Staying the Course -- 07/30/2018

[Superbob]

Ahoy, anybody out there? The course is watery here along the Carolina coastline. The frog-strangling torrents have been coming at 3 a.m., 6 a.m., 6pm., midnight -- well just about anytime. 3 inches or more at a time. Some of the most ominous-looking clouds I have ever seen. Tropical all the way. The fun ones wake you and the dawgs up, and then you all need to go to the kitchen and get some treats, This evening we also had a tornado warning. Suppose this is all just a warmup for hurricane season, peak of which is usually August/September.

My exercise teacher is now in her second week of being a tourist in a motorhome with her family out in British Columbia. Feel sorry for her because in her blogs she describes having had a bad allergic reaction to something, but she has charged on taking long hikes -- even up some fair-sized mountains -- despite feeling very sick. Need her back here and well and kicking our butts. Our subs are competent but not as inspiring as she is. Take that as you will but she really is a remarkably excellent fitness instructor/trainer.

Wasn't 100% certain about the continued interest in our little corner of the site, given the uncertainty, but doing a week's start-up nonetheless.

Look forward to hearing from folks.

Stay the Course!

Cheers,

Superbob

 

[MartinF]

SB, we could use some of that rain out here in CA, the Fire state.
Just returned from a 3 day weekend to the eastern Sierras in the north with my wife. We stayed in Mammoth Lakes, altitude 7880 feet. The smoke from the local fires blocked the views of the peaks on the drive. First day we did a 4 mile hike starting at 9695 feet with the turn around at around 10,400 feet. Seemed to do OK with breathing but slow on the uphill. The smoke was not an issue this day. But the second day we did a 5 mile hike and the smoke was more noticeable. Started at 9120 feet and turned around at about 10,200 feet. Beautiful lakes up there, nice forests and views. Even saw some residual snow. Lots of hikers on the second hike including multi-day hikers with their fishing poles.
Hope everyone has a good week.

 

[jwinter]

I am still hanging in there with all you coursers. Fun to read about vacation trips and weather from all over. I know not everyone likes talking about the weather but as a girl raised on a farm, it really interests me. We planned pretty much our whole lives around weather patterns. Maybe that is boring to some, but we were far from bored, ever.

Not much for updates from me this week and I am loving this new normal life! Mowing, weeding, watering, even cleaning house makes me one happy girl. Only snafu if a regularly scheduled cardio appointment this afternoon. I have got about 8 lbs of fluid off this week (maybe they will forget to weigh me) just by finding some good edema exercises on Youtube. I guess I don't utilize Youtube much but that will have to change............just like everything else seems to change.

Have a good week all!

 

[Paleowoman]

I am still hanging in there with all you coursers. Fun to read about vacation trips and weather from all over. I know not everyone likes talking about the weather but as a girl raised on a farm, it really interests me. We planned pretty much our whole lives around weather patterns. Maybe that is boring to some, but we were far from bored, ever.!

You will enjoy the weather news from England then ! Our heatwave, which last week nearly broke records with the nearly hottest day on record (2003 just bbeat it) and nearly the longest number of days without rain, suddenly broke and we had cooler weather at last ! Everyone is so relieved to be able to sleep at night. Last night it actually rained quite heavily for about 15 minutes. The grass is still yellow. Aerial photos of the UK show that it is virtually all yellow instead of green. The farmers are having problems. The heatwave is due to return on Thursday and be too hot again on Friday and Saturday.

It's too hot for me to walk, especially as the mozzies are in force like never before so that I have to cover any bare skin in deet which makes me feel even more uncomfortable. I've been tidying the garden, nothing is growing but leaves are dropping off some of the bushes as they are parched. Even the weeds don't grow now

 

[honeybunny]

Checking in from Houston. Continue to be busy at work under new supervision but hey...job security, right?

Too much very sad weather-related news of late. I can't imagine the destruction in California. We face hurricanes and associated flooding all the time in Houston, but at least we have ample time to react in most cases, and we can recover personal belongings, even if they are water logged. Can't outrun a fire. Especially tragic (IMO) were the deaths of the great-grandmother and two young children who phoned their great-granddad to come get them. Stores like that put any petty problems I have to shame. So no complaints from this valver this week.

