Well…today has really turned into a recovery day after I did 15 miles on the bike this morning…it was a fun ride but I’m back to starting at scratch with my bike fitness…my butt hurts and my legs are still sore…I know I also mowed the lawn but with all the walking we did on the trip, that shouldn’t be a problem…it just felt good to be out on the bike again and the best thing was no people…no crowds, no nothing and lots of open space that just doesn’t exist where I was in Italy…way too busy and way too many people and I think it is going to take a week or so until I get back to being used to riding here…but I won’t be back to fitness on the bike for weeks and that sucks…going to try 2 rides tomorrow but we’ll see…I may need to ease into it and work up to 2…I even fell asleep on the couch reading this afternoon as the exhaustion I feel caught up to me…trying to get through the last book I have before I have to return it Thurs but I don’t know if I’ll make it or not..I did get my flu and covid shots scheduled for Wed morning so I’ll have to do the grocery run later that day…but I’m really trying to no just fall back into my routine of go,go, go and just let things happen when they will…I wonder how that will work?
Chickenshit repubs…
Well…it seems like the chickenshit repubs have been scared out of the UK by 5 guys trying to steal gasoline around the US airbase at Falford in the UK…and the drunk hegseth is turning tail and running by moving all the bombers based there back to the US…these cowards have been bleating that it was an Iranian terror plot to justify a new attack on Iran but have you ever seen terrorists released on bail? That is just what happened last week and of course trump and his cronies lied their asses off trying to make themselves look tough and to inflate the threat to the US…now, I wonder if putin gave the order or suggestion for the US to “save” the bombers by getting them out of Russia’s way so he can continue the drone and terrorist attacks that he has been mounting across NATO over the past few months…it’s one less threat to him by his stooges in the Pentagon and in the WH and they are so easily scared and manipulated that he knew this would be the result…didn’t any of the idiot trump’s minions think of the idea that this is just part of putin’s attack on Europe? God, I hate the stupidity of these assholes as they give the US up without a fight…geez…
October 5th
Well…darn, the heat just came on and it’s only 49 degrees here right now…and I’m back to the old pattern of getting up at 5am but that would make it 11am in Italy so maybe I slept in this morning…I’m easing into the day with a cup of coffee and I just made a new pot since I think I’ll need it later…I got a text from my oldest son yesterday saying they saw me out on 28th street when I was getting on 96 to head back here and he said I looked like a “high roller coming back from vacation” and I just laughed at that…still going to ease into the day and get a ride in around 7am or so and I do need to mow the lawn so I’m not sure if I’m doing one or two rides today…probably one and then get back to normal tomorrow…just aren’t feeling it right now and there is no rush so I am going to enjoy being home a little more before I really start going again…it is nice to be back in my familiar surroundings and have a shower that is bigger than a phone booth like the ones in Europe were…I did open the half and half I bought to make garlic chicken and even with buying it weeks ago, it’s use by date is in November and I think that’s a little weird but it sure tastes good in my coffee today…okay, I don’t “need” to get going but I want to…I am curious if they have the road done yet so I can get my normal ride back and I want to see the trail again so I’m going to wait until it’s almost light to go out…so I have time to sit here and do this and read the news before I go….more later…
Okay, I’m worn out…
Well…I’m going to make this a little short one as I start to try to recover from the long, long trip…it was a lot of fun but it took all my energy so I won’t be doing a political one today…the ride back here from the airport was a lot of fun with my huge suitcase in the passenger seat and the top down…and I just heard from my oldest son that they were behind me getting on 96 and that made me laugh and I had to let them know I was coming from the airport after being in Italy with his sister…I really have had enough of air travel for a couple of years and it feels so good to just be here in my own old house with tv in English and not having to interact with anyone for a few days…so tonight I’m going to sit on my butt and watch the race and go to bed early after getting up at 2:30am…way too little sleep for the past few days and I hope that changes tonight in a fresh bed that is mine…
October 4th
Well…it’s 2:30 am and I tried to sleep until 4 or so since we need to be on the road to the Richmond airport by 4:45 to make my next to the last flight at 8am…I am looking forward to doing my last air travel in my life and it can’t come too soon…it was cold here yesterday and it rained all day and I had my jeans on for the first time all summer…and I’ll need them in the car since I want to put the top down on the way home and it’s only supposed to be in the 50’s when I get to GR…it is going to be nice to get home and take a day off from everything but mowing the front of the lawn and getting the house working again…going to be just worn out when I get home after getting 8 hours of sleep in the last 3 days and I am going to try to take a nap this afternoon to start trying to erase that deficit…but I do need to stop for groceries on the way through Muskegon since all I have in the house is in the freezer and there is spoiled milk in the fridge…damn, it’s going to be nice when the car starts and I put it in gear and get moving…I spent about a 1,000 bucks on my credit card and 400 euros but that’s not bad for 12 days in Italy…and now I can get back to conserving cash and getting on to my new goal of 50K in my checking account…not sure when I’ll accomplish that but probably around April or so…here we go…more later…
Ready to go home…
