This seems to be a much better pace for me

     This seems to be a much better pace for me. I have sometime to think about what I want to write instead of just  spewing words from my brain hoping that they come out right. Hope everyone that is reading enjoys and learns something from what I am writing,

Exercise and Martial Arts


     Last Friday evening I managed to injure my right leg. I guess that is what comes with the practice of karate. I got smacked with the heel of my opponent just above the knee. Swelling set in fairly quickly and my leg was very sore. Unfortunately I did not listen to the pain in my leg and immediately, Saturday morning managed to get in most of a lower body workout. The problem lies in the fact that my muscles were not performing the way that they should and I really tweaked something in my knee. Still as of today my leg is quite sore and is just finally becoming comfortable to walk on all day. Though I cannot sit for very long because my leg will stiffen up sum and get very restless.
     As of Monday I have suspended my leg exercises with the exception of biking. This low impact exercise has been working well for me. I also have not taken any time off from karate, though I am taking it easy with the kicks and other hard impact techniques. I will not let myself miss this testing day to slip by me. I missed last month and am really wanting to get this test out of the way. Then I figure I have until this fall or winter before I test again.
     My upper body training is progressing very nicely however. I have increased some of my weights and am doing great. I am excited to see the progress that I am making. I will be adding one other exercise to my list. However it will not be one that I can track on the workout log, though I might be able to post results on the log.
     One of the goals that I have set for myself is to increase my hand strength. Early last month I purchase two 8  lb. medicine balls. I will be using them while performing my karate moves. Not only will this strengthen my arms and upper body, it should also be a great way to increase my hand strength. With persistent work I believe that I will see a significant increase in the strength of my grip.

Cooking and Eating Healthy


     It is always good to smell fresh baked bread. In this house I am managing to be known for my bread making skills. I am managing to bake two loaves every 2 to 3 days. We eat a lot of bread. My latest creation is a whole wheat honey bread. This is not a difficult recipe in fact I get my recipe from the Better Homes and Garden New Cook Book. It is a very simple recipe and I would encourage everyone to try their hand at making some bread.
     There are many ways to prepare the bread. Some people use automatic bread makers which I suppose is great for those in a real big hurry. Others are a little more traditional but they do use a electric mixer to mix the ingredients and to kneed the dough. I choose to prepare my dough with a wooden spoon and my hands. I find that I have better results by doing it this way.

     By doing it by hand allows my to make adjustments to how I am preparing the dough because I know how it should feel. I can notice things like wetness or dryness and its elasticity. These things cannot be accurately measured when done by a mixer. Also, I have noticed that when letting the bread rise I get better results. I find that dough prepared by hand rises better and has a better texture when baked.


Gardening

Cauliflower foreground, broccoli background.

Kale, rabbit chewed but making a come back.

Spinach, loved by rabbits too, but coming back 

Current whole garden, changes coming.

     As promised, pictures of this years garden. I managed to get a real early start on my garden this year. Planted what is pictured above on the last Sunday of winter. Yes, it managed to survive the frosts that we had after they started growing. That was due to some old windows I had in the shed that I laid over the beds. Glad I covered them.

     One of the biggest issues this year have been the many rabbits that have invaded my garden. Almost everything shown above is chewed off by rabbits. I asked people what humane method could be used to keep the rabbits out of my garden, and the answer that I got was, ask Aarica Ann from www.Myediblegardens.com. Low and behold Aarica Ann responded with a very simple answer, blood meal. I had never heard of this and was really interested in trying it out. 

     What makes blood meal so appealing is that the smell keeps rabbits out of the garden. Fortunately my nose does not work so well and it does not keep me out of the garden. Secondly, the blood meal has a high nitrogen content and makes a great fertilizer. I put this stuff on the garden last Tuesday and I have not even seen a rabbit since. Just in the last few days I have noticed that my kale is getting new leaves and so is my spinach. Blood meal, check it out and have a great week.