Simple Movements and a Mystery Quandary in Everyday Ramblings

A new dahlia in the garden this morning. I could spend the rest of my life trying to get the angle just right on these shots, but at least you can see the full flower and the color is good.

The weather people lied and by the time we were out for our walk yesterday it was full on sunny. I had picked a place to walk that was in partial shade and where we had a lot of options. That turned out to be a good thing because Mrs. Sherlock was having some discomfort in her back hip area.

We talked it through, and she said it was a bit worse on the uphill so at first, we modified for that and then she was concerned about a longer walk so I thought about how we could get her some relief.

Radical idea, I led her to a place with a view and we sat down after giving Frieda some water. It is a funny thing, for those of us who are active, this idea of sitting down. You go for a walk; you go for a walk. Same with a hike. Maybe you get to where you are going, and you sit and have lunch. But you don’t go for a time and then stop and sit down.

I learned this when my back was being problematic a few years back. It does take a load off. We sat and chatted for a time and then turned around and came back. As we did that, I showed her a couple of stretches I do when out and about if my back is aching.

She was amazed. She said I fixed her. I am glad she was able to find ease and comfort again. And we did walk 5 miles with a fair amount of elevation, so it is not like we walked around the block.

That is the thing about pain. Sure, it can be in the body, but it also depends on prior experience with pain, and this kind of pain. It matters how much rest one has managed and how much stress one is experiencing, and who one is with and where you are. And how one’s nervous system seems to be functioning at any moment. So many factors are in play.

We learn, in time, that the better part of valor is discretion, and knowing when to sit is a part of that.

At least some of us learn.

I admit I was a bit uneasy, with the transmissibility of the Delta variant to have this woman, older than me, come running by from behind right next to me on the path with no mask on. She had this kind of half curled forward posture that was unusual, and it looked like she was driving herself. She ran by me twice from behind, because at one point she stopped to talk to a regular that walks that path every day and so we got ahead.

With the Delta, that 15-minute exposure rule we were all sort of going by previously doesn’t apply anymore. We were at least outside. I took the bus again today but am wondering if that is wise. More people are masking up in the grocery at least. At this point I mask up for anything inside and not outside.

We are headed into another heat wave, with the most intense three digit temperatures midweek, next week. We’ll be okay, but it is a grind. I hope to see more folks in my morning practices as it is too hot for intense exercise for the 70 plus crowd and things are being canceled.

I started this mystery “The Widows of Malabar Hill” by Sujata Massey. It is full of fascinating detail about Persians living in India. At one point in my early 40’s I was considering marrying a Persian fellow and I find the culture fascinating. The book has a strong feminist point of view, all good; in my wheelhouse, but I can’t stand the book and I would like to know why.

It has something to do with the way the foreshadowing works. She is telling the story in two timeframes. Bad things have happened or are about to happen. I got it from the library so we will see if I finish it. I would like to understand why it annoys me so much so that I never ever do that to a reader. Not that I ever expect to write a book like this, but I do tell stories.

Instead, I have slipped off, promiscuously, to read the new Martin Walker Bruno mystery, with characters I know, and lots of good food and an abundance of talk about wine and the ways of the French.

Diego is curled up next to my hip and except for an occasional snack break he would prefer I read the book I can stick with.