Reliving Marilyn's Last Hike

I hesitated to walk on this trail for fear that the memories would be bad. To somewhat counter this, I parked at Grey Whale Cove and walked the opposite direction cutting off for Old Pedro Mountain Road and Montara Mountain. This meant that I overlapped our last hike for a good piece but didn't duplicate it.

While I must confess to some tears, most of my memories were joyful. Marilyn really liked to be outdoors and particularly enjoyed the coast. The McNee Ranch trail up the hill from Highway 1 between Grey Whale Cove and Montara Beach was the perfect trail. After a short and somewhat steep rise it leveled out with spectacular views of the ocean and a couple beaches. This hike and that moment recaptured several of the joys we had in our life together. It's poor ending, with the wrong prescription compression garment and poor advice that she could go walking in the compression garment leading to what she described as a lymph explosion, a burning sensation in her upper thigh/groin, was also the end of her alternative Gerson Therapy. If any other therapy, including the Protocel we tried too late, could have worked, we didn't learn of it soon enough for it to work.

My retracing some of those steps brought more memories of our hikes and fun than memories of the consequences of that hike. She was a joy to be with and that trail was her kind of trail. It even had and has a couple of benches.

Today I found some picnic tables that neither of us knew about. It could very easily have been her favorite spot. I don't think she would have ever gone on the ten-mile round trip hike to the top of Montara Mountain, even before her first cancer.

Slowly I am hiking all the approaches to Montara Mountain. There is a trail from Grey Whale Cove that goes a little more directly up the ridge. I may have to try that one to see if it is shorter. Today's hiking took just over three hours and almost 20,000 steps. Even going up hill I tried to keep my step length its full calibrated length. I was relieved that the pedometer did count them because I know that they were slower.

I didn't refill my camelback and as a result ran out of water at the top. Thank goodness coming down is easier, when I don't slip too much or fall at all.

Even with the exercise, today has been a reduced diet day. I was going to fast with just fiber drinks to give a matrix for my supplements and vitamins to be digested properly but ended up having dinner. The dinner would have been much less caloric if I hadn't tacked on the two slices of homemade whole wheat sourdough bread but it all was good.

I think I'm finally getting on top of the poison oak infestation I've been suffering. It has taken Benadryl pill to do so but none of my patches itched on the hike I took today. Unfortunately, they still are red, which leaves me taking another pill yet tonight. I'd like to think that the "drowsy" formula would help me sleep but the drying of the anti-histamine counters it.

For goodness snakes alive

The snake turned up again, thanks to the cats, except this time it was very much moving.  Since I wasn't on my way out the door, I grabbed it and tossed it in some rather tall ground cover in my back yard.  Of course, the cats went outside immediately and it wasn't too much later that I saw them playing with it on a paved area.  While I didn't go out and rescue it, I do hope that it got away unscathed enough to live well.

Yesterday was the area speech contest.  The right person won from my area and it wasn't me, which is somewhat a relief.  When they were introducing the speakers, the toastmaster asked each a question from the brief bio questionaire they had us fill out.  My question was on the Marilyn Westbrook Garment Fund, which allowed me to expound a bit on Marilyn, lymphedema, and the reason/necessity for the fund.

Since I won't be giving the speech again, I thought I would append it.  Without further ado, here is "That Darn Pedometer:"

My Fellow Toastmasters and Honored Guests:

As I was going out to get my paper on Valentine’s Day, I almost tripped over the box. There it was, the gift my sister had called about earlier that week. It was only later that I realized that “That Darn Pedometer” must have arrived the night before on Friday the Thirteenth.

I managed to hold off setting it up until after breakfast. But then, even though I had a critical errand to run, getting food for lunch, I found myself reading instructions and entering information into a pedometer. The last step was the difficult part. I first had to find one of my four tape measures. Then I had to use it to measure ten steps and multiply, add, divide, convert units, using what turned out to be higher math, to calculate the length of a single step. By that time the setup function had timed out so I had to reread the instructions and finally was able to enter the length of my step, two feet ten inches.

However late, I was finally on my way to get food and went as fast as I could, for any law enforcement present, that is, as fast as was legal, directly to the store and did my buying. Unfortunately, on my way home, I had my new toy with me and its pull was irresistible. Instead of turning left and heading home to put my just purchased food away, I turned right and parked in an ocean access parking lot to go walking on a paved path along the coast.

