Spring Torrent

When we crossed the river on our bikes last week after a little jaunt, we noticed a little path. We got off our bikes and ambled down, or at least I did, and Cuppa snapped this picture.

Yes, that's what I refer to as The Unmighty Mississippi, in order to distinguish it from that huge American river that is frequently referred to as Mighty. But it looks pretty mighty in this photo, doesn't it? Water runs high in spring, and the torrent is more pronounced than usual.

This was, originally, a mill town, and there is still a damn of sorts on the river. In fact, right from where Cuppa is taking this picture, there is forced drop a few feet; there's no reservoir, however; they don't control the water level.

There was a little plaque at the beginning of the path commemorating a boy who had drowned here, in 1992 I think. It urged us to be careful, and I certainly was.

It's a nice day and supposed to go up to 22C/72F today. Typical of April, however, it will still be fairly windy, so, even if we get out on the bikes, we still won't go all that far, probably 10-15 klicks (6-9 miles). However, we may not get out at all, for today is the day that Cuppa makes turkey stew from the weekend's bones. It's one of daughter's faves, and the kids are invited to share it with us.

 

These Crumbling Structures

When we went cycling this afternoon, I noticed the above ruins for the first time. Of course, we hadn't ridden that way since last autumn. The thicker foliage, and make no mistake that there is foliage all around the remains of this structure and even inside it, would have kept the structure fairly hidden, unless you knew to look for it. With patience, dear reader might, eventually, see a connection between the photo and the rest of this post.

After the serendipitous photo op, in order continue on our little journey, we had to pedal up a little incline. I stood up to pedal and reached the top sooner than Cuppa who said, when she caught up, "I had to get off and walk it up. It was too hard on my knees." I told her that that was part of the reason why I stood up on inclines: because it was easier on my knees.

Cuppa: "But that's too hard on my neck to stand and pedal."

AC: "We're a couple of sorry specimens. Aren't we? Your neck; my knees?"

She didn't think so really, all things considered. Thought we were doing pretty well as a matter of fact. But I decided to confess that I felt about five years older this year than last ...

I have been thinking about age and aging (or ageing) quite a but lately. One supposes that these thoughts are totally natural considering my life stage, but I think they gained some momentum at the St Paddy's dance when a woman with whom we were sitting, introduced us to a friend. She said that they had gone to school together.

The thing was that the friend looked younger, despite not trying as hard. She had let her hair go natural and wore less makeup. She was less fashionable. But she still looked younger: something about her skin and complexion, I think.

About a week later, I was chatting with another acquaintance, male this time. Just that day, I had been wondering about his age and deduced that, based on appearance, it could be between 60 and 65. Nope: 72. Meanwhile, my SIL was shocked to learn that our 65-year-old neighbour is just that and not really 75. He simply looks and acts old. Then, there is a 45 year-old at the dance whose wrinkled jowls make her look older than the significantly older Cuppa — at least to me, but I confess to possibly being somewhat blinded by love.

It works both ways. Some look older than their real age, some younger. Of course, appearance only tells a part of the story.To wit: my hair is still almost all dark; there's very little grey, a bit more in my beard, but, even that is more dark than grey. My eyes, however, which may once have been my crowning glory are black-rimmed and saggy. Although I think that I do alright overall in terms of appearance, I may suffer more inner deterioration than others.

I am drawing no conclusion, simply indicating things that I have been recently observing and contemplating.

... On hearing my analysis (yes, this is continued from above), Cuppa opined that she, too, feels somewhat aged by the move. It's just not as easy to handle these sorts of things later in life. We stood there straddling our bikes for a few moments discussing these things. It seems more of a chore to do things now: seems to take more willpower and energy to get out on the bicycles, for example. We're on the eve, almost on the eve, of a big adventure — big for us at least — the trip to Arizona that I have previously mentioned. We know that we'll enjoy it once we get there, but we both confessed to not being overly exuberant with only a week to go. It's the getting ready and the going that are more onerous than they used to be.

Only six years ago, we drove out west, all around once there, and back. We travelled more than 12 000 kilometres in 30 days. We mostly camped. A year later we camped on our trip Down East. Even three years ago, we camped in Manitoba and North Ontario. I'm not sure that I could face that now. Maybe that last experience of camping in the rain in the wilderness is what lingers in my mind. I wonder?

