Sun 30 Sept

Had a very nice Hard Rocks hike with Karin who kept our pace up and gave us conversation to pass the hike quickly. Was able to get back to the Farmer's Market in time to get our pastry allotment and to amuse David with my stiff gait getting out of the car after the post-hike ride home from Standing Rocks. Had a very nice dinner with Karin and Deb at PJ's to celebrate the one-year anniversary of our Grand Canyon hike. Nice Saturday. Food: 7:55 am Blackberry danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Sat 29 Sept

Up much earlier than usual this morning as we will leave at 7:15 for the Hard Rocks Hiking Challenge. Karin is going with us and she hasn't registered yet so we want to get there before registration closes. David has agreed to set aside our allotment of pastries to be picked up after the hike. The desire to get there around 11 am will keep me hiking at a good pace, along with keeping up with Karin. Hopefully we can still have pancakes and keep to the schedule. Likely to be pretty cold out there as it was supposed to freeze last night. Forecast for hike time was about 34°. Food: 6:00 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c soy milk, 101 g blackberries, coffee 10:50 am 2 pancakes, 3 sausages, 1/4 c walnuts, 1/4 mini chocolate chips Exercise: 7:55-10:40 am Hard Rocks Hiking Challenge

Fri 28 Sept

Gym and laundry today, Hard Rocks Hiking Challenge and dinner with Karin and Deb tomorrow. Should be good. Finished my ebook yesterday, first book I've completed since vacation. I needed a short break from constant reading and now I'm enjoying it again. Food: 7:50 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c soy milk, 101 g blackberries, coffee 11:20 am 3 toasted almond crisp cookies 1:00 pm Aldi English muffin w/butter, 2 scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese Exercise: 8:55-9:25 am Treadmill 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class

Thurs 27 Sept

Finally get to walk with Kathy again this morning, a chilly but only partly cloudy morning. Looking forward to catching up with her. Started trying to form conversations in my head in basic French. I think this is a necessary step to actually be able to use what I'm learning on Duolingo, so I hope I continue to do so. I used to do it in Spanish, particularly before traveling to Mexico, so I hope it will be useful. It wasn't supposed to rain this morning, but it started to sprinkle while Kathy and I walked. We were sufficiently motivated to walk together again that we didn't mind (too) much, but we did get a little wet. Food: 7:20 am Bear claw pastry, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:05 pm Sausage stew Exercise: 8:00-9:35 am Walk w/Kathy (Bukolt loop in the rain)

Wed 26 Sept

Sun is shining, but temps are supposed to be in the 50s for awhile now, with an occasional foray up to 60ish. Long-sleeve weather. Time to adapt. Food: 7:45 am Apricot danish, 100 g blackberries, coffee 12:20 pm 2 fried eggs, sm slice multigrain bread w/butter & strawberry freezer jam, pear Exercise: 9:00-9:25 am Treadmill 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class

Tues 25 Sept

Now we head into more chilly weather, today not so much with a high of 66 but rain predicted in the afternoon and clouds all day, then highs in the 50s for the foreseeable future. Oh well, we knew it was coming. Food: 7:50 am Chocolate pumpkin danish, 100 g blackberries, coffee 12:55 pm Hard boiled egg, pear, bear claw pastry 2:05 pm 1 pc string cheese 5:30 pm Sausage stew, multigrain bread w/butter Exercise: 12:20-12:45 pm Madison St Loop

Mon 24 Sept

Another lovely sunny autumn day. We got in a nice hike at Rib after choir last night, and I hope to get back there one night this week as well. Hope to take advantage of walking outside a lot while the sun and nice temperatures last. Always so much nicer when the atmosphere is pleasant. Food: 7:55 am Orange glazed brioche roll, 101 g blackberries, coffee 1:00 pm Hard boiled egg, apple cinnamon scone, pear Exercise: 9:00-9:25 am Treadmill 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class

