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I Am Not Waiting for the Train!

So, I feel a little bit guilty for so strongly encouraging Justin to walk so far.  Only a little bit though.  It is good for him, even if he doesn’t like doing it.  I need to be nicer about it though and signal him when we are at half a mile, so he can decide if he wants to head back home.  We went up to the train tracks; I intended to go across and under the bridge next to the creamery, but a train not only came through, but stopped.  It would have taken a long time.  We started to hear the train moving again around the time we got back to the house.  I can’t be waiting half an hour for a train.

I started taking glycine yesterday on some recommendations I had seen.  I’m going to do it for a month and see if I notice any results.  I’m pretty skeptical of supplements, so I don’t think I’m likely to attribute just anything to adding glycine.  I also got some more B12 as mine has been missing for a few months.  I misplaced so many things during the move!

Hopefully I can get the rest of my walk in, but I’m going to take it easy until then.  I really want this knee to stop hurting.  I will say it does feel better today, but not ideal.  Even with the naproxen I took, there is a twinge of pain.  

[Walk #345, 2.18 miles]

  • Location of Walk: home to train station & back, Guthrie, OK
  • Magpie: black walnut

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Hot Water & Cat Warriors

It’s so nice to shower in warm water after a few days of not having access.  The hot water tank is in.  Now what will break next!?  I don’t actually mind a cold shower, but a hot one is so amazing after a few cold ones.

I finished my walk.  My knee is feeling better.  I’ll keep wearing a brace.  I don’t need a full on injury.  All in all, I feel accomplished in spite of my lack of accomplishments.  I guess I did get in my exercise for the day, and that’s not nothing.

Last night, as I returned from downtown Banner Park was host to a group of cats.  I didn’t think anything of it, but this morning there was a copy of a Warriors book sitting on one of the park benches.  Since it was still there this afternoon, I brought it home as my collected object.

I think I’ve decided to put the collected objects in the hollow part of the elm tree.  Whatever happens to them, happens.  Maybe I’ll document them like the important specimens they are first.  I’m not sure.  

[Walk #344, 1.53 miles]

  • Location of Walk: Banner Park, Guthrie, OK
  • Magpie: paperback copy of Warriors #5: A Dangerous Path by Erin Hunter

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Any Personal Trainers Walking By?

What is wrong with me!?

I was expecting the plumber this morning, so I sort of hung out here at the house instead of going for a walk first thing.  Recently, there has been a guy staying in a house at the next intersection, cleaning up the yard.  I’ve been intrigued by him, but I don’t know what is drawing me to him.  There’s nothing I need to know, but I find myself avoiding staring at him as I walk by.  I feel like I’m being a little creepy, but I don’t think I mean to be.

This morning I was enjoying my coffee and social media outside when that man walked by with his dog, and on seeing my overgrown lawn offered to mow it for $10.  That’s far too little, but I agreed.  He returned after taking his dog home and did an excellent job; I really appreciated it.  He strikes me as a decent person who is going through some stuff.  I doubt we would agree on much about life, but he’s clearly just trying to get through it honestly (maybe only just now), and I liked his whole attitude.  

Whatever draw he’s had might have subsided.  He rarely wears a shirt, and I’ve been afraid he’ll think I’m being lecherous.  I’m really not; I don’ think so anyway.  

After he mowed, I went for half of my daily walk.  No plumber yet!  I am not that bothered by the wait; I have other things to do.  And I wanted to split my walk up anyway because of the pain in my knee.  It’s a little better after sleeping with he brace on, but I just need to remember to use it during my walk as well.  

Now, if a man could walk by and offer personal training help…and then if a man could walk by who is interested in me…

[Walk #343, 1.54 miles]

  • Location of Walk: Banner Park, Guthrie, OK
  • Magpie: elm twigs

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Refreshed, Reset, Ready to Go

I’m feeling good today, is spite of the unexpected expenses.  Life happens and there’s not a lot that can be done about it!  The plumber came a day early & they are bringing a new hot water tank tomorrow morning.  There’s a relief to that, especially since I have a home warranty for the first year.  This little hiccup was expensive, and left me with no flooring in two rooms, but that’s okay.  There are bigger problems in the world.  

My knee continues to hurt a little.  I should be wearing a brace until it feels normal again, but I have no clue where mine is.  I hate to just buy another one, but I think that’s where we are!  

Probably because my knee was hurting, but I found it disappointing that to downtown and back is about a quarter mile short of three miles.  That means I have to add tangents to make up for it, so I probably need to do that going.  After the second mile, all I want to do is get home.  I think when I get to the point where I can do two miles to downtown and then stop for shopping or coffee or whatever before returning, things will feel less daunting on the walk back.  Or maybe when the knee is not hurting.  Otherwise, my breathing is good.  My pace could be better, but I feel good on the walk.  It’s a nicer walk  overall than rural Glencoe was.  I do have things I love about those rural walks, but I think this one is just slightly better.  There’s greater opportunity for variation certainly.  One thing I might try is just going until I reach 1.5 miles and see where that is.  That would at least give me a walk I could do that would guarantee I meet my 3 mile goal.

