If you were born in July, the ruby is your birthstone. Happy birthday!
The monthly color challenge is ruby red, a deep, rich red like you see in this example image. According to Merriam-Webster online dictionary, “seeing red” means to be excited or emotionally stirred up with anger. I’m going with “excited” in this post!
So far, our road trip has been very exciting! We’ve visited family and friends, visited some new and beloved places, and feel like we are truly retired.
It is my little Aero’s 12th birthday this week. He is feeling his age and has had some spring allergies. He loves our road trips and looked forward to visiting his older brother, Gideon, last week. Now that my grand-dog Gideon crossed the Rainbow Bridge, Aero really misses him.
Aero might be “seeing red” in this image as the threat of his old kennel looms.
As we continue our road trip this week, we will work our way back through California, then on to Lake Tahoe/Reno area to celebrate my dad’s 86th birthday!
Newest Florals and Outdoor Decor
In early May, we updated our patio with new red seat cushions and added some potted florals.
We bought four potted floral arrangements from our local nursery down the street from us. Even I can’t kill the petunias, but the coleus grouping took a hit in early May when we had several nights below freezing! All four pots and the hydrangeas were hurriedly placed in the shed overnight for several days.
Ruby Red Florals
Some of my favorite florals are in the ruby-red range of colors.
What Else is Ruby Red?
Although ruby red is not a color I wear, I am drawn to its richness in choices like cars, birds, and windsurf sails.
Seeing Red When Trying To Stay Fit
Is getting and staying fit a challenge for you? What is fitness anyway? Read more about this on Always Write.
“If you don’t make time for exercise, you’ll probably have to make time for illness.”
-Robin Sharma
As this silly photo of me suggests, it is easy to see red when you are enjoying outdoor activities in the heat. We visited Marsha and her husband as part of our road trip to the Prescott and Scottsdale areas in Arizona last week. Talk about summer heat! There wasn’t enough sunscreen in the world to keep our skin from reddening.
Enjoying activities like paddling and water sports on a lake in Arizona in July might seem like cruel and unusual punishment. We all wanted to go SUP/kayaking at Watson Lake near Marsha’s home–and of course, I had brought my two inflatable SUPs with us on our trip. If you like paddle sports, is inflating your own board a deterrent to getting out there and enjoying the activity? Does it make you see red?
Once my mind is made up to get on the water, I go for it. Aside from the actual paddling, pumping up the paddle board is also a great warm-up fitness exercise. It only takes me about 12 minutes to inflate it to 15psi.
To help you to avoid seeing red, try some of these tricks to minimize potential barriers to fitness activities:
- Arrange to go with friends. It’s much easier to go through with the activity when others are also motivated to do it with you.
- Plan ahead when parking and expect to lug your gear to the activity site. We could drive the truck up to the launch and unload all the beach paraphernalia.
- On hot days, conduct your activity earlier in the morning if possible. Not only is the air a bit cooler, but there are also fewer people out early. A bonus was finding the last shady spot!
- Accept help when offered. I typically paddle alone so I know exactly how to set up and inflate my board. We needed to inflate two boards manually, so I demonstrated how to attach the pumps and got Marsha and Hans started. Vince helped with the last of the pumping as the board got to 10 psi when it’s very hard to pump!
- Be prepared to make accommodations and adjustments to your activity. Marsha wanted to learn to SUP. She had kayaked before and felt comfortable in the water. Knowing that wind could be a barrier to standing on the board, I had brought kayak oars in case we needed to “sit-down” paddle. There was plenty of wind and a little chop on the lake so we decided it was better to sit or kneel on the boards. I suggested a couple tricks to handle the paddle for steering. She took to it very quickly!
Did I lose anything by working with Marsha to accommodate her while safely teaching her on the SUP? Nope. We had such a marvelous time playing, that we forgot we were working on our fitness! In fact, shortly after, the wind died down slightly and Hans and I both went back out, this time standing on the SUPs and we got a great workout.
“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.”
-Jim Rohn
Inspirational Photo Challenges
I enjoy joining other blog challenges to tie into my weekly theme.
- Cee’s Flower of the Day
- Jez’ Water, Water Everywhere
- Johnbo’s Cellpic Sunday
- Marsha’s WQW: Obstacles to Fitness
Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders
Sunday Stills weekly challenge is easy to join. You have all week to share and link your post. Thank you to everyone who read, commented, and linked back to Sunday Stills last week to share their beautiful beaches!
- Remember to title your blog post a little differently than mine.
- Please create a new post for the theme or link a recent one.
- Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
- Tag your post “Sunday Stills.”
- Don’t forget to create a pingback to this post so that other participants can read your post.
- I also recommend adding your post’s URL to the comments.
There is no Sunday Stills challenge on July 17, as once again, we are heading back on the road to camping in the RV. I am really looking forward to spending time with my dad and enjoying the Lake Tahoe area again.
Are YOU on the road this summer or traveling? Please join me on July 24th as we explore the theme of “Road Trippin.” I’m including my blogger meet-ups and more in that post!
Have a wonderful and safe week!
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