I don't know about you, but when I was learning to ride a bike I was taught that bikes are vehicles & should follow the rules of the road. It seems to me that many people turn into hybrids on their bikes - part car, part pedestrian. And I might do that do once I start trying to ride around town. Who knows? One thing I do know: it is very weird to not come to a complete stop at a stop sign - I just roll & go & feel really daring. Flaunting the law! Multiple times on my ride! oooo... I do this because I'm still pretty awkward getting started pedaling. Nobody needs to see that! So I do anything I can to keep from coming to a complete stop.
Every day when I walk around the parking lot at work I pass at least one car that is idling. The driver is just sitting in there listening to music, playing on their phone, taking a nap. Obviously taking their lunch break in their car. It's all I can do to keep from screaming at them, "Why do you hate the earth so much!" Ugh.
(I am having to forcibly restrain my self from going back & changing all those "theirs" and "thems" to his/her and him/her.)
I am really struggling trying to figure out what to do with the church landscaping. It's a lush jungle out there & I'd just as soon leave it alone, but I know that's not a good plan. We don't have anyone willing to work on it & can't afford professional help. And while I'm marginally willing, I'm not competent. Can I futz around until fall when everything will die back? It might happen!
(I might apply the same tactic that I used way (way) back in the day in my home church. The organist got annoyed about something & quit & so they had me fill in. I had been taking organ lessons, but I pretty much had no idea what I was doing. The organist couldn't stand to have me messing around with his baby so he forgave everyone & came back to church. I figure if I whack enough things in the yard that I shouldn't, then people who didn't think they cared will suddenly start working in the yard too.)
Tomorrow will be Day Seven of no soft drinks or caffeine. I will say that I have had a few days where I just wanted to crawl back into bed (but that could have been the heat). Otherwise - no ill effects. And no real desire to cheat. This goal has felt mostly unconquerable in the past and yet it was as easy as not buying any drinks last week when I went to the grocery store. This and my daily (short) bike rides give me hope for the future of my other health goals. Next up - yoga!
Okay, I'm done rambling now. Enjoy the rest of your Monday!
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2024 Project 365 – Week Forty-six
I’m sitting here watching an Annie Oakley documentary while writing this post. She was quite a lady! Sunday, November 17th We had a c...
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First, I'd like to talk about my funeral experience today. The singing was fine – I'm no Susan Boyle, but I'll do. When we... -
I’m still feeling the disconnect of world events (& events here at home), & all the perky “Reason for the Season” in the air right n...
Sigh. The use of "their" as a singular possessive still rankles me. It has become a journalistically acceptable use now, but I think it's awful in writing. At least you qualified by telling us that you KNOW what is correct.
ReplyDeleteThis year, with all the rain, I am so tired of weeding and maintenance in the gardens. I can absolutely understand how you feel. Maybe your minister/pastor/priest can get up there and make a general plea for you, a la "many hands make light work" kind of thing. If enough people swarm in there, you can be done in a jiff.
I know I KNOW - VERY annoying. And in fact I ended up leaving it in as is just for you - ha!
DeleteI probably will end up making a plea for help during the church announcements.
I have no idea how you're giving up caffeine completely. I've cut back to no coffee after noon, but I still enjoy a fully loaded iced tea in the late afternoon.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the people in idling cars are trying to keep cool. It's not something I'd choose ordinarily, but when we lost power this weekend, it was something I considered.
I wondered that about the caffeine too - but I just looked it up & the amount of caffeine in my preferred drink (Diet Sun Drop) is 69mg per 12 oz can. And I had at most 3 cans a day. Coffee by contrast has nearly 143mg of caffeine per 12 oz. Big difference!
DeleteYes, they are trying to keep cool, but it still bugs me because our office is plenty air conditioned (I would absolve you in a power outage because I'd totally do the same thing!).
Does your area have a Garden club? The one in our area volunteered to come take care of the library landscaping. They had had enough of watching the hatchet job the unskilled labor (we book sale volunteers) were doing.
ReplyDeleteOr, see if there are any Boy Scouts looking for an Eagle project --- around here landscaping schools and churches is a great source for them to earn that rank!
And be careful of breaking those laws. People get (disproportionately) irate at cyclists breaking the laws (even though they often slide right through right turns at red lights ... ) and they may take out their annoyance on the next cyclist they see. It's a big problem here.
You know I should check out those sources (although I seem to have a memory that the lady who was handling this didn't have any luck this spring).
DeleteWe drink nothing but carbonated water. Our grocery store has a line of them with lemon, lime or pomegranate-blueberry. Once you stop drinking sweet stuff, you wonder how you ever did!
