Snow men in town

Although this snow as difficult to shovel, it apparently was fantastic for making a snow man. They were popping up all over the neighborhood and some of them were very cute.

The remains of the snow storm made the footing a bit more difficult today. Melting had occurred all over the neighborhood, and almost as quickly, as the water drifted over the sidewalks, it re-froze. The ice was sometimes hard to identify until you were upon it.

And our parking lot is still being cleaned out. We can get in and out with no problem but the side walks and the parking spaces have been huge obstacles for mom. She has been home bound a lot lately. But each day I make sure she takes "her walks" around the house for 8 minutes. She is tired after that. Next week I am going to bump it up to 9 minutes. She has also been very good about doing her daily exercises.

Despite the fact I have been supremely careful when out for my walks ... today I fell. I have been keeping to the streets. As you can see, many of the sidewalks not attached to residences are snow covered, as well as blocked by fallen branches. This road looked very clear - no snow or ice, so I was allowing my thoughts to drift when my left foot tripped and I fell forward. Can you see what tripped me up?

Here is a closer look. Stupid stick - firmly buried in the curb side snow.

I got up carefully and did a body-check! Everything seemed in working order so I continued on my walk. But now, while I sit at my computer, my left knee is sending me signals that maybe I was a bit premature on the body-check.

I felt like I could walk longer than I did, but it was close to lunch time and mom would be wandering around the kitchen looking for something to eat. Over the last 4 1/2 years, her ability to make choices - even the most simple ones - has deteriorated greatly. If left to her own resources, she would have cheese and crackers for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I am a big fan of cheese and crackers, and we always have them in the house. And I sometimes have that instead of a regular meal, but a steady diet of that isn't healthy. And she can't seem to see anything else. So I headed home. But I am really encouraged that my body is once again adjusting to the exercise of walking.

I feel happier today. I am making an effort to focus my thinking of happier thoughts and avoid those memories that bring me down. Keeping busy helps too. And walking is the backbone of it all.

This afternoon I am going to get out my spinning wheel and spin.

It is a good day!