More on the actual trip later.
Glad to be back
Images of Water in the Rocky Mountains
It seems ironic to me that my first impression of the Rocky Mountains was how much like a storm they looked. I had to reset my parameters. This seeming bank of storm clouds was really a major mountain range. I was at the Denver airport then and as we approached the mountains they looked less like clouds and more substantial. Once we were in the mountains though the water images returned. The mountains reminded me so much of giant waves. Once on the ski slopes the water imagery continued. Of course snow, the necessary condition for skiing along with slope, is frozen water. But did you realize that the undulations of the ski runs resemble waves themselves? Of course instead of you sitting stillish and seeing the waves come to you, on a ski slope you are moving along the fairly stationary wave s of snow. You ski along a steep slope as if you were sliding down a curling wave then turn and ski/slide the next one. Even my ski instructor continued the theme. She was attempting to get me to accomplish parallel turns. In the course of this she said that she thinks of the graceful turns that slide across and down the trail, looping slightly upward at each extreme as a sort of wave going from side to side of the slope making a wide loopy s curve down the mountain. Watery what?
Then there is the way everyone pushes drinking water. At this altitude, about 10,000 ft dehydration is a major issue and there is a theory that drinking lots of water will hasten your adjustment to high altitude as well as ward off the dreaded dehydration. Everywhere you stop there is water pressed on you. You float through a week here. The beer is good too although that does not help the dehydration problem it may help the altitude one. Or encourage you to worry less about it. At least the tap water is tasty. Could be Poland Spring.
On a more nature walk side of things, there are quite a few animals around. Snow shoe rabbit tracks are all over. There is a sort of gray bird that hangs out looking for food and I saw a very panicked little black squirrel caught out on a busy ski trail. It was doing the start stop dash thing trying to avoid skis and boards who were also jinking around each other trying not to run over the squirrel. All made it safely past the danger. The snowshoe trail took us past a fox den and driving in the mountains you can see hundreds of elk prints. Supposedly you can see wild mountain goats too ut I have not personally seen any so far.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Packing day
mood- anticipatory
weight- 187
Once I get hold of the final bits & pieces, more ski socks, finish the laundry etc. I get to pack for a week of skiing and assorted similar winter sports. Fun.
There's nothing like a vacation to create a deadline to get all sorts of things done and off your desk. I'm pretty much all up to date with my various responsibilites. Nice feeling. Know it won't last long.
Will try to post from CO but can't promise much as I don't know what the facilities will be like, or my time, or my comunicating mood. Hope you have a good week.
weight- 187
Once I get hold of the final bits & pieces, more ski socks, finish the laundry etc. I get to pack for a week of skiing and assorted similar winter sports. Fun.
There's nothing like a vacation to create a deadline to get all sorts of things done and off your desk. I'm pretty much all up to date with my various responsibilites. Nice feeling. Know it won't last long.
Will try to post from CO but can't promise much as I don't know what the facilities will be like, or my time, or my comunicating mood. Hope you have a good week.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Where I left off
Picking up where I left things last Thursday. There's been good and bad.
GOOD - Brownies enjoyed playing with the water music glasses. Didn't even make much mess. For those unfamilar with the concept here's a description. Take a dozen tall matching water glasses. Leave one empty. Fill each of the others with progressive quantities of water. ie 1 oz in glass 2, 2 oz in glass 3, 3 oz in glass 4 etc untill you run out of glasses or room in the glasses. As many tall drinking glasses hold about 12 oz of liquid a dozen glasses gives you a reasonable range. Once the water is in the glasses you sound them by tapping them on the side with some object like a pencil. They will each sound different and if you have arranged them from most filled to least filled you get a sort of musical scale. Sounds a bit like windchimes or a xylephone. As I said the Brownies enjoyed them. Set went home with 2 sisters will switch people this week.
BAD - Replaced the zipper on the ski jacket then found that it still did not fit. This meant a trip to get a new one. Ended up with a men's jacket. GRRRRR. The women's jackets that fit were only for looks, no technical features backed zips etc. Men with 48" hips it seems are expected to ski and such while women of the same size are sidlined by lack of equipment. I know I just GOT equipment but the men's sizing is still too long in the arms and big in the shoulders. It will work but it's still a patch.
This leads to the solution. I've got no contorl over who manufactures what but I have some control over the dimensions of my hips. I'm starting the reversal by drinking at least 48 oz of water daily and setting the timer to move around at least every 30 min during the day. This should allow me to metabolize my food intake more effeciently and to keep the metabolisim working through the day. Mind you I'm still training 6/7 days a week in either Aikido of TaiChi but that is activity that my system is all too accustomed to.
Thurs I go on vacation to a CO ski resort. I'll get a mixture of activities that's different but I'll keep up the water and moving. When I come back I'm thinking of adding green tea extract to my daily intake.
