extended summer

 Winter is coming… the first day of autumn was a beauty, but alas, our bonus summer drought has ended with some cold rain today. But gosh, what a run of nice weather! 

The weekend was spectacular, both the weather and the company! We went to the villetta on Friday afternoon with enough time to settle in and walk the dogs before Olaf & Steph arrived. I'm not sure how the time passed so quickly but the weekend was over before we knew it. 

Saturday, Kirsten, Steph, and I dashed out to Merrickville for a quick shop - I needed some specialty balsamic vinegars to keep my salads tasty through the winter (yes, that awful 6 letter word!). We ran into Mom & Dad who were on their way to Kirsten's. Once we were all back to Kirsten's, we had cake and then visited outside in the glorious weather for the afternoon. I felt crappy though (and not from having too many drinks the night before! I only had 1, honest!), so excused myself for a few hours of rest.

Then it was time to walk the dogs, go for a sauna and swim, and then get things ready for supper. Gosh, I'm not sure how the time passed so quickly but before we could blink an eye, it was midnight and way past everyone's bedtime!

Sunday morning was the usual: coffee at ours, a bit of breakfast in the house, and then we were on our way home :-) It was a great weekend! We need to commit to at least one weekend a year! Sadly though, we were down a brother, and hope that things get better for him soon.

I wish that I could say that I feel back to my ‘old self’, but unfortunately that is not the case. I've been feeling more and more fatigued which is not how I thought things would go - it's been over 5 weeks since radiation ended so I expected to feel energetic and healed by now - and certainly not getting worse by the day! 

I'm not sure if what I'm experiencing is still effects from radiation, or if the tamoxifen is causing it. Or it could even be the change of seasons and the receding sun that is messing me up. From sleuthing on the internet, it seems that tamoxifen side effects can show up anytime/anywhere… there doesn't seem to be a pattern that is common to everyone. I'm not the best at giving myself grace, and honestly, I'm over it! Time to get my energy back!!! But… I will give myself a bit more time and maybe let myself off the hook for another while. I will keep up with the treadmill though - even if I have to dial the intensity back… 

With so many variables, I'm not sure when I should be pushing my way through the fatigue or accepting that I still have to take it easy.  I guess I kind of live in fear of a mood relapse… it's been a long time since I've had a hard time and I really don't want to go there at all!

Awesome!

“birthday gatherings”

“pool and sauna” 

“Snug in bed”

another year has passed

 This goes all the way back to Sunday! Swimming is still happening (barely) and I've spent many hours in the last week ensconced on the deck! We've been having some spectacular September weather that is more like July than a typical September… although I do recall many years of camping at Riverside on site 212 where we had to shelter from the blazing sun in the air conditioned villetta! The week ahead is stretching out with lots of warm sunshine! Hurrah!

Last night (Saturday), we had a spur of the moment supper with Olaf, Stephanie & Freya arriving from Montreal, and Mom & Dad arriving from the city. Takeout pizza was on the menu - I can't remember the last time I had pizza from a shop. It was a good, aliebt heavy, treat that is sitting in my stomach like a lead weight but hey! It was a nice treat! It was fun to get together but sad that everyone wasn't here.

Lupa had a dust up with the clippers this morning and is looking less like a scruffy puppy. She was pretty good today but as always, Carm helps by holding her steady as I buzz around her, shearing the long hair. 

I've been getting better by the day - though I haven't been doing more than 60 minutes on the treadmill and have been keeping the intensity medium. I think tomorrow I'll start amping it up and adding back the other weight bearing exercises. I won't make the mistake I made a few weeks ago when I pushed too hard and set myself back. (note from today: I havn't start amping it up yet!)

Speaking of health… green tea is almost a super food, but matcha tea has even more health benefits… I'm trying to develop a taste for it, but honestly, it makes me feel like puking… perhaps it's not for me. If it just reduced my appetite I could get on board with it for a week or two, but gosh - day two and I'm seriously not sure if I can stomach it. I don't mind the taste too much, but it roils in my stomach and threatens to come back up! It might be worse as I'm having it on an empty stomach… will try after eating the next time I want to risk nausea all afternoon!

Monday was a banner day! We hired some professional window cleaners to do all of the windows, inside and out, and WOW! What an amazing improvement. I knew they were dirty on the outside but gosh, they are sparkling now. And as a bonus, as Tammy was working on the inside, I followed around getting other cleaning done which after a summer of inactivity and excuses not to do housework, it was much needed!

Yesterday the calendar flipped another year - 62! I feel great (considering), and know that I will continue to improve as I work on my fitness and health :-) I'm 20 pounds lighter than I was at 50 and at least as fit. I get way more exercise and looking back at my mood logs, am happier with less anxiety and depression. I'd say the 60s are the new 50s!

It was another amazing summer weather day yesterday! I went into the city to visit with Mom & Dad, then Kirsten joined in for a girls shopping day :-) Followed by scones (so good!). I got home around 4pm, with enough time for a swim and to enjoy a bit of outdoors before crashing on the sofa until supper. Carm cooked up some steaks for us for a special treat and then it was early to bed!

