Faux Pas

As I stepped into the "Fugee's home last night, spotted a stationary bike. You would think that I've never seen a bike before. I was so excited that I took off in the direction of the bike but it was quickly brought to my attention that I still had my shoes on -- a no-no in a Muslim's house -- even if they are secular.

Following the advice of her surgeon, the 'Fugee bought herself a bike so that she can continue to rehab her foot... The 'Fugee is all about stretching and exercising now and it has paid off. I can no longer call her Hopalong...

Got on my own bike today. Wanted to go to the Riverfront Trail but the Race for the Cure was happening downtown. Between the street closures for the City Arch Project and the race, I knew better than to venture downtown.

I missed the muddy Mississippi but still enjoyed Grant's Trail and the superb weather...

Intrigued By Rocks Next to Fake Acorn

Jailbreak

The Cool Before...

Changed my mind, for now, about the ask me another podcast which I downloaded because I couldn't find anything else interesting. During the segment, Trivia Is The New Black, they replayed an interview with Piper Kerman who tried her hand at prison cuisine trivia:

What do you get when you mix Ramen {noodles, I presume}, peanut butter and hot sauce?

 What Starbucks drink do you get if you melt a Milkyway into a cup of coffee?

Can't wait to download some of the podcasts that Gingerzingi recommended. 

Best Accident

iPod Thinks I've Downloaded 345 Podcasts

Find myself looking forward to Zumba. Still can't dance but I do like the music. And Thursday? It's a good day since I'm ready to shake off a few things but also not the best day because I'm starting to drag.

Shawny strayed from the usual one rule of Zumba -- to have fun. Tonight's edict -- smile and shake it. Although Shawny, at some point, tends to ask us what's wrong because we are subdued with our smiles. Come on, smile; it's Thursday, she says. Yes, Thursday -- the double-edged sword.

I do think that I'm drawn to Zumba because it is fun after you get over the whole not-knowing-the-routine-going-in-the-wrong-direction thing...

Took a short walk before Zumba and listened to the end of The Freedom in Failure.

I've been looking for more podcasts and heard about StoryCorps while listening to yet another podcast. Well, I accidentally downloaded Sarah Lewis' The Freedom in Failure, a We The People (National Constitution Center) podcast. That was one of the best accidents ever. Can't say the same thing for Sex and Death which I accidentally downloaded instead of Death, Sex and Money.

I like so much of what Lewis talked about:

The benefits of the near miss...

She brings up Olympian Jackie Joyner-Kersee and how, in 1984, she lost the heptathlon by 1/3 of a second. Next time around, Joyner-Kersee set a record that still hasn't been broken.

Play is the opposite of depression...

Grit as a portable skill...

Lewis also discusses Samuel Morse who wanted to be a Rembrandt but was, of course, known for the telegraph. I was totally fascinated by Lewis' thoughts on Frederick Douglass and can't wait to read her book The Rise: Creativity, the Gift of Failure and the Search for Mastery.

Now, if I could only find my Ruby Dee book...

An Inconvenient Pool

It was nice to get back to the pool. Kind of.

Standing between me and the door -- a group of boys (scouts) and a few men.

All in all, it was a packed house.

Some of the Boy Scouts jumped off the diving board into the makeshift lap lane that I was in. While I waited on the boys to jump off, I would get slammed by a wall of water as the aggressive swimmer next to me did a flip turn.

Other Boy Scouts took turns throwing a lifesaver into the pool. The swimmer to my right said It's like dodging landmines.

I got in 18 laps before I called it a night.

Ordered a new swimming suit -- the exact same one that I have now. I let the package sit for days before I finally tried it on. I was pretty confident that it would fit and I guess that was my mistake. I managed to order a long swimming suit so even though it's the same size and model, it's snug. However, I like it that the top covers more than the short swimming suit so I might keep it but I'll try it on again to make sure that I can live with the snugness.

Enjoy The Ride

If you bicycle along the St. Louis Riverfront Trail, someone will surely tell you some variation of Enjoy your ride.

Missing one weekend of bicycling felt like a much longer span of time so it was nice to get back into the groove of things. After yoga, Alison I headed to the riverfront and enjoyed perfect weather.

There's so much debris in the Mississippi River after yesterday's storms that it reminds me of the Great Pacific garbage patch.

Alison and I met a couple with kids around the eight mile marker. The couple was on a trial run to see if they can do part of the Katy Trail with their kids in tow. The woman conceded that it was really her trial as her husband is an avid cyclist.