Fortunately, the day was downright chilly—for my groceries left setting in my car, that is. I, however, was cold in spite of my walking while dressed in a hooded sweatshirt, fleece vest, wind-breaking shell, and gloves. Even though I saw people substantially less clothed than I was, I had to duck into a fast food restaurant to get out of the wind to unzip enough of my layers to check my pedometer. It was disappointing. If I had turned around and walked back to my car I would have been substantially short of the 10,000 steps my sister said I should walk every day. I continued walking until I had to turn around. Another step would have taken me down a steep cliff and into the ocean.

As I had been doing on my pre-pedometer walks, I documented this hike through an occasional picture but it turns out that “that darn pedometer” has an aerobic function. To trigger it and ensure the best health benefits of walking all I had to do was walk for ten or more minutes at a pace of 120 steps, or so, per minute. Frequent picture taking stops halt the aerobic effect. This was the last hike I’ve been on where I’ve taken pictures.

When I got home, put my groceries away, and ate my late lunch, I started doubting my calibration. I remembered there was a trail nearby that had a sign up at the end that said it was exactly one mile. (Thus, my walking in and out should register as two miles on the pedometer.) Since it was “nearby,” I decided to walk to the trail. I learned three things: The trail was further away than I thought, well over a mile; the pedometer is calibrated to within 1/100ths of a mile over two miles at my stride; and my tennis shoes weren’t made for walking. I now had blisters on both heels.

The next day it was raining and my only walking was around my 1,400 square foot house. Now that I was wearing a pedometer, I found out that my steps are normally shorter indoors. Not so this day. My step was to say the least, abnormal. You know the kind of step where you realize that you are about to step in something you definitely don’t want on the bottom of your shoe so at the last moment you extend it? I no longer wear “that darn pedometer” in the house and am back to walking normally.

Since the rains didn’t let up, I decided to walk in the rain lulls if I could or in the rain if I had to. This meant that I would have to stick with paved or well-graveled walkways. After wrenching my back by stepping into a driveway cutout, I started looking down. This led to my getting whacked on my head by an overhanging branch of a small tree. I would like to say that “that darn pedometer” at least has taught me to be more aware of my surroundings, I certainly am aware of that tree and do watch for the unexpected sidewalk drop-offs, but still, it’s a baseless accusation to say that I sometimes have gotten lost in thought and have walked right by my house.

I’ve learned a few things about myself that I may not have learned without “that darn pedometer:” it takes me at least an hour and a half to walk 10,000 steps; I am willing to walk literally in circles to reach 10,000 steps (with my favorite place to do so the 95 step circle at the end of that mile trail); and I am never ever again going to drink anything with caffeine in it before I go on a walk.

(I find that I am walking to places that I never would have thought to walk to before. I find that I take the long way. I’m spending hours—walking.) Why am I dodging pummeling plants, back damaging drop-offs, and avoiding the far to frequent evidence of well-fed dogs? “That darn pedometer” makes me.

One more thing, in spite of all my complaints, it has enriched me. I’m not talking about my improved fitness, although I am fitter, I’m saying it has truly enriched me—so far I’ve found 51 cents on my hikes with it.

The case of the disappearing snake and other

I now know why cat doors are not a good idea.  Humphrey was so proud of himself.  He even brought his find in and laid it in my hall outside my door.  I quickly took a couple pictures and went on to my dental appointment figuring that I would have a disposal job when I got home.

If you looked at this title, you guessed it.  The snake is no where to be found.  I really don't think it was alive so the only thing that could have happened is that one of the cats decided to hide it for later.  Either way, I'm likely to have a dead or dying snake decomposing somewhere in my house.  I can't hope that Humphrey or Napoleon would be so kind as to take it outdoors after Humphrey went to all the effort to bring it in.

My next dental appointment is in August, after I get back from my cross-country motorcycle ride and Alaska RV trek, Roadtrek that is.

I guess I'm going down to Pasadena for a job interview in about 10 days.  It sounds like the kind of job that will fit into my lifestyle very well but I'll write more about it when (and if) it happens.

My Toastmaster speech contest is tomorrow.  I still need to complete its memorization, which may now need to be done tomorrow morning.

I'm now taking Benadryl for my poison oak outbreak.  The tablets appear to be working much better than topical Caladryl.  But then again, the Caladryl is at least eight years old.  I couldn't find an expiration date on the bottle.  There may have been one on the box it came in but that box is at least eight years gone.