Up until lately, I have been saying and thinking that I am still young in my head. How do I explain to those younger that you still feel, more or less, the same at sixty as at twenty-five. Today, I seemed to be shifting gears, reevaluating. But on the way back, after about ten kilometres of cycling, I began to reconsider once more. I was feeling perkier and younger already. I remembered that I hadn't felt terribly well for a few days, but I was feeling a little more like my old self today. So, perhaps, it had been more of health, or lack of health, aberration than an age-related issue?

Perhaps, I don't feel that I have aged five years in the past one. Perhaps, I have only aged one year.

That would make me 26 ... where it counts.

 

From Us to You

Saturday Samplings

I must thank you for your kind words and comments to my Spring Tune Up post the other day. I really do think that I am more tired than moody, and I do believe that it stems more from poor sleep than anything else. I seem to go through cycles when sleep is more problematic than its normally problematic self. Last night, for example, I fell asleep right away. That lasted for about an hour before I began tossing and turning for about two and half hours. By then, even though I had originally promised myself to stay down for the night whether I slept or not, I was cussing moderately and ready to get up. Well, I did get up but decided to return to my own bed (from the guest bed that I had moved to earlier). For whatever reason, changing beds often helps. Last night, going back to my own bed did the trick. Usually, it is the leaving of my bed for the guest bed that does it, but last night it was opposite. This guessing game keeps life interesting, I suppose.

So, after several days of weariness, I slept for, perhaps, seven hours. It's not exactly enough to rejuvenate me, but I will muddle through. I am sneezing a lot and wonder if some early season allergy is affecting my energy? I don't think that usually happens this early in the season, however. Not that I ever suffer severely from allergies, but I, sometimes, seem to exhibit moderate symptoms.

This morning, we got the turkey in the oven. Cuppa did most of the work, but I chopped up the crusts, celery, and onion for the stuffing. The woman has a great idea: bring a greasy burger in for lunch. We frequently seem to do that when we cook the Christmas turkey, so why not for the Easter turkey? We don't do that sort of thing very often, so why not go a little bit crazy? We're just a couple of zany kids, you know?

Then, I read a few blogs. I typed out comments for a few — Mimico Musings and Maison Madcap — but didn't actually post either one. My comment to Dale was on the tasteless side, something to do with the original name of Mount Forest, and I felt that my comment to Madcapmum might have been a little controversial, and I don't feel like stirring any pots today.

I have been going through a bit of Sudoku phase lately. I hadn't played the game for several weeks, but I have played it numerous times in the last few days. It's probably best if I check my answers as I go. I get the logic, but, for whatever reason, I am prone to making careless errors — usually just one or two, if any, per game — but I may as well catch them early rather that at the end. There are lots of online Sudoku sites, but I prefer to play on paper. To this end, I have found that both USA Today and Newsweek have very good print features. They print a big grid, with the answers below (you can fold them under). While it doesn't do quite as good a job, I have also found that Sudoku Online prints tolerably well.

Not my usual type of post, a little more like journalling than what I do normally, but there you have it.

 

Blessings

I know that there are a lot of people of faith who drop by here from time to time. For you Good Friday is a most holy day. May spirit wings exalt you. May your cup of blessings overflow.

Needed: One Spring Tune Up

After the initial euphoria that accompanies the coming of spring, I find myself in a bit of a funk. Maybe that's not the right word. I don't think that I'm so much in a bad mental place; it's more that I'm feeling very unenergetic. At line dancing the other night, I was distracted and frequently losing my place — forgetting steps, getting steps out of order, interjecting the wrong steps, etc. Oh, it wasn't all that bad. I mean, I really managed to stay upright and stumble my way through most dances, but I wasn't exactly on top of things if you know what I mean.

Cuppa asks me if I want to go for a walk, and I look at her as if she's lost her mind. I know that I should, if for no other reason than to build up my stamina a little bit for our impending holiday. But it seems like such an effort. She says: "Do you want to watch TV?" I just tell her that I don't care, that she can do what she wants, and I'll just sit there and stare at whatever she chooses.

