Knight of Pentacles

 I have been blessed with excellent genetics.  It's always been easy for me to be very active, and I gain strength and flexibility quickly (when I work on it).  It had gotten to the point where I kind of took it for granted. So, imagine my surprise, when around the time I started Kung Fu I started getting foot pain.  I was getting it just walking around, but also I noticed that my toes weren't bending as far as I wanted them to during bowing in.  And when I tried stretching my toes regularly, the pain got worse.  Weird. Well, it turned out that the culprit was the fact that I had spent the previous decade tromping around construction sites in very protective, but not flexible and probably too tight, steel toe boots.  Not only that, I wore them outside of work, too.   Apparently, feet can lose flexibility and strength if you don't let them, ya know, flex.   And shoes with narrow toe boxes can cause your toes to slowly bend together, ...

 I didn't want to miss blogging this, so it's a little late, but here is my list: 1.     1. L ast year’s banquet and the feeling of comradery then 2.   2.  This year’s banquet and the deepened feeling of comradery now 3.   3.  The amusement Shawn and I feel watching the black belts sort themselves out at the beginning of IHC classes. Because not everyone gets to see them try to sort themselves properly, so I think we’re pretty privileged. 4.   4.  Everyone getting together to build the cardboard lions for the Li’l Leopards class.   That was a great day. 5.   5.  Nigel running my little Frankie around inside a cardboard box.   And then standing there while Sihing Burke addressed the group with important instructions, with a giggling box. 6.   6.   The TORRENTIAL downpour after the Canada Day demo, and the chaos afterwards, because I had left my purse with my phone and car keys in the van that took t...

 What a night!  What a year!!   Tonight was filled with interesting emotions for me, I can only imagine how it must have felt for some of my teammates.  There were laughs (Jordan wins that prize), and tears (Dammit, Michelle!) and so many faces beaming with pride.   For me, thinking of last year's banquet, which was my first, and the beginning of my first year in the I Ho Chuan team.  Not really knowing what the year would bring, but being pretty hopeful that it would bring some positive effects. Well, my expectations are blown away. My numbers, while not perfect, are a very good start.  I think back to a conversation I had with Todai Ferris when I was thinking of joining the team: She said something along the lines of: "It's not so important that you actually achieve 50,000 push ups and sit ups, but that you don't give up.  And if you only do 20,000 in the year, then that's 20,000 more than you did the year before." (Sorry if I grossly ...

 We put Mr Stubbs down yesterday.  He went downhill pretty quickly and so we found a vet that we could take him to on short notice.  It's been a really rough few days, but at least he's not sick and miserable anymore.  Now the healing can begin. In other news: this might sound kinda "DUH" but I've figured out something.  Previously I would miss a few days of SUPUs (sit ups/push ups), and then go hard for a few days.  But it was very sporadic, and I could feel the inefficiency in this method.  So, I put a yoga mat on the floor next to my bed and very first thing in the morning I go down and do 25 SUPUs.  Every day.  I know there are a few of you that wake up early and get an hour of working out in, but I already get up at 5am, out the door at 6am, so I just don't think I can get up any earlier.  But just getting that first 10 day streak in has made a big difference for me.  No matter what, I always get at least 25 in.  And I've ...

 Mr Stubbs is going to die on Monday.  So, now I am faced with the realization that every moment I spend with him, every moment I can feel him and see him alive is finite.   I mean, every moment we have with almost anyone can be measured against the time we have without them after they are gone.  And sometimes we don't know who we will outlive, but most times we can have a fairly good bet.  This is the first time in recent memory when I've known when someone I love is going to die and it's just as heart breaking as I imagined. The worst thing is that he's so uncomfortable.  There's a last time for all those moments, the last time he jumped up on my lap, the last time he crawled up on the bed, the last time he purred.  Even though he's not dead yet, I didn't realize I had missed all those moments already, and that part really hurts.  I didn't see how fast he was going down hill and so I didn't savour those moments.  I can't even make him ...

 I'm super curious what everyone on the Rabbit team sent in for their music suggestions for the demo.  A person's taste in music can tell you a lot about them, no judgments!! So if you guys are comfortable with it, post your suggestions in the comments.  Maybe we can make a Rabbit Team playlist! Here were mine: The Force Theme by Scandroid https://youtu.be/BY5WE66YKcU? si=USTOZaOxc57RsO0e and  The Great Hosannah by Kula Shaker https://youtu.be/BXFNlD4AieI? si=okgfa148G3hEY7Wy

 In the fall of 2020, in the midst of everyone else having a terrible time, I was actually doing really great.  Construction was never halted, our lives had not been disrupted, everything seemed to be held in a snowglobe of peace and happiness.  I remember thinking "gee, I'm really sorry that everyone else is beaten down, but my life is going great!" I had a cat, Lucyfur, who was 4 years old.  She would greet me whenever I came home  at the top of the stairs on my front lawn, rolling around on the path, so happy to see me.  We had her since she was a kitten, and she was the best cat.   One day, she never came home.  I had always had outdoor cats, and had a few die over the years, but her disappearance was quite a blow to my happy little bubble.  I searched for her for months. I put up signs. I  roamed the neighbourhoods.  I scoured internet postings.  I did everything I could possibly think of to try and find her.  It...