Day 308, Tuesday December 30

Hey, at least I'm posting every day right now...though not getting my minimum as of yet :P. It's cold and uninviting out there :D.

Steps: 5601
PED Miles: 2.32
Total Miles: 2.32
AT: 886
YTD Total: 948

One good sized walk and a beautiful look at the harrier, but nothing after that. The day just vanished :p.

Day 307, Monday December 29

Home and back to puppy walks, but not long ones due to the ankle and the TON of snow we've had. Brody gets lots of exercise ditch diving, anyway. Still, nearly double the steppage from recent days, so I'm into claiming them! 3908 steps or 1.61 miles.

AT: 1134.44
YTD: 1231.54

Day 306, Sunday 28 December

Saturday walked 1.5 in the morning with Bonnie, we choose a bad time and it rained on us rather hard, but no damage done. By afternoon the rain had passed and I did the usual 3 mile run and a 1.5 mile walk in the evening.

Total: 6

Sunday was warm so we walked around the pond 2.5, while there was a lot of melting it was still a frozen trail with lots of ice, progress was slow and lots of twisting of ankles, but a nice walk. After the Pats were eliminated, rode the stationary bike 5.7 miles.

Total: 8

AT: 1,509.5

Finally into Massachusetts, only about 90 miles from home, if that makes sense :)

Day 305, Saturday 27 December

I'm still feeling a bit under the weather, so just did our walk around the neighborhood. The new pedometer says 1.8 on the day.

December: 60.7
AT: 702.7
Year: 756.0

Day 304, Friday December 26

Walked around the pond with Bonnie, 2.5. Lots of ice and rough footing, good thing we had our traction devices:) Ran 3 in the afternoon. Did a lot of house work, including cauking the tub, trying a silicon compound this time.

Total: 5.5
AT: 1,497.5

I think I see Massachusetts just up a head, Lonesome Lake in the White Mountains reports 2 feet of snow, so it could be rough traveling up ahead.

Day 303, December 25, Thursday

I haven't been doing much walking due to that silly sprained ankle. Wednesday it felt somewhat better which was good as we still had shopping to do. From the bus-stop back to the apartment was brutal as no one had shoveled the sidewalk but lots had walked on it. I could barely keep my balance.

This evening my daughter and I went for a short walk along the slippery side street, but it was nice to get out a bit. Of course we're eating too much and doing too little (due to weather as well as my ankle)...

AT: 1127.76
YTD: 1224.86

Day 302, Wednesday December 24

Merry Christmas, since I am writing this on the 25th, even though its the 24th's post, we'll you understand :)

Tuesday managed to get out for a 3.5 mile run, but no walk in the evening as after work Bonnie and I drove up to Waterville Valley go to skiing the next day, we got stuck in traffice and didn't get ther till late.

Wednesday was a good day of skiing, temps around 30, started to have light rain around 2:00, but by then we were too tired to do much more anyway. Skiing doesn't seem to be too good for my knee, I guess that is what the doctor said about only doing activities that go strieght ahead.

Not sure what to put down for 4 hours of skiing, but had 8 long runs from the top of the mountain, and a number of shorter ones. So chauck it up to 8 miles. In the evening Bonnie and I walked 1 mile.

Total: 12.5
AT: 1,489

Day 300, Monday December 22

Well it was cold (about 15 degrees) and the snow was blowing by the window, making almost a white out. So I decided to work out in the gym. None of the stationary bikes were working. I waited around and a stair master freed up. Took about a minute to realize this was not going go work with my knee. A few minutes later the rowing machine freed up. 5 minutes and 4 tenths of a mile later an eliptical trainer freed up. So I did 30 minutes on that machine. All in all about 3 miles. No walk in the evening as the kids were up for Holiday Dinner.

Total: 3
AT: 1,476.5

Day 299, Sunday December 21

Well that was a rough weekend. Snowed about 10 inches from Friday afternoon to night, then we had ocean affect snow on Saturday, another 2 inches or so, and finally another storm on Sunday with 6-8 inches. I measured 18 inches on our table in the back yard in the middle of the afternoon.

But all was not lost, on Saturday Bonnie and I went on our 1.5 mile walk before the roads started to get really slick, and then I went snow shoeing for 70 minutes, we have 70 acres of wet land behind us, that is good for snow shoeing once there is over 8 inches of snow. I estimate about 2+ miles.

Went out again on Sunday and did the same loop, saw some snowmobilers, so there really was a lot of snow! No wild animals, but really beautiful with all that snow.

Total: 5.5
AT: 1,473.5

Day 297, Friday December 19

Ran first thing in the morning to get in ahead of the storm 3.5 miles. Of course it didn't start snowing till 2:00 so I could have waited. We got 10 inches so no walk at night, its also down to 12 degrees. Looks like a good day for snow shoeing.

Hope the ankle heals fast.

Pedometer, now that's a stocking stuffer idea :)

Total: 3.5
AT: 1,468

Day 296, Thursday December 18

Well managed to get out for a 3.5 mile run at noon. We wrapped christmas presents to raise money for the Public School Music association last night so we didn't get a walk, but did raise over $170.

Total: 3.5
AT: 1,464.5

Day 295, Wednesday Dec 17

Tuesday Brody got a very brief morning walk and I got a bit more at noon and after work for a total of 3.24 miles. Still very cold.

Wednesday a bit warmer. That's a relative term meaning it can start to snow (and has done so). Quick walk before work with the mutt. Sprained my ankle at noon (slipped on the slushy ice and went down hard), so there will be precious little walking until that heals better. 1.27 miles for the day.

AT: 1116.54
YTD: 1213.64

PS. Apparently I'm holed up at Darlington Shelter in Pennsylvania. (I went a mile past and doubled back, because it's cold and I need a place to rest my ankle.)

Day 294, Tuesday 16 December

Well with meetings all day and the group pot lunch I didn't manage much today. Did 1.5 in the evening with Bonnie. On through the snow!

Total: 1.5
AT: 1,449

Day 293, Monday 15 December

So who actually got out today... Seems pretty cold all over.

Steps: 5454
PED Miles: 2.26
Non-PED Miles: 1.8
Total Miles: 4.06
AT: 848
YTD Total: 909

I declared it much too cold and snowy (active snowfall most of the day) to go out, so did 36 minutes on WII Fit…then my hubby came home at the first real break in the snow and since my youngest had charged me $5 to shovel the walk, he decided we should go walking instead. It was fun tromping through the snow :). Never did get back to do my planned 30 minutes on WII Tennis, but I didn't really need it either.

Day 292, Sunday 14 December

We walked around the pond today -- had to climb over and around a number of downed trees, and most of the path was covered with pine branches and drifts of shattered ice. So it was a tougher walk than usual, though still only 2.5 miles. After, we cut our Christmas tree and brought it up. Have to decorate it tonight but I don't suppose that will add any mileage :)

December: 33.3
AT: 674.3
Year: 725.6

Day 291, Saturday Dec 13

Didn't get online much this week other than popping Tahoe photos up to FaceBook! But Mar and I did a lot of hiking. Wednesday we sort of decided to hike around Fallen Leaf Lake and racked up 9.39 miles for the day.

Thursday we hiked to Eagle Falls--the rocks were very cool but the water a bare trickle!--did some shopping, then hiked some more in search of an old lighthouse. 6.7 miles.

Friday we loaded up to head back to Reno but found a trail along the east shore of Lake Tahoe that begged for a quick hike. Mar dropped me off at the airport and I got a wee bit more steppage in the Reno and Seattle airports. Arrived in Spokane to a blizzard. 4.1 miles.

Saturday we'd stayed overnight in Cd'A due to the horrid roads, drove home, found the water frozen. I did take Brody for a shortish walk due to the -15C blowing snow--but we both needed out anyway. 2.32 miles.

AT: 1107.57
YTD: 1204.67

Day 290, Friday December 12

Getting lonely on the trail. We had an ice storm last night. Over a million people without power and lots of downed trees. Fortunately we only had the downed trees. So I rode the stationary bike in the morning 6 miles. Cleared up in the evening so walked 1.5 with Bonnie.

Total: 7.5
AT: 1,431.5

Day 289, Thursday December 11

35 and light rain, but ran 3 miles in the morning before class. Was too cold and rainy to walk in the evening, so just had a cup of hot cider.

Total: 3
AT: 1,424

Day 288, Wednesday December 10

Warm and wet today, was 58 when I got up. Yes 35 degrees higher than on Monday. Ran 3 miles in the morning before class, was nice to be able to run in shorts, but not so nice in the rain. Walked 1.5 in the evening with Bonnie.

Total: 4.5
AT: 1,421

Day 287, Tuesday December 9

Taking a class this week so had to work out early in the morning, it was cold, windy and dark, so I rode the stationary bike (not the tough hiker I should be :)). Did 5.5 miles and then walked 1.5 in the evening with Bonnie. Today looks warmer so I'll go out before heading to class.

Total: 7
AT: 1,416.5

Day 287, Tuesday December 9

1,409.5

Day 286, Monday December 8

Almost took a zero today, lots of meeting and email to get through so didn't have time for a noon walk or anything. But did manager a 1.5 mile walk in the evening. Was in the low teens so finally broke out the winter coat.

Total: 1.5
AT: 1,409.5

Day 285, Sunday December 7

What, no posts? Saturday I walked the pup and I did keep the pedometer on while traveling and I discovered that there are, indeed, many miles in the Salt Lake City airport and then when Mar met my flight we walked waaay out to the car. 5.61 miles for the day.

Sunday we walked four miles in her wilderness and then random more shopping and sight-seeing along Lake Tahoe. 6.59 miles (a photo album started at FB)

AT: 1074.07
YTD: 1171.17

Day 283 Friday December 5

Two long Brody walks, a walk to the neighbors without him to buy eggs (they have an untrained dog, so easier not to take the pup.) Also lots of running around cleaning and packing. 5.26 miles.

I imagine tomorrow will be low and I won't be wearing the pedometer in the airport. So be it.

AT: 1061.87
YTD: 1158.97

Day 282, Thursday December 4

If you haven't checked it out recently look at the November/December campfire page. The owner of the lodge found us and replied!

Val, I remember the discussion about your getting new shoes, but I didn't hear what you finally got?

Yesterday was a fairly normal day, the rain held off and it was warm enough to run in shorts 3.5 at noon. Only walked 1 mile in the evening with Bonnie because the cat decided to join us.

Total: 4.5
AT: 1,390

Day 281, Wednesday December 3

Well blogger just craped out on my post, so I'll try again.

Ran 3.5 at noon and walked 1.5 in the evening with Bonnie. Generally a nice day.

I think I've found the problem with my sore knee, seems to be related to a pair of sneakers I bought before the last vacation. Have to see over the next few weeks.

Day 280, Tuesday December 2

Three good walks today. The weather was great, nearly warm enough to ditch my jacket at noon hour, but I'm betting it will freeze hard tonight. 5.48 miles total.

AT: 1049.13
YTD: 1146.23

Day 279, Monday December 1

Ran 3.5 at noon and walked 1.5 in the evening. Bonnie was going to go with me, but fell asleep on the sofa. I guess those 50K words finally caught up with her :)

Sore knee again today, so I think it will just be walking.

Total: 5
AT: 1,377.5

November/December campfire

For this chilly winter campfire, I found a nice place for rent in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Some of you are already well past, but it's close to where I am and I'm thinking of staying for the winter. Besides a hot tub, it's got a fireplace on the deck. I don't know how much writing I'd get done, but I'd sure enjoy doing it. I'll bet there are deer in the back yard and chickadees in the trees. Some good Scotch and an internet connection, and I'd be set!

