volunteering

This morning I helped make Braille books with my Lutheran lady friends. We manufactured seven 73 page books which are shipped to California and then distributed to blind people all over the world. Last year I got my five year pin for doing this. This morning one of the ladies was a little late and this was her excuse: she was taking a picture of two hawks that were at her bird feeder. We talked a lot about birds and squirrels getting into bird feeders. We usually have lunch together but it was snowing this morning and everyone was anxious to get home. I'm giving myself a grace period from the gym. My shoulder is still sore and I've put off going to the doctor. Maybe I'll ask my cardiologist about it next week.

too cold and lazy

Yesterday it was just too cold to get out and walk and I was too lazy to drive to the mall or the indoor track so I stayed home and finished two books, Patrick Kennedy's A Common Struggle, and Lovable Livable Home by Sherry and John Petersik. Later on I started a new paint-by-number. I knew the laziness wouldn't work two days in a row so I was at the Y bright and early. Well, early for me anyway. I clocked five miles on the indoor track and also finished up with weights and ab work. I know my mileage for January will be low but that's okay. Sometimes you need a slack month every once in awhile.

my granola recipe

Several months ago I discovered this recipe in our local newspaper. I have made it about twenty times and tweeted  and changed it so that now I feel like it's my personal recipe. I eat this every morning with a little honey, sliced fresh strawberries or raspberries from SAMs  to top it off. I have been known to eat the same thing for breakfast for years, like overnight oatmeal and before that, frozen Slimfast right out of the can!

Chunky Monkey Granola
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup coconut flakes
1/3 cup chopped peanuts
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup chopped pecans
3 tablespoons ground flax
2 tablespoons chia seeds
2 bananas
1 egg white
1/3 cup peanut butter
Dried cranberries and chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine first eight ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
Use a hand mixer to combine bananas, egg white and peanut butter
Until smooth. Pour peanut butter mixture over oat mixture
And stir until incorporated. Pour mixture in even layer
on baking pan.
Bake until crisp (about 30-40 minutes), removing from oven
and stirring every 10 minutes to allow granola to brown
evenly and break up into smaller pieces. When granola
is golden and crisp, remove from oven and stir in cranberries
and chocolate chips. Store in air-tight container.

the tilt table test

Yesterday I had a tilt table test at the university. I knew that I was scheduled for this test and I was dreading it.The name tilt table sounds ominous, I mean I stay away from roller coasters. A Prince Harry look alike met me at the cardiac waiting room and reassured me that everything would be fine. And it was. After he inserted a needle-less IV in my arm, attached two blood pressure cuffs and electrodes on my neck and seat belts around my middle and legs because we do have a set belt law here in Missouri, the table was tilted back and I just stood in a darkened room for 40 minutes while he watched what my heart was doing on a monitor behind me. All very harmless, and I was told I passed with flying colors!
Today I power walked six miles. Two miles on the indoor track and later, another four miles on the Greenway. I had to dodge patches of ice but the temperature was in the mid sixties and glorious for this time of year. I also lifted weights and ab work as I didn't get it done yesterday.

Bernina

I bought a used Bernina sewing machine yesterday. It's a beauty. We took a road trip to Mennonite country to get it. My sweet Grammy taught me how to sew years ago and I thought it would be handy to have. I spent some time studying the manual and figuring out how to drop the bobbin and thread it up. No, I'm not going to start making my own clothes but I do have a mesh laundry bag to mend! On the way back we stopped at the Bulk Grocery Store and stocked up on steel cut oatmeal, dark chocolate chips and sixteen bean soup mix. Also a huge chunk of Pepper Jack cheese for $1.99 a pound.
Today I was back on the hard surface of the Greenway and walked/ran four and a quarter miles. Plus, my regular workout with weights at the Y.

Scientific

I used to teach science to kids so I knew there had to be a logical explanation to the puzzling sock in the washing machine mystery. The answer was the bag. I discovered a small opening in the seam at the bottom. It was only an inch in length but I could see that a sock could escape from the bag especially with the agitation of the laundry. The fact that it's always a pink sock; I usually wear the pink socks early in the week, therefore the pink socks are usually at the bottom of the bag.
Yesterday I walked a little over five miles on the track at the middle school. I have been nursing self-diagnosed shin splints and decided to stick to soft surfaces for awhile. It was nice; I could sing along with Jimmy Buffet and nobody paid any attention!

a weird story

I keep my dirty running socks in a mesh bag. It's easy to throw in the washer when I'm doing laundry and easier to sort the pairs after I take them out of the dryer. Something strange has been happening lately. For the third time I have found one stray pink sock that has somehow escaped from the bag and mixed in with the various towels and whatever happens to be in the laundry that day. The mesh bag is always zipped up, I'm OCD. I check it. This is an absolutely true story and I find it very puzzling. I'm going to try to find out why this is happening. Maybe I'll stuff them all into a smaller mesh bag and see if that makes a difference. I'm guessing it won't.