Well…it’s pretty cool out here right now and I probably should have closed the windows last night…but, it feel good to have the humidity down some with how bad it’s been out here lately…slept okay last night and didn’t get out of bed til almost 7 but I still feel a little flat this morning…yesterday was the first time in a week that I felt strong on both rides and that was a long recovery from the problems I had last Friday….I almost went out to play in the waves yesterday but they had the red flags up and I didn’t have enough energy to fight my way through the rip out and back…have to be a little more careful on these beaches with the swirling rip that goes on for the first 30 feet into the water….might go out today with how calm it is…but I need to run some errands first so that will put me late on the bike for the first ride….it looks like I’m not going to get many tomatoes off my garden this year and I’m not sure why…just put 5 pounds of food on it and the plants look like they could use more….and the ones I do have are really small…so I guess that tells me I’ll have to condition the soil more next summer….I am going to get some green peppers this year and a few Jalapenos so I can live with that….not much to do today…I did get out to get the chair for the front porch yesterday but I need to get out to Target to get a blanket since I don’t own one and really should have one…and I’m getting some pizza fixings so when the green peppers are ready I can make one or two….that will probably be next week….more later….

Well…that was okay…got a little sleep last night and only woke up a couple of times so that was cool…but, man, it’s humid out here and I’m running the fan already to keep from sweating through my clothes so that might mean a trip out to the beach today…I think I’m going to buy a lawn chair to put on my little deck that leads to my front porch so I can sit outside when it’s nice out there…I do have to start making this place mine with details like that and I can get one that I want for only 18 bucks at Lowes….I did get more pickles made yesterday and got the first cherry tomato out of the garden and they should start coming fast now…but I don’t have a lot of regular tomatoes on the plants so I may not have the bounty that I had last year….and I think my bean plants are about done but I’ve gotten 20 times more that I got last year and I have quite a few green and Jalapeno peppers that have set and I only got one green pepper last year….will probably have to dig out the garden and put better dirt in for next spring but we’ll see….the two cukes I’ve used so far came from the accidental plant that grew along the back of the house and I have tomatoes back there, too, and the flower seeds that I planted have started to sprout so I have some color back there, too…I’ll have to remember to water there next summer so the flowers will come up sooner…not much to do today…have been having problems with the shifter on the bike all summer so I may have to put the new one on the bike soon…it’s a pain having to adjust it constantly….I may get started on the west side of the house but I’m not too motivated right now….more later…

Well…just noticed that the swelling in my right foot is almost gone and that would be the first time in almost a year that has happened….I wonder what I’ve been doing that made it better? Slept okay last night but feel like my allergies are going to go crazy…it has been ramping up the past week or so but I haven’t seen ragweed or golden rod along the trail…but there has to be some of it around here….just noticed that the morning birds around here are seagulls and that is a little weird for me….I’m used to doves and bluejays and I guess that goes with being here on the coast…and there is some strange bird that I can’t remember hearing before that pipes up daily…might have to get the binoculars out to look for it…I did get the entire lawn watered yesterday since the rain that was supposed to come fell apart…again…before it got here but we are forecast to get storms again tonight and almost an inch of rain…I sure wish the storms would come when I could sit on the porch and see them….not one the whole summer and I think that’s strange….I did get my first ballot completed yesterday and need to drop it off at the city clerk’s office this morning…or I could just put a stamp on it and drop it in the mail but I want to see if there is a drop box outside of the city hall for the November election….not much to do today…just the grocery run and the bike rides…I did get two rides in yesterday for the first time since last Thursday and it was okay…didn’t struggle much but I did go down to about 80% and didn’t push it and that’s okay….need to take care of myself better and if that means not going crazy on the bike, I’m okay with that….more later….

Well….that was kind of a normal night of sleep with some tossing and turning and getting up at around 6 or so…and I feel okay this morning but my allergies are going into hyperdrive and I have been coughing and the damn 3 month headache has started and I’ll probably be miserable for the whole time….almost sent myself back into the condition of exhaustion that put me down last Friday and Saturday after riding the bike early and then mowing the lawn and doing the weed walk yesterday…but I was smarter this time and didn’t do a second ride when I started feeling crappy…and I drank a couple of gallons of water after since I was soaked through with the heat and humidity….made my first batch of pickles from my garden cukes yesterday and they came out good but I am going to have way too may cukes so I need to give some of them away…I have a couple of tomato plants that look like they are dying and it may be that they need food and I have some but just forgot about it…will get that done today after it rains…did you hear that? There is rain coming and it doesn’t look like it’s going to miss this time…but, we’ll see…not much to do today…I need to run out to DD to get sliced ham and turkey they have on sale for 99cents a pound in two pound packages….not sure what I’ll do with 4 pounds of sliced meat but at that price, I can’t pass it up…and I need some nails to fix some loose siding and Lowes is right next to DD so I can get them there…more later….