We went shopping yesterday, grocery shopping. We simply had to, but if there's anything as draining and uninspiring as that chore, I don't think that I want to know about it. We watched American Idol again last night. No one has really grabbed me this year. Oh, I think that it's a pretty good crew, but I'm not a huge fan of anyone in particular although I do like Taylor, Kellie, and Katharine better than the others. Please tell me that it's not just because the two girls are gorgeous. Really, I don't want to think myself that shallow ... and I did like Mandisa too, y'know. Aside from Taylor, the guys leave me cool. I suppose that the rocker is pretty good, but a little rock goes a long way. Elliot has a good voice, I think, but he doesn't exactly inspire me. Ace ... well, beefcake isn't my thing.

Speaking of Idol (and just how did I get here anyway?), is anybody else wearying of the judge who almost invariably says: "Check it out dude, check it out. You worked it out dude, you worked it out. You know what I'm sayin'? You know what I'm sayin'?"

Do you know what I'm saying?

You see? I'm being critical, so maybe I really am in a funk. Once again, I tell myself that I should quit blogging ... and then I blog about it. Then I almost decide to jettison my Flickr account, and I poutingly determine to not go to the dance tonight, knowing, of course, that I will.

Last night, I got so very hot in bed — again! I hadn't slept or slept much by 2:00 a.m. by which time I was moaning over and cussing my discomfort. In my boiling state, I ripped off all covers and my pyjamas in an effort to cool off. That seemed to work, for I fell asleep shortly after. But, really, this nightly heat affliction is ... well, it's an affliction ... that's what!

What didn't work was listening to a book on tape ... or on iPod as is now the case. Cuppa does that nightly — falls asleep to a book on tape. It hasn't worked for me in the past, but I thought that I'd try it, on more time, last night. It almost seemed to work. I didn't hear very much of the first four chapters. I'd wake up and realize that I had missed a lot, and that pleased me. But then I turned it off ... and promptly lay there wide awake for quite a while. I changed beds and tried the book on tape again. I listened to the next four chapters: heard every friggin' word while becoming wider and wider awake by he moment. Turned it off and endured the heat thing that I described above.

You see? There's something just a little off-kilter? My stars may be out of alignment; I don't know.

But, I did make pizza yesterday for the first time ever, and it turned out quite well. I bought a pre-baked shell and spread pizza sauce on it and a can of Italian seasoned tomatoes, which I drained well. The tomatoes already had some garlic in the mix, but I added some Italian seasoning. The next toppings were the cheeses: grated Romano and thinly sliced fresh mozzarella. I sprinkled some basil and pepper on top. Ten minutes later at 425°F, we had a very nice, thin crust pizza for two. Except for the tomatoes, I have enough ingredients for another pizza, but not for tonight. We need to eat something less spicy before we go dancing, which I still don't really want to do ... but will ... if I can summon the energy.

Perhaps, I just need a spring tune up? How do you go about getting one of those?

 

Noticing

 

Cuppa took this picture of me today as I sat by the river drinking coffee at the halfway point of our walk. It is noticeable for several things.

For one: the Canadians among us will recognize the cup. They will also understand that we are coming to the end of the annual Roll Up The Rim contest. Once again, my [contest] cup has not exactly overflowed. I didn't win anything this year — again! — not a donut, not a coffee, not an anything.

Two: the camera bag which I boasted about the other day is beside me. Yes, I tried it out on the walk, and it worked pretty darn well. It wasn't too very onerous to carry, and I found it relatively easy to access the camera when I required it.

Three: I am wearing a winter coat. It's open, and the sleeves are unzipped, and I'm only wearing a tee shirt underneath, but it is a winter coat. I probably would have been fine with a lighter jacket, but it was breezy when we started out, and the wind had a bit of a chill to it.

Four: I am wearing my nice-weather hat as opposed to my winter hat of the same style but heavier material. I made a point of wearing it, you see. I rather had to make a point of it because I didn't yesterday. I mean to say: one doesn't necessarily think of wearing sun hats on coolish spring days. But it was sunny yesterday. And I was out for two hours. And I couldn't help but notice that my head was a trifle sore last night ... and red to look at. In fact, even though I remembered to protect myself today, my head is still taking pains (as it were) to remind me that I was rather foolish yesterday.

Nevertheless I am rather enjoying these bits of nice weather that the universe is bestowing upon us as she sees fit at this time of year.