Before and After

I'm fascinated with those Before and After photos taken for all kinds of makeovers -- weight loss, make-up, cosmetic surgery, home makeovers, landscaping.... you know what I'm talking about. So here's my B&A contribution....

BEFORE:
 Last month - it took me two days to shovel all the snow off my sidewalk and driveway.

AFTER:

Today - my neighbor's tulip tree is full of beautiful blooms,

and people in the park were flying kites, tossing Frisbees and walking in 84-degree temps.

I've noticed this year I didn't really dread the winter as much as usual, and you know, even though we had record low temperatures, and record snowfalls, it didn't seem so bad.  I guess I'm starting to get the hang of that accepting, and making the best, of those things I can't change.  I actually found myself enjoying coming home from work at 6:30, when it was already dark. I could snuggle up in sweats and hibernate away.  And I did!! --didn't even blog, check emails or (arrrgghhh) check Facebook much, but I read a bit, watched TV and enjoyed the peacefulness of the evenings.

Now, it's Spring -- I've started back walking in the park, and I've even begun to get a smidgen of desire to work in the yard.

Hope all my friends will forgive me for not being a very faithful blogger -- working it only as the spirit moves me...  :)

Happy Spring Everyone!

Save the Endorphins

I just returned from a vigorous walk around one of my favorite walking trails. There's something about being outside on a beautiful fall day, pumping arms and hauling hiney around a beautiful park path, that seems to make me feel like I could kick the world's tail, if indeed the world's tail needed to be kicked. I feel like I could do anything, take on any task and still have energy to share with everyone I meet. I guess I'd better be careful what decisions I make while in this state of euphoria. I do love those endorphins!

As a follow up to my last blog post, I have no juicy jury stories to impart. I got excused after two days! They had all the jurors they needed for the week and I had not been selected. For once, I had no insecurities about being rejected! Also, there is a light beginning to shine at the end of the tunnel at work and I believe I will be doing only one job soon. The stars must be aligning in my favor once again.

...or that may just be the endorphins talking.

Don't Worry, Be Happy

Sometimes you just have to be confident and outrageous enough to be happy even when you're surrounded by stone-faced blockheads.

Tulsa Memory Walk

Today was a perfect day for the Tulsa Memory Walk, held to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer care, support and research. From a participant point of view, it went off without a hitch. I'm sure the organizers could argue that point, but these people really did a great job. The volunteers were friendly and helpful, and exhibitors provided pertinent information. There were bagels, donuts, coffee, fruit and, of course, lots of water available, as well as hydration stations for the dogs that participated, and music to keep everyone entertained until the walk actually began. When it was time to make the three mile trek, a local high school drum corps led the way. Toward the end of the walk, some Tulsa Firefighters were on hand to spray water on laughing, squealing kiddos of all ages. It was a fun, well organized event, and best of all, a lot of money was raised for a great cause.

In an earlier post, I told you about my friend whose mother was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. This is my friend with her sweet little boy. He enjoyed pointing out all the puppies he saw along the way.

It was a great Saturday morning walk.

A Stroll in Bartlesville

Bartlesville is the town where I work. It is a really charming place and I enjoy taking a few pictures when I go walking there.

I love libraries. Here's B'ville's.

Price Tower - This is Frank Lloyd Wright's only skyscraper, and as you can imagine, it's quite unique, and an important landmark here.

The Bartlesville Community Center

The Price Tower Buffalo statue. This is one of my favorites.

The OK Mozart Buffalo.

...And that was it for this walk. Don't I have some great things to look at when I'm out grabbing some exercise?

A Bartlesville traffic jam.

Okay- this wasn't taken on my walk. I took this as I  was headed to the highway that takes me home.

Another Walking Story

After work last night I went walking at my standard go-to trail at Haikey Creek Park. The temperature was around 95 with more than 50% humidity, making the heat index hotter-than-hell degrees Fahrenheit. There were several people on the trails, quite a few of them running. I am not a runner but I have to admit I was impressed with their dedication. I’ve said that I wouldn’t run unless a serial killer was chasing me. Even then I would have to stop and gauge what kind of day I was having and how badly I wanted to live. But, maybe someday--

Whenever crossing paths with other walkers or joggers I smile and say ‘hi’ if they make eye contact. Most respond in kind, or even initiate the greeting. I’ve noticed that other women walkers will sometimes start a brief conversation without breaking stride. Here’s one I had Sunday morning:
Me: “Hi.”
Lady carrying a stick: “Hi. I’ve got my stick in case a man pops out of all this underbrush.”
Me: “I have my keys ready to gouge an eye.” Chuckle
Lady carrying stick: “It can get scary back in this area.”
Me: “It sure can.” The last two sentences were hurled over our shoulders as we strode away from each other.