I'm liking spring, so far.  It's nice to go out without so many layers that I feel like a penguin.

Restful night, lazy day

I once told Marilyn that what I missed most about California, particularly the Bay Area, was thunder storms.  Last night all night, when I was awake to hear it, I was lulled back to sleep by the sound of rolling thunder and its accompanying rain.

It started with my listening repeatedly to a couple of guided meditations, one with a background of a babbling brook and the other with the sound of waves crashing onto the shore.  So, finally I went on iTunes and did a query on "nature sounds."  This led to the purchase of four items: a babbling brook, which must have been recorded at night for all of the chirping, croaking, and hooting; a rolling thunder with rain, which was exactly that; the sounds of a crashing surf; and a relaxing rain.

Rather than meditate with my guided meditations, I simply went to bed after Ohio State lost in the second overtime, and listened to my rolling thunder with rain one "song" playlist.  My iPod is set up to repeat a playlist so after a two-second, or so, period of silence, the six minutes of rolling thunder with rain repeated.  I must have listened to at least four or five rounds before I lost count or fell asleep.  I managed to turn the iPod off this morning before the battery was completely drained but after I came out and put together another batch of whole wheat sourdough bread, I went back to bed for another nap.

It was after ten when I finally got up and made my bed, although the latter was due more probably to discourage me from easily getting back into it than my daily aesthetics.  (I try to make my bed every day.  There is something about getting into a bed with sheets pulled straight that helps me sleep.)

Because of my poison oak outbreak and its treatment, I closed my bedroom door to the cats last night.  While this did not necessarily improve my sleeping, it certainly gave me more of the bed to do it in.  What it did do is make both cats a little more clingy today, which is how I ended up taking a nap this afternoon with one of them on my lap.

I do intend to go to bed early tonight, again without the cats.  I wonder how I'll sleep to the sound of relaxing rain all night?

The Two Worse Things about Poison Oak...

The two worse things about Poison Oak beyond the fact that I'm allergic to its oils to begin with are:

The sympathetic itches I get in places that I should be able to relieve by scratching but don't because it may just be another outbreak of a Poison Oak allergic reaction.  I really don't know if these non-Poison Oak itches are normal and being normal only rise to my consciousness when I have Poison Oak, or are additional itches that are a mental side effect of having Poison Oak.  If normal, then I do a lot of scratching that I'm not "normally" aware of.

The second is where I get the Poison Oak outbreaks.  They are generally where I would normally have something rubbing, like my jeans on my thigh, or the cuff of my sleeve on the back of my hand.  Although, the more I think about that outbreak's placement, it makes me think that one of my cat guests, Napoleon, may have created the outbreak.  I don't know whether or not he got the Poison Oak oils on his claws from his own expeditions or from something I brought in but it is right where he was kneading my leg.

Then there are a number of inconveniences that come with Poison Oak that are not technically worse but are bad enough.  Caladryl is a messy medicine for Poison Oak and takes forever to dry.  This would not be bad in itself but I don't know what I am going to do tomorrow when I need to "dress up" a little better than my normal jeans.  Taking forever to dry in a house in the 60's is also an interesting experience, but I won't go into that.

I'm also more conscious of where I put my fingers, not that I can change very much of it.  I find I swap out my reading glasses for sunglasses far to often with the threat of Poison Oak oils around.  I've read stories that off road vehicles driven through patches of Poison Oak can infect people sensitive to it for as much as a year later.  With all the hiking I've been doing, just how much oil is on my hiking boots or tennis shoes.  Oh well, at least the hiking boots are due for a replacement.  But if they have oils on them, I've also worn them around the house.  Are there oil deposits in my house?

Arrgh!  Even in a positive frame of mind, I can't think of a single good thing about Poison Oak and that's really bad.

Indoor Cats and Other Observations

A long time ago in my first life I was the provider/partner of a cat named Weldon that I called Butt.  Butt was definitely an indoor cat declawed and neutered as a relatively cheap service from the shelter.

(Humphrey is the cat looking at the camera and Napoleon is the cat still asleep.)  As in my previous relationship with a cat, I am thinking about nicknaming them Jackk and Asss or Andd and Orr.