Here's the pointer if anybody's interested in visiting in the real world.

Day 278 Sunday November 30

Wow, I haven't been here for a few days. Sorry 'bout that!

Thursday, regular day with a morning and after-work walk and a short one at noon hour: 4.07 miles.

Friday, took the day off work. Walked Brody EARLY, well before dawn, then we drove to Nelson to help Hanna set up her artisan faire booth. Jim headed home later and I stayed. Walked around the faire, playing gramma to the five-month-old baby of the folks at the booth-next-door. Total: 3.89 miles. (Oh, we also went shopping and each bought new walking shoes! New Balance 977s--country walkers (or light hikers): leather with Gore-Tex lining.)

Saturday, a bit of walking around the faire again, then a ride home with my niece. Jim and I walked Brody: 3.32 miles for the day.

Sunday, a good walk with the pup first thing in the morning, then a long walk at the wildlife centre in the afternoon (photos at FaceBook). Total today: 6.17 miles.

AT: 1039.7 miles
YTD: 1136.80 miles

Day 277, Saturday November 29

Walked around the pond with Bonnie, she is deeply into trying to get Novel of the month done. Still needs 6K words. Ran 3 miles later in the day. General nice weather, today (Sunday it is sleeting out there).

Total: 5.5
AT: 1,364

I'm in New York now, as I check the trail ahead there are 6 inches of snow as you enter the White Mountains in New Hampshire at the Lonesome Lake shelter. Could be a challenge getting through later this year.

Day 276, Friday November 28

Ran 3 miles in the morning in light freezing rain, then we want to Kat's for a second Thanksgiving, had a good time, and walked 1.5 in the evening with Bonnie.

On to holiday shoping!

Total 4.5
AT: 1,358.5

Day 275, Thursday November 27

Wednesday was a fairly normal day, ran 3.5 at noon, but only got a 1 mile walk in the evening because the cat followed us :)

Total: 4.5

Thursday was US Thanksgiving day, the boys were over, going to visit Kat tomorrow. Went for 1.5 mile walk with Bonnie in the morning, then did 3 mile run. Bonnie was feeling restless after getting the turkey on, so walked another mile. Then in the evening trying to clear out my headache and walked a final mile. Head is a little better today.

Total: 6.5

AT: 1,354

A quick hope for the safety and well being of all those in India.

Day 274 Wednesday November 26

Got a full-length walk before and after work today, plus almost a mile at noon hour, for a total of 4.52 miles.

AT: 1022.25
YTD: 1119.35

Day 273, Tuesday November 25

Well it was raining, I thought about going out, but with a cold and being old, decided to just go to the gym. Rode the stationary bike for a half hour 10.35 miles. I'd guess another 2 tenths in jogging between buildings.

Total: 10.5
AT: 1,343

Day 272, Monday November 24

Another day full of meetings, so ran first thing in the morning 3.5 miles. In the evening went for a walk 1.5. Bonnie is coming down with my cold and stayed in.

Total: 5
AT: 1,332.5

Day 271, Sunday November 23

Sorry, some days I just can't help myself. We had a great day today. Brody and I had our morning walk while Jim was at a course, but he came home early enough for a good hike.

We walked north on the railway lines towards where we've hiked the past few weekends. We'd heard a rumor that there were more Ktunaxa petroglyphs along there and we were determined to find them! But first off, it was just a beautiful late fall day.






And we found the petroglyphs, as you can see! Jim posted the rest of his photos up at FaceBook. Today's mileage? A bone-wearying 7.54 miles.

AT: 1011.08
YTD: 1108.18

Day 270 Saturday November 22

Well here I am in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia.

**Looks around.

Looks suspiciously like the Kootenays, still. Amazing, that.

Jim has a course all weekend so Brody and I walked to the river and back this morning. Did some yard work today, it was actually a fairly decent day for late November. Jim got out earlier than he thought and we drove a few miles to get a different dirt road to walk along--anything but ours for the millionth time! It takes a fair bit to wear the puppy down. 5.24 miles today.

AT: 1003.54 <--------see that? :D
YTD: 1100.64

Day 269, Friday November 21

Cold and clear, but needed a day off my feet so went to the gym, rode the bike for 20 minutes 7 miles, and then lifted weights and listened the Quing complain about the weight she has gained. At 35 she is just going through that time of life when you put weight on, but it seems to be harder for Chinese women to face this.

Bonnie went for a walk at noon so I went in the evening by myself 1.5.

Total: 8.5
AT: 1,317.5

Day 268, Thursday November 20

Well was so hectic I didn't even have time to post. I agre with Val is is getting really cold. This morning it was all of 19 degrees and they predict we won't even get over freezing on Saturday :(

Wednesday ran 3.5 at noon. We had drinks after work and Bonnie was not feeling good so no evening walk.

Thursday ran 3.5 at noon. Did Pilates in the evening and Bonnie rode the stationary bike (4 miles) so no walk that day either.

Total: 7
AT: 1,309

Definitly in NJ as I spent the night at Bink Road Shelter

Day 267, Wednesday November 19

It is COLD out there! (Not as cold as some places, but cold enough!) So did the morning puppy thing and a walk to the library on my noon hour. Good thing I did that as Jim wasn't up for a long one after work. The wind was cutting right through. I may have to settle for lower mileage, on average, over the next few months. We'll see how it goes. Today was 3.38 miles.

We watched a thing on tv tonight about the West Coast Trail. They allow 52 people a day to start the trail. 10% need to be rescued before they get to the other end. 25% limp away with some injury or another. Wow. We done good, eh? :grin:

AT: 991.15
YTD: 1088.25

Day 266, Tuesday November 18

Not getting a lot of steps on days I work and Jim doesn't. The difference is that we have lunch together during my noon hour (shocking though that sounds!) and I don't get that extra walk. Monday and Tuesday were both like this for me this week. Monday 3.53 miles and today 3.06.

AT: 987.77 miles
YTD: 1084.87 miles

Day 265, Monday November 17

Just realized I posted my Monday miles in the Sunday post, which is going to make it hard to find later when I need to go back (and I do go back, a lot). So I'll repeat it here.

At least a mile in the airports, plus our usual walk after we got home. I called it 2.6 total.

November: 30.0
AT: 611.7
Year: 663.0

Day 264, Sunday November 16

Saturday Brody and I had our morning walk, then I abandoned him and went to Cd'A with my MIL and three SILs for the rest of the weekend. Did lots of shop-walking. 5.39 miles Saturday.

This morning K and I swam a bunch of laps before heading out for the day's shopping, then we drove home later. 4.41 miles Sunday.

AT: 981.18
YTD: 1078.28

And I discovered that New Balance no longer makes the walking shoes I have and need a new pair of. I've got about 1200 miles on these and they're starting to wear out (go figure.) But they don't make a gore-tex walker any more, just a hiker. Do I want the hiker, or do I want a mesh walker that will allow the dew and mud in? Bleh. I want my old shoes again, just new.

Day 262, Friday November 14

After so many days of fog and rain, it was a shock to discover that it is actually lighter at 7 am than I thought! Brody and I had a morning walk, I worked the morning, cleaned house in the afternoon, then walked him again. (Jim hurt his back when he fell moving the kids, so hasn't been into these walks!) Today 4.17 miles.

AT: 971.38
YTD: 1068.48

Day 261, Thursday November 13

Meetings throughout the day, but managed a 1.5 mile walk with Bonnie. We will be gone to Michigan to visit my Mom over the weekend so last post till Monday night or Tuesday, but I'm off for an early morning run, since its another day of meetings.

Total: 1.5
AT: 1,270.5

Day 260, Wednesday November 12

Not so much today! A morning walk in total dark and pouring rain--great fun. Not much at work, either. Jim was off and walked Brody in the afternoon, and being as it was dark and raining again when I got home, I just left it be. 2.37 miles today.

AT: 964.36
YTD: 1061.46

Jean, I looked up your Ice Age Trail. Sounds interesting! I guess it will be awhile before any of us are ready for a new trail, but I'm ALMOST half done the Appalachian Trail! Another 9-10 months and I'll be done. The interesting thing at the other end will be whether we decide to wait for the critical mass of the group to catch up (fill in shorter hikes?) so we can start a new one all together? Dunno how this is going to work long term.

Who all is left? Bonnie, Neil, Jean, EJ, Mar (yeah I know she hasn't posted in eons but she's still in!), and me. Anyone else?

Day 259, Tuesday November 11

Dressed warmer today and ran 3.5 miles, generally nice, but definitly winter is on the wind. Walked 1.5 in the evening with Bonnie. Supposed to rain later this week, so better get the miles in now.

Total: 5
AT: 1,264.5

Day 258, Monday November 10

Well TWC said it was 52 degrees when I left for my noon run, but the wind made it much colder and when it started to pelt rain I started to wonder if it was time to make camp and wait out the winter :) But finished 3.5 at noon and walked 1.5 in the evening with Bonnie.

Total: 5
AT: 1,259.5

Day 257, Sunday November 9

Another day with a morning walk for me and Brody, then a geocaching hike in the afternoon with Jim. Jim and I decided to circumnavigate Duck Lake, which should take us a number of weekends to do! Here's Brody trotting down the railway tracks ahead of us. Typical view!

Today: 6.95 miles
AT: 952.02
YTD: 1049.12

Day 256, Saturday November 8

I put off the walk this morning, hoping it would stop raining. It didn't, so eventually Brody and I went out anyway. It diminished to a dull drizzle mid-afternoon. The three of us went for a nice walk along the railway tracks along the lake and got some good exercise. 4.87 miles today.

AT: 945.06
YTD: 1042.16

Day 255, Friday, November 7, 2008

Warmer today, misting more than raining. Pup and I did our morning walk. It was so busy at work this morning I actually got quite a few steps. Every time I sat down, the phone rang (it's half way across the room.) Another Brody walk just before dark, making 4.51 miles for the day.

AT: 940.2
YTD: 1037.3

I guess I'm somewhere between Tom Floyd Wayside and Front Royal, Virginia, so here's a photo of Front Royal to give a sense of place.

Day 254, Thursday November 6

I think it's winter. COLD for the morning walk. Add wind for the noon walk. Add snow for the evening walk. 5.5 miles for the day.

AT: 935.69
YTD: 1032.79

Day 253, Wednesday November 5

Well tried to ride the bike, but my knee was feeling too sore, so just did Pilates and weights today. Evening walk with Bonnie (just beat the rain) 1.5 miles. Hopefully rain will let up for noon run today.

Total: 1.5
AT: 1,234.5

Day 252, Tuesday November 4

While I was trying to decide to crawl out of bed this morning, the rain was seriously pelting down. But by the time I dragged my carcass (and the dog's) out the door, it was only drizzling, so we did our full walk to the irrigation channel and back.

It was also misting at noon, but I walked half an hour. Then Jim and Brody and I walked after work. Pretty much full dark by the time we get home. All that added up to 5.37 miles.

AT: 925.74 (no, I haven't looked lately either to see where I am!)
YTD: 1022.84

Day 250, Monday, November3

Yesterday I did the morning walk with the pup in the rain. Great fun! But later on, after church, it stopped raining and Jim and I dragged our bodies out to a new section of the river dike we hadn't hiked before. It was very nice and the autumn colors vivid. I even saw the flip of a white-tail deer before Jim did, but we never got a good enough view to take its photo. 5.92 miles.

