This and That

The good weather of August has followed us into September with temperatures in the 70s. As Ward kept saying, "Best August ever!" August is often our hottest month with temperatures in the 90°Fs with humidity to match. Unfortunately, we haven't had any measurable rain with those good temperatures, but there is a promise of a thunderstorm this afternoon.

Turns out our surprise vine is a pumpkin plant. Unfortunately, this is next to Ward's shop, which was treated extensively for termites, and we can't eat anything grown here.
However, I plan to decorate with it. 

The summer vegetables gave up weeks ago, but the fall veggies are up to varying degrees. I planted turnips, rutabagas, beets, spinach, and lettuce. However, Uncle Billy has been sharing some of his harvest, and I'm presently eating tomatoes, peppers, and watermelon from him. 

And I say "I" instead of "we" because Ward is on a trip to Poland with his brother, and will be gone almost 3 weeks. Besides seeing the sights, they plan to do some genealogy research in the little town their great-grandfather immigrated from. It's been years since Ward has been away more than a night or two, so it's taking some adjusting on my part. But one of the first things I did was buy a big onion. Ward doesn't like onions, so we don't have them as often as I might otherwise. That's the wild living I'm doing while I'm on my own. :)

Ward spent his first night in this 1700s inn. 

I am continuing to do well with getting regular exercise. Recently, I've been trying some harder classes, both aerobically and strength-wise, and I am definitely challenged. I had planned to go to a class this morning, but I'm not feeling it. We'll see what happens. I still have time. Thursday is usually when I go to a line dance class, but I will be busy this afternoon when it is taught.

I am going to be helping with the local fair that I participate in every year. This is my first time being behind the scenes, and I will be helping to take in entries. But first, I have to get everything entered that we have, including a side table that Ward made. The hard part is always getting from the parking lot to the entry building with all the stuff. Cut flowers in water are always a challenge.  I will figure it out somehow. 

The beauty berries are starting to turn to this fun purple color.

But first, I need to do some fair entry prep here at home, so I'd better go.

Until next time...

Walking Is the New Running

 Saturday, Ward, Wally, Theo, and I had an enjoyable morning at a local fun run. The event was sponsored by the Rotary Club to raise money for the community food bank. Wally has participated in the race for a few years now, but this is the first time I haven't had to work on the day of the race. (Yay retirement!) Here are a few pictures from our morning. 

People gathering for the race. It was a very friendly atmosphere, and
there were people of all ages and several dogs.

Many local businesses were represented.

Boy Scouts were getting ready for an opening flag ceremony. We said the Pledge of Allegiance and sang the Star Spangled Banner before the race. It's been a while since I have done that, and I found it moving.

Lining up for the start. Since we planned on walking the entire way,
we all went to the back of the crowd, so as not to be in the way of the runners.
Wally changed his mind as soon as the race started and ran the whole way.

The chase truck. The Rotary Club also sponsors a community duck race in September. The duck has become a mascot of sorts.

The race went along Main Street past big trees and Victorian houses. It was quite a pleasant walk. At the end of the race, we enjoyed watermelon and sandwiches. It was a fun event for a good cause, and I plan to do it again next year.

The course was only a mile with some long but gentle hills. It was really a two-mile walk by the time we got back to the cars. We walked at a good pace, but it was not speed walking. But here's the thing. The next day, the muscles in my shins were sore. I was surprised and a little disappointed with that. But it was what it was.

And speaking of exercise, I haven't posted about it in a month, although I recorded one week that I didn't publish. I am successfully continuing with my commitment to regular exercise, so I don't feel the need to do a detailed accounting at this point. Occasionally, I will do some summary updates for motivation, because, to be honest, about half the time, I don't want to go to class. But I go.

At the gym, I am slowly increasing my weights and trying some more challenging classes. It's been 6 months since I started this effort, and I know I've improved in most areas, but I still find the classes hard. So, I try to remember what Theo said to me while we were walking during the race. He said, "Exercise is never easy. You just get so you can do more of it." 

Until next time...

Alaska, Tired yet?

The last eleven posts have been a travelogue about our recent trip to Alaska. Are you tired of them yet? Well, I am, so I'm going to take a little break before I finish up the last few days. However, the flowers you see in this post were from wildflowers we saw in AK. :)

The weather has been miserably hot here, so I am especially happy for a working AC because that's not what we came home to. The squash, zucchini, and cucumbers have been enjoying the heat and have been prolific recently. However, the bugs have joined the deer in using our vegetables for a tasty dinner, so I don't know how much longer before the plants succumb to the pests. The tomatoes have been suffering from deer munching for a while, but we'll soon have our first ripe tomato. I can't wait. The first ripe tomato is a highlight every summer. 

