Healthful Living/Weekly Workout Support Group - 3/30 - 4/12

[Leslie Ferguson]

To give equal time - Happy Passover!

Greetings friends and neighbors, I’m actually going to get it right and wish Karen and the Jewish members of our board Happy Passover (if that’s appropriate) and also those of the Orthodox tradition as the begin their celebration of the end of Lent and the coming of Easter. These past two weeks have been better than a grouping of two weeks in recent memory - positive reports all around without exception. Weather has been and still is impacting lots of the regulars and lurkers on the boards with snow and rain inundating the nation. Hopefully we can get through a couple weeks without too many distractions from the weather and get back to a healthful life and “normalcy” (if there is such a thing to be had). With that, a recap from the past two weeks may be in order:

Life successes/Good News include - Laura had the special report of the weeks - she got married! She also had finally gotten over most of her illnesses from the start of the year and is getting back to a routine; Kate is getting more time with DBF (including concurrent days off this coming week) and becoming more accustomed to life with her new roommate; Karen kept the fort down with workout consistency, reported that her house hadn’t swept away with the rains, and recounted that her kids are doing well at school(s) and getting ready for summer; and I got through midterms without issue, spent plenty of time recharging my life during my break, spent time with my family over Easter weekend, and did a bunch of things on the “honey do” list.
Stressful living - Kate is still getting back into the swing of things after her treatments at the end of last year and the beginning of this - energy is coming back but not as quickly as she’d like and she’s still fiddling with a new job and the stress of searching for a job; Laura has been figuring out how to combine two households while working on three capital cases and all that entails (finding jury members and trying the cases); Karen had a couple sick kids these past couple weeks, tweaked her knee, and is dealing with her kids and the classes/extra-curricular things they do (like music lessons); and I recovered but have to look at the coming quarter and push through the last 6 weeks of school to close out my first year in Seminary.

Workouts: I’ll run Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday both weeks. Tuesday will be something, maybe a ride or a spin. Thursday and Friday will be up in the air this quarter because I’m in class all day (start at 9 am) until 5 pm both days.
Healthful living: Keep up on my exercise because that helps me maintain balance with my life and a better outlook. Also, I’ve stalled long enough and need to get my tooth looked at before it becomes too much.

It looks like we like the two week thread and at least until summer when I have fewer competing interests I’ll keep it running. A couple last things to do before school re-starts (return a pair of jeans because I found the same pair at a different store for $5 cheaper). So I’ll sign off and say until later - be good to yourselves, stay warm and dry and have a good week.

Peace to all and Happy Passover,
Les

[karen w]

Les-Thanks for starting a new thread this week. You have a jump start on me with Passover, but I do appreciate the good wishes. It is not for another 2 weeks or so, however. Of course, DH just sprung one on me today. He's been talking with a new member of our synagogue lately who he has become very friendly. Especially Sundays when he stays to chat with him after religious school drop off. Well, he wanted to know from me today if it might be a possibility that I make a Passover seder at our house for the second night and invite them. I have no problem with that, but I told him to ask the gentleman and family sooner than later so I can get going on the planning, shopping, and cooking. Especially since I have to do some cooking for my SIL for the first night and will be gone at her place on L.I. the first night. To be continued. . . . ???

Had a good weekend here. DD enjoyed her sleepover and did not get home until almost 5 PM Saturday! The boys had a full day of fun and adventure at the museum in the city on Saturday. I did a bit of baking, exercising, and household chores at home. I know it does not sound as exciting as their day, but trust me when I say that doing it in the peace and quiet at home was a luxury!!;) Tonight DH and I got a "date night" out for dinner and ice cream. It was very nice.

Tomorrow I will swim and box. Knee seems to be almost back to normal(Phew!). Hope everyone eles had a great weekend.

Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Les-Thanks for starting a new thread this week. You have a jump start on me with Passover, but I do appreciate the good wishes. It is not for another 2 weeks or so, however.
:o :eek: How am I off by that much? I know, we're celebrating the Seder early (April 5th). Probably because the lady who will be leading us (who is Jewish) will be celebrating at Temple/her house on the real date.
Of course, DH just sprung one on me today. He's been talking with a new member of our synagogue lately who he has become very friendly. Especially Sundays when he stays to chat with him after religious school drop off. Well, he wanted to know from me today if it might be a possibility that I make a Passover seder at our house for the second night and invite them. I have no problem with that, but I told him to ask the gentleman and family sooner than later so I can get going on the planning, shopping, and cooking. Especially since I have to do some cooking for my SIL for the first night and will be gone at her place on L.I. the first night. To be continued. . . . ???
At least he was nice enough to give you some heads up. Now all he needs to do is make sure he invites them. But I bet he will since you reminded him to do it.
Had a good weekend here... The boys had a full day of fun and adventure at the museum in the city on Saturday... Tonight DH and I got a "date night" out for dinner and ice cream. It was very nice... Knee seems to be almost back to normal(Phew!). Hope everyone eles had a great weekend.
All good things in my opinion. DD having a great time, the boys being away all day, a successful date night, and a knee that's back to normal. What a grand thing.

This week will be fits and starts all things considered - mostly new classes and a completely weird schedule: 3 hours Monday morning, 1 hour Tuesday morning, no classes on Wednesday (not my planning), 5 hours Thursday (2 morning and 3 afternoon), and 5 hours on Friday (2 morning and 3 afternoon). A wild ride and luckily I don't spend much time going out of town on weekends or else I'd be beat.

Hope all are well and had a great weekend. I bet we might not see Kate until later this week - I'm not sure when she's off from work but I know it's the early part of the week.

Peace,
Les

[karen w]

Les-sounds like you have a busy schedule this term. I hope you get back into a good groove with school.

I had a good day and surprisingly was not that tired after staying up way too late last night with DH watching a movie. We saw Hairspray. I had wanted to see it. It was OK, but nothing spectacular. Anyway, had a really good swim, got some grocery shopping done, returned the movie, and went to boxing class. My knee is not 100% yet, but overall seems to be much better. I am still babying it a bit and avoiding direct impact on the bag, but class was decent. This afternoon I made some phone calls including leaving a message on the machine of the family DH wants to have over for Passover. With any luck I'll have an answer by weeks end so I can get going on the details if they are going to come. Also had the usual laundry, cooking, and car-pooling to do this afternoon. What an exciting life!!:p But it's mine and I'm OK with that right now!;).

Tomorrow I am going to swim and try to box as well. Tuesday instructor is pretty intense so he may really give my knee a workout, but I think I am up for that. I also need to get a b-day present for a party DD is going to this weekend. It's a long story, but it is for a little girl at the temple who is turning 4 or 5?? DD was invited to her party last year, too. She was the only "big" girl there. DD loves playing mother to all the little girls at temple and they love her, too. This little one specially requested that DD be invited to her b-day. We told her last year that it would be all little toddlers, but she wanted to go and had fun. She wants to go again. She plays "mother" there and helps out with everything. I think it is adorable, of course!:) Also have to stop at the guitar rental store. I am most likely going to purchase both instruments for now. Les, I liked your idea of possibly trading in one at a later date if that becomes necessary. And finally DH has a late night meeting so it will just be the kids and I tomorrow evening. They do have guitar as well.

Have a good Tuesday,
Karen

[mackandme]

just a drive-by. did three hours of weeding saturday. my fingers still hurt! sunday was just a quick trip to let mack eat some grass. i'm taking off work tues/weds to do more gardening, including re-sodding a patch that had some really aggressive weeds that i was afraid would take over the universe left to their own devices. it's going to be a bear. i'll probably be so worn out i'll look forward to coming back to work thursday!

