Day 17: Discovery Park

I live about a three hour drive to the Portland Oregon LDS temple, which pretty much limits my visits there.  So when I feel the need to go to the House of the Lord and serve therein, I go to the Stake Center on Saturday and help with the cleaning, whether it's my turn or not.  Like today, where I spent a half an hour washing and rinsing floor mop pads.

Afterwards, I went to Discovery Park and walked the perimeter. Except for the dog park and two or three other people, the park was empty. I discovered that the south part of the park is missing part of its trail, so I had to gingerly climb down a sandy slope to get over to the paved path.  The wind was blowing strong, and there were few people there.  I asked one woman how long the perimeter was, and she didn't know.  She walks it with her friends regularly "and it does wonders," she said.  She told me that people who wear Fitbits know, and then told me of a friend of hers, who, when a smoke alarm went off in the hotel they were staying at, ran to the stairs with her husband.  He stopped and ran back for his Fitbit, so that his going down the stairs counted on its register.

For me, it took me a little over 40 minutes to walk the perimeter one and a half times.


The park opened earlier this summer, and has a pond in the center of it, which is fed by a well and by run-off, and has a water pump to circulate the water to avoid mosquitoes from plaguing the area.  Countless families brought their kids and dogs to play in the water in the hot ninety degree plus days..  The signs went up for dogs to stay out, but people have their special exceptions.  My supervisors groused about lack of water safety:  "What do we do if someone drowns? or just drops off a dead body?  Don't we have any "closed" signs ready? What do we tell the media?" 

A few weeks of this, and the Bulletin newspaper put out an article about something or other of water safety, with a side bar, announcing that Discovery Park's pond would be tested twice a week for e-coli, salmonella, and other bacteria.  The rest of the week, only two or three families were there, and then they heard the news, and afterwards only an occasional paddle boarder or two were at the water.  Today, there was nothing but the wind-churned water.

Day 16: Pilot Butte

"If you want to lose weight, walk Pilot Butte three times a week.  If you want to lose weight faster, then six times!"  (a saying I heard some years ago)


After a short debate, I decided to keep my promise to myself and go up Pilot Butte.  I'd walked it in the past, and even got my 50 trips--100 miles reward of having my name posted on the bulletin board.  All that had been done on the road, and this time, I was going to take on the nature trail.

At the base of the butte, by the parking lot, is a flat, paved quarter-plus mile trail.  I learned in past times that if I walked a loop before and after, it was easier going up and my legs didn't cramp on the way home.

I was under dressed.  I had a short-sleeve tee shirt and a hoodie sweatshirt.  Other people I could see on the trail wore gloves, hats, jackets.  The wind was blowing cold, the sky was overcast and I imagined getting soaked before it was all done.  I started with my back to the wind and walked the loop quickly with my sleeves pulled down over my hands.

The sun broke out as I finished the loop and headed to the trailhead.  The rose bushes had been severely pruned.  The bulletin board now had Janice Stencamp at 7200 miles--or was it 7500?  My name had been removed from the 100 mile listing a couple of years ago.  Today?  Perhaps the start of my 200 miles.  A yellow sign warned that a cougar was spotted on the butte on March 23, 2015.  Good to know.

I hesitated a moment at the divide.  I could still do the road trail, but I decided to keep my promise and went straight up on the nature trail.  The wind was less, due to it being behind me again, and the amount of trees that bordered the way.

There are no less than five benches on the  trail.  Years ago, I sat on one while my youngest daughter played with a bubble gun.  This was as far as I got, looking over St. Charles Hospital while she praised me for making it that far.  This was so long ago, that she was only two-thirds as tall as she is now.

It is shorter than the road trail, but much more steeper and is all dirt.  I got to the point where I would stop, rest a moment, start again for 45 or 50 or 70 steps, stop, rest, repeat.  I stayed out of the benches.  I charted my progress by guessing where I was in relationship to the road.  There were wooded posts along the trail that I noticed, and some had numbers painted on the top.  I thought that they were some sort of distance markers, but the numbers repeated, or so it seemed, and therefore made no sense.

When I was a child, one of the first books I owned was "The Big Jump and Other Stories."  The first one was of a king who could jump to the top of his castle tower in one leap.  A young boy met his challenge of jumping to the top by jumping up one stair at a time.  I put myself into the story:  The important thing was to get to the top, and so, no matter how long it took with my many rest breaks, I would make it to the top.  After all, I did this before when I first walked to the top, and over time, I was able to walk up and down without any rest breaks but the bathrooms.  I imagined repeating my successful trips. I unzipped my hoodie, it became so warm.




