Sunday, May 24, 2009

Sore Gainer

Huh.

So, it's like this. I spent about 8 hours gardening yesterday. Wielding the (damn heavy) weed whacker over grass too long to mow, trimming lawns, pruning stuff, planting stuff, killing weeds by hand and by roundup and by digging the stubborn little bastids up by the root. I'd thought there were 'just a few' blackberry shoots, but they apparently multiplied when I wasn't looking. (That sound you just heard was the bitter laughter of many a Northwestern gardener.)

Long story short:
  • Several hours physical labor.
  • Not a lot of food.
  • Very sore leg muscles.
  • Unhappy arm muscles.
  • Got up this morning to find that I've gained five pounds in two days.

People say "oh, it's just water." Somehow that doesn't leave me encouraged. They say "oh, you're building muscle." Since that doesn't translate to lost pounds or smaller pant sizes, it doesn't seem like a fair trade.

Then again, that co-worker last week could see a change.
Maybe this is Just A Phase. Or whatever.
But I'm depressed now.

Update du 8:40 pm
On the plus side, the sunburn was applied evenly, from the top of my forehead to the base of my throat. No awkward white patches.
On the downside, I've taken to wearing a wide-brimmed hat, even though these have been referred to as "Old-lady hats" by a friend and even though this is not the day to wear something "old-lady" ish.
On the plus side again, I was serenaded by three generations of family tonight. (Picky people might insist that my great-nephew was too young to sing, but his vocalizations sounded extremely tuneful to me.)

Okay, two plus, one minus, looks like I've come out ahead. Another day and another year older, but I'm ending the day on a positive note.

4 comments:

Annabel said...

Happy Birthday!!!

BCB said...

OMG! How did it get to be the 24th?! Damn. Now it's the 25th and I missed it. I swear just last week it was the 9th.

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, MERRY!I've heard that when you get dehydrated, your body responds by retaining fluid. I have no idea whether that is true, I just heard it somewhere. So drink lots of fluids today and see what happens to those extra pounds.

I'm very impressed by your gardening exploits. Had a similar problem here with raspberry stalks that I "transplanted" from MN. Grew like crazy but never produced even one berry. Stupid tenacious things.

Patty said...

Glad you day ened on a positive note Merry! Weeding is my least favorite part of gardening and the thing we end up doing the most of...I guess I better learn to like it!

I had a nice little losing streak going until this morning when I found a couple of extra pounds myself. We just have to keep doing the right thing! Still, it kinda pisses me off. :-)

And Happy Belated Birthday!!

The Merry said...

Ah, there's a thought Patty. Maybe it's just the time of year. That works for me :)

Thanks BCB and Annabel!