Today I walked Brody first thing, then we all three walked after work. 3.18 miles.

AT: 920.36 miles
YTD: 1017.46 miles

Day 249, Sunday November 2

Today we went to the wildlife refuge down the road and climbed a hill instead of walking around the pond. 3 miles, beautiful fall weather, late colors and peace and quiet. We didn't see anybody else the whole time.

November: 7.1
AT: 577.8
Year: 622.0

Day 248, Saturday November 1

Beautiful fall day, high in the mid 50's and a good amount of sun. Walked around the pond with Bonnie 2.5 miles, then mowed the lawn 2 miles. Finally a 1.5 mile walk with Bonnie in the evening.

Now only 6 pounds to loose from the vacation :(

Total: 6
AT: 1,216

Day 247, Friday, October 31

Discovered this morning that Jim still had the leash in his pocket--and he leaves for work almost two hours before Brody's and my walk. So we went across the field as there's usually too much going on on our little road that time of day. Half day at work. Jim phoned to say he was going to have to work overtime. I figured Brody needed a longer walk, not a shorter one, so made him heel along our road (without a leash) for 3/4 mile to the far end, then released him for a run out to the river. Made him heel part of the way back, too. He wasn't impressed, but he listened.

And I am officially over ONE THOUSAND MILES for the year. (You'd think I'd be skinnier...)

Today: 5.56 miles
AT: 906.39 miles
YTD: 1003.49

Day 246 Thursday, October 30

Woke up to discover Brody learned to navigate the spiral stairs during the night and eaten his fill of kitty litter crunchies. I wasn't in any mood to play games with him on our walk this morning--on the leash the whole way with a cranky woman, he was, then he landed in the crate for the day. I ran errands at noon hour which added a few steps and hoped for a long walk after work, but hubby hurt his back at work and was in for a shortish one only. Ah well. It's pretty much solid dark by the time we've been home for an hour now so no dilly-dallying when we get home.

Today: 3.84 miles
AT: 900.82
YTD: 997.92

WooTTTTT! Watch me roll those numbers in the next couple days! :D

Day 245 Wednesday October 29

Sorry, EJ, now I've been deserting you!

Monday, 6.26 miles
Tuesday, 3.43 miles
Wednesday, 4.27 miles

Pretty much the same thing as usual: Puppy walks morning and evening, and on Monday, a noon hour walk as well.

AT: 896.98 miles
YTD: 994.08 miles

Day 244, Tuesday Oct. 28

My pedometer has been acting up lately so I'm guesstimating that I've done three miles in the last two days. Pitiful, but I don't get very many steps when I'm sewing and plotting.

AT: 331.69
YTD: 378.87

Sure is quiet around here lately; just me and the crickets, apparently. :-)

Day 242 Sunday, October 26

Took Brody for his morning walk, and later, when my kids came, Hanna and I took him for another longer walk all the way to the river. Tired, but feel good! Today: 6.33 miles

AT: 883.02 miles
YTD: 980.12 miles

Day 241, Saturday October 25

Another crisp autumn day with a couple Brody puppy walks. Total of 4.44 miles.

AT: 876.69
YTD: 973.79

Day 240, Friday Oct. 24

Rain finally gave way to sun this afternoon, swapping back and forth until compromising.

Today: 2 miles
AT: 323.19
YTD: 370.37

Day 239, Thursday October 23

Beautiful clear morning with wisps of fog--great walk to start the day. Some walking at noon, but not focused! :P And then a walk with Jim and Brody before going to his folks for his birthday dinner. 4.11 miles today.

AT: 868.74
YTD: 965.84

Day 238 Wednesday October 22

And then I abandoned EJ to posting by herself. Sorry! Yesterday my morning walk was fogged in so I didn't brave the road to the end lest the bear be lurking in the bushes. There are no bushes at our end! And our evening walk was a bit short 'cause hubby was tired and sore (and frustrated from trying to fix my car and having to order parts from Toronto!). 2.96 miles.

Today was clear and COLD. Brody and I had a long brisk walk this morning and I went for a full hour walk at noon. Perfect weather. I needed that walk because I knew I was picking up groceries after work and would be home too late. Thankfully I was able to pull together a 4.74 mile day without it! (Jim walked Brody)

AT: 864.63 miles
YTD: 961.73 miles

Day 236, Mon. Oct 20

I suspect every step of my 2 miles yesterday was neutralized by the Christmas cookie workshop at The Day Job yesterday. We started at 3:00, made six or seven varieties of cookies, ordered pizza (yes, in a restaurant), and basically baked and ate for 4 hours. We rejected the Egg Nog Cookies as not good enough for our customers. The others we'll package as samples and take pre-orders for a month or so. I'd post pictures when they're done, but I will spare you, all my good hiking friends, the temptation. And my current ooginess. Oy. At least I got steps to post.

AT: 316.81
YTD: 363.99

Day 235, Sun. Oct 19

I had a pretty lazy day, plus I forgot to put my pedometer in my pocket before I went to church. I got 1.2 miles in the afternoon.

AT: 314.81
YTD: 361.99

Day 234, Sat. Oct 18

Hey, Val, glad to hear the now bare field is now bear-less. Wouldn't a bear hiding in a corn field make the cows nervous?

My steps, what few I had, came from shopping, baking, and cleaning the kitchen (twice--hubby did it after dinner). I got two trays of tomatoes going in the dehydrator, put 6 cups of chicken stock in the fridge so I can skim the fat off, and baked 4 dozen gingerbread cookies for the church potluck.

Today: 1.4
AT: 313.61
YTD: 360.79

Day 233, Friday Oct. 17

I'm still around, Val, just not posting as frequently. Nudge me on Twitter if I get too quiet and I'll come talk for a while. I know just what you mean about talking to yourself, though. I do it all the time because I'm the only person who listens consistently.

MTD: 28.77
AT: 312.21
YTD: 359.39

Day 232 Thursday October 16

Two days to report here, and I'm thinking I'll be talking to myself a fair bit while Bonnie and Neil are away! Oh well. I'm a writer, I'm used to that.

Both days I took the pup out for our morning walk, had a walk by myself in town at noon, and an after-work walk with Jim and Brody. On Wednesday that netted me 4.93 miles, today 4.57.

AT: 839.33
YTD: 936.43

Day 230, Tuesday October 14

Well this is the last day Bonnie and I will be reporting this month, heading off on our "finally no kids at home" celebration. Its been 30 years so we decided it was time to do something major. See you all in November.

Yesterday, went to the gym, rode the bike for 20 minutes 7.28 miles. Finished the lawn mowing, about a mile, but round the daily total to 8. Then a 1 mile walk with Bonnie in the evening.

Total: 9
AT: 1,205.5

Day 229, Thanksgiving Monday in Canada, Oct 13

I tried to sleep in this morning, but life is not the same as it was pre-dog. When Brody thinks it is morning, it IS, by golly. So we did our walk along our road and later we three went for a geocaching hike about twenty miles from home. The sun eventually came out and the day warmed up, so it was fun. Even did a little rock scramble :P

Today: 4.14 miles
AT: 826.16 miles
YTD: 923.26

Day 228, Sunday October 12

I haven't checked in for a few days. Friday and Saturday I canned most of the tomatoes I had left, so was pretty busy with that. Jim and I took the pup for a good walk Friday when he got home, though. Saturday the walking was more on a basic level (back and forth in the kitchen!). Today we had family over for Canadian Thanksgiving and we took the gang for a walk along the river before putting the finishing touches on the turkey dinner.

Friday: 4.93 miles
Saturday: 3.08
Sunday 4.61
AT: 822.02
YTD: 919.12

Day 226, Friday, October 10

Time for a belated update. As I type, I'm hiking past Buchanan, VA. As of last night, I was between shelters, though.

AT miles: 728.03 miles
YTD miles: 825.86 miles

Our big walking should be behind us. The whole of Carlisle swap meet was 12.54 miles. We did that in one day and hiked 7.6 miles of that same stretch the day before.

I only hiked along for one day of Hershey and didn't quite do half of it: 9.03 miles. I stayed in the room and worked on writing the second day.

We're taking it easy, packing the truck, and preparing for hubby's Lanternvention tonight. While in NY, we found battery operated Halloween lanterns for favors for the subscribers who attend tonight.

Tomorrow, we begin the trek for home.

Day 225, Thursday October 9

Run 3.5 at noon, Bonnie was feeling sick this evening (result of the flu shot?) so only did pilates.

Total: 3.5
AT: 1,174

Day 224, Wednesday October 8

Brody's been feeling his oats lately, so he spent almost the full morning walk on the leash instead of running free. Needs to learn to listen, and I got tired of yelling. I walked my whole lunch hour, knowing I wouldn't get an evening walk. Indeed, Jim and I (with a little help from the dog...) pulled all our tomato plants, picked off anything with a wee bit of color, and hauled the plants to the compost. Also the green beans and pumpkin plants. Picked off a good bunch of corn and tossed the stalks over to the cows (moo-heaven). So there were a fair number of steps involved in all that, too.

Today: 11002 steps, 4.52 miles (see, Bonnie, two decimal points are good!)
AT: 805.5
YTD: 902.60

Day 223, Tuesday October7

Yesterday and today have both been great autumn days with a bit of rain and wind but decent enough at walk time. Frost Monday morning, closer to rain today. Sunny walks without a jacket both noon hours. In the evenings, there's a lot of traffic on our road because the dairy at the end is hauling silage corn this week. So Brody spends more time on-leash.

Monday: 5.2 miles
Tuesday: 4.84 miles
AT: 800.97 miles
YTD: 898.07 miles

Day 222, Monday October 6

Cool enough to wear a long sleeve shirt for running, ran 3.5 at noon. Kat was down for the Red Sox game and Bonnie went with her, so walked 1.5 in the evening solo.

Total: 5
AT: 1,157.5

Day 221, Sunday October 5

I think I over estimated last nights walk to the symphony, so not taking credit for walking mowing the lawn on Sunday. Walked 2.5 with Bonnie in the afternoon (nice day around the pond), and then 2 miles walking to Fenway for the Red Sox game. Went into extra innings (of course) and we lost (of course). But there is always the next day :)

Total : 4.5
AT: 1,152.5

Day 220, Saturday October 4

Rainy day here means lots of inside time, and with a very small house, that doesn't mean a lot of steps. 4855 to be exact, for 2 entire miles.

AT: 787.42
YTD: 884.52

Happy Birthday to Neil and Bonnie's David and to my daughter Hanna.

Day 219, Friday October 3

Walked 2 miles a noon, storm seemed to be coming in, but it only rained lightly. Played golf in the afternoon under cloudy sky's 2 miles. As it cleared it got colder, down right cold when I went for evening walk with Bonnie 1.5 miles.

Total 5.5
AT: 1,140

Day 218, Thursday October 2

The rain is finally moving away and getting sunny and cool. Ran 3.5 at noon and evening walk with Bonnie for 1.5. Bonnie made an apple crisp last night and we ate that after we got back from the walk, will bring the left overs by the camp fire.

Total: 5
AT: 1134.5

Day 217, Wednesday October 1

Well it was raining to hard for running and the stationary bike was taken, so I tried out the stair master. A good workout, but a half hour only yielded 2.1 miles (10 floors), so you take what you can get. Also walked 1.6 in the evening with Bonnie.

Total: 3.7
AT: 1,129.5

September campfire

So what are we all up to? I've got a box of Hershey bars. Did anybody bring the graham crackers? Who's got the marshmallows? Time to party down!

Day 216, Tuesday September 30

Rode the stationary bike, to stay off the legs a little 5.25 miles. Walked in the evening, in the rain might add 1.5 (with Bonnie).

Total: 6.75
AT: 1,125.75

day 215, Monday 29 September

What did everybody do yesterday?

Day 212 Sunday September 28

Today Brody got his morning walk, and in the afternoon the three of us went for a long walk and I took more photos and put them up on FaceBook (yes, more photos added today!) Lots of tall grass and cat-tails and fun times that wore out the puppy--and me. Lots of steps, too, enough to make 6.08 miles!

AT: 767.28
YTD: 864.38

Day 211, Saturday Sept 27

I took Brody on our usual morning walk, but Jim came home from work early and we drove to the end of our road and then walked out to the river and down along it for awhile. It was a gorgeously sunny and warm fall day--perfect. 5.44 miles for the day.

AT: 761.2
YTD: 858.3

Day 210, Friday September 26

Wet and rainy, went to the gym and road an easy 5.5 in 20 minutes, knee is still hurting. In the evening walked 1.5 with Bonnie. Was supposed to referee on Saturday, but the rain seems to have knocked that out.

Total: 7
AT: 1,106.5

Day 209 Thursday September 25

Or whatever day it is--look at the timestamp and back up one! I've been having a rough time this week keeping track for some reason, but tomorrow better be Friday. I'm counting on it.

Yesterday I got a morning and evening walk as my noon hour was taken up with a hair appointment. Today was beautiful at noon and I got a good walk, turned out to be a good thing, as the weather turned ugly and our evening puppy walk got cut short. Poor Brody has been ricocheting off the walls inside this evening--he really needed a longer run!

Wednesday: 3.66 miles
Thursday: 4.96 miles
AT: 753.15
YTD: 850.25

Day 208, Wednesday September 24

Easy day, rode the stationary bike 20 minutes, 5 miles. Walked 1 mile in the evening with Bonnie.

Total: 6
AT: 1,094.5

Day 207, Tuesday September 23

Fairly normal day, ran 3 miles at noon, and walked 1.5 in the evening with Bonnie. We sealed the driveway, but I don't think there was much mileage there :)

Total: 4.5
AT: 1,088.5

Day 206, Monday September 22

Not a lot to report, had really sore knees after weekend refereeing, but jogged an easy 3 miles yesterday and walked 1.5 with Bonnie in the evening. Steven has his wisdom teeth out today, so we will be taking care of him, hopefully it will go smoothly.

Total: 4.5
AT: 1,084

Day 205 Sunday September 21

Busy day yesterday prepping for the anniversary party. Today was church and a visit from my sis, a lot of rain, a few walks, and some canning. Going to go back to work Monday to relax...

Saturday, 3.55 miles.
Sunday, 3.47 miles.
AT: 735.36
YTD: 832.46

Hey, EJ, good to see you! :)

Day 203 Friday September 19

Well, tomorrow is the Big Day here: Jim's folks 50th. I only got a morning walk today. Good thing Brody could play outside while Jim was working this afternoon. I spent hours'n'hours finishing the powerpoint build--still have to put music to it, but I'll have time in the morning. Today's steps: 6198/2.55 miles.

AT: 728.35
YTD: 825.45

Day 202, Thursday Sept 18

A t ruely beautiful late early fall day, down in the 40's over night! Ran 3.5 at noon and walked 1.5 in the evening with Bonnie.

Total: 5
AT: 1,064.5

Day 201, Wednesday Sept 17

Too many meetings, managed a 1 mile walk a noon and 1.5 mile walk in the evening with Bonnie.

Total: 2.5
AT: 1,059.5

Day 200!!!!!! Tuesday Sept 16

The weather here is gorgeous--sunny and warm. And no direct sunlight already in the morning, no matter how I put off the walk till a bit later.

So these two days, morning walk, noon hour walk, evening walk. Brody only gets two of those!

Monday, 5.38 miles. Tuesday, 4.82 miles.

AT: 717.81 miles
YTD: 814.91 miles

Look at us; we've been on the trail two hundred days now. I should feel more trail hardened and less saggy, methinks.

Day 199, Monday 15 September

Monday as usual: half a mile of errands and running around, a mile and a half walk in the evening -- broken into two chunks because the cat followed us again and had to be taken back to the house before we could finish. Gonna get that beast a leash, I swear...


September: 32.6
AT: 430.6
Year: 484.8

Day 198 Sunday September 14

Today Brody got his morning walk--and so did I! In the afternoon Jim and I and Brody went geocaching, and Brody had his first swim in the lake. Jim's going to post up photos, but he hasn't yet. And after supper we took pup out again on our road. All that helped my steps to add up to 3.69 miles.

It was a sunny summery day and nice to get outside.

AT: 707.61
YTD: 804.71

Day 197, Saturday September 13

A morning walk with Brody, a bunch of baking and canning, and an evening walk with Jim and Brody net me 3.25 miles.

AT: 703.92
YTD: 801.02

Day 196, Friday September 12

I tried walking a little later this morning with Brody in order to catch more sunshine on our road, but then there was more traffic. Last week the highways department spent four days working on our road, adding a lot of dirt and gravel and packing it down. It is now extremely dusty (but not full of pot-holes--yay!) My MIL phoned to see what they were going to do about it! And they'll be spray-sealing it in a few weeks. Meanwhile, every vehicle that goes by raised a huge cloud of dust. Lots of fun for walking.

Spent the afternoon getting groceries and cleaning the house, and then it got really windy. Brody needs walks anyway. Jim decided we'd walk down the neighbor's fenceline in the fields instead of along the (dusty) road, so that was something new and a bit of an adventure. Brody loved it. He loves everything, lol.

Today: 11574 steps/ 4.76 miles
AT: 700.68 (only 1468 to go, lol)
YTD: 797.78

Day 195, Thursday, September 11

I spent time driving today but managed to get some walking in as well. 7372 steps for 3.95 miles.

AT miles: 631.51
YTD miles: 728.34

Congrats to Neil on hitting the 1000 mile mark!

Tomorrow, we drive to Dallas and walk the Arlington swap meet. We meet the kids for dinner, and on Saturday, we walk the swap meet again (most likely in the rain) and plan to go to Grapefest in Grapevine with the kids in the afternoon -- assuming Ike will permit such activity. Sunday, we drive back to New Braunfels for hubby's rehearsal.

Day 194, Wednesday September 10

Ran 3.5 at lunch, then went to the Red Sox game with Bonnie. We were volunteers picking up recycling, but also got to watch a very exciting game, and collect 5 bags of cups and bottles. 2 mile walk to and from the ball park, and another 2 miles (estimate) walking around.

Total: 7.5
AT: 1,021.5

Now in Maryland!

Day 193 Tuesday, September 9

Strange day, a storm was moving in, so I went to work out early, took my umbrellaand walked to the gym to ride the stationary bike rather than going running. Of course it didn't rain till long after I made it back to my building. Rode for 9.43 miles. Then stacked wood for an hour and a half. Assume around 1.5 miles of walking. Only about 1/4 of a cord left to stack!

Total: 11
AT: 1,014

Monday, September 8

Today was a real recovery day, 1 mile walk at noon and then 1.5 in the evening with Bonnie. They have delivered 2 cords of wood in our driveway. Not sure how much walking it will be to get it stacked, but certainly going to be a lot of lifting.

Total: 2.5
AT: 1,003

Day 191 Sunday September 7

Kind of over-did the canning Saturday and I'm sore all over from that. Got 2.84 miles for the day which isn't a lot, I suppose, but I was on my feet for hours.

Sunday afternoon we took Brody on his first geocache hike. (Jim has the report on his blog), and I'm not doing so great here. Think we're going out for a short walk here in a minute--thought I was reporting the whole day's steps and then Jim says, time to walk Brody. What, again????? Sigh. I'll report back in.

Okay, puppy walk is over. Today's miles: 4.31, most of them pretty slow.

AT: 682.17
YTD: 779.27

Day 189 Friday, September 5

I was having a decently moderate walking day of nearly four miles when the cows got out. Yeah, that puts me at 5.32 miles and exhausted. Think a couple pain killers before bed might be in order.

AT: 675.03
YTD: 772.13

Day 188, Thursday, September 4

Wow. Where did these steps come from today? 13072 steps for 7.01 miles. I worked around the house and the yard today at racked up that many steps without noticing? Maybe my pedometer is broken?

Oh, well. Replaced the two top steps to the front porch -- they were rotten, and we didn't want the mailman to get injured. Before replacing them, I painted them. I'll put another coat on tomorrow. We hauled a trailer load of stuff to our new storage property -- including some lawn furniture we're not using here at the moment, so we now have a comfy place to sit while we're working at the storage building (a three bay garage with two offices). We got another two dump truck loads of gravel delivered today, but we're going to be out of town for nearly two months before we'll be able to spread it on the driveway. Looking forward to that, but, seriously, that's what hubby does for exercise.

AT miles: 603.65

YTD miles: 701.48

Day 187, Wednesday September 3

A mile of lawn mowing, but I felt better than I expected to, so that was good. Hopefully I'll be able to go longer today, because I have to walk three miles up hill into the mountains on Friday...

September: 4.5
AT: 402.5
Year: 446.7

Day 186, Tuesday September 2

Ran 3.5 over lunch and walked 1.5 in the evening. Bonnie mowed the lawn so walked by myself.

Total: 5
AT: 977

Day 185, Monday, September 1

Still tired and sore from moving the kids Saturday. You'd think someone who walked an average of 3.5 miles per day would be in better shape than I am.

I walked Brody Sunday morning. Later in the day Jim and I drove to Sandpoint (Idaho) for our anniversary dinner (28 years on Saturday, but we were busy!) After dinner we walked around the lakefront park. It had poured rain while we were having dinner and there was a gorgeous double rainbow hanging over the lake--we could see the cottages on the other side THROUGH the rainbow. Very nice! Total miles for the day: 2.88

Today we walked Brody together in the morning, also one of Jim's mom's little dogs, who went crazy at the cows down along the next property so we came back early. Brody is used to the cows and listens well, but he's had more experience! :D

Late this afternoon we went for a walk again, the three of us, and when we got to the end of our road we just kept going across the neighbor's field to the river. Definitely the longest walk Brody's been on yet (almost four miles total). Day total: 5 miles.

AT: 657.4
YTD: 754.5

Day 184, Sunday, August 31

Trimmed trees and cut up the branches today. 7000 steps for 3.8 miles

AT miles: 586.31

YTD miles: 684.14

Day 183, Saturday, August 30

Finally getting caught up after being more out than in.

AT miles: 582.51

YTD miles: 680.34

Day 182, Friday, August 29

Busy day here in Valerie Land. Brody and I walked in the morning. I spent most of the day helping my daughter pack up--they're moving back out of our house tomorrow. Brody and I got a short week again in the evening. 11195 steps for the day (4.6 miles).

AT: 644.58
YTD: 741.68

Day 181, Thursday August 28

Brody and I have walked more than four miles every day this week except Tuesday (raaaaaaain). He's getting to be a downright good walking companion. Jim walks with us most evenings, but I do mornings after he goes to work.

