Happy Memorial Day

It’s been a quiet peaceful day here, which isn’t saying much because, since retiring (Praise the Lord), the majority of my days are blessedly quiet, peaceful.

The better part of the day was a short walk around the complex, testing out new athletic shoes – the third pair to be tested this month.

You know how they say “You have to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince” That’s how it is with finding cross trainers that give the metatarsal bone the support it needs. There’s a lot of buying and testing before I find a pair that doesn’t throw my balance off just enough to threaten to dislocate my hips or that doesn’t cause my feet to feel like a stress fracture is imminent.

It gets expensive because, once you’ve walked outside, the shoes can’t be returned AND, in most cases, I do have to walk a mile or two before I can determine to keep or donate to the salvation army.

Of the three tested this month, I was able to return the first because, as soon as I opened the box, saw what I thought were going to be primarily camo green colored were primarily baby blue, I sealed the box back up and returned.

The second to be tested have a camo look but, two miles around the complex, my ankles felt weak – not sufficient ankle support. So someone shopping at salvation army is going to luck up on a brand new pair.

Third time was the charm because, a short walk to the market this morning for that potato salad, then two miles around the complex felt like walking on clouds.

My steps felt so light that my pace per mile went from a 27 minutes 21 second mile to a 23:03. As I passed a woman with a LVN badge, leaving a client’s unit, she said, “Ohhhh. You’re fast”.

Not something I’m accustomed to hearing.

Would you believe, as I rounded a corner, I saw two peacocks walking across the rear parking area.

I quickly tried to get close, tape them, but the vid came out jerky from rushing to get to them and, by the time I was close enough to capture them clearly, they were up and over the wall into someone’s back yard.

A long way from home they are because, the only other time I’ve seen a peacock was shortly after moving into the complex. I was walking the area of the golf course when a homeowner motioned me over to marvel over what he’d found roaming around his front yard.

It was a peacock.

The homeowner said there was a peacock farm many miles away in an unincorporated area and was assuming that is where it came from.

I’m making that assumption as well but, from what I’ve read, they’re essentially flightless. So how do they get back to home base? So far away, how do they even know where home base is?

At any rate, the homeowner advised that seeing a peacock is considered good luck and this morning I saw two.

Along about 3:15 I headed down to the Community Room to drop off the potato salad.

The weather being quite pleasant, a group of residents were seated in the outside patio area, listening to music, keeping the grill person company.

I decided to stay and chat a while with the folks.

Looking around for a woman who fit the description given, no one registered at first. THEN it finally hit me who it was … a woman I actually did know as we’ve passed each other multiple times on the property, greeted each other. I just never bothered to learn her name. And, yes, if you look at her strictly through sense perception, she does fit the description.

Conversations were good, it took quite a while to BBQ ribs, burgers, hot dogs, so I stayed until all was done and the 15 or so residents began serving themselves at 5:00.

On tap for tomorrow is to kill a few hours at the spa. Not because I necessarily want or need a manicure/pedicure so soon after being treated on Mother’s Day, but because the entire complex is scheduled for a planned power outage from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Rather than sit around with no television, no computer, no A/C for four hours, I’d rather people watch from a spa chair, then cross the street after to people watch in Victoria Gardens.

Maybe I’ll even pop into Friday’s for another of their delicious turkey burgers for lunch.