Well…how many times this summer have I been able to say that? It looks like we are going to get some storms in a couple of hours and I can’t wait….I did get back out on the bike and it was so darn humid that I was sweating before I got out a mile and was soaked before I got back here and had to hose off the bike because I went out in the wet and it got covered in dirt which makes the shifter stick some and that is just annoying….other than that, I didn’t get anything done around here and I am thinking about taking one more week off and making labor day the start of work on the house…that would make more sense since the holiday is the official end of summer…okay, that’s a good rationalization so I think I’ll go with that….I did make some chicken for lunch but one thigh, two spoonfuls of pasta salad, and a sliced tomato is only about 350 calories and adding a salad to that for dinner keeps me well under a thousand for the day and I’m okay with that since I want to have some cheese and crackers for a snack later…and I may even have a cocktail to sit on the front steps and sip while the storms come in….we’ll see….it’s another week of no protein on sale at my grocery stores so it looks like I’m back to the freezer again…okay, Aldis does have burger for 2.29 a pound but you have to buy 5 pounds so maybe some tacos and burgers to use up the tomatoes and have food to eat all week…don’t like to eat red meat that much but I can put most of it in the freezer and hope that DD has something on sale….Meijers does have whole chicken for 1.49 a pound so maybe one of those instead? Oh, and just looked at the ad and they have burger buy one get one free so that may be the thing to do. Have to think about that….okay, that’s enough for this one…have to figure out what to watch while relaxing tonight….

Well..damn, that was strange…slept all the way through the night til 5:57 this morning and I can’t remember the last time that happened…but I’ll take it even though I don’t feel like I slept at all…having a hard time getting going today but I need to get out on the bike by 7:30 to be back here to see the F1 race at 9 and the nascar race at 10 since it was rained out last night…so, that means the second ride won’t happen until this afternoon if it happens at all….it was nice to still have it warm enough to put the top down on the car going out to get the paper and that helped wake me up a bit but I still have the damn headache that plagued me all last night….actually all day yesterday and I think that is going to mean ibuprofen today to go with the allergy meds…I really hate this time of the year when my allergies are the worst they get and there is nothing that works to help…crap….didn’t get anything done yesterday and I think it’s going to be the same today with the races and the Lions playing this afternoon…and I am so worn out right now that I don’t want to get on the bike at all and the coffee needs to work soon or I’ll just melt back in the couch and do nothing all day….more later….

Well…getting back into normal life after taking the summer off is going to be harder than I thought if today is any example….it was just another wasted day where I didn’t get anything done but ride the bike twice and then make food for lunch and dinner…I did make a huge salad for dinner that I ate early since I was so bored and it gave me something to do….I did watch some soccer and F1 qualifying but ManU barely won and looked crappy doing it…but I didn’t watch much of it since I wanted to get out and back before F1 started and the match started just when I needed to get on the bike…I wonder if they’ll run it again this afternoon? Need to take a look…damn, got sidetracked by a Doors documentary that’s on right now….so, I guess I’ll just chalk it up to a wasted day and watch more of this show….and take the night off and have a cocktail….hmmmm…

Well…damn, another 3:41 morning and out of bed before 6 but that is okay since I need to get out on the bike by 7 or so to be back here for F1 qualifying at 10…but I just saw that ManU is playing at 7:30 so that plan goes out the window….will probably watch til they suck and then go out….think I’m going to have to be more flexible with the rides as the days get light later and later…slept okay last night and don’t feel too bad but just a little worn out…and burned from the sun yesterday and I think my skin is going to like the fact that beach days are over for the year….didn’t get a lot done yesterday other than pick a bunch of tomatoes but I am going to clean a bit today and start planning the work that will start Monday….and I’m kinda looking forward to starting again other than the dust that is going to come from the filling and sanding and all the clean up that comes with it….it’s funny that I haven’t been in depot all summer when I was in there a couple of times a week when I was working on the house…need to hit HF for sanding pads for the little sander, too, but I do have two downstairs so that can wait a bit….not much to do today…need to get going soon but it’s still dark outside and I don’t think I want to go out before sunrise….and I need to figure out some meals since all the leftovers will be gone today…..more later….

Well…just got back from the beach for what probably is the last time this summer since I do want to get back to work on the house…I am taking the weekend off, though for my last break until I finish up the dining and living room and then get going on the other bedroom and do the three doors up here that need to be sanded filled and painted but I’m not doing any other repairs on them…will leave the replacement of them to the next owner of the house since I can live with just painting them…this is an old house, after all, and it was never in my plans to rebuild the whole place but just modernize the colors…the beach was nice today with almost no one there and the water warm enough to go in without getting used to it…it was a little bittersweet knowing that part of the summer is over but I won’t rule out getting out there a couple more times if it is warm enough…but that will end next week so I can get my focus back….I did get a nice tan this year….probably the darkest one that I can remember but I did try to care of my skin with no more than 2 hours a day out there…and that had to happen with not putting any sunscreen on….think I’m going to try to do that again next year since I’ll have most of the work done on the house by then….yay!

