Spinning

Two dreams in one week about being in cars that spin out of control.

In the first dream, my father is at the wheel. Inexplicably, we spin in the direction going against traffic and before we hit the divider, I wake up.

Thursday, I woke up early then went back to sleep and, in a short time period, dreamed that I was driving and all of a sudden snow appeared on my windshields -- completing blocking my view. I tried to find the brakes before I ran into anybody. Woke up before colliding or being hit by anyone.

During dream three on Saturday, I don't spin out but there is subtle yet significant damage to the right door panels...

Let's see, slept through the start times of three yoga classes today. Didn't have too much hope for making the 8:30 a.m. one anyway. I've been a night owl for as long as I can remember and I have to drag my ass out of bed most mornings and don't like to do it on the weekends.

Because of the little monsoon, 10:00 o'clock park yoga was canceled...

Finally the rain stopped for a minute and I headed out to do grocery shopping which I usually do on Saturday.

Sunday is the new Saturday.

Went for a walk even though I didn't feel like moving. A barking and unleashed dog approached me and followed for a bit. I thought about what I could hit him with if it got to that point but his owner heard him barking and came out.

Had to rewind the podcast, Pick Up The Soap, that I was listening to because I didn't hear a word as I thought  about strategy.

The two days of rain have me feeling wrecked. Plus, I'm still dealing with congestion which is not as severe as it was but still present.

Yesterday's Storm Clouds

Went to Gloria's on Thursday and we had a Falafel Pie that wasn't a Falafel Pie because falafel mix couldn't be found. Gloria picked the flowers from her rose bush and sent me home with them. It's been a simple pleasure to look upon.

Leaning Back

My mother and two of my aunts were supposed to head to Chicago at 7:00 a.m. yesterday to say goodbye to a 100-year-old "friend of the family" but she transitioned on Friday.

What to say about Mrs. Dove?

• She was one of my babysitters. 
• She kept any balls that strayed into her yard when kids weren't careful. 
• There was a manger scene on her porch through the seasons, throughout the years. 
• If there is a heaven, she is there as she was a staunch believer who didn't hurt anyone with her beliefs.

During my last conversation with Mrs. Dove, she talked to me about her siblings and her parents and I believe she quoted that verse about obeying your parents and your days being longer. She also told me that she had just eaten so she was going to sit up as opposed to going to bed.

Her health was pretty good up until recently. In fact, she drove her car into her 90's. I will miss her presence in the world. As one of my friends likes to say, sometimes cliches say it best: they don't make 'em like Mrs. Dove anymore. Mrs. Dove's older sister,, by the way, is still alive.

Went to the Earth Day celebration at Forest Park yesterday. Did yoga and walked around a bit...

Muny Practice Stage Transformed into the Zen Den for Earth Day

One Million Faces Project

Today, Gloria had a yoga class in the park and I went.  We were a small group so Gloria did a lot of adjustments. When we did chair pose, she came to me and asked me to sit back on her thighs -- making it a pretty low chair. I was very hesitant because the ground is not even, duh, AND I weigh twice as much as Gloria.  She came by again while we were doing half moon pose and part of me wanted to move forward and readjust rather than lean back into her and trust that I would not bowl her over but I did lean back and everything was fine.

It was a sweet class as I haven't been in one in a long time where there were hands-on adjustments.

When I was in reclined pigeon pose, Gloria came over again and asked me to put my non-bent leg on her leg. Yummy! She told me that I could do that using the wall. Part of me wanted to tell her to hold on while I reached for my iPod. It would have been a sweet picture -- part of my leg, Gloria looking down and the sky and a tree behind her. I think that I must have been a photographer in another life...

Zoomed in on this cat when I returned home from Trader Joe's. He darted between the bushes but stayed long enough for me to go into the house and get my real camera.

So, to sum up, I went to yoga today then shopped at Trader Joe's, walked, read, cooked and I can't believe that the weekend is almost over. Didn't get nearly as much accomplished had I had hoped.  I haz a sad.

