January 1, 2023
Not sure when or how I chanced upon Chantelle Elem, aka Fat Mum Slim, on Facebook; she was an early blogger and community builder. She also shared her struggles with body image and weight loss. Probably her most popular shared activity is her Photo a Day that has, according to her website, been going on since 2012. I like the idea of a theme to help create a photo. So far, I have ended up with two photos each day, an official and unofficial. Hello was the theme for January 1.
I am not a selfie fan so I started with my shadow and Major on our first walk of the year. We do the circuit of the farm, a little more than a half mile, with lots of smelling, digging, and bird watching. I am also usually listening to a book or a podcast. I let him mostly choose the path and at some point will post the maps of the walks as they can be quite funny, like those old Family Circus cartoons of the path the children took across the back yard when called to dinner.
Then, I went ahead and took the selfie. Here it is: me at 60-1/2 years old in all my unfiltered, no-makeup glory. I will echo Chantelle’s blog post linked above: I like me. Since these posts are mainly about pictures, I’ll direct you to my other blog, In Another Place, if you are interested in more details about the life of a happy crone. Long story short: I got a new hip and a new lease on life in 2019, using the new-found energy to start a yoga practice and, working with my coach and his nutritionist-wife, lost 80 pounds in 2022. It didn’t fix the wrinkles or gray hair but I feel better than I have felt for a very long time. Hello, world!
P.S. I just noticed there are 11 email subscribers. Thanks…and, I hope I didn’t shock you too much when a new post showed up yesterday.
