The Electric Fetus

It’s hard to believe that it’s January. There are no cold winds. There is no snow. There is no ice. It’s almost like late February/early March.

The ground is losing its frost. I was able to take out of the stakes out of the ground for the outdoor Christmas snowman. It was the last of my Christmas decorations that I hadn’t put away.

I also was able to pull out Ray’s browning wreath and my grandparents’ poinsettias. The cemetery is still a sea of green wreaths with red ribbons, but I think the cemetery maintenance guys will be starting to remove the wreaths soon. Baring a major freeze and/or snowstorm, it should be an easy task for them this year.

I gained five pounds over the holidays, because I’m a slothful pig. I love chocolate and cookies and high calorie empty nutritional high carb food. I’ve lost four pounds and just have one pound to go to get back to my pre-Christmas weight.

Here’s another way a death of a spouse can alter one’s life – I stopped doing strength training after Ray died and have never got back into it other than doing ab work and push-ups.

But my left knee has been hurting so much when I walk for about 30 minutes and I have an incredibly high $4,000 deductible health plan, so I can’t afford to go to the doctor, that I decided to start building up the muscles around my knees and see if that helps.

So, I started keeping a workout log again, and began first with lower body training, and now I’ve finally added my upper body weight work, plus 45 minutes of cardio at the gym. I walk outside on Saturdays. And in yoga, we’ve been doing a lot of standing poses, which has been great for my old, creaky knees.

My knee is doing much better, so I think I’m on the right track.

But it’s taken me almost four years to get back to where I was.

Another sign – I can go grocery shopping now and not even notice the couples that are shopping together. Before, all I saw were couples everywhere; everyone was in a couple, but me.

Joe and I went to the Electric Fetus today. The Electric Fetus (http://www.electricfetus.com/Home) is an independent music store in Minneapolis, MN. Joe picked up a DVD and I bought a couple of used CDs.

The Electric Fetus has been around since hippie days and it’s like going back to the 60s.

I took my Volkswagen for a bath at a new car wash in the neighborhood.

And I took the dogs for a walk. What a joy to walk on ice and snow-free sidewalks and not have to wear mittens.