I am slowly getting back into exercising. I hope to soon be back at the fitness level I was before the trip, but I gotta tell you that some of the early classes I did after our trip were brutal. Keeping with my effort to hold myself accountable, below is my exercise report for the last week or so.

We were away for 15 days on vacation without any regular exercise. Some days on our trip, I reached 10,000 steps or more, but many days it was much less. I was a little hesitant about jumping back into classes, but it had to be done.

Thursday, July 3, 2025

Zumba: I haven't been to a Zumba class in a long time, but the last time I remember going to one, I found it exhausting. I didn't really want to start back with this class, but it was the only one that fit my schedule. It turns out that I found it both fun and tiring, but was able to recover from it fairly quickly. I will seek out this instructor again.

 Friday, July 4, 2025

Stretch and Tone: This class sounded like just what I wanted. The description made it sound like a gentle combination of yoga and pilates. There was nothing gentle or easy about this class. While not high intensity, I was sweating the whole time doing the challenging exercises. I was not alone. Most in the class couldn't do everything, including Ward, who is very fit. I was so challenged that I felt sick by the end. I stayed the whole class, but just did the bare minimum at the end. I like the instructor, but I won't be trying this class again for a while.

Saturday, July 5, 2025

Free Day: I needed a recovery day after yesterday, so I didn't do much exercise-wise today. However, we spent a lovely afternoon at a baby shower for my niece.

Sunday, July 6, 2025

Free Day: I was just not feeling it for exercise today, so I didn't do anything extra physically. Instead, I puttered around the house and yard, catching up on things.

Monday, July 7, 2025

Zumba: I went to a class with the same instructor that I had on Thursday. I mostly kept up and enjoyed the class, which gave me a good aerobic workout. Unfortunately, this instructor has only been subbing for other instructors who are on vacation. Rumor has it that she teaches once a month at the gym. I'll have to find out when that is because I like her style.

Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Line Dance: We were back at our regular Tuesday morning class. It was fun to be back, and we learned a couple of new dances. I got most of the steps and definitely had a good aerobic workout by the end.

Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Free Day: Even though it was only a couple of days ago, I can't remember what we did. But I do know that I didn't do any formal exercise. Wednesday doesn't have any classes I'm interested in.

Thursday, July 10, 2025

Beginner Line Dance: It was good to be back in this class. Several of the dances seemed new, but that just may be because I hadn't been to class for almost a month. Some of the dances went really fast, and I struggled to keep up. But I mostly did. I watched a bit of the advanced class, and someday I hope to be able to do those complicated dances, too. I had a good aerobic workout in this class, but it didn't wipe me out.

Friday, July 11, 2025:

Strong and Balanced: There was a sub today in this class, and she had us moving every minute. There seemed to be a lot of shoulder work that I got very tired from. But, I guess that means that it is an area that I need to work on. 

Until next time...

Barnstormers

 No, not that kind of barnstormers-not the kind of barnstormer who does tricks on the wings of airplanes. The kind of barnstormer who visits barns as part of a fundraising event for the Frederick County Landmarks Association.

This was the 18th year for the Barnstormers event, but it was only recently that Ward and I heard about it and decided we'd give it a try. Each year, they feature a different set of barns, and last Saturday, we toured eight different barns in the northern part of the county. At each site, there were at least two artists painting pictures of the barns. The artists don't know which barns they will be painting until that morning. At the end of the day, they sell their paintings. 

We had no idea what to expect, but these were all barns on working farms. They were not restored historic barns or old barns that had been made into event venues. These were "real" barns that were sometimes cluttered and smelly or needed a paint job. Some were over 200 years old, but had been fixed when needed with modern materials. I loved seeing the real thing because it reminded me of the farms I grew up around. 

This 1950s International Harvester pickup in the above barn was getting as much attention as the prize bull that was housed below.

Most of the barns were built on a stone foundation.

Each barn had a couple of docents who talked about
the construction, use, and history of the barn.

These girls were churning butter in the upper part of one of the barns.
We had some on crackers and it was delicious!

The whole area was beautiful, with rolling farmland and mountains in the background.