ReplyDeleteA neighbour a street over was out today, chugging along with a gas-powered lawn-mower and leaving a wake of toxic fumes behind him. Why I oughta ...
I may have to check out the carbonated water. So far I'm doing ok with plain water (I added cucumber & blueberries yesterday).
DeleteI mostly drink water...and my share of coffee. Hey, all the new studies say it's good for you. I really like iced coffee and even got my boss addicted to it. I used to drink pop/soda/that carbonated stuff and gave it up when I was pregnant the last time (21 years ago). I always thought I'd go right back to it after my pregnancy, but I never did.
ReplyDeleteTea (or iced tea) is fairly low(-ish) in caffeine, and it's healthy. Would you substitute that for the soft drinks? We like our iced tea with a shot of cherry juice in it (came up with that because of what you said about tart cherry juice).
You know, I grew up on iced tea. And in Zambia I drank it hot like the British Caledonia stewardess served it to me on my flight over there. But I don’t really like to drink it all that much now. I would probably try it at work if I could keep a cold pitcher, but our fridge is too small. And even decaf tea apparently has too much caffeine for me to drink it at night – weird!
DeleteYesterday I had the most fascinating drink. I started out with cucumber water (turns out that’s just water with cucumbers in it – ha!). Later in the day I added some blueberries just to see what happened. Then at suppertime I added my cherry juice to the mix. It was surprisingly delicious!
About a year ago I gave up carbonated drinks for Nestle's flavored water. Great stuff. Of course I can't hold my head up too high because I do enjoy one cup of coffee every day.
ReplyDeleteI really don't like coffee - which is why I'm sort of inadvertently giving up caffeine - the only way I ever got it was in a soft drink.
DeleteBravo on no soft drinks. I think that will make a huge difference for you. I gave up sodas in 1989 or so and haven't looked back! (I gotta have my coffee, though.)
ReplyDeleteI think the rules on cycling vary from state to state but yes, as I understand it, you're a vehicle and you're supposed to stop at stop signs. I wouldn't worry about what you look like starting up again. The main thing is that you're safe and alive because you haven't ridden into the path of another motorist! (I'm sure you're being careful, and these are probably stop signs in areas with no traffic, which I've been known to ride through as well...)
Yes, our neighborhood is pretty quiet - and I'm not just barrelling through. I slow WAY down & look both ways & then go on my way.
DeleteI drink way too much diet coke, use a gas-powered mower, and sometimes eat lunch in the car while the engine is running. I'm so ashamed.
ReplyDeleteOh... wait a minute. My pronoun-antecedent agreement is spot on. Yeah, forget all that other stuff I said. I'm the QUEEN!
You ARE the queen :)
DeleteIt's now Tuesday, but Monday wasn't bad! I enjoyed your random. I resonate with the church garden issue. Upkeep. Ha! Maybe a quick early morning weeding session followed by a breakfast casserole and coffee? Whatever can be done in half an hour, but six people will have to participate. Maybe? Good luck, regardless.
ReplyDeleteSadly Anne I'm not sure we HAVE six able-bodied (and willing) people. Sigh.
DeleteYour church grounds might just be a good Eagle Scout project. Ask the various troops to see if someone might be interested. It meets the goals of an Eagle project in that it involves planning, involves the work of other people, and providing a good result for the community.
ReplyDeleteI really should check into that!
DeleteI wouldn't be much of a role model for you. My weakness is Coca Cola, I don't ride a bike (as Henry Ford made them obsolete 110 years ago), and I do sometimes sit in my car with the AC on (it's either that or dying a miserable death).
ReplyDeleteTo my credit, though, I DID give up my lawnmower 5 years ago. Do I get any points for that? ;)
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I wouldn't mind the sitting in the car thing if it weren't for the fact that our nice air-conditioned building was just scant feet away. I know I know - sitting in the break room doesn't give you the privacy to talk on the phone - or sleep... Maybe I'll cut them a break :)
DeleteI can't talk about lawn mowers - if the rain will let up we'll be using ours tonight. We're in the market for a goat - do you know where I can get one?
i did my cycle proficiency as a kid and scored 99% - i still think they just took off a 1% for the sake of not having a perfect score
ReplyDeleteIt's very hard as a cyclist in the uk - cycle lanes are often non existent or shared with busses and cars will often happily kill you to save 20 seconds from their journey, so sometimes there's no option but to cycle on the pavement
But none of this justifies the attitude of so many cyclists here that the usual rules of road behaviour don't apply to them
It is annoying - & I hope I'm a more considerate cyclist. I did perk up when I remembered that the road I want to take to go to my local pharmacy has a turning lane in the middle so cars can use that to go around me if they want to :)
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