Blogging – Page 2 – New England's Narrow Road

Staying Busy in the Midst of Winter

I keep a journal and don’t write in it often. I would like to say there are new and exciting things going on in my life, but there just aren’t. I applied to my back to get pre-approved for a mortgage so I can stop renting and was told I need to wait six months since my divorce was just recently final, so that is on hold. I am working on getting my taxes together – which is always exciting. I’m hoping to get them done for free again this year by the folks at the River Center, where I met my tax guy who came to my house and I paid him in cookies – no kidding! My deck is buried in snow that is more like cement, and my face hasn’t been in the sun since the last time I walked across the parking lot into the grocery store a week ago. All this is very boring, I know.

I also began using a day planner for my work. The trouble I am having is that I never seem to get the lists finished and they carry over day after day. I get sidetracked easily and must have a touch of my son’s ADD. I always check my e-mail first thing and see what my recent store sales look like. Most everything is selling from Sandpiper Wedding and I attribute that to the fact that the blog is being updated every day by my daughter. Updating daily will bring more views, and more views transfer to more sales. It’s also filled with images of beaches and tropical things. Maybe that is the reason for the views.

So goes life in winter. Just keep plugging along.

Making Cheese With Flowers

Nasturtium flower — My Red / Orange (& edible) Nasturtium

I will tell you right away that I have never done this, but I visited one of my favorite bloggers (and she is so much more) only to find an amazing post that included fresh picked flowers and yogurt.

Sharon Lovejoy is an author of many books and writes the most interesting posts on her blog along with some excellent photos of her quaint and lovely home in California – and the one in Maine when she is there. I honestly don’t get around to reading the blogs I have linked to as much as I’d like because my work takes up most of my day, but I truly love to visit a great blog. As busy and popular as Sharon is, she still takes time to read my piddly little blog and leave a comment here and there. Does that tell you the kind of sweet person she is?

Actually, she reminds me very much of my grandmother (and I don’t mean to say that she is old). My Nana always had a good thing to say. She was positive and open-minded and encouraging and sharing. I don’t know Sharon personally, but I imagine that she is just as she comes across in her blog posts – and that is how she comes across.

Please view her amazing post –Stir Gently and Add Friends -about making cheese from yogurt and flowers. I learned something new today and I have to buy a strainer.

Update on My Stair Climbing

I know you have been wondering how I am doing at my “Brilliant Idea for Getting In Shape“… No?

Well, I thought I’d be doing a lot more stair climbing than I ended up doing, but I am doing it. I had hoped to get up from the computer once an hour and do the stair thing for 3 minutes. Doesn’t sound too difficult does it?

The trouble I’m having is that I set the timer, get busy working on something in one of my Zazzle stores and when the timer goes off I think, “Okay, just let me finish posting this product for sale” , or “I’ll just finish up this drawing first”, and then I totally forget – for hours – that the timer was calling me to walk!

So I end up climbing my stairs only about 2 or 3 times a day instead of the hoped for 6.

But I am doing it, and I am convinced that it is doing some good – even if it’s a tiny bit. I’m not too worried because with the cooler Fall air comes the lugging of firewood, which is plenty of exercise.

My Brilliant Idea For Getting In Shape

Getting “in shape” is all relevant. It depends on what kind of shape you are in in the first place. And my shape is getting rounder by the day. So I’m not in good shape.

First of all I don’t really care that I am a size 12. I am in midlife, have given birth to 4 kids and sit at a computer all day working. I won’t ever be a size 8 or probably even a 10 again. I don’t care. I have no one to impress and just care about being healthy… and I know it is not healthy to lead a sedentary life, which I hate to admit is happening.

Yes, I am writing about the boring and all too many times written about – weight loss, but not really. I just want to be in better shape. I won’t get much smaller, but I refuse to get larger. I am acquiring a spare tire around my middle that is quite depressing and I know it’s from sitting at this computer so much. There is no movement happening!!

Today I had a hard time finding clothes to wear when I went out to the DUMP!!! Now that is bad.

My excuses are these: I don’t have a yard of my own and I used to work constantly in the gardens, digging and expanding and weeding – all that. I have no incentive to do that now. It’s not my yard and I am just doing it for someone else. And who knows how long I’ll even live here. There is no future in it, if you know what I mean, and you might not, but anyway….

Same thing with the house. It’s not mine so I take care of it, but don’t spend time wondering how I could make it cuter or nicer. Again, there is no point. Those are the two big changes in my life and because of them, I have to concentrate elsewhere and it happens to be working online. So I sit from 3 or 4 AM until at least 3 PM with a few breaks in between to let the cats in ..and out…and in… and out…AND I do laundry and dishes etc. to make myself move.

I’ve had excuses all summer for not going walking in this beautiful area. We’ve had one of the hottest summers in recent northeast history, the besides that, when I have walked, the horse flies have been so horrendous that I wished I had just stayed home. Also, there are ignorant people on my road let their dogs run out and bark at me when I walk. So I’ve gone walking very little.

Today I got a brilliant idea. My rental is a ranch, but there is a cellar with a straight flight of stairs going down to it. I am going to use those stairs to get into better shape.

I am going to set the timer for an hour and when it goes off I will walk up and down my stairs for 3 minutes. (I checked to see how long I could do it and 3 minutes is a good starting point – I told you I was out of shape!)

Then I will set the timer again and do it again. All day I will do that and it’s got to help some! Three minutes every hour? Who can’t spare that. No excuses!!!

In 18 minutes I’m going for a walk.

Check out this funny postcard by my friend Tom aka Swiss: