Just came back from a pretty cold bike ride --only 18 kms. Bright sun, dry roads ..but approx. 5 degrees F below freezing!

Shockingly I saw a few people cycling without gloves. Joggers wearing only a thin hoodie, no gloves. Some people in shorts??? They must have miscalculated the weather.

It's hard to keep up some exercise when weather isn't perfect but I'm always glad to have done something in spite of it all. Without question, one's body feels alive..after getting indoors.

I had a completely different type of exercise yesterday. I trimmed a large tree.

This involved hoisting myself up on the roof from the top rung of an 8" ladder -- no, my legs couldn't reach no matter what -- and chopping-cutting-sawing for over an hour. All hand tools. We have a small electric saw but I was afraid to bring it up on the roof because it's dangerous enough without power tools.

It was in the 60s and I was sweating.

Unfortunately, my 2 pairs of heavy work gloves both had cactus stickers embedded in invisible places, so I worked bare-handed (tying in with your glove comment here.) The bad news is, I got a big blister and tore the skin off the palm of my right hand.

I, too, am glad I did it! And trust me, this is a much heavier workout than anything I do in the gym, and I workout pretty hard.

The smell of fresh cut wood. Love it! Meredith you sound like a spry 17 year old. You must be in great shape!

Thanks Edelweiss! I feel spry whenever my back isn't out and my migraines aren't on.

For someone pushing 59, it could be worse...

Meredith - good for you. I'm impressed. Don't you just love getting things like that accomplished?

orchid, you're right - it does feel great once you're done. Revel in your well being. You deserve it.

While on vacation, we were outdoors the entire time, except when sleeping. It's one of the reasons I enjoyed the vacation so much. I love the great big outdoors and must find ways to spend more time out there. I'm so glad spring is on the way. I can't wait to fling open the windows and get some fresh air in here.