Well…damn, it’s not a good start to the day when you wake up thinking you’ve slept in, look at the phone and it’s only 6:23…then you look at the weather and radar and see that it’s 38 degrees and rain is starting that will last most of the day…does that mean I’ll get the indoor bike ready and get some miles in? Probably not….I think I’ll make this a day off and watch some soccer and races instead…slept okay last night and forgot to turn the hepa filter off so I can breathe this morning…but I can’t leave it running for another day…or can I? I did make a new batch of potato soup yesterday that came out good but I have chick peas that I could have added but I forgot them…and maybe they wouldn’t have added anything…I will use them in the next batch of ham soup that I’ll make soon….have the heating pad on my back this morning but it’s not from pain but just that I feel so damn cold today that I needed to do something…damn, I hate getting old…not much to do today…going to try to not feel guilty about taking the day off the bike…but that will be hard as always….more later….

Well…damn, I hurt this morning and my right hip has decided to join in the fun…yay! Slept okay last night but sure don’t feel like it this morning…so how do I know I slept okay? Yeah, that’s the problem…I don’t know but I hope I did….just poured the first cup of coffee and it’s way too soon to say if it’s working or not…it should but I’m not taking anything for granted….had a good day yesterday with making a pizza on the grill and having it come out good…I do need to use the rest of the ham today in some potato soup that I’m going to use yellow potatoes in and I am curious how they are going to taste…it is still raining out there so I won’t be on the bike for a while if at all…only one ride yesterday so I need to control the calories again today…only had a bowl of soup and one piece of pizza yesterday so that surely would be under 1K calories and I need to do that again today to shed the 10 pounds I’ve put on since the UK trip started….still have the pork shoulder to make this weekend or I may wait til early next week with all of the leftovers in the fridge….need to cut up the celery in there for snacks with ranch later so I don’t waste it…not much to do today…the F1 practice and qualifying from Texas is on later so that will give me something to stave off the boredom…more later…

Well…as I went out to put the pizza that I made this afternoon on the grill, I notices that the trees have regrown surrounding my power and internet cable so I need to get after clearing them out again…I did it when I bought this house but have neglected it since so, the next time it’s not raining, I’ll get my extension trimmer out and cut a bunch of the branches down…I really don’t like working around power lines but my trimmer is fiberglass and plastic and I hope that will protect me if I slip and happen to touch the line…that’s how it’s supposed to work anyway and it does need to be done before the winter storms howl through here…and it’s always windy out here anyway so I’ll get after it Saturday…or tomorrow if the rain holds off and I’ll have my rubber shoes on, too, so maybe that will help…oh, the pizza came out good but my daughter donated my pizza pan so I had to make it in a rimmed baking pan she gave me…worked out good since it is nonstick and the pizza came right out…only had one piece since they are pretty good sized and now I’ll have pizza for 5 more days….

Well…damn, I was really expecting to take the day off with the rain today but it’s over already so I’ll be riding here in a while…still coughing like crazy and feel pretty crappy right now and I am wondering how long this damn cold is going to hang on? It’s been two weeks today since I started coughing on the UK trip and it’s getting really old…had a good day yesterday and got a lot of work done…did the grocery runs, then mowed the lawn, then out on the bike for two rides and finished it up with two loads of laundry and the smaller loads left everything wrinkle free out of the dryer….today was going to be a rest day with just using up leftovers and reading but it’s already over 50  so I’ll be out as soon as it gets light…not sure if I have the energy to cook anything today but a pizza on the grill would taste pretty good…and I have yellow potatoes to make another batch of soup and use up the rest of the ham…can I just sit here for a while and not do anything? I need a day of rest but I’m not sure if I’m capable of that….not much to do today…just going to ease into it for the next half hour or so and have more coffee….man, I’m tired….more later…

Well…got up at 6:30 this morning and that is getting to be the new normal and I don’t mind that…slept okay and I am a little confused that my right shoulder doesn’t hurt after abusing it yesterday…it’s a little stiff but not really any pain…still feeling the cold that I’ve had for two weeks now and I am getting damn tired of it…still coughing and feel stuffed up but part of it could be allergies since the pollen count is pretty high…and I really can’t figure that out since nothing is blooming right now….oh, well…going to get on the grocery run here in an hour or so and I wonder if I should get boneless skinless chicken thighs at 8 bucks for 5 pounds or a pork shoulder for 1.49 a pound? I’m thinking pork shoulder and cooking it on the grill using it as an oven…or I could do it in the instant pot and then I could make gravy to pour over some potatoes….hmmm….I do have to mow the lawn today and get two rides in since I have gained too much weight and need to stop that right now…and I am going to do laundry today to keep the loads a little smaller so the dryer will work better…okay, I need more coffee and to go over to get the morning post out on Mastodon…more later…