[Leslie Ferguson]

It looks like the evening of the drive bys... Personal notes tomorrow but I'm glad to hear that you both are well - harried somewhat but well. Look out for the weeds Kate. Take care of your knee too Karen. I love your description of DD and the other younger girls at Temple. Makes me laugh.

Today was pretty much what I expected - classes went well but as you can inmagine with an almost complete new schedule I had to futz around on campus a little. And then I forgot that I had a committee meeting this afternoon (I'm the correspondence secretary for the committee) that went a little longer than we expected. Impacted my workout today but it was quite grey and thus not a bad thing to do.

I think I'll be fine tomorrow (only one hour of class - can't miss there). But I've still got to sleep and get things going for the rest of the week.

Peace to all and see you tomorrow.
Les

eta: Back at it... It wasn't too bad this morning.
Kate - I hope you got the weeds killed - they can be so nasty. Hopefully you don't need to go back to work to get some rest (used to do that all the time). Hope you're enjoying your time with DBF too.
Karen - How was your day today? The usual I'm sure and I hope that you took care of your knee a little bit more. No need to have you hobbled. As you might imagine, we played the trade in the insert musical instrument a couple times in my competitive family. :rolleyes: Hopefully you don't really have to go down that road.

I'm going home to workout and read (going to spin today) because I'm working a dinner at the Dean's house and won't get much studying done there.

Peace all and see you later,
Les

[karen w]

Les-Glad to hear classes got off to a good start. Not a surprise to me at all that you are on one committee or a million. You just seem like that kind of person that is always extending himself for others. Hope the rest of the week goes just as smoothly.

Kate-Drive bys are OK here. I hope Mack enjoys his grass later this week.:p

I had a good day starting with a nice swim. Got the kids off to school and then made it to Target to pick out those gifts for DD's little religious school friend's party this weekend. I got two things because she has a twin brother and you know how that goes. . . can't bring something for one, but not the other. It was a really quiet boxing class so we were each on our own bags, but a good workout. Not sure where everyone has gone lately that the classes have been on the smaller side. I did call one friend from class later this afternoon who has been gone for 2 months. She had some minor surgery and was only supposed to be gone 2 weeks, but then fell and re-injured herself. She's being cautious now so as not to get hurt again and staying away until she is fully healed. Can't fault her there. It was good to talk to her anyway. This afternoon also took care of the guitar rentals. For better or worse, the boys now own their first acoustic guitars. They had their lesson this evening as well.

Tomorrow DH is off, but has an appt. in the morning with a lawyer(long story). Since he will be busy, I will likely box along with my swim. My knee seems better each day, but I will be careful, Les!

Have a good evening,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Karen - I think doing too much is a fault I have but I like to be with people and I know I can make a difference. Smart move getting a present for the twin - that could be a bad scene if you didn't do something like that. You can never go wrong with an acoustic guitar and people will always want one so having a couple isn't a big deal. Shoot, at one time I had 6 of them and I'm the only one in my house who plays. Best to DH and I hope that your knee does get better every day.

Things are still plugging along but my first week back is always troublesome - almost like I shouldn't take a week off between quarters (who am I kidding, I need the time off). For today's exercise, I took a spin in a spare moment between studying and working. 40 minutes on the bike was pretty good and I got a lesson read in the process - a bonus ride in my book.

Happy hump day to all and have a good Wednesday. Peace and pleasant dreams,
Les

[karen w]

Les-What a bonus when you get in your exercise and your school work all at the same time. For some reason, I just am not able to multi-task on the bike, elliptical, or treadmill. Oh well.