Don't know what will happen to blogging on vacation. It will depend on internet access as well as time & motivation. I will be looking for all of these.
Books: Finished "Just One More Day" sweet, a little sappy but wirth the time. Reminded me a lot of Thornton Wilders "Our Town" similar message. Appreciate your ordinary days. They are limited. Started "Conversations with God" very wierd so far. Set up as if there were an actual conversation going on. A very loopy conversation at that. We'll see how it goes. May get listed as just one of those odd books that you read. Need to get something lite for vacation reading and the plane.
GOOD - Brownies enjoyed playing with the water music glasses. Didn't even make much mess. For those unfamilar with the concept here's a description. Take a dozen tall matching water glasses. Leave one empty. Fill each of the others with progressive quantities of water. ie 1 oz in glass 2, 2 oz in glass 3, 3 oz in glass 4 etc untill you run out of glasses or room in the glasses. As many tall drinking glasses hold about 12 oz of liquid a dozen glasses gives you a reasonable range. Once the water is in the glasses you sound them by tapping them on the side with some object like a pencil. They will each sound different and if you have arranged them from most filled to least filled you get a sort of musical scale. Sounds a bit like windchimes or a xylephone. As I said the Brownies enjoyed them. Set went home with 2 sisters will switch people this week.
BAD - Replaced the zipper on the ski jacket then found that it still did not fit. This meant a trip to get a new one. Ended up with a men's jacket. GRRRRR. The women's jackets that fit were only for looks, no technical features backed zips etc. Men with 48" hips it seems are expected to ski and such while women of the same size are sidlined by lack of equipment. I know I just GOT equipment but the men's sizing is still too long in the arms and big in the shoulders. It will work but it's still a patch.
This leads to the solution. I've got no contorl over who manufactures what but I have some control over the dimensions of my hips. I'm starting the reversal by drinking at least 48 oz of water daily and setting the timer to move around at least every 30 min during the day. This should allow me to metabolize my food intake more effeciently and to keep the metabolisim working through the day. Mind you I'm still training 6/7 days a week in either Aikido of TaiChi but that is activity that my system is all too accustomed to.
Thurs I go on vacation to a CO ski resort. I'll get a mixture of activities that's different but I'll keep up the water and moving. When I come back I'm thinking of adding green tea extract to my daily intake.
Don't know what will happen to blogging on vacation. It will depend on internet access as well as time & motivation. I will be looking for all of these.
Books: Finished "Just One More Day" sweet, a little sappy but wirth the time. Reminded me a lot of Thornton Wilders "Our Town" similar message. Appreciate your ordinary days. They are limited. Started "Conversations with God" very wierd so far. Set up as if there were an actual conversation going on. A very loopy conversation at that. We'll see how it goes. May get listed as just one of those odd books that you read. Need to get something lite for vacation reading and the plane.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Thursday Already
mood- ok
weight- 187
I can hardly believe that 4 days have passed since I last blogged. Time vanishes easily I guess.
So what have I done in four days?
- 3 Aikido classes
- 1 Tai Chi class
- finished a knitted neck cozy made from bamboo yarn. It's amazingly nice stuff and shines almost like silk.
- finished, finally, Caroline Myss's book Invisible Acts of Power. Dense info. took months to read at bedtime.
- finished Michael Crichton's book Next. Interesting mix of fact and speculative fiction about genetic manipulation. Not as extreme as Margaret ATwood's Oryx & Crake on the same subject.
- started Michel Bloom's One More Day. Hes sappy but surprisly compelling.
- bought a new computer game and played it far too much. It's from Cyprus no less!
- re registerd for the virtual kwoon now that it has recoverd from being hacked.
What do I need to do?
- prep for todays Brownie meeting. I've got 13 identical glasses that will get filled with varying amounts of water to play a tune by striking the glasses. Need to pre set water levels and mark them so we can refill to the correct levels this afternoon. then the girls can play with the concept with less mess and fuss.
- sew a zipper back into my ski jacket so I can use it next week going to CO to ski.
That's all for now
weight- 187
I can hardly believe that 4 days have passed since I last blogged. Time vanishes easily I guess.
So what have I done in four days?
- 3 Aikido classes
- 1 Tai Chi class
- finished a knitted neck cozy made from bamboo yarn. It's amazingly nice stuff and shines almost like silk.
- finished, finally, Caroline Myss's book Invisible Acts of Power. Dense info. took months to read at bedtime.
- finished Michael Crichton's book Next. Interesting mix of fact and speculative fiction about genetic manipulation. Not as extreme as Margaret ATwood's Oryx & Crake on the same subject.
- started Michel Bloom's One More Day. Hes sappy but surprisly compelling.
- bought a new computer game and played it far too much. It's from Cyprus no less!
- re registerd for the virtual kwoon now that it has recoverd from being hacked.
What do I need to do?