AT: 639.98
YTD: 737.08

Day 180, Wednesday August 27

Went for an early morning walk with Bonnie, did 1 mile because the cat decided to follow us. We finally lost him, but he didn't come home till Bonnie went for an afternoon walk and he spotted here. Not the brightest bulb in the lamp. Had all day meetings but did a 1.5 mile walk in the evening with Bonnie.

Total: 2.5
AT: 949

Day 179, Tuesday August 26

Another beautiful sunny day, walked 2 miles at noon and 1.5 with Bonnie in the evening. I can touch my toes again, so recovery is in sight. Unfortunately I have a series of all day meeetings coming up so probably won't be able to do much but walk in the next few days.

Total: 3.5
AT: 946.5

Day 178, Monday August 25

Okay, this is really Monday's post, the previous "Day 178" was really Sunday's post :)

I guess that is Monday for you.

Walked 1 mile at noon an then 1.5 with Bonnie in the evening. When I bend over I can now touch the middle of my sox, so probably only a few more days till I try something more than walking and light stretching.

Total: 2.5
AT: 943

Now that I've figured out how to edit my posts, I can rewrite the past :)

Day 177, Sunday August 24

Back is still really sore, so just walked and sat on the heating pad.

Saturday walked around the pond 2.5, and evening walk with Bonnie 1.5.

Sunday was supposed to go to Tanglewood for a concert with Bonnie, but was too sore for the 2 hour car ride. Walked 1.5 in the afternoon and 1.5 in the evening.

Total: 7
AT: 940.5

Day 176, Saturday August 23

Two walks today: around the pond in the morning, then around the neighborhood this evening. Total 4.1 miles. All the summer flowers are dying and the late summer summer stuff, like goldenrod and snapdragons, are blooming. Saw some shrubs whose name I don't know bent almost double from the weight of clusters of black berries. Looked like elderberries but the bush was different.

August: 57.6
AT: 382.7
Year: 426.9

And I only have to average a bit over two miles for the rest of the month to pass the 400-mile mark! Woohoo!

Day 175, Friday August 22

Had a good walk this morning with Brody, and I've been on my feet a lot this afternoon and evening as the daughter and I are having a mega soup canning marathon. Today we canned beef broth (11 quarts) and ham-based green bean soup (9 quarts). More soup tomorrow!

Brody had his second shots today and he weighs 22 pounds, double what he weighed 4 weeks ago. He walked really well this evening off leash with Jim and I, though he *took turns* at whose heel he felt like walking. It was pretty funny actually.

Today: 9936 steps? 4.09 miles
AT: 616.98
YTD: 714.08

Day 174, Thursday August 23

Beautiful late summer day, ran 3.5 at noon, and 1.5 walk in the evening with Bonnie.

Total: 5
AT: 960

Day 173, Wednesday August 22

Well we made it back, after 1,200 miles of driving, David is at college and we are back at home. All in all a very successful trip, after droping David off we spent 2 days in the Berkshires at a bed and breakfast. Most exciting moment was on Monday night at Tanglewood, we were watching concert from the lawn when a thunder storm came up. Wonderful light show till it got close enough that we all had to run for cover. Here is a mileage summary to catch up:

Friday: golf 2, station bike 7.33, walk 1.5; total 11 (added .25 from pervious day walk)
Saturday: spent day driving, short walk in the evening .5
Sunday: rode stationary bike in hotel, no actual mileage, but with walking around campus around 10
Monday: Lots of driving, we did some walking .5
Tuesday: Lots of walking, went to a few of the restored manson, walked 6.5
Wednesday: Discovered a very nice park across from the bed and and breakfast we were staying at, walked 4.5

Total: 33
AT: 955

Day 172, Tuesday August 19

A good day, cooler! Walked Brody in the morning, and it was so cool and windy that a noon hour walk was a downright pleasure. Jim came home from his big fishing trip and we took Brody for a long evening walk as well. Today: 10706 steps/ 4.4 miles.

AT: 607.53
YTD: 704.63

Day 171, Monday, August 18

A little lower mileage for a very hot day. A walk in the morning, too hot at noon, and company till after dark in the evening. Got busyish at work, though, so that added steps to my day: 9148/ 3.76 miles.

AT: 603.13
YTD: 700.23

Trail Map Updated

Hey all, figured I'd mention that I finally updated the trail map. I went as far back into tho posts to have most of August.

The map

I need to update my spread sheet still, so hopefully I can post my updated miles sometime this week. (My dot on the map is from early August I think, whenever it was I posted miles last).

Day 170, Sunday, August 17

Hey you all! Still going strong here. We'd had some cooler weather but the last few days it's been hotter again. Brody doesn't like going for walks in the heat--this morning I tried to sleep in a bit and walked him about 9:00. He fought me the whole way down, just dragging his little furry butt. He did better in the evening after the sun was down and a bit of breeze happening.

I'm averaging at least four miles a day for the last ten days or so, putting me:
AT: 599.36 (shoulda made that puppy walk a bit further I see!)
YTD: 696.46

Day 167, Thursday 14 August

The longer 2-mile loop. Also some errands, but not enough extra walking to be worth adding.

August: 34.4
AT: 359.5
Year: 403.7

Day 166, Wednesday, 13 August

Woohoo, I just broke 400 miles for the year. Our 1.6 mile loop plus .4 miles walking around for coffee and guitar lesson and stuff. So 2 miles.

August: 32.4
AT: 357.5
Year: 401.7

Day 164, Tuesday 12 August

Ran 3.5 at noon, it looked like the rain was going to cancel the evening walk, but it stoped at the last minute and Bonnie and I made it out for our 1.5 mile walk.

Total: 5
AT: 912.5

Day 163, Monday 11 August

Nothing special, ran 3 miles a lunch, walked 1.5 in the evening, had to go early to avoid the rain.

Total: 4.5
AT: 907.5

Day 162, Sunday 10 August

Played golf with Bonnie in the morning 2 miles, and then walked 1.5 with Bonnie in the afternoon. We went out for dinner with the kids this evening, looked cloudy at our house when we left, about 2 miles down the road it was a down pour, at one point the water on the road was so deep that it was at the car's undercarrage. Most water I've seen on the road in Massachusetts ever. When we got home, our house was high and dry, never rained there.

Total: 3.5
AT: 903

Day 161, Saturday 9 August

Beautiful day, low 70's and lots of sun. Walked around the pond in the morning 2.5, went for a 3 mile run in the evening, and walked 1.5 in the evening. Both walks with Bonnie. Tomorrow will have to be an easier day:)

Total: 7
AT: 899.5

Day 160, Friday 8 August

So I was reading an article in New England Runner on aging and running, my favorite quote so far is "vanity and denial were my friends".

Played golf 2 miles, at noon went for a 2 mile walk (stoped in the gym half way through to life weights), and then a 1.5 mile walk with Bonnie in the evening. There is a women in our neighborhood who runs in the evening with her dogs. She used to have 2, but one died recently, last night she had a new puppy running with her, really cute dog, stoped by to say high to us.

Total: 5.5
AT: 892.5

Day 159, Thursday 7 August

Ran an easy 3 miles at noon, knee not feeling too bad. Walked 1.5 with Bonnie in the evening. Really poured in the late afternoon, we actually had tornado warnings!

Total: 4.5
AT: 887

Day 157, Wednesday 6 August

Played golf in the morning 2 miles, just finished as it started to rain :) Easy stationary bike ride at noon 4 miles, and finally the rain stopped and Bonnie and I walked 1.5 in the evening. Forecast is for continued thunder showers for ever.

Total: 7.5
AT: 882.5

Day 157, Tuesday 5 August

Another recovery day, walked 2 miles at noon and then 1.5 in the evening with Bonnie. Starting to feel better, but knee is still a ways away from being 100%.

Supposed to rain on Wednesday, we'll see what the day brings.

Day 156, Monday 4 August

Well this was definitly a recovery day. Rode the stationary bike real easy for 5 miles and 1 mile walk (crawl?) in the evening with Bonnie. Knee feels better but I think easy biking again today.

Total: 6
AT: 871.5

Day 155, Sunday 3 August

Welcome to new member Kimi! Glad to have you with us. And hugs EJ, that sounds like quite a saga. But the trail is here waiting for you and will be glad to have you back :)

Our weekend camping trip turned into a hike and a lot of rain -- details on my LJ and I'm sure Neil will have his own version :D

We took some pictures and I'll turn those into an album after we get them uploaded.

Friday: 1.5
Saturday: 5.5
Sunday: 2.5

August: 9.5
AT: 334.6
Year: 378.8

Campfire!

Well. Here we are, another month gone, another few hundred miles behind us. Or, in my case, another 78 miles. That's 15 more than I did in June, so I'm happy. How are the rest of you doing? Can we see some pictures of the places you normally walk, sites you usually see, or whatever you want to share?

Neil and I are starting off August with a camping trip to the White Mountains. I found this picture of the shelter where we'll be staying tomorrow night (on a website called hikethewhites.com, useful for any hiking in New Hampshire's White Mountains). I don't think we're going to be having a campfire, just a nice rocket fueled stove.

I thought the platforms didn't look very comfortable, but then I took a good look at the rocks and said, "Nah, wood is good." I'll update when we get back with photos from our trip. Assuming the camera and I both get back in one piece!

Day 152, Thursday, July 31

Today was a work out. I did some general cleaning and moving of boxes and stuff around the house. Then we had to load 5 gallon pails of rocks into the back of the truck to haul to the ranch (I think there were 16 pails). We emptied those. On the way back into the house site, we had to clear a fallen tree, without the chainsaw. Once we got up to the site, we loaded 5 gallon pails of dirt (about 8) into the back of the truck to take back to the house. Oh, and the temperature on the dash of the truck read between 106 and 111 during all this (yes, we drank water). Before all that, I also did a 30 minute Wii Fit workout -- mostly yoga and strength but I did a few balance exercises and Basic Step.

I wound up getting 10,355 steps today for 5.55 miles.

AT miles: 487.12

YTD miles: 584.95

Day 151, Wednesday July 30

Started out with golf, 2 miles. Was a strange day, pulled out my 8 iron on the 3rd hole and it broke in half. I didn't even swing it, just came out of the bag in two pieces. I guess grafite does tha some times. Then they were spraying the greens in front of us. Just lovely. I had to stop by home to change before coming to work.

Had to do stuff for my boss over lunch so only managed to sneak out for a 1 mile walk, and then a 1.5 mile walk with Bonnie in the evening.

Total: 4.5
AT: 840.75

Day 150, Tuesday July 29

Ran 3.5 at lunch and walked with Bonnie in the evening 1.5. Nothing special, but the weather has certainly turned nice.

Total: 5
AT: 836.25

Day 149, Monday, July 28

Nothing spectacular today. Did rack up a few miles over the weekend.

AT miles: 474.62

YTD miles: 572.45

Day 148, Sunday 27 July

Walked aroud the pond in the morning 2.5, by the time we got home TWC was showing a major storm headed our way, so did my run right away 3 miles. It rained hard with lots of lightening in the evening, but stoped in time for us to do our evening walk 1.5. No special animal or people sightings, but a pleasant day.

Total: 7
AT: 825.75

Day 147, Saturday 26 July

I haven't updated for a few days. Thursday was 1.8 (slightly longer version of our regular walk) plus a lot of wetvac work to get the puddle out of the basement. Friday, the regular walk (1.6). Saturday, golf plus regular walk. Total, 7 miles since I last posted.

July: 66.6
AT: 313.4
YTD: 357.6

I also posted directions for how to post photos and updated the shelters list and news box.

If you want to post photos

If you want to post photos, here's one syntax that works. It's what I've been using for the campfire phtotos.

