Well…not a bad night last night with staying in bed until 5:43 and sleeping okay….I was really expecting to be sore from cutting out sod yesterday but it just feels normal to me…still pretty creaky but that is just from getting old…going to get to the rest of it later today but want to get back on the bike first but it will be in full thermasuit after I go out for a short grocery run in a little while…still haven’t put one mile on the new tires since I got them last week and I would really like to know how they work before they are out of warranty….the tomatoes downstairs are almost a foot tall now and I can’t wait to put them in the garden outside and I have 4 each of jalapenos and green peppers….have the layout of the garden worked out in my head and will have the green beans and cukes in the shaded end of it…I also have green onions to plant around the border of it and I am going to put some pavers down the middle of it so I have access on both legs of it both front and back…it’s going to be u-shaped with each leg 2 feet by 8 feet and the end 1 foot by 8 feet to put the cukes and beans in….I will need to build a trellis to give the cukes and beans something to climb on but that can wait a few weeks…I’m a little excited to have a garden after so many years…and I can’t wait to see how tall the sunflowers get when I get them planted…not much to do today…the weather is still damn crappy for the end of April with no end to the cold in sight so I will be working inside more than outside for the next week or so…I would like to get some grass seed to get started on the re-seed and I may try the Ace hardware over on Lake Mich drive to see if they have any….more later….

Well….haven’t had much energy today so just sitting here and doing this is much more work than it should be…and I’m not sure what the heck is going on other than the allergy flare that left me coughing, sneezing, and with a sore throat all last night and all day today….I did get out to get started on the garden this morning and made some progress laying it out and starting to cut the sod out…will finish that up tomorrow and have it ready to plant by the weekend but I’m not sure if it will be warm enough yet….I did clean up some of the seed that the birds have spilled under the feeders and it was such a pain I think I may just give up feeding them….we’ll see….I do still have half a bag of seed and probably should use that up before I stop….probably won’t make that much of  a difference to the mess…I did get good news with the gas bill yesterday when it was only 76 bucks and that is down 40 bucks from it’s peak…and I hope that continues…a 30 dollar bill would be welcome….still haven’t gotten my 1200 bucks yet but that is supposed to happen this week…I need to get out to HF and get my new compressor and accessories…and I’ll save that much by not getting groceries this week since I don’t need anything with a full freezer….might not even have to go next week either….okay…I think I will fill the feeders and then get some pork chops marinating for dinner….more later? Who knows?

Well….man, I think that was a record for waking up the first time with getting up at 1:14 after going to bed at 11….but, I was able to stay in bed until 5:39 so I guess that’s a win..my allergies are really bad with a concerning sore throat but it hasn’t gotten any worse so maybe that’s a good sign….my head is plugged up and I’m back to coughing, too….okay…I’ll stop bitching about how I feel…generally I feel okay even with the allergy flare but it gives me something to write about to get my brain started first thing in the morning….man, it’s not even going to get to 40 degrees today and it’s nearing the end of April…where the hell is spring? No 60 degree days in all of April? That pretty much sucks but what can you do? I think I’ll take the day off the bike since the wind is supposed to be over 20 too and that is a combo that I don’t want to deal with anymore….I did get to 900 miles yesterday and I will get to over a thousand by the end of the month and that may be the earliest to 1K ever…I’ll have to look at my records to see…didn’t get anything else done yesterday but I’ll clean some with the day off the bike and I have some downstairs work to do, too so I can stay busy pretty easily….if I feel like it and that is not certain at this point….more later….