Now that I am the temporary provider/partner to my youngest daughter's and husband's two cats, neither of which are declawed, I was hoping that they would avail themselves more of the outdoors once I made it available.  Indeed, they have gone out but with the drizzle and coolness, have often come right back in.  From the state of their litter box, they do at least go out to do some of their duty, although not all of it.  It is good that they aren't using the litter box as extensively as they did the first two weeks.  I need to get more litter.

Humphrey was asleep on my bed almost all of today.  While I was hoping that Napoleon was availing himself of the great outdoors after he demanded attention from me right when I was attempting to do my morning stretches/back exercises.  After my leg stretches, I gave up and gave him attention.  He enjoyed it so much he was kneading the thin pants I had on at the time with the net effect of partially kneading my skin.  Unfortunately or fortunately, this kneading did not scratch the patch of Poison Oak I discovered on my leg.  (I almost went out and bought some treatment potion but found a bottle of Caladryl last night and have used it repeatedly to good but not yet curing effect.)

However, they both did go out just before I was going to feed them and lock them in for the night.  The bike bell was effective in calling them in though.  They really love their meat in gravy.

Yesterday on my walking 10,000 aerobic steps, which I did not walk today, I happened to be doing some of it while the local high school was doing endurance or cross-country training.  (It may have been the wrestling team for all I know.)  Anyway, a couple of them were not running, which put me in mind of my high school running experience.  Then I did not exert myself to find my limits.  In other words, I never ran so hard that I puked.  I suppose this same lack of stretching myself was true in other areas as well.  School work was so easy that I averaged reading a fiction book a day.  Most of them were short but some of them were not.  I can now attest that some wisdom does come with age.  Now I am more willing to go to my limits but, at least in the physical side, my limits are much closer.

After an interlude of somewhat sporadic, even rare, meditation, I am once again stepping up to it daily.  I still cannot say that I am doing it right, or if right, well, but I am achieving a peace from it that encourages me to do it again.  I am also attempting to do it longer at least twice a day.  However, the best meditation sessions have been the third one done in the middle of one of my walks.  I have only done this two or three times so far but each has been very rewarding.  There is something about being in the great outdoors...

The Big Change (in me)

I woke up this morning and realized that somewhat unconsciously during the night I had scratched the small patch of poison oak on my left hand.  I immediately put some Cortaid on the patch and covered it with a band-aid.

In times past, this would have gotten me out of doing dishes and someone else would have stepped in to take my turn.  Even last year, I would have just postponed doing dishes.  But now, with my dishwasher unusable because I have yet to fix the drain and my attempts to keep the number of dishes done within what my larger draining rack will hold, I find that instead of easily figuring out how to avoid work, or at least postponing it, I am figuring out how to get it done anyway.

This is a big change.  The other way came almost automatically for many years.  Now, that there is only me to be disappointed in my progress, or more accurately, to make progress, I have to step up regardless of my readiness and find a way.  For the dishes, the way is really rather simple:  I have a lot of latex disposable gloves that certainly can keep the band-aid dry, as long as I don't bury my arm in water.

Since I had already decided that today was going to be a domestic day, the rain/fog drizzle outside just reinforces the wisdom of my plans.  Finding alternative ways to make my plans work, according to plan, is gravy.  Umm, maybe I can make some Punk Rock Chickpea gravy today.  That stuff is delicious.

My favorite poem...

While I have always remembered the poem since I first ran across it some twenty years ago and have given it out to most of my direct reports at two companies, I have not always remembered to follow it.  I thought I would share it here and wish you the best in following it yourself:

"Until one is committed there is hesitancy,

The chance to draw back,

Always ineffectiveness.

Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation)

There is one elementary truth,

The ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans:

That the moment one definitely commits oneself

Then Providence moves, too.

All sorts of things occur to help one

That would never otherwise have occurred.

A whole stream of events issues from the decision

Raising in one's favor

All manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance,

Which no man would have dreamt would have come his way."

The Scottish Himalayan Expedition by W.H. Murray, published 1951.

"Hair of the Dog"

Well, after putting the last of the chicken jerky, "Spicy Hickory," on to dehydrate, changing my clocks, eating breakfast, eating lunch, stretching my legs, and thinking about riding my motorcycle somewhere, perhaps Whole Foods for some Glucosamine Chondroitin with MSM and Fish Oil, I decided as I was almost nodding off that I should go walking. Besides not wanting to ride sleepy, the cats were in the garage and I didn't want the imagined difficulties of getting them out of there so I could get my motorcycle out.

