Beginning 2015

How odd to think it's already 2015!  And even more curious, to see that it's been almost 5 years since I've posted on my blog!
This is going to be an exciting year.  For the past four months, I've been busy getting a battery of tests to see if I qualify for bariatric surgery.  Apparently I do.  Even at the ripe old age of 66, I have been scheduled for Bariatric Sleeve surgery this March. 
I really have a wide range of emotions.  Scared, excited, concerned, hopeful and ready.  Sigh
I must admit that I really don't know where to begin.  So....I'll just start...
Like more than half of Americans, I've been overweight most of my adult life.  Over the years I've lost and gained at least three major amounts of weight.  Not counting my six pregnancies.  I did not grow up fat.  I gained weight in my late teens, and then for the next 50 years roller coasted gaining and losing, and at last, just gaining and finally staying heavy.
I was almost ready to just stay heavy, until a couple of years ago when my weight really started affecting my health.  I developed Type II diabetes, and found even short walks left me out of breath.  About that same time, my daughter decided to have bariatric surgery for her weight problem.  I watched with admiration as she slowly but surely lost the extra pounds.  My thought was, wish I would have done the surgery years ago!  But I wasn't in my 30's anymore.
What finally changed?  Stay tuned...

Interesting...

...I found that walking...actually makes my hips feel better! Dan and I were out shopping yesterday and did a fair amount of walking in the stores and to and from the parking lot. I realized on the way home my hips actually felt no pain. I mentioned this to Dan, who promptly said " well, that makes sense." Because he had training as a massage therapist, he said by walking and stretching the muscles, that would relieve the pain. Now why didn't he tell me this sooner? I was using the pain as an excuse not to walk!
We learn something everyday.
Now I've got to go dig out my Easy Yoga video!

Sunset a few nights ago...

....hi folks, sorry it's been so long since I've posted.

I've got some new exercises to try and will be reporting on my progress.

The holidays are always a struggle with eating the wrong things...but I am trying to avoid cookies etc.

We have had some beautiful weather the past week. Be well everyone!

First snow...

Didn't get out soon enough to get a photo of the snow...it was very light...only about an inch on the valley floor. Much more in the mountains...a foot or more.

My daughter posted seeing a guy trying to snow blow the inch of snow off his sidewalk! Ha! Guess he must have had a new snow blower he was wanting to break in.

Dan and I ventured over to the Scheels store...really, really big sporting goods place...they have a Ferris wheel in the middle...and animatronic Presidents...and so much more. Anyway...it was a good place to walk on a cold, windy day.

Can't believe Thanksgiving is only a few days away. Hope to post more pics soon.

Dog Bliss

It was one of the last days of 60 degree weather, so we took Baby and Buster to the doggie park. All the little doggies there were running and playing and having so much fun...as if they knew this might be the last time they came before winter sets in.

It's suppose to snow this weekend...here on the valley floor...and a lot in the Sierras.

We've been enjoying my homemade veggie soup all week...and I think we'll graduate to chili this weekend.

Hello!

Neat photo...that I didn't take...but the trees look a lot like they did last week. This week...most of the beautiful colors have turned brown and rest in piles on the grass.

I've been remiss about posting...mostly because I haven't done a lot of walking the past couple of weeks. I have done a few short bursts several times a day, and have continued to be a little more active than I had been.

The cooler weather has prompted me to start cooking again! That's a big improvement over take out...and so much tastier.

Maybe if I just post more often, I'll challenge myself again. Let's hope...

Here are a couple of more good photos showing autumn in Reno.


Andrew Lane, Nov 1















Autumn in the Sierra


Rancho San Rafael, Nov 1

Tuesday's walk

Pah Rah again. Need to take the camera again as the trees are really turning and the park is so pretty! Last night we didn't get over there till around 5, and the sun was back lighting the turning trees. Would have made some great photos. I'll take the camera today.

We walked 25 minutes at a nice pace and I'm sure it was a little over a mile. Now we need to start pushing ourselves...we can do more!

Hope you're having a wonderful day!

Fog

My daughter asked me this morning if I take the photos I post here. Yes, I do about 99%. This one however, I did not take. It shows a blanket of fog over Truckie Meadows, as viewed from elevation. On the ground, visibility was a couple of blocks, not bad. It all lifted by mid morning.

The pungent smell of sagebrush hung heavy in the air after yesterday's rain. I think we broke the average rainfall for the month of October in Reno.


Now for walking...Dan and I went to our newest favorite park and walked a good mile in 20 minutes. Felt good. And we remembered to stretch first...ahhhh.

