Well…up at 5am again but slept okay and feel okay today and there really is something about this not drinking that I like…just fractured dreams last night but I expect that resetting my body is not going to be linear and I can live with that…didn’t toss and turn much but I think I need to go to bed later…I would like to get up to the coffee brewing again since that is a soothing sound…I did get a lot done yesterday but it looks like I won’t get an outdoor ride in today…it’s raining right now and that is supposed to continue for a while but maybe I’ll be able to get out in the afternoon…then it’s going to rain every day until the middle of next week so the yard work will have to wait…and it is going to suck a little with temps getting into the 60’s…I would like to get back to the 25 miles a day that two outdoor rides get me soon…it looks like I’ll be able to open up the outdoor water faucet this week since freezing temps are not in the forecast and we are heading toward May…and then I can wash the bike and the car and do a full cleaning of the car with doing the interior and waxing it…not much to do today…just going to ease into it and get the normal stuff started and see what happens….more later…

Well…what an ordeal…I switch the winter and summer tires on the car today and it was a pain…the lug nuts they put on with the winter wheel were of a type I had never seen before and that I didn’t have a socket for…so I went back to discount to get one and they gave me one for free but when I put the wheels on, they lost a lug nut so now I’m going to have to buy one to match…what a pain…and man, are the winter wheels and tires heavy…each one must weigh 50 pounds when the summer ones only weigh about 25 pounds so it will be interesting to see how the car rides when I take it out next…I think I’m going to suit up and get on the outdoor bike here in a minute since the temp is 52 and the wind we were supposed to get didn’t come…also got the lawnmower fixed, I hope, so I can start on the yard next week…still having good results of not having cocktails but I’m still not past the boredom that comes with it…going to keep it up just to see how it feels…I did taste lunch a little today and I am looking forward to doing the pork shoulder Friday…okay, going for a ride…

Well…okay, that was weird…after waking up at 3:11 after going to bed at 9:30, I was able to get back to sleep until 5:10 and in that time I had a full blown dream for the first time I can remember…this one was a doozy with the front door of the house that opened on a London street and the back of the house open to a lake…and weirdest thing was Mick Jagger and Rod Stewart just showed up and hung out with everyone….lot’s of food and drink and complaints from the neighbors that it was too loud and it went on for hours…I woke up and feel full of energy so I guess there is something to this new no cocktail life…the only drawback is that the tv time at night is so boring that I went to bed at 9:30…I guess that will stabilize over time…froze my butt off again so I added a wool blanket on top of the comforter and it acted like a weighted blanket after that… a lot less tossing and turning and I stayed warm overnight…it got down to 25 overnight and I am so damn tired of the cold going all the way down to my bones…have lots to do today and might even put the summer tires on the car after I fix the lawnmower…but it has to warm up to get the JB weld to cure so that might wait til later…okay, that’s enough for now…more later…

Well…this is just so damn weird…after just two days of not having cocktails, my vision is heading back to normal and I have started to taste things again…just had lunch and I could taste the ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, and even the corn…not how it used to be but I’ll really take anything to make it better…so it looks like my days of cocktails are over if I ever want to be normal again…and really, I’m okay with that…just need to make no cocktails the new normal and I think I can…and being able to taste again will be great when we head for Italy in September…the dentist recommended that I get a water pik to work my gums and make them stronger so I ordered one yesterday…a rechargeable portable one that has lots of attachments and three speeds and that is supposed to be here today…and that I can pack with me for the trip…okay, time to read some more…

Well…up and moving at 5:23 and that was a little early with not getting to bed until 11 or so last night…the 2nd night with no cocktails was pretty boring but I actually had dreams and that hasn’t happened in years…that is enough to keep up this dry time…feel okay today and I can see again with just my 2 reading glasses and I don’t think my vision has been this clear in quite a while…it’s still damn cold out there at 25 degrees and I’m going to do the grocery run today since it is going to be warmer tomorrow and I can get started on fixing the lawnmower and the yard work…not sure if I’m going to get started on changing out the winter tires for the summer ones and it is still in the back of my mind that it can still snow but I really want to get the car cleaned up and ready for summer…I even had wisps of being able to taste yesterday and I’ll do anything to get that back…so I guess we’ll see…not much to do today…just going to take one more easy day before I get back to getting stuff done around here…found a great rub for the pork shoulder that I’m going to use later in the week…more later…

