Category: Well-being

Practicing Ukulele

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 18mm, f/5, 1/70 sec, ISO3200
 “Practicing Ukulele” Cedar Park, 2022

I’m enjoying practicing a couple of new songs from my Studio Ghibli ukulele book: Princess Mononoke Theme and The Legend of Ashitaka. I figured the themes of the two stars of Mononoke Hime would be fun to learn. Plus I think they are really cool songs!

With my morning Twitch livestreams, I often will practice ukulele on my 10-minute breaks, and just this small bit of consistency has made a noticeable difference in my playing. It’s like a little bit of magic! Who knew practice would improve my ukulele playing? 😜

Good Weather to Ride Bicycles

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Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 4.2mm, f/1.6, 1/3900 sec, ISO32
 “Bicycle Sign” Cedar Park, 2022

It’s the beginning of May, and here in Central Texas, we’re having perfect riding weather. Today was sunny, with nice clouds, and a soft breeze. So of course I had to go ride my bicycle at lunchtime.

Sophie and I rode to the hike & bike trail and did our normal paved loop (with a tiny bit of gravel). We stopped at the skatepark to take a photo under the “No Bicycles” sign. When I would come here with my boys, there were often BMX bikers using the park alongside skateboarders, scooters, and the occasional inline skater. Everything seemed fine. But I guess something must have happened to prompt the sign being put up. Oh well.

Anyway, if you have time, please watch the video I made, or save it to your bookmarks and ride along with us on your stationary bike!

Running Recovery

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At the end of February, I injured myself on a long run and have been slowly coming back from it. I’m now back to running about every other day, and I have been able to cautiously increase the distance little by little – I’m now up to about 5km per run. I don’t feel any pain, and could probably run longer, but I am going to go slow. I’m not training, after all. I just enjoy running and I don’t want to jeopardize that freedom by getting injured again.

I also have to accept that my body doesn’t recover as fast as it used to. 😁

Spring Planting

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 28.9mm, f/5, 1/250 sec, ISO640
 “Spring Planting” Cedar Park, 2022

Mariko and I have big plans for our gardening this year. Well, not so big, but we did plant several different things in the garden: rosemary, cilantro, parsley, peppers, fennel, and lots of basil. We’re hoping all of these are not attractive to the squirrels.

Let’s hope we have a good harvest all summer long. But of course, the Texas heat makes things challenging. Right now the weather is nice and there are no mosquitoes so it is really pleasant to work in the yard. In a month or so, being outside will be less attractive. Doing any gardening in the backyard will require long pants, long sleeves, or plenty of insect repellant! 🙁 Which kind of sucks when it’s 100°F / 38°C outside. 🥵

Pick-Me-Up

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Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 4.2mm, f/1.6, 1/12800 sec, ISO32
 “Found Smile” Cedar Park, 2022

Today’s run was great for a couple of reasons. First, my left leg (which has been giving me trouble) didn’t hurt at all, and secondly, I saw a cool smiley face in the street. 😀

I haven’t been able to run very far before my left knee, or rather the soft area behind my left knee, starts hurting. So I have been trying to just run a few kilometers while it heals. And today, I ran over 3 km with no pain! I think I will gradually increase the distance, while taking one or two rest days in between runs. Should be good, right?

I hope you had a nice day! またね