Take a little break to celebrate

I will miss the Friday workout today and maybe Monday. Fran and I are going away for a few days to celebrate out 20th year of marriage. Not sure when we will be coming back but knowing us it will not be long. I am sure I will pay for it on my next workout day.
I did pick a few Cherokee Purple tomatoes last night. I am sure a coon would get them or the heat would ruin them. Not as good as vine ripe but good, good eatin'.

And the rains came

So glad to hear the rain falling every time I woke up during the night. We ended up with more than an inch with more possible today. Much cooler today and all the earth seems to be refreshed. Even with the rain, it is and will be dry until much more moisture soaks into the ground. Maybe this helped with the wild fire in the forest just to our south.
Wednesday workout was the Wall for half hour and the the hour Pump. The Pump is getting better for me and I can even add weight to my bar. Lunges are a problem and I continue to get cramps. I will not give up this class but modify this one routine. Even squats are much improved.
This will be my last class for the week. Fran and I are going to get away for a few days to celebrate 20 years. I doubt that we are gone that long since neither of us can be gone many days. Heading to the hill country.
I am sure all gardens will benefit from the rain. Bet the tomatoes grow tons in the next few days. We have lots that will be ready soon. Hope the coons stay away while we are gone.

Good News - Bad News

Got going early this morning as I was to meet Dave and family for some blueberries picking. Got there and saw lots of berries. Of course I had to sample and found them to not only not be sweet but almost bitter. Very small berries this year. Many still not ripe and with some rain these may be better. Good news is it began to rain a light rain while there and heavier as we drove back home. Raining hard at HOPE. Getting home I see it has rained but not that much. Hope we get more today and tomorrow as forecasters say we will. At least the tomatoes got some rain which is better than tap water.

A little sore today but not that bad.

Wild Fire

The national forest and other land just south of here is burning. The area is about 15,000 acres and mostly contained now. It is so hot and dry that any little thing can spark a fire. Same is true for here. Weather forecast give us a little chance of rain this week, which is better than many weeks. Hopefully we can get some as many of the trees are suffering now. The tomatoes, because we water everyday, are still looking good but too hot to produce much fruit.
Monday workout was tougher than many days. First Kris really put us through it in the Wall. Several new exercises that really tested you. Body Pump was a killer. I got a bad cramp during the lunges section. I did not stop but just switched over to squats for a portion of that session. I did feel good about adding a little weight to the bar for most areas. Wore my " Raise the Bar" shirt so figured I had to add something. Heidi pushes hard and allows very little down time between exercises. Made it anyway but will hurt a bit, per usual.
First time ever even Frank said it was tough. That makes it true in my book.

Work day or Workout...

Today was a work day at the Demo Garden and also my Friday class workout. Compromise was to go about 7:30 to the Demo and then by 9:30 to gym for class. Turns out that Dave and I were the only guys and we had a large trailer of mulch to wheel around to all of the gardens. The women would help with distributing it into the beds. Even at 8:00 it was hot and most were about to give it up. We all managed to keep the pace and finish our chores by 9:15. Dave and a few stayed to finish things up but I was off to the gym. Very hot, sweaty and I knew that I had used some of the functional strength. Barely got changed, watered down and set up for the class. Good thing was Heidi had a sub as our teacher. Hard but not quite the killer that Heidi take us through. Glad I was able to make it through both activities.
Tomatoes still growing but too hot for many of the blooms to set fruit. Maybe the coons and others have found another eating place. Hope so.
Tired out and ready for a short nap.

Hot, hot, hot...

Every day the temps are near or over 100 degrees. This is normal for August but being it's only June I wonder about how brutal this summer will be. I have 2 large trees down in the back yard. I am not sure if it was wind or the dry soil that caused or helped this. I will need to get someone to come cut them down as they are too big for me.
Wednesday's workout was what has become my normal workout for now. Seems like the Express or Wall is more intense now. Summer has brought in a good many new members to join our classes. This has made Kris add more stations to allow for the extra members. I feel for them just starting out. Many are teachers and just rejoining for the summer. The Pump has a few of the exercise changes. The squats and lunges are still my killers and will always be since my legs are so skinny. I can and did add weight to my bar for the other exercises. Seems like upper body and core are a bit easier for me. Of course I am sore all over which is the sign of a good workout.
Must get on the road as I am helping with the Demo garden chores this week. Watering and harvesting the veggies must be done early in the morning because of the heat. If we do not get rain soon I fear that most of the veggies will stop producing. Smoking hot out there but not smoking.

Master Gardener meeting

Today was the Master Gardner's meeting. Enjoyed it and some of us did lunch afterwards. Dave was big dog as he and family won 3 blue ribbons at Tomato Fest, largest, best plate of 3- heirloom, best child's plate of 3.
I started the day discovering that a "coon" had been in the tomato garden. Many of the largest and almost ripe tomatoes were gone are chewed up. You could see just where they climbed the cages and took the tomatoes. Dang it.
Work out was cut short so I could attend the meeting. I did my routine and then the Express or wall. This made me skip the Pump so I know I will pay on Wednesday. Funny but my routine is not even a good warm up now. WOW !

I must be getting better as many of the Master Gardeners gave me very nice positive comments on my progress.

So glad I am a non smoker.

Heidi, heidi, heidi ho

Heidi was our leader for both the wall and the Pump today.....nearly killed us. Only good thing was that several of the new folks from Wednesday were hurting even more than I was. I think that the message is that we should not be doing both of these classes.
I was able to add a little weight to my bar. Lunges still kill me and make it hard to complete the session.
Stronger, faster and longer...but do the legs ever get there?