We really enjoyed our day, especially after the rain cleared up. We hope we can do it again next year.

Now onto other business. Ward and I are leaving tomorrow for a two-week vacation to Alaska with a stop in Seattle along the way. I'm not sure if I'll be able to check in here until I get back. In the meantime, here is my exercise update. I didn't quite get a whole week in before the trip. I plan to be active on this trip, but that's not the emphasis. Our intention is to see beautiful scenery and visit with old friends.

 ____________________________________________

Thursday, June 12, 2025

Line Dancing: This is a beginner's class at the gym where they teach easy line dances. I like this class because I feel accomplished in it, as I generally catch on to the dances okay. However, I stayed for a bit today to attend the more advanced line dance class immediately following this one, and the dances were more complicated with less instruction. I'm not quite ready for that yet, but maybe someday I will join Ward in the more advanced class. I got a very good aerobic workout today.

Friday, June 13, 2025

Strong and Balanced: This was a good overall workout that focused on strength training. For warm-ups, we went in a circle around the room. I liked doing something different from standing in one place and doing most of the exercises. I went up a pound with the weights today with no problem. However, this class is not overly strenuous with a lot of reps. It was a good all-body strengthening class.

Saturday, June 14, 2025

Free Day: Today, we went on a tour of barns. There was walking at each barn, but we drove in between stops. I didn't do anything strenuous all day, but I got almost 10000 steps (9,600) by the end of it.

Sunday, June 15, 2025

LIIT: We had a very enthusiastic substitute for this class today, and I worked harder than I have in a long time, both with weights and aerobically. I went back down in weights because I know this class would be more intense than Strong and Balanced. I did most everything, except for the squat and walk exercise. My knees just couldn't take it. Luckily, it didn't last too long. 

Now back to packing. Until next time...

Exercise Update,

 I am on a quest to put regular exercise into my life. I report on it here weekly to keep myself accountable. Here's what this week looked like.

Thursday, June 5, 2025

Line Dancing: The regular line dancing classes at the gym were canceled, so we took the opportunity to go to the line dance that is held every Thursday in the next town. We stayed for a couple of hours, and I did some good aerobic dancing. But the amazing part of the night was that we managed to get Wally to come with us. And he actually tried some of the dances. If you knew Wally, he was really out of his comfort zone, so we were surprised and pleased that he came and he danced.

Friday, June 6, 2025

Strong and Balanced: The class was not too strenuous, but all of my major and minor muscle groups got a workout. The crowd was in a friendly, good mood, which helped make the class enjoyable.

Line Dance: We went to another line dance event a couple of towns away. It was held in an old barn, and the grounds and barn made for a great venue. We stayed for about 3 hours, and I danced a lot because as I get to know more dances, I do more of them. The only problem with the barn was that it had no air conditioning. There were plenty of fans and big, open doors, but I was doing a lot of dancing and consequently sweating a lot. But it was fun.

Friday night's line dance was held in the Springfield Barn.
The barn is over 200 years old and is one of the biggest barns in Maryland.

Saturday, June 7, 2025

Free Day: After the active last two days, I took it easy today and spent most of the day picking and pitting cherries. Don't remember doing anything extra for exercise.

We have been picking and freezing cherries every day.
 Pitting cherries is tedious work.

Sunday, June 8, 2025

Free Day: We took a trip to the county seat to get the lay of the land and parking for jury duty I have next week. After that, we decided to take a walk along a riverwalk in the town. We thought we could get some good walking in, but it turns out there was an arts festival going on with lots of vendors and people making anything more than a stroll impossible. But enjoyed ourselves perusing the various talented artists who were displaying their art. We walked around for about an hour before the rain came, and we headed home. That evening, I was feeling restless, so I took a walk around the neighborhood.

We saw many things we liked, but didn't buy anything.

Monday, June 9, 2025

Strong and Balanced: The class today was more challenging than it has been at times. We used a step, weights, and bands for some good strength training. There was an emphasis on getting your heart rate up today, so in addition to getting good strength training, it was also an aerobic workout.

Walk: Because I got some aerobic work in during the morning class, I decided to forgo the afternoon Zumba class I was considering and took a walk around the neighborhood instead. It was about 1 1/2 miles at a good pace.

Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Line Dancing: Another fun morning of dancing and joking. And the teacher brought mimosas for everyone. Among other things, we learned the Texas Waltz today. It was difficult to switch my brain from 4/4 time, which most of the dances have, to the 3/4 time of the waltz, but I managed. This is a dance that can be done as a couple, so Ward and I hope to learn that. It was a good hour of movement, but not exhausting.

Wednesday, June 11, 2025

Express Sculpt: This was a 30-minute session of intense strength training, incorporating weights and mat work. The instructor was no-nonsense and didn't waste one second of the class. It was definitely fatiguing, and I wasn't strong enough to do all the exercises without modification.  I think this was one of those classes that was good for me, but not necessarily fun.

Ward has a protein drink after each exercise class, and I joined him today with a small one. I am not that interested in animal protein (although I do eat it), so it's hard for me to get enough protein in my diet. This is another way to do that.

Until next time...

Exercise Update, June 5, 2025

Since retiring in February, I have been trying to add regular exercise to my days. I report on it here weekly to hold myself accountable. 

Here's what happened this week.

Thursday, May 29, 2025

Line Dance: This is a class for beginners and a good fit for me. The main instructor is very good, but they are training a couple of others who are still rough around the edges, but they are trying. I got a good hour of aerobic exercise.

Friday, May 30, 2025

Strong and Balanced: This class focuses on strength and balance training, and it is getting easier for me. I like that the instructor emphasizes doing things at your own pace. I also like that it is a whole body workout, including things like your neck, fingers, wrist, and ankles. I went up a pound in weights today, which seemed really heavy, but was not a problem.

Saturday, May 31, 2025

Free Day: We helped with a 92nd birthday party for my father-in-law today. I was on my feet much of the day, so I looked at my Fitbit at the end of the day in eager anticipation of a high step count. However, all I saw was a blank screen as my battery had died. :( Oh, well. There was no focused exercise, but I did get in a fair number of steps.

Sunday, June 1, 2025

LIIT: This was a good overall workout, but especially good for my weak shoulders and abs. I generally took the easier option for the exercises, but took it up to higher levels when I could. We did several of the exercises while we moved across the room. I liked that, except for the fact that it was crowded at times. This is a good class for me because it is a hard challenge, but not so much that I don't want to go back.

Monday, June 2, 2025

Strong and Balanced: While I wouldn't call this class easy for me, I recover well from it. The crowd is friendly, and I'm making some acquaintances in the class. I am someone who is quiet in unfamiliar situations, so doing some socializing shows progress, too. I got a decent workout focusing on strength.

Ballroom Dance: This was our last class of this session, and it was okay. We hadn't been for two weeks because of Memorial Day, and the fact that we didn't practice for those two weeks was obvious. However, even with that being said, it was a good aerobic workout.

Tuesday, June 3, 2025

Line Dance: This hour continues to be my favorite class of the week. I can definitely tell improvement from when I started four months ago. I am learning dances more quickly because I am more familiar with the common movements that make up many of them. And the last few times, I haven't been as tired at the end. That's not to say that it's not a challenge for me, but I'm doing better. This week was a solid hour of good aerobic movement.

Wednesday, June 4, 2025

Free Day: Although there was no formal exercise today, I managed to walk over two miles around an outlet mall and do some yard work, so it wasn't entirely sedentary. Although I did spend some time in a comfy chair finishing a book. :)

Until next time...

By the way, I know these posts can be boring, and I'm getting a little tired of them, but they are one of the key pieces to my success thus far, so I'll keep doing them.

Exercise Update, May 23, 2025

 I am on a quest to exercise regularly and report about it here to keep myself accountable. Here is my weekly update. 

But before that, here are a few things that are happening in my yard this week.

We had a great surprise this week when a friend sent me three bare-root roses. They have been planted, and we are excited about the roses we will have in the years to come.

Dahlia

Purple sage

The first day lily has bloomed.

Tucked between the amsonia and the bleeding heart, I found a squash plant. I have no idea how it got there. I'm still debating whether or not to move it. Volunteers always seem to do best where they come up.

The wax beans came up yesterday. I always find it fun to see the seed from which a new plant comes.

We have a fence to keep rabbits out of the beans, but the birds flew over it and snipped a few off.

This poppy bloom is a little worse for wear from the several days of rain we've had.

The other rhododendron bushes are done blooming, but this one is still putting on a good show.

The spireas were covered with bumble bees, but I didn't manage to get a picture of one.

The cherries will be ripe soon.

Now onto my exercise report.

