Week 2, Day 2

(Side note: for some reason Blogger is giving me fits tonight. Safari can't access it at all and Firefox isn't allowing me to edit with ease.)

For the body:
I thought I needed to do 30 minutes of aerobics today, so, after cleaning up the basement exercise area to make it more conducive to actually exercising there, I jumped on the treadmill for 15 minutes. Again, figuring an hour's worth of heavy duty cleaning should count for something aerobic.

Later tonight I actually looked at the Solutions for Wellness exercise guide and discovered today wasn't 30 minutes of aerobics, but 10 minutes of strength exercises! So, after the PBS newshour I scooted back down cellar to my husband's old weight bench, grabbed my trusty 2.5 pound weights and got to work.

For the spirit:
I managed to escape both the dog and the cat and make it upstairs unseen to sit on my meditation cushion for 20 minutes.

For the mind:
This is always the easiest part for me. I can always find something to do to expand my mental capabilities. Today it was listening to Beethoven's First Symphony and I'll probably finish off the day by picking up J. Storrs Hall's book, Beyond AI: Creating the Conscience of the Machine.

Week 2, Day 1

Today's exercise plan called for 30 minutes of aerobics and 10 minutes of flexibility exercises. I spent about two hours cleaning the house (vacuuming, scrubbing the floor, dusting, carting things down cellar, etc.) in an effort to get the house ready for company if my mother-in-law's family decided to spend some time at our house after celebrating her birthday at the Pleasant Beach Hotel in Fair Haven, New York. I'm going to say that doing that was at least the equivalent of walking on the treadmill for 30 minutes. I did the 10 minutes of stretching and managed to find the time to get in 20 minutes of mindfulness meditation today.

Days 6 and 7

Well, I wasn't very sore from the previous day's exertions and there are no aerobic, strength or flexibility exercises scheduled for Friday or Saturday, which is a good thing because of a suddenly packed social calendar. I met up with a friend after work on Friday for pizza and palaver. Saturday found my husband and me at an afternoon wedding and reception. I tried to eat reasonably, but I know my calorie intake was much more than 1500/day.

I did meditate both last night and tonight. I thought I had set my meditation widget for 20 minutes yesterday. When bell sounded so soon I discovered I had set it for only 10 minutes. Tonight was the full 20 Gil suggested in his introductory lecture. My mind, of course, went to such things as what will I blog about tonight and how I needed to catch up and two day's worth of blogging because of yesterday's late night. The job is to watch the mind and watch it I did.

Day 5

I somehow managed to work a full day, go grocery shopping, do two loads of laundry, throw a pizza together for supper and walk 30 minutes on the treadmill, as well as lifting free weights and doing some flexibility exercises. We'll see what type of shape I'm in tomorrow - if I'm even able to get out of bed.

I listened to Gil Fronsdal's first talk on introduction to mindfulness meditation last night. (You can stream it from the site listed in my previous post.) I've commited to 20 minutes of meditation on a daily basis this week. Once I post this entry, that's what I'll be doing. I just can't seem to meditate in the morning as I am not a morning person. Evening meditation is fine, too. So here goes.

Day 4

July 4th is a national holiday and, after checking my Solutions for Wellness exercise plan, I learned it was an exercise holiday for me as well. I'll be more than making up for it tomorrow, it seems, when the plan calls for 30 minutes of aerobics, 7 minutes of flexibility exercise and 10 minutes of strength training. If I don't get in some walking tomorrow at work, I'll jump on the treadmill at home after grocery shopping.

The flexibility exercises consist of:

• overhead arm stretch
• crossover shoulder stretch
• full spinal stretch
• seated spinal twist and hip extension
• knee to chest stretch
• back and thigh stretch
• straight let, bent knee hamstring stretch

All of these are repeated three times and held for at least 10 seconds, working up to a full 30 seconds.

The strength component is currently comprised of seven exercises, performed with light weights, 1 set of 10 to 12 repetitions:

• Chest press with dumbbells (for the chest)
• lower back extension (for the back)
• ab curls (for the abdomen)
• bicep curls (for the arms)
• triceps press (for the arms)
• lateral raises (for the shoulders)
• side leg lifts (for the legs).