Well, I probably over did it a bit today(I'm tired and the knee is a bit achy) but it was a productive day. To give some background, the family that we invited for Passover(second night) called last night and they are coming, so I wanted to get the ball rolling today and do as much in advance as I can. Especially since we will be gone the day before at SIL's. So after my swim this morning, I headed out for my weekly milk and veggie shopping. I picked up a brisket as well figuring I could prepare that and freeze. I also picked up a lamb shank(need one for the Seder plate). Now I'll just have to figure out how I must roast it etc... I think I might need to call Mom on this one. Went to boxing late morning and had a great class. Then came home and prepared the brisket and a pot of soup. Fortunately, the husband of the family that we are inviting likes to cook, so he will be contributing to the meal as well which takes alot of pressure off of me. I told him we plan on making it very informal. He already volunteered to bring the matzoh ball soup and who am I to say "No?" DH went out today and also picked up some stuff I will need like case of matzoh, farfel, matzo meal, kosher wine etc.... With their family and ours, it will be 10 altogether since they have 3 boys. It should be a very nice evening.

But now. . . it is time to kick up the feet. Hope everyone has a good evening.

Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

It sounds like you are going to have a fine Seder. It is always nice when one of your guests likes to cook - especially with something that is as labor intensive as a Seder. It's nice to have mom to call for her roasting hints isn't it. Still 10 for dinner is pretty big. But with your families, I guess that would be relatively easy (not easy mind you - food for 10 is always a chore). It sounds like the remainder of your day went well - good boxing etc. It's too bad that you can't multi-task on the treadmill, bike, or elliptical - I don't think I would be able to survive school and studies and still workout if it weren't for being able to multi-task like I can. Probably a learned capability with all the movement on the ships I was on in the Navy.

I had a great alternate workout today, we played Ultimate for about 90 minutes. Important since we're playing in a tournament in 2 1/2 weeks against some schools that actually have intramural teams and leagues (as opposed to us - we may have enough people to play two full teams by ourselves). Good workout and survived without getting injured. Always a bonus. Now back to studying so I'll see you tomorrow - after 5 hours of class. :(

Peace,
Les

[karen w]

Les-Another curiousity question today(if you don't mind humoring me again, that is). The ultimate frisbee comments just got me wondering about your school. How big is it? How many students per class? And what is the age range? Are the majority in a certain age range or does it run the gamut with alot of variability? Curious minds. . . . :cool:

I had a decent day. My swim was great. I got alot of stuff accomplished at home both before boxing and in the afternoon. Boxing was good as usual, but it is so quiet there lately. Once in awhile that is nice, but sometime the energy in the air is more electric when the studio is filled with more people. Oh well, I will just make the best of my workout and continue to have fun.

DD had her last gymnastics class tonight. She is going to take a break this last session of the year and over the summer while at camp. The we will see if she wants to resume things in fall. A few of the other mother's were really surprised about this because she IS the best one in the class. Plus she has alot of fun at class. I think she just needs a break, though, and I won't push her on this issue.

Tomorrow I am swimming and doing something at home a bit lighter to "pseudo" rest my knee. Then it's a Costco trip in the afternoon.

Good evening,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Quick check in before heading home. To humor you, there are about 135 or 140 "active" in school. By active I mean actually taking classes during the regular school year and not including doctoral candidates and those students who are only here during the summer. Specifically, my class has 30 people and we range in age between 23 and 56, the average age is 34 or 35 but there are 15 out of the 30 in my class that are under age 30. For the rest of the school, I think (with a couple exceptions including one outlier who will be almost 70 when he graduates) the age range is early 20s to late 50s. I'd say there are two poles with respect to ages - middle to late 20s and middle 40s and above. There are a few in the middle 30s but they are fairly rare. And for gender, my class is an even split and that is about typical for the remainder of the school. Really, we're a pretty diverse place (I'd have to put a little more "effort" in to get the real stats but that's pretty close).

I hope you get some energy in the studio - maybe the turn in the economy might be driving something? I hope you have a good pseudo rest day tomorrow.

Need to get home - it's been a long day at school as we were commemorating the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s martyrdom (actually tomorrow) after 5 hours of class and worship starting at 8.