- prep for todays Brownie meeting. I've got 13 identical glasses that will get filled with varying amounts of water to play a tune by striking the glasses. Need to pre set water levels and mark them so we can refill to the correct levels this afternoon. then the girls can play with the concept with less mess and fuss.
- sew a zipper back into my ski jacket so I can use it next week going to CO to ski.
That's all for now
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Changes Add up- to what
mood- reflective
wieght- 189
It dawned on me this afternoon that a there's a shift going on around me. 2 friends have just retired. One is starting a new business that she has been looking forward to for years. The other was downsized from the large company she had worked for a very long time. She has a good severance package and ideas about where to go from here but it's still uncharted territory. More uncharted land stands in front of the 2 guy aquaintnces who I've heard have recently been informed by their wives that the marriage is over. Yet another new world is the one my mother is in as a widow. She has always lived with someone and has had to make all sorts of adjustments to being on her own. My friend whose live in boyfriend died suddenly a few months ago is more used to being on her own but it's still a shock. My own life is pretty stable but still the changes creep around the edge. Grandchildren change things even when they're not actually underfoot. Perspective changes. I'm not sure where this is going but I think I'm more on the lookout for new things and different possibilities.
On the more practical side. Had a very teachy Aikido class yesterday morning. I was the only student not wearing a white belt so was the demonstration uki for the whole class. That takes more falls than average. Also means the class was focused on basics. I appreciate that as basics can't be revisited enough. If they are flawless then so is everything else. The fancy extras only work to the extent that the underlying form is correct. It takes a few years of practice though to appreciate that.
wieght- 189
It dawned on me this afternoon that a there's a shift going on around me. 2 friends have just retired. One is starting a new business that she has been looking forward to for years. The other was downsized from the large company she had worked for a very long time. She has a good severance package and ideas about where to go from here but it's still uncharted territory. More uncharted land stands in front of the 2 guy aquaintnces who I've heard have recently been informed by their wives that the marriage is over. Yet another new world is the one my mother is in as a widow. She has always lived with someone and has had to make all sorts of adjustments to being on her own. My friend whose live in boyfriend died suddenly a few months ago is more used to being on her own but it's still a shock. My own life is pretty stable but still the changes creep around the edge. Grandchildren change things even when they're not actually underfoot. Perspective changes. I'm not sure where this is going but I think I'm more on the lookout for new things and different possibilities.
On the more practical side. Had a very teachy Aikido class yesterday morning. I was the only student not wearing a white belt so was the demonstration uki for the whole class. That takes more falls than average. Also means the class was focused on basics. I appreciate that as basics can't be revisited enough. If they are flawless then so is everything else. The fancy extras only work to the extent that the underlying form is correct. It takes a few years of practice though to appreciate that.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Friday Already
mood- ok
weight - 189
Some how I missed posting at all yesterday.
Got up early and made it to the 6am Aikido class. Still D teaching, Seems K is less than thrilled at getting up so early on the day off. That's the way it goes. Suddenly B who usually teaches on Wed & Fri is talking about Mon as well.
Anyway I went and was good for most of the class but got an attack of dizzyness about 15 min before the end. Hope this goes away soon.
Made lots of bookings for activities while we are on vacation at the end of the month. Will play lots in the snow for a week.
Brownies had a good time playing store. They are practicing booth sales and making change and figuring out what can be afforded and learning to complete a sale and cooperate with each other etc. They even had fun.
It's been a sort of dramatic week for each of my kids. At least one thing per went wrong and needed prompt fixing. All got tended to but it's unusual for all three to have dramas simultaneously.
Til next time
weight - 189
Some how I missed posting at all yesterday.
Got up early and made it to the 6am Aikido class. Still D teaching, Seems K is less than thrilled at getting up so early on the day off. That's the way it goes. Suddenly B who usually teaches on Wed & Fri is talking about Mon as well.
Anyway I went and was good for most of the class but got an attack of dizzyness about 15 min before the end. Hope this goes away soon.
Made lots of bookings for activities while we are on vacation at the end of the month. Will play lots in the snow for a week.
Brownies had a good time playing store. They are practicing booth sales and making change and figuring out what can be afforded and learning to complete a sale and cooperate with each other etc. They even had fun.
It's been a sort of dramatic week for each of my kids. At least one thing per went wrong and needed prompt fixing. All got tended to but it's unusual for all three to have dramas simultaneously.
Til next time
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Dizzy Day
moody- ok now
wieght- 190
Woke up this morning Dizzy. and a bit nausous. Seems to be a side effect of a week of Cipro. Declined to tke the last dose this morning and feel much better now in the afternoon.
I suppose they mean what they say with those little yellow stickers on the pill bottle. Who would guess. Spent the morning reading the latest in brain candy books. Crighton's, Next. Fast moving. Thought provoking. Little on the loose side in holding a plot together. Much more of a quilt that a novel but OK for all that. Worth the few hours it takes to read.
