New Year Resolutions

This lighthouse picture graces the back of a denim shirt that was a Christmas present from my Indiana relatives, and that's plural because the shirt is from Joan but was painted by her son-in-law, Mike. I'm told by Mike's wife, my niece Jeanna, that although he painted 10 shirts every one has a distinctive individual touch so it is one of a kind. The second picture shows the smaller painting on the front ppocket. I understand the fabric paint washes well, so I'll be able to wear it as much as I want. Meaning I don't have to save it to show off when I go to Cape Cod but can wear it whenever. Hurray!


New Years Day and I sometimes don't really make reslutions but I'm feelng full of resolutions this year. After the hip surgery that was I was recovering from a year ago, I really didn't do yoga for a long enough time that the habit got broken. Some half hearted stabs didn't get followed through. Likewise I walked with a cane [actally a trekking pole] for several weeks, feeling "better safe than sorry" about stumbles. So my habitual walking suffered. I've gotten back to doing quite a bit of walking but am resolving to return to yoga every evening. The pleasure of being limber and balanced is wonderful but better than that, it is a must for keeping the body in it's best working order which is more and more important with every inexorably advancing year. Plus my long time yoga routine is also a series of breathing exercises which is good for blood pressure and also contributes to good sleeping. I said to myself when I first discovered how wonderful yoga is more than half my life ago that I would never stop doing it. That was a good idea then and I must not let a brief setback ruin the determination.

Of couse the relative inactivity for a few months lead to some weight gain and as long as I'm making resolutions I might as well join the millions of people who today are making a weight loss resolution. Nothing harsh or punative, just substitute fruit for baked goodies, or at least a granola bars for donuts. My general deaing habits are healthy but I do have a serious sweet tooth. So much available fruit is underripe, picked much too soon, and too often flavorless. It has to be left at room temperature at least a couple of days and eaten when it finally has a natural scent. Just when the food gurus are telling people to have more fruit and vegeables than ever the stuff available, even in the expensive organice marktets, is getting less delicious. For example, there are tons of strawberries in the markets right now from someplace hundreds of miles south, but they might as well be shaped stryrofoam, flavorless! Alas!

I am not going to keep a runnng commentary about how well I adhere to my resolutions, that could be very boring. If I have some true success I may crow about it when the time is right. I do believe that pausing at likely times such as new years to make an assessment and define plans to change some of the things that are in need of improvement is a habit one is never too old to profit from. So a happy new year to anyone who reads this ... maybe you too could walk a bit more, eat more fruit and veggies and even do enough yoga to touch your toes... and hold it several seconds. Hmm?