AAM Monday: Getting Back in the Groove

Tomorrow will mark 8 weeks since knee surgery and I've missed the activity of exercise and movement. While PT was great, when it ended I knew I needed a different kind of movement in addition to the various knee exercises I still am doing.

Sunday, I signed up once again for my local city gym. It's a great deal, especially for seniors, with a rate of $233 a year for us geezers.  My local senior center which is closer and walkable (now!) is free but they only have one exercise bike, one elliptical and two treadmills.  Being able to snag time on one of those is pretty hard as a lot of people who use them stay on for an hour. The senior center hours are also limited - 8-4 Monday through Friday. While I am not ready to take advantage of the gym's 6am opening, and probably never really will if I'm honest, it's nice to know that both the hours and the days are much more extensive and that I can always use the rubberized indoor track if, by some fluke, one of the many many bikes or elipticals is not available for a while. I used to have a favorite stair stepper but I saw that a lot of the equipment is newer so I'll have to ask for guidance to find the one that best suits my knee.

I found out that the Sunday hours do not start til 11am but the three large basketball etc courts are fully occupied all morning. Yesterday they were filled with tween-age girls lacrosse games. Yes, this is Maryland! I would have liked to have had a couple of shots of the games and the girls and parents after the games but I respected their privacy.

Sadly, as I'm still not able to get up or down onto the floor for exercises, I can't take advantage of the free Pilates and yoga classes. So, I will do what I can during this next stage of recovery. Back in the groove once again.

Five on Friday: January 2, 2015

I somehow don't find it hard at all to write 2015. Some years it takes me a long time to become accustomed to the new date but not this year, so far. I suspect that my limbo state of November that was consumed by knee surgery and recovery stretched into December when I did very little for Christmas. In fact, it almost passed me by unseen. A lot of my focus from Halloween on was how I would feel and what I would be able to do by January 2015.  Well, here it is and I can do most things I want to do.

Ok, I've yet to try getting up from the floor (as in Pilates or Yoga) nor have I attempted to get down on the floor. My physical therapist suggested 6 months. I can wait.

1. While I'm still not a knitter, yet, I think this is the coolest idea. Many times in my life I've had a lidless tea pot but just not now. But if you have one, give it to a knitter! or a crocheter.

2. Are you doing OLW this year? That's "One Little Word" a year long project that Ali Edwards does and it gives you a chance for a lot of reflection and potential for change and growth. I started one year and followed through. Started another year, 2013, and never did much of anything. This year? I feel the need for change and my word is space. Not the NASA kind but free and open space. This Virgo has hemmed herself in with too too much, too much physical and mental clutter. If you want to have a go with this project, click this link.

3. Though I have had a quiet December, I got the cooking bug on New Year's Eve, mostly as I had a 4lb package of ground beef that wanted cooking. After about 90 minutes in the kitchen we have a pot of chili-mac (sans the mac), a batch of meatballs in sauce, and a good sized meatloaf. I hold himself that if I croaked before 2015, he'd be good for meals for almost 2 weeks. He was impressed with the food and that I had been standing for that long. Actually, so was I.

4. Yes, I'm a bit late to the party but I have thoroughly enjoyed semi-binge watching Parenthood. Yes, it reminds me of Brothers and Sisters which I also loved via Netflix.  I'm only in season 2 so I have some fun ahead!

5. One of the things that was strongly suggested to me when I finished my knee physical therapy was to get back to the gym. Yep, the journey continues again but now I know how much a part my former exercising helped me during and post surgery. I'd still rather pretend I don't need it but I know. I really know.

Hello 2015!

Many good wishes to you and yours as we start a New Year.  May your trunk be full of blessings.