Sparse but cheerful bouquet

I've enjoyed the scent of the carnations. The yellow mums, not so much.

I could smell the carnations a little! Yay!

I just watched (on 5/12/21) a seminar by the experts who produced the film Forks Over Knives 10 years ago.   It was great to hear of the strides that have been made by people eating whole food plant based diets.

I started Low Fat Plant Based eating after the Ornish program...and this arm of vegetarian thought wasn't even mentioned by the Forks over Knives experts in the film or the seminar on May 12, 2021 ten years later. Dr. Dean Ornish designed a life style program to help those of us who survived a heart episode, offering a way to reverse heart disease. I may waver sometimes from it, but it has good research behind it, and is in agreement with the Forks over Knives Whole Food Plant Based diet. Thank you to all the research which resulted in these healing concepts that are not supported by the pharmacological industry nor the medical insurance industry.   Barbara Rogers

PS...on the gas shortage! Today, 5/13/21 Thursday, gas is back in the pumps. But people are still lining up! Such a funny species!

• Today's quote:

When we laugh, we give ourselves over to

the immediacy of the present moment.

Exercise indoors - on hold

 

The YMCA at Cheshire, Black Mountain NC. The round windows are in the pool area. Since it's heated it does entice me, but not when COVID-19 requires masks. Ugh, a wet paper mask is not a good idea.

A bit more jazzed up tread-mill machine, and I did my usual 20 minutes but did a "slow down" in order to sip some water, and it lost my tally of minutes walked. I'll have to do it differently next time.

I'm on my own, but told one of the trainers that I want to lose 10% of my weight...which had been my final goal at the Heart Path pulmonary rehab. Of course setting that goal the week before I finished their rehab meant it was pretty unrealistic there. But hey, it's my goal, not theirs.

After finishing my 20 minutes pedaling on the New Balance stepper, I was pretty tired. There's only one of these machines in the area where masks are mandatory.  The other two are in a small area where exercisers have a "mask optional" rule. No thanks! We did much the same routines as the Heart Path gym, cleaning the equipment with disinfectant wipes both before and after our workouts.

I was pleasantly surprised to only have a half dozen people working on the machines, and that they only allow every other one to be used to keep the social distance of 6 feet between people. There had been a class going in another area that I might join later, "sit and be fit" I think. They only allow 11 people to reserve space in that classroom, and reservations must be made within the 24 hours before the class, and then everyone in a class mut be masked.

It seems like they're doing the right things to stay safe. I will be back...when?

And on another note, my diet, low-fat, plant-based eating. If you haven't watched Forks over Knives yet, let me say this is the most important video that anyone thinking about their health, and the health of the planet should consider. The link above just takes you to the trailer. I was able to check it out from inter-library loans in North Carolina. It's unfortunately not available (yet) on Netflix.

And I must update this (as a few days have passed since my visit) and say I'm walking around the lake or in my neighborhood, but not going to any gym at this time of higher incidence of COVID-19. Fortunately the Y explained that they don't bill my insurance if I'm not coming in and using the electronic sign-in. It's all automated.

Stay safe, y'all!