Well….where was I? Oh, I think I may have eaten some bad chicken for lunch…it tasted okay but as soon as I was done, my stomach went into spasms and I have been nauseous and that is still with me three hours later…an antacid helped some but it is still twisted into knots and I’m pretty uncomfortable….and I am just getting warm again after 5 hours under a blanket…it probably wasn’t such a good idea to go out on the bike and get soaked in 41 degree weather…by the time I got back here my leather gloves were even soaked through along with my shoes…and the way I have been feeling a little off lately, adding this to it tipped me over the edge and I feel pretty crappy…not virus crappy but a little crappy and I think cutting back on food to get ready for t-day hasn’t helped…I do need more than 1,000 calories a day even when I don’t ride and I have been down around there the past few days….I sure hope I feel like eating turkey tomorrow…I mean brineing it with brown sugar, rosemary, bay leaves, peppercorns, thyme, and sage smells so damn good just in the pan that it would be a shame to not be able to eat….and I’m going to slather the  breast under the skin with a compound rosemary butter and then use the rest of the stick of butter and rosemary to coat the entire skin so it will be crispy….and putting carrots, celery, bay leaves, and maybe two slices of smoked sausage in the cavity as it cooks is going to make great gravy for the mashed potatoes,too, so I am going to be pissed if I’m not hungry….it still makes me laugh that I have a 16 pound turkey just for me….that’s bigger than the ones I used to make when I hosted the “orphans thanksgiving” many years back…I miss those days…

Well…just got back from a bike ride and it really, really sucked…looked at the radar before I left here and there was nothing on it so I decided to get on the bike around 9 or so…it was pretty cold but I was able to get out without a stocking hat and in a light thermasuit and that was perfectly fine until I got out about 4 miles or so when the fog turned into light rain that kept up the entire 15….I was soaked through and freezing when I got back here but I did get to 1,000 miles over what I rode last year and that was an accomplishment that I was trying to do…still cold after taking the hottest shower I could take and that will probably last all day. I did get the turkey in the brine and I laughed at how big it is….it barely fits in my roaster and the top won’t fit down and seal but that should be okay…can’t wait to cook it tomorrow and have a great t-day meal….more later…

Well…running a little late this morning with sleeping in all the way to 5:45 and then staying in bed until 6:45…think I slept okay and my shoulder doesn’t hurt so I guess that’s something…it was a little funny last night as I had Star Trek on the tv while I was watching a SpaceX launch and land another one at the same time…still think it’s pretty cool how many launches they are doing this year…and this first stage had been launched and landed 6 times before and they hadn’t even repainted it so it still had scorch marks on it from landing…didn’t get a lot done yesterday but little bits of cleaning here and there and that looks like today, too, I do want to run out and get some bird food and hang the feeders again…not sure why but I like watching the birds….and I need more brown sugar for the turkey brine….didn’t get a ride in with all the snow and rain yesterday but I am going to try to get out today…it’s supposed to rain today but the radar shows not much going on right now so I may be able to get out after I run my errands….not much to do today…need to brine the turkey this morning and get the bike ride in but that’s about it….not going to clean the kitchen until after the big meal tomorrow but I should do more on the bathroom and will probably work on that this afternoon…there is soccer on…oh, Man U won yesterday! They looked pretty good doing it so that gives me hope they can get in the top four of the premier league and get back to Europe next year….more later…

Well…have been sitting here as it starts to get dark at 4pm watching the huge snowflakes fall through the little round window in the front of the house and all I can say is this is depressing…I know, I’ve lived here in Michigan my entire life and it does snow in November, but it doesn’t make it any easier when it comes….and it doesn’t help that we are all isolating again and I’ve lost one of my longest friends over the past couple of months and I’m not sure why….and I didn’t get out on the bike today that usually lifts my spirits some since it was just too cold and wet to go…I just had to put the lamp on to be able to see to do this and it’s 4:06 in the afternoon….it looks like I’ll be hunkering down for the next couple of days to let this pass…like I know it will but damn, it’s not easy…..it never is…..

Well…I figured out how much good taking an ibuprofen every night does after not taking any the night before last…slept on my right shoulder and the tendon swelled up so I could barely move my arm for all the pain….and that was painful enough that I took one before I got on the bike yesterday so I could hold on to the handle bars…but, there is very little pain this morning and I even slept on the right some last night and didn’t get up til 6:30….had weird dreams about a harley that I leased but it never ran right and I was always losing the keys…and it weighed 900 pounds so I couldn’t lift it when it fell over….and there was rain and mud everywhere so I couldn’t ride it…strange…I did get out to run errands yesterday so I am in til next week…didn’t want to be out in the stores today or tomorrow with t-day coming…it was even pretty busy at Meijers yesterday and I couldn’t wait to get out of there with the explosion of the virus…the chance of someone in there infected has gone up by so much that I do need to stop going out but once a week….I have everything I need and with making a turkey thurs, I’ll have plenty of food….even got all the stuff for making soup just in case I want to do that this weekend…not much to do today…it looks like rain is coming in so I won’t get on the bike til the afternoon…and the rain coming might just turn into snow since it is only 28 out there right now…so, I’ll have time to clean with the bathroom and the kitchen needing some work….more later….