Would like to check out the new iphone. looks snazzy. would need to be able to read books on it as well as listen if it were to have any chance of replacing the palm I currently use. I read faster than I listen.
At least the weight is down a little
wieght- 190
Woke up this morning Dizzy. and a bit nausous. Seems to be a side effect of a week of Cipro. Declined to tke the last dose this morning and feel much better now in the afternoon.
I suppose they mean what they say with those little yellow stickers on the pill bottle. Who would guess. Spent the morning reading the latest in brain candy books. Crighton's, Next. Fast moving. Thought provoking. Little on the loose side in holding a plot together. Much more of a quilt that a novel but OK for all that. Worth the few hours it takes to read.
Would like to check out the new iphone. looks snazzy. would need to be able to read books on it as well as listen if it were to have any chance of replacing the palm I currently use. I read faster than I listen.
At least the weight is down a little
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Early Morning Happens
Mood- slightly bored
Weight- nt checked today
It was actually cold as well as dark this morning going out to 6am Tai Chi class. Was good to go. L is back from a warm vacation so the team teaching is finished for now.
Tried doing the 16 posture form to the right instead of the usual left. Felt distincly odd, literally off footed.
Tonight is a quiet evening at home. Need to pick a new knitting project. Have several small ones to choose from. Havn't recovered from the silk stockings yet.
Finished lots of things today. Tao of Pooh, Babylon Baby both books and 4 pogo badges. Guess you could say that the business phones were quiet.
Weight- nt checked today
It was actually cold as well as dark this morning going out to 6am Tai Chi class. Was good to go. L is back from a warm vacation so the team teaching is finished for now.
Tried doing the 16 posture form to the right instead of the usual left. Felt distincly odd, literally off footed.
Tonight is a quiet evening at home. Need to pick a new knitting project. Have several small ones to choose from. Havn't recovered from the silk stockings yet.
Finished lots of things today. Tao of Pooh, Babylon Baby both books and 4 pogo badges. Guess you could say that the business phones were quiet.
Monday, January 08, 2007
?Ski weekend
mood- ready to go
weight- yikes 192
We really tried. We brought the skis and checked the websites. Fri night there seemed to be just enough snow in northern VT to ski but by Sunday morning it had gone away. Sat was just a beautiful Spring day. Sunshine, mud, mild breezes. Just not what you expect for Early January in VT.
Sat. we met with our co-housing partners. Walked all over the land and showed some prospective partners around. It was a great day for it. The engineer had mostly good reports about soil types etc. It looks like some of us may be building houses in 2008. Sat night we went out to dinner with friends and Sun we were supposed to ski.
no snow - no ski
So we came home Sunday via the woodwork shop to get some new lathe gadgets and more exotic wood.
Had a good dinner with J who had bought & marinated a great steak. Finished both the cactus puzzle (me) and the glow in the dark Penguiun puzzle (J) (she hated the cactus one and got another)
So today is another ordinary work day.
Note about weight. I'm not obsessing or anything but trying to keep track to get/keep it under control. All the car riding this weekend seems to have been worse for the weight that the whole weeks of Holidays. Will doo something about it. More action/ less intake.
Til the next time
weight- yikes 192
We really tried. We brought the skis and checked the websites. Fri night there seemed to be just enough snow in northern VT to ski but by Sunday morning it had gone away. Sat was just a beautiful Spring day. Sunshine, mud, mild breezes. Just not what you expect for Early January in VT.
Sat. we met with our co-housing partners. Walked all over the land and showed some prospective partners around. It was a great day for it. The engineer had mostly good reports about soil types etc. It looks like some of us may be building houses in 2008. Sat night we went out to dinner with friends and Sun we were supposed to ski.
no snow - no ski
So we came home Sunday via the woodwork shop to get some new lathe gadgets and more exotic wood.
Had a good dinner with J who had bought & marinated a great steak. Finished both the cactus puzzle (me) and the glow in the dark Penguiun puzzle (J) (she hated the cactus one and got another)
So today is another ordinary work day.
Note about weight. I'm not obsessing or anything but trying to keep track to get/keep it under control. All the car riding this weekend seems to have been worse for the weight that the whole weeks of Holidays. Will doo something about it. More action/ less intake.
Til the next time
Friday, January 05, 2007
Possibilities
Mood- Ok hungry Weight 189
Now I've eaten breakfast so I'm not so hungry but still in a writing humor.
FWIW the Brownies got to role play friendly neighbors and pairs of girls selling cookies. They seemed to have fun with it. They may even have learned something. We played a game where each girl made a suggestion about what to do with the $ we will get from cookie sales. They had a wide variety of ideas but nothing too extravagant. I foresee a few bowling and movie trips in our troop future.
Got a good response to the Sunday knitting thing. I may be one of the few experienced knitters responding or at least responding early. Better brush up on my knitting explaining.
