Sometimes You Need to Reknow

Standing Calf Raise Machine Image

I have found that there are things I need to "reknow"..... perhaps better stated as REMEMBER something I KNEW previously but had somehow forgotten.  Three items have come to my mind recently in that regard:

1.  Within the last several days, I remembered (and mentioned previously) how a Calf Raise Machine (like in the link above, since "Image Insertion" at Blogger is damn wonky again, but what I call a "shoulder press machine" because it presses weights down on my shoulders) will help me so tremendously in STRETCHING my gastrocnemius muscle and achillies tendon beyond what I can do manually on my own.  I knew this before COVID, but then was without the machine because of the shutdown and forgot about it.  It has been helping me stretch far better after my runs.  

2.  After feeling in a rather foul mood most of yesterday, but then feeling better after running in the afternoon....... and this morning, waking up "dreading the day" but feeling better after I forced myself to run early...... it helped me to "reknow" how important it is for my MOOD to get my run in as early as I can at the start of a day.  With no formal classes at the moment, I have been sloth-like and often times not getting up until 7:00am.  And, even more sloth-like, I have had days where I just did not feel like running, even when it was that late 7:00am, and I would then delay running till sometime later.  I NEED to run as early as I can, even if that means I have to get up at ~5:00am or earlier to get it done even on days when I do not have to be at the U early.  The run shapes the whole day to be better.

3.  My pipes and pipe tobaccos.... in the last couple of days I have been beginning to "reknow" the fact that not only do I love and enjoy smoking my pipes and pipe tobaccos.... but in thinking back, I now realize that my pipes and pipe tobaccos helped me to a) modulate stress more successfully, and b) they helped to make happy times more happy, and they helped to make difficult times less difficult.  With this memory in mind, I am very eager to go the "Retirees Cigar Group" tomorrow, and feel it out.  I am very hopeful that the experience will allow me to feel a kinship and friendship with folks, and that within a couple of weeks perhaps I can naturally transition to having a pipe there instead of a cigar.  Do not get me wrong, I will like having a cigar tomorrow (hopefully, if things go as I hope), but a cigar is just a cigar.... it is NOT a pipe, and cannot (in my opinion) ever be as delightful as a pipe.  However, it could/can be a valuable bridge to find a potential way to have a regulated, occasional pipe that I may be able to adopt for the future.

I did not mention my run yesterday, as I wrote before running.  In total this week, I have thus far accomplished 33.6 miles (~54 km) with 13.5 miles on Monday, 10 miles on Tuesday, and 10.1 miles this morning.

Last thing..... perhaps someone of my blog reading friends may have a book recommendation for me about.... I want to better learn about chord theory and music composition.  There are a fair number of books I have seen on Amazon about the subjects, but.... it is hard to discern which one would be best for me.  What I WANT, is a book that discusses chord theory and music composition in terms of USING chords and chord progressions in developing music.  

PipeTobacco