CHECK-IN: Showery SUNDAY 5/19/2019 - All are WELCOME!

Good morning.

I think the bulk of the really heavy gardening (weeding, digging, planting) is done for now. There's always more to come of course, usually right after I break down and buy some new plants at the nursery. And I'm thinking of putting in another small garden bed on the side of the shed, lol.

Today will be deck rail planters (easy---potting soil and trailing petunias), seed starting (cucumbers, marigolds, and some herbs), replenishing the herb planter on the deck, and repotting some baby chrysanthemum, scabiosa, and echinacea that seeded themselves in the garden and had to be removed. That's after I spread compost under the rhododendrons and hit them with some milk spray. And spread mulch around.

So glad I am able to do this stuff without feeling like I have been hit by a truck. It seems that going to the gym has paid off---I remember being terribly physically stressed by heavy garden chores last year and although I have actually been doing more, physically, in the garden this year it doesn't seem to bother me as much. I haven't lost that much weight so that can't be it. It's the exercise and the strength building.

And on that happy note---KOKO!

I've neglected my garden so busy...

Going to a beach seafood restaurant with the family today.

Morning all! Thank you for the start-up diva49 ☕️😊

fullmahina that is so cool that your workouts have made gardening easier this year!!

Costco run here too linda72. Enjoy the recital.

lmenglish have fun!!!

You need a quiet day zazzles rest up that back.

Have a great day everyone! 😊🦋☕️🌷🌺🌸

When we joined they gave us two free sessions (about an hour each) with a trainer to learn how to use the machines safely. Each machine has a few adjustments that must be personalized to the user. No big deal once you learn but a little daunting when you first walk in that room!

No, no personal trainer. I started very slowly and gradually increased reps and then I slowly added more weight. Bear in mind that I was starting from ground zero with this. My main goal in the beginning was not to hurt myself, lol. So far, so good! When I feel the particular exercise is getting too easy I ramp it up a little. On days where I don't feel that good (who knows why...) I back off.

As far as a routine I just go from machine to machine and do my thing. There are several machines that I hate so I skip them. The areas that they work are areas that are duplicated with other machines so I don't feel like I am cheating. All the machines have a little instructional sticker sheet on them so you can check whether you are doing the exercise correctly and it also shows the muscles that are being worked by the exercise. I do some warm-up time on the treadmill or a stationary bike and then do my circuit of machines. I notice that, in the beginning, my heart rate on the treadmill went up very quickly. Now it takes a faster speed and more incline to get my heart rate to increase significantly and that's a good thing. I think I do about nineteen machines and the whole thing takes about an hour.

I know my very weak points and go a little easy on them but even those areas have improved.

I use almost all the machines in this video plus a few more:

I see black spots on my rhododendron leaves and that usually indicates fungus. A mixture of 1/4 skim milk and 3/4 water sprayed on the leaves weekly really helps.

In Hawaii I had terrible problems with an orange spot fungus on my plumeria trees until I used the milk spray. It worked wonders! You have to rip all the affected leaves off first and then drench the leaves, preferably on a warm sunny day.




One of the main things I like about the machines is that I feel safe using them. I am not overdoing it, no one is in front of a class trying to cheer me on to do more than I am comfortable with. You decide what is right for you. Progress is at your pace, which may or may not be the case with a class or a private trainer. I know some people get a lot out of working with a trainer and that is great but from what I have seen (there are private trainers at the Y) it is not for me. No patience, I guess, lol. I'm okay with challenging myself by increasing the weight loads and repetitions on my own for now.

Just an interesting aside. I have 2 of the old aluminum webbed folding chairs. My brother saw them and asked whet I got them. They are old and said we'll find them online. Wal-Mart had them for $7 but NOT in Florida. Amazon had them for $50 bucks!! Finally found an Ace Hardware that had them for $23

Beautiful day here at the Jersey shore. After DGF left, I planted the entire garden. Still need a purple cherokee tomato, ivory and yellow bell peppers, oregano (mine didn't come back this year), cilantro, rosemary and tarragon. I weed whacked and mowed the back yard. Where the handyman took down the fence next to the shed is a disaster. It's going to take weeks to get that in shape.