Well…I am really ready to go home to get back to my quiet little life that I do really miss…and be in control of everything again instead of having to adjust to what is going on…I am going to take the luxury of doing nothing after I get home other than making coffee…we did go out to Costco this morning and I think I may be getting myself a membership when I get back…they have some really good deals and one of them is Colombian coffee beans for 15 bucks for 2 1/2 pounds and even the Lavazza espresso ones for a kilo for 14 bucks…and this will help me stop buying stuff from Amazon and jeff bezos who I hate…and they had ground chuck for under 5 bucks a pound and all kinds of other stuff that is a better deal than amazon…and Costco pays it’s employees well and gives them full benefits and stock options so a family can live on one income…something that can’t be said for amazon…so I may be cancelling my prime membership…I do like the convenience of amazon but not at the expense of the workers…so I’ll try Costco for a bit and see if it can do the same things amazon can…oh, and they had a 65 inch tv for 400 bucks…and a small freezer for 150 bucks…but now I’m going to take a nap before we head to dinner…
Get private equity out of everything…
Well…there was some good news while I was gone about the tentacles of private equity/corporations that are into everything in this country…and the latest attempt to banish them is from the healthcare industry where they have been taking over hospitals and private MD practices just to raise prices and line their pockets on the back of Americans…just like they did by buying up the majority of the housing stock turning Americans into renters by outbidding them with cash offers on houses they want to buy…and again raising prices of even rent…I mean who the hell can afford to rent a house at 2k a month when they could have bought it and spent half that much? The problem in healthcare is now being addressed by a bill by Elizabeth Warren and other dem senators that would outlaw the practice of equity taking over medicine and outlawing these parasites from making themselves rich on the backs of people needing healthcare, return us to the days of doctors being in control of their practices to deliver the affordable healthcare we had before the equity thugs set their sights on it and gave decision making to corporations whose only reason for being is to suck as much cash out and deny claims, letting people die in the name of profit…geez…
October 3rd
Well…was up til 12:30 am and just got up at 6am and I’m okay with that… I think I’ve read that going east to west is easier than the other way around and it does feel like that…after being up for 25 hours yesterday, 5 hours of sleep or so seems like enough…for now…but I guess we’ll see later…have to get up at 4:30 or so tomorrow morning so that will be the test…it is nice to be back in the states and be able to use my phone again after having it in airplane mode for 2 weeks and having to do the math to figure out the time…it read edt the whole time I was gone even hooked up to wifi in every hotel but my tablet did have the right time so at least I had one thing that did…even my laptop had the time from here on it but I’m not going to worry about that now…had so much fun on the trip and saw so much that I’m going to have to think about it and keep all my photos to jog my memory as time goes on…we’ll have a nice day of doing nothing today but going out to dinner later and getting checked in for the flight tomorrow morning…and getting caught up on these as I edge back into my old routine…I tried to keep my end up of paying some of the cost for the trip by buying dinner every day and I think I burned around 500 bucks on them…but I did come back with over 100 euros left so I’ll probably have to take them to the bank to exchange…the only things I spent money on was a new Italian leather wallet and a coffee mug from Venice…and I’m going to try it out when I get home and make some whole bean coffee that I’m going to drink in the afternoon tomorrow when I get home…have lots of laundry to do…more later…
Back in Virginia
Well…we just got back to Virginia after being stuck in an accident traffic jam for 40 minutes and I am beat…it’s 12:15 am and this one is going to be short since I am tired and need to get some sleep after being up for 26 hours…will still be up and moving around 6 I’m guessing since that is my normal pattern…it was a grueling trip from Italy to here today and it started at 3:30 am edt when we got a cab to the airport and then all the crap with customs and everything else and the plane was late taking off by 40 minutes…but now only one more leg to the trip that starts at about 5am Sunday morning when my daughter takes me to the airport to get on the plane at 8am with a stop in Midway in Chicago and the to GR by 12:03…so it’s a rest day tomorrow with the only thing on the agenda is going out to have Indian food for dinner and then early to bed to get up by 4:30…man, I can’t wait to get home and relax in my own house…it’s going to take me a week to recover from this trip and get back to normal…
October 2nd
Well…it’s heading home day today and I am a little excited about getting back to the states…it’s going to be a long traveling day today with leaving here to head to the airport at 9:30 am for a day that is not going to end until we get into Dulles at 7pm edt…10 hours on an aircraft is not my idea of fun and I will be relieved when they close the door to the plane after we board…international travel always stresses me out and I will be glad when it’s over…I’m going to need a few days to recover from the trip and try to sleep my way back to normal and it is going to feel good to walk into my house Sunday afternoon…then the work starts to get the house working again…the water and water heater need to be turned back on along with getting the router and modem working after I shut them off for the trip…and I will need to mow the lawn…at least the front Sunday and then the rest of it Monday some time…I am going to have cocktails when I get back and the first thing I’m going to do is grind some beans and make coffee even though it will be in the afternoon…my body is going to be so screwed up it probably won’t notice I’m drinking coffee in the afternoon…and I’ll use my new coffee cup from Venice to celebrate being home….more later…