Well…I really tried to get some stuff done today but wasn’t really successful…I did get some bills paid that needed to be done but didn’t work on the windows at all so I’ll need to do that tomorrow after I do the grocery run that I am moving up since it is supposed to snow tomorrow night and into Wed around 5 inches or so….and I have cleaned my freezer out over the past month or so and there is not much in there other than 4 containers of soup….and I ran out of stamps so I need to get a book of them along with some powerball tickets since it is over 500 mil….and that means a trip to the bank since I haven’t carried any cash with me since summer….probably should have some around here just in case….I just laughed a bit when I realized I have eaten 4 meals off one bone in chicken breast….probably should eat more, huh?  Maybe tomorrow….

Well…made it all the way till 6:48 this morning but I feel like it was 4:48….just worn out again today but I hope that changes with the changes I’m going to make starting today…just need to take better care of myself and lose some weight…and save some money that I don’t need to spend every week….I did take the day off the bike yesterday and I’m a little confused why my legs and back hurt this morning…probably slept wrong but it is still annoying…I do need to clean some today but I’m not sure why with the work I need to do on the windows that will spread dust everywhere….I guess it’s like doing the snow when we only got about 3 inches…need to stay on top of it so the place doesn’t get out of hand….I did just veg the whole day off yesterday so I can’t do that again today….need to keep my schedule but I can be a little flexible on when I get started…still pretty geeked that I figured out the play in the swingarms on the bikes…I did pull out the instructions that came with them and there is no mention of the adjustment and I wonder why…taking the play out really made both of them solid again and I can’t wait to ride them outside….not much to do today….going to get on the bike here in  a minute but want to read the news first…and I’m feeling the first tinges of the coffee starting to work so I need more of that….more later….

Well…as I mentioned earlier, I have been trying to figure out how to get the play out of the swingarm  bushings on the black and grey bikes since they were loose enough to annoy me and made the bikes a little shaky…so, I just went downstairs to look at them and it’s a pretty weird setup where there is only one cap screw that goes into one side of the bushing and I couldn’t figure out how to get the swingarm off…so I put it back together and tightened it more than it was and it took all of the play out of the swingarm on the black bike…so I did the same thing to the grey bike and it worked on that one, too, so that is just so cool…no play at all anymore and I don’t have to think about it again…but I wonder if I should back it off a bit until there is just a little play in it? Not sure but it’s easy enough to do…now I need to think if I want to replace the frozen forks on the black bike for 50 bucks or so and get another computer and handlebar bag so I can use either of them and keep track of the miles I ride without having to switch everything back and forth….hmmm….

well…it’s 1:30 in the afternoon and I still haven done anything…okay, that’s not quite true…I did go out and shovel the snow including from the garage door to the alley and all of the walks and the trash bin landing pad along with the front stoop but that only took about 15 minutes and then it was back to watching soccer that just ended…so now what to do? I really do want to get to some stuff downstairs and I have 3 hours til the Lions play so I probably will…but I’m still not too motivated right now….”Bullitt” just started and I could watch that but I’ve seen it probably 20 times and I think it’s going to be relegated to background noise….and I do need to find a political topic for later and I think one just popped into my head…so I think I’ll do one….

Well….5:41 and 7:19…that’s all I have to say about it right now…didn’t sleep well and feel pretty crappy but that will go after I have some coffee….skipped going out for the paper today with the snow we got last night and I’m going through withdrawal since it has been my habit to get the Sunday paper for as long as I can remember…but, I don’t want to take the car out in the snow since they don’t plow any of the roads out here and the summer tires are really crappy in it….didn’t get anything but the bike ride done yesterday and I’m even skipping that today…need to have a repair day for the legs once a week and Sundays seem like a good day to do it….I did get started on putting stuff away downstairs a couple of days ago and I may get back to that today…want to get organized down there and it won’t take a lot of work….I should take the swing arm off the black bike if I can figure out how to do it so I can replace the bushing and then do the same to the grey bike…but I really just want to watch soccer and do nothing so we’ll see….not much to do today….just going to ease into it today since I feel really slow right now….more later….

Well…it looks like I’m going to be hunkered down here for a couple of days with the snow that is coming in here soon…possibility of 6 inches and, without snow tires, my car can’t cope with it…don’t really need to go anywhere anyway so no big deal….and it will be the first time for appreciable snow in the 10 months I’ve lived out here and I’ll take that any day after last winter in the Valley house where I had snow piles at the end of the driveway that were 5-6 feet tall. And I don’t have a driveway to shovel but I may need to shovel the alley up to my garage door but that is still shorter than the driveway in GR….so I’ll get a work out in the next couple days and that will fit well with taking the day off the bike tomorrow…won’t be able to get out to get the paper but oh, well…can get all of the ads online…it does feel good that I don’t have to worry about finding a place to live this New Years day…and taking the rest of the day off isn’t critical anymore….