Up at the top of the butte, I took my victory lap, my trip to the outhouse, and then went up the ramp to the top.  I wondered if the butte had been closed to vehicular traffic, but a Toyota soon showed up.  There was one other person, but then a whole bunch showed up, having taken the road route.  To the west, the mountains were all covered with low clouds, making it look as if they had never existed.  To the east, a sunny area at Powell Butte, with the surrounding grounds being shady from the clouds.  To the south, thick rain clouds sat over Newberry Monument and Lava Lands, and I wondered if I would make it down before they hit.  To the north, Mt. Adams was gone and Smith Rocks didn't look so well.  The wind was still strong as I flapped my sweatshirt to cool off.  I headed down the paved road, seeing no advantage to taking the steep trail down.  I took the loop at the base, and then drove off to Costco.

The whole event took about an hour an a half, time well spent.   I was tired in the afternoon, and laid down for a short rest that turned into two hours.  I will do yoga tonight.
 

Day 15: Riverbend and Farewell Bend Parks

I mailed off some last minute Halloween cards, paid a bill, and drove to Riverbend Park and used the restroom.  It is weird to me, to go in there as a "customer" or a park patron, instead of a custodian.  I did a quick check, and remembered that it would have been probably the first one cleaned today, and that there may have been only one on duty that day. It wasn't bad, just a bit scruffy.  I also didn't have any way to tidy it up, which led to a rather odd realization that the custodial closet was now completely off-limits.  I set my timer on my cell phone and took off.

I walked down to the foot bridge and noticed a new sign on it, announcing that the bridge's weight limit was 3500 pounds, approximately 20 people.  Good to know.  I crossed it solo, and walked into Farewell Bend, down the river trail to where it goes under the Bill Healy Memorial Bridge, and did a U-turn, walked back past the restroom and follow the pavers back to the foot bridge.  On the way I found a Post-It note on the ground:  "Dave, please change the neon sign It flickers"  there was more on the other side, but the fact that it was on the ground meant that, perhaps, the job got done.  Even though I was walking at what I thought was a fast clip, people easily strolled past me.

I crossed back over, kept walking on the sidewalk, past the restrooms, past the otter statue, past the river access area, past my car, and was halfway to the dog park when the half-hour alarm went off on my cell phone.  I walked back to the car and decided to do a "victory lap" around the inner path that ran out in the center of the field.  As I finished, I heard "Barb! Barb!" and my co-worker showed up, second day in a row.  He was running with my former supervisor, and explained that they did a run together on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I told them about my goal, of the ninety days and wanting to find out who I'd be at the end of it.  They told me that I'd like what I'd find, and that I would not want to go back.  Getting rid of the stress and getting the happy endorphins were reasons for their running.

Photo of Riverbend Park, featuring the restrooms building and the inner lap.  From http://www.bendrealestatepros.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/20140606-20140606_144236.jpg
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Day 14: Shopping

After a day long struggle deciding where I was going to walk (it was raining in the morning, so that tears it for Pilot Butte; I want to save gas/too lazy to deal with going to the garage and facing all the stuff in there; (fill in name of park) is too isolated/has bad parking/is too small; and it look like rain, I finally decided to walk to JoAnne's and buy me a pad of colored cardstock as a reward for my walk, while it is still on sale, so I can make my lists on something that stands out.  I did my yoga at 3 a.m., and slept the hour after Doug left for work.  The Republican National Committee called, and so got me out of bed.  I did not call back.

On my way there, the little story scene was at Powers and 3rd, where a former U-haul truck was stopped.  The driver behind honked his horn a couple of times in a friendly way, then jump out and ran up to the other driver--the back door was completely open!  So the could-be disaster was taken care of.  "I didn't want you losing all your stuff!"

At JoAnne's the checkout clerk was a pretty blonde woman, maybe in her forties.  Her voice was very low, as if she'd had throat surgery and I wondered if it hurt her to talk.  I didn't ask.

On my way back, I decided to go by the store fronts of the Outlet Mall.  One of my co-workers from Park and Rec drove up, and he introduced me to his wife.

At Fred Meyer, I was going down the dairy aisle, and saw Nick, holding his son in front of him so as to have constant eye contact, and so I got to be introduced to Jaxon and congratulate the proud parents, as Nick's wife was there too.