May not post this weekend. Will be away from home & computer.
Now I've eaten breakfast so I'm not so hungry but still in a writing humor.
FWIW the Brownies got to role play friendly neighbors and pairs of girls selling cookies. They seemed to have fun with it. They may even have learned something. We played a game where each girl made a suggestion about what to do with the $ we will get from cookie sales. They had a wide variety of ideas but nothing too extravagant. I foresee a few bowling and movie trips in our troop future.
Got a good response to the Sunday knitting thing. I may be one of the few experienced knitters responding or at least responding early. Better brush up on my knitting explaining.
May not post this weekend. Will be away from home & computer.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Persistance Pays
Mood- pleasantly achy
Weight- not measured this AM
Managed to get an early moning Aikido class after all today. At last nights class I asked if another person might be willing to instruct and one of the 1st kyu students was. He likes to teach and dosen't have a regular venue. He also has no problem with 6am starts. So it was a good class. Spent plenty of time on freestyle with several attackers. I seem to be a 'natural' as far as they remember as they don't really realize that I've done lots of freestyle jiujitsu. I learned long ago how to keep calm, slow down and just keep moving. I don't mind their being impressed.
Now about the Brownies. Need to get going on what to do with them this afternoon. I think one of the cookies/math/money try-its. It's that time of year and they need to figure out what they want to do with the proceeds.
Weight- not measured this AM
Managed to get an early moning Aikido class after all today. At last nights class I asked if another person might be willing to instruct and one of the 1st kyu students was. He likes to teach and dosen't have a regular venue. He also has no problem with 6am starts. So it was a good class. Spent plenty of time on freestyle with several attackers. I seem to be a 'natural' as far as they remember as they don't really realize that I've done lots of freestyle jiujitsu. I learned long ago how to keep calm, slow down and just keep moving. I don't mind their being impressed.
Now about the Brownies. Need to get going on what to do with them this afternoon. I think one of the cookies/math/money try-its. It's that time of year and they need to figure out what they want to do with the proceeds.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Resolutions
1) I enjoy reading my daughter's blog even when she is in talking range.
2) all 2006 I managed to keep up a paper journal with nearly daily entries.
3) THIS year, 2007, I'll see if I can do similar online.
2007 has already had a few changes
Thursday am Aikido class is cancelled- teacher is bringing a daughter back to college!. That will put me in defecit for aikido hours for the month/year from the start. Oh well. will go tonight anyway.
There's a knitting group starting at the SYC. Could be fun. Sun afternoons are a good time for chit chat and knitting. Need to be wary of the alcohol levels though. That could make a hash out of a complicated pattern.
Girl Scout business is perking. More registrations, more waiting list versions. More decisions about what to do tomorrow with the girls.
Tai Chi was amusing yesterday at 6am. Team teaching - 2 senior sutdents in charge.
Until later
2) all 2006 I managed to keep up a paper journal with nearly daily entries.
3) THIS year, 2007, I'll see if I can do similar online.
2007 has already had a few changes
Thursday am Aikido class is cancelled- teacher is bringing a daughter back to college!. That will put me in defecit for aikido hours for the month/year from the start. Oh well. will go tonight anyway.
There's a knitting group starting at the SYC. Could be fun. Sun afternoons are a good time for chit chat and knitting. Need to be wary of the alcohol levels though. That could make a hash out of a complicated pattern.
Girl Scout business is perking. More registrations, more waiting list versions. More decisions about what to do tomorrow with the girls.
Tai Chi was amusing yesterday at 6am. Team teaching - 2 senior sutdents in charge.
Until later
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Reprise-Life at the speed of Toddler
Once upon a time I had my own toddler.
Acutally I had 3 of them in 2 year intervals.
It was long enough ago that it seems far away.
For half the month of March this year we had a reprise of life with toddler. Suddenly, morning comes early with a grin as we release him from the crib, change the (very) wet diaper and play with stuff on the bed for 20 min before breakfast.
The rest of the day we keep track of his busy pregenerations around the house working on the fascinating business of finding out how doors open & close. What happens when you shout at the cat. How do you put the lid back on ,the box, the food jar, the other box. Sometimes we go on errands in the car and visit the post office, bank, library, great grand mother, the playground. All these things are greated by a stream of friendly commentary in a language that sounds like English but it isn't.
My friend says that at this age baby's know the secrets of the universe and are busy telling everyone they meet. Unfortunately we don't understand the language and by the time they speak ours they don't remember the secerts.
Maybe he will take a nap or two. In any case he is very ready for bathtime and beddie bye by 7pm or so. He dives for that mattress with a sigh I can relate to and settles in for a good 12 hour sleep.
Life at the speed of toddler is kind of relaxing if you arn't trying to do much else besides keeping everyone fed, supplied with clean clothes and tidy living space. You can even read the paper in the course of the day and speak to people on the phone. Much more ambitious plans need to wait till he gets home to Mom & Dad.
