Coaches

Tired. I completed the weeding if my 10'x10' garden plot today. I joyfully envisioned the bounty to come. I bought a dill plant, a yellow crookneck squash, a Tabasco pepper plant and some white marigolds with a volunteer Gerbera daisy of some sort in with the marigolds. I had to stop myself from buying more as I am sharing the space with my friend. This is also a sharing of the duties and that is welcome.

Food wise still op. Scalenis starting to respond. Still above 260 but not for long.

Goodnight!

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Exercise with the DGD day, CREDIT moi. She climbed higher and more fearlessly on the play structure. I learned that Target department store has a children's clothing section that could be titled 'Grandmom won't be able to pass here without buying a cute shirt.' Because Grandmom got caught and came home with four, LOL. My strength training came from lifting her up and down. Apparently, the single funniest joke in all of human history is when I lift her up from her high chair while saying "Down, down, down." It never gets old.

I salute all of us who've learned the English language by a quote from page 68 of Machine Platform Crowd: As the linguist Steven Pinker points out in his 1994 book The Language Instinct, a child who is upset with her parent's choice for bedtime reading could construct a complex sentence like "Daddy, what did you bring that book that I don't want to be read to out of up for?"


TenbyTen – Kudos for moving fast to establish the new garden - the growing season waits for no one. You certainly don't choose plants with boring names.

nationalparker – Welcome home. Good luck with your tough day.

Karen (karenrn) - Yay for driving older cars. When you move up to an all-electric car, changing oil will become a distant memory.

Readers -

Good morning coaches,

Food a little too much. Otis has been walked and I have yoga in a couple of hours. I also have a few errands to do and we choose the countertops this afternoon. We got a schedule from the contractor yesterday and demolition will begin on 7/17. I'll be in California the week before, so I will move things to the condo we will be renting before I go to California. Basically I'm just moving the clothes that we will need and the food we have around and our computers and toiletries. We will have access to our things, but I don't want to have to get into things too often.

My biggest concern is how Otis will do with all of this. At least the condo is on the ground floor, but of course each time he goes out will have to be on a leash. One of our friends, who is also our dog sitter, lives 3 doors down. Since I'm now feeling a little overwhelmed I arranged for our last couple of dog training sessions to be after we have remodeled and moved back home. In the meantime I'll train Otis enough so that he remembers the things we have worked on so far.

Yesterday I talked to my cousin for our plans for our camping trip in CA. We do it every year. We will be going to Lodgepole in Sequoia National Park. It's at 7000 feet elevation or something like that, so the temps are comfortable. It's always a bit of an ordeal because their home and garage are so crowded that they have trouble getting the camping things together since they are spread all over the place. Then her husband complains about how much work it is. In addition they bring enough food for an army. So much that the bear vault that we must keep things in is so full it's difficult to get things out. When I mentioned trying to keep things a little more simple, cousin thought it was because I don't want to help with the setting up and the work. I reassured her that isn't the problem, but I know she feels a little caught in the middle with a pretty organized cousin and a husband who certainly has his own way of doing things. I have to put myself in the right frame of mind before I go there. I take my own tent etc, so I do have my own space and they have theirs.

Bill And to think you will be getting stronger and stronger with your strength training as DGD gets heavier, until the day she doesn't need your lifting.
The nice thing about Target is that they have such cute things and they are really affordable.

Onebyone That's great that you have a friend to share the garden spot. I bet you are sore in some new places today. It's been a long time since I've done any gardening, but we used to have a corner lot with lots of flower beds and I remember being so sore after a day of weeding. It was a good sore though.

Nationalparker I hope you had a safe flight home and I hope it wasn't late. Sounds to me like you were getting home late enough. I hope you can get that review handled before too many days pass, so you don't have to stew about it much longer.

Maryann The place for your seminar looked just fabulous, but oh my it would be hard to sit through that presenter. If she is the worst in 25 years, she must be really bad.

Waving to Silverbirch, Curlyjax, And and whomever else is reading. I think I'll get cleaned up and ready for the day. Have a great day everybody!

A quick check-in before I get on with the tea. Things are starting to even out here which is a great relief to me. The weather is cool and rainy which tends to suit me. Exercise is returning to being regular, food is still too much but it will level out soon, I think.

karenrn, Otis must be really coming on with all the regular training. He's a good role model for me!

