I had this for sale on Poshmark but am now wearing it

The problem, red.

I am just not a fan of red for most clothing.

When I got this in Canada, several years ago, it was only available in red.

I hesitated at the time, but it was now or never, and I bought it.

The poor thing then hung in my closet and eventually was listed with a whole lot of things I (unsuccessfully) tried to sell on Poshmark.

I decided this week to just start wearing it.

First if all, when I have it on, I only see the black part, not the red.

And when I have it on, other people can see me (walking dogs, parking lots) because of the red.

Plus it is a lot more “together” looking than a fleece jacket or a hoodie.

I still would be happier if it were blue or green or purple. So when I wear it out, I will replace it with something in one of those colors. But for now, I am wearing it all fall. In fact I will be able to layer under it and probably wear into early winter.

Clicking on a picture will enlarge it. Middle was my model for these Poshmark pictures.

26,000

Middle has a Fitbit.

She has had many fitbits. On 4th, 5th or 6th one in fact. (We only paid for the first One. Best Buy with extended warranty. They die within a year for her. Best Buy replaces and starts warrantee over each time. One time they gave her a new one plus $20 because the price had gone down. They have upgraded her a couple times because the models have changed. It is the gift that keeps on giving.)

Youngest had one. BIG MISTAKE - We bought it at Target. They refer us to the manufacturer when it dies. They would only replace one. Very sad. Hers die very similar schedule to middle's. She is currently without. She does not use it as much as middle does. (She has an android phone, so that might be part of it.)

Moral of that story, only buy at Best Buy. (check to see if this is still in place before you buy, though).

Back to middle. She really uses her Fitbit. Steps. Sleep. Incoming texts and phone calls.

And on Sunday, at the home and garden tour, she says we walked 26,000 steps that day.

When we went, I was not (at all) sure I would be able to do it. So many stairs.

One thing that helped was bad weather and low turn out. So we did not stand in many lines. We could just keep walking.and it is very distracting. You want to go up and down the stairs to see everything.

And there was one stop/tour that was very far from the others and we drove to that one.

So I did fine. I did not even think about finding a chair. I did not even consider skipping any of the houses.

I painted this week

Two weeks ago, I would not have been able to do it. Paint. At the community theater.

Moving ladders, up and down ladders, standing on ladders, painting over my head.

This week, I made it just fine. (Middle went with me. Both times.)

On Tuesday, I walked the dogs early, painted (2 hours) in the late morning***, ran a couple errands, and then sat outside with the dog’s for about an hour.  Then, I worked on copying photos over to Shutterfly. (I am up to 2012.) I did not let myself take a nap.

On Wednesday the dogs went to the beauty parlor, so I had the day off.

We painted (4 hours) in the afternoon. Then ran errands. I did not let myself take a nap (again). And it was easier than it had been on Tuesday (to stay awake and then go to bed st a normal time).

I purposely did not do any arm weights all week. Painting, particularly over your head, for hours at a time, is  tough.

Sunday and Monday, I tried not to take a nap. I might have dozed a little in the evenings.

So noticeably better this week.

And this was the first week of weaning off my last steroid inhaler. One puff twice a day. Two weeks at that level and then I try to stop.

To recap - major asthma trouble most of July. Major steroids. It took me all of August and will take nearly half of September to wean myself off oral, nebulizer, and two inhalers. Goodness.

***I figured out that if I walk the dogs early, we can paint for two hours (morning volunteer shift is 10am-12pm) and then let the dogs out when we get home. I am not sure why that did not occur to me.  So I can go paint a couple times a week. Two hours of painting is more pleasant than four also.

A fix

I ended up with piles at the bottom of the stairs that just sort of lived there. My dog walking clothes, things headed up stairs.

The fix is two sets of hangers on the back door.

So now the banister and the stairs, can look like this -