Do-It-Yourself Balance

The day did not begin well. It took me longer than I thought it would to get moving this morning, which meant I was later than I wanted heading to Yogawood. I wound up being even later when I realized half-way to Collingswood that the front tire on the bike was going flat. I had to walk it the rest of the way and just barely made the class.

It's a good thing there were only ten people in the class today, including me, the teacher Karin, and a member of the teaching class who was taking notes. We did a lot of work on the back and upper body today, including a lot of stretches, standing poses like Warrior, and head stands. I did manage to get up the wall momentarily when we did the feet-up-the-wall pose, but I still can't bring myself to get on my shoulders.

There's a hardware store in Collingswood, across from Friends In Deed Thrift shop and a block from Yogawood. I headed there after class. Bought a real wrench, so I could fix the busted tire myself when I got home. I'm tired of waiting for neighbors to be around to help me. I had a new inner tube at home, but I've looked for ages for the right wrench. They tend to come in packs in Wal-Mart or are too expensive. Ok, this one cost $9, but I needed it.

Went across the street to the Thrift Shop next. I said "hi" to my friend Erica, who was busy setting containers and crates of Christmas items outside. Among those were a container filled with holiday-themed tins and trays for less than a dollar. I bought a tray for the cookies I plan to give to the family in Cape May County and tins for some of the other families I'm giving cookies to.

Went a block down to the Collingswood Library after leaving the Thrift Shop. This was the first time I'd really been able to devote some time to them. I organized the art book section, put away DVDs and filed them in the right drawer (they keep the actual DVDs behind the circulation desk, so they don't disappear), and shelved new release books.

My walk home was not a pleasant one. The sun kept disappearing behind clouds, and it was much colder and three times as winder as when I went out that morning. I cursed and muttered to myself the whole way home.

I just kept cursing when it took me over an hour to fix the bike tire. The nuts on the wheel were so tight, I couldn't pull them. When I did finally get them loose, I couldn't get the tire OFF the bike...and then I couldn't get it back ON. When all's said and done, I did get the tire back on the wheel, the wheel back on the bike, and filled the front tire with air. I hope it's still all right tomorrow. (The back wheel's been fine ever since it was fixed last summer. It's not even flat.)

Spent the rest of the afternoon inside, making a batch of cookies for my friends Linda and James. They requested cookies for Christmas after they loved the Red Velvet Cookies I brought them to thank them for that trip to Independence Hall and Penn's Landing. The recipe came out of Prevention Magazine; I hope they like it.

Between forgetting to pull out ground turkey and sampling a few too many cookies, I ended up having Tuna Salad and Sauteed Spiced Beets for dinner. The beets are my last farm-market veggies until May, and they're quite tasty. Watched Christmas movies and specials all afternoon; ran Miracle on 34th Street while doing the cookies and Christmas Eve On Sesame Street and Muppet Family Christmas during dinner.