Exercise books and a poster

Being physically active is one of the most important things you can do each day to maintain and improve your health and keep doing things you enjoy as you age.

National Institute of Health

Monday, I ordered the poster above and some exercise books to use in a class that my friend Shannon and I will lead every Monday afternoon.  The book we once used (on the left) is no longer available, but I have six copies for anyone who doesn't already have one.  When the new books arrive, I'll give everyone a copy of it, too.  Look at these also:  HERE is a total body chair workout.  Six ways to do pushups while standing is HERE.

What I'm thinking about

1.  On the Crown Center bus ~ Iva, Betty, and Meredith on the left; Bonnie, Esme beside Jerry, and Shannon (in the back) on the right.  This is an old photo, but I'll be on the bus again today when we go to buy groceries.

2.  Another bagful of books ~ Risé invited me to go with her this morning to the last day of the sale of used books at the Jewish Community Center.  That's when we can fill a bag with books for five bucks.  I've written about the books I've stuffed into bags other years, like THIS in 2017, but I haven't been to their sale since I quit driving.  I'll tell you about the books later, probably over several days, a few books at a time.  I set this to post itself while we're book shopping.

3.  Punxsutawney Phil ~ Did you see my earlier post?  Today is Groundhog Day, so go back one post to see what I wrote.

4.  Einstein's cluttered desk ~ The photo on the right was his office on the day he died.  These are the words on the left photo:  "If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?" — Albert Einstein

5.  Survey about daily life ~ Do you need help...

... with using the telephone?

... with shopping?

... with food preparation?

... with housekeeping?

... with laundry?

... with transportation?

... with your medications?

... with your finances (budgeting, buying, banking, paying bills)?

6.  And then there's quality of life to consider, as Atul Gawande wrote about in his 2014 book Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End.  I gave that one a 10/10 rating and highly recommend it.  A survey could ask questions about whether you are satisfied with your life, how you feel, whether you are involved in activities or not, whether you feel hopeless or happy.  Think about it.  How alive and involved are you feeling these days?  In answering some of their quality of life questions, I didn't just circle Yes/No as requested.  You know me, right?  I had to throw in a few remarks, as well.

7.  Do you often get bored?  NO, I don't think I've ever been bored, except in some business meetings.  😃

8.  Do you prefer to stay at home, rather than going out and doing new things?  YES, but that's because I'm an INTJ (introvert).

9.  Do you think it is wonderful to be alive now?  YES, but reading news of random rampages is not "wonderful."  (Neither, is reading about wars and violence.)

10.  Do you feel full of energy?  NO, not physical energy.  Mentally I have lots of energy, but my physical energy is slowing down.

11.  An alarming day ~ I set off alarms at the courthouse in my town back in 2009.  Why?  I told people it is because I am held together with baling wire. I actually WAS wired together after quadruple bypass heart surgery earlier that year.  The guard let me pass through after I showed her my scars from surgery.

Happy Birthday, Sue

Yesterday was Sue's birthday, and here are some of us who sang the happy birthday to her in our Circle@Crown Café.  Shannon is on the left, Sue is in the middle, and Sandy is on the right.  Maybe next year we can include Judy, Sue's twin sister, in the festivities.

Two charts ~ plus word of the day

Social distancing chart

Have you used any of these "socially distanced" greetings?

• When I do the Air Hug (near the bottom middle of the chart), I first throw my arms out like she's doing.  Then I "wrap my arms around" a bunch of air, just as I'd do if I were hugging the person.
• The Thumbs Up (at the top) comes naturally to me, so I've done that one many times.

• Making Heart Fingers (bottom left) never occurred to me, but I like it and it's easy.
• I might use Namaste (on the left) if I ever run into the folks who used to exercise with me on Friday afternoons.  We always ended with Shannon leading us through a short breathing exercise and saying "Namaste" to each other.
• 
  I have used the ASL (American Sign Language) way of saying I Love You.  I taught my grandchildren and we'd wave goodbye that way.  Holding up the pinkie finger means "I," and thumb with pointer finger means "L."  Putting them together makes "I Love You" like on this stamp from 1993.

Feel good chart

While we've been trying to find a balance while living the year that wasn't, I've mostly stayed at home.  Some days seem to drag, and a long time passes until it's tomorrow.  Other days seem to disappear when I blink.  Yesterday, big chunks of time seemed to pass between each blink.  I don't know why.  A few weeks ago, a friend said something about what had happened "a couple of weeks ago.  I reminded her, "That was Monday."  Whether you managed to do all you hoped to do, or whether you only managed to shower, I hope you feel good about something today.

Word of the Day

...is actually three words that sound alike, but mean three different things.

1.  their = something they possess.  Example:  "She's their daughter."
2.  there = points to a place.  Example:  "The book is over there."
3.  they're = a contraction of "they are."  Example:  "They're not here yet."

Your turn to use words

Tell me about something you miss being able to do because of the virus, lockdowns, and restrictions.  John Pavlovitz asked what big things people had missed, like "a date, event, trip, or occasion they were looking forward to."  He called his blog post The Missing Year.  It does feel like that, doesn't it?

