Well….I think I’m learning how to take it easy…all I’ve done today is ride the bike, cook the huge lunch, clean up my tools and put them into a tote that I can just move around with the work, and do the dishes…and now it’s a little before two and I think I’m done for the day…I should clean the couch and flip the cushions and I still may but right now I’m just going to sit for a minute and stare at the tv…but, I know that won’t last…I still have a topic to find for a political one this afternoon and I’m running out of time….so, I probably should get at it…okay, maybe I’m not learning…darn….

Well…I wonder what the heck it is with the time between 5 and 5:15 am? It seems that is the time I wake up almost every morning and today it was 5:14…I was able to go back to sleep for a little while and didn’t get out of bed until after 7 and that means I’m running late today…going to pay for not eating enough yesterday and that should be happening soon…only had two slices of rye toast and a chicken sandwich and that is only about 700 calories for the day…I am losing a little weight and I normally gain it over the winter so I guess that’s cool….I really think the window came out good the more that I look at it….it still has flaws but it looks like it belongs in a restored house and I only have 10 more to do….but I’m taking the day off from working since I have some cooking to do today and with the big ham I got yesterday…I had a brainstorm for the gravy and I’m going to add some veggie broth, bay leaves, onion, and garlic to it to pump up the flavor as the ham cooks….the last gravy was a little bland so I thought I’d try something new…..not much to do today….after the busy day yesterday, I’m going to take it a little easier…I am going to organize the tools and materials for working on the windows in one of the totes I used to move to get it off the dining room table and give me room to cook….but I have news to read and coffee to drink first….more later…

Well….I wonder why I keep doing this to myself? It has been another busy day and all of my doing…did the grocery run to two stores, then to depot to get paint to do the window, then back here and put two coats on the window….and it looks pretty damn good for an 80 year old frame…then on the bike for 10 miles and now I’m finished for the day….I really like the eggshell finish of the paint I chose…it’s still an 80 year old frame though, and it will never look like new but I just have to remember that with the rest of them…you get to a point where it’s good enough and I have to realize that…can’t wait to get the blinds and get them up to see how the grey is going to look….I think it will be pretty cool….

Well…darn, forgot to load up the coffee maker last night so I had to do it when I woke up before 6 this morning…I did go back to bed until a little after 7 but didn’t sleep more and that sucks….and I slept on my right shoulder again and it hurts…one of these days it would be nice to wake up without pain…sleeping is not supposed to hurt…it’s supposed to make you feel better…didn’t get much done yesterday but today is going to be a busy one….need to do the grocery run and stop at depot to pick up the paint for the window…and then paint, ride the bike, paint again, and try to find something to cook…not sure if I’ll do the ham today or just cook stuff out of the freezer…or it they will even have the ham I want at Meijers…as I’ve been bitching about lately, stores just don’t have what I need much anymore….so I may have to just buy chicken thighs and make some ham soup instead…we’ll see…and the blinds I ordered won’t be here for a couple of days so I won’t be able to put them up until Friday or Saturday….don’t think I want to work over the weekend so I won’t get started on the next window until next week..more later….

Well…you know I bitched about stores not carrying what they used to and not being able to just go out and get what I need to work on the house….I really hate waiting for the stuff I need…the window is ready for paint but they won’t have that at depot until tomorrow and I’m still waiting for the new shades to show up here since they weren’t carried in the store, either…I could have finished the window today if I didn’t have to wait and waiting is a pain in the butt..so I did do the laundry today and cleaned a bit but soccer is on right now that is turning out to be a pretty good match so I guess I shouldn’t bitch too much…it’s just that when I have things to do, I just want to do them, not sit around here thinking about them…I think I’m going to have an estimate done for drywalling the bedrooms since the plaster in there will just take too much work to repair…if I can get it done for 2 grand or so, it would be worth it….and that will only leave the kitchen plaster to fix….I am considering buying new kitchen cabinets, too but they will probably cost too much…maybe late next year if I can’t make the ones in there look okay…

Well…with doing major repairs to the windows in the kitchen, I have had to fill and then sand a lot…and then clean up again, and again, and again, and I am already getting tired of it…missed a part of the window frame that I had to sand yesterday that only took about two minutes…but that little sanding of just paint and no filler spread dust so far that it’s in the dining room and I had to clean the stove again since it had a fine coating on it, too….I wonder if running my little shop vac while I’m sanding will help? Okay, just had a brainstorm…the outlet into the small bag on the sander is just the right size to connect my shop vac to it so I’m going to try that for the next window…I wonder if I can buy a longer hose for the shop vac to give me some range of motion? Going to check that out right now….

