Black Cloud, Blue Skies

You can't help but think it's going to be one of those days when this is how your day starts. That's right, flat tire, and this is as far as I got changing it. The lug nuts were set by the factory, and despite my improved strength I wasn't able to budge them a centimeter. I even stood on the ^$*@ lug wrench and--nada! I doubt I could have budged them at my previous weight, either. It was like they were welded on.

When I next buy a new car, I will ask the dealer to break the seal on the lug nuts and have them torqued on by hand. Then I, a mere mortal, have at least a slim chance of removing them. I had to pay a tire service to come out and even though I had done what you see here, they still charged me the full (and hefty!) price. Adding insult to injury, the tire couldn't be patched and worse, all four need replacing. I managed two today, the other two will wait until next month.

Reeling from the double whammy (I spent almost $300 before 8 a.m.!), I headed off on my errands, black cloud notwithstanding.

And then something wonderful happened. All traffic stopped while Mama Duck and her teens took a stroll. A group of about 20 had crossed just before these stragglers.

It's hard to stay under a black cloud when you get a moment like this.

My first major stop of the morning was a farmer's market. This one is at the train station in downtown Memphis and features, as one might expect, all locally grown vegetables as well as other vendors selling all sorts of natural or handmade products. I bought tomatoes, organic granola, and an ointment for my aching hamstrings.

I also learned that the local bike club sponsors a downtown bike ride that leaves from the market. I'll have to check that out further.

My favorite purchase, though, was a bouquet of fresh flowers from a local grower. In addition to these splashy zinnias, he made me a big, beautiful bouquet that included sunflowers, gladiola and {insert name of two flowers I can't identify here}.

What black cloud?

I returned home from errands in early afternoon, snuck in an hour's nap, and then headed out for a five-mile walk. As it turns out, it will be my last outdoor five-mile walk until the weather cools. I ran out of water around Mile 4, and my fanny was dragging. I'll either bike, use the treadmill here, or hit the elliptical at the gym for any longer workouts for the foreseeable future.

And that brings us up to now. I've just massaged the new Ginger Muscle Rub in to my fractured hamstrings and am waiting for it to miraculously return them to their underdeveloped but pain-free state prior to Wednesday night when Trainer Matt thought it would be fun to wrap a towel around my feet and hang from it while I attempted to "curl" him. My hamstrings may thank him later, but right now? Not so much.

A perfectly ordinary day in the end and not a cloud in the sky. I hope your day was just as blessed.

~