Well…unfurl the flags and sound the trumpets! A miracle has happened…when I rolled over to look at my phone to check the time this morning I actually said “wow”….it read 5:50….and with going to bed at 10 last night, that makes for a solid 8 hour night! It has been so long since that happened that I don’t even remember when it was…but I’ll take it and the energy that comes with it….I feel pretty damn good today and I know part of it is that I was good last night, too, so I think that will continue for the rest of the week…and that will save money that I can put toward the new bike that I am going to order tomorrow….I am getting pretty excited about having one that works so I can start doing the doubles I need to get to 5K miles this year…I’m already pushing toward 400 miles for the year on the old bike but I need to get to a thousand by the end of  April if I’m going to get to the goal…I did get some work done around here yesterday even though I was supposed to take the day off and let the cracks in my fingers heal but I just couldn’t do it…had to work on the window that is giving me fits and then I washed the car and bike after the bike ride….it is nice that the trails are open and I can get 11 miles in with no cars to think about…have started to plan the outside work that I am going to start on in the next couple of weeks….have to take down the awning over the door on the driveway side so I can get to the dormer and I hope it’s not too heavy for me to do alone…it is made out of aluminum so I’m estimating it weighs 40 pounds or so but it is an awkward shape that might give me some trouble….I think the idiots that lived in the rental next door are gone…there hasn’t been any cars parked there all week and I saw a rental truck there a couple of weeks ago…but, I don’t want to get my hopes up since it may just be spring break…maybe I can take the stakes out of the front yard that are keeping them from parking on it….not much to do today….going to just enjoy the energy I’ve started the day with and get a bike ride in this morning…I may put the summer wheels back on the car since there is no snow in the forecast for the next two weeks at least and I hope winter is done….then I need to find tires but that has to wait until next month…more later….

Well…you know, I remember times when if you had a busy day with a lot of work and some physical activity in it you would hit the sack and get a solid 8 to 9 hours of good sleep in…I guess that mechanism doesn’t work for me anymore…back up at 5:03 this morning and that makes around 5 1/2 for the night…oh, well…at least I had a pretty productive day yesterday so I guess that’s something…okay, here’s something weird…the coughing I have been suffering with was mostly gone and I was feeling better until last night when I used some of the OTC flonase nasal spray to try to help the stuffiness that exposure to the dust from sanding the window gave me yesterday…but, my night was miserable with severe coughing and sneezing that continues this morning…and I remember that I was using that stuff almost daily when I was having the cough that sent me to the doctor so I wonder if that is the culprit? I think I’ll go back to the little red dot allergy medicine when I need it and see if that helps…I really do think I am going to take the day off today…ha, ha…yeah, I found that funny, too…every time I say that it seems that I work harder and get more done than when I plan to work….we’ll see how it goes today…I do know that I am going to get a bike ride in this morning if it doesn’t rain…almost got out in shorts yesterday but it looks like it will be thermasuit for the next two weeks with temps mostly in the 40’s….at least it appears that there will only be scattered snow flurries in the forecast so I am optimistic that winter is over….more later…

Well…staying out of politics again today since my brain just doesn’t want to deal with it right now…and, I’ve been pretty busy since I got up at 5 so I don’t feel like a slacker at all…started out getting the newspaper for my Sunday ritual of looking at the ads and for topics that I can talk about later in the day…then I had some work to do downstairs that took a while, then Man U played and looked okay but tied and that sucked a little…while that was going on I was in and out of my bedroom working on the window since the plaster had finally dried and I could get to sanding it…got that done and then got the first coat of paint on while I was making lunch then got out for a 10 miler on the bike…oh, I forgot that I did laundry before I started on the window…and when I got back from the ride I put the second coat of paint on and then put the laundry away and did the dishes…and re-filled the bird feeders since the suction cup one almost fell off overnight and all of that feed ended up on the ground…oh, and I put the light cover that I repaired back on the garage door opener so that looks finished again…cripes that’s a lot of work for taking the weekend off…maybe I’ll take the day off tomorrow? Not sure how my days off keep turning into work days but I do know that I’m not bored….

Well…it’s starting to look like we’ve survived another winter intact and that is cause for a little celebration…and this really hasn’t been a  bad winter…I don’t think I’ve shoveled snow more than 10 times and with the break in the cold today, I think I can let my thoughts turn to spring…yeah, I know, it’s Michigan so we can get snow into April but the forecast for the next two weeks is okay…I don’t know how to act with getting here so early for a Sunday since I’ve been up since quarter to five…and I have to wait for another half hour before I can go out for the paper so I thought I’d do this one now so I don’t forget…had an okay day yesterday with getting a bike ride in and then heading out to have a couple with K but didn’t do much of anything else…and today looks the same with Man U playing at 9 and then I’m going to get the first ride of the day in around 11…shooting for a double today to make up for the 4 days off I had last week and I may even be able to get out in shorts for the afternoon ride with it getting to 52 this afternoon….I think I’ll let my hands rest for one more day before I get back to working on the windows…I do need to do laundry this afternoon and that can be done during the napcar race when I will be taking a nap after getting up so damn early…again….more later….

Well…that was an interesting night…didn’t sleep that hot but I did sleep without earplugs for the first time in over 10 years…this place is pretty quiet at night and I can barely hear the furnace…not like my apartment where the furnace upstairs whined like a jet when it ran and the new one they installed in my place sounded like a 747 taking off…and that was in addition to the stomping around that sounded like a damn square dance above me at times…so, I think I can go without the plugs for now after I get used to it…it is different, I’ll say that…I did take the day off working on the house yesterday with my hands feeling so beat up that it hurts to even do this…I have cracks in the ends of my fingers that I think are from washing them so much and I think the plaster isn’t helping…I guess I’ll have to start to wear vinyl gloves all the time until they heal…didn’t get on the bike for the 4th day in a row but I am going to get out today…it’s supposed to be 32 today and that’s warm enough to go…and the trails should be okay since it hasn’t really snowed much since it turned cold….and tomorrow is supposed to be 50+ so I can do a double…I think I’ll start doing that every day to make up for the days I’ve taken off…and I’m ordering a new bike this week since I have just about worn out the current one and it will take too much money to repair…but, I am going to make it a project for something to screw around with and learn more about how to take the crankset apart…and the swingarm bushing that is worn out…it will be relaxing to do that with having a bike to ride while I work on it…and if I can fix it, it will be cool to have a spare bike to ride in the muck….the new one is going to be dark gray with a black swingarm and black front forks…looks pretty cool and I can’t wait to get it in a week or so…not much to do today…just going to ride the bike in the afternoon and then out to have a couple with K after 3….so, an easy day today….more later…

Well…running about on time this morning and it was a re run of almost every other damn morning so I’m not going to talk about it…I was pretty sore yesterday for some reason and I still haven’t figured that one out….I did work on the window in my room but that shouldn’t be enough for all that pain…and my hands need some rest since I have cracks in the skin on two fingers that also hurt like crazy so today looks like a day off to let them heal some…I think I’ll just do some clean up work around here and put the trash out and that will do it for my day…I did find out why the frame of the window in my room was rusted so much…there is so much condensation at the bottom of the window with it being cold outside that the plaster that I used to fix the top just turned to liquid at the bottom so I think I’ll have to wait until it gets warmer outside to finish that one…I still have two kitchen windows to do so that one can wait…it looks like a warm up is coming in the next week or so and I can give it another try then….is anyone starting to prepare for the coronavirus outbreak that is coming? This kind of reminds me of the swine flu outbreak from the 70’s when I got my first flu shot and I really didn’t prepare for that one but I have enough food here for a month by accident with all of the protein I bought this week…but, I’m not going to be too concerned since I already spend most of my time alone here so “sheltering in place” for two weeks is just a normal two weeks for me….more later….

Well….yeah, I’ll bet you’re here after lunch just waiting for a political one but I may be disappointing you today…have had a really busy day starting this morning at 7 and just finishing up a few minutes ago…got it all started by going out to look for more of the patching plaster I have been using to repair everything around here…but, they have stopped making it or both depot and menard’s stopped carrying it because I couldn’t find it and the people at both stores said no go…so I had to try something else…and I’m not sure if I like it or not yet…one weird thing is it it goes on pink and then turns white when it is ready to be sanded…and I am waiting for that to happen so I may not get to that today….oh, that means I repaired the entire window, too…then I ran the instant pot and made some chicken, then I washed the blinds that go back in that window and now I am having a glass of water and taking a break….oh, and I painted the hardware that the blinds hang on…it would be nice to get the first coat of paint on the window today but I think I’ll be happy just to get the sanding done….but right now I need to take a few minutes off and read the news to try to find a topic….

Well…got all the way to 5:54 this morning but still feel pretty worn out…I wonder if it’s from not eating enough? Only had a half chicken breast and some roasted potatoes and carrots for lunch and then a sandwich with a third of a chicken breast and some chips for dinner so that could be it…but I didn’t get out on the bike so I had to cut 600 calories out of the day….okay, you’ve heard this before so I’ll stop talking about it…I did sleep okay so I guess that’s something….I did get started on the window in my room yesterday but I need to get out for supplies this morning before I do any more work…and I think I’ll get out early in about an hour or so to do that…I changed the coffee out with another roast and went away from the 100% Colombian that I normally make and I’m not sure what I think yet…it seems to be smoother and a lot less bitter so I think it was a good thing that I picked up two tins yesterday…and at 1.99 each it’s not a big investment even if I don’t end up liking it….not much to do today..it is going to be another day off the bike with the temps staying in the 20’s today and tomorrow and I am not motivated to do anything  right now…maybe the coffee will help….more later…

Well…did the grocery run this morning and all I can say is yow! Spent 85 bucks on food including 6 bucks for more bird food but damn, that’s a lot of money…I did get 10 pounds of chicken leg quarters, a 3 1/2 pound corned beef brisket for St. Patrick’s day, 5 1/2 pounds of pork chops, and some breaded fish filets along with cocktail materials…I really hope I don’t have to spend anything for the next three weeks other than for milk or other perishables to make up for it…and my freezer is now full and I may have to put something in the one upstairs…have enough room for a couple of chicken breasts but that is about it…will now have to start planning meals for the next couple of weeks and get some discipline about not buying anything else…but, I couldn’t pass up the leg quarters at 49 cents a pound, the brisket at 1.99 a pound, and the pork chops at 99 cents a pound….I did get started on the window in the room I’m using and it looks like the biggest job of all of them…all of the caulk has to come out and the layers and layers of paint have to be ground off and most of the plaster around the window needs to be replaced…I started on it but don’t have the drop cloth I need to catch the debris when I am removing the old material since the grinder throws it everywhere…and I don’t have the plaster or caulk either…so, I’ll make a run to depot tomorrow morning and get all that stuff and get back on it tomorrow…I have three days to finish it before I can get back on the bike so that will keep me busy…the outside of the window is in just as bad shape so that will be a project for the spring that will take days on the outside, too…trying to not get too discouraged about the work there is still left to do…felt okay about finishing the major work on the last room but this job is a little overwhelming…oh, well….

Well…I’ve discovered a downside to being good and going to bed at 10 pm…even with getting 7 hours of sleep in, I’m still up at 4:51 and now drinking coffee at 5:30….that may just be too early to start that since the news sites that I read won’t update for a while yet and I can’t do the grocery run until after 9 with needing some chicken at Aldi’s…and I must have tossed and turned like crazy since my mattress was displaced by a foot off the box spring…I do remember that I had some dreams, too but I don’t remember what they were about….but, I don’t feel too bad this morning so I guess that’s all okay…I do need to fill the time this morning so I am going to finish up the window in the spare room before I head out for errands…almost forgot to paint the hardware for the blinds so I couldn’t put them up yesterday but that gave the paint time to harden a little so I won’t chip it when I put the blinds up…and it looks like no bike ride until Sat so I should be able to finish the other three windows this week and then get started on putting my tools and supplies away to clean this place up some….I did have the idea to use my son’s power washer to try to take the paint off the copper gutters without damaging them but that is going to wait until it’s at least 60 outside…not much to do today….going to have a little more coffee before I start on the blinds but I am going to try to take some time off to rest my thumb with the pain that I’ve had the past week or so…more later….