Wishing everyone a safe week ahead~

 

[epstns]

I'm still out here in the Upper Middle Rust Belt. Our weather is as usual - unpredictable. Weather reports are usually wrong. I want that job. As a weather forecaster near Chicago, you can be consistently wrong and still keep your job. I guess there are so many variables that the weather patterns are almost impossible for even the computers to accurately forecast.

They have been forecasting rain almost every day for the past couple of weeks. It rained once. It often rains out in the burbs where my office is located, yet the lawn is dry and parched at home. My wife waters it so much that the water department sends me letters asking me to check the pipes for leaks!

Not much really new here. This week and next are my two weeks of intense work. My normal schedule brings me to work one week of the month to close the books and publish financial statements, but in August I must also work a second week to prepare all the papers for the auditors' annual visit. It feels just like I never retired. Oh, well, it is only August, then I'm back to my usual one week per month.

I can't really tell you what I've done or accomplished this summer. It has been really just day to day living. I've been going to the gym early in the morning so as to have the day open. Some mornings we then go to the park pool for water aerobics, then out to the park lawn to play bocce. Afternoons are sort of free-form. For a while we were preparing for family gatherings at our house. The last of those was the weekend before last. Last weekend we went out to the Botanic Garden. Walked the grounds and attended a cooking demonstration where a locally renowned pastry chef demonstrated how to make scones. The samples were scrumptious! My wife promises to bake some this fall, too.

I'll be in and out for a bit, but very definitely still here, Stayin' the Course!

 

[Superbob]

Hey guys and gals -- good to hear from you all this week! I just made my donation to vr.org It had been a while. Maybe if we just had a regular donations drive and/or a clear reminder of the need for help, we could secure the future of this wonderful place. I think it can be done. Stay the course!

Rain cats and dogs here....hard to walk the dawg on a regular schedule with pop-up storms so often, but we've been managing a trek just about every day. My grown-up son has some heavy-duty neck surgery (similar to Peyton Manning's) next Tuesday so good thoughts, vibes, prayers appreciated for him. My wonderful fitness trainer battled through a two-week motorhome vacation in British Columbia with her family with the effects of some ugly allergic reaction. Hoping she is all well and ready to kick out butts at CoreFit this coming Monday.

Pretty much just staying the course.

Cheers all....

 

[jwinter]

Hey all, I just had to check back in and add my news to the course. Cardio visit this last Tuesday. It had been almost a year so was a bit nervous. No need to be as all is well and my new Cardio is a keeper. She is about 60 and so young and pleasant. lol I had to add that bit about "young" She looked at my other reports, listened to my heart for a longgggg time, and then pronounced "Wow, is that a great valve and heart!" She reached out and gave me a little hug and said see you in a year. Enjoy! When I asked about echos, stress tests, ekgs, and the like she said that this valve is a very low maintenance valve and requires little in the testing department. She said they just install, take a couple echos for baseline and then checkup annually. Told her I wasn't sure at first about this valve as I learned the ins and out of warfarin, coagulation, bridging , and that new ticking I hear just about daily when I open my mouth and brush my teeth. Well it has taken some time but I am an official lover of that valve. It has had the crap kicked out of it the last 10 months and it just keeps a going, bridging is a few seconds a day ordeal twice a day, my INR comes back therapeutic within a few days, not that big of a deal. Now if I can just keep on that course...........doing my part the best I can.

Good to see all the check ins. Wishing your son well on his upcoming surgery (same day as my kidney stone surgery) so got quite a few on my prayer list. again.

All others stay safe and still keep an eye on that weather. Weatherman here never gets it right either. I would love to go to England, Anne. Sounds like my kind of place.

Full schedule this next week with LAST of my appointments with specialists. Still await complete diagnosis and plan going forward.

Feeling good here and I wish the same for all my courser friends. Have a great weekend!

 

[Superbob]

that's wonderful news about your cardio checkup and new Cardio, jwinter! Hoping for a specialist-free course for a good while and many excellent annual checkups down the road.

 

[Superman]

Left 5 lbs somewhere on the trails in Shenandoah. Did a lot of hiking. The kids were troopers. We walked all over DC first seeing all the major landmarks, then followed that with the National Park. The Library of Congress was really cool. It was an unplanned addition to the trip, but the kids are voracious readers and were really impressed.

Saw a bear on the trail. Lots of rain, so the waterfalls were impressive. Went to Luray Caverns too.

Great trip overall. Nice to go back to work so I can relax.