bike ride

Day 57, or something?

Posted by Lisa Eirene

Last week felt like a rough week, mentally. I think we were all struggling. And so many friends were, too. It was week 7 (I think??) of being home. I think, for me, it was starting to wear on me. The constant togetherness. The uncertainty of when things will open up again. The fear of things opening up too soon. The sad news from Georgia. The frustrating politics. The seeming disregard for public health and safety with the protests…

Friday I decided to take a half day off from work. I had a holiday day I needed to use some time from and the weather was nice. I needed a mental break.

So I worked for a few hours in the morning and then went for a bike ride by myself. It was 80 degrees here in Portland, sunny and beautiful. It was also windy, which was unfortunate on the bike! But I still enjoyed it!

I did part of the 205 bike trail and then the trail ended and I did some of the highway out towards Mount Hood (not ideal) and then picked up the trail again and did a loop on bike trails back home.

Despite the beautiful day, I didn’t see a lot of people out! Just a few other bikers. It was such a nice break. I felt really good on the bike, too. Going out for small rides once a week since this started has really helped. I didn’t have low back fatigue or shoulder/neck pain like I have had before, so that means I am getting back to conditioning!

The ride was hilly at times. And I was getting hungry and thirsty (I only brought 1 water bottle, next time I’ll bring more) so I didn’t end up doing 15 miles like I wanted to.

I’m still happy with my ride! I got home and then took a bath in the jacuzzi tub with some sparkling water, relaxing and decompressing, then Logan woke up from his nap and we went out to Lake Oswego for a nature walk as a family. It was a nice little afternoon.

(Not sure if I mentioned that Logan got a quarantine haircut a few weeks ago…that did not go well. So Michael had to fix it. LOL)

It felt silly to take a “vacation day” when we are in quarantine and can’t go anywhere but in the end it turned out to be just what I needed. A mental break, a break from responsibilities, some alone time, some sunshine…

Random Updates & Puppy Pics

Posted by Lisa Eirene

My work has mandated that everyone who is non-essential work from home. No end date. The governor has ordered all bars and restaurants in Oregon close (except for takeout/delivery).

My coworkers:

We have a home gym with weights and kettlebells and a treadmill. We also have a bike trainer, if need be. I decided to go for a REAL bike ride (for the first time in years). It was cold but sunny.

It was nice being on the bike after so long! I will try and do it a few times a week. And if weather holds up, I will run outside, too. I’m hoping Michael and I can start up doing yoga again. It’s better than nothing when I can’t go to the gym.

Recently I started a part time job with Furever Family petsitting. It was going to be about 10 hours a week or so. Obviously that’s kind of on hold right now. People are cancelling vacations and not going anywhere so they are cancelling their pet sitting/dog walking bookings.

Amy (owner of Furever Family) is AMAZING. We started using her almost 7 years ago! When we got Bella! A friend recommended her. Her business was kind of new back then. She used to be a 911 Operator and needed a change (as you can imagine). And it just so happened she was seriously the dog whisperer. She was SO good with Bella. Bella LOVES her. Amy helped so much with Bella’s socialization and training. And Amy was there when Yggdrasil was dying and I needed extra care for him. She even was there when we said goodbye. πŸ™

I am super happy to be part of the team now. I’ve done some training for a few weeks. It’s kind of the best job. You get to play with kitties and puppies and go for dog walks. It’s awesome!

So since the world is a scary, crazy place right now and everyone is probably at their max anxiety (I know I am!), here are some of my favorite pictures from my training so far:

It’s cool because Amy is a vet tech, too, so she’s trained to give medicine and fluids to animals that need it. She gets a lot of referrals from vets.

Obviously my job is on hold right now. A lot of people are cancelling trips. It’s going to be hard for a while.

If you are in the Portland area, check her out! She does other pet services, too.