Karen at Fifty Four

I finished my first blanket and Mango heartily approves! This was another hot, humid August day with no plans, only this time I decided to stay home and crochet. I finished the blanket I was working on. It turned out ok... not crazy about the colors, but I got a lot of practice doing the single and double stitch. 

It was a typical hot, humid August day in Orlando and I had no plans... sounds like a perfect day for an art museum. Even better, the Orlando Museum of Art is free for veterans! When walking up to the museum's front door, I was terribly disappointed in their landscaping. Weeds and unkept palms. Not an attractive entranceway at all. After walking through the museum, I couldn't help but think, it's a good thing this was free, because if I had to pay $20, I would have been a bit irritated. Many of the rooms were closed for coming attractions and the few exhibits they did have, did not interest me. The only thing I found fascinating was their Chihuly in the main atrium. Even the building was blah. And, there was a guard pacing in one of the rooms, clapping his hands! How rude!!! At first I thought how gloriously cold (good air-conditioning) and immensely peaceful it was... very pleasant to stroll through on a hot afternoon. Then this guard started clapping as he paced. I couldn

I brought my paddle boards to St Pete with the intention of going out with Donna and Gerald (my two boards plus their kayak), but the weather was not cooperating. Actually, the forecast and the skies were more ominous than it turned out to be. Maybe a few small sprinkles, but it didn't keep us from sitting on the back porch chit-chatting all morning. The around noon, Donna and I actually jumped in the pool and floated around for an hour. Turned out to be a great day. Mom came over to Donna's and we had a terrific vegetarian lunch and talking away the afternoon. I'm inspired to try a vegetarian diet. I need to try something because my weight is still too high and I am out of ideas for how to loss the extra pounds I'm somehow acquired over the last year. St Pete, as seen from the Veteran's War Memorial park in Seminole. The jagged oyster-shell-covered rooks make me think an inflatable paddle board would not be a good thing to launch from here. I really want a kayak!!!

Another fabulous swim down the Rainbow River with OWS Leo's group. 3.6 miles!!! There were 83 of us this time. I wore a wetsuit (the spring fed river is 72 degrees year-round) and it felt like I was flying. I actually kept up with Mary Ellen, which is incredible, she has always been much faster than me (she was not wearing a wetsuit). I don't remember my time. I try not to stress about that and just enjoy the event. Saw lots of turtles and fish. No gators! I don't think there are any gators on this section of the river... people tube down it all the time and you never hear about gator sightings.   Prepping before the event. That is Mary Ellen on the left and a lady she knows from her Sunday morning Pass-a-Grill swim group, Christie. This was Christie's first time. Hopefully she enjoyed it enough to try it a second time. It's always more fun to have people you know with you when you do these type of crazy outings! Pre-swim. I'm always a little nervous and usually

I tried out my new paddleboard today... the one I got from Aldi's for $99. I was very worried that it would be nothing more than a big floatie, but it wasn't. It was a little more narrow than my other board, making it less stable, but otherwise, just fine. I launched from Kraft Azalea Gardens with the same group of ladies as before, and we went through the canal to the regular sunset spot. Once again, too many clouds for a sunset. One of these paddles, I'll get a good sunset shot. Inflating at the car. Still not too sure what to expect. One of the ladies had to help me get the fin attached, and I brought a mismatch paddle. I'll know better next time! Cruising through the Winter Park chain-of-lakes canal. Always very peaceful and shady, with beautiful lush, tropical foliage. The paddleboard ladies, waiting for the sunset.

I meant to ride with the FFW this morning but went to the wrong ride start location - I went to Lake Monroe Park, not Lake Monroe Marina! Oh well, good time to check out the new trail extension that will connect Lake Monroe to Lake Beresford. This is the start of the trail when you leave Lake Monroe Park. Beautiful and shady. The wood boardwalk only lasts a short stretch, then smooth pavement/asphalt. They just redid it smoothen all the cracks created from tree roots breaking through. Wildflowers along a sunny patch of the trail. I hope they leave this corridor natural, its a real pleasure to cycle through. Not a good place to build up speed though, lots of curves and lots of walkers so you must take it slow. Unfortunately, the trail extension did not extend all the way to the trail that leads to Lake Beresford. You still have to ride on a few sidewalks and on the road for a few miles. Not sure about the construction. I think they were just repaving the road, not adding more trail. I w

Quite a while back, I signed up to volunteer for something... so long ago, I'm not really sure where I signed up. Anyway, I get a message from a group that oversees the cat adoptions at one of the Pet Smarts. This is the same organization that connected me to Mango, so I'm sure they do good work. Unfortunately, it is not the same store as where I got Mango. This one is a few miles into the bad part of town. Oh well, this is the place that needs help, so it's where I'll go. My job is to clean the cages, change out the litter, and give the kitties food and water. Simple enough! Well, depending on how many kitties that there, this could take a while!   

 Another great evening SUP'ing with the ladies from the Facebook group. We launched from Dinky Dock (Lake Virginia) this evening and paddled through the canal to Lake Osceola. There were six other ladies, two of them first-timers and the other four seemed to be close friends. I'm still in the acquaintance category. Their age is, I'm guessing, from 20-something to 60-somthing. Very diverse group with one common interest, getting out on the water on a paddle board! I think the leader of the group is probably in her late thirties or maybe even forties, which is good. I think I can fit into this group if I just continue to show up to outings. I'm still not comfortable on my board either.... need lots of practice. They make it look easy! Selfie on the water :) Not a good sunset this evening, but still great to be out there. Those are two of the ladies that floated off while chit-chatting. This group seems to find peace out here away from work and families. I'm not trying

Rather than make three posts, I'm combining three bike outings in one post. Friday was a regular favorite, the Tour de Willa with Frank and Carlos, then Saturday was biking around Lake Monroe with El, and Sunday was a new ride with the FFW, Orlando Murals. All were great for different reasons and really, any day on the bike with friends is great.  I probably won't post every ride I do. Every weekend I try to get out there. My goal for 2022 is to ride 2000 miles. I think I'm almost to 900 and we are more than halfway through the year, so I need to pick it up a bit! I've started doing some rides with Nona Cycle too, so that gives me more options. Once the temps cool down I'll be able to go longer. Right now we are reaching 95+ degrees everyday with no relief in sight. Frank's Tour de Willa group. It can be anywhere from three to ten people, never a big group, but that's ok. It's a set 25 mile route... no changes, no surprises. I forgot to get a picture of