Well…got all the way til 7 this morning before I got out of bed so that was cool….and I am now waiting for the Man U match to start so I need to get this done pretty quickly…had a nice visit from my son, his wife and their dog yesterday…Art is still a puppy but he is a rottweiler that weighs 91 pounds already…pretty goofy dog and fun to play with….it is nice to have a clean house after doing that yesterday for the visit….feel okay this morning and I am just easing into it…should have made coffee last night since there is only one more cup in the pot so I’ll have to get the french press out here in a minute to make more….won’t get out on the bike until this match is over or until Man U starts to stink the place up and I am going to try to get two rides in today but there is tons of sports on today and I could use some time off to just veg…and it may rain some today but I’m not holding my breath for that….I’ll have to look for the high school football field to the southeast of me since I could hear the band playing quite clearly last night so it has to be close…might be fun to go see a game this fall….and the hockey season starts soon and I can walk down to the arena for that….will have to do some research on the players and teams so I can understand the rivalries….not much to do today…just going to wing it with no plans other than to watch this match and then watch races this aft…there are MotoGP qualifying, trucks, and xfinity races on today along with college football so I won’t get too bored…more later….

Well…another 6:13 morning but I don’t feel too bad today…and I even had some dreams last night that were pretty weird about work and getting promoted…yeah, I wonder why I’d have a work dream since I’ve been retired for a while now…just glad I finally had dreams again….my tinnitus is really bad this morning and I’m not sure why…the ears are really whistling and that is pretty damn annoying…but, there is not much I can do about it but just ignore it…didn’t get much done yesterday but the lawn and some cleaning and only one bike ride so I’ll need to get two in today and then do the rest of my cleaning before my son gets here in the late aft….but that should only take an hour or so and I can do that after I get the rides in and have lunch….don’t have a lot of energy right now but I haven’t had much coffee either so I hope it will get better soon….it looks like we may get some rain Sunday…nope, just looked at the weather and it is supposed to rain the next three days and if that happens, it will be the first time in the 8 months I’ve lived out here that it has rained three days in a row….my lawn sure can use it since I’ve decided I’m not going to pour 50 bucks a months into watering it….not much to do today…just the rides and cleaning and I’m going to start planning the interior work that I’ll get started on once it gets cooler…I think I’ll do the living room first then move on to the spare bedroom…the kitchen and bathroom are going to be last and I hope I can get them done before winter is over….more later….

Well…I almost got on the bike right now for the second ride of the day but it’s 5:45 and I don’t feel like it so I won’t…trying to be smart about the amount of work I put in every day and after riding once, mowing the lawn, doing the weed walk, and trimming some trees, I think that is enough for one day….but I did clean this place up some this aft so I’ll have less to do tomorrow….just mowing the lawn made my thumb start to bleed again so I really had to take it easy so I didn’t have to bandage it again…my energy level stayed good today and I made sure I ate enough this afternoon but I might not have…only had a piece of lasagna and some garlic bread and then nachos with refried beans for dinner but that was only 8 chips so I’m not sure if that is enough….I did have to work on the bike seat this afternoon, too, since it has been coming loose and going out of adjustment no matter how hard I tighten it….so, I put some loctite on the bolt and re-assembled it and that was a pain trying to hold the two sections of the clamp, the nut, and the seat together while I started the bolt…but, I finally got it and hope I have the seat adjusted right…it has to be higher at the front and I’m not sure if I did that right….we’ll see tomorrow when I get out on it for the first ride…okay, the day is over and I’m going to relax for a while…..and get back at it first thing in the morning…

Well…damn, after doing the grocery run and getting two rides in, when I got back here I was exhausted and even just moving the sprinkler around was a lot of work. Not sure if it is the flu shot or not eating enough two days ago but I felt like crap yesterday and feel that way again today but more tired than anything….I may have just hit the wall like happens sometimes after I’ve been on the bike a lot…and I am at 3700 miles for the year on the bike so maybe I’m just overdoing it? I am trying to eat more today with having lasagna and garlic bread for lunch and I’m going to make a chicken sandwich with a handful of chips for dinner…I know that’s still under 1500 calories for the day but I just can’t eat more than that….I have lost some weight this summer…down to the last holes on my belt and that means I’ve lost three inches on my waist but that is still not enough…I could lose 6 more inches and get back down to a 30 inch but that is not going to happen…I like cocktails and eating too much….sure hope I feel better tomorrow….

Well…my right eye has been twitching since overnight and that continues right now…it has been years since I’ve had one last this long and it is damn annoying…still feel pretty run down today and I wonder if today will be the day to take a day off the bike…getting out there doesn’t sound too attractive right now and even doing the grocery run is going to be a chore this morning…my thumb looks pretty ugly today but it is no longer oozing blood so that’s progress…still hurts when I bump it on anything but it appears to be healing some…it appears that the pain in my shoulder has stopped going down my arm so it is not as severe as the last time and that is cool…and now I’m vaccinated against everything and I hope I don’t get the flu this year…didn’t get much done yesterday other than the bike rides and the vaccines and, feeling like I do, I think today is going to be the same…might do the weed walk and water the lawn today but I am going down to no more than 3 waterings a week to save some cash…I’m hoping the cooler temps will help with keeping the lawn alive until it rains which is not going to be for a few weeks…I wonder when the fall rains are going to come? Not much to do today…just the grocery run and then I’m just going to wing it until Man U plays this afternoon…I know I’m getting older and can’t do what I used to but I need to keep going on this place before winter…would one day off be too much? Not sure…but I find I’m looking forward to winter….and taking a day off here and there….more later….

