August 31, 2013

9:02 AM It's another Labor Day weekend. In my younger days in Washington DC I would be going out with friends to the Mall or somewhere, but this year I will be at home veging out. I will read my book some more, I guess. I want to start walking for exercise, though, so maybe I will start going out in the morning before 10:00, and begin that this weekend. When I couldn't get up off the floor at the library, there were two things going on. I think my blood pressure plummeted, because I nearly fainted and it took me 30 minutes or so to recover, but there is also the fact that I have noticed in the last six months or so that when I squat down to get into my lower cabinets in the kitchen I have a very difficult time lifting myself back up again, and need something to hold to so that I can pull up. I think I have not exercised in so long that my leg muscles and the knee joints are weak. I need to strengthen them. Maybe I can also do some leg exercises that involve moving up and down with my knees bent, weight-bearing, in a way that uses my thighs. Maybe I can find some leg exercises on the Internet.

Another kitten was in trouble in the news, this time in Florida. A man named Robert Avery and his son drove his car for a trip of 38 miles at 65 miles an hour, with the kitten on board. The next morning Avery was in his garage, not in the car yet, when he heard something that he said sounded like a frog (really??), and he jacked up the car and found it behind the rear wheel wedged between the suspension and the frame. It was covered in grease, so I guess it had to be washed. He named it Butch and his family adopted it. The article says it is a feral cat, but it apparently is getting along fine with his family, who all love it, he said. At least the story had a happy ending. Cats have a tendency to crawl up around the motor of cars, and are sometimes killed. I have heard that they are attracted to the warmth of the motor, but I have noticed that cat's I've had are drawn to exploring small spaces in general. I almost lost a cat when she climbed into a tight space under the neighbor's house and apparently couldn't find her way back out. I went and knocked on the door of the neighbor's house looking for her, and while I was talking to her, I heard a cat loudly calling. She was so stressed that she sounded like a Siamese, and that neighbor had a Siamese, so I didn't think it was Sally Petunia, but that night as I was lying in bed and trying to sleep I began to think about it. I went back the next day and called Sally. She answered me, and I had to pull a section of flashing to the side to make a hole for her to get out. She immediately poked her nose out the hole and pushed her way through the opening. She was dirty, but unhurt, and from then on I stopped letting her outside except when I could supervise her movements. She was happiest when we lived in Thomasville NC at home, and she could stay outside as much as she wanted to. She was an adventurous and active cat, not a lazy lap cat. She would have been happy in a farmer's barn with plenty of little mouses to catch.

I'm looking things up from my novel on the Internet again. The Internet is addictive, because you can look almost anything up and find out things about it. This one is “digital picture frame.” Apparently it's another new piece of technology, but I had never heard of it. No more paper pictures and metal frames. Those are old fashioned.

11:01 AM I have done some stretching exercises and some for my knees and thighs, and am walking around my apartment while listening to “Wait, wait, don't tell me” on the radio, a news quiz show. One problem I have always had with exercises is the monotony of it. Having something to listen to makes it bearable. On this radio show they are asking the definition of “twerking.” Miley Cyrus has really made it big. Everybody is talking about her. I'm almost beginning to feel sorry for her, though I can't condone what she did.

4:28 I had a brilliant thought. I need to strengthen my legs. I have just gone on Amazon and bought a pair of ankle weights to give me more oomph in my exercising. I chose 1.5 lb. Weights, because I was afraid some of the other sizes will be too heavy for me. It only cost me $18.00 including shipping. I should get them within a week or two.

Back to my reading. There is some thunder outside. I think I'll close this file in case the computer is struck by lightning. Actually, I run a risk of lightning all the time, in that I never turn the computer off. I just close my files. More thunder, and closer. Goodbye for now.