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…

Well…yeah, it turned into a one ride day today with my right hip giving me fits all day…must have slept wrong on it since it has hurt since I woke up…at first it only hurt when I walked but, by the time I got back here, it was even hurting pedaling so I need to rest it and make sure I’m not in pain when I leave next Monday…even took something for it and that may be why it doesn’t hurt right now…don’t really have a lot to do today so I’m going to take it easy today…I will try to find a topic for later….

Well…I just realized it was 50 years to the day that I started to work at steelcase…I gave 28 years to that company and at 48 years old they just discarded me like a piece of trash…oh, well…feel pretty worn out today and may not get on the bike since I feel like I’ve been overdoing it on the bike with 180 miles last week…and I’m running late today since this site was not working when I got up…and it’s cold out here at 50 degrees and I really don’t want to be cold….so today could be a one ride day if I go at all….only one week til the UK trip and I need to take care of myself….I do feel the missing prostate when I’m on the bike…I feel hollow and sit completely different and it’s hard to get comfortable when I ride….I wonder if it’s depression again? Need to do so much this week to be ready for the trip and it appears so daunting…maybe I could take today off to regroup and then attack tomorrow? Not much to do today…going to have making the list for what to take on the trip as the goal today…no grocery run this week since everything in the fridge will spoil in 3 weeks….more later…

Well…damn, the new coffee maker makes hot coffee…haven’t had it this hot in years…and the coffee tastes great so I’m in a happy place this morning…it’s only 51 degrees out here so I’ll be waiting a bit before I get out on the bike and I am so sore that ibuprofen might be necessary….cold enough in here that I’m in a pair of my long sleeper pants today and it’s not supposed to get out of the 60’s today…okay, just looked at the weather and it’s only 49 right now so it might mean not getting on the bike til the afternoon…I can do my rehab exercises to warm up in a bit but I just want coffee and some news right now….I feel like I’m in mission control right now with working on my laptop and having my tablet and phone next to me lit up….something that would never even been imagined when I was young….had a good day yesterday and the term serenity entered my thoughts a lot on the bike since I felt good mentally after the good medical news…not much to do today…had to make a call on the idiots last night and the cops came and shut that noise down so I hope that will carry over to today….just going to hang out to start the day and figure out what meals to make….I had this weird taste for cheese curls yesterday and bought a bag of them….I know they are bad for me but I just had to have them….more later…