Well…after getting my third covid vaccine and my flu shot today, my shoulder hurts…but last time in feb when I got my second, my arm hurt all the way down to my wrist so I guess this is better…and my thumb has finally stopped bleeding but it still howls in pain if I bump it on anything….I was a little confused today when they didn’t ask me for my insurance card for the flu vaccine since every other time they have…so, I walked out of there with not giving them any info other than the questionnaire they asked me to fill out…there were lots of people there and it took me about 45 mins but that’s okay….I need to practice patience to keep from getting irritated and today was a good practice day….I still don’t feel right after how lousy I felt yesterday and the second bike ride today was a chore…just don’t have any energy and I think the allergies have something to do with it…oh, and working in the yard for three hours might have something to do with it, too….I really do think I need a day off to get some rest…I did make another lasagna today so I ate enough…I hope… but I do need to figure out the second meal for the next few days and it’s going to come out of the freezer since there is no protein on sale this week that I want…okay…going to start winding down for the day…will have to take ibuprofen for all the aches and pains tonight but that needs to wait a half hour….

Well…finally…the damage to my right thumb stopped bleeding overnight…I can’t remember having a cut bleed for a whole day and I was a little concerned that it may have needed stitches but it is just the skin that was peeled off so there really was nothing to stitch…and it doesn’t hurt at all this morning so I think it will heal…but it is going to look ugly for a while…and I need to get new band aids since the ones I have must be 20 years old….will do that this morning when I go to Meijers to get my covid booster and flu shot….so that will put me late on the bike this morning and may only do one ride today…and I may make another lasagna today since it is easy and I like having leftovers that make for easy meals….didn’t feel too hot yesterday with doing two rides and all of the yard work with only eating one meal the day before yesterday….and I don’t think I had enough yesterday, either with only a chicken sandwich for lunch and a chicken thigh and a few fries for dinner….if I make the lasagna, I’m not sure what the second meal will be today….oh, I have two more chicken thighs that I cooked yesterday so I can make a chicken sandwich again….will have to look in the freezer and plan something for later in the week….I think I have almost everything done outside to get the house ready for winter and now I have to clean all of the windows but I don’t want to get my thumb wet until it heals so that will put me back til next week on doing the winter wheels…and the damn thing has started bleeding again as soon as I used it to do this….not much to do today…just the shots and cooking and bike rides…not sure how I’m going to feel after the shots and I may have to take the day off but I didn’t really have any reaction to the first two shots and I’m hoping that will continue after this one….more later…

Well… damn, I’m injured….when I was sweeping up after edging and using the string trimmer, I caught my right thumb on the sharp top edges of the chain link fence and ripped a big chunk out of it….it’s been bleeding for an hour now and it is starting to throb so I took some ibuprofen and I’ll keep changing the band aids as they get soaked in blood…it seems to be slowing some but it’s ripped into the nail bed for my thumbnail and the nail is turning blue along with the joint…damn, damn, damn….so, it looks like things are going to be on hold for a day or two as it heals enough that it stops hurting….and that is my shifting thumb so I may be off the bike, too…crap…oh, well…it’s been a long time since I’ve been injured and it could have been worse…

Well…running really late this morning with not getting out of bed until 7:39 and I’m not sure how that happened…feel really worn out today and it’s probably from only eating one meal yesterday even with doing two rides…just didn’t have any desire to eat more and I think I’ll have to force myself to stay healthy….didn’t get a lot done yesterday other than the rides but I need to change that today….why, I don’t know…but not accomplishing anything is depressing…cripes, I don’t even feel like getting on the bike today…but I will….if I skipped that would be even more depressing….I need coffee…still pretty sore this morning and I think I’m going to get some topical pain reliever to rub on my elbow and thumb to stop taking ibuprofen for relief…I know it can’t be good to take one every day but I’m not sure how I’ll sleep without it….it looks like it’s not going to rain all week so I need to decide how much money I want to spend on my lawn watering it…it cost almost 50 bucks last month and I know I can afford it but it still hurts to pay a 75 buck water bill…I really hope that the cooler temps will help….going to only water once every three days instead of two but I don’t want to lose the progress I’ve made over the summer….not much to do today…need to get on the bike soon and then do some work on the yard and figure out what I’m going to cook today….I wonder if I can do some fast food in the near future? Haven’t had any of that in over two years and it may be convenient soon…who knows? More later…..

Well….have been having trouble getting comfortable on the bike lately and it felt like I was pushing forward on the pedals instead of down and couldn’t get any power into them…then yesterday it dawned on me that the seat had come loose a couple of times in the past month and it may have moved…and yep, the seat was back all the way in it’s travel and that was causing me to be too far rearward on the bike…so, I moved it to where it normally would be and that was only about an 3/4th of an inch forward but dang, what a difference it made…just that little bit put me back over the pedals and now I’m pushing down on them again and I’m not adjusting myself on the seat for the whole ride…much more power and I’m sitting on the right part of the seat to keep it from hurting my butt…with that small change and the re-gearing, this is the best bike I’ve had…the shifters are working perfectly and I was able to use 24th gear almost all the way back and average over 20 for the sprint….this is what the bike should have been from the start and now that I know how to rebuild them, I may not need another bike…now I just need to figure out how to fix the wear in the swing arm bushing…will probably look at that in the black bike since they are identical….break time…