Tomato Fest

Fran and I both will work the Tomato Fest this weekend. I will help set up the tomato growing contest today and will help with the registration and judging on Saturday morning. HOPE will have box lunches and drinks for the volunteers. I will ride the golf cart with Fran to help with this. Fun day but really going to be hot.
My hopes of having a good entry in the tomato fest contest was spoiled yesterday.
The largest and closest to ripe softball size Cherokee Purple was raided by a dang bird early yesterday morning. I did salvage it and cut the bad part out. A bit green but we had a good taste for supper last night.
Today will give me all 3 sessions this week of the Pump. I am still a bit sore but look forward to seeing what the classes bring today. I will try hard to complete the lunges today. This is the area that hurts me the most. These legs do not have much meat to make the muscle.
Still no smokes at the house.
It really is amazing at the difference when you compare December to now.
Feels good.

Wednesday workouts

Wednesday at the fitness center had a large crowd of folks new to me. Summer vacation from school brought in some folks. I started with the treadmill to warm up a bit, then did "the Wall", Express 30 minute class. Kris put us through the paces, I think to impress some of the new participants. Then came the Pump. This class had new folks too. Also noticed that some that were here Monday were no shows today. Pump is tough and Heidi pushes you hard. I have improved in most of the exercises although I have not added the amount of weight I would like yet. It will come. Lunges are still the killer for me and I am not able to keep up in this section. Squats are hard but I can manage to get this done.
Still hot and dry with records being set for high temps almost every day. The farmers that have good irrigation are making it but hand watering is hard and not very effective. My little crop of tomatoes are doing well with several almost ripe. We had 2 of the yellow "Jean Flamme" French heirlooms last night. Fran's Cherokee Purple are large and beginning to turn. Good eating soon. I love the fresh veggies this time of year. My sources for produce allows me lots of goodies. With Fran and I both non-smokers now, our sense of taste gives us a treat almost every day.
Some folks in the area have had showers in the afternoon. Wish we could get some of that as the rain is much needed and the relief from the heat is nice even if only short lived.

Battles we fight

Checking on the tomatoes this morning early found the signs of horn worms again. Finally found that bad boy and he was a big one. Lots of damage but I hate most that he got some young tomatoes. The heat and drought have me watering almost every day. Also noticed yesterday that a few birds were checking out a few of my prize heirlooms are starting to change colors. Seems like a lot of work and worry for tomatoes.
Today is Wednesday so this means Express, that we now call "the wall", and the Pump classes. I did get by yesterday to get some time on the treadmill and a few of my exercises. I am still a bit sore from Monday. At least I am not battling the lay off any more. We will see how much I am able to do today. Monday had a big group of new folks, let's see how many will come back.

Saturday is Tomato Fest. Master Gardeners run the tomato growing contest. I think we may have a good entry from the HOPE garden. It would be neat for us to get the $100 prize.


Still a Smoke free house. Fran is on her last leg with the patches. Go girl !

Rain all around but we got none

Hot, hot, hot with record breaking 100 + temps in the area then thunderstorms. We did get the thunder and wind but no rain. Every thing is looking bad and this is only June. It looks and feels more like mid-August.
Saturday morning farmers market was good and had a few new sellers. I really enjoy going and hope this will make it and continue to grow. Next Saturday will be Tomato Fest so I know there will be a crowd. Wish my (or Fran's) tomatoes would get some color so we could enter the best tomato contest. I think Dave and his children will easily get the heirloom category ribbons.
Monday rolls around fast and exercise classes are here before all the sore muscles are gone. Friday was tough and I am still sore in several areas. My plans are to do the Express and the Body Pump this morning, adding a few lbs. to the bar.
Fran has passed the 5 weeks mark on not smoking. I think she will make it as she has passed the toughest times. Proud of her.
Better get to moving.....miles to travel before I sleep.

The heat is on..

Today driving back from the fitness center the temp was 96 degree in the truck. This was 11:00 a.m. This will be a hotter than average summer. With the little rain we have received things are already suffering.
The heat was also on in the gym. I did the Express for it's 30 minutes. Pretty tough but just the warm up for the hour Body Pump. I did slack off the amount of weight for the class but still barely made it through the class. Only good thing was Frank had been off a week so we both were like starting over. Frank and I both staggered out and visited for a while before we could drive home. Glad I made it but know I will be sore for a day or so.

Still no Bob, I am almost sure he is gone forever. He has never been gone for a day even in the beginning when we were building the house. I think Newbee even knows something is wrong.

Fran still not smoking. Good on her.

Almost starting over

With very limited workouts since the first eye surgery, I knew I was going down hill in my conditioning. I continued to walk almost every day so that helps with the legs and breathing. Today I had the Dr. appointment to check the progress of the eyes. All is well there and I probably will not need glasses. At least he said I can pass the driving test without glasses. Anyway, today as Monday I did a modified Express class, struggling with the exercises that work the core.
Strange but learned that Frank had eye surgery last week and will be back for the Body Pump this Friday so I guess we will both get our butts kicked.
Lots of good veggies coming on now. Fran can cook a feast every night of goodies that are healthy. Our tomato crop is still putting on blooms and small fruit but we must water almost every day. The 100 degree heat has already started and the drought continues. I expect the heat to really slow crops with no rain. Watering helps but not like a rain.
Smoking for Fran is going well and she started the Stage 3 patch earlier this week. Proud of her. She too can see the benefits already.