I got off work a little early this afternoon. Leaving early on a Friday is one of the lovely things of the late season at a construction company. We are working now on finishing out the year, so it's not as busy for us as it is in the heat of the summer. Everyone has worked really hard this year, and it's been quite a week. I was glad to tell everyone to go home early today. I took advantage of it myself!
When I got home, I came up to my room and sprawled out on my bed. I was pretty tired because the football game ended late last night - but with a Utah win, so I was happy! I finished the book I had been reading, played with my beloved iPhone, petted my dog, then got ready to go to the gym. There is a 6pm Zumba class that I like to go to when I can. The instructor is fun. We dance our fannies off but it doesn't seem really tough at the time. He keeps the steps pretty simple. I've been to his class enough times to know the routines pretty well. The thing is that with my arthritic left knee, even the easiest steps can be painful.
The knee usually feels fine as long as I'm moving. It stiffens up quite a bit when I am still. After the seven minute drive home from the gym, I can barely straighten the leg. It sucks. I grabbed a bag of mixed veggies from the freezer and plopped it on the swollen, tender knee for 20 minutes. Frozen peas make a perfect ice bag because it shapes to the part that needs ice. It helps. I talked to my dad for our regular Friday night conversation. I talked to MT for a few minutes and petted my dog and decided to take a bath.
I don't usually take baths. I'm a shower person. But I had seen a pin on Pinterest (of course) that to take a bath with Epsom salts, baking soda and drops of lavender essential oil. (I'm kind of crazy for essential oils!). While the tub was filling, I went ahead and bought myself the new album by Sting, 57th & 9th. I don't think I've mentioned to you lately how much I love Sting. Does the musician you have loved since you were 14 still make music? Mine does and it is Sting.
I climbed into the nice warm tub. Sitting down was a little tricky since now I had been standing up for a little bit and my knee was locked into a straight line. At least I didn't slosh any water over the edge of the tub when gravity took over and I finally got seated. With Sting singing is heart out, I felt myself relax in the warm, soft, lavender scented water. It was pretty heavenly. The only thing that would have made it better, I think, is if I had a candle burning instead of the lights being on. (Note for next time - get a candle.)
Now I feel all warm and cozy. My skin feels really soft, which is kind of a miracle since it is so dry here and I believe there is not enough lotion on the planet to hydrate my skin. My knee feels good. All the tension that was in my shoulders seems to be gone. I'm super thirsty. I think there may have been some shifting of the toxins and chakras that happened along the way.
And I still love Sting. The new album is much more rock-n-roll than the previous album, but there are still plenty of ballads in there too. It's comforting to hear him sing new music.
Speaking of new music, there are a few other new releases that I might have to purchase and download: Alicia Keys, Pentatonix (a Christmas album!) and Kenny Chesney. I haven't added new music for awhile. It's a simple pleasure that I should indulge in more often.
Now I'm off to bed. I'm tired and calm and warm and ready for a good night's sleep. I have lots of tasks on tomorrow's to-do list, not the least of which is to finish preparing a loose itinerary for my trip to NOLA with my sister! This time next week, I'll be sipping a hurricane and listening to jazz in the French Quarter. Or maybe Friday night will be the evening we do a ghost tour. So many things we want to do, and only four-ish days to take it all in. Gotta do some planning!
Rest well, friends and welcome to the weekend!
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