Health situations this week mainly revolved around the show recovery and also the book delivery, both of which placed a strain on the lower back muscles. Glad to say that the residual impact, now almost one week on, is nowhere near the September situation. The pain is there, but manageable and I am pushing through it. Setting up and breaking down the show display always leaves multiple muscles temporarily sore, as it is a set of actions that are only undertaken infrequently. The show had placed time limits this year too, on getting out on Sunday evening. We had to push harder, because of that and without exaggeration, we drove out of the hall with less than 1 minute to their deadline.

I did have a commitment on Monday, but had to forego that, as I was not in the physical position to fulfil the obligation. Tuesday was when the book arrived and stripping the pallet down and moving the books, added to the overall impact on my back. In the days that followed, fulfilling the many orders and shifting the boxes around the house, as part of that, made for a full on week.

I did ensure that I got on with my walks, with two normal (half-way) walks, but then on Saturday, I completed my first ful walk to the top of the hill, something I have not done for a number of years. When doing those walks in the BC world, I would walk at pace and push myself, with my timings being on average, around 12.5 minutes. I dusted off the App that I used then and am pleased to say that this first AD walk to the top, was completed in 14.5 minutes. It was not done at pace, but I was walking steadily and focused on getting there. The slight strain in the back muscles was there, but nothing that stopped me from reaching the objective set for myself. The February plan is to conduct one full walk a week, then continue to increase the frequency of them. Those walks are not about being uber fit, but about increasing my stamina and overall capabilities. I will use the App for the full walks and any reduction in time will be a reflection of my increasing capabilities, rather than any push to achieve a certain time; a different world for me now, with different perspectives. The walk itself was very nice, albeit cold, and it was not tiring or over strenuous. It was also undertaken after 3 hours with the grandkids and the exertions that those visits bring. I am so happy with where I am right now and confident of being able to work along my planned program. To help with my back muscles, I will be in the midst of, or should have already had, my latest physio session, as you are reading this; scheduled for Monday afternoon.

Besides the above recovery and manageable impact, the rest of the week was pretty much ‘Fritz Witt’ shaped. The main delivery landed with me on Tuesday morning and the remainder of the week was spent unpacking that, checking it, listing the book on the website (solving the small glitches on Tuesday evening), talking with lot of you on social media and other channels, then fulfilling the dozens of orders that have piled up in the first few days.

As highlighted previously, the Fritz Witt book is the second of four books that Sandra and I felt may be achievable with my remaining time. The book itself is much bigger than the sum of all of its parts. 20+ years in the making, a real passion project and a thoroughly enjoyable one to create. To see it completed, be able to absorb the visual impact of it - a work of art, in our opinion - then start to receive the positive feedback from those who began to receive their copies, had made for a very good week. One that has warmed my heart and soul, filling me with pride and allowing me to feel a deep sense of achievement, against the inescapable AD world and all that it brings.

On Saturday night, Sandra and I made an impromptu decision to go out for a meal, to celebrate the completion and release of the Fritz Witt book; and a nice meal it was too. Some of you are fellow authors and you may experience the fact that, as one book arrives with you in its physical form, your head is already in the next title. As a result, Sandra and I have found that we are not so good at stopping and celebrating the accomplishment. We have forced ourselves to become better at doing that and Saturday night was a nice couple of hours out.

A week of progress and achievement, with heaps of interaction with many of you. Thanks for the support in my journey health and life overall, but more specifically for the last week, your support for my latest book release.

Best regards

Peter