SUMMER!! or young at heart, old in body.

It's either one weather extreme or the other around here and it's a tough decision to choose which I prefer - snuggled up inside with a good book while an ice storm rages for several days or blistering heat and humidity making temps rise to +40c(104F) and staying in the central air conditioning inside with a good book! Hmmmmmmm....it's a toss up!

Yesterday I made a bicycle trip to Farm Boy to pick up a few things. After I made my purchases I paused in the seating area and had a cold drink to keep myself hydrated. Then back on the bike. I was fine for about 2/3rds of the ride home and then I started to feel weak....really weak...and my backpack felt like it weighed 100lbs.  I had to stop several times in shady spots to have a drink and thankfully found my legs again and made it home.  It was gruelling though and I flopped on the couch and drank several glasses of ice water before taking a cool shower. 

Where were these guys yesterday?!?

One good thing about playing as a senior -
no one wears a bathing suit!!! However, there
is one very bronzed (and saggy) man who wears
two nipple rings!
Look away...look away!

My dilemma is thinking that I can still do the things I used to do 40 and 50 years ago. And I'm stubborn as a mule. Also, I've been waiting months and months for summer weather so I feel I shouldn't waste a minute of it by staying inside, doors and windows closed, with the A/C running steadily. But I have to be careful and not overdo it. Easy to say, harder to do. I very much resent the fact that my body doesn't perform to its previous levels. I don't think that's fair. I'm not ready to be OLD!

Today I have beach volleyball and it's going to be another scorcher. If it remains cloudy then we should be ok but if the sun comes out that's a game changer. I'm going to drive there instead of bike - that's my concession for today. So if I feel weak I can get in my car and put the A/C on high. I'll have a high protein lunch and take a couple of Gatorades with me. We'll see how it goes. The one good thing is everyone is around my age so we're all in the same boat. There is no shame in leaving early!

How do you beat the heat? Or does it bother you at all?

Complaining

It's a cool wet day today but I'm not complaining about that - I'm happy that I don't have to water the flowers today and the Weather Network says the sun is going to come out a bit later and it will warm up to about 20c. I can handle that after a week of +30c. No complaints here!

Beach volleyball is still on but we won't have to wear socks today to protect our feet from the boiling hot sand - so no complaints there!

Lily got her jaw around an entire chipmunk on Saturday!!! But when she dropped it the chipmunk ran under the fence to freedom - so no complaining about that! Thank goodness! (Do chipmunks play dead when caught by a predator?)

aka Killer!

I rode my bike to the annual Gathering on the Green where my brother sets up a booth to sell his unique birdhouses. Humidity was high even though the day was cooler than usual and I was a puddle of sweat by the time I arrived. But I'm not complaining as I met up with friends, explored what was for sale, bought a gift for my sister-in-law's upcoming 70th birthday! Also went and had a nice lunch on a nearby patio with my friend Jules who purchased the creature below :)

Zombie Doll - Cynthia Rose

"Hey Cynthia Rose - get your slimy lips offa my beer!!"

Ran into a former work colleague who retired two years after I did. I asked him how it felt to be retired and he said it feels like his natural state of being. I understand what he means - it feels the way life should feel - waking up when the body is ready to wake up, eating when hungry and not because the clock says a certain time, exploring new interests, developing old ones more fully...retirement is fantastic!! Really...I can't complain!

Had a nice jog and then walked on the trails at Kilally Meadows yesterday. Ran into a friend who is a weather radar-watching freak and he told me a thunderstorm was going to hit at 2pm. But I'm not complaining - I timed my walk and made it back to my car just is time. He was dead on with his prediction! At precisely 2pm the heavens opened...though I don't think I heard any thunder or saw any lightning - SO NOT COMPLAINING!

The rain is on its way!

Kilally Meadows!

So...I guess what it all boils down to is this: I'm complaining about the fact that I have nothing to complain about! 

It's a tough life I lead!