Well…cripes, I’m running late this morning and didn’t get up until it was light….but that didn’t help with my energy levels and I just want to go back to bed I feel so worn out….and I overheated the coffee so I have to wait for a while to have any…and I think it’s going to be a french press morning since there is just not enough coffee to get me started today…I did take both ibuprofen and allergy medicine last night since I was hurting and miserable and just needed some relief but I don’t think it carried over to this morning since my back is still stiff from the double ride yesterday and my head is plugged up, too…oh, well…didn’t get a lot done yesterday but I am going to get to the garden plot today and at least start to lay it out and get the sod cut out so I can plant in the next couple of weeks…I think I’m going to plant the flower seeds in the front of the house this week since they take almost two months to flower and I want some color out there as soon as possible….not sure how much cold they can take but I’m willing to take the risk….can always buy some to put in if things open up in a month or so….not much to do today….just going to ease into it with how I feel right now…need to pay some bills but the mail pickup doesn’t come til late in the day so I have time for that….more later….

Well….yep, I guess you get from the title of this one that there isn’t going to be one on politics today…and that’s okay since it is depressing anyway and I just don’t want to be depressed….I did get out for two rides today and don’t feel like I did too much damage but that will probably show up later…I did take an ibuprofen last night and could really feel the difference so that will be the plan for later…I did see the bald eagle again today sitting in his tree next to the trail and I think I saw a female across the lake from where he was so we just may get to see some little eaglets later in the summer….oh, the earbuds…the more I listen to the new earbuds the more that I like them…and I think the bass is okay after I made an adjustment to the equalizer but the best thing is how some sounds that were buried on the previous ones come out with this set….and it is so damn clear that I forget that I have earbuds in at times….so, so far so good….and for 15 bucks they were worth it for sure….and they look pretty cool, too…very modern so I’m happy if they last a while….

Well…it’s about 7 on a Sunday morning….this used to be one of my favorite times of the week…getting up, making coffee, and getting the big Sunday paper to read and then making it last the whole day by reading it in an order that I have developed over the years…but, like everything these days, the paper has changed and there is not much to it anymore…especially the ads which I think have gone away as part of the stay at home order….so, it’s 7 am and I’m already done with it and have started the short trek to boredom that seems to be my normal state of mind lately….slept okay last night but was up around 6…I guess that’s better than 4 so I shouldn’t bitch too much…I did get a few things done yesterday even though I wasn’t really trying to…I found the downspout that is missing from the driveway side of the house buried behind the garage and started to clean that up and find anchors to put the straps that hold it back on….it’s going to take some work but that kind of noodling around is really not work to me…I’m not sure if that on is copper or not….it looks like it is galvanized so I am going to just paint that one and put it back up…I may have enough of the trim paint left to cover it but then I won’t have enough to do some of the trim that needs it too….so I guess that will wait until I can buy more….I am going to start a list so I can plan on what needs to be done and what materials and tools I need…it looks like I only have a few weeks of work outside once I get started so maybe I will have the summer off and get a little chance to relax some around here….not much to do today….just the bike ride and some fooling around but right now I need more coffee and to read what little news is on my phone….more later….

Well….cripes…it’s been a busy day for a Saturday and I’m sure I don’t like it….started out with building the smallest backyard barbecue out of some spare pavers I had back there and cooked some chicken thighs…I know I’m going to get hate mail for this but I really don’t like cooking with charcoal any more…don’t like the process or the taste of charcoal on the food….so I’m not sure how many more times I’m going to do it before I buy a gas grille….and I smell like smoke and will probably have to take another shower to get rid of it….I did get a nice bike ride in and the bald eagle was back sitting right next to the trail and that was cool but there was already too many damn people out there and I could barely get into any rhythm…..oh, and I got the new earbuds today instead of tomorrow and I like them…very clear and lots of range…could use just a little more bass but I can probably dial that in with the equalizer….the rubber tips that they sent just didn’t fit well, though, so I took the ones off the skull candy ones that quit and they fit just fine….and I got a new electric toothbrush that came just in time since my old one has been giving me fits and I have to bang it on the sink to get it to work….and I got it for half price…only 4.50 so that was cool, too…I was going to go out for a second ride today but the wind is up to over 20 so that’s not going to happen….I need to hit the couch and take it easy for the rest of the day….

