into March

I was shocked this afternoon when I checked my blog for my last post… which is over a month ago! I guess it's a barometer of sorts although I've been feeling okay for the last few weeks. So what's been happening… well, I'm often in freak out mode with what is going on south of the border. I don't have much optimism for the next few years but try not to dwell on my fear. 

Well, I do have a faint amount of optimism with our new prime minister but we shall see if he can swing the gloves at Trump. Of course, with the bullshit in politics the conservatives are already making stuff up. And we'll have lots of election interference from the USA… so everybody - CHECK FACTS! And why the F! has PP not bothered getting a security clearance so that he can be briefed on national security. WHY?

When I'm not curled up in a ball nearly hysterical, I'm on the treadmill and for the last few weeks I've added weights to my daily workout. I feel stronger and can even see some muscles (although at the moment I'm wiped - it was a big day for me today! 30 minutes of weights & floor exercises, 5 minutes on the bike, 90 minutes on the treadmill at high incline, and then 15 minutes out on the snowshoes - it was warm and sunny!) I certainly earned my dinner tonight!

Speaking of supper… a few weeks ago I made buckwheat groats as a side… they were okay but very bland. Today I chopped an onion, added garlic & herbs, then stirred in chopped yellow peppers and cherry tomatoes. Much better! (note to self: 1 cup broth, ⅔ cup groats, 3 min HP, 10 NR). Easy and quick :-) Buckwheat is a whole grain that feeds our microbiome. It was delicious with the salmon that we treated ourselves with.

We've had only a tiny bit of social life - last week we had Trudie & Leo for supper one night and Pat for supper another night. Tomorrow J&D are coming for lunch and then Pat again later in the week for supper. There've been other forays into the world but they've been few and far between. The weather has been a factor keeping us home.

In late January I took a break from Tamoxifen… the depression was getting real, not to mention weight gain, hair loss, hot flashes & cold chills, and a myriad of other irritations… my side effects cleared up eventually, although some took a good 4 weeks to resolve… I had an appointment with the medical oncologist a few weeks ago and she suggested trying 10mg every other day for a few weeks and then try 10mg daily - down from 20mg every day. It's been a week and things are going okay.

The dogs have been enjoying the occasional foray into the field - we've got a grid of paths that wind through the field. It's probably been the best winter for snowshoeing in years.

The weather forecast for the next week is looking awesome with a few days in a row of double digits! Hurrah!

I miss the simplicity of COVID!

Awesome!

“flashes of spring”

“date walnut oat chocolate squares”

“just dates in general - who knew they were so healthy!”

“roasted chickpeas”

where are you shopping

Thursday… We are hunkered down today, out of the wicked wind and blowing snow. My view out the window is almost obliterated by the snow being pelted from the sky at a 45 degree angle. The trees across the hay field are faint through the wintery shroud.  I haven't been outside yet but will at some point, if only to experience the true fury of Mother Nature.

Yesterday we were blessed with a sunny, but cold day. I picked up visiting aunts from Kari's and met up with Kirsten and Mom at a cute village about 40 minutes from here. We had a lovely lunch in a little non-profit cafe, staffed with volunteers.

Tuesday was beautiful as well - imagine two sunny days in a row! Carm and I met up with friends in the village for lunch. We all agreed that we have to make it a more regular get together!

Going back one more day, Monday was snowing and cold, but we braved the roads (which weren't too bad) for our second Zumba class  😀 I still had two left feet but somehow didn't trip over myself and may have gotten some of the foot work slightly right.

I think it was Friday that I wrenched my back which left me decrepit for a few days. I took it really easy on Saturday, no treadmill or other exercise, just gentle movement regularly throughout the day. Luckily I felt a bit better on Sunday as we went to a birthday party for Carm's aunt who turned 95! We hadn't seen some of Carm’s family since before the pandemic! so it was nice to catch up with everyone.

Last thursday (a week ago!), Carm took the car into Subaru for a repair… it turns out that we were super lucky that the screws that came loose didn't fall into the engine as they would have destroyed it 😱  Carm's sister lent us her car so that we could leave the subie at the shop overnight as they had to order a part… 

But of course the big thing in our lives has been the threat of tariffs… we've been doubling down on shopping Canadian, or at least not made in the USA. We've found lots of substitutions. SHOP CANADIAN! I never paid much attention to where things were from but that has changed. The USA is imploding in front of our eyes :-(

Well, here we are and it's Friday. The snow has stopped but the wind is still blowing so I imagine the roads are still crappy. Carm is out wrestling with the snow blower while we wait for a call from the place we get the dog's chicken hearts  so may have to drive into the city but fingers crossed it will be next week! 

Meanwhile, I'm taking it easy again today with lots of gentle stretching!

Awesome!

“getting to know distant relatives”

“the fury of nature”

howling wind

 The wind is howling, its invisible hand thrashing trees and power lines. Luckily it hasn't started snowing yet (it's 2pm) but will this evening… it's going to be wild out there! Nature at her most dramatic.

As it was, even without snow already falling, the roads to the village were snow covered and icy but luckily we didn't have far to go… and what would get us out of the house on a blizzardy January morning? Our first zumba class!!

One morning on the cruise we had picked up coffees in the piazza where a zumba class was going on so we sat down to watch - it looked like a great workout and honestly, I'm all in for anything set to music! We decided then that we'd look into classes when we got back home… and as it turns out, our local municipality organizes all sorts of classes, one of which is zumba - and wouldn't luck be with us - they started today AND are during the day :-) Uncharacteristically,  we actually signed up and didn't just talk about it.

We were like a couple of bumbling idiots but everyone was really friendly and encouraging 😀 But oh boy - walking on the treadmill does not prepare you for an hour of jumping around waving my arms. I'm exhausted and my legs and arms are like rubber. Yay! I did have a long soak in the tub with epsom salts!

It's probably not a surprise that Carm was the only man in a room full of 25+ women but if you know Carm, that doesn't bother him at all - he has never been afflicted with fragile masculinity - hey, he didn't let living in a basically pink 🩷 house define him…

It's funny how the same phrase can mean two different things. I often say that I've pushed myself on the treadmill and yes, there are times when I push myself to exercise and to exercise hard, to test my limits. I might be tired but I still feel strong and can feel my muscles working - it feels good and I feel powerful (ha ha, relatively!). It’s a bit of a high… Then there are times when I have to push myself to even get moving. Those days are harder, both physically and mentally. But even on those days, or maybe especially on those days, I feel like I've accomplished something good for myself. 

A few hours later… wind has picked up even more and I can definitely tell that I used some muscle today, I'm a bit stiff and rubbery!

A few more hours… lots of roads have been shut down due to drifting snow ❄️ 

Awesome!

“zumba”

“snow holding off till we were home”

“subaru came through with an expensive ˋgood willˋ repair”