Well…after using my new gas powered string trimmer with the edger head yesterday and listening to that little two stroke just screaming, the question struck me “are we the last generation that will know two strokes?” With the proliferation of electric yard tools and the tightening of pollution regs for all gas powered tools, I think we are….I know that if I said two stroke to any of my kids, they would look at me with a questioning stare, not having any idea what I’m talking about…and that is a shame. I think it was one of the things that bonded our generation…the knowledge of all things mechanical and knowing what anyone was talking about since we had a shared vocabulary and experiences…I guess that is the same as the shared experience my kids had about computers and gaming and what the previous generations had about horses and farming….but, damn…there is something about a screaming two stroke that is loud even through the earplugs I was wearing….and we’re probably the only ones who care….oh, well….

Well…that was a little weird…went to bed early since the servers my son is renting for his media went down for the second time last night and I was really bored without it…but, I didn’t get to sleep until after midnight so I guess getting up at 6:37 is not that good….better than getting 5 hours but not much since I did wake up a few times….but, I feel okay this morning with 5 days in a row of being good and I’m not sure if I’m going to do 6…I might but I might make tonight a reward for taking better care of myself…we’ll see….the grass seed I planted in the yard is starting to sprout so it looks like I may have a yard this spring….I may have to get another bag of seed to cover the bald spots I missed but that’s only 8 bucks and worth it…there is so much work yet to do outside that I think I’ll be working on it for the next month…have to get started on garden plot prep along with getting flower seed planted around the house so I’ll have a little color when they grow…I think I may have to buy more of them and some more veggie seeds since the leftovers from last year aren’t going to be enough…but, the weather is going to be cold for the next two weeks or so and that gives me some time to plan….not much to do today…I do need to run out and get my Mega tickets and try to get some items that they were out of at aldi’s and it is still raining so I can’t get out on the bike anyway….so the ride will be in the afternoon and I hope it stays warm enough that I can still get out in shorts for the next two weeks….more later….

Well…after I got a nice bike ride in today and got back here pretty sweaty, I decided to get the rest of my walks edged before the rain so I got out the gas powered string trimmer with the edger attachment on it and got to work…it started after just a little fiddling with it…and it only took about 10 minutes to edge the remaining 75 feet of walk and it was pretty cool to hear that two stroke just winding out and screaming….can’t wait to put the string trimmer head on it and try that out with it’s string that is almost the size of a pencil…it should hold up to trimming around the fences better than the thin stuff on my electric trimmer….and I’m edging up to using the mower to clean up the yard with the bag on it but I need to go out and get some gas for it first…..always fun to use new toys…but I do need a push broom to clean up after myself when I use the toys….maybe next week…

Well…that was about normal with only getting up once and then out of bed for good at 6:23…and I had some dreams last night with people in it that I haven’t seen in years….and it included floods and swamped  bulldozers and FEMA….yep, that was a weird one….but I was good for the 4th day in  arow so I feel pretty good today…should be more sore than I am with getting the first double in yesterday but I think that may be coming tomorrow…that’s the normal pattern…it was such a nice day here yesterday that I cleaned 5 of the 11 windows  so I could open them without the dirt that was in the bottom of them blowing into the house…and there is such good ventilation with just 5 open that I think this is going to be a livable house even without AC this summer…and it was petty quiet all day with very little of the bump, bump, boom music that has been plagueing me lately…something I’ll need to get used to in the future but I’m not there yet….I think I’m going to take down all of the curtains in here today since they scream old lady and I think it looks better without them, just leaving the mini blinds…I did like the way that the curtains blew in the breeze yesterday….it reminded me of our house when I was a kid where we had something like chenille curtains that did the same thing…weirdly comforting….not much to do today…need to get a ride in early before the rain comes in later this morning and then I’m going to work on the house interior and just start to plan the painting project…if it doesn’t rain much, I may just fire up the gas string trimmer and do some edging….more later…

Well…you know there is just much less to write about in politics with Joe in the WH so I think I’ll just do another one on my day…I did get the first double of the year in on the bike and that made 30 miles today…and it was so damn nice of a day that I went out both times in just a t-shirt and that was cool…but, when I was sitting on the boardwalk halfway through the second ride, I noticed that I had a piece of metal stuck in the tread of the tire…well…there really wasn’t any tread left and that’s why I was looking for a new rear tire for the past few days…I was getting discouraged with no one having the size I needed online but then I decided to try Meijer’s online and they had one…so I paid 23.99 for the tire since they are in a shortage right now and then spent the afternoon cleaning the bike and getting it ready to be re-lubed, and then put the new tire on it…and I found a new tube in one of the totes the other day and put that in, too…it was one of the slime tubes that will seal up small holes so that will help as I start doing doubles every day…so, it’s been another busy day with doing the second grocery run this morning then riding and riding…I may not get to a political one today since I’ve been trying to watch Chelsea play in the champion’s league and the 2nd half is starting….and I still need to trim my beard….

