Keeping fit and my love of a deal

The longer I do this (nineteen years in all, fourteen full-time), the more I realize that I must keep myself fit to do my best work. The idea for this post came to me today when I was on an afternoon walk. The tricky part of being so busy this summer is getting enough exercise--I can't take my regular yoga class because I have performances every week at that time. I do my best to do a bit of yoga at home, walk, mow the lawn, and occasionally ride my bike. (This last is more of a gas-saving effort, to tell the truth.)

What I eat also makes a difference. I've always had a healthy diet, despite my quests for the best pie and chile relleno. I love fruits and vegetables. When I'm on the road, it can be tricky to eat well. Sometimes I get food at a grocery store instead of stopping at the nearest--or cheapest--restaurant.

Now for my love of a good deal and how that intersects with keeping healthy. A couple of weeks ago, I went to an auction with a few friends. I love auctions. You never know what anything will sell for. There's a chance you can get something for almost nothing. A good auctioneer is highly entertaining (and Chris Paxton is good). The people-watching is phenomenal.

This was a rainy-day auction, even better. The auctioneer just wants to get through the stuff outside, and there aren't as many people at an auction in bad weather. The first thing I bid on was a box of kitchen stuff. I saw a couple of things in it I wanted. Paxton tried to get five dollars. I bid one dollar. Paxton gave me a sideways look, "One dollar. I hadn't thought of that..." Nobody bid against me, so I got it for that (and resold some of it for three dollars!). Next I bid on a cast-iron frying pan for a friend, and got it for her for two dollars. We were moving down the table towards the thing I really wanted: a Champion juicer.

There were two juicers, the Champion and another that had even more features (you could even grind your own flour). The Champion sells for around $200 new. I began the bidding at five dollars. A couple of other people jumped in and the price went higher than the $20 limit I'd set in my mind. I was out. We were bidding for "choice," that is, the winner could choose one or both and pay the winning amount for each. The guy who won took the other juicer. The auctioneer asked if I wanted to start again at five dollars. Yup.

"Five, gimme ten, gimme ten, anybody got ten, you buy it, you love it, ten, ten, anybody, ten, ten? Sold! Five dollars to number seventy!"

My friends were cheering. I got this Champion juicer for five dollars! Almost every day since then, I've enjoyed fresh juice. Today it was a combination of carrot, apple, beet, lime, ginger, celery, with a few grapes thrown in for good measure. When I drink this stuff, I feel the vitamins coursing through my veins. YUM!!! One more delicious way to keep fit as I do my work.

P.S. I got one more thing: a splitting maul with a fiberglass handle, also for five dollars. I guess this too is for my health, because in the winter I split some of my own wood and always consider that I'm getting good exercise.