Well…this morning when I was mowing the front lawn, Dan, the guy who has been rehabbing the house across the street, came over to chat for a while and told me that the owner’s son, his wife, and their small child will be moving in  a couple of weeks from now when they get the house finished…that will be cool to have another occupied house here in the neighborhood and the same guy owns the run down house next door to that one and they are going to start on the exterior on that one next. But, the big news is that the vacant lot across the street has been sold and they are going to build a new house on it…I really hope that last one is true because that will make two new ones behind me and one new one and one rehabbed one across the street….and I counted 7 new houses already in progress within two blocks of me and I can already count the money from what that is going to do to the value of my house….I really don’t have to think much about that since this is probably the last house I’ll live in but I can leave more to my kids and I have more equity that I can borrow against if I need it….pretty cool turn of events…and I might be able to get a car loan and buy a really nice Miata…

Well…that was better…didn’t get out of bed til 7 this morning and slept pretty well so I’ll take that….and I don’t feel a lot of pain today so I’ll take that, too….had a good day yesterday with K coming out to visit and we went down to the local bar with the rooftop seating and had a couple to talk for a while and catch up…that was fun…I did get back on the bike yesterday but for only one ride since I was still recovering from my stupidity…felt pretty good all day yesterday and feel okay today so I think I’ll edge back up to two rides today and see how I feel…I do need to mow the lawn at some point but I think I’ll wait on that til tomorrow…I picked my first cuke yesterday and had it bagged up with some beans for K but forgot to give it to her so I think I’ll make some pickles today…have another one ready in the garden so I can fill a quart jar with them…still no tomatoes yet and I am getting a little impatient waiting for them….I’m going to have to figure out how to use them all when they start ripening….will need to get the blender out to make some pasta sauce and then search the internet for other uses….not much to do today….it looks like a beautiful day out there so I’m going to ease into it and have more coffee and read the news before the bike ride….still think I need to take one more recovery day and take care of myself and make that a habit….still have two more sides of the house to clean but I will only ride once when I do them just to be safe….and I do need to hit the beach at least once this week…..more later….

Well….damn, I feel better this morning after 3 gallons of water, more food, and sleeping a little better…but I still think that this is a bug and allergies combined since I was freezing then sweating all night last night….had the ac on but that was too cold so I put the comforter on and then sweated my butt off so I shut the ac off and uncovered but that was too cold…you get my drift, so I was struggling to get comfortable all night but still slept better than Friday night….and the allergy headache has started and that will last until October or so and that is just damn annoying…I am going to get on the bike for one ride today….not going to push it but I would like to get out….it is really, really humid out here today and the windshield on the car fogged up from it on the run to Meijers and that is supposed to last all week…I probably should buy a blanket so I don’t have to use my comforter when sleeping….haven’t had one in 20 years and I probably should get one….I did get a cool new bath towel set from Target last week that is mildew and smell resistant and has a loop on the side to hang it from that works perfect with the hook that I hang mine from and I think I’ll take a look at blankets there this week….not much to do today….going to get a bike ride in here in a few minutes and then I need to make potato salad with the potatoes and eggs that I cooked Friday…and I may be making a run to Coopersville to meet up with K…haven’t seen her since she helped me move in Feb and I do need to get out of here….more later….

Well….it’s 12:30 and I’m still doing nothing….am recovering a bit but still have crud in my lungs and it may be ragweed and goldenrod that normally blooms this time of the year….just tried some nasal spray allergy meds and I hope that helps….I think part of this might be dehydration, too, so I have already had almost a gallon of water today….I was so thirsty overnight that I got up twice to have some water so there may be something to that…..so, I’m going to lie back down on the couch here in a minute and try to get a nap….it may take two days to heal up…and for sure no cocktails tonight…..need to get serious about taking care of myself…..

Well….damn, still feel like crap today and I made the early decision that I’m not getting on the bike today….need to take better care of myself and that will mean adding more calories today…didn’t sleep at all last night with waking up at 1,3, and 5 and then just giving up and got out of bed at 6…this hasn’t happened in a long time and I am exhausted from it…I even ran the ac last night and it was able to keep the room pretty cool and dry so that’s a good thing with the heat that is coming this next week….I still have water in my ear from swimming yesterday so it looks like I’ll need to get some swimming ear plugs to prevent it….it looks like the storms that were supposed to get here are missing to the north…again….so I will need to put the sprinkler on the garden today but that is all of the work I’m going to do…need an entire day off and just lie on the couch and watch the olympics…I do need to cook some chicken and green beans for lunch and I think I’m going to have some toast with peanut butter here in  a minute…..need to start cutting the calorie deficit soon or I’ll feel like crap all day…again….more later…

Well…sitting here feeling as bad as I can remember in a long time…have no energy at all and I think that from what I’ve eaten the past 4 days with only a burger and a dog and a few chips for each day…so worn out that I gave up cooking my second meal today and that leaves me with only about 500 calories today and that is not going to help…darn….but the worst part is my question in the title: how the heck do you hurt yourself just swimming? My right shoulder, elbow and thumb are throbbing and my hips have joined in the action, too,…along with that, I got scorched just being out in the sun an hour and a half and that is not helping….so, it looks like I’m going to be forced to take the day off tomorrow if it rains….or if it doesn’t….I think I’ve hit the point that I need to do a rest day…okay, my back now hurts, too….and my thighs….I think I’ve used my body up finally and this sucks….darn….