Because of Memorial Day, I had more free days this week than usual. However, I'm still happy with my effort. 

Thursday, May 22, 2025

Line Dance: This is a beginner's class, and I did well with all of the dances, except one. That was a new one, and while I got most of the steps, I seemed to turn the wrong way much of the time. Hopefully, I will figure out the right way next time. It was a good aerobic workout.

Friday, May 23, 2025

Free Day: I usually go to Strong and Balanced on Fridays, but skipped today because we had several other things we wanted to get done. I might have been able to work it in, but we had a dead car battery to deal with. However, I did a moderate amount of weeding and raking in the yard for some exercise.

Saturday, May 24, 2025

Free Day: We spent the morning working in the yard before heading to a family party a couple of hours away. By the end of the day, I had over 11,000 steps, so I may have done more yardwork in the morning than I realized. Nothing was too vigorous, but good movement all the same.

Sunday, May 25, 2025

LIIT: This was an intense 45-minute workout with weights, a step, and a mat. I modified when necessary (my knees don't like a lot of jumping) for a draining but good combination of strength and aerobic exercise. 

Monday, May 26, 2025

Free Day: The gym closed early for Memorial Day, so I didn't go there for any classes today. After lunch, I went for a walk with Ward. It was about 1 1/2 miles at a good pace with some hills thrown in. It was not too strenuous, but hopefully, it made a small dent in the brownies that I had not been able to stay away from all day. 

Tuesday, May 27, 2025

Line Dance: It was a good hour session of dancing with a couple of new dances. One of them was more complicated than what we had been doing, and I got most of it. A dance with a little more variety was fun. The class was a good workout, but I wasn't exhausted afterwards. A definite improvement from when I started the class three months ago.

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

Express Sculpt: Although this class was only 30 minutes long, it was intense. I have been feeling better with my exercise lately, as I'm not getting as sore or tired as I used to. But this class was too hard for me. There were lots of lunges of various kinds that really hurt my knees. And some of the exercises, I just couldn't do because I was not strong enough (ones involving push-ups, especially). But I kept moving with my version of the exercises. The rest of the class was filled with fit people who were not struggling. I may try something else for strength training before I try this one again. That's the beauty of the gym we belong to--there is a wide variety of classes to choose from.

Until next time...

Speed Blogging, This and That, and Exercise Update

 I've set my timer, so let's see where my random thoughts check in goes. :)

I've been spending a fair amount of time on the computer recently, reformatting and editing my Storyworth stories. You may remember I worked intensely on it a couple of years ago when I answered questions about my childhood and life. Storyworth (a gift from my SIL) then binds them into a book. While the book was nicely bound, I didn't like the quality of the pictures or the lack of formatting that was allowed. For example, you couldn't use italics or bold anything. Not to mention my typos.

Anyway, one of my retirement goals is to redo the book and print it myself. It is a very tedious job and frustrating at times. I have completed the initial transfer and am now looking for whatever new mistakes I may have introduced. I ended up with 138 pages, including pictures. So, it's long enough that I am really tired of it now. But I will persist because I really want to cross this off my list.

We recently heard the NIH orchestra play Rite of Spring by Stravinsky.

Encouraged by Mandy at Read, Write, Mom, I have installed the Merlin app (bird ID from Cornell) and have become a little obsessed with it. I sit on the porch or yard while it records birds and identifies them. It's really fun to see the variety of birds close by. I see a few of the birds, but many of them are hidden in the trees and bushes, singing away. 

Theo came over for another bulk cooking day, and we made 6 lbs of meat loaf, 2 lbs of green bean almondine, and 5 lbs of mashed potatoes.

There goes my timer (12 minutes this time*), so it's time to stop. But not before I do my weekly exercise update. :)

___________________________

  Since retirement, I have focused on getting more exercise. I post weekly updates here to hold myself accountable and see my progress.

I'm getting into a routine of sorts with my exercise activities. There are still many things to explore at the gym and other places, but I have found classes that are a fit for me at this time. 

Thursday, May 15, 2025

Line Dancing: This is a beginning class, and the instructor is good. I stayed for a bit and watched the advanced class afterwards, and they were doing a very complicated dance. That's what I aspire to. In the meantime, I got a decent workout in my beginning class.

Friday, May 16, 2025

Strong and Balanced: This class has two different instructors, and both have been out. Today, we were back to one of our regulars, who brings a fun atmosphere to the class. It wasn't too strenuous, but I got an all-body workout using weights.

