2010: Monday, June 28

Leaving and encountering...
I left around 7:00am and returned around 8:00am, which was MUCH better in regard to coolness and reduced profusion of sweating! I was greeted initially by a neighbor/friend who was FINISHING his exercise of cycling! Sometimes I've met him walking, but he is quite faithful, may have something to do with the heart attach he had a couple of years ago, and he's only in his fifties! My next encounter was with another "neighbor"--Curly-Tail Kitty, an orange and white friendly cat who was in the street this time and who came up to me meowing. S/He gladly accepted my petting/affection and even rubbed my leg! S/He really does have a curly tail, but also a little black spot just inside his/her lower lip! I have seen him/her all these years in the driveway, but never had a personal encounter before--I was honored!

Feathers... 
There's a "thing" between God and me about feathers...yes, BIRD feathers! It all started with Bruce Wilkinson's (http://www.brucewilkinson.com/) book, The Dream Giver (http://www.brucewilkinson.com/Store/tabid/295/View961/Detail/TitleID/55/Default.aspx). It's about following your God-given destiny--and a white feather is a symbol within the book relating to that. Since I've read that book, I have sensed that God places a feather in my path when I am moving more in the direction of His destiny for my life. I have quite a collection of feathers. I have gone quite a long time without finding any feathers. However, lately, I've been finding quite a number of feathers lately. I found two exquisite ones today!

Lady walking opposite direction... 
Typically, every time I've arrived at the DSU Fitness Trail to walk, everyone else who walks around it walk in the same direction as I do--COUNTER-clockwise (if you were in the sky looking down). However, today, I encountered a lady who was walking CLOCKWISE to the rest of us! It struck me rather strangely. It reminded me of how others must encounter ME, since I am typically the one walking against the usual flow of traffic of people, their attitudes, values, likes, temperaments, characteristics, etc. They may feel just as strangely when they encounter me, a little uncomfortable, disrupted, perhaps even slightly disturbed! The experience was quite enlightening!

Left foot/leg...
I mentioned some "physical challenges" previously. One is a genetic condition many folks have called scoliosis. Most of my life the only problem I've had with it is having to hem one pants' leg 1" longer than the other one. A few years ago, I injured my back (literally threw it out of socket), which stayed that way until I jumped out of a swing, fell flat on my back, and "popped" it back into place! Since the original injury, my back has never been the same. I've been through some very painful ordeals, even to the point of nearly having to crawl and use a cane! God is gracious though! Eventually, my back has greatly recovered, although with only a low-level pain behind my right hip-back. I have two vertebrae that overlap and a golf-ball wad of arthritis around them. What has been occurring since I've begun walking is I have had a good bit of trouble with my left foot, ankle, and leg. My foot won't lift properly so that I can walk heel-to-toe, it occasionally drags or stumbles, and the shin and ankle muscles and ligaments have remained extremely painful and stiff, regardless how much/often I stretch them! In fact, I could walk longer were it NOT for this problem, but my left leg and foot simply give out--I'd end up having to drag them home like a lifeless prosthesis were I to walk to their fatigue! This is one of the most frustrating aspects of walking for me!

Garbage day... 
Mondays and Thursdays are "garbage days" for our area. Thus, walking these days adds waves of odors that are never the same any one day, yet have an uncanny familiarity. There are always "visitors" in our neighborhoods on garbage days--the little old men (and some women) who peruse the piles on the streets for "treasures." I admit I always take a serious look into many of the trash bins as I bypass them to see what folks discard. I even admit that if there is something irresistible, I'll claim it for myself! I've gotten better over the years about resisting this temptation--since Billy has such as disdain for this little practice of mine! Today, on the other hand, I indulged again--I just "HAD" to grab up the ironing board from the house around the corner from us, since I was nearly home anyway and it was in good condition! I had given my ironing board (that I had gotten from another street-side pile) away to someone who needed it several years ago. I really have wanted a full-sized one for our place in Blue Mountain, rather than the little table-top version. Therefore, I rationalized that my "find" was quite practical! I just forgot to get a new ironing board cover today when I was at Walmart!


Little nap...no nap...babysitting...lunch...little nap...BIG nap... 
Well...that's pretty much what happened today after walking! Since I had gotten up at my preferred "early" time again and had returned home by 8 AM, I was ready to get a little nap. I had about gotten comfortable when my cell phone rang. I saw that it was my friend who is keeping her grand-kids (and to whom I had volunteered to baby-sit if she needed me). So, I answered, "Audrey's Baby-Sitting Service!" I did help her out for a couple of hours and had a great time with the kids! By the time she returned it was time for lunch. The kids wanted her to feed them and I wanted me to feed ME! I arranged to get a Sonic lunch for Billy and me to eat in his office. After that, I went home and got started on my little nap. Some "while" later, I felt Barney getting comfortable next to me. Thinking I had slept perhaps an hour or little longer, I had to do a double-take at my watch to realize it was actually almost 4:30pmI had slept almost 3-1/2 hours! My little nap had turned into a BIG NAP! Guess I needed it! Took me about 30 minutes to wake up, then I went on to Walmart to do my shopping! That was my final "walking" for the day!

Tootles,
Turtle Girl