And so to home, to make a dinner of shrimp, fried boiled potatoes, and coleslaw.  My walk lasted more than half an hour, and it went well.

Day 13: Hid under the bed

Basically, today I didn't do much, but I did send out some Halloween greeting cards and make a nice dinner, bought some groceries and stayed on the computer too long, answering questions on Quora and getting distracted while trying to find addresses. 

Better work tomorrow.


 

Day 12: Rough time

So I did my walking at Costco to buy some stuff.  Then when I got back to the apartment, I walked to the manager's office and paid the rent, then to Fred Meyer to buy a bunch of groceries and a gallon of milk, then pushed the cart to the edge of the lot and carried all the groceries in one trip to the apartment unit's bottom step.  And then I made two trips to get it all upstairs.

Some days are better than others.  I look forward to a better day tomorrow.

Day 11: Edgar Allan Poe and Drake Park

'An Afternoon with Edgar Allan guarantees a chilling, informative, and fun filled glimpse into the strange, sometimes dark and always intriguing realm of the life and works of America’s premier master of the macabre and literary bad boy Edgar Allan Poe.

"This award winning one person show will showcase dramatic recitations of some of Poe’s best loved works along with informative sidelights into Poe’s life and times. Great for lovers of literature, the theater or those that love a good scare. The show concludes with an audience interactive portion where people are invited to participate in a question and answer session with Mr. Poe himself."  
~from the library's Facebook page

This presentation has been produced somewhere or other in Bend for nine years, at times as a two hour program, and I'm guessing today's free production at the library may have been about an hour.  Alastair Jacques now lives in Portland, but the audience at the library meeting room compared notes of when he was in Bend, and in what theater productions.  I was the newbie of my neighbors, everyone else having seen him once or four times.  I learned that the "Author, Author!" series at Bend High was a fund-raiser for the free events at the library, as explained by the library events coordinator who did the introduction.

Mr. Poe's visit here took place in the year 1849, four years after "The Raven" was published.   It was a few minutes before I realized that he was acting out "The Cask of  Amontillado," and then later "The Tell-Tale Heart."  I am not familiar with the poem "Lenore," but I have attempted to memorize "The Raven."  Afterwards, he did a question and answer, staying in character.  It was excellent, and I'm glad I got a front row seat.  If there is another production next year, count me in.

After the program, I went for a walk in Drake Park.  The weather involved a light shower, so I was glad to have my hoodie.  I visited the restroom, happy with the thought that I would not be cleaning it for the next several months, and satisfied that I had made sure to fill the soaps before I left.  There had been very light use, probably due to the downpour that took place hours earlier, when I was in Relief Society, probably because it was still cloudy and rather chilly.  

I walked fast, down the slope to the river, and along the riverside, heading south.  I remembered that it had been more than two years since I walked that part of the trail, back when I had to park my truck at Harmon Park, and walk through tiny Pageant Park and over the foot bridge through Drake to clean the restroom, due to road construction.  I went to the southern end of the park, and walked back, the sun breaking through the clouds before I returned to where I had entered the park.  I went up to Wall and Franklin (checked the restaurant, "Drake," prices on the posted menu--ouch!) and then south on Wall to my Subaru. 

I don't know if I got the full 30 minutes in, but I did get a good brisk walk.

 http://www.bendsource.com/bend/deep-into-that-darkness-peering/Content?oid=2296323

Day 10: Local

I walked to Carl's Jr. fast food restaurant for breakfast for Doug and me.  It's 0.6 miles away, on Third Street.  The temperature was 45 degrees, the sky was overcast but didn't feel like rain, and I wore my lilac colored hoodie.  I passed by a beggar who was sitting outside of Fred Meyer, where the can redemption machines used to be.  I wondered how long he would stay there before a manager or a PIC sent him away.  His sign claimed that he was a vet, and he wore a U.S. Army shirt.  Directly across the road from the store is the Central Oregon Veterans Outreach, and I wondered if they had contacted him yet or if he were a poser.

At Carl's, the sausage, egg, cheese sandwich was two for three dollars and fifty cents.  I got two and my bacon, egg, cheese biscuit, and headed back, stopping long enough to hand him the warm sandwich.  There were a couple of cigarettes on the ground next to him, and an apple, hidden from casual view by his backpack.  The cigarettes would be reason enough for a few people I know to not give him the sandwich: "If he can smoke, he can take care of himself."  I don't argue with the people in my head; what would be the use?  He looked up at me, simply thanked me as he took it, and I was on my way.

