Back With Personal Trainer

 9/10/2020

Yesterday, after many months of staying home, I had a session with my personal trainer. Okay, I understand that my body isn't in the best shape (that would be an overstatement)! 

The trainer put me through the exercises I had been doing, before the virus got in the way. I knew as soon as the virus started, that I wanted to avoid places, like gyms, etc. I knew that I absolutely needed to go, but call me a scardey (sp) cat, and so I stayed home.

Training is about 25 minutes long, but when I woke up this morning, my body assured me that I had worked my body the day before. I am going to training again this afternoon. Afterwards, I get a break until next week. Time for my body to rest.

We live at the top of a hill. I could, with the help of a rollator, make it down the hill. But, the trip back to the top, would be a bit of a challenge for me.

This morning, not that you particularly care, I came down for breakfast. Jeff, and the girls stay upstairs longer, so that I can fix my toast and coffee, in quiet.

What I didn't do this morning, is watch the news. I can always watch the "talking heads" anytime today - or not. Seems to me, as if the only news we hear about are the ones such as forest fires, shootings, riots, etc. It would be lovely, to have a channel that only reports good news. How fantastic that would be.

Book review: "The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek" by Kim Michele Richardson. The book in a nutshell is about a woman, who takes books back and forth up a mountain to give something for the hill people  to read and/or look at.

The real problem is that the book woman turns various shades of blue, when anxious, excited, or has any other kind of real emotion. 

This book is inspired by the true blue-skinned people of Kentucky. See below.

"Martin Fugate, a French orphan, married a woman named Elizabeth around 1820. They settled in Troublesome Creek, Kentucky. Unbeknownst to the couple, they were coincidentally both carriers of a recessive gene (met-H) that caused methemoglobinemia, which can tint the skin of sufferers blue. Martin and Elizabeth had seven children, four of whom had blue skin. Since neither parent had symptoms of methemoglobinemia, they were shocked and confused, and no one could offer an explanation".

I highly recommend this book. It's a good read, and interested me enough, that I had to research "blue people". What a curse to have. Reminds me of people, who turn red in the face when they suffer from embarrassment or shame. 

Fortunately, I don't turn blue, and seldom red. The color I have is: white in the winter, and tanned in the summer. Parts of my body now show me that years of tanning with baby oil and iodine, have left me with "old lady" spots. But in the 60's, we teen aged girls, just had to have tanned skin. And, I'm sure you remember, that when you're in your teens, you are absolutely not going to get old, or spotted.

Ada came yesterday, and tidied up the house. There are two things that I particularly want her to do, and I bet you can guess them. The bathrooms (duh) and the kitchen, including the floors (double duh). Oh, and some vacuuming too. I seldom ask her to do anything else. This is probably due to the fact, that I have never gotten all worked up, with dust on certain things. In the living room, I have glass shelves, which hold a multitude of glass pieces. It is a chore, because I have done it several times, take down all the glass goodies, and take each shelf to the kitchen to be cleaned. Just doing this, can take up a lot of time. When I'm cleaning, I just put all the pieces of glass, and put them in the dishwasher to get a good rinse.

While I was in training yesterday, two people were talking about a really good television show on one of the premium channels. They told me the name of the show several times. The only thing I remember is hearing the word shooting. Mind you, I was told the title only five minutes ago. Such is my level of remembering. It is frustrating for both Jeff and myself.

I have been looking at retirement com-munities. All of them have a memory support floor, which is where I need to be. And, because I have fallen multiple times, I can no longer be left by myself. I think I can, but nobody else does. My world is shrinking bit by bit. 

I currently live in a world, that doesn't always make sense to me. I ask the same questions over and over. And, Jeff, gives me the answers over and over. For me, I'm embarrassed that I can't remember simple things, such as watching a television show, only to be told (nicely) that we've already watched it. Sometimes I've seen that show that show just a few hours ago. Jeff is very patient, and I appreciate that. But, I want Jeff to have a better life, which includes not having me as a "ball and chain" around his ankle. 

What do I want? Some place where my lack of memory isn't a big deal. And, where there are people like me, or worse. There are activities, swimming pools and as a bonus a shuttle bus to take you grocery shopping, and other places you need to go. and filled with books. My life would be quiet, and as a recluse that suits me fine. You can eat your meals in the dining room, rather than in your room. Play games, particularly bingo, which is a game I like a lot.

And, most places will let you have a small pet. I know that my pet would be a cat. They are quiet pets.

Tomorrow is an awful day in history. I'm going to try and avoid watching the scenes from that day. I have seared in my memory, all the evil things that happened on 9/11.

P