Well…it was so darn cold this morning at 38 degrees when I got up that there was no way I was getting on the bike til around noon so I needed something to do until then so I got the string trimmer out and did the final trimming before winter and then changed to the edger head and edged all of my sidewalks…something I should do more often to make it easier to do…I am waiting for my right shoulder to start to really scream in pain but that will probably be tomorrow although I can feel some tightness in it already…so, I think I’ll coat it with Voltaren here in a minute to try to stay ahead of the pain…think I’m going to do the final mowing of the lawn in mulcher mode tomorrow since it’s going to rain Thurs and Fri…then I can convert it to bagging to pick up the leaves…but first thing, I’m going to do the grocery run tomorrow morning…need to get potatoes to make another batch of soup to use up the whole milk before it spoils and use up more of the celery and onions that were left after the last batch that I hope to have for lunch tomorrow..then get a couple of rides in since I only did one today…and I want to make a pizza that I’ll cook on the grill later in the week to use up some of the leftover ham….and I still need to make the chicken masala at some point…probably not til the middle of next week…right now it’s break time…

Well…damn, that was weird…had the police banging on my door this morning looking for a missing woman…and an even weirder thing is that they know I’m the guy that calls on the loud music out here and they said they understood…a strange way to start my day…had an okay day yesterday but didn’t get much done and it looks like I won’t be getting out on the bike anytime soon with the temp only 38 right now…I do want to run the string trimmer and edger this morning to do the fall cleanup and prep the lawn for the winter…got the fall food on it yesterday but I’m not really motivated to do anything right now since it’s still dark out there and I’m on the first cup of coffee….I did get two rides in yesterday and I’m going to try to do that again today after I get the work in…froze my butt off on the rides yesterday and had to put my long riding pants on along with double socks just to get through…it’s supposed to be as cold today so we’ll see how it goes…not much to do today…just the yard work and the rides…still have leftovers so I don’t need to cook and I have been eating too much lately anyway….have overshot the weight that I wanted to gain so now it’s time to slowly lose again….more later….

Well…man, I thought I was getting better but I sure don’t feel like it right now…yeah, I know, I’m getting old and feeling crappy comes with it but that doesn’t make it any better…had an okay day yesterday but didn’t get much done but the bike rides so I need to do better today…going out to Menards in a while to get the fall lawn food and want to get it on the lawn before it rains Wed….and I need to do that before more leaves fall…it’s only 46 out there so I won’t be able to ride until the aft…not sure if I’ll do two rides or one today but I know it should be two to start getting rid of the extra fat I’ve put on…don’t need to cook again today with leftover soup, chicken, and ham in the fridge and I need to plan food for later in the week…chicken masala?  Yep, I have the ingredients for it so I’ll make it this week along with another batch of potato soup…I do need to get back to doing the rehab exercises today since I can feel that I need it….going to look for a set of weight exercises that I can do with the hand weights my daughter left me until I can afford a new weight machine…not much to do today…just the run out to menards and then putting food on the lawn…I did have an infestation of box elder bugs on the back of the house yesterday that I had to deal with…I hate killing things but they were getting in the house and I just don’t like bugs in here….more later…

Well…had another successful foray to the library today to get a 5 buck bag of books…got another 15 books to go with the 15 I got Friday so I had to clear out a shelf on the bookcase for them….and lots of them are ones from authors I like so I know I’ll like a lot of them…there will be a lot of reading this winter and I’m looking forward to that…I think I’m starting to feel better from the cold…haven’t coughed as much today but I still have some lung problems that revealed themselves on the second ride…yep, two rides today and that made me feel good…and the eye problems I’ve had for a couple of weeks is starting to get better since I can read the graphics on the tv again…much less blurry than they have been and I hope that improvement continues…my hips were in crazy pain on the bike today, though, and I’m hoping it’s the last gasp of being sick…it could still have been reaction to the vaccines since it’s only been 4 days since I got them last Wed…yeah, I’m pretty impatient with my health….

Well…damn, I never want to wake up at 5:10 again unless it’s sleeping in from an alarm for 3:10…I am so damn tired and still hurt like crazy and all I want to do is go back to bed…I can’t remember this type of pain other than from the flu I had a few years back…it’s that ache that you can’t do anything about…no movement, no stretching, no nothing and now I guess it’s back to the ibuprofen….I finally did get on the bike yesterday for one ride and I’m hoping to get out for one today after it warms up…I was so damn cold and wet on the bike yesterday that I had the heating pad on me all night just to stop shaking…I do need to get moving today by 10 so I can head to the library for more books if there are any left over…didn’t get much done yesterday and today looks the same with the Lions playing and a race on later…and I don’t have to cook today with leftovers in the fridge so it can be an easy one if I decide to let it….going to clean a bit later but right now I need more coffee to get me jump started….more later…