January 19 – “Speaking of adding work …”

I really upgraded my home exercise/therapy routine yesterday.  Chris was ready for her walk, as usual, so I agreed to join her for part of it.  In an aggressive move, I added a half mile to the end.  A mile and a half.  Whew.  There’s a step up.  But I didn’t stop there.  When I arrived home I actually did a few dipsy doodle lines out on our front sidewalk.  I suppose it was quite the frightening sight.  Why do I say that?  Well, our neighbor was out on her porch when I got home.  About three seconds after she saw what I was doing, she shook her head sadly and hurried back inside.  Maybe she was just jealous.  Or maybe she didn’t want to witness the ensuing carnage.  But the negative never came.  I completed the runs and headed inside. 

Back inside I went straight for the thera-band workout targeting my knee specifically.  Well, my knee and then that horrible one that strengthens hips.  Walking sideways with my ankles tied together.  It’s like a flashback to a gone-horribly-wrong youth fellowship game.  From there I added one other horror story.  I decided to walk up and down our deck stairs for three minutes.  Why the time?  No idea.  Three minutes seems to be the time of choice for my physical therapist, so I decided I’d start there.  When Chris got home she went to do some stair work as well.  She usually just counts her repetitions though.  Come to find out three minutes is roughly equal to six trips up and down our deck steps.  Just in case you ever need to know it for a future trivia game.

Speaking of adding work, we also dove into our next house project.  What to do with the back porch now that the hot tub has found a new home.  We emptied it out completely so Chris could have a look at her blank slate.  Once that was accomplished, about all we could do was sweep it off, reorient the barbecue pit and table, and trash some of the old and broken chairs and toys.  Oh, and begin making plans for the future, of course.  I have one assignment when the weather clears (We were further restricted in what we could do by a sudden rainstorm.  It’s supposed to get into the thirties tonight.  Nooooooo).  I have to move the bolts for one of the swings so more than one child can be going at a time.  Then we have to roll away the big round “cable table” to be carried away by the trash men.  Then comes re-leveling the patio, which will mean getting another load of dirt.  The iron table and chair set needs to return to its spot upstairs.  And we need to add whatever new chairs Chris decides on for the space.  Finally, we (read here, “me”) want to install an outdoor ceiling fan and some “mood lighting” (Chris is in charge of the lighting).  Sounds like quite the undertaking.  Maybe by next year sometime we will … begin.

Psalms 133:1 says, “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!”

Father, thank you for the great home you provided for us.  Help us as we try to “steward” it.  Amen.