Well…it was an interesting day yesterday with getting a lot done outside and the fence guys starting their work but I didn’t get out on the bike with my right hip giving me some problems…and it was cold and I didn’t want to get my thermasuit out yet…but that will be coming this week with the cold and snow that is forecast…had another crappy night’s sleep last night but I’m trying to not focus on it so that’s why I didn’t talk about it until now….after they get the fence done I think I’ll take a week or so off work…yeah, I know, I said that many times before but this time I’m really going to do it…just feel and look worn out and need to do something to try to recharge…but, not today….have to go over and do the last cleaning at the the apartment and turn the keys in…and that will end that phase of my life but I have already moved on with only a week here….I think I’m going to have to start going out and doing things again so I don’t get locked in to just being a hermit here…might go out and have a couple at the local bar tonight just to take a look at it and be around some people for a change….we’ll see…more later…

Well…I think my brain is getting numb with all of the hypocrisy and criminality of the trump and the repubs ao I just can’t muster up the energy to write about that right now…so, I won’t…so it looks like today you’ll get a triple dose of my life…or any other thoughts I may have…I did get more done on the yard this morning and unearthed the block patio that is in the back yard with my spade and then took the power washer to it and, although it is pretty worn and the blocks are a little crumbly, it still looks pretty good…well, at least better than it did and I moved another ton of dirt out to behind the garage that I am going to have to figure out what to do with. Oh, the fence guys are here! It looks like they will have it finished by the end of the day on Monday and that will make a milestone for the house with all of the big projects done…and I am going to pat myself on the back a little for getting all this done in less than 4 months…but, I am feeling it today…after working this morning and not sleeping last night, I am just beat today and I think this is going to force me to take a few days off after I get the apartment cleaned…it looks like that will be Tuesday if the fence guys are going to be working here Monday…and I still need to find a car for winter…yeah, I am exhausted…

Well…it’s 8am and I’m bored already…this crap of getting up at a little after 5 screws up my whole schedule and I have everything that I normally stretch out til 10 done already and now I sit here bored…even finished my allotment of coffee for the day so now I’ll switch over to water and try to get the necessary gallon started….I think I may go out and get started…or re started on cleaning up the back yard since there is dirt and a pile of burned wood where it looks like the idiot had a campfire that needs to be removed…or moved behind the garage like I did with the dirt from the side of the house yesterday….I couldn’t believe how much dirt there was on the blocks…have a huge pile behind the garage now that I will need to spread over the yard after the moss in it dies and rots….I did get my first 94 gallon load out to the trash this morning and the damn wheelie container must weigh 200 pounds…and it is going to cost me 7.50 to have it dumped but that is okay…put 100 bucks in my account and I will be filling it with leftover crap from the garage for the next few weeks starting with the old microwave that I took out of the kitchen…that will probably almost fill the container but it is still worth it…the trash truck is working the street here right now and I think it’s pretty cool how fast the automated dumper grabs the containers and dumps them…hey, it doesn’t take much to amuse me…more later….

Well….damn…up at 3:14 today but I was able to get back to sleep for an hour or so so I guess that’s something…and I don’t feel too bad this morning so I guess there’s no damage that is visible right now…I do have a sore right hip that has been hurting on the bike lately and I hope it’s not something serious…I wonder it it’s just the tendonitus moving around again since I really haven’t had much of that this year other than in my thumb…but that hurts almost all the time with me continually abusing it like yesterday when I cleaned the brick on the side of the house of all of the moss, dirt and debris that had piled up there…had to take my spade to it first to get the big stuff up and then power washed the rest of it and it looks pretty good…still have some small stumps from the brush that need to be removed but I need to rest my shoulders and hands some first since they are always in pain from working around here….I did get the grocery run done yesterday morning and it was not too bad with traffic at 7am…and the Meijer’s over here was not busy at all so I zipped right through…I did break my reading glasses loading stuff into the car since I couldn’t find the hard case I normally keep them in so I had to go back to Meijer’s and get two more pair since they had them on sale and I got two for only 9 bucks…and then I found the hard case with my work glasses in it in the basement here and I can’t figure out how they got there…oh, well…not much to do today…was going to go over for the final cleaning of the apartment and to turn the keys in but the fence guys are coming today so I think that will have to wait until Monday…I have until next Thursday so no big stress….more later…

Well…it’s the first day of the grocery run to Meijer’s over here and it will be interesting to see how bad the traffic is at 7am…made the run out to Aldi’s yesterday around 9 or so and the traffic was quite heavy but I guess I’ll just have to deal with it…but I know that stretch of Alpine from 96 North is a no go zone at rush hour but it was getting that way over at the apartment at certain times of the day…slept crappy again last night with getting up at 4:19 and not being able to get back to sleep even though I laid there for another hour or so but I wonder when that will turn into the new normal for me and I’ll stop thinking about it? Should be soon…I did get out and check the mileage on the trails yesterday and with adding one loop to the outside trails, I have found a 15 mile run so now I can just veg out on the bike and think like I like to do…but, I am going to have to break out the cold weather gear here this week since the highs are going to be in the 40’s….I do have to remember to put my trash out tomorrow morning since the bin is full and I need to get rid of a bunch of stuff from the garage….it’s already starting to look better with just this one load and I do need to continue to clean it up so I can get the Miata in the garage….oh, and I did wash the car in the driveway again and it just felt right to be able to do that…the car was just filthy from all of the moving and I could barely see out of the windows…not much to do today…just the grocery run, running the power washer, watching Man U, and getting a bike ride in…cripes, I do have much to do….more later…

