If we were having coffee, I would have a few choices to offer your today. I have a breakfast blend and an espresso blend. For creamers, I have French Vanilla and Hazelnut. I’m going with the espresso blend and black. I’m normally a cream guy but have been trying to mix it up some during the week and keep the sweet calories down to a respectable level. That and there’s a music festival we are going to this weekend so I’m saving a few calories for an extra beer. Or two.
Had this been last weekend, I’d have been offering you a camp chair and we’d be having fresh brewed coffee. Camp coffee. We spent three days and nights camping so coffee was made each morning in an old percolator type coffee maker on a camp stove. Those were definite creamer days for me. This was our second camping trip this summer. I wrote about the first trip HERE.
If we were having coffee, I would tell you that enjoying nature soothes me. It rejuvenates me in a manner that allows me to filter out much of noise I return to afterwards. By noise, I’m referring to much of the news we’re all being saturated with. That’s a subject for another post though. This morning is coffee and happy thoughts.
And I am happy. And healthy. I’ve been very conscious of my health for the last six months. In a few days I will celebrate seven months without a cigarette. I’ve also reduced my blood pressure to a normal level and genuinely just feel better. Oh, I’ve lost weight too! For a number of foolish reasons, I had gained weight last year. I didn’t feel good. I do now.
If we were having coffee, I would tell you that I can attribute feeling good to a number of things: not smoking, eating healthy, and exercise. It’s really not rocket science although there is a science involved. We have made eating an adventure in my house. Some days, food is purely fuel but other days, food becomes an exploration in creativity. My wife is a Pinterest fanatic and takes advantage of the wealth of recipes available there. She’s clever (and I tell her).
Exercise has been a few trips to the gym each week (for both cardio and strength training), daily walks, and hiking. All of it usually involves the entire family and the walks often include our three dogs. They need the exercise too. We walk roads and trails most every day and recently have been hiking more difficult trails at nearby state parks. Our camping trip last weekend included some challenging trails. I had the week off from work this week so I hiked two nearby trails with my kids and my son’s girlfriend. Those trails rewarded us with numerous waterfalls, dense woods, and heart-rate rising climbs.
Like I said, soothing. And happy. A therapy of sorts and no hourly charge.
Although I don’t think my happy trails were what Dale and Roy envisioned, they are my hikes and now my trails, so, my rules. In a happy way of course.
So… how about you? Do you walk or hike? Urban or country?
Hope you enjoyed coffee and Happy Trails to you!
B
Weekend Coffee Share is hosted each week by Part-Time Monster
pics courtesy of Pixabay and me.
Hey Bill great post, glad your enjoying coffee and good health. Wish you continued good health and coffee. Have a great weekend. Hope the book writing is going well. Speak soon Bella
Hi Bella. Book writing is going slow due to a detour on another project. It’s a great detour though and I’m excited to almost be done with it.
great stuff.
Glad you are feeling well and treating your body well. Sometimes all it takes is the simple stuff- excercise and eating right. Good for you for keeping up with it and for quitting smoking.
Your wife has the right idea for recipes too. I love Pinterest! There are so many simple or challenging recipes depending on your skill level, for anything you wish to cook.
We will be camping in upstate Pennsylvania next week for a few days and I am looking forward to the peaceful atmosphere in the woods and swimming in the freshwater mountain streams! Ahh! We do still use a regular coffee maker though- that’s “camper” camping, with soft beds and a kitchen! That’s as close as I get to roughing it! We hope to do some hiking and kayaking as well.
Thanks for the coffee!
My last post was about camping in upstate PA! PA has great state forests and a state park system. We are going back in September.
Somewhere in my future there will be a popup camper or small travel trailer. 🙂
We go camping at “Worlds End State Park.” My husband and his family have been going there since he was a kid. It is near Eagles Mere in the heart of the Endless Mountains. Absolutely beautiful!
We’ll have to try that one. It’s not far from the park we go to called Lyman Run (near Galeton).
Glad to hear that you quit smoking and are feeling good! We hike every weekend except for during the summer. In Arizona it gets too hot! I love being in the mountains. We don’t camp much but do get out to a cabin in the woods about 3 times a year. It has a huge deck and we spend as much time out there as we can!
We also did a lot of hiking (and biking) while living in Arizona. When temps rose in the summer, we usually headed up north to Payson and that area. There are so many trails close to the Rim worthy of day hikes or longer.
Most people out here on the east coast think AZ is nothing but desert and are surprised when I show them pictures of the Mogollon Rim or White Mountains or up near Flag. I miss it all but am enjoying new trails and areas to explore up here.
Thanks for stopping by!
I enjoyed you blog and so decided to follow it.We have camp for many years.on retirement at 63 year we brought a Motorhome. We traveled to the Southwest in the winter and spend summer in a RV park for around 16 years. Heath reasons have grounded us. Nature does givve a since of peace. Kato traveled with us the first 6 years of his life. We are back from The Cat Doctor and he should be all right.
I hope that I am able to do something similar when I retire. Thanks for following and reading!
I also enjoy nature and combine that with walking and running. So good to stay fit if possible. I would love to see some of the National Parks in the States sometime. I agree that we need breaks from the news. And thank you for the follow.
Thank you for reading and commenting! My apologies for the delayed response. I’ve had some issues with my site the last three weeks.
I never expected an immediate answer. Hope you’re fine love from Maria in Denmark
Good for you for stepping up and changing the things in your life that made you unhappy!
Thanks! My apologies for the delayed response. I’ve had some issues with my site the last three weeks.
Thanks very much for the coffee. I’ve only been camping a couple of times but we intend to give it a go soon. Both of our kids are in scouts and do a lot of camping so they’ll need to look after Mum. We went for a local waterways cruise yesterday and a bushwalk afterwards. It was so amazing walking through the bush and taking in the wildflowers, gum trees etc and then reaching the lookout with an expansive view over the Hawkesbury River, North of Sydney. I wish we could go more often. I felt the stress just fall off.
Hope you have a great week!
xx Rowena
Feeling the stress just fall off summarizes my feelings exactly each time I venture out hiking or camping.
I hope you get to give it go soon!
I love to hike but haven’t done it lately. I need to get back to it. I love the waterfall picture. I love that you make the working out and choosing the food a family time. That can only make you a stronger family.
Thank you for reading and commenting! I am a strong believer in families doing things together. We definitely make memories. 🙂
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http://dishdessert.wordpress.com
Thank you!
The camping and hiking sounds brilliant! And very well done on seven months without a cigarette!
Brilliant describes it perfectly. Thank you for reading and commenting! My apologies for the delayed response. I’ve had some issues with my site the last three weeks.