Social distancing

The CDC defines social distancing as "remaining out of congregate settings, avoiding mass gatherings and maintaining distance (approxi-mately 6 feet) from others when possible."  It is less drastic than quarantine or isolation, which are used for people who are suspected to be carrying the virus.  (I found the GIF here.)  Keeping our distance from each other, even when neither of us has symptoms of the coronavirus, is the best way to prevent the spread of this pandemic.

I woke up this morning thinking about "the last man on earth," a book and a movie, if I'm remembering correctly.  I looked it up, and it's a 1982 book by Isaac Asimov and also the title of three movies over the decades (1924, 1964, and 2011).  That's kind of what I'm feeling this morning, as I sit isolated and alone in my apartment with only my cat as company.  And my computer?  Maybe that depressing feeling and anxiety was why my blood pressure was up a bit more than usual this morning.

Asking my five daily questions:

1. What am I grateful for today?

Snow!  Strangely, today's rain had turned to SNOW when I glanced up this morning.  And then the tiny white flakes became BIG snow flakes.  It's too wet to lay.  At least, I think so.  But who expects snow at the beginning of spring when the temps are above freezing all day?

2. Who am I checking in on or connecting with today?

Mary called to check on me this morning and to talk awhile.  Donna and I chatted through Facebook's private messages.  Sharon texted that she'd left something in the box beside my door.  It was a bag of pecans.  Thanks, Sharon!  I tried to call Tiny, who is now living with her daughter and son-in-law nearby.  We still have a lot of hours left in the day, so I may be in contact with several more before bedtime.  Evening update:  Shannon called to check on me, and when I went down to get yesterday's mail, I spoke to Dorothy in the lobby and Darlene on the desk.  I also met Donna in the hall, when Domino's delivered an order for us this evening.

3. What expectations of "normal" am I letting go of today?

Having all the foods available that I'm used to.  Joy says on her blog today that cabbage lasts longer than lettuce, so she shared her recipes with us (click her links).  Her whole post is intersting:  "Self love in the time of Coronavirus."

4. How am I getting outside today?

I'm not, because it's raining.  As of midnight tonight, St. Louis city and county will be under "stay-at-home" orders.  We'll still be able to go out for essentials like food and medicines, but I need to look at the details on the St. Louis County website.

5. How am I moving my body today?

I got out my mini-cycle so I can exercise inside a little better.  Donna used it while sitting in a chair after she had knee replacement surgery, and I used it with my hands on the pedals during therapy after I broke my shoulder, by putting it on a table.

Joy shared a couple of her exercises in her blog post (see #3 above).  Here's one I'll try later: "March in place while tapping the knee with the opposite hand — a cross lateral move that is supposed to help your brain function better."

I can always use the pages I printed out for our exercise group to do my own exercises at home, like these daily dozen for seniors.  And here are a few yoga positions I'm pretty sure I'd be good at.  Let's laugh a little.

TWOsday ~ saying thank you

Here's the gardener with the green thumb, the one who is growing the beautiful flowers near the gazebo behind our buildings.  I shared two photos of these plants in July.  We appreciate those flowers you have shared with us, Sandy.  Thank you for adding beauty to our grounds.

Having now caught my breath (after a month), it's time to say thanks to some people.  Joan's daughter Beth is an artist, who makes "wearable art."  Thanks, Beth, for the exquisite silk scarf I'm wearing in this photo and also for the beautiful potholders and the times we gathered at your home while I was in Montana.

Thanks, Cari and Roger, for taking me along on your trip so I could celebrate Joan's 80th birthday with her.  Thanks for getting this old lady through all the airports and baggage claims.  Thanks also for the boat trip down the Missouri River to the Gates of the Mountains.  But especially, thanks for the conversations and getting to know you.

Thanks, Donna, for keeping Clawdia that week.  And thanks, Shannon and Risé, for leading the exercise group those two Friday afternoons I was traveling.  I had a great time in Montana with Joan.

Sunday Salon ~ exercising, books, family

Exercising

Dorothy, Marilyn, and Shannon had gotten into position to do "wall pushups" the day I snapped this photo of part of our group.  I'm not a morning person, and most of our scheduled exercises meet in the morning.  So I rounded up a few like-minded people to join me a couple of afternoons a week to do our own thing.

Books

Womanist Midrash: A Reintroduction to the Women of the Torah and the Throne  ~ by Wilda C. Gafney, 2017, religion

Several of us who live in my retirement center are meeting each week.  We are Jewish and Christian and studying a book about religion together.  What we've found is that each of us brings an enlightening perspective and enriches us all.  By clicking on the title, you can read what I wrote about the book when I bought it.

Family

My great-granddaughter Shiloh celebrated her first birthday yesterday.  I could have shown you the requisite photo of her eating (and wearing) her special birthday cake, but I like this one better.  It shows what a cute little girl she has become.  She had trouble breathing when she was born, but look at her now!

Bloggers gather in the Sunday Salon — at separate computers in different time zones — to talk about our lives and our reading.