Well…slept all the way til 5:30 this morning and I am going to declare that a victory…and I don’t remember waking up once so maybe this is a trend that will get better and I may sleep all the way to 6 at some point…my hands are just so beat up from working around here that I may need to rest them some…but not until later…I have to try to chop out the last stump this morning before the fence guys get here but I’m not sure if they will take the abuse…especially my right thumb that has been swollen and aching but not so much this morning so I am going to give it a go and see….I did have to pay the last 5 grand on the roofing and windows yesterday but it was good to meet that milestone and see the progress that came with all the work here….not sure if I want to pat myself on the back for saving this place but looking back at where I started in July, a little tap is in order at least..I did get the stairs down to the basement cleaned yesterday and it looks pretty good after getting all the crap off them with a scrub brush…the water in the bucket was black and I still can’t understand why the idiot who was living here didn’t clean them at all…it only took about 45 minutes to take them from gross to shiny and you would think you’d want the place you’re living in to be clean…oh, well….I do have an errand to run to Aldi’s today and it will be the first one out on Alpine and I hope I don’t have the crazy traffic that Alpine sees normally…will try to hit it around 10 so there should be a lull by then….more later…

Well…just heard from the fence company that they want to do a walk through and possibly start on the fence tomorrow! This is the last piece of the puzzle to making the house complete and I am excited about getting this place finished and then move into car search and detail mode on both the outside and inside of the house…there is still so much to do to clean inside but with winter coming fast, I am going to focus on getting the outdoor stuff done and then hunker down for the winter and finish up in here…still have painting to do and the basement needs to be cleaned up so I can do the floor in there and in the laundry room…yikes…still too much to do…

Well…man, I’m worn out….I think all the work on the house and stress from the move finally hit yesterday…and I’m still not sleeping well, too so I may need to take a day or so off completely and just veg…no bike ride either, and with the rain coming in later this morning, today could be the day…or should be the day…I’m not that young anymore and I guess it’s starting to show…but, I have a powerwasher to play with and I’d like to get to the side of the house and get the patio bricks cleaned off…I wonder if that could wait til wed? Okay, going to stop bitching about how I feel…coffee do your work…one thing you really don’t think of about this part of the state is oil wells anymore but there are still working ones along the trails I’ve been riding and that was a surprise to me…and that there were people fishing in the small lakes that are scattered through the swamp…I wonder how polluted that water is? Can you eat the fish you catch? I think that’s something I need to check out since I could strap my fishing pole on the bike and fish some….not much to do today…have to pay the final payment on the roof and windows and maybe run a couple of errands but that is about it…more later…

Well…as you know, I have been doing recon rides on the trails near here to try to establish a loop that will get me the miles I need to not feel guilty about eating…and today I found one! Not sure what the mileage is until I ride it tomorrow but it looks like about 8 miles so I can do two to get my miles in…these are some of the coolest trails I’ve seen…winding through the swamps out near Butterworth drive where there are lakes and bridges and these things are really wide, too…about as wide as a two lane road and they are in good repair, too. So it’s been a busy day today with doing the ride and then getting the power washer out and working on the awnings that I had to scrub with a scrub brush since the moss/crud on them was like cement and wouldn’t come off with just the washer…then, I decided to do the exterior of all the windows, too since I was already wet and still had enough energy to do it…so that kept me busy until almost noon but it is just nice to be living here and doing the chores instead of going across town….so now I have clean glass and it feels good to have that done before winter….more later…yeah, I’m not joking…I’ll try to come back for a political one in a while but I need to take a break first….

Well…slept through til 5:11 this morning and it was a little strange not having the stress of getting this place fixed or moving on my mind…it appears that I am going to have to re-train my brain to think about other things, though, since those thoughts keep coming through in little stabs…I do need to give myself permission to just take it easy for a few days but I have a power washer sitting in the garage that I am itching to try out on the bricks on the side of the house and the awnings…and I need to wash the exterior of the windows since they are so dirty they are grey…see…all I can do is think about the work I have to do and I really need to stop and get a little rest…I did get a nice bike ride in yesterday and am expanding my knowledge of where the trails go and I hope to get out on some new ones today…but that means I need to make a decision with the rain coming in…do I power wash or do I ride? I wonder if I can do both? I did use the hose on high pressure on the shifter and it now does the 5-6 shift almost every time with no hesitation and it is so cool to have a hose to do that kind of stuff…I should get to washing the car in the next couple of days to clean it up after it being a work truck for three months….and I do need to find a winter car soon…damn, I do have a lot to do…and I need to do nothing…more later….