August Days

 

The pace is slower, but it still seems like I run out of time. Maybe it's partly due to my new PT routine. I don't have more exercises to do, but I am still learning my new ones and my new sequence. 

Last Friday I finally had a new appointment with my therapist, Erica, who I have seen off and on for years. I had to hold out for her for weeks, because I want a person who knows me and knows all of my "multifactorial" issues. Since walking is hard and I mentioned finally getting back on my stationary bike, she has now assigned me to ride the bike five days a week. 

With a long PT routine three days a week and a short routine every day, plus the bike five days a week,  it's takes me quite  while to get to anything else each day. My bike is in the garage and I do my PT on the carpet up stairs. Both heat up in this warm/hot weather, so I need to do my workouts in the morning. So far I am doing as instructed. :-)

The rose is one of a few second bloomings. There is still a bit of color in the garden. The dahlias and zinnias and marigolds need more sun (tree shade) but I have enough to make bouquets a couple times a week.

On the patio the cannas are blooming. 

So are some succulents. 

The tomatoes will be coming on fast now. There will be caprese salad for dinner.
 

Jill had another mountain adventure last weekend, and I want to post some beautiful scenery from that trip, but it got complicated, so I'll devote my next post to it. 

It's almost time to fix dinner already. Where it the day go?

Last Week

 My posts last week were all about the week before and our time at the Oregon Coast. So now at the end of this week I am posting about what was going on while I was posting those. Maybe eventually I'll catch up. 

It was pleasantly warm and there were lunches outside. 

I picked new flowers for the house.

We finally got our first tomatoes, and I featured some in a Caprese salad that was part of our charcuterie board dinner one night. Also featured, sea salt, fig/ginger jam from the Blue Heron, hard cheese from the Nestucca Creamery, goat cheese and other fixings from Safeway, and fresh basil from our garden. 

On Friday I finally got an appointment with my Physical Therapist. Erica corrected some mistakes I was making, added and subtracted some exercises, and prescribed a stationary bike workout five days a week instead of going for walks. With so many "multifactorial" issues, it's difficult to know what and how much to prescribe. I started on the new routine this morning. 

Saturday I did do some walking. We went to the Puyallup Farmer's Market. We hadn't been all summer and it's our favorite market. 

Immigrant farmers grow lots of flowers in our valleys here and our markets are brimming with beautiful bouquets to purchase

The park is well adorned also. 

There are lots of different craft items. 

The market was very busy, with lots of people enjoying the food for sale as well. 

Flowers and more flowers, and it you want a special arrangement, they will make it for you. 

There was produce, of course.

Lots of goodies that we resisted.

Locally grown berries. 

And all kinds of fruits and vegetables.

We came away with corn on the cob, baby cucumbers, and beets and beet greens. With what we have in our small garden, we will be eating lots of vegetables this week. 

At the Beach: Day 4

 Saturday was going home day for us, but we had a bit more to do first. 

We had a slow morning, did a little packing up, then went to Tillamook to Starbucks for coffee and pastry because we were going there anyway to visit the Latimer Quilt & Textile Center. 

Located in an old elementary school situated in farm land just east of the Tillamook Cheese Creamery, it is a living, working museum dedicated to the history and preservation of fiber arts. 

We had been there once before, a long time ago. They have bi-monthly exhibits, and this time we were pleased to see that quilter's works from the Puget Sound area were on display.

The needlework, felting, quilting and combinations of textile work were just amazing. Such skill and creativity!

During week days this place is busy with different fiber arts groups coming in to work and share. 

Back at the cabin we ate lunch, finished off the dregs of some Tillamook ice cream, cleaned up and packed up, and were on our way back to Seattle by 2:00.

The coast highway is jammed with tourists in August, so we decided to take the back roads through the woods and over the mountains. To say its curvy is an understatement, but Tom likes driving it and I manage to hang on.

We had a good little vacation. By Saturday night we were settled in back home. By Sunday morning I was out picking some new flowers. 

Now it's almost a week later. The flowers are faded. It's time to pick some more.