by Anura Guruge
on May 7, 2023
All from this morning’s amble — & I didn’t stop to snap all the flowers I came across. New Hampshire is blooming. Enjoy. This is why I put up with the brutal winters. I have earned this.
by Anura Guruge
on April 22, 2023
Click images to ENLARGE.
I live on the side of a ‘Prospect Mountain‘. So, when I saw signs to THIS ‘Prospect Mountain’ I had to try it. I am GLAD I did. I first saw the signs for the autoroad — which was CLOSED for the winter. I then Googled it & found the hiking trail.
Wow. The Catwalk was SPECIAL! I know quite a few people who will NOT make it across. Getting to the top of it was quite a climb too — & I like to climb stairs. I was slightly winded. Not much. SMILE.
The trail was GNARLY. Lots & lots of round stones & exposed, raised roots. Yes, of course, you can hike it — & I did, BUT it was no walk in the park. After experiencing this I will never ever, ever even MENTION that the trails on (my) ‘Bold Coast‘ are gnarly. There is gnarly & gnarly, & this trail was up there.
Only met two people in total — one a trail volunteer who gave me much insights. I am so glad I met him.
Started HAILING & snowing a bit. Wasn’t bad. Just made it slippery. Coming down was tricky. Had to concentrate.
The views from the top are SURE worth it. Glad I did it. I enjoyed it.
by Anura Guruge
on April 13, 2023
Click images to ENLARGE.
This is such a wonderful initiative. BRAVO & Thank YOU, Meredith.
I wish it was there WHEN I used to live in Meredith, i.e., 1996 to 1999. That is OK. Meredith will always have a special place in MY LIFE.
I wish I could visit more often. But, I treasure every visit.
Today, I didn’t have much. It was late in the afternoon, it was HOT & I still had to get in 4K steps. So, I did a quick amble. These are what caught my eye. ENJOY.
If you can, please make a point of visiting.
by Anura Guruge
on March 27, 2023.
The 150 photos stitched together, with music for this 14-minute YouTube video.
Click image to ENLARGE.
This is likely to be a Lubec that most of you have never seen before. Let me show you sights that you are unlikely to see unless you are ambling — a camera in hand. Lubec is a delightful town. I particularly enjoy ambling around Lubec early in the morning & late at night (when everyone else has gone to bed). I see Lubec while the denizens sleep. I get to savor the sounds of nature.
Yes, it is a bit long BUT then again during my 4 days of this my last visit (earlier this month) I walked about 20 miles just within the town boundaries of Lubec. Smile.
Well, if you have the time & inclination, please have a look. I am sure you will enjoy it. I had fun putting together this video.
by Anura Guruge
on March 1, 2023
28-day Februarys are a BIG challenge when it comes to meeting my self-imposed 500,000 steps/month goal (with at least 10,000 steps each & every day). End of January 2023 I was on a 31-month UNBROKEN streak. I wasn’t going to LOSE that streak without a fight.
500,000 steps in 28 days requires you to average 17,857 steps a day — just over 8 miles a day. It is 1/2 mile a day less on a 30 day month. Yes, it can be done & I have done it thrice now BUT it requires work, especially as February, in New Hampshire, also tends to be COLDEST month.
I have learnt that the easiest way to achieve my goal is to go for a quick 3-day break to ‘Acadia‘. Then, I can get in 90K — 100K in 3-days & that helps a lot. And that is exactly what I did. Yes, I check the weather & picked 3 good days. They turned out to be exceptional. No precipitation, not too cold & not too hot. Goldilocks for ambling. And that is what I did. On the 2nd day, my ONLY FULL DAY there, I got in 17 miles of ambling & that was a breeze. I wasn’t tired. SMILE. Yes, all this ambling does have some benefits. SMILE.
So, another February in the bag. Thanks to Acadia I actually ended up walking more steps in February than I did in January, December or November. Wow.
by Anura Guruge
on February 26, 2023
I am so, so, so GLAD that I slipped, shoveling snow, on February 28, 2019 & SNAPPED my Quad-tendon. I did NOT know I had a quad-tendon.
I postponed surgery for a week, because we had a mini-vacation booked in the Cape, & had it done on March 8, 2019.
CHANGED MY LIFE — for the better.
I am so glad I busted my knee. I am a new, better man because of it.
It was a wake up call. I was, prior to it, exercising daily & watching my diet. But, I had become lazy & complacent.
My pre-surgery blood work said my blood glucose was 102. I started crying. I was so distraught. All the nurses are saying it is FINE. It is FINE. You don’t have to worry till it gets close to 125. Heck with that.
From the very day of the surgery I changed my life.
I went on a much, much, much stricter diet. I lost 20 pounds. I STILL NEED TO LOSE ANOTHER 25. But, losing 20 was a START.
And I started AMBLING, each & every day, even while I was on crutches. They had me on crutches for 6 weeks. The day I was allowed to ditch them I started ambling in anger.
The rest as some of you know is history.
In the 1st year after surgery I walked 2,250 miles.
I now walk at least 3,000 miles a year. SMILE.
I have walked at least 10,000 steps, EACH & EVERY DAY, since April 17, 2020.
That is an unbroken 1,046 day STREAK.
2 years 10 months.
So, as February 28 nears I thank my lucky stars that I busted my knee.
by Anura Guruge
on February 18, 2023
5 Bold Coast books. 591 Pages in TOTAL!
All 5 books now available on Amazon (worldwide).
