Monday: Spend the day with family, my middle brother hosted Christmas and my Mom's birthday celebration.
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| My youngest brother and my nephew This is an AI track, but only if you set the cars to the AI setting so they don't go off the track. The cars were all over the family room and the boys were having a grand time. |
Tuesday: Drove back to RI
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| The snow on the berries, so pretty. From the back 80 at my parent's house. |
Wednesday: A day to get some exercise. Gus put me through my paces with a nice long walk after Dave took me to a nice heavy breakfast, the rest of the day was spent with his family. His cousin does a two-day event, they have a perfect home for entertaining 14 people. We don't stay, dogs, and sleeping in our own bed. The evening ends with Left Right Center or breaking the Peppermint Pig. I bought singles for Left Right Center, but we ran out of time. When we break the pig we tell what we were happy for in 2017 and what we are looking forward to in 2018. Dave and I aren't really mushy people, clearly, as he is referred to as my imaginary husband and he finds this hysterical, he gave thanks for a list of things and ended with having a supportive wife. Well crap, someone was cutting onions next to me...
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| Quite the couple... |
Thursday: The day started with what sounded like a freight train coming down the street and an arctic blast of wind, breathing hurt when I went outside. Dave braved the temperatures with heaters for his biking boots and handlebar mitts. I stayed inside other than to run a few errands. I'm not ending the year on a high mileage note, good on ya if you did!
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| Jin and his new bike! Finally no training wheels!! |
Dave dragged me out of my cocoon to do some more Swedish Death Cleaning. It was a very small space, the entryway/vestibule but damn did we cram a lot of stuff in there. A lot was pitched or donated, and more put away where it belongs, leaving the minimal stuff we need in there. I was up and down the stairs to the basement and the attic and got a bit of exercise so I did feel better. Funny how he manages to figure out how to make me do what I need to do, to not be a grouch. Not too bad for an imaginary husband, eh?
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| Deer trails through the snowy prairie |
Friday: Not going to warm up and my fingers and toes have started becoming really really not so fun in the cold. I was hoping for 20F but the temperature didn't get there. I got the dogs out for some walkies. Gus longer than Jax. The Imaginary Husband wasn't home when I got home, odd... so I took Jax so they didn't have to go out in the dark. Dave was out on his mountain bike, I was a bit surprised he wasn't home, figured he may have gone for a beer with the guys. The subsequent text and phone call explained why. Their new Glenn took a header off his bike and needed to go to the emergency room. He spent a few hours with him in the emergency room. For those who know the area, it was by the inchworm bridge on Sammy C's, at the triangle rock. He must have smacked his face on the rock and they found him propped against the tree next to the rock. Something to be said for a full face mask...
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| Made me think of Mikey and his love of both snakes and cold. Ha Ha Ha |
Gus' new winter coat arrived. I thought he might like a sleeveless vest type coat better. He still didn't seem completely comfortable. Of course, I panicked he's not doing well. He has aged a lot in the last year, considering he has a heart condition and a year in dog life is like 7 in people years I talked myself out of where I was going with that train of thought.
The Imaginary Husband has also noticed he's been a little less spry on his right back leg. Then we remembered! He tried to pass me going down the stairs two weeks ago and he slipped and fell/toppled a little bit. Must be that he has an injury that was probably healing when he wasn't walked while I was in MI and now that I'm home and taking him on long walks, in the cold, yeah.... so we will go for shorter walks so the old guy can heal up! For now, this is what we are going with. He's not failing in the hips like Gizmo, it is more favoring the left leg over the right.
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| They are ridiculous. Gus on the couch and Jax on the dog bed. |
Sunday: Slept in, shoveled the walk, and did my own Swedish Death Cleaning on linens. I am surprised how much stuff I can squirrel away in the steamer trunk, under the guest bed, and the linen closet. Found a sweater my favorite aunt knitted for me and it fit perfectly and a vest my mom knitted for me, and the sweater my mom's boyfriend gave her in High School, I think she will be receiving this in the mail soon. She is very heartbroken over everything they lost in the fire. This may be something from the past she will enjoy.
No miles, however, I did meet my activity goal per my watch, I'm satisfied with that. Competing with others on Strava got me down so much last year, I need to do my own thing in my own time, their goals aren't my goals, their requirements aren't my requirements. This will be an inner fight until my dying day, it needs to not be a benchmark which I measure myself. As always, a work in progress.
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| Credit to Westerly Town Hall Such a beautiful photo of our Town Hall and Christmas Tree |
Mileage:
Feet: 1,470
Saddle: 2,694
If you noticed my Lbs column in my chart, I'm down 20 since I started tracking the first of January 2017. I gained most of this over a two year period. It was time to get serious, and I did. While 20 lbs loss over 12 months is not a spectacular achievement, it is an achievement in developing a new relationship with food and beer. I honestly think goals taking the longest to achieve, in this case, to be back to my weight of 2012 (minus the months in 2014 when I was 10 lbs lighter and looked emaciated), are the hardest to earn. This, of all my achievements, will be the longest lasting. Losing weight is the easy part, maintaining that loss is the hard part, clearly, as I gained 20 lbs over the course of 2015 and 2016.
But let's get back to the "important" stats:
Books:I honestly don't know how many books I've read. I'm sure Goodreads can give me that answer, frankly, that isn't a contest, either. I am done with metrics, I read what I read, and however long that takes and whatever it is, that is my thing. I love when other people review books and have read some great books as a result. I've also read some not so much my thing books as a result. Right now a friend is questioning my taste in books as they read one I dearly loved. I'm good with that. I really thought they would love it, well love one part of it. I don't regret recommending it and they don't regret reading. It's all good!
Knitting:
I knitted a lot this year, what exactly, I'd have to look through my knitting notebook. The bulk is finishing two sweaters for myself, only one I love, the other I need to find someone who will love it and it will love, (I have a person in mind) and lots and lots of baby sweaters. Each was given away. Pay it forward. I love knitting these sweaters, it is a pattern adapted from a knitting icon, Elizabeth Zimmerman, to me, the Patti Catalano of knitting.
All in all, this was a good year, I'll do a goal review in January, much like work I have to find my goals to compare what I actually achieved to what I set out to achieve! And like work there is nothing tied to those goals, my raise, if I even get one, is far below the cost of living increase and does not reflect anything I've accomplished.
I'm glad you've stuck with me another year or joined me on this journey.
Sincerely,
Beth, who drops the last bomb of 2017, I finally know what's been my problem for most of the last year. I have Lupus. I probably won't say much more about it, however, it explains, to me, a whole lot and leaves a whole lot of questions. To all who live with their body attacking and betraying them, it really does suck, doesn't it? Keep on keeping on and smile, fake being healthy, no one gets it if they can't see it on the outside.
