Hey Claudia!
May 31, 2005
As Claudia requested a picture of my trainer...this is Tyson. Cute eh? I spent my Monday morning (early) with him and he seriously kicked my
ass butt. It feels good to be able to move the body (sans pain). This is the best money I've spent in a long time. Better than yarn. Gasp! Blasphemy, I know, but a body that moves correctly, with all muscles 'firing', as he calls it, is a happy body. I highly recommend a trainer to whip help you into shape. It's the only way to play.
We did have some loads of fun and a little sorrow this weekend. A call came on Friday night from my father's wife, Helen. Dad is not doing well ...it's his heart. More test will be conducted next week to find the extent of the problem and if it can be fixed easily or will involved more extensive procedures.
Quiet times this weekend were spent in contemplation of my relationship with my father. He is sometimes a hard man to like. One minute he is charming, full of fun and life, a wonderful teacher, and a sweet father. The next minute, for no apparent reason, he will be explosive, petulant, frustrated and sometimes mean. Chaos theory was alive and well in our household. His tendency is to take everything personally, from road construction to the weather. The lesson learned from his behavior was to not take anything you can't control personally. There is also a constant struggle, vigilance, to keep myself in balance and to stay positive. While I wouldn't call our relationship strained, it can be stressful and prone to negative moments. He lives in Flagstaff and that makes it easier in some ways and harder in others, like now when I can't easily be there with him. In conversation he often says life is too hard and he isn't happy to be here. When I try to turn the direction to something more positive he tells me of his old hobby, stereo photography, becoming new again, of the old pictures he's redoing and new pictures he has taken. The gifts he has given me are the love of landscape, especially Utah's extreme and diverse beauty, love of music, learning and travel, to name just a few. At this point we don't know what the future holds, but if you're so inclined please send him good thoughts and prayers.
We did have a great time with friends and kept busy the whole weekend. We packed in as much as we could on Saturday and Sunday because there was threat of thunderstorms on Monday. At 4:00 that morning we were awakened by loud thunder, lightning and a very scared dog. Poor Moxie! It rained off and on all day. The promise is for sun to return today with unsettled conditions ahead. I have loads of pictures and little time to get a proper post ready so, stay tuned for a report on our weekend shenanigans.
Check out my Weekly Zen, Nona Knits. Her blog has posts on techniques such as short rows (all the different methods!) and one you may not find in any book, the M&M method of finishing.