That's enough projection about tomorrow. I'm stopping now for some more mindfulness meditation with the cat.

Day 3

Today may be the "proof of the pudding" (or the taco dip) as far as my exercise program goes. After work I need to stop and buy items for a dish to pass, pick up my prescriptions, fill my gas tank, rush home and construct the 7 layer taco dip tor tonight's early 4th of July celebration with friends on the bay. We're staying for the fireworks, so I won't be home until late. I certainly hope nothing's listed as required exercise today. I guess I'll see and report back.

Much later...

Well, I managed to squeeze in 30 minutes of walking 2 mph on the treadmill and still get ready for the fireworks party later. Before I become too self-congratulatory, I completely forgot about meditating. Truth to tell, the tacos and dip I consumed while waiting for the fireworks probably wiped out the fat calories I lost walking on the treadmill. With luck, it balanced out.

Day 2

Today's exercise plan did not call for an aerobic, flexibility or strength routine. (One starts out slowly apparently - by exercising three times a week.) I elected to try a yoga series of Half Sun Salutations repeated 5 times just to keep myself on track.

I also began entering my food intake in an online food/activity web site known as FitDay.com.

Now on to mindfulness meditation...

I'm back. With a question. Why does 10 minutes go by so slowly while meditating and speed by after hitting the snooze button in the morning? My non-scientific answer? Time has more energy first thing in the morning and, due to entropy, slows down the later the hour.

Starting an Exercise Program (again)

I glowered at the digital bathroom scales this morning as I saw them register 158 pounds after I stepped on them right after taking a shower. (Now some of that could conceivably be water weight absorbed through my skin, but I don't think that accounts for all of the weight gain.) Over the past few months I had gotten down to 151 pounds through watching my diet and taking medicine for my hypothryoidism. Uh uh! Maybe my body's equilibrium has shifted back.

Several months earlier I had managed to start an aerobic routine using the treadmill (while watching the Newshour on PBS) until it broke and suddenly started going 13.4 mph!!!! It took Mark awhile to discover what was wrong, then order the part, then find time to install it. More than enough time for me to get out of the habit of exerise.

So, I dug out the Solutions for Wellness diet and exercise notebook I had ordered for free through Eli Lilly and reread the exercise handouts. Sunday's plan called for 30 minutes of aerobic exercise followed by a brief series of flexibility exercises. I elected to ramble all over our property with our basset hound, Zeke, while listening to a science fiction podcast. (I know the dog was tired out by sniffing out countless rabbits, chipmunks and squirrels) Then I did the 10 minutes of flexibility exercises called for.

Lilly also sent me a pedometer as a reward for completing several surveys. I'm not sure it's actually working correctly. It's has too many bells and whistles (compass, stop watch, step counter, distance counter, etc.) for something made of purple plastic.

People who know me know I'm always reading and trying to learn new things. Exercising my mind is never ever a problem. But exercising my body? Maybe I should also include spiritual exercise here as well. After all, I'm a tripartite human being, composed of mind, body and spirit.

So, I'm going to set my meditation widget for 10 minutes and see what happens. Beginners Mind all over again.

.....

Ok, I'm back. The cat did much better with mindful purring than I did meditating. It seemed like the 10 minutes was taking forever and my over active mind could not be still. I finally got up to see how close I was to the end and saw I still had 2 more minutes to go. The cat settled back down on my lap easily and I got lost in my mind and then the bell rang.

More tomorrow.

Need for dialogue

I received the following emailed news item from Mary Anne, a kindred spirit and thoughtful friend, and felt it important enough to give it prominent placement on my blog. Heaven knows, we need to be opening up a dialogue with Iran.

US RELIGIOUS DELEGATION FINDS HOPE IN IRAN

As Christian leaders from the United States, we went to
Iran at this time of increased tension believing that it
is possible to build bridges of understanding between our
two countries. We believe military action is not the
answer, and that God calls usto just and peaceful
relationships within the global community.

We were a diverse group of Christian leaders that included
United Methodist, Episcopal, Catholic, Baptist, Evangelical,
Quaker, and Mennonites who have 17 years of on the
ground experience in Iran. We were warmly welcomed by
the Iranian people, and our time in Iran convinced us
that religious leaders from both countries can help
pave the way for mutual respect and peaceful relations
between our nations.