Just copy this into your post, then make the changes below and save as usual.

[a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="POINTER TO YOUR PHOTO">[img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="POINTER TO YOUR PHOTO" border="0" alt="" /][/a]

You need to replace the square brackets [] with angle brackets <> and put the pointer to your photo in two places.

Let me know if you have problems and I'll see what I can do.

Day 146, Friday July 25

Golf in the morning 2 miles. Beautiful day so got out at lunch and did another 2 mile walk. After dinner went for a 1.5 mile walk with Bonnie after we rewarded David for mowing the lawn by going out for ice cream.

Day 145, Thursday July 24

The clouds parted at noon and I ran 3.5, but it started raining after the first mile and I got rather wet, but still nice. We went for a walk in the evening, added about .25 or .3 to the total. So I'll round the walk to 1.75.

Total: 5.25
AT: 806.75

Day 144, Wednesday, July 23

Just routine walking around today -- pulling vines, walking the dogs, up and down stairs, in and around the house, 10 minutes on Dance Dance Revolution (I'm terrible at that game), and 30 minutes of Wii added up to 5753 steps for 3.08 miles.

AT miles: 459.03 (woo Hoo! I just checked the database, and I just crossed into Virginia!)

YTD miles: 556.86

Heading back to San Antonio tomorrow for the weekend. If it doesn't get rained out, we're walking the Fredericksburg Swap Meet on Friday and Saturday.

Day 143, Tuesday July 22

The day started out normal, ran 3.5 at lunch, was finally cooler, but still humid. Had to work real late and then when we tried to go on our walk the cat followed us and we didn't chase him back into the house, so we ended up having to carry him and cut the walk short at .75 to avoid being to near main roads.

Total: 4
AT: 786.5

Day 142, Monday July 21

Another humid day, not as hot, but still really unpleasant. Started the day with golf 2 miles, then ran 3 at lunch, finally walked 1.5 with Bonnie in the evening. One of our neighbors has a blue berry bush, and we stopped and helped pick (and eat) some on our way home.

Total: 6.5
AT: 782.5

Day 141, Sunday July 20

Another hazy and humid day, though not as hot, and we had some afternoon thunder showers to cool things off. Bonnie and I walked around the pond in the morning and then went out for coffee. I managed my 3 mile run in the afternoon, but got soaked by a shower that didn't even hit the house. Walked 1.5 in the evening with Bonnie after it had cooled off.

Total: 7
AT: 773

Day 140, Saturday July 19

Ack, three days since I checked in again!

Thursday I walked in the morning and at noon, Aquafit in the evening. Total steps: 9745

Friday, a morning walk. My daughter and I drove to Sandpoint and did a lot of walking as we shopped there! Plus a week in the evening, because it was hot. Total steps: 9984

Saturday, morning walk, then busy cleaning, grocery shopping, and, once Jim brought The Puppy (photos on my blog) home, many little walks outside. Jim and his helpers *topped the haystack*, and Hanna and I made homemade pizza. I felt like I was on my feet all day, but when I stepped outside in the evening, the temperature was so perfectly cool I dragged Hanna out for another walk. Total steps: 13223

AT: 494.64
YTD: 591.74

Day 139, Friday July 18

Played golf in the morning, 2 miles, it got hot, but had a lunch with some former co-workers so didn't do a workout at noon. Interesting I was the only guy at lunch and they didn't ask me if I wanted fruit instead of fries, even though I ordered the veggie option :)

Walked 1.5 with Bonnie in the evening after it cooled down some.l

Total: 3.5
AT: 759

Day 138, Thursday July 17

Not much, just a walk in the evening with Neil after a very nice dinner at the Nashoba Winery. Yes, we have grapes in Massachusetts, but this winery specializes in fruit wines -- apple, cherry, pear, strawberry-rhubarb, blueberry, elderberry, etc. ect. I discovered that "perry," a drink occasionally mentioned in historical fiction, is a nice sparkling pear wine, and that elderberry-blueberry wine makes a phenomenal glaze for lamb chops.

July: 42.1
AT: 289.6
YTD: 337.7

Day 137, Wednesday 16 July

Busy day, golf in the morning 2, rode the stationary bike at noon 10.78, and then walked with Bonnie in the evening 1.5. Rounding up for the extra 1th at night and the distance between buildings...

Total: 14.5
AT: 750.5

Day 136, Tuesday 15 July

Plodding onward: our usual evening walk.


July: 38.4
AT: 285.9
YTD: 334

Day 135, Monday July 14

Mostly a recovery day, actually it was supposed to rain all day, but luckly there were only a few sprinkles. Ran 3.5 at lunch and walked 1.5 in the evening with Bonnie.

Total: 5
AT: 731

Day 134, Sunday July 13

Look at me, I'm here two days in a row! wOOt.

So a walk this morning--early, before it got too hot. Late in the afternoon we went for a swim in the lake to cool off, and after cleaning up from supper my daughter and I went for another walk. Today's total steps 10167.

AT: 470.29 Hey look! I'm actually someplace real--a stream is listed at 470, just out of Saunders Shelter in Virginia!

YTD: 567.39

Day 133, Saturday July 12

Friday I went for my morning walk and an evening walk. This morning Jim decided to walk with me. Somehow it wasn't as fast or as far, and then I babysat my greatnephew most of the afternoon. Hanna and I walked again just at dusk. Neither day had huge steppage totals!

AT: 466.11
YTD: 563.21

Day 132, Friday, July 11

Got up early and played golf 2 miles. I had big plans to hit the gym and ride the bike, but morning meetings ran till 12:40, then the boss wanted to meet at 1:30, which then got post poned till 3:30, so I never made it. But did manage a 1.5 mile walk with Bonnie before bed.

Total: 3.5
AT: 714

Sunday we plan on a big family hike up Osceola, about 6.4 round trip and 2,000 feet of evelation gain. Lets ho0pe for the best.

Day 131, Thursday, July 10

Hey, good to see Claire and Kat again. I'm mostly just keeping on trucking every day too, with occasional lapses.

Yesterday I got my 6:45 am walk in, and planned my second walk for noon hour. However, my daughter wound up in town and we went out for lunch, so I made her walk with me in the evening to make up for it! Steps: 9964

Today the early walk was cooler as it was cloudy. By noon it was muggy but I walked again anyway. Aquafit in the evening. We wondered if it might get canceled as it's an outdoor pool and a storm went through just before, but it cleared off enough to enjoy the workout. Steps: 9106

AT: 460.1
YTD: 557.2

Day 130, Wednesday July 9

It's supposed to be 90F and way humid today. I hope it cools off by evening so I can get outside for a bit.

Day 129, Tuesday July 8

Another hot day with lots of meetings so I ran first thing in the morning 3.5. Had a little free time at noon so walked 1 mile. Evening, Bonnie and I walked the usual 1.5

Total 6
AT: 701.5

Day 128, Monday July 7

Hot, but fairly normal day, just heads down going ahead. Ran 3 miles, walked with Bonnie in the evening 1.5. Saw a number of gold finches and wrens.

Total 4.5
AT: 694.5

Day 127, Sunday July 6

Golf this morning, in the heat and the humidity. Crappy score but at least it was good exercise...

And our usual walk in the evening. Total four miles. I am now three miles short of Deer Park Mountain Shelter. That's okay, it's a nice night for camping.


July: 16.9
AT: 264.4
YTD: 314.5

Day 126, Saturday July 5

The rain didn't slow us down as we managed 2.5 miles around the pond in the morning. After a long nap went for a 3 miles run, and then after going to our favorite ice crean store we did a 1.5 miles walk before bed.

Total: 7
AT: 676

Day 125, Friday July 4

We're both still under the weather, so didn't do much, just a couple of walks around the neighborhood.


July: 8.8
AT: 256.3
YTD: 306.4

Day 124, Thursday July 3rd

Busy day, Bonnie got up early and we played golf first thing in the morning 2 miles. Rode stationary bike at lunch time 6.82 (and lifted weights). In between thunder storms we managed our evening walk 1.5 miles. Went to bed exhausted.

Total: 10
AT: 673

Day 124, Wednesday, July 2nd

Ran 3 miles at noon. Must be feeling better because did Pilates in the evening. Unfortunately bonnie is coming down with the stomach bug so we skiped the walk.

Total: 3
AT: 663

Day 123, Tuesday, July 1st

The stomach bug is still with me (thanks for the hugs, but don't get too close). Played golf (like I was really sick) for 2 miles, bearly had time for a 1 mile walk at lunch, and did 1.5 in the evening with Bonnie.

Total: 4.5
AT: 660

Day 122, Monday, June 30th

3962 steps for 2.12 miles today. Tomorrow, I head to San Antonio for two weeks. I won't have the Wii or the Wii Fit. That means I need to head to the track in the morning or hit the streets to get some walking time in. Except, maybe for the times I'm behind the push mower mowing the lawn. I suspect most of my yard work will be tree trimming in nature, though. Hubby also wants to get the transmission and clutch changed out in the Jeep and fence painting and construction underway. My right knee is acting up. I need to remember that hula hoop is not a good Wii exercise with these knees!

AT miles: 381.55
YTD miles: 479.38

Not sure how regularly you'll see me for the next two weeks, but I'll be tracking and will do a catchup post when I get back to the big house.

Day 121, Sunday, June 29th

Thursday was a fairly normal day, ran 3.5 and walked with bonnie 1.5.

Long weekend in Michigan. Friday managed 2 miles of walking on walk in the evening with Bonnie and getting around the airport. Also road the stationary bike 8.2. During our walk we say some sand hill crains. One walked in front of an SUV and blocked his path for about 2 minutes. We weren't too sure how friendly he would be to us passing, but he didn't complain too much.

Saturday ran 3.25 or something like that, and walked 1.5. And Sunday ran 3.25 and just walked around the airport.

Total: 23
AT: 654

Day 120, Saturday, June 28th

A much better day today. In addition to 7354 steps for 3.94 miles, I spent about 30 minutes trying to learn the basics of Dance Dance Revolution. I have it set up on the simplest set up possible and am only doing the dance lesson, and I'm still doing terrible. The best grade I can get is a "D." Yes, I'm a dancing klutz. I also did 30 minutes on Wii Fit.

Some of today's steps came from mowing the part of the lawn that's growing (not very much) and moving several boxes from the garage to the house.

AT miles: 376.96
YTD Miles: 747.79

Day 119, Friday, June 27th

I should have listened to myself a couple of days ago. But I didn't. I stuffed my pedometer into my pocket this morning and went about my business. I pulled it out just before my Wii Fit session to see how I was doing and saw zero and a flashing battery indicator. Yup. It was hungry for more power but I hadn't found my spare battery yet. I went out and bought two. Today's count is bogus, but I didn't do much, so I'll credit myself with a mile and 2200 steps.

I did 35 minutes on Wii Fit and about five more minutes on Wii Sports -- Boxing and the test -- my Wii Sports age decreased from 73 to 60. There seems to be something not quite right about basing my fitness score on how many home runs I can hit, my bowling accuracy, and my ability to return a tennis ball, but (shrug) I guess it's all in good fun. Or maybe I'm just a poor loser! My Wii Fit age was 42 today. It's varied from the mid-30s to the low-50s. I think it's a little more accurate.