We started talking seats as the woman mentioned that she would definitely need to find another one. Alison looked for a seat for a long time until she found a match; she describes hers as couch-like. The avid cyclist chimed in Butts are finicky. I have a $30 foam cushion that works for me. 

Minimalist Ode to Dr. Seuss

New Artwork at Start of Trail

Side View

The Mighty Muddy One

One More Look At The Archy One

Engaging People

It's hard to tell who's a relative and who's a customer in my barber's shop. A daycare dropped my barber's 1-year-old granddaughter off and a customer, Sharon?, started holding her and she fell asleep. Sharon put her in an easy chair and my barber said She's not going to last long and in less than a minute, the 1-year-old started crying.

Sharon picked the baby up and she happily went off to sleep. She likes that heartbeat my barber said.

I was back in the barber shop after a month and a half hiatus. My hair had grown beyond the borders of the lining and my eyebrows were bushy but I felt that I didn't have time to squeeze in a haircut.

It was kind of funny when Sharon, sporting really short hair for the first time, walked over and rubbed my hair. It's so soft she commented. My hair looks a lot like hers...

Haven't been to the Missouri Botanical Garden in ages and headed there this morning to practice yoga -- the first item on the agenda at the Green Homes Festival. My mother went with me and, for a minute, I thought she might practice yoga. Instead, she visited booths and went to the Climatron while I practiced.

Elle guided us. I've had the pleasure of taking several classes from Elle and what I've noticed is that when she greets you, she really greets you. Kind of hard to explain but she looks at you really intensely -- not in a way that would make you feel comfortable but in a way that lets you know she is fully present -- even if it's for two minutes. I know a few superb huggers and Elle is superb at engaging people.

As we practiced, there were two photographers with rather sizable cameras present -- the only downside to outdoor yoga.

Once, my cousin (Chiquita's son) told her not to fret over an event that she went to. You'll never see those people again he told Chiquita which is not so true anymore because people document just about every minute of the day and, still, I'm drawn to outdoor yoga.

After practicing yoga, went to the Climatron to check out the Nature Connects 2.0, Art with LEGO and walked around the grounds a bit. Yoga at the Garden was a great way to start the day.

Linnean House

Greek Goddess Amphitrite as Merbaby, Linnean House

That yellow bloom moves me...

Back To Regular Programming

Canceled swimming plans yesterday because of slight congestion but knew that I'd have an opportunity to swim today. Wrong. The temperature went from muggy to mild.

Instead, headed to yoga class. Haven't been since May 25th and that's the longest I've gone without practicing since I fell head over heels in love with being on my mat.

It was nice to stretch out my sides and do the warrior sequence et al. Thought about hopping on a treadmill afterward but knew there was a park in the area so I headed in that direction.

I had fun at the exercise stations.

Didn't Get Very Far

Tallest One Elevated My Heart Rate

Haven't been doing much strength training so I took advantage of the bars and did push-ups. As I'm feeling like a total weakling, I hear Yeahhhhhhhhh! Didn't really think about my butt facing the road until that comment came from a driver. Honestly, I was just glad that he didn't say something nasty.

Made numerous pit stops after the park and felt totally wimpy when I passed by a pool at 9:00 p.m. and people were in it. Still, there's no way that I would have gotten into anything but a heated pool today.

The Whole Walking Thing

Canceled yoga plans yesterday followed by cancellations for climbing and visiting.

Thought my common cold was exiting the scene on Friday but I was wrong and it feels as if it's coming to an end today but, you know, I've been wrong before.

Decided to walk stroll on Sunday because of my energy level. Because it was so unbelievably muggy, moving any faster would have been unwise anyway.'


Decided to repeat the whole walking thing after work. I feel like walking a lot right now and it definitely helps with my case of mental fog...

Not quite sure how many podcasts or parts of podcasts I listened two over the span of two days but enjoyed Call For Help, a This American Life podcast.

A teenager with autism on why she prefers horses over people -- Because people aren't horses.

In the same Call...episode The Kaufmans, recently rescued by the Coast Guard, explain why they made the call for help.

Several people get stumped by other's casual observations of them in Is That What I Look Like?

Dee Watson, an actress, talks about how a cast of mostly black women were having a discussion when the subject of big behinds came up. It was a supportive atmosphere so she was stunned when a younger actress said that Watson's butt is so big that her mother thought it had to be a prop.

And there's the boyfriend who, basically, compares his lover's feet to Fred Flintstone's...

I was about to wrap up my walk as Lynn Ferguson was finishing her Moth story, Before Fergus, so I kept walking because I felt the same way that I do when I pull up to the house and Chaka Khan's Ain't Nobody comes on. I have to sit there and belt out the lyrics until I've had my fill.