So there was my half-hour walk. 

In the evening, I walked over to the Dollar Tree and bought Halloween greeting cards.  I walk faster, surer, and am not breathless when I get home. 
photo of breakfast sandwich from a Carl's Jr. web-site:

Day 9: Back to Juniper Park

So now I'm one-tenth of the way into the experiment.

I debated a number of places before I settled on Juniper Park.  I know that the route is about a mile, and that the west side and the east side are about the same.  I did my walk in the afternoon, hoofing it as fast as I comfortably could without breaking into a run.  The sky was overcast, the temperature cooler, and there were creeps hanging out at the bench by the outdoor restroom, and at a couple of picnic tables, there were guys hanging around them, so I didn't go on those paths.

Some trees still had their autumn leaves, and they were bright next to all the dark evergreens.  The sand covered trail was slightly spongy.  I could feel the workout in my hip and thigh joints.

Afterwards, I went to the library.  I had no trouble taking the steps up to and down from the second floor.  After my shopping bit at Freddy's, I was able to carry the groceries to my apartment with ease.

For years, I'd put in work orders at the end of my season, asking that Juniper restrooms to be bulldozed.  Looks like I'll be getting my wish.  The indoor people are tired of people from the outdoor pool getting water on the floor, among other things.  The plan is to extend the outdoor pool's perimeter fence, and build the new restroom so that half is in the pool area, and the other half is in the park, with no passage between the two sides.  The set-up will be similar to the restrooms in most of the other parks, uni-sex and wheelchair accessible with changing tables and family dressing room size.  No more waiting for men to get out of the men's room when we clean! Or the guys having to wait to clean the women's side for the same reason.  Bye-by too, to the clearly phallic artwork that graces the building.  No photos of it, so sorry--not!


photo from https://bendfamilyparktour.wordpress.com/tag/juniper-park/

Day 8: Slough

I slept most of the day, having had nightmares the night before.  Narrow bridges, shrinking parking lots, deep narrow canyons with rock walls, people who get in the way, and an unfamiliar car.  It was cloudy, but not raining.  If it had been, my solution would have been to walk over to the lodge and let a tow-truck deal with it all.

I went visiting teaching, and then parked the car in the garage, took the garbage out of the apartment, and walked over to Fred Meyer.  It took three minutes to get there, and after shopping, I was home a half an hour later.

So that was my thirty minutes of exercise for today.

The retirement party was today.  A whole restaurant was reserved for the event, but I decided not to go.  I'm not comfortable around people who have been drinking, and the restaurant prided itself on the wide variety of beers it offered.

Day 7: The walk to the bank

On my first day off from work, I slept, did some housework, met with my Visiting Teachers for a bit, and then decided to go deposit my last paycheck.

According to the Google map, the bank is 0.8 miles from my apartment complex, a 17 minute walk.  Traffic was pretty bad, and I had stop lights to wait at, and then there was the time at the bank.  I left at 4:11, and got into the apartment at 5:06.

I noticed as I went up and down the stairs of the apartment that I moved faster, easier, and when I walked to the bank, I did so at a faster pace.  The store where our post office box is was only 12 minutes away.  The Google map says that it's half a mile, and should have taken 10 minutes.  Again, there is traffic and stop lights, but it was still better time than the last time I went to the Dollar Tree.

The internet had been iffy all day, and I discovered why, as I past a box by the outlet mall, and about seven broadband linemen were clustered around it, examining its contents like Druidish priests over rabbit entrails. I was on the wrong side of Third Street to examine the Land Use sign near where Greg Gibson's Auto Mart had been.  I regretted not having taken a photo of the little houses that were on the lot, where we'd spent so much time, shopping for used cars and buying them, and where he had tons of McDonald Happy Meal toys decorating his office.  The other house was occupied by a renter, and Greg's own home is somewhere else in town.  He closed the office when the Recession hit, and he'd gone for months without a sale.  Greg is retired now, yet works as a box boy two or three days a week at a west side supermarket, and seems quite happy there.  The nine or so trees look like they will be spared, as the back hoes tore up the asphalt lot and left them standing and the land surrounding the small grove has been bulldozed and smoothed.  A medical clinic is slated to be built  at the corner of Badger and Third Street, next to where the car lot had been and where decades earlier had been a farm.