TTFN and Peace,
Les

[mackandme]

I'm here at work recovering from my time off! We got the weeds up (with help from a friend's tiller) and the sod down. Had to make two trips to get 75 pieces of sod home in my Honda Civic. But now we just have to water like crazy for the next month, and hopefully the stuff will live. DBF did the really heavy work, but i still did my fair share. We were talking about doing the back yard this fall (it's a disaster zone) and putting in a flagstone patio, but DBF may no longer think that is such a great idea....

Got in a good half-hour ride on Mack today. He was feeling good. He's a really fun horse to ride when he's having a good day.

Les, Ultimate Frisbee sounds like fun!

Karen, sounds like you've got a lot of planning/cooking ahead of you. Good thing one of the guests likes to cook, too! I've never had to cook for more than four people (and usually just for one), so I'm sure it's a lot of juggling.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

[karen w]

Les-Thanks for humoring me. That's the breakdown I kinda expected, but it is interesting to see. Wow. . .a 70 year old grad, huh?? Just this morning on the news was a story about a 70 yr. old gentleman who had never learned how to read, but had promised his mother that he would. So he is now in the first grade!! It was so cute watching him sit in one of those tiny chairs with all of the other first graders!:)

Kate-Sounds like you have made a huge dent in all of that yard work! Good job! Enjoy it this summer(crossing my fingers it lives, too).

I had a good swim again this morning and as planned stayed home to bike. It was one of my better bike rides in a long time. Accomplished my household jobs(more laundry:rolleyes:) and Costco this afternoon. Found the Wii game DS#1 wanted so that is hidden for his b-day next month. Now if only I could think of something for DD. She's at a tough age. All she keeps telling me is Webkinz, but she just wants them for the stuffed animal; not to play on the website. She already has a bunch of them along with so many other stuffed animals. She just does not need more stuffed critters right now! I hope I can come up with something.

Have a good weekend,

Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Drive by for Saturday - hopefully will post more this evening after the festivities.

I had a decent 90 minute run this morning (I'd guess something in the 10-11 mile range). Then this afternoon I played 90 minutes of ultimate - trying to get ready for the tournament in two weeks. Tonight I'll be going to a Seder supper at school, led by the TA from our Hebrew class (Jewish lady in one of the Reformed temples in the area).

eta: The Seder supper was good and different than the onther ones I've been to - this one was definitely more traditional with Hebrew prayers and songs (I'm not sure what we did in the past but nothing like this). I had a blast!

Got to get cleaned up since things start in 35 minutes. Talk to you later and happy weekend.
Les

[karen w]

Hi all,

I hope everyone had a good weekend. We did here. I had a really good bike ride on Friday, elliptical on Sat. and treadmill on Sunday. I pushed things a bit each day because I was feeling so good(my knee, that is) and had some of my better workout sessions to date. Knock wood, the knee seems to be hanging tough. But, of course, Les. . . I won't beat it up too badly. It also faired well at boxing today.

In other happenings, mainly doing some pre-Seder cooking/freezing this weekend. I got most of my baking done and today I ordered my fish for gefilte fish. I will pick it up 4/17 so that I can make it as close to our Seder as possible. SIL also wants me to bring a few things so I am going to double up some of my recipes. Looks like I will be busy in the kitchen next week.

This week should still be business as usual. DH is at a dinner mtg. tonight and also has a late night mtg. tomorrow. The kids have until the end of this week before spring break begins. They will have next week off and then the week they return to school, DH is off. So all my little kiddoes home at some point over the next 2 weeks. OY! At least, the taxi will get some reprieve.;)

Have a good week,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Karen - I know you'll take better care of yourself that I will of myself. I'm glad that your knee is holding out and that you feel confident enough to push it a little. Always a good sign. I can only imagine cooking for Seder considering all the stuff we ate at our (reformed) Seder. I'll think of you as you cook and bake this coming week in preparation for the big day. I'm glad you'll have a slight reprieve on your taxi-service too.