It's very quiet now with him gone.
The cats are getting used to peace.
When can he visit again?
Acutally I had 3 of them in 2 year intervals.
It was long enough ago that it seems far away.
For half the month of March this year we had a reprise of life with toddler. Suddenly, morning comes early with a grin as we release him from the crib, change the (very) wet diaper and play with stuff on the bed for 20 min before breakfast.
The rest of the day we keep track of his busy pregenerations around the house working on the fascinating business of finding out how doors open & close. What happens when you shout at the cat. How do you put the lid back on ,the box, the food jar, the other box. Sometimes we go on errands in the car and visit the post office, bank, library, great grand mother, the playground. All these things are greated by a stream of friendly commentary in a language that sounds like English but it isn't.
My friend says that at this age baby's know the secrets of the universe and are busy telling everyone they meet. Unfortunately we don't understand the language and by the time they speak ours they don't remember the secerts.
Maybe he will take a nap or two. In any case he is very ready for bathtime and beddie bye by 7pm or so. He dives for that mattress with a sigh I can relate to and settles in for a good 12 hour sleep.
Life at the speed of toddler is kind of relaxing if you arn't trying to do much else besides keeping everyone fed, supplied with clean clothes and tidy living space. You can even read the paper in the course of the day and speak to people on the phone. Much more ambitious plans need to wait till he gets home to Mom & Dad.
It's very quiet now with him gone.
The cats are getting used to peace.
When can he visit again?
Thursday, March 24, 2005
Information Resistance
Lots of people have heard of "Insulin resistance". It's blamed for gaining weight and implicated in developing Diabetes. Nasty condition though where in the triangle of insulin resistance/weight gain/diabetes is the start is a good question. Once that cycle gets going it is hard to stop.
Another "resistance" may be FSH or follicle stimulating hormone ressitance in causing menopause. The men. cycle is a complicated cascade of hormones etc that works for 35 years or so in human females but it seems that it comes to a halt when the ovaries containing the "egg" follocles become resistant to the FSH that starts them into development monthly. Eventually the Pituitary gives up producing the FSH stuff and the Menopause is established.
I've noticed something in mostly older people (young ones get it too though) I call it "Information resistance". Somewhere along the line people decide that they know it all or enough of it all that they don't want any more information. This can be amusing as when the retireee has to get his grand kid to make the VCR work but essentially it is a tragedy. When we cease to learn we cease to grow and we start to shrivile and will eventually die. In some cases the facts we refuse to learn my materially hasen that demise. But mostly its a mental thing. Young people, even ones of great chronological age, are ones that will still learn, still be willing to get fresh information, still be teachable by life and people.
Another "resistance" may be FSH or follicle stimulating hormone ressitance in causing menopause. The men. cycle is a complicated cascade of hormones etc that works for 35 years or so in human females but it seems that it comes to a halt when the ovaries containing the "egg" follocles become resistant to the FSH that starts them into development monthly. Eventually the Pituitary gives up producing the FSH stuff and the Menopause is established.
I've noticed something in mostly older people (young ones get it too though) I call it "Information resistance". Somewhere along the line people decide that they know it all or enough of it all that they don't want any more information. This can be amusing as when the retireee has to get his grand kid to make the VCR work but essentially it is a tragedy. When we cease to learn we cease to grow and we start to shrivile and will eventually die. In some cases the facts we refuse to learn my materially hasen that demise. But mostly its a mental thing. Young people, even ones of great chronological age, are ones that will still learn, still be willing to get fresh information, still be teachable by life and people.
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Tuesday already
Last post was Friday and the weekend flew with activity and impressions. We drove up to VT in about 5 hrs. arrived safely between snowstorms and got to our friends house after dinner. Quiet night chatting and knitting. Sat early we left for the MOUNTAIN. Skiing is something I know I can do but the thought of actually doing it has been VERY SCARY since last year when I got hurt skiing in the extreme cold then panicked a week later when, still injured, I tried a trail too hard for me. Well, I was determined to overcome mental as well as physical issues (extra weight) and do it. It worked. I rememberd how and relaxed sufficiently to be able to ski OK. Lots of powder Sat. Snowed on us all morning. Quit after 2 hours while realy tired but before anything bad happened from overdoing. We went back to friend shouse and I went to SLEEP. Naps are quite restoring. In the evening we went out to the local arts theatre production of Princess Ida by Gilbert & Sullivan. Funny show. We laughed lots. The actors all hammed it up amuzingly and I have a true visual now for ROTFL. A couple of the cast members came back to the house and we all chatted til midnight. Sunday AM got up and had pleasant breakfast with frinds then head out to RI to collect our grandson for a 2 week visit. He is 15 months old and babbles a lot but dosen't talk. He walks though and plays a lot. Another long drive home and all went well.
