I've been doing a lot of sewing recently -- my daughter is going with me to the living-history village next weekend, and though she can wear most of my 19th-century-appropriate wardrobe there ARE some things she'll want to have of her own ... like underclothes. The first thing I made for her was a pair of drawers, and the second was a chemise. She'll wear my spare corset this time, but if she continues in "the hobby" i'll make her one of her own. Ditto, on a petticoat.
Those two items made, I cut out and almost finished putting together a "top," and will also have a skirt ready for her. Yesterday was a little less busy than some of the days' work I've been putting in -- I only went down to the basement once, I didn't have to iron any yardage, and I didn't make a lot of trips downstairs from the third-floor sewing room: a light day, compared to some.
What made it unique is that it occurred to me to put on a pedometer. Working just from 9 to 3, I ended up walking about 1.25 miles ... within my own house. And that didn't include the WHOLE day, as I took the pedometer off before our evening activities -- dinner out and an operatic performance. We walked at least another half-mile, possibly closer to a full one, because parking wasn't all that close to either destination.
People who love to WORK OUT seem to think that if you're not doing something in a gym or pounding pavement, you're not getting any exercise at all. I call BS.
People who shop and cook and sweep and take out the garbage probably get a lot more exercise than they think. Maybe the constant whine of "modern people are too SEDENTARY (read, 'lazy')" is just first-class nonsense too, if they participate in any home-maintanence. Maybe, if people ARE "moving less" it's because they're living in a small one-story house in the suburbs. ;-) There's noplace to walk TO, and that's a real pity -- neighborhood shops and restaurants are wonderful things, but they only work in a place with dense population. You can walk AROUND, but ...why? Frankly, i find that even in a fascinating neighborhood, just WALKING gets really old after the first couple of years, especially when i have more interesting and inspiring things to do at home.
My next challenge will be to wear the pedometer while vacuuming. ;-) And doing "fur patrol" on the stairs. And dusting. I should have put it on J while mowing, before we tore out three-quarters of the yard....
I probably clock a mile a day at the office. We have a whole floor and a less than optimal layout. I was originally put between two people who shouted down the hall to each other and next to a noisy conference room with HVAC issues--it was like trying to work in Grand Central Station in the winter. I proofread documents (or tried to). I finally asked to move--now I'm a long way from the printer I need.
ReplyDeleteyeah, i'd rather have the walk than the noise.... :-)
DeleteI use my house cleaning as a workout..it's got it all pushing, pulling, lifting, walking and it's inside out of the elements and I use my garden for what some now call grounding...I used to run 6 miles a day and lift weights. My house workouts are so much more fun. Plus bathroom stops are more convenient.;)
ReplyDelete:-) and we have the benefit of a clean house as well as a sense of accomplishment when we're done! gardening is a wonderful way to enjoy nature (bond with the Earth-goddess) and have something to show for it too, just like housework.
DeleteYou involved into absolutely wonderful hobby and are lucky to have your doter sharing your interest! Due to hobbyists it is easy to find here any tool you can imagine for sewing , knitting and everything else crafted by hands. Otherwise most handcrafts would be forgotten.
ReplyDeleteI also appreciate opportunities to move around when it is possible, but my house is 2000 one store cookie-cutter variety. Still much bigger than a normal apartment in a big densely populated city I used to live in. My opinion - most people can't rely only either on everyday activities or on going to a gym. They are complimentary activities. We have a luxury not to be complitely warned out by daily chores, so we can do useless from a practical point of view things like a yoga of a gym class. During my life time I met many people who had a physically demanding job , many of them had bellies, poor posture, joint pains and varicose veins. I know many unfit fanatical gardeners. There are others who are so tired after whatever they do for a fitness, they spent the rest of the day sitting. It is easy to get weaker with age without taking notice.
work-as-exercise IS more effective if mindfully done, but without mindful eating as well, it's certainly not going to make us fit. As they say "you can't exercise your way out of a bad diet." :-) But I think plying a rake in the garden (switching hands to balance the muscles used) is at least as beneficial as some of the Nautilus workouts I used to do, and so is my constant climbing and descending stairs, sometimes carrying things. Carrying bags of dogfood and garden soils, and boxes of San Pellegrino and other groceries, are a pretty good whole-body workout.
DeleteBlogger ate my comment and apologized for the inconvenience. Bummer. Shortly, I wanted to say that an intentional exercise covers, or should cover, what everyday activity doesn't , there is no point to practice a redundancy.
ReplyDeleteI have noticed that my mom (she is very physically active living in Moscow without car, elevator on 4-th floor, skiing in a winter time) is weaker and tighter than the people her age who attend gym, I observe them during my yoga class. Mom is way fitter, of course, than a regular sedentary person.