So, I did my normal 10,000 step walk with a twist. Instead of walking around a 95-step circle at the end of a mile trail at least ten times, I walked to the circle and back out a little bit to take an off shoot trail called Valley View. It rejoined the Weiler Ranch Road so its only advantage was that it went up hill and the switch backs took the place of my going around in circles. (On the weekend there are many more observers to my crazily walking in circles, which might raise some eyebrows, but walking a trail up hill and down that doesn't actually go anywhere doesn't.)

Of course I'm getting to the age that concerns of how others see me are lessened, particularly if their interpretation has no impact on me.  If thought to be crazy, and I don't believe I am, I still don't want to be hauled off in a straight jacket.  Besides, I'm not out there pushing an envelope.  I'm just getting healthy.

So, I ended up walking 11,717 aerobic steps in an hour and 48 minutes.  I also found out that my house is 1.4 miles away from the Weiler Ranch Road trail head.  So, over 20% of my walking yesterday was just getting to the trails I walked and back.  I so definitely am driving the next time.  Maybe I should drive to Montara and walk it from that side because I kept wanting to go that way coming back.  I imagine all my misdirection added still another mile.

I'm reworking my "That Darn Pedometer" speech for the next stage of the contest.  I'm adding more gestures and chopping at least 20 seconds off of it.  I'll publish it here once I get the rework completed.  One of the comments said that it was my best speech yet.  I guess I'm in this contest to win.

Deliciously exhausted, well exhausted

I decided this morning as I was getting eight pounds of chicken dehydrating for jerky and marinating another 16 pounds that I would walk to the top of Montara Mountain. So as quickly as I could after cleanup and lunch, I packed up my Camelback and walked to the park.

Over four and one half hours later with over 27,000 aerobic steps and 15 miles, I was regretting not driving to the park. It's not that I minded the 1.3 miles to the park, it was downhill. But after all that walking, the last 1.3 miles up hill, however gradual the rise, was very noticeable.

When I was entering this in my spread sheet where I'm keeping my daily walking log, I realized that today was just a matter of degree. While Tuesday and Wednesday was only the 90 minutes or so I need to walk to get 10,000 aerobic steps in, Thursday was ten minutes shy of two hours; Friday was two and a half hours; and today was excessive.

Thursday I wanted to find out how far I had walked on my walks along Embarcadero, normally just over three miles. I also walked my maximum distance to find out how long that was, seven miles. Yesterday I was just walking on a trail, a big looping trail and that was just how long it took. Today, I could have done it in a little fewer steps but I wanted to walk back a different way than I walked up. After my first wrong turn and back tracking, I seriously thought about going back down the muddy rutted trail into San Pedro Creek park that I had come up but at that moment I was going down on a well graveled/sanded service road. I thought sure it had to connect with a new trail that I could take that would be better.

Later, after having gone downhill for some good distance, they finally had a sign post. The road that I was on was a road to Montara and Highway 1. I started looking for trails to the right that had to be shorter than going all the way to Montara. (In an earlier and until today longest walk, I had hiked 11 miles round trip almost to Montara and I had driven to the trail head.) The first trail to the right looked like it was too steep so I went on resigning myself to the longer but easier walking of the roads I had been on. But then there was what looked to be the trail I was looking for, so I took it. Indeed, it did deliver me to exactly where I thought I wanted to come out but after that first easy section, it consisted of some of the steepest rock faces I've ever attempted to walk. I was thinking that it was exclusively for daredevil mountain bikers when I passed someone WALKING UP.

Even though I was thinking at times that I should have had rappelling gear, I traversed the worst parts safely. It was on a less steep part I had an abrupt sit down. Oh well, it was time to wash these jeans anyway. (I just washed my other two pair, that fit, which is a good sign that the ones I'm wearing need it.)

Walking to the top of Montara Mountain was worth it, although, the next time I'm driving to a trail head and coming back out the same way to my car. One of the things that made it worth it was the very clear day. There I was on top of Montara Mountain looking for the Farallon Islands. Normally on clear days like this, they are easily spotted on the horizon. Then I found them. I was up so high that they weren't actually on the horizon. The horizon was blue ocean beyond them. There were just a couple wispy clouds out over the ocean and below me.