Day 6: Last day of the season

I work for Park and Rec. from April to October, more or less.  I have for about five years.

This morning, I woke up with pain in my hips.  I did my yoga, and then took an ibuprofen tablet.  By the time I got to work, I felt fine.

I could tell the gains I'd made from my earlier walks.  I was able to move easier, stand easier and had more energy.  Although I couldn't tell how much was from the exercise and how much was from the idea that I would not clean the restrooms for another six months!

I did the paperwork, joked with my co-workers, got stuff done.  I almost ran when I was at Pioneer--usually I've dragged myself up the slope.  I needed the speed at Pine Nursery South.  (Another cross-country meet?! When do these kids go to school?!  And what's with all the toilet paper on the floor?  A parent notifies me of a mess clogged toilet, and half of the toilet paper has been stripped....I was so counting on just a quiet day like yesterday.)  I got back to the shop and got everything done, running over a few minutes, which was just as well for the most important of the good-bye to be said:  the director is retiring and moving to California, and I will probably not see this person again in this life once he is gone.  I was never "just" a custodian when I was talking with him or around him, but I was an important member of the team, no less than anyone else he worked with or for.

Turned in my shirts, sweatshirt, phone and keys.  I'll get the phone and the keys back next year; they get put aside in some safe place until my supervisor gets them out for me next year.  The clothing, though, gets sent to recycle, where it's cut up for cleaning and polishing rags for the shop.  It is more economical to get all new every year than to wash out stains, check for tears, and deal with fading.  I somehow splash peroxide on a shirt sometime during the season.  And the clothes all have the logo on them, so they can't be kept and worn to the store or the gym, as comfortable as they are.

So tomorrow I'll do another walk, maybe more.  I do want to see how and what will have changed come January, as the little changes I noticed today were so welcome.

Having smaller tee-shirts next year would be really neat, too.
















I look like a fluffy dandelion.  The (now) former director is wearing the yellow flower. 

Day 5: Employment

Today was the next to last day of my summer employment.

It is rather physical, as I climb in and out of a Ford Ranger pick-up truck at least ten time a day, drive it around, get out at the restrooms, walk to the restrooms, clean the restrooms, stock up the custodial closet, collect garbage, replace toilet paper, take stuff to the dumpster.  All that, plus the walk to and from the parking lot, and today I even got out and heaved a rock out of the middle of the road!  (I'm a bit proud of that, as I decided to stop and do it, not knowing that my department's supervisor was watching and aware that others had driven past it.  I almost didn't, but I did.  Whew!) 

Foodwise, I took in the left-over wedding open house cake to the break room, where it was cheerfully devoured by my coworkers.  At lunch time, I shared my goals with Karen and another coworker who was from the District Office.  Karen offered to walk with me in the winter after her shift, and gave me her phone number.  She and her husband are going on a cruise for the next two weeks, so I'll call later in November.  I even made sure to put her number into my phone before I left the shop.

I did lose fifteen pounds this summer, even with the ninety to one hundred degree temperatures and my not being as fast as I was in past years. The trick is to not gain the weight back on this winter, but to get it off.

I decided that today my work was my exercise.  Tomorrow, I'll buzz through my restrooms (if I can--today I had stuff that needed extra work) and turn in my company shirts and sweatshirt, my phone and my keys and go pick up my check.  Most of it is going into a dedicated savings account, to pay my medical bills during the winter season and for Christmas.

I got my new winter shoes at the beginning of the month.  I ordered them from Shopko, as the sizes weren't in the local store.

 Photo from the internet.  I need to get a digital camera and learn how to use it....

Day 4: Getting out

It was hard to get out of the apartment. 

It had already been a busy morning.  My husband and I went to church with two of our daughters.  The other one and her husband were staying at a motel, and we learned from a text message that their car wouldn't start, so Doug and one daughter left early, and our other daughter and I watched the annual children's program.  After the meeting, we went to the motel, where we who didn't know cars thought it was the starter, but Doug found out it was a corroded battery terminal.

We all came back to the apartment, where the newest wife made breakfast the two of them, and the other sisters packed up their stuff, we had prayer, and they all left. I got on the internet for a bit, answered a question on Quora regarding the duties of a stock clerk and read the Sunday funnies, and then got off to work on a Samurai Suduko puzzle.  I wanted to go, but didn't...look at the clouds, will it rain?  I don't know where to walk.  I'm sleepy.  PBS is on television and it's interesting.  Doug was napping; where should I leave a note?