Untill next time
Untill next time
Friday, March 11, 2005
Discovery- Hi/Lo
Sorry for not blogging in a while.
Discovered an interesting concept recently. Determining the hi point of a day & the low point of a day. It was being talkd about as a conversation starter around the dinner table but it strikes me as a good idea in many contexts.
It has the disadvantage of asking you to make judgements that may or may not be warranted. Afterall, something that was unpleasant to start with could really be a good thing. Childbirth leaps to mind here. Not fun but what an outcome!
On the other hand it encourages you to be more mindful of your actions and surroundings.
So some recent hi/lows
Wed. Hi- unexpectly acquiring some really nice pieces of furniture from a store that was clearancing. they really puul together the kitchen and the parlor.
Lo- being in tune with my youngest as she stresses about being unable to find a job. Been looking for a medium long time and nothing seemed to be working.
Today Hi- so far hearing that one of the jobs is going to offer daughter employment and getting to tell her to call them back
Lo- realizing that it is snowing & I need to go shopping in it.
Looking forward to an interesting weekend. Skiing, going to the theatre and collecting the toddler for 2 weeks.
Discovered an interesting concept recently. Determining the hi point of a day & the low point of a day. It was being talkd about as a conversation starter around the dinner table but it strikes me as a good idea in many contexts.
It has the disadvantage of asking you to make judgements that may or may not be warranted. Afterall, something that was unpleasant to start with could really be a good thing. Childbirth leaps to mind here. Not fun but what an outcome!
On the other hand it encourages you to be more mindful of your actions and surroundings.
So some recent hi/lows
Wed. Hi- unexpectly acquiring some really nice pieces of furniture from a store that was clearancing. they really puul together the kitchen and the parlor.
Lo- being in tune with my youngest as she stresses about being unable to find a job. Been looking for a medium long time and nothing seemed to be working.
Today Hi- so far hearing that one of the jobs is going to offer daughter employment and getting to tell her to call them back
Lo- realizing that it is snowing & I need to go shopping in it.
Looking forward to an interesting weekend. Skiing, going to the theatre and collecting the toddler for 2 weeks.
Thursday, March 03, 2005
BREAKFALL !!
They tell you that you need to learn to breakfall. At least in the Jiujitsu classes I took they did. They tell you that "one of these days someone will throw you and only a breakfall will work & not hurt"
One of these days happened this evening. It was an innocent gathering of Aikidoists, 1 Aikodo black belt, 1 Akiido brown belt/Jiujitsu Black belt, 1 Aikido yellow belt/Judo Black belt & myself Aikido yellow Jiujitsu black belts. We had been working on concpet throws all evening and were finishing with a lione fre form format. The Judo BB was up and throwing he held on just a touch longer than expected and I did it launched into a breakfall. It worked.
It's a good thing I persisted in learning that fall. While they said it was useful they never put it on the required list.
More later.
One of these days happened this evening. It was an innocent gathering of Aikidoists, 1 Aikodo black belt, 1 Akiido brown belt/Jiujitsu Black belt, 1 Aikido yellow belt/Judo Black belt & myself Aikido yellow Jiujitsu black belts. We had been working on concpet throws all evening and were finishing with a lione fre form format. The Judo BB was up and throwing he held on just a touch longer than expected and I did it launched into a breakfall. It worked.
It's a good thing I persisted in learning that fall. While they said it was useful they never put it on the required list.
More later.
Sunday, February 27, 2005
Aikido reflections
Well everyone came back from skiing Fri in a good humor and we had a very pleasant dinner and evening.
Sat. AM the visiting daughter went off to carry out the main reason for her visit, a bridal shower in the next state. She is probably flying back by now as she was going home directly from the shower. It was very good to see her even if is was for so short a time.
Sat morning brought a pleasant surprise for me as well. I went off to Aikido class as I am likely to do on Sat morning and one of the teaching Black Belts was very complimentary about the test I had done the week before. Wow, a whole week later and he was still impressed. It was a good test. it looked especilly fine in contrast because I had been in a serious funk and being very flaky with technique for the previous weeks in classes. It seemed that the more I practiced the worse I got.
So I stopped obsessing about the test and just did it.
When it came time for the test I kept my center and simply let the techniques happen. Shodon is a matter of attutude as well as basic knowledge. I have achieved the internal qualities already in Jiujitsu. While I need to acquire much more technique knowledge and practice to be Shodon in Aikido there is much to be said for exercising the internal qualities in the performance of the Aikido techniques that I do know and can demonstrate. Tai chi practice is a help too. Tai chi concentrates so firmly on the internal aspects of the energy dynamics that underly the effective techniques of all the martial arts that it is a major aid in aikido practice. It is so easy to focuss on the external aspects of a technique, the choreography, so to speak, that you can never have time to get to the internal aspects that actually make it work. Tai chi chuan looks seriously at those internal aspects. If one is so inclined they translate beautifully to other places.
