Three Beautiful Things 12-15-2023: Two Workouts and Encouragement, Beers with Byrdman, Debbie Knocks Dinner Out of the Park

1.  On both Tuesday and Thursday this week I got tied up with family things and didn't make it to the Fitness Center. Today, I worked out twice, putting in forty minutes in Smelterville before driving over to CdA and completing my routine at the rehab gym. 

Today two staff members at the rehab gym had encouraging things to say about my progress. I'm losing some weight and I'm gaining some strength and stamina -- and my blood pressure reading was very good today. 

There's not a lot of instant gratification in my commitment to exercise, but over the long haul, it's uplifting to be experiencing some modest results.

2. After working out in CdA, I joined Byrdman at the spiffy and shiny Vantage Point brewery and food joint for a couple glasses of Helles Lager and a Caesar salad. Byrdman and I had a great talk about our relationships with our pets and the difficulty of having them pass away. It made me think back to when Luna and Copper came into my life in February 2021 and more than one person asked me if I were concerned that I might become attached to them, especially if it turned out I was providing temporary foster care.

I knew I'd become attached to them. It's inevitable for me and I welcome the attachment. I knew that one way or another that I would have to let go of them at some point, whether because Kathy got better (she didn't), someone else stepped forward to take them in (no one did), or because, as older cats, I might very well outlive them. I outlived Luna. 

So, as Byrdman and I discussed today, we do get attached, we often do outlive our pets, and it's painful. But, knowing loss is inevitably going to occur doesn't keep us from going all in and giving our pets the best life we can and sharing our care and affection with them unreservedly. 

And accepting their devotion to us. 

3. Two beers were enough for me, so I didn't join Debbie at The Lounge when she was finished with work. Instead, I cooked up some ground beef, and as Debbie requested, didn't do anything with it because Debbie had a plan in mind. She combined the ground beef with fire roasted tomatoes and some other pasta sauce products that were in the fridge and needed to be used, resulting in a superb sauce that we put over a product I'd never heard of called Ready Cut Spaghetti. I guess it's spaghetti, but looks like macaroni -- well, whatever it is, it works! Debbie cooked up a delicious dinner.