SO 50

SO 50 studio

Many of you have heard me talk about the new exercise studio I joined back in May. It has changed my life! It is called Strong Over 50, or SO 50 for short. It is in Sugarhouse, on 11^th East and 13^th South. It uses a new suspension system that is geared towards older people but benefits all ages. Instead of lifting weights it makes you use your own body weight as resistance, and the bar gives extra stability. I have lost 11 lbs but more importantly I have reshaped my body and greatly increased my energy and stamina. I used to spend 12 to 14 hours in bed each day before starting this program and was hard put to get in one workout a week. Now I workout 3 times a week (for an hour each time) and am incorporating cardio workouts on my own (although I overdid it, of course and had to cut back on all workouts for a few days) I now am ready to jump out of bed after 9 hours of rest and am buying new clothes.

Here is the system we use

Some of my workout buddies-Ursula, Michelle and Patricia

Jordan and I

This is me, doing planks.

 

Jordan Smith is one of the two owner/trainers. Here he is with his puppy Stitch, which he brings in on Fridays because we (the clients) insist on it. He (the puppy, not Jordan) licks our toes and faces while we work out and we love it.

Squats

Lunges

Seven deadly sins project

The cover

 This is what I came up with for a class assignment on metaphor and concept. The subject is the seven deadly sins. I am very pleased with my results. I used pen and watercolors.

Refinished dresser

This is my latest project: refinishing an old dresser that I got at a DI 3 years ago when I moved here from Virginia. It sat out on my little porch all winter long waiting for the weather to get warm enough to work on it. The spring never was warm enough, so I started on it in July and finished it a couple of weeks ago. I am very pleased with how it turned out. I got all the ideas and how to's off of Pinterest! I used de-glosser instead of sanding it, I primed it with a premium Kilz primer, used a french antique glaze method inspired by something from I saw on Pinterest and did the finish detailing (the tree branches and vintage clip art decoupage) like a chest I pinned recently.  I did the branches and leaves freehand with acrylic paint, and added new handles. I had to wood putty over the old handle holes and drill new ones. This now will have a place of honor in my bedroom instead of being relegated to the back of a closet.

Oregon Coast

I spent last weekend at the Oregon coast with my kids and grandkids. A good time was had by all!

Aaron decided to taste the seaweed.

Jay and Ellie taking in the fresh sea air.

The first time I have ever been to the Oregon coast when it was warm enough to play in the surf. (And I've been here several times).

Emma loved the sand.

Sammy and James finding stuff to play with. Sammy had to be kept on a leash, he runs without regard to where he could end up-big waves, tall cliffs, etc.

We also went to an airplane museum. Sammy really wanted a soda.

Erik and Sammy just chillin' .

Erik, Tom, and Andrew exploring tide pools.

We all had a great time and hope to continue the tradition.

I recently visited the Red Butte Gardens in order to take photos of the flowers, especially the roses. It was the wrong time of day (noon) to get really good pictures but I managed to get some. There were lots of pre-school groups there on that day, also.

The kids were taking an "edible plants" tour.

I used the background defocus feature on my camera for this pic.

Last full day in England

I thought I'd spend my last day doing more tour bus stuff-get the live guide and take pictures of London, maybe go to the Tower of London.  The weather did not cooperate-very cold, blowy and rainy. My shots of London are taken through rain coated bus windows. I got the whole story of why the Union Jack looks like it does, though. Not going to repeat it, you can look it up. When we got to the Tower of London, I knew that it just wasn't a day to spend there, so I stayed on the bus with my new friend-a young woman from Orem who was in London for a week with her husband, who was then working. It is such a small world. I decided on a whim to get off the bus at Liberty of London's and get out of the rain for awhile. Liberty's is a small department store; world-renowned for its fine floral fabrics, stationary and clothing. It was a delight!!! I took pictures of displays, floors, walls, trying to capture the atmosphere.

Here are some of the things I bought.

Some of their famous cotton lawn fabric to make a tunic from.

Some cards with artwork that I want to copy.

A needlepoint kit and some pencil that have a Liberty's pattern on them.

Some chocolate, which although very prettily packaged was just okay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday afternoon at the Tate Modern

 

I spent Sunday afternoon at the Tate Modern museum. I felt a little schizophrenic, going from the V&A to the T&M! First I had lunch at the very nice Tate restaurant. Since it was actually not raining, I sat outside, in the sunshine, put my feet up and sketched my surroundings while waiting for my food.

 

I ordered fish and chips and oh boy, was it good!!! I love fish and chips and this was the best I have ever had. The Damien Hurst exhibit was amazing-the biggest show done on this guy in 20 years. They had all his famous stuff: dot paintings, butterflies, cigarette butts, dead flies, cows and sheep cut in half, pharmacies. I didn't stand in line to see his diamond and platinum skull, though. My feet hurt too much. I couldn't take any pictures, so I pulled some images from online so you can see some of his stuff.

 Don't be fooled into thinking he does pretty stuff, there is something disturbing either in his work or regarding its meaning. I was glad I got to go. I didn't get to go to the Apsley house, there was not enough time, but I pretty happy with the day except for feeling guilty about doing it all on Sunday!