Sat. AM the visiting daughter went off to carry out the main reason for her visit, a bridal shower in the next state. She is probably flying back by now as she was going home directly from the shower. It was very good to see her even if is was for so short a time.
Sat morning brought a pleasant surprise for me as well. I went off to Aikido class as I am likely to do on Sat morning and one of the teaching Black Belts was very complimentary about the test I had done the week before. Wow, a whole week later and he was still impressed. It was a good test. it looked especilly fine in contrast because I had been in a serious funk and being very flaky with technique for the previous weeks in classes. It seemed that the more I practiced the worse I got.
So I stopped obsessing about the test and just did it.
When it came time for the test I kept my center and simply let the techniques happen. Shodon is a matter of attutude as well as basic knowledge. I have achieved the internal qualities already in Jiujitsu. While I need to acquire much more technique knowledge and practice to be Shodon in Aikido there is much to be said for exercising the internal qualities in the performance of the Aikido techniques that I do know and can demonstrate. Tai chi practice is a help too. Tai chi concentrates so firmly on the internal aspects of the energy dynamics that underly the effective techniques of all the martial arts that it is a major aid in aikido practice. It is so easy to focuss on the external aspects of a technique, the choreography, so to speak, that you can never have time to get to the internal aspects that actually make it work. Tai chi chuan looks seriously at those internal aspects. If one is so inclined they translate beautifully to other places.
Friday, February 25, 2005
Quiet Day/frustration
It's another quiet Friday. Husband is off skiing, this time with 2 daughters. It's nice to see family solidarity.
Why am I not skiing too? several reasons, not the least of which is I'm not at all sure that I still fit in my ski pants. My rear end seems to have expanded out of all expectations this year. I have added weight but all of it seems to be in my butt. Also, my knees have finally recovered from jan'04's bad cold & ski experience and I'm not too keen on damaging them again. I like my knees. I like doing things that use them heavily, ie Aikido, jiujitsu, tai chi, walking getting up & down the stairs in my house etc. Third, it's good to have someone answering the phones for the Vet. business. I may not be able to send him out today but I can make appts for other days and listen to updates and take notes on who needs refills and so on. Finally, I hate to miss my Taichi class on Friday afternoon. It's only once a week but I do enjoy it.
Just because I'm home alone is no reason to be bored. I have a large needlework project underway, a good book to read, grocery shopping to do and a new computer (newish) to play games on.
What's the frustrating part. well I went with husband and another couple to see the Gates last Sat and wrote a cool assesment of them but it got lost in edit somewhere and I can't find it to post it. Will need to post immediately now & in the future.
Why am I not skiing too? several reasons, not the least of which is I'm not at all sure that I still fit in my ski pants. My rear end seems to have expanded out of all expectations this year. I have added weight but all of it seems to be in my butt. Also, my knees have finally recovered from jan'04's bad cold & ski experience and I'm not too keen on damaging them again. I like my knees. I like doing things that use them heavily, ie Aikido, jiujitsu, tai chi, walking getting up & down the stairs in my house etc. Third, it's good to have someone answering the phones for the Vet. business. I may not be able to send him out today but I can make appts for other days and listen to updates and take notes on who needs refills and so on. Finally, I hate to miss my Taichi class on Friday afternoon. It's only once a week but I do enjoy it.
Just because I'm home alone is no reason to be bored. I have a large needlework project underway, a good book to read, grocery shopping to do and a new computer (newish) to play games on.
What's the frustrating part. well I went with husband and another couple to see the Gates last Sat and wrote a cool assesment of them but it got lost in edit somewhere and I can't find it to post it. Will need to post immediately now & in the future.
Sunday, February 13, 2005
Busy Sunday
Sundays are especially busy this Feb. It started when I agreed to teach a Self defense series on 3 sunday afternoons in Feb. At that time I figured who would be planning more stuff in Feb. Well I suppose I'm not the only one who thought that & theres been a major Aikido seminar (for Tsunami relief) and today a seminar on Taichi's Martial applications. I get to go to both but leave early to meet with the Self Defense class. Now I need to make certificates for the students as it's the last session in the series.
This self defense class is pretty basic escape stuff. I think of it as a first aid course. Red cross will teach you how to assess a situation and phone for help. Maybe begin CPR. but first aid is not a subsitute for medical school. Self defense classes are about the same on a Martial Arts level. They can introduce concepts and actions that ought to help so you can get away and call for help. They are better than being clueless.
Til later
This self defense class is pretty basic escape stuff. I think of it as a first aid course. Red cross will teach you how to assess a situation and phone for help. Maybe begin CPR. but first aid is not a subsitute for medical school. Self defense classes are about the same on a Martial Arts level. They can introduce concepts and actions that ought to help so you can get away and call for help. They are better than being clueless.
Til later
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