Like2Hike

Tasmania/Australia/New Zealand are at the top of "must see" list, Reeny! I hope your surgery goes very well on Wednesday.

LizG

‘gorgeous weekend here in Canada’s largest metropolis, so I was finally able to get my rear in gear and go for that bike ride. As a grad student 25 years ago, I used to zap to and from uni & all over the place on my 2nd-hand mountain bike. However, studying in a western provincial capital that has seen snow every month but July, the cycling season for all but the hardiest and/or most foolish was short indeed. When I left grad school, I also had to leave the bike behind and never replaced it because it reminded me of that unfinished PhD business. 20+ years on & no more wine-fog mental “acuity” to bog me down, this now seems a ridiculous attitude to take toward an activity I really quite enjoyed.

In any event, if you value your sanity -- not to mention your life and any useful limbs -- you don’t simply jump onto the streets of Toronto and cycle away. I found a very short (5 km return) paved multi-use path that I could walk to & then take off. Yes, yes, for those of you seasoned trail riders -- L2H -- it’s a laughable distance, but I really hadn’t spent any significant time on a bike in decades and was a bit shaky … Next-day super saddle sore rear end aside, it was great to cycle again!

A good Monday to all!

dorothyparker

That's great LizG, a super good activity to pick up. Keep it up. The sore bum will soo disappear, to be replaced with good muscles .

Like2Hike

It was fun to read about your return to 2-wheels, Liz. Don't worry about how far, how fast, or any of that. Just enjoy the fun of riding around on a bicycle. Be careful in traffic and treat yourself to a pair of cycling shorts with a good chamois.

LizG

Yes, I shall take some of the money I would have spent on wine and buy a good pair of shorts ... or maybe a gel seat. I'm in good shape for an old gal, but that ride has rendered me almost comically crippled. Co-workers kept asking why I was walking as if I'd just gotten off a horse ...

Coach Wood -- Did you survive the weekend with the adorable grandson?! How did the boy end up earning his keep? Gutting his own dinner or weeding the garden?

woodhead

Liz,
Had a great weekend with the grandboy. I let him off the hook this time - we'll settle up when he's done milking and spreading manure I miss him already.
Best,
W

LizG

How lovely! (The visit, not the farm chores!) When my nieces and nephews were younger (10 & under), they used to come for a couple of days in the summer and I'd always go into a funk after they'd left. They're still lovely kids, but are now tweens and teens with their own priorities; as such, the thought of being separated from their friends by 500 km for 5 entire days is just too much to bear ...

woodhead

Thanks. Riding a bike sounds great - glad you are getting into it. I'm ready to get fit as well. If it ever stops with the thunderstorms here I'll get in the pool - low impact seems appropriate at this juncture.

Like2Hike

Go with the cycling shorts, Liz. That way you can ride in comfort if you rent a bike while on vacation. You really don't want to be strickened with the duck waddle at the beach.

LizG

Good point, L2H, ‘cause it’s not enough to terrorize (!) the beach-going masses with this 47-yr. old body ... indeed, the duck waddle would be a delightful bonus for all.

In boozy memoir news, Unwasted: My Lush Sobriety by Sacha Scoblic (2011) arrived on the doorstep yesterday and I read 1/2 of it in one sitting. I’m finding it a great page turner, not so much because I can identify with the author (she’s a young-ish, cute, perky party girl; ‘nuff said), but because it documents her first year of sobriety & all the ups and downs associated with this fragile time we’re all currently experiencing. Be warned that her writing style is similar to mine on this forum, which I’m guessing is fine for paragraph-length posts, but may get on your nerves for the duration of a 250-page book. ahem.

LizG

W -- hmmm, I'm guessing no impact is the way to go, but that would involve lying around in bed eating those god-forsaken pork-like crispy "food" products, and I think we can all agree that no one wants that ... :-)

I'm envious of your home pool (is it a 20 ft X 40 ft model?) They're rare in the city, more common in the suburbs, but if we had one, I don't think you'd get me out of it!

So how many laps are you aiming for today? Or is staying afloat the day's objective?

woodhead

Liz,
Yeah, 20x40 seems about right. I have to admit that I've not used it much in the past, but have good intentions for the future. My wife and boy use it daily when the sun shines, making it worth the cost and upkeep. If the sun ever shines here again I'm in there, but it looks like that won't happen today and maybe not this week. Have fun on the bike!
Best,
W

LizG

ooch? what? You haven't used the pool much? I would kill for a pool! You live in a quasi-Mediterranean climate and can swim almost year round, I assume? So what's a little thunder and lightening? Jump in :-) {There's no jealous / envy smiley, so this little rant guy will have to do .... }

I myself swam today (equivalent of 52 standard 25 metre laps), but day after tomorrow I'm determined to get back onto that bike. Butt is still sore from ride on the weekend. How is that possible after such a short ride?