Well…darn, running late this morning with not getting out of bed until 6:45 and I’m on my first cup of coffee so I am going to be late getting on the bike this morning…and that means I’m going to miss F1 practice from Spa and that sucks since it’s one of my favorite tracks…I really do need to figure out how to be flexible about my schedule…and today is the last day at the beach and that is a little depressing knowing that the summer is over…I wonder how many more of them I have left? Hmmmm….the rain yesterday has really greened up my lawn and I hope I don’t have to mow it til next week….I do need to pick a bunch of tomatoes from the garden today and figure out how to use them before they spoil…I may roast some with olive oil and make some pasta sauce….need to eat some with every meal but still haven’t made any big salads yet…and probably won’t til tomorrow…still have a pork chop to eat today along with Tom’s sauce with pasta and need to see what I still have in the freezer…not much to do today…need to get going right now to do my teeth and then get on the bike for the first ride…and I will get out to the beach for the last time today and I think I’ll like the change in my schedule…at least I won’t be drinking a beer every afternoon….but I will miss swimming….more later….

Well…I was finally able to get out on the bike around 4:30 as the rain was down to a drizzle and I can take that with the temp over 70…had a good ride and my right thigh held up okay and didn’t hurt much so that made me a little less concerned that I had done some real damage to it…on the way back, I had a tailwind out of the west and was moving along pretty good at around 20 on the straight along the marina when a female red tailed hawk popped out of the brush along the trail at about pedal level from the right and took off flying in front of the bike right in front of my front tire and flew there for close to a hundred feet….so close I could have reached out and touched her…once we hit a clearing in the brush, she took a hard bank right and started gaining altitude until she landed in a huge oak tree on the lake side of the trail…I think I said “whoa” out loud when she popped out and had a grin on my face from it all the way back here…pretty darn cool…

Well…darn, it’s 2:15 and it is still raining so it looks like only one ride today if I get out at all…but that means I’ve wasted the day with doing nothing but these….but that’s okay…have turned off my guilt machine and don’t feel bad about it at all especially since my right thigh was just completely flat yesterday and hurt like crazy, too…and I’ve been able to walk around here today with not much pain so being forced into taking it easy was a nice coincidence…and with how much I’ve bitched about it never raining out here, I’m never going to bitch about it raining….the little weather app in my task bar just said that it stopped raining but it is still spitting out there so I’ll wait another 15 mins to suit up and get on the bike…going to be filthy when I get back here with the trail still wet but that’s okay…won’t be the first or last time that happens…probably could have gone out in the rain but just didn’t want to get wet today…and I’m getting old and just couldn’t do it…so I guess I better get going….

Well…as I sit here waiting for the rain to come, the lyrics to “Time” by Pink Floyd come to mind…”tired of lying in the sunshine, staying home to watch for rain”…yeah, I’m a little weird like that…can you tell I’m already bored and it’s only 8:47? While we’re at it, let’s look at another line from the same song that just about sums up how I feel about getting old…”the sun is the same in a relative way but you’re older, shorter of breath and one day closer to death..” and now the depression starts….I know I’ve talked about getting old before but as the days go on, it’s keeps getting more and more real…and I look in the mirror and wonder what happened to that guy…the one with brown hair and no wrinkles…and with the possibilities that have come and gone, leaving this husk of a person who has no purpose other than the rote repetition of tasks that make up my days….and that is pretty frickin depressing, too….I wonder if I can still change that? Do I want to?  Who knows? If it’s not raining by 9, I’m going out…4 minutes to go….more later…

Well…damn, this has been weird…up at 5:11 for the past three days in a row and it reminds me of how consistent I used to be waking up when I was still working…used to wake up at 6:12 every morning even without the alarm clock going off…ha,ha…that’s funny…haven’t used an alarm clock for so many years even the thought of it makes me laugh…don’t sleep well enough anymore to need one…and I don’t have anywhere to be….it looks like the rain is falling apart…again…so I will be able to get on the bike as soon as the coffee starts to work but I just poured the first cup so that will be a while….had an okay day yesterday but didn’t get much done other than go to the beach and today will be the next to last day of doing that….not sure how I feel about that right now other than I’m ready for a change and to get back to work around here….I did give myself a haircut yesterday since I was getting pretty shaggy and I don’t like that and I wonder why I don’t do that more often? I mean it only takes about 5 minutes to do so I could look better all the time…hmmm….not sure what is going on but my right leg was really flat on the bike yesterday and it was a struggle to get through the rides…and it hurt, too so I may have to take a rest day soon to help it repair…and this has been going on for at least a month now and it even hurts just sitting here…crap….not much to do today…still waiting for the rain to start if it ever will but I don’t want to get wet so I guess I’ll be smart and wait a while…but that will put me behind for the day and I won’t get the second ride in til after noon so I guess the beach is out for today….so maybe some cleaning? Who knows? More later….