During our visit we met with Muslim and Christian leaders,
government officials, and other Iranian people. Our final
day included a meeting with former President Khatami and
current President Ahmadinejad. The meeting with President
Ahmadinejad was the first time an American delegation had
met with a sitting Iranian President in Iran since the
Islamic revolution in 1979. The meeting lasted 2.5 hours
and covered a range of topics including the role of religion
in transforming conflict, Iraq, nuclear proliferation,
and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

What the delegation found most encouraging from the
meeting with President Ahmadinejad was a clear
declaration from him of no intention to acquire or
use nuclear weapons, as well as a statement that
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only be solved
through political not military means. Finally, he said,
"I have no reservation about conducting talks with
American officials if we see some good will."

We believe it is possible for further dialogue and that
there can be a new day in U.S. - Iranian relations. The
Iranian government has already built a bridge toward the
American people by inviting our delegation to come
to Iran. We ask the U.S. government to welcome a similar
delegation of Iranian religious leaders to the United
States.

As additional steps in building bridges between our
nations, we call upon both the United States and Iranian
governments to:

* Immediately engage in direct face-to-face talks
* Cease using language that defines the other using "enemy"
images
* Promote more people to people exchanges including religious
leaders, members of Parliament/Congress, and civil society

As people of faith, we are committed to working towards
these and other confidence building measures, which we
hope will move our two nations from the precipice of war
towards a more just and peaceful settlement.

For more information contact:
Dan Webster
Director of Media Relations
National Council of Churches, USA
475 Riverside Drive Suite 880
New York, NY 10115
Phone: 212 870-2252
Fax 212 870-2030
email: dwebster@ncccusa.org

I'll show you mine if you'll show me yours (otherwise known as what's on my iPod?)

My iPod is an iPod mini, a model that Apple no longer makes and that has long been superceded. It continues to perform admirably and has been in daily use for several years. It's a rich-looking brushed silver and was engraved "La Vaughn's iPod" as well as with the following quote from Helen Keller: "Literature is my utopia." It's generally found happily esconced in my purse in it's own special suitcase from stm accompanied by a tiny AirPlay adapter that allows me to listen to it through my car's speakers.

As might be guessed from the Keller quote, my iPod is currently filled with a number of books, ranging from History of the World by J. M. Roberts (approximately 25 hours of listening pleasure), The Inner Art of Meditation by Jack Kornfield (8 hours of listening), The Middle Way by Jinananda (4 hours of teachings about the Buddha) and Shakespeare by Peter Ackroyd (14 hours of biographical erudition on all things Shakespearean).

Then there are the podcasts. I subscribe to three dharma talks podcasts: 21st Century Buddhism, Audio Dharma (from the Insight Meditation Center) and Urban Dharma featuring Rev. Kusala. For a broader perspective on the news, I subscribe to Mosaic - World News from the Middle East and From Our Own Correspondent from the BBC. Then there's CUC Digital Sermons from the Unitarian Universalist Church. And, just for pure auditory pleasure, there's This American Life by Ira Glass. I'm also holding on to 24 lectures on Abnormal Psychology from the University of Berkeley, California, until I can get my hands on the accompanying textbook.

Ok,I actually do have some music on my iPod: 2 CD's worth of Blues from the Best of the Blues collection obtained on a whim at Walmart, Windham Hill 's CD America, Sax for Success by Workbeats (a wonderful Jazz find at my local grocery store) and a new age CD downloaded through iTunes called Healing Therapy Music: Colors.

OK, that's mine (and I still have 1.5 gigabytes of space left!!!) Let's see yours!