Well….running a little late this morning with going to bed late and getting up late…and my allergies have come back after a few days of being able to tolerate them so I may have to take something for them today…and the no ibuprofen trial is not going well, either with pain everywhere…I was going to list where it hurts but it would be easier to note where I don’t…but 6 days off is enough to rest the liver so I may take something before I get on the bike this morning…or afternoon…not sure yet but I’d like to get out in medium thermasuit today with no winter hat and it’s only 31 out there right now so I guess it will wait awhile….I let the new bread set overnight and it didn’t rise at all…well…a little but it’s so cold in here that I put it in the oven and turned the heat on for a minute to give it a jump start…but, as I said, if it doesn’t work I’m only out 30 cents or so….didn’t get a lot done yesterday and today will probably be the same….just can’t get motivated right now and that’s not too unusual….I think it has to do with there not being any spring to speak of yet and it’s getting to the end of April….and there is still no good weather in the forecast with highs in the 40’s and 50’s for the rest of the month….oh, well…I didn’t get to 900 miles on the bike before the 16 of the month, which is when I got the bike off the trainer last year…I did get to over 850 miles so I got close and would have made it if I hadn’t taken a few days off for the wind….not much to do today…just going to ease into the day for a while and have more coffee….more later….

Well….didn’t get to watch the Pink Floyd concert today since my computer freaked out and I didn’t know how to fix it…the HDMI port turned itself off and I had to text my son to figure out how to turn it back on…but, I got it and he fixed the damn activate windows error that has been on my screen for two years….so that was cool…I did get out to put the locking lugs back on the car and then loosen the other lugs so I can get them off if I get a flat…not sure how many ft lbs they torqued them to but damn, I had to put a cheater bar on my 3/8 breaker bar to get them loose….they just don’t need to be that tight…I do like the way the new tires look…they are a little wider than the last ones and that looks cool….oh, the bread….I’m getting a little weird with recipes I see on the internet….only had two packets of yeast left and, with the yeast shortage, using only an 8th teaspoon of yeast instead of a whole packet intrigued me….so I just mixed some up using both white and wheat flour and now it sits at room temp until noon tomorrow…about 18 hours to give the yeast time to multiply and the dough time to rise….the article said that using this method, you can get 18 loaves out of one packet of yeast…and I’m a little bored and time is free so I thought I’d give it a try…and you don’t have to knead this bread either….no matter what, I’ve got about 20 cents into it so if it doesn’t work, no big deal….oh, one thing that made me laugh about the tires is that they have “outside” molded into the side of the tires that is supposed to go out…not sure if I’ve ever seen that before…….

Well…I wonder if it’s kind of weird that something as quiet as a coffee maker turning on can wake me up? Fell asleep sitting up on the couch again last night and there isn’t any reason for it…I really didn’t do much yesterday but have the new tires put on the car and get a bike ride in….so to be that tired is strange…I did get to 5 days without ibuprofen or allergy meds and I now remember why I was taking the ibuprofen…it hurt like crazy on the bike yesterday and then the rest of the day and I survived it but it wasn’t fun….and my legs have a low grade throb today that I don’t want to have on the bike…it was damn cold yesterday and it is going to be today too, was in full thermasuit like mid winter and that will be the plan today….but that’s the only thing I have to do today and it feels good to have a whole day to do whatever I want…I do need to put the locking lugs back on the car but that is about it…I think part of my tiredness from yesterday is that I feel the depression coming back and I was near the edge of the cliff all night last night….haven’t felt that way in a while and I’m not sure if there was a trigger for it or not…there doesn’t need to be as anyone who goes through it knows but I still look for them just in case…feel better this morning so maybe I can avoid it this time….Pink Floyd is putting their concerts on youtube starting today at noon with “Pulse”, the concert they did in support of the “Division Bell” so that may give me something to do for a while today….still haven’t gotten my stimulus money yet but I think it’s not supposed to be deposited until next week so no big deal…I did get notice that my new earbuds are going to be here Sunday and that is cool….and that order includes my new electric toothbrush and a spare tube for the bike that will come in handy….haven’t had a flat on the new bike yet but it will happen….more later….