He woke up, I announced I was going for a walk, and went. 

It takes ten minutes to walk to the Dollar Tree.  It took the half hour to walk from the apartment to there, north on Parrell Road (very few cars but a notable lack of sidewalks, and what there were were short), down to Brosterhous Road, onto the canal road, heading south, behind the motel and such, out to the bridge (no sidewalks, and the narrowest bike lane on the whole of Third Street--I waited for traffic to have a gap before I crossed, and then make it to the bus stop, where I learned that the first bus there was a few minutes after 6 a.m.  My alarm went off, but I don't think I had it set right in the first place.  I walked down to the intersection of the Dollar Tree, crossed over and headed back to the apartment, feeling a sense of accomplishment ("smug" would have been faster to write) for having done my half hour.  Even if the alarm wasn't correctly, I still met my goal of walking a half hour, and some minutes more.

I'm not concerned about making a certain distance these first ten days; right now, it's about getting out getting out of the apartment.

(below--someone else's photo of the Dollar Tree at Reed Lane and Third Street)

Day 3: Light showers in the a.m.

I'm noticing a pattern:  I'm getting up earlier.  Even though it's Saturday, I am up before 7.

I leave a note for the family.  My youngest daughter is sleeping in the front room, my oldest in the computer room, and my husband is asleep in bed and I don't want to wake anyone.

I open the front door to discover that it is wet outside, so debate a few moments before I go through the parking lot to the garage and get out umbrellas and my jacket, back to the apartment with the umbrellas and I leave them outside the door, taking one for myself.  The rain is very light, and there are moments I where I wonder if it's stopped.

I know that Carl's Jr. fast food place is a half mile away, as I checked out Mapquest a month ago for distances to places we frequent.  I head there, going through the Fred Meyer parking lot.  At the stop light, I check my time:  fifteen minutes.  I head back, and decide to try the canal road.

All ends well, as I go down it, find the gate open, and go up on the parkway, down to Reed Lane, and then back through the complex to the apartment, stopping to pick up the mail, which includes envelopes from my mom and youngest sister, addressed to "Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan B__" and "Sarah and Jonathan B___."

Back at the apartment, it is still dark.  In a few moments, my oldest comes in, as she went to the store while I was gone.

Day 2: Juniper Park

 I did my full course of yoga this morning, before Doug's alarm went off, but I'm not counting the yoga in the 30 minutes, as it is basically stretching.  I think, though, if I'm in a yoga class I will count it, as classes are generally 50 minutes long and work harder than what I'm used to doing at home, including having a greater number of moves.

I've set exercise goals before.  One was to walk up Pilot Butte 50 times and get on the bulletin board in the park for doing my 100 miles.  Which I did, and bonus! someone had their photo in the paper with the bulletin board behind them, and there's my name, forever in the archives.  On the healthy point, I started my work with Parks and Rec., and I was strong enough to get through the season.  I also posted about each walk up there, including the unsuccessful ones, on LiveJournal. It took me almost two years to do them, but I did do them.

A few months ago, I set a goal of doing yoga every day for two weeks.  Some days had the full course (which I will explain in a later blog) and some wasn't so much.  But I still felt better at the end than when I began, and it was easier to move around and work.

I also set a goal before I started work in April, that I would have lost 40 pounds before Sarah's wedding.  I lost 15, but they were pounds I gained during the winter.  Today I was 263, which is down from the high two days ago of 268, which was post-wedding trip, and was at 265 yesterday.  So it's good, and it is on the way down.  Cutting out the pumpkin pie Blizzards at Dairy Queen after work helps, even though most have been mini ones.

So only 88 days to go of the 90....

Right now, the goal is to walk 30 minutes a day.  I'm doing it at Juniper Park, as the path there winds around and laps back into itself, it has ups and downs, is shady, has a restroom, and is about one mile.  I'm not concerned about the mile, though it is nice to have as a unit of measurement.  After all, some day it would be nice to go miles on a walk, but not today.  Today there were still autumn leaves on the branches, clouds overhead, and Jessica.  Jessy also works for Parks, as a steward, or unofficial police officer.  She can exclude people from the park for a day, but cannot write tickets.  She is a cheerful person who has a lot on her plate, as she is her parents' caregiver and guardian.  She stopped on her rounds to visit with me, and offered to go on walks with me in some of the other parks.  She used to exercise regularly, but hasn't been able to lately, and she's feeling it.  It would be good for both of us to have a walking partner, as some of the places, such as Sawyer Park, really don't feel safe when you're alone.  We exchange phone numbers, and then she is off to "visit" some teenagers who are smoking in the park on their way back to Bend High.  I walk an extra leg of the path to make up for the time I spent talking, and then walk extra to use the restroom.