Brrrrrr! It's cold and getting colder! (or Reader's Reverie for February 4th)

It's 11 degrees Farenheit outside right now and I suspect it's actually a little colder given the wind chill factor. That makes today a great day to stay inside and post something on this blog. (Photo Credit:US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

I've got a pile of reading material to catch up on ranging from Don't Know Much About History by Kenneth C. Davis and Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East by Michael B. Oren (both Christmas presents from my husband). I can't wait to grab my Christmas present to him: Palestine: Peace not Apartheid by former President Carter. I just finished re-reading an old science fiction favorite: A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr. (circa 1955). On my bedside stand is a new book by the Dalai Lama, How to See Yourself As You Really Are. Please don't assume I've always got my nose stuck in such mind stretching books. I'm also salivating over two books from the Weis and Hickman DragonLance series: Dragons of a Fallen Sun and Dragons of the a Lost Star,

As if that wasn't enough, I've ordered the (used) textbook for a course on Clinical Psychology I'm auditing via iTunes from Berkeley. I'm also reading an ebook, Nutritional Sciences: From Fundamentals to Food for another course on Human Nutrition at Berkeley. As an aside, I can't believe how much higher educational courses have changed since I was in college (1969-1973). The ebook comes with a companion website containing flashcards for drill, a themed crossword puzzle, animations, chapter summaries and learning objectives as well a complete practice exams that can be emailed to the instructor! I also believe that a course on nutrition will mean much more to these college freshmen in the long run than the mandatory science course that I took, Science and Man, so many years ago. That's not to say that I don't still remember the idea of paradigm change in science and haven't, on occasion, applied it to some current situation in my life. But, knowledge about nutrition, in this depth and at this level, will be something they (and I) can use daily for the rest of our lives.

Well, at least it's still 2006

What can I say? Life got in the way of this blog again. Much of my time was taken by up by activites relating to the elections of November 7, 2006. Add to that chiropratic visits, dental visits (another crown), car repairs and just the general day to day activities of work, and it equals no postings. Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Google just did a little tease. When I clicked on my dashboard to get to this site, I was informed that they had a beta version of blogger. What I read sounded good. Unfortunately, when I clicked on through I learned that they apparently have enough beta testers, so I'll be using the old version for awhile longer.

What's new? It took me a long, loooooong time, listening one half hour each way to and from work, but I finished an absolutely wonderful audiobook, Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It took a total of 36 CDs, but was a "ripping good read". I'm much more knowledgeable about the history of the 1850's and 1860's, including Abraham Lincoln's election to the presidency and all the individuals he appointed to his cabinet (some of whom had actually been his rivals in that election and some of whom had been Democrats or Whigs just a few years prior.) It was a fascinating, in-depth look at the words and actions of many key players of that period taken directly from original source documents (their own or family members' diaries, letters, and telegrams). I now also know much more about William Sewert, Lincoln's Secretary of State. (I'm ashamed to say I don't ever remember visiting his house in Auburn, New York. There is much more to the man than high school history's labeling of Alaska as Sewert' Folly/Icebox. I recommend this book highly as an absolutely painless way to absorb our country's history.

Progress has ceased (for the time being) on all three bargello projects. Oh, the joys of being a cyclical scanner! I'll come back to them again, I know.

Besides sporadically writing here, I've begun commenting and writing diary entries on a brand new blog the albany project. I was the 24th registered user and have even had one of my diaries front paged! Exciting stuff! The blog is dedicated to bringing about reform of the dysfuctional New York State Legislature. Wish us luck and stop by to take a look!

Needlepoint News

Well, I completed the needlepoint part of my first book cover as you can see:
I've put off doing the much more difficult (for me) component of sewing. That means going to the library closet and dragging out the portable sewing machine, trying to remember how to thread it and filling up a bobbin wth matching thread and then actually stitching. Home Ec was not my best subject back in junior high.

Instead of jumping right into making the bookcover lining, I decided to work up another bookcover, this time using a Victorian bargello pattern.


More to follow after I dust off the sewing machine....

Back to Bargello

I recently decided to indulge myself and rediscover bargello, a type of needlepoint. (A big shout-out to Barbara Sher, life coach, for her category of "cyclical scanner" - an individual who may revisit multiple interests over a lifetime. It was such a relief to read in black and white that jumping from one interest to another didn't mean a lack of "stick-to-itiveness".)

