The Garden and A View in Everyday Ramblings

Be it ever so humble…”my” plot. The bugs are crazy around the leggy nasturtiums, the beets and regular chard. I was able to harvest a few unaffected leaves to eat yesterday. I grew the carrots, marigold, giant chard you see here from seed. The tomatoes are indeterminates, one regular sized fruit, one cherry tomatoes. Kes bought them as starts at her local natural foods market. She brought the basil from there too.

I need to figure out how to get the netting up soon or I am going to lose everything to bugs on the other side of the plot. I’ll spray the Safer Soap again on Tuesday. It didn’t hep with the leaf miners, but it is helping with the other bugs.

Yesterday was a bit frustrating with the garden and I felt like I was regressing in Handstand Club. I need to keep working on my strength, but I want to be able to work on my balance. Grrr. I have to get up there first. I am close and that is the way of these things. A step forward and a step back.

When I was walking back from the garden, there is a little used pedestrian overpass over the freeway that I use so I don’t have to jay walk to cross six lanes of traffic, (traffic is back to pre-pandemic levels here). There is a ramp up and as I came over the rise, I saw what I thought was a big pile of clothes.

It was about 4 PM cloudy and foreboding. The pile was two young people dressed for what looked like a Saturday night out, one in a short skirt and fishnet stockings, the other a leather jacket and a gold ring. I saw the ring because I was looking for signs of life. His hand twitched. They were supporting each other slumped over in that profoundly disturbing position opioid users get into where their heads practically touch their legs. It really upset me. These people have parents and siblings and…

At least they were alive. I came home and watched two episodes of Gardeners’ World to decompress.

Mr. Sherlock had a dental situation on Friday so there was no walking and talking and nursery going. Mrs. Sherlock is taking Diego and me to the vet in the morning, so I’ll hang out with her then.

There is a yoga teacher I follow on social media and listen to a podcast she does answering anatomy questions. She is a physical therapist. Her dad was an orthopedic surgeon. She is a triplet, and one brother is a doctor and the other a physical therapist. She is a very vocal animal rights advocate and a didactic vegan.

She is very fit and tiny, in her 50’s. She is a big proponent of handstands and gets into and out of them with great ease. Her method of teaching them is not suited to me but still as this is something I am working on I am curious, looking for tips.

The first thing I thought when I looked at pictures of her a few years back is…oh, she has an eating disorder.

The takes one to know one thing. Her ribs stick out and she wears these little tops where you can see each of her vertebrae. I really can’t look at her showing things because it seriously triggers my body dysmorphia.

Apparently, it is not only me she triggers. There was a note that she highlighted calling out the person calling her out (on a little video of a movement practice) where a practitioner said she couldn’t watch her anymore and she hoped she got some help.

Her response? “…Being criticized for being “too thin” seems a bit whiny since that body type “seems” to be more ideal. So, why do people make negative comments when they think someone is too thin? My whole family is built this way. I am in menopause and literally lost my curves – do you think that was something I was going for? I work hard to be strong, I eat well, and I don’t need to justify my body or my big ribs…”

She goes on and says, “START BY COMMENTING ON ONE THING YOU LOVE ABOUT YOUR BODY”

She seems to be against body shaming unless it is directed at her. Oh please.

There appears to be a complete lack of comprehension about eating disorders and how they work, and it wouldn’t bother me so much except she puts herself out there as a “mama bear” for young women that practice yoga and she is promoting her “brand” to make money.

Today I am grateful I am no longer a young woman and can think for myself and push back against the “influencers” out there.

And that I can practice expressing a view here.