Conversation from yesterday’s walk:
Lady in her 30’s: “Hi.” Panting.
Me: “Hi.” Not panting!-and this was close to the end of my trip. Oh yeah, I rule.
Lady in 30’s: “Omigod, it’s so hot out here.”
Me: “What were we thinking, huh?” Chuckle
Lady: Smiled weakly

I used to think everyone who passed me on the trail was thinking, 'Please don't make me try to remember my CPR training.' When I passed Lady-in-30's, I thought the same thing. I don't think I have that effect on my fellow walkers anymore. Now that's progress!

A Day at the Museum

Today I enjoyed a visit to the Philbrook Museum. In 1938 Waite Phillips gave his 72-room mansion and surrounding 23 acres of grounds as an art center for the city of Tulsa. The Italian Renaissance style mansion itself is a beautiful work of art. Add to that the very impressive permanent collection of artworks, special travelling exhibits, and breathtaking gardens, and you have a very pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

Currently the travelling exhibit is "To Live Forever; Egyptian Treasures", from the Brooklyn Museum. It was amazing to actually stand and look at vessels, jewelry and other objects created thousands of years ago.

As a good museum goer, I did not take pictures inside the museum, but I put my little point and shoot camera to work when touring the grounds. Here are a few of those shots.

10K a Day - Week Ten!

Tooting my own horn.

I'm enjoying my walking challenge. It's almost the end of week 10, and I feel so much more energetic!

Weekend Walking Trail Review - Jackson Park

Jackson Park is only a mile from my house and it's a nice place to walk, but when the sun is beating down, it doesn't supply much shade. So when it's a cloudy morning, like it was earlier today, I like to walk here.

The newer portion of the trail, at the back of the park, is not very scenic. Sometimes it's the details where you find beauty and sometimes you have to look at the big picture to find the best sights. Either way I can always find something interesting if I just remember to look.


The front part of the trail is where this park really shines.

I didn't see any snakes, but believe me I remembered to look for them. All in all a very nice place for a Sunday morning walk.

Weekend Walking Trail Review: Back to Haikey Creek

Yesterday I got a late start for my weekend walking trail walk, due to a hair appointment and a few other errands. Because of the extreme afternoon heat I really planned on using the elliptical, inside where air conditioning makes summertime bearable. But, to my surprise I wanted to go to one of the walking paths. I knew I needed to go to one that I was certain had plenty of opportunities for shade, so back to Haikey Creek I went.
When I got to the walking / jogging trail, there wasn't a single car in the lot. Hmm, second thoughts... well, I can always get back to the car fairly quickly if the heat and humidity seem too much. It was hot and the air was thick with humidity, but keeping a moderate pace and sticking to the shady areas as much as possible, I was actually fairly comfortable.

Summer has been tough on the creek, too. The water has become shallow and, as my cat friends would say, quite whiffable, in areas.

 Other than that, the walk ended up being very pleasant. In part this was due to the beauty of a bright blue and white summer sky. It is one of my most favorite sights, and never fails to move me! .

When I got back to the car, another lady had arrived. She walked for a bit and then started a cautious jog. Show-off. I hope she had plenty of water.

Weekend Walking Trail Review: Creek Turnpike Trail

Today I went back to Hunter Park for my walking trail review. If you remember from a previous post, I really like this park. At 8:30 this morning the park was already alive with activity. I'm sure, like me, some of them were trying to beat the heat; even at that time it was already 83 degrees F.

 This time I started further up the trail in order to get a look at a portion of the trail I didn't make it to the last time. The trail at Hunter Park is connected with the Creek Turnpike Trail and it was becoming a nice challenge for me, with some pretty good inclines.

 

 A few weeks ago I'm not sure I would have been able to make this walk. Ah, Progress--gotta' love it!

Out with the Old, In with the New

   

The Hotel Phillips in Bartlesville, OK has closed its doors after almost six decades. It was the required hotel for visiting out-of-town employees of the oil company where I work (at the moment). But now there's a new, bigger, better hotel located next door to our office complex. The Hilton Garden Inn is the new required hotel for our company.

From comments by some of those fellow employees and some of the reviews I've seen, it may have been time for her to take a break; she was getting worn out and run down. The good news for the Hotel Phillips? There are plans for the 144 hotel rooms to be converted to 80 to 90 apartments for renters over 55-years of age, with 20 percent of the units available to "lower income seniors." That sounds like a nice and fitting way for the old hotel to go into semi-retirement; an encore career of sorts for her.

Everything changes. The best we can hope is that most of the changes are positive. That's my hope for this historic building.
Hmm, I wonder what in my life needs to be retired, or even better, re-purposed.