The thing about a blog journal is I start to feel obsessive about writing in it. Then when I miss a day, I feel like just giving this up all together because it seems too hard to try to capsulize my days. I have this need to write every detail and, even though it seems like I do from the length of the blogs, it pains me to have to leave out details! Also, my mouse-clicker wrist is seeming to dislike too much time on the computer. I'm typing now without resting my wrist on the computer table.
An aside about computers. Ours Apple G5 gets slower and slower. I complain to my computer guru but nothing gets done. I need a computer that writes to dvd so I can take all my photos off and maybe things would run faster. Safari is horribly slow with the rainbow twirling ball appearing and then I have to wait and wait. In some ways, the computer is no faster than before we had dsl. Also, Yahoo! is prone to such idiotic defects like this morning when I tried to delete my junk mail and Yahoo! kept making me sign in again. I think that spouse is wrong not to have some kind of anti-virus protection software. It could also protect against junk and mal wares. I'm complaining but I do nothing about it either.
Capsulization: On Sunday, I ended up going on the SF Southern RR train ride to the Galisteo Basin. The Galisteo Basin is very pretty but the rest of the train ride, through the bowels of Santa Fe and past the Railrunner construction (amazing concrete railroad ties!), is forgettable. Admitedly, we did pass through some nice housing areas - El Dorado? I feel sorry for the people in the poorer neighborhoods that have their houses practically on top of the tracks. At least it was a little cooler than the last time I rode this train. Mary and Dave, son in law's Mom and step-Dad, drove down from the Jemez redrock country to go on the ride. When I saw Mary's enthusiasm for going on the train, I told spouse to buy me a ticket too. I wish I were that upbeat and cheerful!
We got to know Dave a little better. I thought it was interesting that he said he likes dogs better than people. This was in the context of his telling us that his Mom was a real social magnet with people coming over all the time and her always baking cakes. He was an only child and says he was spoiled rotten. The first time we met him, he was pretty quiet. It turns out that Marge Fraser, who used to hike with Bonnie, Mary Ann, Carol, and me, is his aunt. Regarding hordes of people, I told him that when our father was sick in the hospital, our aunt came over and all five of us kids hid from her and wouldn't answer the door.
My forearm feels like it's going to start cramping so I'm now resting my wrist on the table. I think it's from my weightlifting. I don't lift heavy weights but something must not be setting right with my right arm.
We ate at the Zia Diner. I had ahi tuna nicoise (don't ask me to pronounce it!) salad which had a huge chunk of raw tuna cooked exactly as I requested and was very delicious.
Grandson didn't have his meds that day and ate virtually nothing, in part because spouse had unthinkingly bought him a Dr. Pepper, soon before we got off the train, loaded with sugar and caffeine so he was completely wired and did everything but put a lampshade on his head and he would have if one had been available. Mary did her very best to talk intelligently with grandson but he just gave silly answers. On the upcoming La Veta train ride, he'll take his meds.
Son in law read a book a lot on the train and the car ride to and from. I wonder if he's shy.
Monday's Dorothy hike was longer than I thought it would be - 3.65 miles. I was thinking that we'd drive all that way and only hike a mile but it turns out there is more country off NM126 and FR144, down to FR376, than I had thought. Dorothy zoomed in and xeroxed a portion of a map from the travel management rule people that showed a road going from NM126 to FR376. I haven't yet seen the map of our actual route but I think we found it and it's called FR126C. It might have been part of old NM126 and is a really nice, wide gravel road that connects NM126 and FR376. So, now the problem of getting down from the west rim on FR144 to the continuation of the west rim on FR376, without having to walk on paved NM 126, is entirely solved! The main obstacle remaining is to find a way down from Virgin Mesa to Battleship Rock. We're taking a 2 week hiatus and will resume explores August 21. Thankfully, we met no oncoming, homicidal maniacal semi-truck drivers on the blind curves. Oh, I was so grateful for that but I was prepared, putting the car in 2 and going slowly around the curves, with the windows open.
Yesterday, I was researching about how to strengthen the muscles in the leg and foot that prevent pronation. It seems that strengthening the butt muscles and the adductor (inner thigh) muscles might help. I really wonder if I need to go to an orthopedic surgeon. I think that any stiff or rigid orthotic would only hurt my feet. But, maybe the orthopedic surgeon, even if he's not really what I need, would direct me to a good podiatrist or pedorthist who could fix me up. I also ordered 4 more shoes from Roadruner Sports now that I have received the credit for the last 4. This time I ordered stability plus shoes. The neutral shoes didn't help my heel at all but made it hurt more.