AT miles: 373.02

YTD miles: 470.85

I've lost between 10 and 13 pounds since I retired, so I'm pleased with that. Only about 80 to go. :)

Day 118, Thursday, June 26th

I did get up and pull vines for about an hour this morning. That's mostly upper body with few steps. I got up "too early" though, and by the time I'd pulled today's quota of vines, I still had a little while to go before the post office opened, so I had breakfast. I did have a nice walk to the post office, turned over the correspondence at the window and checked the PO Box -- junk mail and mail from the previous person -- we've had the box for about five or six years, so it's a little surprising to still get mail for that guy. Gave it to the window and walked home with my Wal-Mart flyer. That was about 35 minutes and 3729 steps.

Shortly after I got home, I heard Hershey barking, I looked downstairs and saw Hershey standing near an empty collar lying on the ground. Millie slipped her collar. I dashed downstairs, grabbed her leash and the collar and headed off to where I hear my neighbor's dogs barking in the next block. Sure enough, she was running in the high school parking lot by the stadium entrance. Amazingly, she immediately came when I called. That's a first.

41 minutes on the Wii Fit. Again, not a lot of stepping involved today. Even so, today's count is better: 7357 for 3.25 miles.

AT miles: 372.02

YTD miles: 469.85

Day 117, Wednesday, June 25th

All my Wii Fit time today was on yoga, so even though I did 30 minutes, I wanted to go through every yoga pose opened to me so far, I got virtually zero steps for that time.

Today's steps: 4139 in 1.82 miles

AT miles: 368.77
YTD miles: 466.6

Tomorrow morning, after pulling vines, I'm going to walk to the post office to mail two pieces of correspondence. That ought to add some steps, and it should still be cool enough.

Day 116, Tuesday, June 24th

Steps: 3759
PED Miles: 1.48
Non-PED Miles: 7.6
Total Miles: 9.08
AT: 341.51
YTD Total: 406.09

Most of my "mileage" today came from not walking :). I did a 6 mile bike ride with my son in the morning, then worked out on the WII. The actual steps are mostly pacing because California is burning and dropping ash out of our sky. We're not supposed to be outside right now :p.

Day 115, Monday, June 23rd

Another low steppage day. 3461 for 1.52 miles. I spent a lot of time on the computer today, so that's probably part of it. I did pull vines for an hour first thing this morning before logging on. I also did 35 minutes on Wii Fit this afternoon, so despite low steppage, I'm not dissatisfied with my energy output today.

AT miles: 365.15

YTD miles: 462.98

Day 114, Sunday, June 22nd

I feel like I did more than this today, but it must have been one of those days with less activity than it felt like.

3702 steps for 1.63 miles

AT miles: 363.63

YTD miles: 461.46

Or maybe the batteries are getting low on the pedometer. Hmm. I had better start looking for my spare just in case.

Day 113, June 21st

Worked in the garage, mowed the front lawn, moved stuff around in the house, and spent a little time working on Twilight rewrite preparation today. Did 30 minutes on Wii Fit.

8745 steps for 3.86 miles

AT miles: 362

YTD miles: 459.83

Day 112, Friday, June 20th

I wear the pedometer while I work out with Wii, so I think the Wii time gets counted -- at least where there are steps involved.

I am a total dance/aerobics klutz. DDR baffles me. I'm doing something, but if you picture the nerd at the dance flailing around, that's about what the steps mean to me and I'm sure I look just as dorky. As for the Wii version, I'm doing ok at the basic version in the aerobics section -- I've gotten up to 2 stars and it tells me one of three things at the end -- speed up, slow down, or get consistent. I unlocked the advanced one a couple weeks ago and have tried it twice. I managed to get the clapping included today -- who knows how much if any was in synch, but the foot shaking (green steps) leave me looking like I'm trying DDR. At least I understand what the Wii is saying. I can't decipher the DJ in DDR to save my life.

I've been unlocking yoga poses I'll never be able to do because of my knees, but I do the ones I can do, and I'm getting 3 stars on several of them. I think there's even one or two where I consistently earn 4 stars. Triangle -- good for stretching the glutes, and mine have been tight lately.

Steps for today: 6499 for 2.87 miles

AT miles: 358.14
YTD miles: 455.97

Valerie, I hope you're FIL is doing better by the time you read this.

Day 111, Thursday, June 19th

Hubby headed back to San Antonio this afternoon, so I'll be working inside as well as mowing. I won't be able to put off pulling ivy off the front of the house either, so I'll be diving into that.

Before I left Montgomery, I picked up something poison ivy like, and when that happens, it goes systemic on me, so I'm still (over a month later) dealing with pop up ivy rashes. Until I can get it cleared up, I'm not anxious to go anywhere near anything in the great outdoors. I imagine a couple of forays to the ranch (with known rash causing plants) have not helped. As long as it doesn't get worse, I won't need to seek medical attention.

But I did get steps in today. 7536 for 3.33 miles.

AT miles: 355.27

YTD miles: 453.1

My Wii version of Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) arrived a few days ago, and I gave it a try today. I'm a total klutz whenever I try anything like this, but I'm discovering with Wii Fit that with perseverance, I am beginning to get the hang of some of this stuff. Maybe DDR will work similarly. Of course, it might help if I could figure out what the heck the DJ is saying about eyes...

I love the Wii Fit. The balance board helps me get emphasis where it is supposed to be for the yoga moves, so in some ways, I think it's a great individual yoga teacher. For instance, I did Downward Facing Dog on it for the first time yesterday, and it told me I was putting too much of my weight on my feet and needed to shift more to my hands. I had been thinking I wasn't getting enough on my feet. That's happened on one other pose. Of course, on the rowing, I can't begin to get my center of gravity into the blue zone, so it fails me every time. Ugh. I also like the way you start with a few poses or activities and "earn" more as you work.

Day 110, Wednesday, June 18th

Another lovely, hot day with no rain in sight, despite what hubby's repeated checking of the weather web site might indicate.

Today's count: 5795 steps and 2.56 miles

AT miles: 351.94

YTD miles: 449.77

We've moved one dump truckload of gravel and have one more to go. Then, we estimate, we'll need two more truckloads (at least) to get all the gravel we need for the driveway in place.

Day 109, Tuesday, June 17th

No one of my zippier days, but here it is:

4955 steps for 2.18 miles

AT miles: 349.38

YTD miles: 447.21

On Friday, I begin the lawn mowing marathon again, so the counts will go up for sure. I didn't do much activity-wise today, but I did get to see a friend and former co-worker, so that was worthwhile.

Day 108, Monday 16 June

Easy day recovering from the golf clinic -- just 1.6 in the evening, as usual. I did not make it to the next shelter and so will be spending the night huddled in my tent waiting for the lightning to go away.

June: 32.3
AT: 217.1
YTD: 264.2

Day 107, June 15th

Ok. So we're taking a couple days off from reporting. I've been doing that, too. I'm sure you're all recording, so I'm trekking along this lonely segment of trail.

Today's steps: 8990 for 3.97 miles

AT Total: 343.44

YTD Total: 441.27

Yes, I know I'm a fine one to talk -- point taken. I hope you fathers playing along had a Happy Father's Day.

And I seem to be spending the night in Carter, TN, at the Double Springs shelter.

Day 105, Friday, June 13

I see nobody wanted to take a chance of posting on Friday the 13th. I'll start it off on Saturday, then. Yesterday, I was recovering from cutting up trees on the ranch on Thursday. It still added up ok:

6053 steps for 2.67 miles

AT miles: 336.92
YTD miles: 434.75

I've also been playing Wii Fit for a little over a week. It doesn't feel strenuous, but I seem to work up a sweat in my 20-25 minute workouts. Of the Wii Sports game that comes with the system, I don't really feel like anything but tennis or boxing really allows me to get a workout in. Bowling isn't a bad game. I'm lousy at baseball. I am having fun unlocking new segments of the Fit system, though.

Since I retired, I've managed to lose ten pounds. I've been doing a lot more physical work, but I've also sweated a lot of it out. If I can continue to lose, I think that will be a good sign.

Day 104, Thursday June 12

So here I am. Been an on-and-off week. It's awfully hard to get excited about walking when it's barely above freezing and the wind is blowing the rain sideways. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! For Tuesday, anyway, when my steppage total was 3204.

Wednesday I walked before work and a bit at noon. We had company for supper, and after they left, Jim wanted to go for a walk, so we did. That bumped my steps for the day to 10190--quite respectable.

Today is a bit lower again. Walked in the morning, drove my kids to Spokane to the airport, drove home (7 hours in the car.) Did some walking shopping, and Jim and I went for a short walk when I got home. He'd worked a 12-hour day so didn't much feel the need to stretch his legs! My total: 6270.

AT: 365.5
YTD: 462.6

Day 103, Wednesday 11 June

The weather finally cooled off some, but it was time to get off my feet, so rode the stationary bike for a half hour, 11.08 miles. Then went for a walk with Bonnie in the evening 1.5.

Total: 12.5
AT: 558

Day 102, Tuesday 9 June

Even hotter than yesterday, with a bad-air warning out. I would love to send some of this out to BC to help Val warm up. But it's cooling down nicely now that the sun has set, so we got our usual 1.6 miles.

AT: 205.3
June: 21.5
YTD: 252.4

Day 101, Monday 9 June

Another beastly hot day -- 97 at the grocery store (where of course I had to do extra walking, .7 miles), 103 on our porch on the sunny side of the house while the thermometer was still well in the shade. Fortunately it cooled off a bit as the sun went down and we got our usual walk, 1.6, for a total of 2.3.

AT: 203.7
June: 19.9
YTD: 250.8

Day 100, Sunday June 8

Continues to be well over 90, but we managed 9 holes of golf 2 miles, and a walk after dark 1.5.

Total 3.5
AT: 535.5

Day 99, Saturday June 7

Friday, it rained too much for golf. So ran 3.5 at lunch and walked to ball game with Bonnie 2 miles.

Saturday was last refereeing day of the season (for me). Did the center for one game and ran the line for the other. Temps in the low 90's was really wipped. I'd estimate 6 miles total. Walked 1.5 with Bonnie in the evening.

Big news is David passed his black belt test. Bonnie took lots of pictures, I'm sure will be on one of her sites soon.

Total: 13
AT: 532

Day 98, Friday 6 June

We walked about 2 miles getting to and from the ballpark to watch the Sox lose 8-0 to the Mariners. Oh, well, in baseball it is definitely true that you can't win them all.

AT: 196.9
June: 12.4
YTD: 243.3

Day 97, June 5 Thursday

So I've been getting back in the groove with the walking. Wednesday I walked in the morning and again over noon hour. Some yard cleanup in the evening for a net of 7901 steps/ 3.25 miles.

Today I took both walks a bit more seriously, though I passed a house with a beautiful yard on my noon walk in town, recognized the woman working in it, and got invited into the back half acre for a tour. *Almost* inspired me! :P

Today's steps 10322/ 4.24 miles
AT: 349.87
YTD: 446.97

Day 96, Wednesday June 4

Light rain all day, so was a good one to get off my feet and ride the excercise bike. One member of my group joking said, that if I consider riding the bike a day off, then swimming must be a vacation:)

Total: 11
AT: 514

Day 95, Tuesday June 3

Busy day, golf in the morning 2 miles, ran 3.5 at lunch, and then a 1.5 mile walk with Bonnie. Raining this morning so looks like an in door day?

Total: 7
AT: 503

Day 94, Monday June 2

The usual Monday half mile of errands and 1.6 miles of evening walk, for 2.1 total.