My House Is Clean

Monday, April 17th

All the neighbors had cut their grass; I had not because of lawnmower issues that I knew existed at the end of grass-cutting season 2016.

Tuesday, April 18th

I went to look at used lawnmowers but the employee told me that all of the 40 + mowers on the lot actually belonged to people and he doesn't have any used ones available but he does refer me to a gentleman who lives around the corner, behind a high school and has a gold Chevy Tahoe in the driveway.

Just call him when you pull up.

There's no need to call because he's in the driveway working on stuff.

I'm immediately captivated by the tidy, well-organized garage.


Evening of April 18th

I fret over whether to get an electric or gas mower. Also keep looking at Angie's List to see if I can get someone to cut the grass and, therefore, buy myself time to look around.


Wednesday, April 19th

I return to the guy who sells mowers out of his garage, purchase a gas mower, go home, change clothes, walk the yard and collect debris then cut the grass. I am relieved when I finish around 6-ish, take a shower, wash my hair. For dinner, I eat a big bowl of cereal.

Also realize that I forgot to pay a bill.


Thursday, April 20th

I take the lawn mower that is not working to the shop that buys broken things...

The retired gentleman that I bought the mower from also gave me a little class -- how to clean the filter, change the oil, store gasoline. He also gave me an extra spark plug. Deep down, I know that he has done a good job restoring the mower because he is a total geek about how mowers work and I feel good about buying from someone who is retired and enjoys what he's doing...

After getting rid of the problematic mower, I go to wash the layer of pollen off my car. As soon as my feet hit the ground, a woman approaches me.

My grandson had a cockroach in his ear -- not from my house because my house is clean. I need $14 dollars to get his medicine and I have two dollars already.

If I'd had anymore change, I would have given her a couple of dollars -- just for coming up with an original story.

Friday, April 21st

I'm in line at the grocery store and this woman with kids keeps telling them You better get a job in response to their pleas for candy.

I am shocked when the 18-year-old clerk wants me to identify the tomato and onion so that she can look up the codes. She says that her mom doesn't cook and that she doesn't have the time to learn how to...

Three weeks

The amount of time it takes me to get 342 pages into Freeman by Leonard Pitts, Jr.  I don't normally read historical fiction or, more precisely, I don't like to read tales that involve slavery because it puts me in a bad place but, here I am, on a back-to-back binge.

Went to the library after work to pick up another book because I know that I will be jonesing for the next read after Freeman.

The Once-Over

At this point, this post is a week in review:

Patti and I changed our climbing schedule so that we could go to Ballpark Village's yoga series on Wednesday but guess what? Even though it's still a free event, tickets are required and it was sold out. I was bummed out but still had Zumba as an option.

Went to Gloria's on Thursday and we had a simple dinner of soy protein burgers from Aldi's but the toppings, caramelized onions...tomatoes...lettuce and condiments...took the simplicity to another level.

After dinner I attempted to make the whipped cream from one of the Thug Kitchen cookbooks but it was a bust. Supposedly, you take the cream from coconut milk, mix it with powdered sugar and vanilla flavoring but there wasn't enough creamed milk. There are other recipes with options and solutions but whatever -- it was an experiment...

Alison and I hit the Riverfront Trail for the first time yesterday. The ride out wasn't bad but we got pummeled by the wind on the way back and we dreamed of a sag wagon.

Alison caught me mid-selfie when we stopped to check out graffiti and, of course, I had to give my body the once-over or, more appropriately, scrutinize it when the picture landed in my message box.. I did think about that line in Sapphire's Push when Precious describes her mother and says that her arms look like animals; beavers, I think, but whatever. If I were to think in percentages, I'm about 89.9% satisfied with my body and enjoy when it's in motion and should be concentrating on the fact that my hands were able to hold onto handle bars and that my legs pumped for 16 miles...

Oh yeah, I was very congested after spending three hours (not all bicycling time) on the trail. Wonder what will be in store for this upcoming week?

Raymond, one of the riverfront turkeys....

Trail parking lot; car now covered in pollen.

