Well…you know, for someone who has nothing to do I sure seem like I’m busy all the time…this morning started out as they all do, with two bike rides to get things started and then back here to watch a little soccer and have lunch and then I had to work on the bike for a minute since the chain was dry and I could hear it when I was coming up the hill…so I lubed that and everything else on the bike and then did the garage door, too, since it was creaking and groaning a bit and I hadn’t wd’d it in quite a while…so after I finished that, I checked on the coolant in the car and it had only leaked a tiny bit over the past 10 days so I guess I’ll just keep crippling it along and adding coolant once a week until it really starts to leak…and I have a new gallon of coolant that I can mix into two so that may get me to the spring if the leak doesn’t get worse….after that, I picked the rest of the beans and immediately blanched them and put them in the bag that had others for Tom…just don’t have anything to have with them and didn’t want them to go to waste…while I was waiting for the water to boil, I took the repaired pedal and put it on the black bike so it is rideable again and that just about finished the work for the day….I’ll probably clean a bit after I watch a little more soccer before the race comes on at 3…and I may do another one of these if I think of something to say later or a topic hits me in the brain….break time…

Well…running about on time for a Sunday with going out to get the paper with the top down on the car and I have to remember to savor that since time is getting short for being able to do that in the morning….slept okay last night and didn’t get out of bed til 5:11 for the first time and then up for good at 6:11 and that is getting to be pretty normal but that still means about 6 hours instead of the 8 I should be getting….didn’t get much done yesterday other than fix the pedal on the bike and I am still trying to take the weekends off from everything but do need to start easing back into working on this place after this week…I did take the summer off but summer is over and I need to have some discipline and get started working again….but not today…just going to ride the bike and watch races this afternoon…and I think I’m going to make some roasted tomatoes with parmesan and maybe even a mustard sauce to go with them since I have all of the ingredients and lots of tomatoes…I think I’ll do a vegetarian day tomorrow with just a salad and lots of tomatoes after I use up the last of the tacos today….and I should make another batch of pasta salad so I’ll have some as a backup when I don’t feel like cooking….my right foot isn’t hurting at all this morning after riding with the broken pedal yesterday and that is a relief…thought I’d hurt it badly but I guess it was just the change in how the pressure was on it and I am a little curious how the new pedals are going to feel…they are a little wider so maybe it will spread the pressure out some…not much to do today…need to get out on the bike by 7:30 so I have 15 minutes to have coffee and read the news before I get going…more later….

Well…just when the bike has been working so well, the thought entered my head that something was due to break since this one has been so trouble free since I bought it 4 years ago…and today something broke…while I was riding, the right pedal just didn’t feel right…like my foot was trying to slip off of it to the outside…so I took my foot off and yep, the pedal was broken and was no longer straight…so I flipped it over to force it back together and rode back with the pedal upside down…and now my right foot and lower calf hurt like crazy after they were out of whack riding….so I took the pedals off the black bike and now need to order another set or just buy some cheapies at Meijers to replace them…it is nice to have an identical parts bike so I can keep riding when things break….I may try to repair the old pedal with some JB weld just to have something to put on it for now…oh, well….oh, and leaning over to get to the left side pedal on the bike I bashed my head on some plywood and took off a good sized chunk of my scalp and I just noticed the blood was all over the front of a light grey t-shirt I had on…so darn…more damage on this poor body…I did fix the pedal, though and I hope the JB will hold since the body of the pedal is thermoplastic and I just slathered it all over to cover the cracks, too…we’ll see….

Well…I have a conundrum this morning…do I get off my butt and get a bike ride in before the rain or do I just take it easy and enjoy my coffee and watch some soccer? Yeah, I’m surprised that I’m not going to go out on the bike….I’ll be kicking myself later I know but I just don’t feel like rushing today…didn’t get out of bed til almost 6:30  and I need more time to wake up before I can do anything other than this….had an okay day yesterday but didn’t get much done other than taking care of some stuff outside…oh, and I did fix my hedge trimmers last night after thinking about it for a bit…found a long bolt that I cut the head off and then drilled out the handle to fit it and JB welded it back together…we’ll see how good it works the next time I use them….and that will probably be today since I really want to know if my fix is going to work….not sure if my fridge is going wonky or not but it has been way too cold lately and even froze some tomatoes I had in a container in it…I think that might have been my fault for adjusting it without my glasses and going the wrong way….so I turned it down and now I may have gone too far the other way…I wonder how many other people even care about that? Do you ever think about your fridge temp? I didn’t think so. With the rain coming it looks like I won’t be able to get on the bike til later today or I may just take the day off…twice in one month? That probably won’t happen but I’m sure my legs could use the rest…not much to do today…if it does rain, I’ll probably get some cleaning done and a few of these out….and I may give myself a haircut but it’s not really time for that yet….can you tell I’m already bored and it’s only 7:21? Need to take a deep breath and just relax…and that’s pretty damn hard….more later…

Well…I finally did something smart today and stayed out of the sun to let my skin heal up….but I hurt my side again trimming the bushes in the rental next door that were blocking the sun from my garden and looking pretty hideous…and I broke my HF scissor clippers that are only a year old so that sucks…need to try to figure out how to fix them…will probably drill out the handles and put a piece of steel inside both parts and then JB weld the whole thing back together but I need to find a piece of steel that will work without buying something…I guess I could buy a chunk of threaded rod but I could just buy another set for 10 bucks and not do all the work…if I have something I can use here I’ll give it a try….okay, now it’s time to watch a race and get ready for a night off…no more later….