Well…man, I feel crappy this morning and I know it’s from staying up a little late and getting up a little early…4:34 and I barely got back to sleep so today is going to be a trial…and I woke up feeling pretty depressed for some reason and that is not going to help….and that is after feeling almost happy for 10 minutes or so yesterday….oh, well…at least I’m not in too much pain today so that’s something…and the car ran great for 80 miles yesterday…I am starting to like the tires I put on it earlier in the year…no vibration and they ride pretty good compared to the ones that were on it…I am a little curious how they are going to work in the snow since I am leaving them on the car this winter…the snow tires are just too worn out to use again…unless these are just terrible in the snow…didn’t get anything done yesterday and only have a grocery run to do today…want to get the things I need today so I don’t have to be anywhere near the stores before t-day…ran out of bay leaves and I need them for the brine and for turkey soup that I’m going to make later….not much to do today…I am going to get a ride in later and do some cleaning but that is about it….more later….

Well…running a little late today with looking at houses that came in my e-mail yesterday…slept okay last night but woke up coughing again this morning and that is just damn annoying…but, it’s better now and I am going to get out on the bike here in a few minutes….after feeling cold all day yesterday, I feel warm this morning like I have a bug but I think it’s the same thing I had for the past week just doing it’s yo yo thing like colds do so I’m not really concerned….didn’t get anything done yesterday and I think I’m taking today off, too….might just watch some soccer and football and just veg it out…I am getting closer to finding a house to buy…found one I’d buy in a minute if it wasn’t 40 miles away in Muir….and that is 8 miles to the east of Ionia but it is cheap at 80K and has two garages on the quarter acre lot and a walkout basement…and it’s 1100 sf but the interior would need a full rebuild since it has some really ugly paneling that I just couldn’t live with…but my payments would be 264 bucks a month and even with taxes and utilities total cost would only be about 600 a month and I could easily swing that…driving in to shoot pool would be a pain, though, so I’ll have to consider that…and the lawn is big enough that I’d have to buy a tractor to cut it….I’m going to think about it and talk to my brother tomorrow about putting an offer in….probably should just pull the trigger but I have 4 months to find something closer….not much to do today…I probably should run out to look at that house just to see how bad the drive is out M21 and to get a look at the neighborhood but I think I don’t feel like it today….we’ll see…more later….

Well…just haven’t been able to come up with a topic in politics that has stoked my outrage so I think I’ll just do this one instead…had an okay day today with getting out on the bike early but damn, I got cold on the bike and never warmed up from it…and that was not good since I went out to K’s to hang out with her and her family and we sat out in the driveway to maintain social distancing…I did have a heater so it wasn’t too bad and the sun was shining and it was cool to hang out and finally talk to someone….and I saw my first C-8 Corvette getting on the e-way at the S-curve and I think it looks a lot better in person than it does in pictures…so, it was an okay day today but of course, I didn’t get anything done after I got back here but make dinner…so we’ll let the cleaning go until tomorrow….after all, it’s a cocktail night and I don’t want to think about working right now…

Well…got all the way through til 6 this morning but I don’t feel like I slept well…just worn out and want to go back to bed…but, that’s not how it works so I’ll get to this and lots of coffee….got a nice ride in yesterday in the wind and warm and that put me out in shorts but I’m pretty sure that will be the last one of those for the year since it is only supposed to get a little over 40 for the next few weeks…at least I’ve gotten the blower on the furnace serviced and it is as quiet as it has ever been…I do need to get a couple of filters this week since the ones in there have been there since last year and they are pretty plugged up….I think I did too good of a job sealing up the air leaks in the back door since it is almost impossible to close it now without pushing the storm door open and that is a little funny…I finally have the breeze blowing through here stopped from the leaks in both doors and I hope that will keep the gas bill under 100 bucks a month…I mean I already only keep it 66 in here and I’m not going to drop it any further….didn’t get much done yesterday and I probably won’t do much today other than take the turkey out of the freezer and get the bike ride in later…and do some cleaning but right now I don’t feel like it so I’m going to sit here and drink coffee and watch MotoGP qualifying until soccer comes on….more later…

Well….running a little late today…again..with getting up at 5:14 and then getting back to bed until almost 7….and I don’t feel too bad this morning other than I’m pretty sore again and it’s nice to know why that would be…and I’m going to hurt my legs again this morning with the wind out of the West again at 10-20mph but I am going to try to take it a little easy going out to try to make the damage less…and I’m getting out in shorts for the last time this year with the temp around 55 right now but falling as the day goes on so I need to get out as soon as I can…but I need coffee first and have just started the first cup…I did get a few things done yesterday and I am going to try to do a little more today but most of that will be cleaning but I know I have to repair the paint on the back door again since the damn stripping stuck and peeled some paint off again…I have it figured out what to do now but I wonder why the lube worked like a champ on the front door and didn’t on the back? Not much to do today…need to remember to take the turkey out of the freezer tomorrow morning and figure out what to do with the chicken I have in the fridge…I do like the burger patties I got from DD the other day…there are 8 of them for 1.5 pounds and are the perfect size to make sliders at 3oz each….and at 1.39 a pound it’s a pretty good deal…other than I shouldn’t be eating red meat…maybe I’ll do vegetarian for a while after t-day….more later…