Well…damn, it’s down to 2 degrees out here and I wonder if we’ll get down to zero this year? A warm up is coming in a few days so I guess Feb will be the only chance…okay, it’s up to 8 and I wonder how that works…the temp going up overnight? Hmmmm…slept all the way through til 5 this morning and then out of bed at 6 and I don’t think I’m ever going to sleep better than that…and that sucks a little…and I’m having a hard time getting going today with just working on the first cup of coffee….got to 300 miles on the bike yesterday and I’m hoping to get to 400 by the end of the month…that still is not enough to get me to my 7,000 mile goal for the year but I knew it was going to be a lot of work to get there with lots of 45 mile and 60 mile days once I get outside again…didn’t get a lot done yesterday and I don’t even have to cook today so it is going to be an easy day unless I decide to do some heavy cleaning….the living room could use some work…I did get to play some vinyl yesterday and that was a lot of fun and I may do that again today if I decide to clean…more later…

Well…I did make the chicken masala today and thought I’d play some vinyl while I worked…so, I put “Four Way Street” on starting with the first album, fist side, and got started on cooking…when I got to “Find the Cost of Freedom” that is the last song on the second album I had just sat down to eat…so now chicken masala takes one “Four Way Street” instead of and hour and a half….so damn dehydrated today that I never sweated even after two bike rides so I have been pouring water down all day to try to fix that….so now I don’t have to cook again for the next few days…but I do need to plan the meals for next week…but I’m not going to do that now…need to just veg a bit…

Well…up at 5:03 today but I didn’t drag myself out of bed til a little after 6 so I’ll consider that a success…it would be nice to get a full 8 hours of sleep one more time before I die but I don’t think that is going to happen…not sure why I’m so damn sore every day even without shoveling yesterday but it’s getting old…as I am…so maybe that’s it? It’s going to be really cold tonight getting down to 6 degrees but then we are going to get a break and a warm up for a few days that will be welcome….I have to remember that we are slowly moving to spring when the gloom of the winter gets to be too much…I mean 15 minutes of sunlight in the past two weeks? Oh, well…I keep thinking of taking a day for myself and not riding or cleaning or cooking and I wonder if I’ll ever be able to do that? Probably not but damn, isn’t that what being retired is supposed to be? I might head over to the library to return the books I read and get some more and I was going to walk it but no one clears the damn sidewalks but me and I’m not going to walk in the road….not much to do today…just going to cook the chicken masala in the instant pot for lunch and then try  to get some rest this afternoon…feel pretty worn out and need more coffee to try to get going…more later…

Well…it was a busy day today and I got a lot done so that was cool….started it out with getting laundry going before I did the grocery run and then two rides when I got back here, a quick lunch and then put the first coat of paint on the repaired blocks downstairs….and I did remember to do the weight work this evening and now it’s time to wind down with a little tv…my mouth still doesn’t hurt so I’ll take that any day but I have been grinding my teeth a lot today and that doesn’t help with the jaw pain…with getting lots done today, I really only have the bike rides and making chicken masala tomorrow so I’ll be done early enough to have it for lunch…I do need to find room in the freezer for one container of the Italian soup I made the other day and that will be a project for after lunch…now it’s time to wind down…

Well…damn, I just can’t get started this morning but I just started the first cup of coffee so that might have something to do with it….it’s going to be a busy day today with doing the grocery run and making chicken masala later…was going to try to get a bike ride in before errands but just don’t feel like it…I did start laundry as soon as I got up and will get it in the dryer before I leave then I’ll put it away when I get back…if I go back to last year, I’ve been on the bike for over 30 days without a break so I may need a day off soon…or I could just ride every day to try to break my record of 186 days straight on the bike from a few years back…that seems a little daunting right now…had a good day yesterday and that strings a few together….and I can use a few more…the cold is finally breaking and it’s 19 degrees right now heading for a real thaw next week with temps in the upper 30’s to around 40 with rain so maybe some of the snow will melt…I can use a day or two off shoveling but that won’t start til tomorrow…not much to do today…have a damn headache right now that feels like allergies so I need to take something for it before I head out…should have no problem getting out of here today and then I’m in for the next couple of weeks if I want…and we are edging toward the end of the month that puts us one month closer to spring….more later….