Sarah and Jonathan are in town.  Elizabeth and Rachel are on their way from Ontario, where they spent the night on their way from Utah.  Tomorrow evening is the Open House for the newly-wed Bakers.



Photo of southeast side of Juniper Park from http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/20732562.jpg

Day 1: In the beginning

Okay, the kids are grown.  One is now married, two have their careers.  We "downsized" due to financial (fill in the blank here), no longer have the house, and are living in an apartment.  My husband is gainfully employed for the foreseeable future, and Tuesday I end my summer season with Park and Rec.

I weigh about 260 pounds.  Some days it is one or two pounds more.  Once or twice it has been a pound less.  I am aware that the scales are off, and in my favor.  Either that, or the scales at the vet and the swimming pool are centered over pools of gravity.  I have a large gut, large boobs, fatty upper arms, big rear, and even my fingers are fat.  Actually, they are.  My diamond fell out of my wedding ring, so I had to have my ring removed by having it sawn off.  That has been a couple of years, and the dent from my ring is still visible, but barely. My ankles swell when I sit, and even my feet have lost their edges.  My legs, well, I've been working as a custodian for 6 months.  What happens is that my pant legs length during the season as my thighs get trim. 

I found this article at Quora, and decided to do 30 minutes a day, for 90 days and see what happens.

Today I walked Juniper Park, for 30 minutes.  The trail is one mile, plus the few yards to walk to the car.  Beautiful weather, nice walk.  I have the day off from work as it is my "weekend" (I have Thursday and Friday off), so I made the time.  Now to clean the apartment--I have important company coming: My daughters and son-in-law.  And I think my husband would really like to see the place looking nice when he gets home. 

At the end of the article it says:  You'll be surprised who you become in 3 months.

Today is October 15, 2015.  January 15, 2016 will be three months.
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What are the top 10 good habits that I should follow daily to have a beautiful life?

Imran Esmail, Founder @ EscapeYourDeskJob.com

44.2k Views

Unlike everybody else (sorry guys), I am going to ignore your question and share only one.

The ONE habit to change your life.

Because the truth of the matter is...99.9% of people struggle to even maintain ONE good habit.

Most people (not all) can't do anything with enough regularity to have a MEASURABLE impact on their lives.

So what is it?

Exercise.

Yea yea, I know you know...but do you do it EVERYDAY?

Let's talk about why you should:

Here is what some famous names had to say about it:

I’m thinner and healthier with more muscle, for one thing. But I’ve also gotten out of debt, improved my relationships, become a better dad, started my own business - Leo Babauta, Founder of  Zen Habits

It is exercise alone that supports the spirits, and keeps the mind in vigor - Cicero, Roman philosopher & politician

Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity. - John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States

So here are a few ways exercise is the best habit you can possibly take on:

1. It makes you more confident
After you work out for a few months, people will compliment you all the time (oh you look so thin, or look at those big muscles, or just blank stare downs from the opposite sex).

Imagine how that will make you feel.

You will start walking taller and your confidence will skyrocket.

2. It makes you eat better
You start to eat better because why would you put crap into your body when you've spent so much time making it perfect.

Also, you just stop craving bad foods because you NEED and your body knows you NEED vitamins, nutrients and all that good stuff.

This leads to a longer and healthier life.

3. It makes you smarter
Dr. John Ratey, author of “Spark – The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain” says that exercise improves your brain in the short term by raising your focus for two to three hours afterwards. Check out this article for more info 6 Ways Exercise Makes You Smarter.

4. It gives you more energy
Eating bad food puts a huge metabolic load on your body - thats why you feel tired after eating a heavy meal. But now that you are working out and eating better, you have more energy. Even just walking and lifting things is easier because you are stronger.

5. It creates a base for other habits
Finally, exercise is whats known as a keystone habit - that means that its 10x more powerful than all other habits you can take up.

Its the building block, the base for your entire life.

So start working out today.

You'll be surprised who you become in 3 months.

Good luck!