I was outside dead-heading the daisies today. They were so glorious for pretty much all of July, but with August has come the inevitable decline. It doesn’t bother me – August is one of my favorite months for the very fact that the harbingers of Autumn start to show up. That slight chill on morning walks. A few early leaves dropping from trees. Autumn is my favorite season, so I do love the anticipation August brings.
Operation Bone Strength is well underway. I’ve had my first infusion of Zometa (after a very frustrating and tear-inducing afternoon dealing with my insurance company, yikes), which I will receive every six months for the next three years. I’ve had a fitness assessment done at my new gym and have been given a resistance training routine that I will now do 3 times a week. I am counting my calcium and sodium milligrams, keeping both in optimum levels (the sodium is the hardest part for me – so many things that don’t actually taste salty contain sooooo much sodium!)
I have a new morning walk route that I have chosen because of a killer hill it contains. I walk up and down the hill repeatedly, which is good for both my cardiovascular system and my bones. Walking up and down hills, as opposed to on level ground, puts greater pressure on the skeleton because you are working against gravity as you go uphill and have added downhill physical force as you go downhill. This added pressure stimulates the bones to get stronger.
I love to look at the wildflowers (weeds?) as I walk. I can only identify one of them (Queen Anne’s Lace!) but I find them all fascinating.
I have some exciting things planned for this month: a road trip to visit my mom in Connecticut, a mini-reunion with a group of college girlfriends, a one-hour massage after I get back from my road trip, a lovely meal to celebrate my birthday (58 -yay!).
Hope you’re having a great weekend, and a shout-out to my dear friend Lisa whose birthday is today. Happy birthday, Lisa!
Love,
Michelle xoxo