Beautiful fall days

Coffee shop antics

Yesterday I got to spend some time at the coffee shop with two of my best friends: Lily and Steve. Because when the day began, it was dark and cloudy with some rain, Steve offered to pick me up and transport me to the coffee shop, and I took him up on it. I knew that he would not be going on a walk with me yesterday morning, since he still has plenty of stuff to do after moving out of his home of several years.

Frankly, I haven't had the same feeling about my walking routine since I quit the Trailblazers and have been getting exercise in different ways lately. Mainly, the two afternoons I work as a volunteer at the Senior Center, which usually gives me each of those days a minimum of 1,000 steps during the job of setting up, serving the patrons, hustling coffee and tea, and finally the cleaning up and breakdown stage. That activity, plus yoga and shorter walks, seems to be helping me reach my exercise goals rather easily. My Watch keeps track of whether I am getting as much activity this year as I did last, and most days shows that I am not slacking. However, that said, I notice that I seem to be putting on some unwanted weight, which could be because I also get two really good Senior Center takeout meals on the days that I work. Not to mention that I seem to be drinking more beer and wine these days, for various reasons

In the above picture, taken by Steve, you can see Lily and I playing on my iPad with an old set of pictures, where we used an app to make ourselves into cats, with whiskers, ears, and eye makeup, no less. When I looked at that shot, I realized I am not only looking older, but my face is much fuller. (The picture on the iPad was taken almost five years ago. Lily doesn't look all that different, though.) Nothing is quite as stressful as having to work to button my pants, I must say. Maybe I'll go on a diet soon, but I'm not finding the impetus just quite yet. I'll bet I am almost ten pounds over my usual weight, but the scale that would tell me the truth is not being used. It keeps trying to catch my eye but I pretend that I don't see it.

Farmers' Market fall flowers

After Steve left, Lily and I walked to the Farmers' Market and enjoyed seeing all the wares and especially the beautiful flowers that emerge this time every year. The clouds cleared and the sun came out. We had a great time looking at everything, and Lily bought a bouquet to take home. Everyone seemed happy and in a good mood. That also lifted my own spirits, too. There is nothing quite as nice as spending hours with my bestie and absorbing all the good vibrations that surrounded us.

We then decided to have lunch at Whole Foods, where we used to go after our Saturday walk, but it has changed and wasn't nearly as good as we remembered. So, that will probably not be repeated, and it was worthwhile to revisit an old haunt and say goodbye to it. We enjoyed being together, as always.

There are so many reasons to be happy with my world today, not least of which is because I live in a place where even when it's fall or wintertime, we have decent weather and don't have to bundle up and haul out snow shovels. Here, the snow stays mostly in the mountains where it belongs.

But there are dark clouds, too: I haven't mentioned my eyes lately, but they continue to change, and not for the better. It is harder and harder to pretend otherwise, but I can still see well enough to write these posts and read books on my Kindle. I still have all of my peripheral vision, but central vision continues to deteriorate. And yesterday, I got a call from my friend John who told me that the results have come back from the tests he took for Parkinson's Disease, and he has it. I looked it up online and realize that he's had symptoms for a long time, but they hadn't interfered much with his daily life. Other than the tremor he developed, he's pretty much the same, just slower. He will continue to go to the gym a couple times a week, since that should slow the progression of the disease. I am sad whenever family and friends get such news, but it's an inevitable part of aging. 

My Guy is going to have a tooth extracted this coming week, on his journey to eventually having a bridge built in his mouth. Other than the discomfort, there is also the expense, which runs into the thousands. But he is resilient and will adjust. We bought a Vitamix blender to help him keep up his food intake of good veggies, even if they do have to be in smoothies, rather than lightly cooked, the way he likes. He has managed to lose weight, even as I have gained. It sure would be nice if I could transfer some of my expanding hips to him, but unfortunately it doesn't work that way. 

However, I am not going to complain about my life, since it's pretty darn good, and I'll be busy looking for new activities that will cheer me up. I've already done the Wordle for today, and I'll play my other favorite games on the New York Times, and I'll hopefully enjoy a good breakfast with John this morning, like we usually do.

I hope you will have a wonderful week ahead, and that you will find ways to enjoy your days, as they move into fall and leave the summer months behind. I am really fortunate to live here with my sweet partner. The days ahead will get colder and wetter, but that's fall and winter for ya. Those months are followed by the inevitable springtime, so as I enjoy the colorful leaves as they carpet the ground, I'll look forward to some cozy evenings in my apartment with my pal. Until we meet again, dear friends, I wish you all good things.