Pah Rah again

"Pah Rah" is a Paiute term which translates roughly to "Lake Mountain".

We stopped by this afternoon and took a 15 minute walk. It was 72 degrees with a slight breeze and perfect for walking. There were several birthday parties going on, but not too many people walking.


We were both a little sore from yesterday, because in addition to our walk at the park, we walked around 2 very large casinos.

We were married 5 years ago at what was once the largest casino in the world. It is now the Grand Sierra Resort...and it's still big! It was fun to go back, see the little chapel where we married, and win money at black jack. Enough money to have an awesome dinner at Charlie Parker's Steakhouse!


Another view of the park.

Pah Rah Mountain Park

The park was named after the nearby mountain range.
What a great place to walk! We first took the doggies, and they did pretty well on the leash, but we didn't feel like we got a good walk. So we took them home and came back to walk without them. We had a great 25 minute walk. It was starting to get a little warm, but there were enough spots of shade to cool us off.

The neat thing is that besides the big park, there is a walkway through a neighborhood. It has the same wide sidewalk, trees and grass, only their are neighbors on the left and right of the walk.


The jets were busy making contrails, so the sky
had quite a few clouds.

Here's a nice view of the sidewalk at the park. It looks a little like the greenway I was talking about.











This is a nice view of Mt. Rose in the distance. You can still see some snow from last week.

I'm feeling back on track! Yay me!

Finally!

Dan and I walked over at a park very near our apartment, Pah Rah park. It's a really nice big park with several playgrounds, tennis courts, 2 horseshoe pits, 2 volleyballs courts, picnic pavillions and lots of open grass spaces. I'll post some pics tomorrow.

There is a nice wide sidewalk and lots of trees for shade...don't know why we didn't walk there sooner. Better late than never! Cool...feels good to get back to walking.

Snow in the Sierras

So the doc said that I basically need to "eat less and exercise more". Really? I hadn't thought of that...

But enough sarcasm...he's right of course. I have lost around 12 pounds. It's a start. I'm sure as I continue to tweak my diet...and start walking...it will keep coming off.

It's a bit of an adjustment going from 95 degree weather to 50's. This morning it was in the 40's.

Stay with me people...I'll get this going. Peace

Stumped

Poor little tree...RIP.

So, the only thing I have to report is walking around the Lazyboy showroom yesterday and finding a new chair. I've been sitting in a maple glider for a couple of years, and I have such difficulty getting out of it...because it moves. Also, my daughter noticed that the wooden arms push in on my hip. Eureka...could that be the cause of my hip pain?

Hopefully I'll know for sure as I get use to this new chair. One thing I really like about it, besides the reclining feature, is that it is high off the ground....and therefore getting out of it is very easy!

The weather has completely changed to fall, after last weeks record breaking heat. It rained yesterday, and thunder stormed last night. More rain forecast for the next several days. The temperature has dropped nearly 40 degrees.

I see my new doc on Wednesday, and also the cardiologist. Maybe then I'll feel confident to start walking again...if not I'll have to rename my blog....Orajnamilik not walking. Peace.

Unbelievable

This beautiful little tree that I posted a photo of yesterday, was inexplicably cut down in it's prime yesterday afternoon! I have no idea why. Poor thing.

My right hip, leg and buttocks were really complaining yesterday, and took 3 Tylenols and 3 Advils to shut them up.

Now, I'm thinking that the osteoarthitis needs no stress and more rest. Aha! At last a valid excuse...

p.s. I called the office, and they told me the landscapers said the tree "had issues"....awww...I can relate.

Autumn

This little tree outside our apartment is certain it's fall...but all week we've been having record breaking temperatures. It's been in the 90's! Feels more like the middle of summer!

Unfortunately they already closed the pool. Fortunately it's been cool and very pleasant in the mornings, perfect for walking.

However, I haven't been walking. There is a park down the street that I realized yesterday is perfect for walking. I haven't been blogging, because I feel so guilty about not doing my daily mile. There's a ping pong game going on in my brain....excuses....no excuses....excuses.

Sunday afternoon stroll...

We walked around downtown Sparks and checked out the vendors and bikes! This one caught my eye, I guess because of the color.

There were way more vendors than I thought there would be...mostly selling a lot of biker stuff, tee shirts, leather goods, patches, pins, jewelry, etc. I bought a ring that I think is "faux" turquoise. The seller said it was set in "mexican silver"...is that code for fake? Anyway it's a pretty ring.

Dan got a deal on a leather vest, and bought a small patch and had it sewn on. The patch is a skeleton riding a harley, and the caption is"It's a dry heat".

