Fri 31 Jan

Lunch with Bill and Paddy today; can't forget. May try to stop and pick up a 4-pack of the Chocolate Porter for them if I remember. My concha this morning is shedding its yummy coating. I have to hold it in place to take a bite. And today was the last of the blackberries. Food: 7:50 am Concha, 69 g blackberries, coffee

Thurs 30 Jan

Walk with Kathy this morning, probably a bit chilly but maybe not quite as bad as I had anticipated. Will try to remember to wear my Fitbit today! Running low on blackberries; split the remainder between today and tomorrow. Should be able to get to Costco on Saturday so won't be without for too long. Knee was better today but I was aware of it throughout my walk with Kathy and feel the need to rest it awhile now. Food: 7:50 am Chocolate croissant, 76 g blackberries, coffee 12:30 pm Leftover enchiladas 2:00 pm Lundberg rice cake 3:00 pm 1/2 c dry Quaker Oat Squares 5:25 pm 6 oz chocolate porter, bean and ham soup Exercise: 8:35-10:15 am Walk w/Kathy

Wed 29 Jan

Felt like I slept pretty well last night. Always a good thing. Another grey day today, but Bob says it's supposed to be sunny next week. That would be good as it's been grey for far too long. Oh, Lordy, my left knee is not in good shape. Don't know what I did, but 25 min on the treadmill didn't walk it off and Body Pump was difficult. Had to scale back my weights quite a bit and modify a couple of the exercises to help the knee to cope. Food: 7:50 Raspberry snail, 101 g blackberries, coffee Exercise: 9:00-9:25 am Treadmill 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class

Tues 28 Jan

Didn't do a very good job drying the back of my hair this morning. If it's still wet after breakfast, I'll give it another shot of heat. It's not bothering me too much at this point. Food: 8:00 am Maple cheese danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:15 pm 52 g limps bread, 31 g Jarlsberg cheese, baby spinach 4:00 pm 1.75 servings Wheat Thins 5:45 pm Ham and bean soup Exercise: 9:15-9:25 am Walk to Jefferson School 10:35-10:45 am Walk home

Mon 27 Jan

Last week of January for this year. Winter is moving right along. Fine with me. Pretty basic week coming up. Forgot that strength class started at 9:00 instead of 9:30 today and arrived at gym only about 8:55. Made it in time and even got almost my usual spot, but it was rushed. Again frustrated that I didn't even get my 250 for the Pilates hour in spite of working hard for a full hour. Food: 7:50 am Apple cream danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee Exercise: 9:00-9:55 am Hard Core Strength class 10:00-11:00 am Pilates class

Sun 26 Jan

Yesterday was kind of a non-weekend-type day other than going to the Farmer's Market in the morning. Finished shoveling the sidewalks while Bob went to Michael's house to fix the toilet handle, then continued on much as any other day. We did sit for a while in the evening and read through half of my NZ journal while looking at our accompanying photos. No special plans for today beyond church and choir. Should have worn my grippers over my shoes to walk to church. It was one of those days where each step required concentration not to slip, Food: 8:10 am Apricot danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee Exercise: 9:10-9:30 am Walk to church 11:20-11:40 am Walk home

Sat 25 Jan

And again more snow - looks like 2-3 inches in the driveway where Bob is currently snowblowing. When he's ready, we'll go to the Farmer's Market and hopefully get pastries. Mission accomplished! David was there himself today and had a wonderful assortment of goodies. We got six of his and one of Cole's conches and a loaf of David's limpa bread. Bob did the driveway and plow dump with the snowblower before Market, but he got called over to Michael's to fix the toilet handle after breakfast so I opted to shovel the sidewalks by hand. Only about 2" of snow, but it's wet and heavy. Left the plow dump at the end of the sidewalk for the next time Bob takes the blower out. Food: 9:00 am Berry cinnamon roll, 101 g blackberries, coffee 11:30 am Wheat ciabatta, ham, basil cheese, baby spinach Exercise: 10:05-10:35 am Shoveling sidewalks with 2" wet snow

Fri 24 Jan

A little more snow last night. Thinking about going to the Star Wars movie tonight, showtime at 6:20 pm. Would probably be a shame to miss one of the series after being such a faithful fan from the start. Food: 7:45 am Concha, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:00 pm 2 scrambled eggs, slice Dave's 21 grain w/ butter, Bonne Maman apricot jam 5:15 pm Enchiladas Exercise: 9:00-9:20 am Treadmill 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class