It had been many years (dare I say decades) since I did any needlepoint. The craft technique itself hasn't changed, but the manner in which I obtained my supplies sure has. Way back when, my little village had a three story bargain center that was chock full of interesting yarns and notions. Over time, the family run business succumbed to worldwide market pressures. Standing firmly on principle, I refused to shop at Walmart. Instead, I let my keyboard take me to the people's marketplace, eBay, and quickly found both canvas and tapestry yarn at extemely reasonable prices. I learned that the storeowner of Linda's Vintage Treasures had lost her house when Katrina made landfall, but was one of the fortunate few who have been able to rebuild. I added her to my favorite list of sellers because of the quality of her tapestry yarns and ease of the transaction. I'm also very pleased to be able to send a little business the way of a Katrina-ravaged business. It feels like the small town thing to do.

So, here we have the work in progress. It will be a bookcover. (No surprise there, given my proclivities.) And it looks like I've enough yarn to experiment with several different bargello patterns for additional bookcovers.

Since this is the age of digital cameras and uploads via Flickr, I hope to post more pictures as the bookcover nears completion. And, speaking of finishing, I'd asked my crafter friend if she knew how to make linings for such a bookcover. She didn't off hand, but gave me some suggestions where to look. Wouldn't you know that I already had just the pattern in one of my craft books, purchased years ago as a discard from my local library. "So many books, so little time" (cribbed from the Fulton Public Library bookbag) and so true, so true.

I'm a cyclical scanner!

After many years of trying not to think of myself as a dilettante or a Jill of all Trades and a Mistress of None, I've learned that I'm a scanner! Do you know what it feels like to be totally clueless about what you want to be when you grow up and you're almost 55? A peek through this blog gives some indication of the multiplicity of my enthusiams. Of late I've re-engaged in mindfulness meditation and have begun to revisit my Buddhist studies from college. I've also started re-reading some college books that I read back when I was 17 or 18. (Sometimes I think that college is wasted on the young; I had much more important things to attend to than simply study while I was in college! LOL!) I also lacked that gravitas, wisdom or shear run of the mill lifetime experience to truly comprehend what I read back then. So, I've been re-reading parts of Plato's Dialogues as well as Herman Hesse's Sidhartha.

Let me rein in my enthusiam long enough to give credit where credit is due: I need to thank Barbara Sher, a lifestyle coach, for her wonderful book and PBS show: Refuse to Choose. Now I understand that I'm a generalist and that there's nothing wrong with that; in fact, it's incredibly right! I have many cross stich projects and afgans in different stages of completion; I always have at least 5 books going at once. In my spare time (I DO have a fulltime job that keeps food on the table!), I listen to podcasts from Berkeley and other insitutions of higher education and I compose parodies of well-known tunes for various groups that I belong to. So, let me express my sincere appreciation to Barbara Sher by linking to her website www.barbarasher.com

More writing

I went back to Bonnie Neubauer's website, bonniebauer.com, and found her online story spinner. Here's what she says about it: "Click on the Story Spinner to the left and you will get a starting phrase, a setting and four words that you must include in a story. Set a timer for 10-minutes... and then write!" So, being a good rule follower, I clicked and this is what I got:

Setting for your story: at a flea market

Starting phrase for your story: My intention had been to ask politely

Four words/phrases you must include in your story: Ad nauseam , Unearth, Web and Weekly. Setting my iBook meditation timer widget for 10 minutes as suggested, I was off and typing. Drumroll please!

My intention had been to ask politely, but first I had to locate the emporium owner. I had just unearthed my prize: an english porcelain teacup that matched one I'd smashed to smithereens eons ago. I had checked online web sources and been to eBay ad nauseam, to no avail. So I found myself devolving to old twentieth century behavior: going to garage sales and roadside flea markets on a weekly basis. I'd spotted lapsed treasures and grotty garbage. It amazes me what people will keep and keep and keep for years which suddenly turns up on a table across from ubiquitous trolls and beanie babies.