It was a little warm...around the mid 80's...so we ducked into the movies to see Wall Street, Money Never Sleeps. We both give it a B+. It was good, though a little slow moving. Michael Douglas was good, as was Shia LaBouf and girlfriend.
















Woman were flocking to this tent! I felt a little over dressed and under tatooed...but it was fun people watching.

I know walking around like this doesn't seem like much, but I'm trying to convince myself it's better than being home in front of the tv.

Skywriting

Pics from last week...we were taking the doggies out and I saw five planes flying in formation. I thought it looked cool...then Dan said "they're skywriting"! Oh...so I grabbed the camera and caught these photos. The words don't last long...so it was lucky we saw it happen!

Dan is home from the hospital and feeling much better. The doctor says he can walk, so that's good news.

Lately I've felt like my blog is anything but a journal of my walking. It's certainly become a photo journal. And....that's okay.

Yesterday we went to the bookstore and bought the Mediterranean Heart Diet book, a food plan we both think we can live with. Now to clean out the fridge and cupboards of the "bad" stuff!

Be well everyone!

Street Vibrations

For the 17th year, the city comes alive with thousands of motorcycles. It's another party...with plenty of visitors...in the 10's of thousands...bands...food...tatoos...you name it.

We are having our own vibrations here at casa da Jones. On Tuesday, Daniel was admitted to a local hospital here (the VA was full) with palpitations. He's had some tests, and tomorrow will have a cardiac catherization. We will see the cardiologist tonight for more details, but I do know it's ischemia, (sp) which means not enough blood is getting to the heart.

We're hoping for the best with tomorrow's procedure...keep us in your prayers.

p.s. Gov Jim Gibbons is at the same hospital having broken his pelvis in two places after being bucked off a horse! Yee Haw...wild west!

Arboretum pics cont.

What's an Arboretum without an Arbor? Here is one of the first ones we saw.

Today we took doggies to the dog park and ventured over into the Big Dog area, as there were no big dogs there.
They loved the bigger space and ran and explored all around. It wasn't long until a woman arrived with an exuberant 6 month old part Lab, part Newfoundland, black bundle of energy.

Baby ran up to her and barked, letting her know who was boss, and the puppy (who probably already weighed around 60 pounds) loved her and Buster! She was very docile for a puppy, and very well behaved.

Her owner and I had a nice conversation, but my walk didn't amount to much.

Here is another pretty Arbor over a foot bridge.

I've got to quit stalling all over the place and get to walking.

The weather is perfect...no excuses!

Stacked Lenticular Clouds

When we stepped out the door to go to the Arboretum this morning, this wonderful example of a lenticular cloud formation was just over the hill.

Lately I've been noticing all the variety of clouds in the area. Now that Fall is nearing, there seems to be more unusual formations.

We drove over to San Rafael Park to go walking in the Arboretum there.


Unfortunately, the Museum was closed, so we'll save that for another day.

I noticed these trees were beginning to change color.

Kate took Sarah here when she and the kids were visiting back in July. We were going to see it on Labor Day, but thought it was closed.

I remember Kate telling me she thought the trees looked smaller than normal, which might be due to only 7 inches of rain annually, and a shorter growing season at 4,600 ft. altitude.

The place is huge...over 11 acres, and today we just scratched the surface.

There are many wonderful spots for restful contemplation. I must say our walk, was more of a stroll. I took around 50-60 photos, and will try the share a few good ones.

There are several dozen groves and gardens as well as a Labryinth. We didn't make it to the Labryinth today...another reason to return.




I loved the vast variety of trees! There were many unique pines I'd never seen before.

After I took several dozen photos, Dan suggested I take a pic of the plaque that showed the tree's name. Ha! Too late...but a good idea for identifying trees in the future.

As we moved through the trails, I couldn't help but think of the "tree leaf" projects my kids did in school. This would have been the perfect place for an A+ paper!


In "Kristen's Garden" we found this waterfall, and a perfect place for intimate weddings.

There was a two tiered platform made of stone in front of the waterfall. This would accommodate an officiant on the higher one, and the couple on the other.

Both raised above the arbor where people attending the wedding had a beautiful view of the ceremony.




Here is a photo of that arbor.

According to the literature, "A profusion of wisteria, iris, magnolia, and peonies bloom in the spring; opulent stands of Michaelmas daisies delight visitors for several months in the late summer and fall."

We did see a few daisies, but they were almost finished blooming.




More interesting clouds at the Arboretum.

I think this place is our new favorite place to walk. We have much more to explore here.

Of course we weren't able to tell how far we walked/strolled, but we were on the trails for about an hour.

More photos of the area tomorrow!