Bill, great excerpt today. You'll get to the point where you react differently when you see food you know you shouldn't eat.

nationalparker, glad you had a good visit to your brother. No, I've been self-employed for 30 glorious years so work continues throughout the summer unless I choose to say no or it dries up. I'm saying no a bit at the moment to give myself some breathing space to catch up and some time to do what I like. Clients like to present a project just as they go off on their summer or Christmas or Easter holiday, unfortunately. They're trying to clear their desks, I suppose.

onebyone, that's so great that the plots have come up! Nice tomatoes. Black Russian toms were very good here one year. This year, I'm growing Taxi from seed a friend brought back from Vancouver Island. It's good for short growing seasons (like you have in Canada, I suppose) but is rather floppy. I'm also growing Lizzano. Good luck!

maryann, that personal soap thing! I have a travelling sink plug which has been very useful over the years in places where there just aren't any.

curlyjax, good work with the trains here! That East Coast line from London to York is quite good, I think, and it's certainly fast. I'm not sure how old your teenager(s) is/are but here are a few suggestions. If you're starting from King's Cross you might like to look at where the new Google HQ will be - it's round the back of the station. Also Platform 9 3/4 if any of you are Harry Potter fans. York is just heaving with history. I like walking round the city walls. Is Jorvik, the Viking centre on your list? It was flooded recently so has been redone. The Minster is just fantastic. When the DB was tiny we had to wait in York during a period of flooding one November on our way back from the in-laws. He needed feeding (nursing) so we holed up in the Minster. Back row of pews, far left hand side - all very peaceful. There's a Roman column outside dating from AD100, from the Roman army's HQ. Finally (and perhaps I shouldn't mention this), I think that Yorkshire baking to be found in butchers and bakers is better than average. Pork pies, Yorkshire parkin, oh lots of things. You could have a challenge to go into these shops and buy something you've never had before. Betty's Tea Rooms in York are an institution. You might have to book. Ask me anything if you think I might know!

Coaches

A mixed bag today. I *finally* cut the large puzzle block for the community participation part of my town art grant. It took a few hours. It is fantastic and never would I have attempted it by hand. Tomorrow I have some minor sanding to do on each shape and then I lay them out and see if I have everything and if it's right. Tomorrow the artist woodblocks are also cut so I get to be Santa and deliver these to the artists involved.

Right as the router was beginning its work my mom's care facility called to tell me she is unresponsive. She hasn't been swallowing so she hasn't eaten in day and today she wouldn't drink water. I said I would come and see her and the nurse on the phone said it would be a good idea. Yikes. I was nervous and worried for the next three hours while my block was being cut not allowing my mind to "go there". I saw my mom. Her eyes were closed shut the way a baby kitten's eyes are; as if they've never been open. She didn't respond to me I don't think, and that's ok. If she's sick she's somewhere else. I don't know what will happen. She turns 90 Sept 27th. She is in late stage Alzheimer's. She is now wheelchair bound but she I stayed in bed today. She may not be able to regain her strength. I can see that, and I can't. I talked with my sister and all we know is no one knows. So we wait. I will stop by in the morning and then go on with my day which is to finish up the blocks by sanding them. There is nothing I can do for my mother. I hope it's not her time yet is all I can say.

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Walked, CREDIT moi, picking up one of the FREE local papers that I like to read. Hard copy print becomes more scarce each day. I subscribe to two hard copy newspapers (and a third online) because I like to feel the news in my hands. Local papers are the only way to discover who the mayor is taking out to dinner, LOL.

Just one more English lesson from a quote from page 70 of Machine Platform Crowd: As Mark Forsyth writes in his book The Elements of Eloquence, "adjectives in English absolutely have to be in this order: opinion-size-age-shape-color-origin-material-purpose Noun. So you can have a lovely little old rectangular green French silver whittling knife. But if you mess with that word order in the slightest you'll sound like a machine. It's an odd thing that every English speaker uses that list, but almost none of us could write it out." I am so amazed that the neurons in my brain know that list but that, before reading this, I didn't. Kudos to all the English speakers of the world!


onebyone – Sending supportive thoughts for you and your mother. Kudos for being able to continue with your project.

silverbirch – This is a sentence I've never heard before, "The weather is cool and rainy which tends to suit me" - Kudos for being matched to your environment. Yay that your world is beginning to even out. (Does the adjective order of Mark Forsyth hold in British English?)

Karen (karenrn) - You do pick the neatest places: Lodgepole in Sequoia National Park - wish I was joining you. Kudos for moving forward with your kitchen.

Readers -

hi coaches- I have been getting into the sweets too much again, boo. I told myself firmly I wouldn’t eat anything sugary at work but then i ignored myself. Start again today.
Spent some time at the DMV getting my aunts car switched over to us with in state plates etc. It all took awhile but went smoothly. Each time I go its a different set up, and seems much more streamlined so you don’t waste your time in the wrong line. There were a lot of folks there because some kind of truck license gets renewed at the end of June, and people of course wait until the last minute to do it. i made a mental note to avoid the DMV at the end of June in the future!

Bill- wow, that was really interesting quote about the English language! I’m going to keep that in mind as I listen to people. I agree, I enjoy local papers.
Onebyone- I’m sorry about your mom. It’s so hard to watch our parents age in that way.
Silverbirch- thanks for all those ideas! We are definitely going to check out Jorvik and the Minster.
Karenrn- traveling with a couple can indeed be a challenge I bet Otis will enjoy having a new condo to sniff about in for a bit!
Nationalparker- i hope you had a good trip home and got back into your routine smoothly. My DH is doing well right now, knock on wood!
Maryann-how interesting to live in a dorm again! good for you for taking on new professional challenges.

yikes, i better get moving. It feels like the weekend but not yet! happy friday all!