I don’t keep track & I had no idea UNTIL I had to go looking for the ‘1099’ form to do my taxes. 361 was more than I realized. I am happy.
These are the copies sold by Amazon. It doesn’t include the 40 to 50 author copies I got to distribute to folk. Plus, I might have sold a FEW other eBooks on other platforms.
I am NOT sure what to make of the 361. Yes, of course, I would have liked to have sold more. But, 361 is better than a kick in the teeth. The the title that sold the most, i.e., ‘Cut to the Chase’ only became available as of July 28, 2022 & the next one down, i.e., ‘In Two Days or Less’, as of May 27, 2022. So, neither of them were available for the full season.
Other than the Owner of ‘Dockside Treasures‘ in ‘Lubec‘ who sold a LOT of books I really had no other outlets OR support from anyone. I don’t know the exact numbers but she bought a BUNCH of books DIRECTLY from Amazon because I couldn’t get her author copies quick enough (given the mandatory 2-week DELAY Amazon imposes on author copies to impede us competing against them). It would have been nice if I got some help from folks in Maine but …
C’est la vie. I have already moved on.
I was going to do another Bold Coast AMBLING book & I even started working on it, but I have now lost interest. Working on a whole new theme — & it is not even popes!
Well, it will be Spring soon & we can see if there is continued interest for these books. ‘Dockside Treasures‘, to their credit, already ordered a bunch, which was nice & good. I am glad of that.
Amuses me to see that my ‘Central Pain‘ book sells some — 1 a month. SMILE.
Well, bottom line, as some know, these books don’t even pay for the wine it takes to keep me alive. On average I make LESS than $1 a book, given that on some of the eBooks, the royalty is like 60 cents! Smile. If not for the fact that I have owned a ‘few’ Amazon shares for over a decade I would be yet another starving writer. Smile.
by Anura Guruge
on February 4, 2023
Last night when the temperature plummeted to -18F (-28C) & the wind was HOWLING, it was BRUTAL. Scary. I was worried we would lose power. That would have been dangerous & not too much fun. But, luckily we didn’t. So relieved.
We had been told that the temps would start rising as of Saturday morning & they sure did IN FRONT of your eyes. -13F when I woke up (at 9am (SMILE)). They said it would be 4F (-16C) by 3pm. It never got to that, BUT we are also at a 800′ altitude.
It was 1.4F (-17C) at 3pm & that was PLENTY WARM ENOUGH for I.
After my first decade in New Hampshire (& I am now in my 3rd), I always maintained that anything above 0F (-12.2C) was a breeze. I am FINE with above 0F. 1.4 was bloody balmy.
Had a great amble. Good book on ‘Audible‘. NO WIND. Nothing.
I had a blast. I feel sorry for those who don’t go out in beautiful weather like this.
I sure had fun.
I have walked at least 10,000 steps, EACH & EVERY DAY, since April 17, 2020.
Today was day 1,023 if my unbroken 1,022 STREAK.
2 years 9.5 months.
And I had 3 eye surgeries during that time. I got in my steps before & AFTER the surgery. The surgeon knew of my need to walk & put in EXTRA STITCHES!
by Anura Guruge
on February 3, 2023
OCD & discipline are terrible things. I will NOT wish them on anyone.
I have walked at least 10,000 steps, EACH & EVERY DAY, since April 17, 2020.
That is an unbroken 1,022 day STREAK.
2 years 9.5 months.
I couldn’t the cold defeat me WITHOUT a valiant fight.
Plus -5F (-20.5C) is my nominal cut-off.
This morning it was 3.4F (-15.8C). So, I had NO EXCUSE.
Dressed up as much as I could. Use a face warmer. It still did a job on my LUNGS. SMILE. What can I say.
Wasn’t too bad. I even built up a sweat. Might still get a lung infection.
Well, another 18 hours to go. Keep your fingers crossed for I. I need it.
Not thinking about tomorrow. Need to get tonight out of the way.
by Anura Guruge
on February 2, 2023
When you are as OLD as I (nearly 70) & spend at least 3 hours a day (without fail, each & every day) ambling in all weathers — particularly the bitter cold we have in the winter — it takes a toll on your feet — especially the heels & toe nails. The toe nails become very hard & brittle. So hard that I would have to use a metal working file to file them down. Mine get as thick & HARDER than hoofs on a cow, horse or deer. That can be a problem.
A couple of weekends ago, on a Friday evening, one of the toenails started digging into the toe. It was painful. It was so painful that I called up ER! They said I could come in but I felt stupid. I e-mailed my primary care doctor asking for a Monday appointment (if possible). It was that bad. I hate going to doctors so for me to request this appointment was huge. Things were serious.
I the started doing something I always do. I checked Amazon. Came across this. Looked interesting. Wasn’t that expensive either. Plus Amazon was guaranteeing Sunday delivery by Amazon. I placed an order. It arrived, as promised, early Sunday evening.
I tried it at once. It smells potent. Not a bad smell, just strong, like distilled mint. I kind of like it. Put some drops on both toes & used the supplied gel caps. Went to sleep with the gel caps on.
When I woke up Monday morning the pain was gone. GONE. So, I called up my doctor & said I was all set & would call again if things went south again. They didn’t.
By Tuesday morning both toenails were SO SOFT I could easily trip them using my heavy-duty nail clippers. Wow. What a difference. Thanks to these drops I have my toenails under control. I can trim & shape them daily. No digging in. No infections. I love these drops.
Highly recommended.