Discovering The World At Three And A Half Miles Per Hour

After two days of way below average temperatures, things are returning to normal. This morning before my class at the Y I decided to take advantage of the nicer weather by walking outside in the area around the gym.

It was 40 degrees Fahrenheit when I left the house, warm enough for my lightweight winter coat. I drove the normal route towards the gym, but instead of parking in the normal lot I turned early and parked several blocks away. After locking my purse in the car I set out.

I moseyed up and down familiar blocks which I know like the back of my hand from the drivers seat. However, on foot I saw many things differently.

• The first was the wide variety of houses large and small. Some probably dated back to the city's founding in the late 1800s. Others were built in the 1920's and 30's. There was an entire block of mid-century modern ranches. The newest houses were modern tear down/rebuilds.

• As you might expect of an area that had been around for a long time there were a lot of mature yard trees. I never realized just how many were sweet gums until I had to work hard not to trip on the thousands of sweet gum balls on the sidewalks.

• I found a Free Little Art Gallery, which I didn't even know was a thing. The display box had a sign which indicated people could "View Art, Take Art, Leave Art". I filed the site for future reference.

• I passed a house that had a fresh eggs for sale box next to their front porch. I didn't have any money with me, but once again filed the information for future reference. 

• A house close to the Catholic church had a sign in their yard indicating it was one of the 14 stops on a walking Stations of the Cross (a devotion that commemorates Jesus Christ's last day on Earth). The sign had a QR code for more information. The code led to a page on the church's website, which I bookmarked to come back to.

Shortly before it was time for my class to start I headed back towards the gym so I could use the bathroom before staking out my spot in the studio. 

Five years ago: Special Simmered Supper