Walking And LDS

Did the uphill and down, ate breakfast, then looked on-line at my mortgage statement.  There, I had an unpleasant surprise: My mortgage is going up by more than a hundred a month. Has to do with higher taxes and higher homeowners insurance, which both influence that pesky escrow thing. Combined with the eighty dollars rent rise and the increase for AAA all at the same time, it increases my expenses considerably.  Oh, well, I can handle it, I guess.
Received a text from niece Carolyn; called her, and we decided I'd go to Santa Barbara tomorrow. E-mailed my Happy Hour friends to say I couldn't be there this week.
Started off for the widder lunch at Stone Fire Grille and thought I'd walk Victoria, then get the bus. However, I just kept going and before I knew it, I had covered the 2.4 miles.
What a feeling of liberation that gives me!  The fact that I can walk distances I rarely did when I was younger is exhilarating. That isn't to say I don't want to drive again, but I'll continue to walk and take the bus when I can.
As ever, I had a great time with the Soaring Spirits group. There were nine of us, including Nancy and Carolyn, and we talked and laughed and enjoyed each other. After, I went to Sprouts for grapes and apples, took the buses (two of them) home to put away the fruit, then took off again.
This time, I took a city bus to go the the "Coastal Bus" office and pick up two more flyers about that route for Betty and Carolyn. Walked down to the 99 cent store to pick up a few things, then got the bus home. Stella called on the way to see if I was going to walk in town, but I told her no. (I think I got plenty of walking in, anyway.)
By the time I got home, it was after 4:00 and (sob!) already dusk. Ate dinner and at about 6:30, there was a light tap on my door. I opened to see two young women, in dresses, with a book in each of their hands. I knew immediately who they were: yes, indeed, Mormons, spreading the word.
I actually talked to them for about twenty minutes, making it clear I'm not religious, which they understood. They were surprised to hear I know quite a bit about LDS, including the Joseph Smith saga--truly weird, but no more than the backgrounds of other religions.
One noticed the tee-shirt I had on, which reads "World Without War." I said I was a pacifist, they asked about it, and listened respectfully. They asked me to read a certain short scripture from the Book of Mormon--I did, with touches of histrionics--then gave me book. I also did (why not?). In fact, I enjoyed talking to them, with their fresh young faces and earnest beliefs.
So, it was a full and enjoyable day.