubts and misunderstandings. 

So that's pretty much what I was able to come up with.  Don't we always have such lofty goals then reality sets in and we come tumbling down to earth.  Oh well, we all need to shoot for the stars if we are to get off the ground once in a while.