Sun 23 Sept

Class reunion went well last night, but not sorry it's done for another five years. It's nice to see all the high school folks again, and to learn that they have turned in to a very nice group of people, but two consecutive nights of socializing is a lot for me. Especially on the heels of the time with family at the coast with a lot of socializing. Feeling the need to crawl into my shell for awhile. Food: 8:35 am Raspberry streusel pinwheel, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:00 pm Slice Omega 3 bread, 2 oz rotisserie chicken breast, 1/2 c homemade applesauce 1:00 pm 2 c kettle corn 7:50 pm 3 oz rotisserie chicken breast, 1/2 c potato salad, 100 g raspberries, pink lady basil kombucha Exercise: 9:40-10:00 am Walk to church 11:10-11:30 am Walk home 4:45-6:10 pm Hike Rib

Sat 22 Sept

First day of fall! Had a very nice time at the Friday night gathering of the class reunion at Amber Grill. Bob found a fellow builder, Karen Zurawski's husband, to chat away the evening so we ended up staying almost three hours. Tonight is dinner and drinks at the Sky Club. It's a lovely, sunny day today so maybe we can hike this afternoon in addition to getting laundry done. Making a small batch of applesauce with some of the Cortlands we picked yesterday at an orchard outside Madison. Food: 9:15 am Cherry danish, 1 hard boiled egg, 101 g blackberries, coffee 11:10 am Small Jonafree apple w/sprinkling of cinnamon sugar 11:45 am 89 g raspberries, bear claw pastry 3:25 pm 3 toasted almond cookies Exercise: 8:00-8:45 am Walk to Farmer's Market and back

Fri 21 Sept

Going down to Madison to see Laura this morning, a few quick errands, and back to Point for the start of my 45th class reunion tonight and tomorrow. Lots of wind here this morning, and Bob said the forecast is for it to go down to 39° tonight here. Winter is coming! Food: 7:25 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c soy milk, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Thurs 20 Sept

What a very nice vacation we had! Every part of it worked pretty much as planned and we enjoyed it all. Sequim was lovely; I could live there if I needed to relocate at some time. The National Parks were amazing, Victoria and Tea at the Empress were excellent, the beach house suited everyone, and we had 5/7 LeGault sibs together in one place at one time! Travel was safe and uneventful, as it should be. Food: 8:50 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c soy milk, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:30 pm 2 fried eggs, slice Omega 3 toast w/butter & strawberry freezer jam 5:20 pm 5 oz cabernet sauvignon Exercise: 10:00-10:15 am Jessica Smith 15-min cardio 4:20-5:10 pm Leslie Sansone 4 Fast Miles

Tues 4 Sept

Hippo birdie two me! Vacation day is here. We leave sometime this morning, probably shortly after breakfast. Just need to double check the packing lists, load the car, and go! Mustn't forget my phone or Fitbit charger, but since they are currently right in front of my nose, I hope that's enough to keep me remembering. Fitbit is currently on the charger, getting its last bit of juice before the trip. Food: 7:55 am Apricot danish, 127 g blackberries, coffee

Mon 3 Sept

Nice day at the Fair yesterday in spit of starting in the rain. Kept the morning crowds down a bit, though they made up for it in the afternoon. We had our ears checked with a tool that displayed the inner ear on a tablet for us to see. My right ear canal has a complete blockage, so I may need professional help if I can't dissolve it with mineral oil or other home ear care products. Good to know that's the problem. We also had our hearing tested, and even in spite of the blockage, that ear was only slightly below normal. Stopped at Woodbury Costco on the way home and got organic blackberries for $2.99 so we bought three instead of the one I had planned on. Ate most of one container jointly on the ride home, and am eating larger portions today. Trying David's newest pastry concoction today, big enough to feed a family of three. It's a twisted pastry with raspberry almond filling. Yum! Food: 8:50 am Huge raspberry almond pastry, 124 g blackberries, coffee

Sat 1 Sept

September is here, and today we head to Minneapolis; tomorrow the Fair! It's a little rainy out now, so we'll carry umbrellas on our walk to the Farmer's Market for pastries and a loaf of bread for a thank-you gift for Kurt & Barb for gracious use of their home.