Walking With Freddie: How to Lose Weight and Love Your Neighbourhood (in several thousand easy steps)

OK, I fully acknowledge that the first part of this post title sinks to pretty ignoble depths to lure readers. I'll loosen the trap, however (more mixed metaphors?), by giving you the (not very spectacular or verifiable) weight loss scoop tout de suite. No need to scroll through pages and pages of background trivia and testimonials!

This morning I put on a pair of trousers I hadn't worn in over a year. I'd been avoiding them because they'd become a tad too snug, but everything else was either in the laundry basket or packed away for the Great Moving Declutterization. So I figured I had to suck it up — literally — and squeeze into my old Eddie Bauer khakis. And .... lo and behold ... they were loose! Note the pucker in the waistband:

Now, my pre-Freddie lifestyle was not inactive. I row and (grumpily) lift weights and get around town by bike. But this addition, in the time since I last tried on these pants, of 3-4 mostly brisk walks every day has made a difference. No dramatic before-and-after selfies, alas, but still ... walking with Freddie has had all sorts of unexpected benefits.

I mentioned in a previous post the phenomenon of regular, friendly exchanges with the people in our neighbourhood. This morning I was noticing how all these walks have given me a new appreciation for the neighbourhood as a whole.

Actually, no ... that's not quite true. Photographing and writing about the walks have given me the new appreciation. Before this blog, I must remind myself, I was feeling pretty uninspired by the South Granville/Fairview/Shaughnessy zone — hence (in part) the upcoming move. Now, however, I walk past a house such as this one below, not far from home, and think: That's a nice old green house. Oh, and look — there's a little Swedish flag in the window! (Click on the photo and try to find it!) One of these years, Paul and Freddie and I should visit Sweden ...

And a little farther along: I really like the Cypress bike route. So green and peaceful ... a great route for hauling Freddie's trailer to Langara. Nice low speed limit ...

and other traffic calming additions ...

groovy trees ...

even some heritage ...

And then there's Angus Park up in Shaughnessy, where I usually let Freddie run around off-leash, and we hope to run into Woody, a huge, bouncy doodle who gets walked by his family's groovy nanny/housekeeper (because this is Shaughnessy) and whom Freddie, despite being well and truly neutered, really likes to hump. No sign of Woody today, but there was dew on the grass ...

nice light through the trees ...

and a bit of history ...

Heading back home, we encountered this very un-Shaughnessy-like gate (guarding a huge honkin' house and a few vehicles, but whimsical nonetheless!) ...

Yes ... walking with Freddie + blogging has given me a new appreciation of our surroundings — compounded when I arrived home this morning to find the following comments posted on a friend's page in response to our condo listing:

"New York style, large square foot flat with hardwood floors and big rooms" ... "a steal of a deal" ... "bang on transit with all amenities right there" ... "design gem"

Yikes — are we sure we want to leave???

And, double-yikes, I'm again sinking to ignoble depths by including these snippets. But I'm starting to develop a pit-of-the-stomach fear that we won't manage to sell our place and will sink over our heads in the financial depths of Vancouver's real estate market. Gotta get the word out ... gotta publicize, advertise ... network, network, network .... gotta ... Gawd. Talk about first-world problems. Slap, slap.

Gotta go out for another walk ...

through the dog park ...