Well…just as I was preparing to go out to the beach, it’s gotten cloudy so I’m not sure if I’m going to go…it’s not as if it’s really warm…only about 74 degrees so without the sun it’s going to be a little cool with the wind blowing out there…and my skin could use the rest so we’ll see…it’s still early enough that I could get out there if it clears up and I don’t know what I’ll do if I don’t….take the day off? Hmmmm….I did get both rides in this morning so I guess that’s something….

Well…my sleep deficit caught up with me last night and I only woke up once at 5:41 but didn’t get out of bed until after 7 and that felt pretty good…but, I feel a little groggy this morning and I know it’s going to be hard to get going especially when it’s already 7:26 and I just poured my first cup of coffee….my skin is getting pretty abused with all of the beach time so I had to slather it with some lotion last night to try to make it not look like old leather but I’m not sure if it is going to work or not…I did watch the new top gun movie last night and it was okay…not sure if it rated an 86% rating but it entertained me for a couple of hours so I guess that’s good enough….I do need to find another show to watch since I am running out of Killjoys to fill the time from 7 to 8 pm until I watch the new shows on plex…not sure what that will be since there are few shows that I want to watch a second time…or that enough time has passed so I don’t really remember them and they don’t bore me….I did make the pizza that I had in the freezer yesterday and it came out good with loading it up with extra toppings instead of just the 4 cheeses that came on it….but I think I have too much stuff to use up before it spoils with tacos, pizza, and pasta salad in the fridge….and I have a head of lettuce to make salads to use the tomatoes I’ve gotten out of the garden…and you know I have to manage my caloric intake so it’s going to be a chore…oh, well…not much to do today…not sure if I’m going to the beach today…I did get a swim in yesterday but it was pretty damn cold and I couldn’t stay in long…not feeling it right now and it’s almost 7:45…so I won’t get out on the bike for a while and that’s okay…need to stop having a schedule and feeling I have to keep it….yeah, that’s not going to happen…more later…

Well…still a little confused about not sleeping at all for the past week or so with not doing anything different to cause it…I guess I’m just getting into the insomnia caused by getting old and I don’t like it…but I feel okay even with only a few hours so I can live with it….and I’m not too sore today but I did have my right hamstring start to hurt on the bike yesterday and that is a little weird since it’s normally the front of my thigh that hurts….okay, that’s enough of that…it was nice to get a few things done around here yesterday and I’ll probably keep that up today…didn’t get to the living room yesterday but it only needs some dusting and vacuuming and should only take about an hour or so….and I’ll get out on the bike here in a few minutes to get the day started….the bike has been working great since I figured out why the rear shifter was going out of adjustment and why it was shifting so hard….haven’t had to touch it for a week now and that is pretty cool….I should put the pedal back on the black bike and take it out for a ride since it’s not good to have them just sit in the basement…and I know it will need to be lubed but it was working right when I put it away so I hope it still is….I am a little wistful that the summer is coming to a close but it has been a good one with taking some time for me for a change….and I still have a week or so before labor day to get ready to get back to work and I am looking forward to it and the changes that will come from getting the dining and living room painted…going to be lots of work but I have all winter…not much to do today….just going to get on the bike after I have another cup of coffee and ease into the day…I am going to the beach after lunch and I hope the water is warm enough to swim….running out of those days…more later….

Well…I had waffled a bit on the idea of skipping the beach today but it has turned out to be a good idea and is making for a productive day today….after I got the groceries done and took the second ride, I got right on doing the trimming on the lawn and finished that up by noon and that would have been enough time to get out to the beach but I didn’t want to rush and had lots of other things to do instead…got the laundry started and now in the dryer, got both the garden and the flowers watered and had some pasta salad for lunch but still need to put the groceries away and get to cleaning the living room and bathroom…but I have two hours to get that done before soccer at 3 and it is really nice to just take a relaxing day and give my skin a rest…..and that will make tomorrow a free day so it will be back out to the beach thurs and fri….I still have sand in my fingernails even with showering and using my fingernail brush a couple of times since yesterday…I think it’s going to take me weeks to clean it all up out of the house and car after beach season is over….but, I’ve enjoyed the beach a lot even if I don’t know how to relax…..right now I need to get moving again if I’m going to get anything else done….

Well…damn, that was the worst sleep I can remember in a long time…up too many times to count with a result of about a 2 1/2 to 3 hours night…ick….had an okay day yesterday and did get out to the beach but the lake had turned again and it was just too damn cold to go swimming and that sucked since it is the major reason I go to the beach…so, I may skip today and just clean the house some since I noticed I have lots of spiders in the corners and I’ve let the living room and dining room get pretty messy…and my skin does need some rest since it feels tight today…and I do have the grocery run to do this morning after I do the first ride….don’t have a lot to get but I do need to stock up on paper products since I will be getting back at working on this place right after labor day…and I need to get more drain cleaner to keep the kitchen drain flowing…don’t have a lot of food to get since there is no cheap protein on sale….going to live on big salads using my own tomatoes for the next week or so and that will help me keep the calories down…not that I need to think about that, I do that by accident almost every day….not much to do today….need to get on the bike here in a few minutes but don’t really need to rush since it is still dark and I need to be able to see….and I’m hitting the local Meijers today instead of the nice one on the east side since it will take time to put gas in the car and get the rest of the Meijers stuff before Aldis opens at 9….then I’m just going to work around here after the second ride…should be out by 10 for that one….but I’m damn tired this morning and wonder how I’m going to fare with little sleep…is there a nap in my future? Who knows? More later….