I had a good day both at school and at home. I got a 45 minute spin in this evening before cooking dinner - pollack and rice - a great meal. Did it (the pollack) with a little bread crumbs and in a skillet and plain steamed (and sticky) rice.

Plenty of studying to do so I'll sign off for now and see you all later.

Peace,
Les

[Leslie Ferguson]

Back to back, yikes!

Fun day today and I got a run in finally. It was nice and the temp was perfect (almost). 55 and a light breeze but it was overcast and humid so it was a bit bothersome. Chilling a bit. Only did 45 minutes between a break in classes (forgot that my meeting was next Tuesday not today or else I would have run farther) and work (where I am now).

I really need to get some work done in the next 40 minutes before I leave so I'll sign off and see you later.

Peace,
Les

[karen w]

Les-Sounds like you had a very good day and an early check in, too! Our weather is beginning to perk up, too. Today was sunny and in the 50's. The crocuses are popping up all over our yard. It's beginning to FINALLY feel a bit like spring may REALLY be right around the corner. DH's greenhouse is full of all of our seeds for the garden. This year all of our tomatoes and eggplants germinated. And DH said he planted 24 basil plants this year!! OY VEY!! I told him to kill a few before he puts them in the ground!:eek:(I think he typically does 18 plants which is usually overkill. Not sure what possessed him to do so many more this year.:eek:).

I was kinda tired today(happens after 2 late nights in a row for me), but I had a fabulous swim. After the kids went to school I shopped a little bit as I am on a quest to find something for DD for her b-day. Even though it is in August, we will give her something before she leaves for camp since her b-day occurs while she is at camp this year. I already have more than plenty of stuff for the boys, but DD has me totally stumped this year. Unfortunately, I did not come up with anything today. I still have a bit more time. So if anyone has any bright ideas for a soon to be 9 y.o. . . . LET ME KNOW!!! After I went to boxing. It was an excellent class today, but again very small(only 8 of us, so we all had our own bags). Talking to the school owner(master), his total #'s are pretty much the same in terms of registered and incoming students. He just thinks there might have been a shift in the make-up of incoming students i.e. fewer SAHM so smaller classes in the mornings.

After boxing stopped at the jewelers where I had my wedding ring re-done. I wanted it cleaned and I was a bit concerned about the stones in the 2 side bands. I was right. The jeweler thinks that they might have shifted, so they kept the bands to fix over the next few days.

Boys had guitar tonight. DH another late night meeting(this one at our synagogue). That's it for my report.

Have a good evening,
Karen

[karen w]

Back to backs and a drive by tonight as I had a long day, but another good one with a swim and cardio. boxing class today. My left knee did fine with that, but I may have tweaked the right one a bit. Again, just a slight bump in the road and nothing at this point to slow me down(that would take a Mack truck!:p). Rest of day was business as usual. . . you know the drill. . . .Wednesday is dairy/veggie shopping day, religious school, laundry etc...etc...

Tomorrow I will box and swim. DD also has her spring concert at school in the afternoon.

Good evening,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

24 basil plants sounds excessive to me - unless you're opening an Italian restaurant. :p Or if you want to make pesto until you turn green. I can't help you with a present for a 9 y.o. girl - I guess my niece will be 9 but she's an "odd one" and doesn't like what other 9 y.o. girls like. She plays basketball, but likes to cook and do things around the house. She's athletic in other sports too (soccer etc.) but there's no telling what she is in to anymore. Painting (except that she paints her little brother once in a while). Wish I could help. It sounds like you had a typical Wednesday, busy as can be but still a nice day even with all the taxi service.

It was a good day for me too. No classes on Wednesday but that left me with about 6 hours to hole up in the library and read for a paper that's due in a couple weeks (I need to get it done because it's due at the same time as another paper). My gripe of the day - they spread fertilizer on the grounds today (everywhere except on the frisbee field which is a good thing) and it reeked all day. Smells like cows all over the place.