Ballroom Dance: We had a practice party for our class tonight. We brought snacks and spent two hours dancing and chatting. It was much more relaxed than the class and was fun. I didn't dance the whole two hours, but I certainly got some good aerobic work in.

Saturday, May 17, 2025

Line Dance: We attended a line dance fundraising event for St. Jude. We were supposed to meet friends there, but the event sold out before they got there. However, the music was so loud that we wouldn't have been able to talk anyway. The local radio station was hosting, and they brought big speakers that they felt compelled to use to full capacity. I got in some good dancing for a decent aerobic workout.

Sunday, May 18, 2025

Free Day: We went to a festival during the afternoon and walked about a mile. Most of it was gentle, except at the end when we were walking back to our car. Then I worked up a good sweat, especially on the hills. Back home, I spent time in the yard doing various chores and getting more exercise. 

Monday, May 19, 2025

Strong and Balanced:  This was a standard class that focused on strength training. I went up on weights today, so it was also a little more aerobic than it has been. 

Ballroom Dance: Tonight we did the Quickstep, ChaCha, and Samba. We worked on some complicated routines that the whole class was struggling with. Those are all fast dances, and I definitely had my heart rate up during class, not to mention sweating like a pig. :)

Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Line Dancing: This was our standard class, and I did well on most of the dances. However, there was one new one that I just couldn't concentrate on, but I kept moving, even if it wasn't always the right way. As always, the class joked with each other, which made it fun. It was a good hour of aerobic work, but I wasn't as tired at the end as I was the last two times. Afterwards, we did errands and I got a fair amount of walking in as we visited several big box stores.

Wednesday, May 21, 2025

Sculpt Express: This was a 30-minute version of Power Sculpt that focused on strengthening legs, arms, back, and abdomen. I thought I needed more ab work than I was getting in my Strong and Balanced class, so I tried this one. It was only 30 minutes, so I thought it was a good place to start. Well, that was an intense 30 minutes, and I got a good workout. I was definitely sore after this class.

Well, that's it for now. After several days of rain, today is supposed to be a dry day, so it's time to do some yard work.

Until next time...

* For full disclosure, I spent another 12 minutes adding links and pictures. I try to update my exercise daily, so that was just a cut and paste.

Exercise and Blooming Update, May 15, 2025

  Since retirement, I have focused on getting more exercise. I post weekly updates here to hold myself accountable and see my progress.

Among the descriptions of what I did this week on the exercise front, you'll see some of what's blooming in my yard.

Japanese iris

Thursday, May 8, 2025

Line Dance: This was the second week of the beginner's line dance that started at the gym. We went over a couple of dances from last week and some new ones, including "Boots on the Ground". Apparently, this dance is everywhere, but I had never heard of it. It is done with a clap fan, which was also new to me. It was fun, but I still need a little work with my fan. The class was not too strenuous, but it gave me a decent aerobic workout.

Rhododendron

Friday, May 9, 2025

Strong and Balanced: We had a no-nonsense sub today, and not one second of the 45-minute class was wasted. I got a good all-body workout, especially my shoulders.

Dianthus

Saturday, May 10, 2025

Free Day: It rained all day, so I puttered around the house and did a little dance practice. Nothing too earth-shattering as far as exercise goes.

Portulaca

Sunday, May 11, 2025

Free Day: The weather cleared, so my puttering included some yard work with some planting and weeding. Again, I didn't push myself physically.

Kolanchoe

Monday, May 12, 2025

Strong and Balanced: We had the same sub as on Friday, and she gave us another good workout with bands and weights. The sub was a good instructor, but not as fun as the regular teachers.

Ballroom: We worked on a new routine for the Quickstep that confused everyone, including me. During the second half of the class, when we worked on the Samba, the instructor worked with me personally, but I didn't like the special attention. However, my heart rate was up, and I got a decent aerobic workout.

Yellow allium

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Line Dance: I was recovering from a migraine, so I was a little slow in class today. However, the class continued to be light-hearted and fun. Dancing continuously for an hour here definitely gave me a good aerobic workout.

Coral bells

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Free Day: We got in 30 minutes of ballroom practice while trying to figure out what we were taught on Monday. It was not too strenuous, but it did elevate my heart rate a bit.

Bearded iris

Vinca

Rhododendron

Until next time...