Well…darn, that was weird…didn’t wake up til 7:37 this morning and I feel like I’m walking in quicksand I’m moving so slow…I did put earplugs in last night and I wonder if that had something to do with it? I do know that I had some dreams last night that I don’t remember and that may have had something to do with it, too…hmmm…had an okay day yesterday but didn’t get a lot done other than a ride and masking off the window and today is going to be cleaning if I can get myself motivated a bit….I really don’t like having the newspaper up on the kitchen window to replace the shades…makes me feel isolated with not being able to see outside but I guess I’ll have to get used to it with having 10 more to do…and I really don’t like having this place dusty all the time but I think I’ll survive it…I do like that it hasn’t really snowed yet this winter and we’re already at the winter solstice….daylight is going to get longer from this point out and that is cool…..and there is no really big snow in the forecast for the rest of the month so we only have two months to worry about this winter…..not much to do today….just going to ease into it and have boatloads of coffee before I get on the bike….have to improvise meals for today and I found a two year old jar of alfredo sauce that I may use but need to look at the date to see if it will kill me or not…..more later…..

Well…running a little late today with not getting out of bed til almost 7…woke up much earlier than that but I refused to get out of bed until I tried to sleep some more….have been worn out lately and I’m sure it’s from not sleeping much….taking the day off the bike worked since my legs don’t hurt much right now…but, I’m going to abuse them here in a few minutes by getting a ride in…yep, I’m not too bright about that stuff…the wind is blowing like crazy out here again today and I think that’s what woke me up today…have been trying to sleep without ear plugs for a while now and I wonder if that’s why I’m not sleeping…I think I need to train myself to ignore the noises at night and I’ll never do that if I keep using them….I did get some things done around here and will do more today with having to mask off the window I’ve been working on…and I need to clean the bathroom that I have been putting off for a week or so…I should just take a day to clean this whole place and I may just do that after I finish the window….and I do need to figure out what to cook this week since I don’t even have enough thawed for today…but I do have cheese and bread so I can make a grilled cheese for one meal and then have the last chicken thigh and the scalloped potatoes…I think I’m going to make ham soup this week to get the bones out of the freezer….have three of them in there and that will make for  a hearty soup…not much to do today…just need to ride the bike and work on the window but that will be enough…more later….

Well….how’s that for a title? I bought a head of cauliflower Wed at Aldi for 1.99 which is pretty cheap, and I finished it up for dinner today…cooked it in my Cuisinart pots with a steamer inside and it only took about 8 minutes to steam…and, while I was making dinner, my curiosity pushed my to check the calories for a cup of cauliflower and I really laughed out loud…50 calories…yep, only 50 calories for all of that food so that makes my entire dinner today about 300 calories and lunch was about the same…I did make some scalloped potatoes from a box I got at Aldi’s, too, and they aren’t bad for 69 cents and I can get three meals out of them to go with the chicken thigh I had left over from earlier in the week…so, that makes my day about 600 calories or so but the bulk of the cauliflower has me feeling really full….didn’t do much today other than finish up the sanding, vacuumed up the dust, and wiped everything down so the new paint will stick to the window…need to mask the window off tomorrow and then get back on the bike after being lazy today….but my legs and hips have been hurting so I needed to take a day off…and they do feel better so I guess it was the right decision…I do need to maintain this old body better if I want to keep going for another 15 years….

Well…got all the way til 6:14 this morning and I will consider that a win with how things have been going lately…woke up freezing and I can’t figure that out with wearing the same clothes that I do sitting around here where I’m perfectly fine….hmmm…the sanding on the window has really affected my sore thumb and I am hurting enough right now I may have to take something for it…it’s a good thing that the window is the worst one so it will get the chance to heal up some as I finish it….I think I may take the day off the bike today for a rest day but I’m not sure yet…my legs hurt all the time and they could use healing time…and I could use a day to take it easy for a change….we’ll see….just have a little more sanding to do on the window today and then it needs to be wiped down and masked off but I have til Wed since I won’t have the paint til then….I can’t believe how much dust I blew around here yesterday and I’m glad I’m done with that….I think I cleaned more than I sanded after I finished….not much to do today…just going to ease into it since it is only 7:30 and I don’t need to get going yet….then the window and more cleaning…I have to figure out what I’m going to eat this week…might have to make soup to get some of the ham bones out of the freezer…have three of them and that should make for some hearty soup….but not today…need more coffee and to read the news right now….more later….