Today’s blue sky is partially obscured with hazy cloud, but I think the forecast high is 28C! Amazing! I've walked on the treadmill, roasted some mushrooms and broccoli, and uncovered the furniture outside for yet another lazy day! I'm out here now… being bothered by a few mosquitos which I can't seem to kill… I'm not sure how long I'll last out here!

Awesome!

“birthday gatherings”

“I got my present from Carm early and love it!”

“September days masquerading as July”

“clean windows!”

“a girls day shopping”

“having the luxury to be lazy”

a bit patient

 There are times when I feel well and truly recovered from my ordeal, but then there are days like yesterday where I pushed myself to do 80 minutes on the treadmill and was left feeling weak and unable to do much else even after breakfast with a protein drink. Today I kept it to 60 minutes but even still, I feel fatigue. I've been having cold chills the last few days, even while bundled up in my quilt in a bit of sunshine. I guess I just have to be a bit patient… 

There have been a few bonus days of sunshine and semi-warmth so I'm capitalising on that and spending my afternoons outside with a book and too much facebook! By 2pm today the clouds had obliterated the blue sky and the radar showed some rain bearing down on us, so I'm back inside. It's going to be cold and rainy starting on the weekend so I'll plan indoor tasks for then (look out Lupa - time for a haircut!).

It's possible that I've already had my last swim :-( The water is an icy 68F which is several degrees colder than I like especially when having cold chills! Carm was in after his golf game today  😱 

We had a lovely supper on Tuesday night with Trudie, Leo, and Pat over for a pasta dish. Piles of roasted zucchini and cherry tomato confit were the base, with some lentil meatballs from the freezer swirled in - I hadn't thought the ‘meatball’ thing through and they basically disintegrated with cooking in the instant pot. It was good though! And there were enough leftovers to have it again last night!

Tonight we'll be back to having tomato sandwiches. We've had lots of those this summer and I'm not even sick of them yet, despite have ZERO bacon! But I've been adding broccoli sprouts, some capers, and occasionally some parm to dress it up a bit - yum!

I downloaded a book about intermittent fasting yesterday so that's my learning focus for the next few days. Biologically I can see that it makes sense as it's only been in the last few thousand years that food has been readily enough available to have breakfast, lunch, supper, and snacks! We would have had to work hard for those meals in the past and our bodies are built to excel without constant food. I've been trying to have a slightly longer overnight fast on most days and usually don't eat until well after my treadmill time.

As it turns out, the fasting book is way more technical than my brain is set up for! Lots of long scientific words about the processes our bodies undergo make it slightly (ha ha way) over my head, but I get the general gist - 14+ hour fasts are good for many of our bodies systems.

The mint I have in pots on the deck has been going crazy! I need to chop it all back and throw it in the freezer for tea but they look so nice I'm reluctant to disturb them.

One of these days I'll actually take some photos…

Awesome!

“sunny September days”

“getting bundled up under my quilt”

“the chilled juice strained off from cooked tomatoes”

“the pink impatiens at the end of the deck”

summers end

 What the heck! It's now a few days past when I wrote this! Today is Monday aka Labour Day! We just got home from a lovely night at Kirsten's and are holed up in the house cause it's windy and cold outside! I'm not going to wax poetic about snuggling under the covers on the camper (I love sleeping in a cold room when I'm warm in bed), nor am I going to go on and on about how great it is to spend time with my sister (it is and Shawn too). I won't talk about the dogs loving their leash walks down the road. No, I'm just going to post this before another week passes!

I wrote this almost a week ago! My energy is coming back! I did a full 80 min (7.4km) walk Saturday and again on Sunday! Plus some extra weights. And I managed to do something in the kitchen… and on top of that cooked supper for Pat. Well, I was pretty wiped out by late afternoon, but I'm feeling optimistic 😀 

We did manage a few hours outside Saturday before a light shower sent us inside, but it stopped in time for us to have supper on the deck with Pat. Carm's been man-handling the lawnmower for the second day in a row, trying to catch up from the week of rain. The grass is long and thick, not at all like you'd expect for the end of August. I'm sure we've set some rainfall records this summer!

So now I'll seguey back to the present (update, the present 3 days ago)! There have been some nice days where I've been exceptionally lazy and just hung out on the deck as well as some cooler days - today is cloudy with rain in the forecast. It's almost 1pm and I'm still in my pjs having skipped the treadmill today - my muscles are crampy and achy after a stressful day yesterday so having a day of rest is probably a good thing.

I can't believe that it is August 30th - summer is over already. It seems like months ago that we were at the beginning of May, but here we are… a summer lost. 

Honestly, I feel so lazy today that I can't even think of anything to write but instead I'll distract myself with a trashy book!

Awesome!

“a few perfect afternoons of reading”

“the villetta which always gives me a sense of comfort”

“everyone quiet after a night away”

“home and the laundry is already done!”