Thurs 23 Jan

During the day yesterday, the precipitation was mostly just light freezing rain, but in the evening it turned to snow so there's a light fall down. The hamstring soreness is much better today so hopefully Body Flow, treadmill, and machine workout is on the books. Scale has been up lately, so time to work on bringing it back down again. Balance was off in Body Flow today. Out of practice. Food: 7:50 am Honey bear pastry, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:50 pm Steel cut oats, 1/4 c blueberries, 19 g walnuts, cocoa, cinnamon, soy milk Exercise: 9:30-10:00 am Treadmill 10:00-10:20 am Machine workout upper body 10:30-11:30 am Body Flow class

Wed 22 Jan

May be some light snow over the next few days, enough to require cleaning sidewalks but not too much. Kathy asked to walk today instead of tomorrow as she has to take Jane to a doctor's appointment tomorrow. Decided to skip the gym and enjoy the walk. Might even do my sore posterior chain a favor. Oh, crap! Did it again. Went for a long walk with Kathy, probably at least 10,000 steps, and left my Fitbit at home on the charger. I really hate that. Food: 7:55 am Apricot danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee Exercise: 8:30-10:10 am Walk w/Kathy on west side

Tues 21 Jan

I should know by now that when Celia announces what area she plans to focus on for the Monday Hard Core class, that is where I will be very sore for the next several days. This week it was posterior chain. She didn't lie. Very cold out today. Food: 8:05 am Chocolate pecan snail, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:40 pm Slice Dave's 21 grain bread, 1/4 tbl butter, cheddar cheese Exercise: 9:15-9:25 am Walk to Jefferson School 10:35-10:45 am Walk home

Mon 20 Jan

Packer game was predictably awful, but no honest self-respecting Packer fan expected otherwise. At least we didn't have to fret over the outcome all game like we did against Seattle. Enough football for this year. Wow, did exercise exhaust me today! The Hard Core class had burpees and a long back leg section, and I was severely under-motivated to do Pilates afterward but I made myself do it anyway. Then she ended with a small side series in side plank which just about did me in. I am wiped. Food: 7:50 am Apple kite pastry, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:20 pm 2 scrambled eggs, 1 tbl shredded cheddar, slice stale stollen Exercise: 9:00-9:55 am Hard Core Strength class 10:00-10:55 am Pilates class

Sun 19 Jan

Cold day, Packer NFC championship playoff tonight. Choir this afternoon, maybe we'll even be allowed to sing? I'm not fond of the "listening sessions" though I do understand that we were limited without Anna to play piano last week. Food: 7:50 am Berry cinnamon roll, 101 g blackberries, coffee Exercise: 9:40-10:00 am Walk to church 11:10-11:30 am Walk home

Sat 18 Jan

We has snow! Looks like about 6 inches downed still falling. Makes things pretty. Bob has to go out to snowblow the end of the driveway from the plows so we can get out to go to the Farmer's Market. Hopefully vendors will be there, especially David. I also could use some carrots, so I hope that guy comes as well. Tried to go out to Mead to go snowshoeing but the driveway had not been plowed out to the parking area so we didn't think it wise to chance it. Instead we drove to Schmeeckle and just tramped around the lake path in our hiking boots. Food: 8:05 am 101 g blackberries, coffee 9:30 am Berry cinnamon roll, coffee 1:15 pm Leftover half chicken sandwich from Carmella's Exercise: 2:30-3:30 pm Tramp around Schmeeckle Lake in the snow

Fri 17 Jan

It's so cold getting up before the thermostat kicks in when the temps are really low outside, but got a coalition meeting this morning, so it's necessary. Not planning to try to make it to Body Pump today, so will need to get things going at home instead. It's been hard to find the ambition lately, but I'll try. Food: 6:50 am Concha, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Thurs 16 Jan