Well…another year starts and I truly hope it’s not like last year…don’t need any more virus or attacks on the country…and I don’t need waking up at 5 anymore, either….and the dreams I’ve been having have been dour and depressing and not at all like the free movies they were when I was younger….it looks like I’ll be in for a few days with the storms that are coming in tonight and that means I’ll have to skip my Sunday ritual of going out to get the paper and that’s okay…the paper out here is pretty crappy anyway so it’s not worth the price I pay for it….will be doing some shoveling tomorrow, too and that’s okay…I can use the exercise and it’s nice to get some fresh air….didn’t do much yesterday but ride the bike and I think I’ll do the same today there are some bowl games on but I am depressed about Michigan getting blown out last night and I am losing interest in football…I guess I can watch soccer to pass the time….not sure about any resolutions for the year…going to make some changes to my routines but probably won’t share them….I try to do better all the time and I’ve gotten into some habits that are not good for my health so that would probably be a good place to start…we’ll see…not much to do today….I have reset the computer for the indoor bike and will start from 0 this morning but I still have news to read and coffee to drink first…..more later…

Well…haven’t found a political topic so I think I’ll do a recap of my year for the last one this year….man, when I look back to where I was last December 31st, I can’t believe where I am financially and even psychologically…last year at this time, I was down to 3 months to go to find a house before my son moved back to GR and my stress level was through the roof with seeing so many crap houses that were at the top of the range of what I could afford….but that changed in January when I found this place that had everything I wanted but it wasn’t in GR…so I had to make one of the biggest decisions of my life to just buy it….and living here in Muskegon has been better than I expected but I haven’t been able to get into life out here with the damn virus that is rampant…the trails and scenery are cool but it would be nice to be able to go out to dinner or to just have a couple of beers and meet some people…I have been at peace much more than I have been in years with now living here for 10 months and almost doubling what money I have in the bank….and with the worth of the house going up by 20k, I should reach my goal of having 100K in assets free and clear with the equity in the house and what I have in the bank…and I never thought that would happen…this house has been really reliable, too, with only a clogged drain and the handle on the toilet breaking yesterday that I have had to fix….one thing that I am not happy about is the estrangement from a couple of my sons that I can’t figure out…well, yeah I can…I haven’t been to visit my grandkids with this damn virus but I just can’t do it with the danger of me getting them sick…and I don’t understand why they don’t get that…if there was no virus, I would have been in to see them at least once a month even having to drive over by Detroit where my middle son lives….that is the only thing that has a cloud hanging over my life right now..okay, and not being able to shoot pool every week…now that Tom is retired…I’ll have to find a place that is halfway where we can meet up so neither of us have to drive a hundred miles round trip….all in all, things are okay….I have rebuilt the yard and cleaned the entire outside of the house, put up a new garage door opener and had a huge garden for the first year here that was somewhat successful….so, I am looking forward to a new year for the first time in a long time even though I’m a year older…”the sun is the same in a relative way but you’re older, shorter of breath and one day closer to death…” to quote Pink Floyd from “Time”…..happy new year….

Well…just got off the bike for the last ride of the year and thought I’d update on the mileage…did 4492 miles outside and 352 on the torture machine downstairs…not bad for an old guy….didn’t get to my 5K goal but 4844 isn’t bad for an old guy…going to try to beat my best year of a little over 6K miles next year to gear up for a 7K mile year the following year….now I’m taking the rest of the day off to watch football and just veg it out…I’ll try to come back for a political one later but I need to finish the coffee first and stop sweating from the bike ride…more later…

Well….not sure how it happened but I didn’t get up til 7:22 today…if I knew, I’d do it every day but sleep for me is not that easy….the pain in my back has been moving around from right to left and it is really becoming a pain…ha,ha….I think it may have something to do with riding downstairs since it started around that time….I am looking forward to totaling up the miles I’ve ridden this year…didn’t get to 5K but I got close and I think it will be about 4800 for the year…not bad for an old guy and that gives me a goal for next year of at least 5K…I’m hoping to have around 1K inside by the time I’m back out on the trails…I do have to find the instructions to reset the computer on the bike to zero and start the new year tomorrow…didn’t get much done yesterday but fix the toilet and watch sports and have decided to take the weekend off so today will probably be the same…lots of football bowl games on with the big one tonight with Michigan playing Georgia…will have to dig out my Michigan gear for that one….not much to do today…just going to sit here and have coffee for a while before I do the last ride of the year…will do a recap of the year later today…it’s been a strange one…more later…..