Well…darn, went out to get my vaccinations this morning and found that the covid vaccine has been delayed at least at Meijers until the end of the month so I’ll have to get it when I get back…I did get my flu shot and that is a good thing sine the flu is increasing in the UK…I was going to mask up on the trip anyway so no big deal…

Well…that was weird…had probably the best night’s sleep in a year last night and I can’t figure out why…it could be that I’m done with doctor’s appointments until November…or it could be that the suitcase is sitting there all zipped up and ready to go….whatever it is, it felt good to only get up to the alarm on the phone at 1 and then back to sleep until 6…and the heat came on again last night since it’s only 48 out here right now…need to be at Meijers at 9:30 to get my covid and flu shot and then need to hit Target to see if I can get some floss and a couple of other things…will do the bike ride when I get back…going to mow the lawn tomorrow since it’s going to rain Sunday and this cut has to last til I get back….have to toss all the food Sunday night and put the garbage out to make sure this place doesn’t stink when I get back….not much to do today…just going to get the errands run and then take it easy for a bit…the coffee hasn’t started to work yet and I will be happy when it does….more later…

Well…had the second zoom call this morning with my surgeon’s NP for a check up and it went well…in fact, she was amazed at how well I’ve progressed after the surgery…no one gets to this point in 6 weeks so I feel pretty good about that and now I’m done with doctors until November 3rd when I have my yearly checkup…going to lose the weight back that I gained and will gain on the trip but that only give me a month or so to take 10 pounds off…so it will mean full 30 mile days and down to 1K calories again…I did get the suitcase packed but had to take a bunch of stuff out to be able to get the zippers closed so I’ll be doubling up clothes at some point during the trip since I didn’t have enough room for 9 full changes…only have 4 shirts and nothing dressy so no fine dining for me….and that’s okay…have been taking it easy on cocktails this week, waiting to start til 9 so I only have time to have one and that’s been good for me…going to get the new covid vaccine and a flu shot in the morning tomorrow and I hope they have Sternberg road finished so I can get to Meijers…okay, time to stop the water for the day and watch a race…

Well…remember this day…it’s the first day of this fall that the heat has come on and it is a little comforting to know this old house still works…I think the last time it was on was back in April so almost 5 months of sleep ended this morning….man, my allergies are bad today even with running the new air purifier overnight…my eyes are so dry and scratchy that I think I’ll need to use eye drops in a minute…slept okay last night but I’m feeling worn out again and I think that’s just from being so damn old….have another zoom meeting this morning and that will be the last one until November when I do the last follow up with my surgeon…I think then I’ll get the hand off to my GP and he’ll handle my care from then…it’s been almost a year since they found the cancer and it’s been a hell of a lot of work to be sick…I am looking forward to not having to think about it for just a little while…didn’t get much done yesterday and today looks the same with just packing and some cleaning to do…need to make sure I get all of the perishable food out of the fridge before I leave Monday so I don’t have any surprises when I get back….not much to do today…it’s too damn cold to get a ride in before the meeting so I can just take it easy for a bit…need to plug the tablet in so it will be ready for the meeting….more later…

Well…had a fun zoom meeting with the social worker on my surgical team this morning and it went really well…the only part I question is when she said I seemed “well adjusted”…oh, I think she meant to the changes that have come from the surgery…and I guess I am…things haven’t changed much from before the surgery other than I have to be careful at times to stay dry but, all in all, I do feel okay about the whole thing especially the whole no PSA after the surgery…so I’ve had a pretty good day so far…I do need to find a topic for the day in politics but I do have some things running through my head that just might turn into posts…we’ll see…