Well…running a little late today with having fitful sleep again and getting up a couple of times but I forced myself to stay in bed til 6:23 to try to sleep a little more…didn’t work, but I tried….but I feel okay today with being good last night…again…my heel is still cracked and hurting but a little better than yesterday so I’ll take it…I did get a nice ride in yesterday but I still haven’t figured out the wind out here…I mean, it was blowing into my face on the way out and the way back…how the heck does that happen? I am getting used to the wind… a little…and I have to if I want to get my miles in….have almost 400 miles in since I got out here but I won’t get to my goal of 5K for the year unless I get started doing doubles every day…I am going to ride out to Whitehall and Ravenna once I can find the start of the trails that go there…that will be a project for the next couple of weeks as I get the outside of this place finished…well…not sure when it will be finished or if it will be but I do know I need to get started on the inside of this place soon and I’m not sure I want to do that much work right now…I wonder when I get to just live? Not much to do today…I do need to do a grocery run out to Aldi’s and then back to Meijers since they show they have the bike tire I need in stock…but, I’m pretty sure their website is wrong….but, we’ll see….and then out on the bike early to try to get a double in today…and I do still want to play with my new toys but that might have to wait until tomorrow since there is the possibility of storms later in the day…more later…

Well…I have equipment! My brother stopped over today and brought the equipment he didn’t need anymore and now I have a lawnmower, (a really nice Toro) and a gas string trimmer with an edger attachment and a blade for cutting down brush along with the trimmer head that has the thickest string I’ve ever seen…and a leaf blower/vac along with a set of car ramps that I can use to change the oil on the car…and string and two gas cans….and all for only 200 bucks. I can’t wait to get out and use them…I think I may use the edger to do the rest of my walks tomorrow and I want to try the blower to clean up after I’m done…should be pretty cool to have equipment again and have things to play with…yay…oh, and it was cool to have my brother come out and visit and just shoot the shit for a while…that was fun…

Well…I think I’m about back on time again with getting up a little before 6 and getting started on the first cup of coffee by 6:15…slept okay last night and had dreams about someone dying and my Miata turned to citrus yellow that they only painted about 200 cars and that was a little weird…but it was nice to have dreams again…feel okay this morning after being good and I really am edging up to no more cocktails…it’s just too hard on me….I do need to put the 4 bags of leaves and sticks out to go with the 14 bundles of branches that are already out there but I need it to get a little light first…walking around in my yard has not become automatic yet and I do need light to make sure I don’t fall on my ass…I think I’ve made some pretty good progress on the yard but need to get a spreader and feed what is there along with putting weed killer on it…I am a little reluctant to put weed killer on since the yard is mostly weeds and I would like it to stay a little green….and I think there will be much more seeding to do as the spring goes on….not sure what I’m going to do today…I think I may make the Meijer run today to get my Mega tickets and some parmesan cheese so I can make some pasta this week…I did get out to see the sub yesterday since it is just a few hundred yards father than the little park I discovered the other day and they have built a museum there when there was nothing but a vacant lot when I stayed on it 35 years ago….that was pretty cool…and I do have a 15 mile run mapped out for riding every day and it is much more scenic that riding through the oil fields back in GR….more later…

Well…as you know, I’ve been having problems with my back for quite some time now and it is at the point that I don’t know what to do about it…just got done with moving the 14 bundles of branches that I cut up out to the curb and I had howling pain the entire time…but the strange thing is that right after I finished, the pain went away as it has been doing…..but now it even hurts when I’m just standing and walking around and that is a bit much….I had hoped that getting back on the bike every day would start to strengthen my core again and take care of it but no luck even after getting to 400 miles on the bike since I got out here….another strange thing is that I didn’t feel it at all when I was cutting up the branches and bundling them but I wonder if I had taken some ibuprofen before I got started? Who knows? I do know that I’m getting pretty frustrated with the whole thing and something needs to change…

Well…damn, my heel hurts again today and it was bleeding so badly that my sock was stuck to the blood and I had to peel it off to treat it…I thought I had healed them all but all of the walking yesterday must have opened one back up again…and now I’ll be limping around here for the next week while I try to treat it….and I didn’t sleep too well so I feel pretty crappy this morning…..and I did the one meal thing again yesterday since I got behind and didn’t have lunch until almost 2 in the afternoon so that put me out of schedule for dinner so I just skipped it….and that is three days in a row now and I can’t keep that up…so, I’m going to have some rye toast for breakfast to try to make up for some of it and then have some chicken for lunch….but I want to get a bike ride in before that since my brother is coming over and bringing the mower and string trimmer that I bought from him so I need to get everything done before 1 or so….and I need to get all of the yard waste out for pickup tomorrow which will split my heel even more but I need to get it gone so I can get back to work on the lawn…it is pretty cool that there is a thunderstorm out here right now and I think it’s the first good rain we’ve had out here in the 5 weeks I’ve been here….I do need to buy a lawn spreader to get some food and weed killer on the lawn as it starts to grow but that will wait until I get the 1400 dollar check…if I get it…more later….