Having dinner tomorrow with a friend who I've been out with a couple of times since quitting. Each time he orders red wine and each time I greedily take a deep sniff as the glass is being placed before him ... I'm sure people think I'm nuts.

Like2Hike

Wow, Liz, that's a good swim. Keep pedaling, the soreness will work itself out. Once, when I was young and dumb, I had to lance/drain a cyst after a Saturday race so I could race again on Sunday. I think ended up in the money Sunday but only because I had to hurry up and get off that *}%* bicycle seat to stop the pain.

Be careful sniffing that wine. There's no way I could be that close to a good red without major trouble.

Reeny, I hope all is well for you.

LizG

Reeny -- Best of luck with your surgery! I hope you’ll rest up, not overdo things and recover quickly. Did Mrs. Wood mail you that cowbell in time?

Gentlemen from the South -- Before one has enjoyed one’s first cup of morning coffee, could one kindly refrain from mentioning the lancing of one’s cysts, the draining of one’s cysts, and, while we’re at it, the hunting for & slaughtering / gutting of one’s dinner? The overly sensitive thank you in advance for your co-operation. Should this behaviour continue, may I remind you that -- minus Dee -- this is a thread made up of women, and I can assure you that we can gross you out pretty darn fast … should we choose to … [insert evil laugh]

A happy, sober Wednesday to all!

woodhead

Agreed - don't want the consequences. I surrender. Mea Culpa!

Like2Hike

Coach Wood speaks for both of us. I apologize for the lapse in proper manners in the presence of ladies. I've many more funny stories that are gathering dust now that I no longer participate in "happy hours". My kids have heard them all but maybe our dogs could be of audience.

LizG

Pity the poor beast who must endure such "funny" stories ... :-)

I usually peruse SR first thing in the a.m. while waiting for diva husband to sort himself out for the morning commute, and twice now -- thanks to you and Coach -- I've started my day confronted by posts waxing poetic about topics that would turn a stomach of steel at the best of times, never mind first thing in the morning minus that all important starter coffee. shudder ...



All in good fun, I assure you. Your sober, written happy hour awaits! Please blow the dust off those stories and tell away.

LizG

Reeny -- We miss you! Your middle-of-the-night (our time!) posts bump our Jan. thread to the top where I’m used to seeing it in the morning. I hope you’re well and recovering nicely from your surgery.

So two very small pleasures I’d been looking forward to were nixed this week. My dinner friend ordered pop ( = no greedy red wine sniff) and I needed to be at the house last night (= no opportunity to reintroduce those saddle sores).

Dinner with my friend was nice, but it’s funny how people (the very few I’ve told about quitting) now react when it comes to their own alcohol consumption. Said friend ordered diet generic pop X, & I said, “What?! It’s your belated b-day dinner. No scrimping! Order wine for gawd’s sake.” “Ah no, that’s OK, I should really cut down too,” came the reply. Thus ensued a short conversation about the fact that I am not cutting down, but quitting and that he should really enjoy a glass of wine if he wanted to (which, it turns out, he did), and that I was not averse to people drinking in my presence. In Jan., Feb. and even most of March this was not the case and I purposely avoided a few events because I didn’t feel “in control,” but if I’m sitting across the dinner table from you, you may (& should!) imbibe if you feel so inclined. (The only time I still get a bit nervous is if I’m unprepared, e.g., booze-y work potluck or husband’s red-wine-loving friend landing on the doorstep with no notice). Well, perhaps I was a bit too adamant, because he still wouldn’t order the darn glass of wine. Stubborn man robbed me of that olfactory pleasure.

Like2Hike

I've noticed similar reactions, Liz. Sometimes it really $&#%^ me off when an old friend or family member looks down on me for quitting. I've caught a few "you should have just controlled yourself so you wouldn't have had to stop" moments. Well, even if I could (and I never will be able to) moderate alcohol it is still a harmful drug.

Sorry for the rant. I've mostly kept to myself about stopping but yesterday was ridiculed by coworkers for being a teetotaler (turned down happy hour). Funny coming from that bunch of red faced drunks.