Well…running about on time this morning with getting out of bed at 6 an only waking up once at 4…my hip seems to be healed and I’ve been moving around with no pain so that is cool…still only going to do one ride today to make sure the healing continues and maybe I can get rid of the lower back pain I’ve had for weeks now….I’m almost all packed and just need to do laundry for t-shirts and boxers for the trip…I do need to mow the lawn Saturday since it’s going to rain Sunday and I hope it will be enough to not have a jungle when I get back….it is going to get cold tonight with a low of 46 and from my little weather widget it’s a near record low and we have extremely high pollen count, too…I’ve been miserable with saving my allergy spray for the trip but I do have the little red ones that seem to help…need to do a grocery run this morning before the zoom meeting since I need some sunscreen for the trip in case it’s sunny in the UK…sunny, in the fall in the UK? Yeah, probably won’t happen but it’s better to be prepared….more later…

Well…man, sometimes things just work out…following the approval process for the latest covid vaccine, it looked like it would be approved this week and it just was today…and it should be available in 48 hours so making the appointment for Friday looks like it’s going to work out…and I just looked and I’m glad I set the appointment up yesterday since they are now out to the middle of next week for the appointments…so I’ll be protected from flu and covid but I am still wearing a mask anytime we’re inside…just not going to take the chance until the vaccines have time to work….and then I’ll probably still mask up…don’t want any of that long covid bs….almost all packed and I could stock a drugstore with all of the stuff I’ve packed…might run out of room and have to repack….oh, well…

Well…damn, it’s cold in here this morning and it’s raining again out there so no bike again this morning….didn’t get a lot done yesterday but packing and that will be the same today…and I need to keep doing my rehab exercises since they seem to be helping…my right hip is better today and just have twinges of pain in it right now…and that takes one worry away for the trip…I am a little stressed about the whole trip since it’s not something I’ve ever done before….and it will be a lot of work for this old body….have to make sure I don’t leave any spoilable food in the fridge and that means discarding the rest of the tomatoes and eating out of the freezer for the next few days…I did get my flu and covid booster scheduled for Friday morning so I’ll have that protection when I go…sure hope my reaction holds and I don’t have any like every other time…have to remember to pack some of the tests for the trip just in case…not much to do today…just going to sit here for a while and have more coffee as I figure out what I need to do today….need to look at the radar to see when I can get on the bike and I have some old food that I forgot to put out that needs to go in a few minutes….more later….

Well…it’s getting close to the trip since I’m going out next Monday morning so I had to get the Southwest app to work on my phone so I can do an online check in…and the flight is later in the morning than I remembered…the flight leaves GR at 10:40 and I have to be there at least an hour ahead of time so Tom, I ‘ll be on your doorstep before 9…went through and hour and a half zoom meeting with the travel agent to go over the trip Sat night and now all I have to do is make sure I have everything packed that I need…I really thought the big new suitcase my daughter was going to be too big but it looks about right for 18 days on the road…Ironed my Man U jersey this morning and have to remember to put it in just before I leave here…and I need to put a gallon of coolant and my jump start box in the trunk of the car just in case…and I need to put the trash out today so I’ll have a place to put the last bag that I’ll take out Monday morning…then I need to shut the water off and lock all the windows…but I have all week for that…I do have two zoom medical appointments this week, too…but only had to pay a copay for one of them…damn I’ll be happy when that crap is all done….

Well…it looks like no rides today with the rain starting here in a few minutes and that’s okay….the radar shows a huge blob all the way back to Minnesota and maybe it will keep the assholes away today…got a lot of packing done yesterday so I don’t need to do a lot today…it’s one week until I head to Maryland for the UK trip and I need to try to find out how to check in early for my Southwest flight….I have two medical zoom visits this week and need to check in for those today…it’s going to be a busy week and I’m not sure if I’m looking forward to it…only did one ride yesterday and I’m now trying to take it easier on myself so I’ll be physically ready for the trip…my right hip was howling in pain yesterday but it seems to be better today….I think I’m going to ease into today and try to figure out what to eat….I still have tomatoes to slice up and I will need to clear out the fridge before I leave…so no food on the grocery run this week…I’ll do that when I get back…this trip is going to be a lot of work….more later…