Ever since my first hike with the pedometer, where I did take pictures, I haven't taken any. On that first hike taking them, they interfered with the aerobic function. Today, I could have used a few more breaks, but didn't even have it with me, not that it would have taken the Farallon Islands all that well. I've tried that before when they were closer.

What I did have on the top of Montara Mountain was good cell phone reception. I think every cell phone company in the area has a position on one of the towers, maybe more than one. So, in addition to catching up on some family conversations, I was able to interact with Facebook. Maybe someday I'll figure out how to send a mobile picture in so I can use the camera on my phone to document my hiking travels. I have another electronic toy that would have been good to trigger at the top, my Spot. I would have liked to see what it did with that location. Oh well, some other time.

Walking in the Rain and other stories of the day

Woo Hoo! After no small amount of anxiety because my tax accountant made an $18,000 error in forecasting my income last year and I was thinking that my anticipated tax refund would become a case of taxes owed, today I found out that I get a much more modest refund but still a refund. Woo Hoo! I hate to loan the government interest free money so why am I celebrating?

Sophisticated cats? My tuner is set on NPR and I left my radio on when I went out. I thought they might like some voices exciting their day like someone actually lives here. I expected to see some sophistication when I returned but they had retreated to the garage. I didn't have it on that loud so maybe they could only take a more limited amount of sophistication. I must admit that the constant barrage of international and economic news is depressing in almost any quantity.

I'm almost making my mother's sourdough bread. Andrea brought some that she had made from the starter and the slice I had was pretty good. She left out the egg so I did as well. I also, inadvertently left out the salt. It didn't seem to effect the first raising. I have it in for the second raising now. I discovered that I only have one bread pan. So, I'm making one loaf of bread and the rest will hopefully be rolls. I did make them into 13 roughly the same size balls of dough but they are all in the same pan. I have a feeling that as they raise together I'm going to end up with a larger flatter loaf rather than rolls. My mother reminded me today that they freeze, I'm assuming once baked, but with my freezer stuffed with my daughter's PCT preparation, dried ground and chopped meat and bags and bags of homemade cookies, I don't think I have that option.

Marilyn and I have been a member of the Sierra Club since I978. We joined soon after we moved to Houston. She was alway the environmentalist and more recently the driving force in our buying a Prius. Well, they sent me a final notice that my membership was about to be discontinued so I had to send them some money. I also forgot to take my checkbook with me when I met with my tax accountant to go over the return that he will be submitting, as soon as he gets my check for his services, although he didn't word it that way. So, I was motivated to get the check off to him as quickly as possible. Then finally I volunteered to review a friend's and fellow "layoffee's" resume and I promised to get back with him today. While this isn't necessarily making a long story short, the long and short of it is that I had three pieces of mail and decided to walk to the nearest mailbox. Since it was on the way to my wet weather 10,000 step walk, even though it wasn't raining at the time and hadn't since around noon, at least at my house, but even a couple days after a rain it is better to stay on pavement and well drained gravel, I decided to continue and get in my 10,000 steps.

I finally remembered to take a plastic bag to pick up trash and recyclables on the walk. Well, I remembered the bag before I walked off of my drive and simply went back for it. Initially I was thinking about only picking up stuff on my way back but before I knew it, I had a stuffed bag. It seems that Coastside Scavengers had made a trash and recyclable pickup this morning on the longest street portion of my walk. My neighbor was telling me that if they finish in six hours they still get paid for eight. This is sufficient incentive to often make them fast but rarely make them good. I'm always picking up trash that they can't seem to get in the rather large maws of their trucks and they only try once. Since I had a full bag, I put the recyclables in the park's recycling cans and the trash in their trash cans. Even if Coastside Scavengers pick up the park's trash, it won't get redumped close to my street.

The best I can say for the walk overall is that at least the rain held off until after I mailed those letters. In fact, it held off until I was at the furthest point of the walk away from my house. There is something about the inevitability getting wet that takes away the problems of getting wet. And I did get really wet. Instead of bemoaning it, I found that I really enjoyed walking in the rain. I didn't think to sing. There were portions of the walk where it was a proverbial downpour. Then there were portions where down was a more relative term. It seemed for a few seconds to be perpetually lateral. At least I had a somewhat waterproof jacket on. My Sun Precaution's hat with its brim kept most of the water off of my face even as the mesh vents allowed my head to get soaked. The worst were my jeans. They were wet from my jacket bottom all the way down and what the rain didn't do to get my shoes wet, the runoff from my jeans did. The master bath is now a drying room, including the dollar bills that I had in my money clip. (Darn, only ones.) After I got my excessively wet clothes off, I had to use a towel on my legs and feet.

