Etiquette When Walking

 it is 9:00 p.m. in the holy city of safed.  i just got back from my evening stroll.  it is prettty hot here in the middle east.  i go to the outdoor neighborhood pool for a couple of hours each morning to cool off.  i take a hot shower when i return home and then eat too much food.  i have been passing out for a couple of hours in the afternoon.  i seem to be recharged at around 8:00 p.m.  i haven't seen too many people walking at this hour lately. i actually didn't drag my feet this evening.  i felt energized. i ran for a little bit.

one lady passed me by and we didn't acknowledge each other.  i always woonder if there is a formal etiquette when meeting people during a walk.  i get it that joggers and speed walkers and cyclists are in their zone.  there is a need for spleed that transcends greetings.  however; what about a senior, schlepping along for her 45 minute stroll? every once in awhile, someone will greet me but on the whole; there seems to be obvious rules against this.

i tend to talk to myself as i walk.  i am usually in my own zone.  i never take my phone with me.  i very often shout while i am walking.  i have my demons.  i have imaginary conversations to those individuals, who have mistreated me. i get myself pretty worked up and i do not mean; sweating. meeting people while i am talking to myself is kind of out of the realm of normal.  lucky for me; that it is usuallly the joggers and cyclists who whiz by me. tonight, it was only a fellow senior who passed me by and she felt no obligation to make eye contact or give a greeting.  i do always wonder if there is a rule book for these kinds of situations.

i made 2 types of soup yesterday.  i delivered a few containers to a friend's spouse who is at the moment managing alone. i froze a container of my turkey neck lentil soup for shabbat and i enjoyed a portion of my black bean and chick pea soup for lunch.  i wanted to bake corn bread but the local supermarket was out of corn meal.  i had some sour dough spelt and teff flour bread with some chedder cheese.  teff flour is my newest thing.  the ethiopians have made their flat bread with it for so many years.  it is supposed to be one of those super grains. i found it to be a bit bitter at first.  i don't usually buy sliced bread.  i have been eating sour dough spelt pitas for a while now.  they are smade without sugar or salt. 

i know that most people tend to eat less in the summer time but i have been eating way too much lately. i think i am bored.  i do not find the pool particularly, stimulating. i do not swim nor exert much energy dog paddling around. i do get to cool down.  i have little patience to read during the day and i do not have any projects to do right now.  i do not have any hobbies and i cannot run around town in this heat. so i eat.  i have been trying to lose a bit of weight.  i seemed to have put some on last winter.  i usually lose it quickly in the summer but so far i haven't been successful.  i do not eat processed foods nor do i use vegetable oils.  i do not use sugar or any kind of sweeteners. i avoid ice cream and chocolates.

i am hoping that the grandkids might come to visit this summer.  in the meanwhile, i am going to the pool in the morning and walking in the evrnings.  there isn't much to watch on t.v.  i am waiting for the blacklist to come to its' end.  i am mostly watching reruns on TLC.  such ridiculousness! movies are out of the question.  i can't seem to follow a plot any more and i usually fall asleep during the middle of a film. i do not enjoy eating out any more so my life is pretty simple.  i see my friends at the pool so i do have a bit of interacting every day.  it is what it is.