Nth Degree

According to the Calm app, Wednesday was International Calm Day. Who designates these days?

At any rate, in honor of Calm Day, I had access to Calm Premium including a sleep story. I feel asleep on the sleep story so I guess it worked...

On Thursday I headed to Gloria's. She prepared everything since she was subbing for someone and wouldn't be home until around 7:30 p.m.

I'm thankful that Gloria has gone vegan and invited me over to witness the spectacle because I had really reached a point where I was stuck with cooking. If nothing else, I have new go-to recipes from the Thug Kitchen cookbook.

It's kind of like the woman at Zumba who told me that she doesn't go the bathroom closest to her at work -- makes perfect sense. Sometimes, you just need a reminder...

I don't go out of my way to eat celery but Gloria had it in our salad. For some reason, I thought that I didn't really care for celery but it was good -- especially with hummus on top. My taste buds have also matured and I didn't take that into account. Same thing with blackberries; remembered them as being too seedy but I didn't mind them on Thursday...

Alison and I have been totally out of synch of late. We were negotiating about which day to go biking and we really didn't reach an agreement. In the end, I woke up early then went back to sleep and when I thought about the mess in my trunk, I lost the desire to go biking so I went to  Zumba.

As I turned on the "Zumba Street" I saw this guy, who appeared to be homeless, giving drivers the middle finger salute. I laughed so hard. Just about everyone has been getting on my nerves lately. Oh, what I would give to salute a few... ;)

Later on Alison messaged me and asked me what I was doing. We decided to go biking so I guess everything does not need to be planned to the nth degree.

On our way out, a hawk landed nearby and several people stopped to watch him eat his snack. One bicyclist was not amused -- On your left, lady.

Hawk

Twenty Five Days

I've been writing this post for about five days now -- starting, stopping, starting...

The congestion monster had all but faded then I decided to go swimming last Tuesday after a 25-day hiatus and... could hardly sleep because of chemical congestion. It was a TKO.

Ugh, I will probably need to look for a nose clip or give up swimming for a while until the outdoor pools open. It's a bummer since I like having a water activity but I am trying to look at it as an opportunity to do other things. Case in point, I'm going climbing tomorrow with an out-of-towner which will open the door for me to do Zumba on Wednesday with a teacher that I really like...

Spent a lot of time trying to figure out this song that I liked during another Zumba class. I referred to it as the "The Ponytail Song." Between a colleague and hearing a few lyrics on Saturday, I was able to figure out that it's a Britney Spears song, Slumber Party. I now find myself listening to songs that I would normally thumb my nose at.

Went to another Zumba class tonight. Grace doesn't have a regular class but when she subs the classes are packed and the atmosphere is electric. After class, you find yourself high-fiving people and sending them on their way with good wishes.

After tonight's class, I headed to the grocery store next door and overheard a Zumba classmate tell this youngin', who had also been in class, Don't text and walk; people have gotten killed like that. I thought that was so cool. No "please" -- just don't do it...

A colleague forwarded me an email from one of her friends with suggested podcasts for #TryPod week. Most of the podcasts are on my radar except for Kind World. I listened to episode #36, When The Sun Came Out, on the way to Zumba on Saturday and got totally teary.

When I walked on Sunday, listened to the rest of a That's So Retrograde episode and learned about CBD suppositories and "Beaver Butt Juice." Regarding the latter, who thinks of stuff like that?

I saw someone post her meditation stats on Instagram and learned that it was from the Calm app. You can do the seven-day challenge for free but for the rest of the meditations, there's a subscription fee. Wish that I had known that before I downloaded it since my iPod is starting to look like Deray's phone minus all of the notifications.

homescreen, 3.17.17. pic.twitter.com/5bU6ZAgb6K

— deray mckesson (@deray) March 17, 2017

Love the Calm screen that greets you upon opening the app...

Speaking of meditative practices, I cooked the Vegetarian Pad Thai from one of the Thug Kitchen cookbooks. Loved it but there was a lot of chopping involved. I would definitely make it again. Just wished that there was more time to do stuff.

Final Product