Nordic walking, etc

The weather was great for Nordic walking this morning. But I've walked on the last two icy mornings nonetheless. Of course, walking keeps me warmer than I would be while sitting huddled on the scoot.

And perhaps because of all the oefening (practicing), I hit my stride this morning. I was actually Nordic walking. There's a way to do it, of course, so that as the sticks poke into the path, they give you both back support and a tiny push which propels you into walking that much quicker.

The trick up to now has been to keep my leg relaxed during walking. With my cane, with which I've had loads of practice so I don't even have to think about it any more. Learning to Nordic walk is a little bit like learning to walk with a cane but without as much support.

Besides gaining a rhythm in my walking pattern, the following link lists a lot of lovely benefits of Nordic walking including being a great cardio workout because it integrates the upper body, increased stability and balance and improved endurance, mobility and posture. Maybe you're interested in taking up the sticks? http://www.polewalkabout.com/Benefits

Hibachi, y'all
To thank them a little bit for all that they've done for us during my recovery, Nico and I took his parents out for their first Japanese restaurant (Hibachi) experience this weekend. They were game for using chopsticks as well as sushi. Bravo! They seemed to love it (and so did we).

Today's therapy
I got in a good day's therapy. Complete gamut of weights lifted in between other therapy, fall training and fysio. In fysio, we worked on lifting stuff from a squat position. Lightweight things were a cinch meaning I could squat using relatively good form and pick up some small rings off the floor. But it got tougher when I tried to lift a case of nine 1.5 liter bottles. Ultimately, I want to lift heavy stuff with good form. Oefening, oefening, oefening.

At home, I've decided I should walk the stairs anytime I don't have Hazel with me or have to carry something heavy. Up and down. We're not doing stairs practice anymore at Bb, so this is my way of keeping this good therapy going.

The rest of the week
Tomorrow and Thursday are full days of therapy. Wednesday I have two hours with the testing lady, cardio excercise testing with Rabin (the fitness guy) and then the cleaning gal at 1p.m. So far, Friday is free.

No plans for the weekend yet but I've been thinking about finishing a quilt top that I started ages ago. You know how it is - the blocks are finished I just need to put them together on the machine.

Speaking of quilts, I'm still thrilled with my new friendship quilt. It's so pretty. Love it.