AT: 190.8
June: 6.3
YTD: 237.2

Day 93, Sunday June 1

Well we survived graduation day, actually was rather nice, but a busy day. Bonnie and I managed to get in a 2.5 mile walk around the pond and I got up early for a 3 mile run.

Total: 5.5
AT: 491.5

Day 92, Saturday May 31

We managed to walk around the pond between thunderstorms, 2.5 miles. Plus 20 minutes of yoga, for no mileage but plenty of exercise. I'm about two miles short of Derrick Knob shelter.

AT: 183.5
May: 64.5
YTD: 231.9

May campfire

Another month under our belts and another bunch of miles under our feet. Sit down and roast a few marshmallows! How's it going? Seen any exciting sights? I think our best was the beaver dam and lodge at Greeley Ponds last week.

This image was originally posted to Flickr by ninahale at http://flickr.com/photos/94693506@N00/195879959. This file is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License. Thank you, Nina, whoever you are.

Day 91, Friday May 30

I've got 3.5 miles since the last report, with a couple of low-mileage days while my foot was bothering. But I'm back to normal now and hope to get some longer walks over the weekend.

AT: 181.0
May: 62.0
YTD: 229.4

Day 90, Thursday May 29

Usual day ran 3.5 at noon, walked 1.5 with Bonnie in the evening, her foot is feeling much better.

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Day 89, Wednesday May 28

Got my morning walk in, then some walking over noon hour.

Today's steps: 8901/ 3.66 miles
AT: 322.73
YTD: 419.83

Day 88, Tuesday May 27

That's more like it. I walked in the morning, walked at noon, and apparently got some more in gardening in the evening.

Today's total? 13055 steps/ 5.37 miles
AT: 319.07
YTD: 416.17

Day 87, Monday, May 26

Happy Memorial Day to all who celebrate it. We got home a little while ago. Too bad I can't count the miles we drove--I had almost 1,200 of those! Between yard sales, my cousin's wedding and reception, and harvesting herbs, I did 7 miles over the weekend. Boy, am I glad to be home.
AT: 185.15
YTD: 232.33

Day 86, Sunday May 25

Didn't do enough walking Saturday to mention. I crawled back into bed after Jim left for work and never really got a walk in. Today was different, though. Got my regular walk first thing, then in the afternoon we went for a geocaching hike. (Photos In My Little World.) Very steep! It seems like it ought to be more than 4.75 miles for the day, but...that does match what the trailhead said!

AT: 310.94
YTD: 408.04

Day 85, Saturday 24 May

Neil and I drove up to the mountains, where we hiked to Greeley Ponds. I made it all the way to the upper pond, a total of about 7 miles, in less time than it used to take me to do three miles.

We saw a beaver dam and house, a couple of birds, a flying critter that we think was a bat, and lots of pretty flowers.

edited to add: Neil says I forgot some mileage. 1.5 on Friday night, after we got home from dinner, and half a mile short on yesterday's hike. Corrected numbers:

AT: 171.5 173.5
May: 52.5 54.5
YTD: 219.9 221.9

Which puts me only A mile short of Mollie's Ridge shelter. I should be past that tomorrow.

Day 84, May 23 Friday

I got my walk in the morning and then after a large supper, I dragged our company out for a walk also. We had to make room for the leftover turtle cheesecake which is now no longer a temptation.

Steps: 12153/ 5 miles
AT: 306.06
YTD: 403.16

Day 83, Thursday 22 May 2008

Tonight was David's final National Honor Society induction and awards ceremony. We walked from the middle school (where the auditorium is) to Starbucks and back while we were waiting for events to start. That was about two miles. I had about half a mile this morning. Yesterday I didn't do much because my foot hurt, maybe half a mile. So three miles for yesterday and today.

AT: 163.0
May: 44.0
YTD: 211.4

Day 82, Wednesday 21 May

This is going to be my last post for a bit, though I'll still try to track so somehow it is fitting for me to start the thread :). I'm off to BayCon until Monday.

Steps: 6633
Total Miles: 2.61
AT: 235.97
YTD Total: 300.55

Two walks today, both short ones of about 1 mile, then an event at school where I didn't walk nearly as much as I'd expected, but at least I got over 2.5. Oh, and look at that! 300 miles for the year :).

Hope you all walk well while I'm gone.

Day 81, Tuesday 20 May

Ran the usual 3.5. David had Tri-M tonight, it's a music honors society. Since he had to be there 30 minutes before us, to save on taking two cars, he dropped Bonnie and I off at the coffee shop about 2.5 miles from school and we walked in.

Total : 6
AT: 409

Day 80, Monday 19 May

1.6 miles for our usual walk, plus .7 miles of errands (slightly more than usual).

today: 2.3
AT: 156.0
May: 37.0
YTD: 204.4

Day 79, Sunday 18 May

Steps: 6031
Total Miles: 2.36
AT: 228.58
YTD Total: 293.16

I swear it wasn't planned to match my distance exactly. Today I did walk. One stroll through an airconditioned mall then a short walk around our complex. Still not up to the minimum, but I'm getting better.

Day 78, Saturday 17 May

The rain pulled out early but the soccer games Neil was supposed to referee were canceled anyway, so we took advantage of the unexpected freedom to head to the mountains for a hike. We went up Timber Camp Trail, a moderately steep route that follows a former logging road. Nice views. Good exercise. Three miles each way, total six. I also had 1.6 miles from yesterday that I hadn't reported yet.

Friday and Saturday: 6.6
AT: 151.2
May: 32.2
YTD: 199.6

Day 77, Friday May 16

Ah, a warm sunny day. A walk in the morning and some shopping with my daughter and niece this afternoon.

Today: 7951 steps/ 3.27 miles
AT: 284.25
YTD: 381.35

Day 76, Thursday May 15

Walked in the morning, walked at noon, busy day at work. Net result?

Steps: 9856/ 4.05 miles
AT: 280.98
YTD: 378.08

Looks like I'm a stone's throw from Spring Mountain Shelter on the Tennessee/ North Carolina border. Cool.

The temperature around here has shot up from about 55F to over 80F. Where are the fans? Why isn't the air conditioner hooked up in the bedroom? HOTTT! (not really complaining, I'll save that for next week...)

Day 75, Wednesday May 14

First time I've posted the initial message :)

A very busy day, golf in the morning 2 miles, ran at noon 3.5, walk with Bonnie in the late afternoon 1.5. Was too nice a day to be inside.

Total: 7
AT: 367.5

Day 74, Tuesday May 13

Well, we're back from our trip to Victoria, got in late Monday night, so I hope to be checking in here daily again.

Saturday: 10151 steps/ 4.17 miles traipsing through Beacon Hill Park and along the ocean front.
Sunday: 11437 steps/ 4.7 miles mostly in the Royal BC Museum. We were going to go sailing but the charter was canceled due to a bad storm. Disappointing, but the museum was fun as was the Imax.
Monday: 4452 steps/ 1.83 miles (travel day)
Tuesday: 7432 steps/ 3.06 miles Walk in the morning, busy at work, and moving furniture and stuff in the evening.

AT: 273.85
YTD: 370.95

Day 73, Monday May 12

The rainy weather they were calling for today ended up not happening, so I got two walks in with nice weather. Went for one on my lunch break with the hubby, then another after work.

Today:
Steps: 10209
Miles: 5.1045
AT total: 152.9275

Day 73; Monday, May 13, 2008

Sorry, y'all, I've been swamped. OK, actually I've been a slacker.

I managed to log steps in addition to work and puttering. The weather was gorgeous today, so I dragged Eric out for a walk after dinner. I hope to continue that trend.

AT Miles: 157.15
YTD: 204.33

Day 72, Sunday May 11

Happy mother's day to all the mothers, people who have mothers, and people who might be mothers in the future.

Played golf with Steven and Neil today; we had gorgeous weather and I got a nice sunburn :) So 3 miles.

today: 3
AT: 139.3
May: 20.3
YTD: 187.6

Day 71, Saturday May 10

Rain early, but the clouds cleared around midday and we had a gorgeous afternoon walk around the pond. It wasn't the right time of day for birds, but we saw a few friendly energetic dogs taking their owners out for a walk.

today: 2.6
AT: 136.3
May: 17.3
YTD: 184.6

Day 70, May 9, 2008

Walk at lunch, another after work, and when we were at the in-laws I went with my mother-in-law walking the dog. Much better then the 4k yesterday.

Today
Steps: 10010 (00000 binary)
Miles: 5.005
AT total: 143.281

Day 69, May 8, 2008

Steps: 7631
Total Miles: 2.98
AT: 205.78
YTD Total: 270.36

Managed two walks and some pacing today.

Day 68, May 7, 2008

Not to many steps today, only work related walking. Lunch plans got switched around, so the hubby and I watched some old Doctor Who while eating, and after work I updated the map and vegged online. We did a little grocery shopping, so I did a little walking around the store. Hubby and I have freezies, and the kitties have more food.

Today:
Steps:5245
Miles: 2.6225
AT Total: 135.855

Day 67, May 6, 2008

I need to switch my calender to May, I got confused at first with the day/date count then realized I was looking at April.

Today I got in 9145 steps between walking at lunch and general walking around at work, for 4.5725 miles. Yesterday I managed 11105 steps 5.5525 miles, I'd walked on my own after work, then the hubby and I went shopping when he was done with work. We walked around the mall, Staples, and I walked around Michaels (yay for more beads). When I was finishing my walk around campus I saw a duck when I was returning to my office. It was funny, he was more interested in his reflection in the glass then he was me. Poor thing probably thought it was another duck.

AT total: 133.1575 :)

At some point this week I'll update the map again.

Day 66, May 5, 2008

Well, this is a first :). But I guess the create a new post works.

Steps: 8097
Total Miles: 3.19
AT: 196.88
YTD Total: 261.46

Got a shorter than normal morning walk so not as many miles as I've been doing of late, but I walked around a new lake downtown and got to see a very strange goose, another breed of duck and a black bird that sits up like a penguin, is the size of a smallish Canadian goose and has a VERY long neck. Wish I'd had my binoculars to get a closer look. Evening walk was the normal route with nothing unusual.

Day 65, May 4, 2008

Two walks today for 1.75 miles and about 34 minutes. 9797 steps and 4.32 miles.

AT miles: 192.06
YTD miles: 289.89

I think I'm on track for packers on Wednesday morning, but it's hard to tell with everything jumbled up like it is now.

At the moment, I can't see the bed, so I have a little work to do before I can hit the sack tonight.

Day 64, May 3

Golf this afternoon, so 3 miles in cold drizzle with occasional wind, generally rather nasty. I had some lovely drives, but the rest of my play (and my score) sucked mud through a straw. And it wasn't the fault of the weather, unfortunately.

AT: 123.1
May: 5.1
YTD: 172.4

I think I'll double back and spend the night at Cold Spring Shelter. I might not come out tomorrow...

Here's what the shelter looks like in good weather.

Day 63, 2 May 2008

Half a mile this morning doing errands, 1.6 miles in a pleasant mist for our usual evening walk, 2.1 total. Foot still hurts doing certain things, but fortunately okay for walking. I don't know what I did to it...

AT: 120.1
May: 2.1
YTD: 169.4

Day 62, Thursday May 1

A walk in the morning and random more steps over the course of the day. Apparently even loading up a car for a ROAAAAD TRIIIIPPP adds up steps :D I'm sure my count will be much lower tomorrow as I'll be spending way too much time in the car.

Today: 9687 steps/ 3.98 miles
AT: 225.86 miles
YTD: 322.96