Well…Sitting here finishing up the coffee as I wait to head out for the dentist appointment at 9:15…feel pretty good this morning so I think I’m going to make this no cocktail thing last for at least a week just to see how much damage I’ve been doing to my body…already have a lot more energy and the indoor bike ride was an easy one…I’m hoping that cutting out the cocktails will let my sense of taste come back a little…I know my vision is better after only one night so that is enough incentive to keep it up for a while…and I’ll be losing weight without the extra calories so I can buy new clothes for the Italy trip…and I can spend the money I’m not spending on booze to update my wardrobe…okay, need to get ready for the dentist by doing a good job cleaning my teeth…more later…

Well…up and moving again at 5am and I didn’t sleep too well but there is a reason for that…not sure what that is yet but I know I froze my butt off in bed all night and I wonder if the unrelenting cold out here has something to do with it…this is the coldest spring on record and today is going to be 20 degrees under the average high for April and it’s getting down to 21 degrees overnight and that just sucks…need to go out for a dentist appointment this morning and I’ll have to warm up the car since it’s only 32 here right now…last night was the first night of no cocktails and I feel pretty good this morning so I’m going to continue that for a while just to see what the effects are…can’t hurt…and it will save me some money…have the food all planned for this week and will be cooking the pork shoulder Thurs or Friday and that will keep me eating for another week can’t wait to make some pulled pork sandwiches and pour gravy over everything…not much to do today…going to be too damn cold to work on the lawnmower so I think I’ll just do one more hibernation day and do some reading after I get back here…more coffee first…

Well…okay, it was probably the easiest day today since all I did was the weight work and one indoor ride and that meant I was done for the day before 8am…so all I did was read all day since there no races on…finished a book and I’m 3/4 through the next one but I still have 4 more to last until later in the week…only had one meal today but I am going to have a snack later of rosemary and olive oil wheat crackers with pastrami and swiss heated…need to heap a lot of flavor on with not being able to taste much…and it’s a no cocktail night with having a dentist appointment at 9:30 tomorrow to get my teeth cleaned…need more water and to watch some tv…

Well…up and out of bed before 5 today and I’ve bitched about that enough…think I slept okay but I know I’m going to be worn out later…it’s cold and windy here and it’s not going to get out of the 30’s and 40’s until Wed…so I think I’ll take an easy day today and just do the weights and one indoor ride…but before that I need to pour coffee down and attempt to get moving…don’t really have much to do today other than clean a bit and read…I did get through one book yesterday and I’ll start working on another one after the ride…but I need to remember to enjoy them…after all, it’s not a contest and there is no reward for getting them done fast…I do need to eat more today after just 2 pieces of pizza and a piece of ham yesterday…so I’ll start today with a bagel in a bit and then a full ham plate later…but that should be enough with only doing one ride…not much to do today…just need to get going and get started…more later…

Well…it rained all day here to go with the all day rain yesterday and I still can’t believe how hard it stormed this morning when it was in the 30’s here…never did get out of the 40’s today when it was supposed to get into the 50’s…and the next three days are going to be cold with highs in the 30’s…ick…didn’t get much done today but I didn’t need to with getting all the work done yesterday…I did get out to get more books and I’m going to finish the one I started today here in a few minutes…I did run out to Meijers to see if I could get a pork shoulder on sale and they did have them so I’ll be cooking that in the instant pot later in the week…going to leave this one in for 90 minutes to see if I can get it to break down and leave enough juice so I can make gravy for the mashed potatoes and an au jus…but right now, it’s back to reading…