Speaking of frisbee - spent 90 minutes playing frisbee getting ready for the tournament in 10 days. I felt good too because the guy who was covering me "complained" when we took a breather that I never stopped running. I just smiled and said - yep, I've been known to run for more than 4 hours (not without stopping but still run for 4 hours). Survived the event without too much stress on my ankle or shoulder -- two good things.

Studying and working on my short answer paper for tomorrow. Simple thing really, just three questions. The first one is, "What does God know?" Gee, just a simple question. :rolleyes:

Until later, have a great evening and I'll see you tomorrow.
Peace,
Les

[mackandme]

That's a lot of basil! I planted herbs this weekend - basil, cilantro, rosemary, sage, and thyme. I planted them in window boxes so my sometimes overly zealous pest control guy won't spray them, so we'll see if it gives them enough room for the roots. I also realized that by doing that, if they're getting too much sun in the summer, I can lash an umbrella to the porch railing to shade them. DBF thinks that's a nutty idea, but if it saves my herbs... :D

Had good rides on Mack on Saturday and today. One of these days maybe i'll get to the gym.... Probably a little more gardening this weekend to fill in some holes where drought-tolerant plants drowned in heavy rain last summer.

Les, that does sound like a not-so-easy question!

[karen w]

Kate-All that gardening and riding Mack is good exercise, and I bet it is more enjoyable than the gym.

Les-Yep, 24 basil plants IS excessive. Go tell that to DH!!!:rolleyes: Some how or another we always manage to use it up between batches of pesto, I puree some in small amt. EVOO to freeze in cubes to add the fresh flavor to soups/stews/sauces in winter, using fresh during the summer, and giving some plants away. Wish you were closer. . . I'd send you a bunch. . . or ten!:p

Yuck! I hate that fertilizer smell. I can sympathize with you there. Your frisbee playing sounds great, especially now that the weather is finally cooperating around here. How is the paper writing going?

I had a good swim again today. After the kids left, I went to TJ's to stock up on nuts(used alot a few weeks ago) in preparation for some Passover recipes(Haroseth, among others! And my kids love the stuff, so I have to make extra for after the Seder!). Then I went to boxing. The instructors did a switcheroo on us, so we had the tougher one today. As always, he gives a great workout so it was a good class. My knees did OK once again. Even though they still don't feel completely back to baseline, I think I am out of the woods in terms of attributing this to the disease process in them. Like I said the last few days, just a bump/bruise/twist etc.... that I was not even aware of doing when it happened.

This afternoon DD had her spring concert. She did superbly. She was right in the front row and I got a good seat up front, too. On the way home, I stopped on a whim to look at earrings for her for her b-day. I found 2 pairs in 14K that were relatively reasonably priced(in case she loses them. . . she's usually pretty good about earrings since she rarely takes them out, but she is still just a kid). Anyway, I found her a pair of square emerald cut peridots(her birthstone) and a small pair of oval hoops. I think she will be pleased.

That's all there is to report from my neck of the woods. Good evening,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Drive by tonight - busy day (more later) but...

Hey Kate! Good to see you it sounds like you've had a busy time but productive and riding is always a good thing.

Karen - I'm doing well with my papers and I'm glad that your knee isn't worse and I bet it will come around in time. I don't envy all that basil but you'll find something to do with it I'm sure. Basil would be grand but the shipping would be terrible. ;) Good call for DD's birthday too - a great present and prudently selected.

I had a lot of fun class in my philosophy class and I really love the fun questions. But it's partly unnerving and partly fun because there are no pat answers. Part of the class is to help us make a reasoned argument for a position that may be very open-ended. I love the comment too - nice to be known as the energizer bunny from time to time.

No run today - 5 hours of class and trying to get ready for a class retreat that Saturday and Sunday morning.

Need to finish off a little studies and head to bed.

Peace,
Les