Liberating my writing

It has probably been just a little short of forever since I journaled/blogged or wrote. Today's impetus is a new book, The Write-Brain Workbook, by Bonnie Newbauer. She takes Natalie Goldberg's famous precepts of writing and encapsulates them in 366 "exercises to liberate your writing". The first, entitled Circle Game, invited me to choose one word from each of three groups of five and then use those three words in a story that began: "Sometimes I feel like a gerbil running around and around on his wheel." The words I chose yesterday were "banister", "jambalaya" and "keepsake". I really only thought about the exercise yesterday - which isnt' a writing practice to speak of. Here's today's fingers to keyboard entry:

Sometimes I feel like a gerbil running around and around on his wheel. Sometimes I feel like a nut, but most times I don't. I wish I had had a banister to slide down when I was a kid, but I doubt I would have, being too consumed with "appropriate, good girl" behavior. And if I had found one to slide down, and had slid, with my lack of coordination, I would most likely have broken a bone and had a cast for a keepsake. I'd have hoped many friends and acquaintances would come and sign it for me. What kind of a keepsake would a virginal cast be? There should be a pastische of signatures and other graffiti embossed on it. A spicy, personal jambalaya of a cast.

OK. So I wrote and then went back and finnagled and finetuned. I don't really think that's cheating. Maybe I'll even post this effort on my blog.

How could I have missed blogging about this book?

Almost every Saturday finds me at one of my favorite places, the Fulton Public Library. It was well over a number of months ago, falling into my usual routine of browsing the shelves displaying new acquisitions, that I first saw this book. I must have found the cover art intriguing enough to pick it up, leading to my perusal of the book jacket. Imagine my delight when I discovered that the title March referred to the progenitor of a family I had long ago met and loved in Louisa May Alcott's captivating creation, Little Women.

The author, Geraldine Brooks, apparently held Little Women as dear as I, but had been inspired to do what no other had done: she took the characters of Alcott's book, greatly expanding and enhancing them, fleshing them out in the bloodly context of our Civil War. Reverend March was mostly notable for his absence in Little Women. Brooks, through well-wraught flashbacks, introduces us to a man of flesh and fallibility. Unidimensional characters suddenly leap off the page and engage the reader in a tale that enriches the memory of Alcott's underpinning story.

Ms. Brook's Pulitzer Prize is well earned. I could have chosen no better book to win.

Reader's Reverie for April 17th

Where does the time go? It has been over two months since I posted anything here. Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa. I plead illness - that virus that seems to be taking down every usually abled bodied adult for 2 to 4 weeks - I succumbed as well.

My dilatoriness (if there is such a word) can also be laid directly to spending more time reading than blogging. I've spend many hours being hightly entertained by Kevin Anderson's three part science fiction opus: The Saga of Seven Suns, A Forest of Stars and Horizon Storm. George Guidall is one of my favorite narrators; his vocal skill brings much, much more to the audiobook. Kevin Anderson has created interesting alien races and robots, as well as believeable characters. His status as a New York Times bestselling author is well deserved.

I also finished Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking. The stark portrayal of her denial, grief and mourning for her husband of forty years made for extremely painful reading. I understand why someone would not want to remove a loved ones belongings or clothes; the magical thinking: if their items remain, the owner yet remains, as well.

I''m currently reading Restless Souls: The Making of American Spirituality. I've also discovered an additional auditory resource: podcasts. Besides subscribing to the wonderful Zencast, I've found a weekly podcast on books from NPR, a history podcast about the twelve important Byzantine emperors and a podcast of what I believe is the Sunday Unitarian Universalist sermon out of New Jersey. I do have two ears, but I've found no way to multi-task listening to two separate podcasts at the same time.

Reader's Reverie for February 14th

Recent reading material included: Cat Confidential by Vicky Halls (understanding and interpreting feline behavior); The Grail: A Secret History by John Matthews (an overview of the many possible sources for the grail legend, including ancient creation myths that led to Celtic versions of the grail, the enduring Arthurian legends involving Sir Lancelot, Sir Percival and Sir Galahad); A Million Little Pieces by James Frey (the factually challenged "memoir" of his stay at an alcohol/drug rehab); The Complete Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis (fairy tales that I had somehow missed reading as a child); current "mind candy": A Dragon's Ascension by Ed Greenwood (book 3 of his sword and socery series which includes The Kingless Land: Band of Four, book 1, The Vacant Throne: Band of Four, book 2.

Upcoming reads include: Jefferson's War by Joseph Wheeler, Dragon's Doom: Bank of Four, book 4 by Ed Greenwood and Lincoln's Melancholy by Joshua Shenk.

I think I'm too busy reading to take the time necessary to blog.