(no subject)

Our power was out from about ten this morning until about three this afternoon. It wasn't just us. Power was out at Delia's school and all the way to a neighborhood several blocks away. When I called DTE, their estimate for when power would be restored was between 9:30 and 11:30 tonight. They always specify a lot more time than they need so that they won't go past their estimated window.

It got cold in here. Our furnace is gas, but the thermostat is electric. I was more relieved to have heat again than I was to have light or internet.

Lunch was Campbell's split pea soup and a piece of bread. I usually microwave a frozen meal for my lunches, but that, of course, was out. I didn't even dare open the fridge to rummage or to pull out sunflower seed butter and jam. I'm just glad we've kept soup on hand. We don't eat it very often (almost never), but it's good to have something that can be heated on the stove. We have a gas stove with electric ignition. I used a lighter to start the burner.

It's not precisely bright outside, but it's not as dark as it was yesterday. I opened the curtains in the living room and read. None of my library books really appealed to me, so I flitted from one to another, reading bits here and there. I may return most of them unfinished.

Friday is normally grocery day. Scott goes to the store on his way home from work. If the power hadn't come back when it did, he'd have had to skip the shopping until tomorrow or Sunday.

(no subject)

I've been checking exercise DVDs out of the library. I started with a couple of Sit and Be Fit DVDs, wanting to see if any of them were worth buying. The Sit and Be Fit DVDs are pretty expensive for what one gets, about $30 for a single thirty minute workout. Going by the two I've tried, I'm not sure it's worth my while. The main reasons it's tempting is in case I travel again-- something portable would be helpful for that-- and in case WCMU stops airing the program or, for some reason, the program is no longer made. I hesitate because of the expense and because I'm looking for something a bit more challenging to try. I'd hate to invest in DVDs that I never use.

I've also tried two of Peggy Cappy's Yoga for the Rest of Us DVDs. I don't know how expensive those would be to buy. I haven't entirely decided how I feel about them. They're definitely more challenging than Sit and Be Fit. I'd have to work for a while to be able to do them properly. The first DVD had a single, one hour workout. That's longer than I want right now. I might work my way up to it, but I'm currently used to dedicated half an hour (2:30 to 3:00 M-F) to exercise. The second DVD has a considerably shorter workout that consists entirely of repetitions of the sun salutation. I think, if I went with Yoga for the Rest of Us, I'd want multiple DVDs so that I wasn't limited to the same workout every day.

I'm curious about other exercise DVDs, but I'm not sure how to identify those that are reasonable for me. I know the library has a decent selection of different things, but I'm not sure how to browse the holdings online. I'm not in a position to go to the library and browse there. I haven't browsed at the library for years (I did it a couple of times while Delia was in preschool, but it was a hike from preschool to the library, so I didn't do it often. Beyond that, browsing last occurred before Delia). We also go to one of the branch libraries which simply doesn't have a vast selection. We used to go downtown to the main library, but they've been doing construction on the parking lot there for more than a year. Until they finish some time next year, it simply isn't feasible for us to go there.

Anybody have specific exercise DVDs that they like? Or specific types of exercise to recommend looking for that might be within the range of what I can do?