Well…made the final new recipe today that is an Italian bean and pasta soup that came out great and will be added to the rotation…even with just a quarter teaspoon of red pepper flakes in 4 quarts of soup, it has a nice bite to it that I like…and I have a container to go in the freezer if I can come up with some space…didn’t do a lot today but the rides and cooking and I still need to do my weight work before I settle in for the night…I did talk to the Muskegon worker who is now plowing the alley instead of the private contractors they did use when he came by when I was shoveling out my short driveway…nice guy and after I told him I drive a Miata in the winter, he said he’d come by more often so I can get out for groceries…that was pretty cool…I did shovel and salt the walks today and it worked okay even though it never got above 17 out here…okay, still have a bunch of stuff to do before 7 so I need to get going….one last thing…my mouth didn’t hurt at all today and i was even eating normally…weird…

Well…it’s a heat wave…all the way up to 12 degrees this morning but the wind is shaking the house again…woke up at around 5 but was able to lie there for another hour just starting at the ceiling…no pain in my mouth today so I may be able to eat enough to support riding three times…the widget at the bottom of the screen just changed…it’s 14 degrees instead of 12….as I said, a heat wave….it’s nice to not have any doctor or dentist appointments until April after the extractions yesterday….it is so wearing to have to constantly have health crap to deal with…I do have to start thinking about meals for the rest of the week after not eating more than 400 calories yesterday…there is an Italian pasta soup recipe that is sitting on the top of the pile that I could make today before the chicken masala tomorrow….then I’ll have leftovers for the rest of the week….then I’ll be going back to some normal stuff to empty the freezer…not much to do today…just the rides and maybe some cooking…there are a couple of FA cup matches on around 3 so that may be something to take a nap to…more later…

Well…it’s still only 10 degrees out here and I made it back from the dentist with no problem…and the pain has been okay with only my left side hurting just a little but I have been so worn out all day and only did one ride…didn’t remember how much  just having teeth pulled took out of me…I even was able to eat a little soup…not enough but I can make up for that tomorrow as I plan doing 3 rides to make up for just one today…need to start prepping for the night and I am going to take an ibuprofen since my upper body is sore everywhere from all of the shoveling over the past week…so, it’s time to shut down and take it easy…again…

Well…damn, it’s still really cold out here with 9 degrees for a high today….so I warmed the car up before I went to the dentist this morning…I had prepared by charging up my jump box in case the car didn’t start but it fired right up no problem so that was cool…and I was able to get out of the alley but almost got stuck before I got the momentum I needed to get through…the roads were terrible since it’s so cold with ice and blowing snow that got to white out conditions at times…but no one was being stupid so I got there okay…after the trouble getting out, I was worried about getting the car back in the garage but I kept the momentum up and got the door open so I could just drive right in…even stopped at Meijers to get more bird food since I was almost out and the birds are pretty used to coming here…now I’m taking the rest of the day off as I wait for the pain to come from having two teeth removed…the bleeding has stopped but I don’t dare to eat until later…at least that is done and the 260 bucks for my end of the bill will be covered by the refunded copays from U of M that added up to 360 bucks so that was cool…

Well…up at about the normal time of a little after 6 this morning and I am still pretty sore from all of the snow shoveling over the past week or so but we only got abut an inch overnight so I don’t think I have to shovel before the dentist appointment this morning…still not sure if I’m going to be able to get out of the alley and the parking brake has been freezing up with the snow and cold….it’s only 8 degrees out there right now and I plugged my battery box in last night to make sure I can start the car today…might fire it up and let it run a while so I can shift it when I leave here…got a few things done yesterday and have a nice clean fridge to show for it…but I need to plan some soft foods for the next week or so since I won’t be able to chew much….probably won’t feel like doing much after I get back but I may stop at aldis and Meijers after the appointment to pick up a few things I need and then I’ll be in for the rest of the week….don’t have any room in the freezer for any more food so I’ll be eating out of there for the next couple of weeks…want to get one ride in before I head out so I’ll need to get going in a half hour or so…not much to do today…just the dentist appointment and the second ride when I get back here…and I’ll have to fill the bird feeder so that means i need to get 20 more pounds this morning…more later…