A bitterly cold morning. Kathy and I will need to bundle up warmly for walking today. Having David's "chocolate croissant that didn't raise properly so he sold them for $1 each". Definitely denser, but still yummy. Walk was frosty, but I was almost over-dressed. I had my merino leggings and top under the black winter hiking pants, the black fuzzy lined zip-up sweater, neck gaiter, hood of merino up, wool hat and hood and heaviest parka. Thighs got a little chilly walking into the wind, but on the way back, I got quite warm. Felt good to peel off the outer layers upon return. Food: 7:55 am Chocolate croissant, 102 g blackberries, coffee Exercise: 8:30-9:40 am Walk w/Kathy

Tues 14 Jan

A little more snow last night, nothing significant. Will read with the kids today, no other immediate plans. Food: 8:00 am Cheese danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:45 pm 26 g pouch ahi tuna, 2 tbl mayo, 1/8 c chopped cucumber, slice Finnish wheat berry rye 6:45 pm Chicken wild rice soup Exercise: 9:15-9:25 am Walk to Jefferson School 10:35-10:45 am Walk home

13 Jan 20

Packers won last night, though it wasn't pretty. A stressful game, especially the second half. There were a few nice offensive plays and some good defense, but not enough to feel like we're really Super Bowl contenders. Next Sunday, we play the 49ers again, and last time they destroyed us, so it's necessary to do top notch mental and physical preparation. We can only hope. Managed to get my 250 "steps" during the Pilates class today. I think she did more hundreds and I added a few arm pumps when I was really close. And the version of Hard Core Strength should result in a little less soreness today as there weren't as many plyo-type moves. Food: 7:45 am Chocolate pecan snail, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:20 pm Slice Dave's 21 grain bread, 1/4 tbl butter, cheddar cheese, 1 c tomato roasted red pepper soup 6:25 pm Leek and potato soup, Finnish wheat berry rye, chive cream cheese, sliced cucumber Exercise: 9:00-9:55 am Hard Core Strength class 10:00-10:55 am Pilates class

12 Jan 20

Brrr! I had forgotten what it's like to get up before the heat switches on in the morning when it's cold outside. I would have been happy blissfully forgetting. Back to choir today, and a Packer playoff game this evening. Lots of good food in the house to cook for the next week and more, thanks to the trip to Costco. Food: 6:30 am Pumpkin chocolate danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee 11:45 am 57 g Finnish wheat berry rye, 1/4 c slice cucumber, 1 tbl chive cream cheese 12:45 pm 2 scrambled eggs Exercise: 7:10-7:30 am Walk to church 9:15-9:35 am Walk home

11 Jan 20

Probably not going to Madison until next weekend since they are supposed to be getting hit with a huge snowstorm between last night and today. We'll go next weekend instead. Might chance driving to Costco in Appleton today if they don't get hit too badly so we can take care of the erroneous shipment and get Bob his allergy medicine. Pastries were back at the Market this morning. Cinnamon rolls with berries mixed in for breakfast this morning. And a loaf of Finnish wheat berry rye. Yum! Food: 9:00 am Cinnamon roll w/berries, 100 g blueberries, coffee

10 Jan 20

Bob gets his colonoscopy today; I'll pick him up around 11:30. If he's feeling recovered sufficiently, we'll stop in at John Hartman's photo gallery show at the Riverfront this evening. He's mounted a show of his African safari photography. Tomorrow the plan is to go to Madison to do errands and have dinner with Laura. Food: 7:50 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c soy milk, 64 g blackberries, coffee Exercise: 9:00-9:25 am Treadmill 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class

9 Jan 20

Bob gets to do colonoscopy prep today - lucky guy! He is on clear liquids all day and starts with the laxative pills at 3 and the liquid at 5. I remember the routine and that it was far from pleasant. Grateful that I get a bye on this round. Food: 7:50 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c soy milk, 101 g blackberries, coffee

8 Jan 20

Helped to take Ibuprofen before bed last night. I'm still sore today, but not nearly as bad as yesterday, especially as the day progressed. Hopefully I won't have to hobble through Body Pump. Wasn't too sore for class. Food: 7:50 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c soy milk, 101 g blackberries, coffee Exercise: 9:00-9:20 am Treadmill 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class

