I joined the YMCA this week and plan to visit it at least three times a week all winter and spring, until I can go biking regularly again.

 

The first time I went, I walked a mile and swam for almost an hour.

 

Yesterday when I went, I went to the core training room first and did some exercises in there, then stopped at the cycling room and cycled for five minutes, then walked a mile, then pulled a rope until I reached a 50 calories burn, then rowed until I reached 50 calories, and then I hopped into the pool for 45 minutes to swim, including about two minutes of floating.

 

Mostly, I swam on my back using my arms and legs to propel me but at least six or seven times I swam the usual way. I dog-paddled some, too.  Mixing it up and using different muscles is what I want to do.  I will burn more calories and enjoy the time more if I mix up the routines some.

 

I get there very early and stay two hours every time. When I get back home, I feel like a million bucks for a while and then I get sleepy for a while, but rarely take a nap.

 

In Other News… 

 

Treading Water Here at Home

 

Right now I’m between writing assignments (see what happens when I get too proactive? I work 30 hours one week and none the next, but I still have the clients!), so there isn’t much else to do but watch fish and exercise.

 

Hauling Gravel

 

Another exercise I’ve been doing is hauling gravel. The goat shed got 600+ shovelfuls; the rest (another 300 or so shovelfuls) are being moved to a better location so the driveway gets freed up to accommodate six or seven vehicles, since it will be occupied on Thanksgiving and the day after Christmas with additional vehicles.

 

Lisa and I are hosting Turkey Day and the day after Christmas here at my place. (Lisa is working on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so we’re waiting to open gifts until the next day.) We will have two or three other guests in attendance at both events.

 

THANKSGIVING PLANS

 

My Critter Corral (living room) is mostly ready for the Gobble ‘Til We Wobble event.  I haven’t put the tablecloths on the table yet because I don’t want to risk having the cats jumping up on it and ruining them. But everything is there and ready to roll out, except for the food.  I’ll pull the turkey out of the freezer sometime Wednesday so it can thaw prior to putting it into the oven. It weighs 24 pounds, so that’s going to take a while!

 

I got the metal turkey at Albertson’s, which was a lucky find, because I couldn’t find anything at the At Home store or the Dollar Store (other than the tablecloths) to decorate for Thanksgiving.

 

 

This image shows the table cloths — the first one from the Dollar Store, the other from At Home

I got the paper plates (including the Xmas ones, hiding behind THE BIG CATS book) at the Dollar Store.

 

My Baby Fish

 

My baby fish (mollies and plecos) are doing fine.

 

 

Look closely at the horizontal leaf just to the right of the lighthouse tower, see the baby molly there?

You can see all five baby mollies here, near the surface of the water, top of picture

 

I’m seeing more plecos by the hour. They’re slipping past dad and attaching themselves to rocks and the aquarium glass. There may be literally hundreds of baby plecos ultimately. I see ten or twelve so far — up from five yesterday.

 

There are six baby plecos in this photo. Two are albinos or whites.

The others I see, on the aquarium glass, turn out blurry when I try to capture them in a photo…