I remember when I was younger I was fascinated by the Dove commercial where they compared the pH levels of different soaps. And me being the science nerd that I am I used to love playing around with litmus and universal indicator paper to read pH back in high school chemistry class. pH, pOH…I still find it fascinating. Anyhow…this morning I actually got out of the house on time and made it down to the Y just as the doors were opening at 5:30 am. I wanted to knock my swim out asap so I could hurry into work. I was the second person on the pool deck, but the lifeguard wasn’t letting anyone in the water just yet because the pH had just tested high on the water. Apparently the pH was at 7.8 and ideally it should be around 7.5. 7.8 or above and the pool has to be closed.
At this point in time an older gentleman who had already put his earplugs in wanders onto the pool deck and starts getting in the water. The lifeguard tries to stop him but he seems pretty nonplussed about the high pH. When the first lady on the deck sees him get in she gets antsy and asks what the detriment of swimming in high pH water would be. Apparently really bad skin irritation is the side effect and that wasn’t enough to scare her off. I chose to wait around until they got their second test back…where the results came in that it was still a high pH, but that we could swim. I was just advised to shower really well. Hmm, excellent.
So much for getting to the pool early, but at least I still got my swim in! My workout was a good one. Just what I needed to reinforce body position and technique in the water. Lots of fingertip drag, some flipper work, concentrating on decreasing stroke count. It was good!
And hey, guess what I did tonight? I carved my first ever pumpkin! Pam and I picked up pumpkins a couple of weeks ago at the Farmer’s Market. We got together this evening for some yummy Indian food and to create our works of art. Sadly my pumpkin was a little overripe and the inside was a bit liquidy. The pumpkin was still good to go for carving though!
Pam’s is the one in the middle. You can tell this wasn’t her first pumpkin. She even free styled her carving! Mine is the one on the right. He has shifty eyes, uneven ears and some wonky teeth. Plus he’s rotten, but he’s mine anyway!
I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend and a great Halloween!!!!