Good morning coaches,

The day is off to a good start. It was a cool 81 degrees or so when Otis and I walked this morning. We went a little longer since it was so nice and I didn't worry so much about having the all outdoor training sessions with him. We just finished a session but did part of it outside and part of it inside. He is learning "place" and I am using one of his beds as the "place". Hoping one of these days I'll be able to say place and he'll go there and stay. That would be a miracle in my book, instead of him lying on the back of the couch with his little face on someone's shoulder.

Food yesterday was on plan and no alcohol. It seems like just one day that is really in control makes me feel so much more confident in my ability to maintain. I hate to say it, but I use the excuse of the kitchen remodel as being stress and then decide I can sit and have a beer or two with dh. It is really not that stressful, but in my basically no stress life, it's the most stress I've had in awhile. I'm so grateful the days of way too much stress are in the past. I know there will be more ahead, but I count my blessings for what I have now. Yesterday we went to the slab sales area of the tile place to look at countertops. We have it narrowed down to a couple and then on to the backsplash. The upside of no alcohol are that I slept well and I feel great.

Today's plans are Crossfit and housework. Dh and I will be moving the lighter things into the bedrooms on the weekend, as in chairs from the dining room, lamps, pictures, etc. He is going to have a young guy from his office come help with the heavier things while I'm in CA.

Silverbirch I'm glad things are evening out for you. I would take some of your cool and rainy weather about now for a short time. I did have it for 50 years though in Washington, so I've about had a lifetime fill.

Onebyone I'm sorry to hear about your Mother. I hope for peace for both of you however things may go.

Bill That is very interesting about adjectives. I do miss taking the paper. I would love to have one that didn't have all the ads. I just felt so guilty throwing all that paper in the recycle day after day. Not that I don't do so many other things that I'm sure are worse. Yes, my cousin and I have gone to Lodgepole numerous times. She used to be a ranger there before she became a kindergarten teacher and after she was a ranger at Alcatraz. We love Lodgepole because the weather is cool due to the elevation. Each time we've been there we've seen bears, either walking right thru our camp sight or when we did a short hike nearby to Tokopah Falls.

Curlyjax Your sweets are my beers. Good luck to both of us in our goal to stay away from them. Glad you have the car licensing taken care of. Sometimes little things like that can really be a hassle. You're getting down to the wire for the trip. How fun is that!

I think I better start a couple of lists, things to take to CA, things to take to the condo, and housework to do today. Heck, that's one way to procrastinate. Maybe I can do that until it's time to go to the gym.

Have a great day everybody!

Good Morning, Coaches.

In class writing this. Yes/ I know. I know. If a student in my class was posting while I was teaching I would have the head. What can I say? She is going back over information that she went over two days ago. I do keep a half an ear open to her.

Food was less OP yesterday. I kept "stretching" by walking pass the candy bucket of the publishers. Drat! Credit for taking an extra round trip to the dorms.

I will not be sad to leave.

Just a post back to Maryann since she wasn't on here earlier. All I can say is, what a waste of your time. Too bad you couldn't have enjoyed the beautiful setting without the boring presenter.

Coaches

An exhausting day with another on the horizon. Canada Day event for my project tomorrow. I have to be on my game which will be very tough. Though they don't know why, my mother continues to decline. I saw her and her colour is odd. She is now on oxygen and just heard they have given her subcutaneous fluids. There is talk of palliative care. I almost lost it three times during my visit. I did lose it but got it together. I didn't know what to do about my event tomorrow but there is little I can do for my mom. I will stay in touch with my sister and the home and take it one bit at a time. I am exhausted. Goodnight.

At long last, I was able to get my varifocal glasses sorted out and to take my watch to the menders. I got to bed late as I was involved in one of those late night conversations with the SO and the DB. Too late for me - I need my beauty sleep!

When I've finished writing to you I'll do my exercises. Heavy weights today.

onebyone, thinking of you and your mother across the sea.

maryann, bad luck that the course was disappointing. Did you know that Richard III's body was discovered by archaeologists in 2012 in a car park in Leicester? He was the Richard suspected of murdering the Princes in the Tower. He was buried without pomp in a church after the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. This was the battle which ended the Wars of the Roses and the medieval period, and began the Tudor and modern periods in English history.

karenrn, I simply hadn't realised that training a dog took so much work. 'Place' sounds like a very good thing to obey. I know one very interested spaniel who will 'sit' whoever tells her to. She's able to be fully interested and busy but also to stop when she's told to. I'm so impressed. Hmm, training, that's what we're doing with Beck, of course.

curlyjax, I'll join you in 'no sweets' today.

Bill, thank you very much for bringing adjectival order to my attention. Yes, it's the same order in British English. And it's not something you are taught (instructed in) but it's something that develops within you. It was partly all this that kept me up past my bedtime last night! The SO is a linguistics person and the DB spends time in weird corners of the net plus he has us for parents, so we had a good old chat about it.

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