[Walk #342, 3.13 miles]

  • Location of Walk: home to downtown, Guthrie, OK
  • Magpie: cypress cones

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Fievel Goes West

Life happens.  It’s useless to stay upset about it.  The hot water tank needs to be replaced; I’ve got a call in with my home warranty, so it’s going to be in their hands.  Meanwhile, the flooding, as little as it was, got under the flooring and since I don’t really know what the nature of my subfloor is, I felt like I had no choice but to pay for mitigation.  The wall between the laundry room and hallway got the worst of it, and it’ll dry in time.  They removed the baseboards and have fans on it.  They ripped up the flooring on either side because there was no way for the vinyl floor to dry out, and nobody knew what was underneath.  Concrete!  It would probably have been okay, drying really slowly.  But it likely would have dried.  I feel like I wasted $1700, but I am also happy that I won’t end up with any mold issues.  There is some value in peace of mind.  I’m going to have to live without flooring in those two spaces until I figure out what kind to go with.  I really do want rolled vinyl, but the water tank needs to drain properly!  

My walk was interrupted earlier, so I went downtown this evening to finish my miles.  There was a big screen where Fievel Goes West was playing, which I thought was fun.  I like how alive downtown feels here.  There are too many vacancies, but it seems like it is holding on.  I hope that continues.  

Cold showers for now.  That is a problem with Justin’s eye issue.  He really needs to stay on top of cleanliness.  Big fans (loud!) are on until Sunday.  Plumber comes Thursday for the hot water tank.  Hopefully they can get a new one quickly.  While I’m annoyed that it went out, it is fortunate that it went out within the year that I have this warranty.  

[Walk #341, 2.54 miles]

  • Location of Walk: home to downtown, Guthrie, OK
  • Magpie: magnolia leaf

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Moist Hallways

What a stupid day already!

My knee was still hurting a little when I got up, so I thought I should try splitting my walk into 2 shorter walks.  So, I waited a while & just sort of watched TV and dozed off for a bit.  At 9:45, I started to get ready for a 2 mile walk when I noticed an issue with the floor in the hallway.  It sounded like it was coming up, but as I investigated it started to sound like sloshing.  I could see a little moisture on the baseboard on the wall adjacent to the water tank.  I went it an checked there.  The pan is full of water and it is overflowing slowly.  Because I had things stacked down there, I don’t know for how long.  There doesn’t seem to be a ton of water soaked into anything, but it could also be draining more under the house.  Hopefully the plumber can figure out what is going on.  I put a service request in with my insurance, but they cannot come until Thursday, so I called someone else who is on the way right now.  If it is a big issue, I’ll keep it through my home warranty.  I am not happy with the contracted plumber though; they had terrible customer service, so I’m actually hoping this is an issue that isn’t too much different cost-wise.  I’d happily pay a couple hundred this week just to keep from dealing with those people again.  But if the quote is a lot higher, then I’ll have to just wait for them to come out.  This is the third time I’ve had a person out to deal with this water tank.  

I was just about half a mile into my walk when the plumber called to say he was on the way, so I only got in a single mile so far.  It was a nice day for that; the neighborhood was surprisingly busy for a Tuesday morning.  I didn’t even do my usual walk in the park, I meandered through the neighborhood.  My goal was 5th Street, which goes under the highway into downtown, but I’ll get to doing that walk next time maybe.  Now, I get to just wait around and hope there aren’t big things wrong.  And I wish I knew how to shut that water off!  

[Walk #340, 1.19 miles]

    • Location of Walk: neighborhood around my house, Guthrie, OK
    • Magpie: USB cable (broken)

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Quiet & Sometimes Sketchy

I’m going to be tired this afternoon!  I fell asleep early yesterday, so I woke up very early today.  Since I was up, I went ahead and got my walk in, leaving just before 5am.  It’s actually a great time to walk, and most of the path is well lit and easy to walk.  Downtown is a great place to get in steps that early; it’s so quiet, but not completely empty.

I crossed the highway going, thinking I would cross over and come back on the other side of the street.  That did end up being true, but I crossed under the bridge.  That actually ended up being a mistake; there a big area of mud just under the bridge, but it’s in the dark, so I couldn’t see it and it wasn’t clear how easy it would be to cross it.  Just got my shoes gross, but wasn’t too bad.  I wouldn’t want to do that again!  I think there’s a gravel drive next to that part of the road that is dry, but I need to see it in the sunlight to work out where to go.  It might not be a great idea to walk under the dark bridge and then alongside the abandoned jail with the busted out window.  I’m sure people sometimes hang out in there and if anywhere is unsafe in Guthrie, I’d guess that was it.  Stay in the light!

I enjoyed window shopping, and think it’ll be really nice to see Guthrie during Christmas.  This isn’t the ideal year for that sort of thing, but hopefully it’ll be nice.  The entire downtown was decorated for fall, so I think they do keep in the spirit.

I intended to only to two miles, but once I had done the one I felt like I could do a little more, but aimlessly getting a mile downtown is a challenge.  I need to have a path, a goal, something mapped out the achieve what I want without stopping too much to figure out what to do next.  

[Walk #339, 3.27 miles]

  • Location of Walk: home to downtown, Guthrie, OK
  • Magpie: pecans & magnolia seedpod

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