I'll let you know if I experience any sickness from this exposure, but I really don't expect to. I'm glad I completed my 10,000 steps, excuse me, aerobic steps. I may actually plan to be out walking in the rain the next time I can. I'll have to find my rain poncho though.

Oh, even though I left my "trash" bag in the park's trash can, I managed to find and pick up six bottles and cans on my way home. There were a couple more but I didn't have anymore effective carrying capacity.

Friends with my ex-wife?

I know a lot of people remain friends after their divorce and while we were never enemies, we had nothing left to keep us in each other's circles and drifted away, probably not even thinking of each other but once in 30+ years. And that was because she finally met someone she did want to spend the rest of her life with and wanted our marriage to be annulled so she could be married in "the church." I, of course, had already found the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life at the time.

Circumstances have made it such that I am not spending the rest of my life with Marilyn, except in spirit, but my recent contact with my ex, has made me realize that I wouldn't have traded those 30 years for a life with anyone else.

The recent contact came through something I myself joined not that long ago, from an invite from one of Marilyn's college friends. My ex joined just a few days ago. Even if I had thought to search for her, I wouldn't have known which name to look for and besides, she wasn't a member.

Since I am a member under my own name, all she had to do was search as my name hasn't changed.

So, we are friends on Facebook and I am glad. I'm glad she is happy and still married to the person she wanted to spend her life with. Most of all, I'm glad that I have had the life I've had, which has so far been so much better than any other life I could have imagined, at least for thirty years. Perversely, this has also lifted my spirits in my "third life," because I did have those thirty years and, because of them, I have a lot to look forward to and enjoy in my "third life."

Quiet Day, after about 10:30 AM

Well, it was quiet until I turned on the radio. Someone turned it up as unloading work was going on and I didn't and still haven't turned it down after I turned it on. I almost turned it back off as the international news on NPR was depressing.

The reason it got quiet was my youngest daughter and her husband left on the first leg of their cross country trip for cross country hiking training in the hills of West Virginia in preparation for their PCT hike starting the first of May. I don't know how much training they will actually get done with all that they are planning on doing while they are there. For example, soon after they get there my daughter is going to participate in the Westbrook Clan's Women's Weekend in Hocking Hills. They are also supposed to help put up an electric fence, talked about re-felting a pool table, and visiting my son in New York City, Brooklyn.

In addition to the furniture, some permanent that they have returned to me and some temporary that I am storing for them, I now have my only guest bedroom that is now a storage unit. With the taller stacks of boxes in front, these pictures do not do the actual food justice but the last thing I'm going to do is rearrange all of this stuff just for a better picture.

I also have two cats, at least temporarily, three or seven months. They have both been curled up on separate dining room chairs most of the time since they left with me occupying a third while typing on my MacBook. Stuff from the cleared off table are on two additional chairs, leaving just one chair available for seated dining. I'm sure this is just resting up for tearing around the house all night, which is what my daughter and son-in-law reported that they did last night. I may have to close my bedroom door to keep them from running over me.

Tomorrow I'm going to start my Orenda International product consumption, Oki, O-Tropin, Immune, and All In One for Men. They are network marketing only products so I've joined the network. I will be sending the lighter of the three products to two of my sisters, which reminds me I need to call one of them to let them know. Medical professionals that I know and trust have told me some of their personal experiences and successes with these products. (Some have boosted their immune system after cancer.) If I sell them at all, it will be because I want others to get the benefits. If you are interested in learning more, I'll be glad to send you information. Just add a comment to this posting.

I wish I had known about them before Marilyn's last cancer. After the fact it is obvious that her immune system was impaired but these products are more preventative than curative. Several medical people report getting off of prescription medicines, losing weight, and combating depression. They also have a canine All In One for older dogs.

I'll report more on the effects of the Orenda International products as they are known. I know that everyone is different and results may vary but I am really hopeful, for myself and my sisters.

Well, I'm off for some boring work that has a new level of excitement, taking out the trash and recyclables without letting the cats out.