Archery

I keep having the same conversation:

Me: “Yeah, I shoot a little archery.”

"So like in the Olympics, with all those gears and sticks and controls?"

Me: “Er, no, mine’s a little more simple-“

"So like a bowhunting bow."

Me: “Not quite, mine’s traditional.”

"Oh, you mean fiberglass, with those cool wooden middle parts! Yeah my Brother had a longbow like that."

Me: “Er, his was probably a longlimb recurve, and no, mine’s really traditional. Like a little more than that.”

"OH, so it was an all wood recurve? That’s what Traditional people shoot, you can’t get more traditional than Traditional."

Me: “Er, apparently you can… cuz I didn’t know it but I have… My bow is a stick. An English D-section Long Bow. Oak. It has a leather band around it for a grip, it has horn nocks on the ends for the string and the Flemish string has serving on it. That’s it. That’s the whole thing.”

"But what about sights/peeps/clickers/nockpoints/arrowrests?? How do you shoot something like that??"

Me: “At first, Badly. For a very long time.”

In Which I Am Making Little Steps

I was sick sick sick all winter long, so sick I could not often get out of my little home, so now I am a noodle. It's off to Physical Therapy, as of about the beginning of February.
When I started I could not lift anything heavier than maybe five pounds, and that for longer than a few seconds. I could manage one errand per day and come home to fall over on my couch utterly exhausted. I could not go up a set of stairs without pausing for breath. I could not hold my nephew, 11 month old baby Raf, while standing.
35 lb Longbow draw length- only to my elbow. Yes, I've taken up archery. Or I will as I get better.

Now it's March.
Now, I've gained about eight or ten inches to that draw length!
I have gained two pounds of water (Hydration) weight, lost 3% body fat, and gained a few pounds, which would be returning muscle. My tummy has an ever so slightly slack feel to it from lost fat.
I can move chairs. I can do crunches. I can go up a flight of stairs at a steady walking pace. I can hold my nephew for a few minutes. I can carry in groceries from my car, down the stairs and up the flight to my apartment. I can go to Hobby Lobby and walk around for nearly an hour!

Some future goals: Walking the Puppeh, more draw length on the bow, ability to carry full laundry basket down to the first floor laundry dungeon and back up four flights to my apt.
Long long term goals: Heavy armored fighting in SCA combat, being a combat archer, being able to go hiking on the local trails with the Puppeh

I have totally changed what I eat, too. See previous blog about Native inspired health. My philosophy is that you need to work out what your ancestors ate, and eat a healthy moderated version of that. My skin may be light, but my metabolism is Native American, and I do great on seeds, nuts, greens, fruits and veggies, multigrain breads, and lean meats like fowl, fish, and eggs. No starch, no white flour, very little if any refined sugar, very little red meat. No/Less preservatives, no funky artificial stuff, no "low fat" or "Sugar Free" or "Artificially sweetened".

It is really hard to change so drastically, especially since I hate most vegetables. They have such a nasty planty taste. It's especially hard to find anything decent to eat when out and about. I need to plan my menus more carefully, shop more carefully, and cook in advance, then eat things before they can go bad. My lousy sense of time does not help there.