Finally!

I finally decided on a reward for the big 5-0. I got a new camera! I know, it sounds extravagant for "just the fifty" but it was so close to my birthday that I combined the two events into one most excellent reward. I love it! I have a larger, more complicated camera, but this one fits right in my pocket. That means I will actually take it with me as I roam the countryside. It also gives me more incentive to roam said countryside! Now I just need to learn how to use this new miracle of digital processing and Leica lens engineering. Actually, it appears to do just about everything on its own with very little input from me. Artificial intelligence in a camera... Sounds good for those days when the fibro makes me forget the simplest things. I will take some photos and post them in the next few days.

As for the actual countryside roaming... My exercise schedule has become severely side tracked. I pulled a muscle in my hip doing that stupid aerobic stepping a week or so ago, and it's taking its own sweet time to heal. I have been walking, both on the sidewalk and at the beach, but I am limited to a rather slow gait. Everything seems to hurt more these days. Hips, knees, back... I really have a hard time believing that I used to run in the pool for an hour at a time. 

I miss my pool time, for so many reasons. Running in the company of lizards was so relaxing and stress-relieving. It was also great exercise. But one of the best benefits of my pool time was that the regular exercise kept my fibromyalgia under control. For some reason, besides the obvious notion that regular movement keeps joints and muscles conditioned, exercise somehow lessens the pain of fibromyalgia. I have noticed that my use of pain medicine has increased since moving out of the "pool house". Warm water is the best friend a person with fibro can have, and I miss it terribly.

Today is all about work, but I hope to get out and about tomorrow. My new camera is begging me to run around and look for things to photograph. That reminds me; one of the best things you can do for yourself is to find a hobby that demands movement. Photography, bird watching, botany, beach combing, trash collecting along roadways, hiking... all of these things, and others, require some form of movement. If it makes exercising more enjoyable, go for it!

Today's message... Enjoy the beauty of life.