7 Jan 2020

Had to postpone Taylor's birthday dinner from tonight to tomorrow night as Michael has to rehearse with his band for an upcoming gig. Fortunately they can go on Wed as Bob will be on colonoscopy prep on Thursday evening. I'm a little sore from the new classes today, but it may be worse tomorrow. Hopefully not. It's really good for me to be doing some more intense work; I've been entirely too lazy of late. Food: 7:55 am Cinnamon roll, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:20 pm 2 scrambled eggs, chopped ham, shredded cheddar, 2 slices 3 Kings bread 6:10 pm Nettle cheese ravioli w/sage brown butter sauce, sliced carrots Exercise: 9:15-9:25 am Walk to Jefferson School 10:40-10:50 am Walk home 1:20-1:55 pm Walk to courthouse and library

6 Jan 20

Taylor's birthday today. First day of Hard Core Strength in lieu of Anna's Body Pump. Most people indicated they'd give it a try, so I guess I will, too. There's also a Pilates Fusion class at 10 that I plan to try. I expect to be sore tomorrow and/or Wednesday. The Hard Core class had us doing high knee lunges using the bench, jumping jacks, mountain climbers and burpees among many other things and the Pilates class, while not as fast-paced as Patrick's, included lots of bridges, modified teasers and a side series. I used muscles that have been dormant too long. Food: 7:45 am Cinnamon roll, 101 g blackberries, coffee Exercise: 9:00-9:55 am Hard Core Strength class 10:-10:55 am Pilates Fusion class

5 Jan 20

Free day today. We did church yesterday evening and choir doesn't start til next week. Packers have a bye week in the playoffs. Now if only it was a lovely, sunny day we could wish to go for a nice hike somewhere. It's a little hard to motivate when it's grey and damp outside. Food: 8:20 am Cinnamon roll, 101 g blackberries, coffee

4 Jan 20

Once again, David was not at the Farmer's Market. Mielkes were there, so we picked up a batch of her cinnamon rolls, but we decided to go out for breakfast to try the Ruby restaurant which neither of us had ever tried. I had a delicious buckwheat crepe with delicata squash, kale, onions, fennel, and cheese and a Healing toddy: black tea with honey, lemon, anise, cinnamon. Bob had a soft-boiled egg with toast and coffee. A very nice, delicious breakfast. Food: 9:00 am Buckwheat crepe w/veggies, espresso chip scone, tea toddy 9:50 am 101 g blackberries, coffee 2:00 pm 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c soy milk Exercise: 4:10-4:30 pm Walk to church 6:25-6:40 pm Walk home (partway with Hartmans)

3 Jan 20

Today is Friday again, another weekend coming tomorrow to feel odd after a mid-week holiday, but then back to 5-day work weeks for quite a long stretch. We have the Ixtapa vacation scheduled Mar 9-16 to look forward to. So far, since that first cold snap when we got back from NZ, things have lightened up a bit and we've had fairly mild winter weather. Don't mind if that continues for awhile. Food: 7:45 am 2 butterhorns, 101 g blackberries, coffee 1:00 pm Potato, carrot, and pork soup Exercise: 9:00-9:21 am Treadmill 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class

2 Jan 20

Here we go into the regular new year. Scheduled a warm weather vacation in Ixtapa for March as I'm sure we'll be ready for it by then. Was able to get a nice Sun Club room for a good price, including shuttle from the airport. It is the same resort we stayed at a couple of years ago and we liked the food and the rooms and especially the beach for long walks and $10 massages. It should be nice. Finally, after more than 6 years, I was able to close Grandma's estate legally. You'd think that 37 years of being a social worker and filling out forms for a living, it would have been so much easier to get the forms filled out to the satisfaction of the Register in Probate without all this difficulty. But, hey, it's done now. Food: 7:45 am 1 c Maple Crunch cereal, 1/2 c soy milk, 101 g blackberries, coffee 1:35 pm Dave's 21 grain bread, butter, cheddar cheese, clementine Exercise: 9:50-10:05 am Walk to courthouse 10:40-10:55 am Walk home

1 Jan 2020

Happy New Year! Last night was a very uneventful New Years Eve. I did cantor at 6:30 pm Mass, but then we came home and it was much like any other evening except we opened the bottle of good champagne with our leftover prime rib sandwiches. It really was quite good champagne and we had two glasses each. I'm going to try to finish the bottle today while it's still at its best. New Years' is an odd holiday, another welcome day off when you're working, but otherwise not much to commend it as a special day. Food: 8;20 am 1 c Maple Crunch cereal, 1/2 c soy milk, 101 g blackberries, coffee