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 |  An attempt at creating a daily blog. |
| I'm hoping I can turn this into a daily repository of random and not so random musings of my daily activities. Perhaps it will gel into a common thread that I may be able to work towards creating something interesting. |
| The pain in the side has not decreased any and I'm still having to munch percocet and muscle relaxers....so I'm bitchy and trying like hell to not get depressed. It is a struggle. Kami slept under the covers for much of the night but I wasn't able to sleep. Too late I realized I skipped the trazadone so I didn't take it until about 3 in the morning.I had to get up to see the orthotics folks in Pinehurst so I pretty much dozed along with tossing and turning. I tried to volunteer to assist with the boy scouts and their fly fishing merit badge in another week and a half. It turned out that I had to also do a volunteer application within the software used to register and keep tabs on time. Once I got that then all I got was a "pending" status. I still need to record my 3 hours from over the weekend in the orientation class. And I'm running on a very short fuse. I tried to refill my percocet....the script was originally called in at the end of November and I've only gotten one refill from it, yet Walgreens claims there are no refills remaining. All in all, it has not been a very good day for me. I'm tired and way past being grumpy. I guess there was a get together for the volunteers this evening but I couldn't register for it. Plus even though it was listed as being at the ed center it is actually at the Mash House. Anything there I won't go to, right now I'm susceptible to grabbing a beer, then another, and another....nope...I avoid temptation as much as I can. I got two bluebird boxes today. I'm going to put them up tomorrow on poles. I'll go get some conduit clamps and clamp them down. I also need to have something to keep snakes from slithering up the poles...I'm not sure the baffles would work plus they probably aren't inexpensive. If I could shoot staples through something that I could then anchor on the poles, that could work...wrapping barbed wire around might work too but I don't have any. I'll let my brain work on it while I'm asleep. Kami is laying along side me asleep...I hope that doesn't mean she'll be up all night bouncing around. I received the "classroom in a Book" for Illustrator today so I'm hoping to study that a bit tonight. Some woman in Ontario pretty much ruined my decal project for me...she came out with her version of the healing waters logo...it isn't correct so I'll still end up doing it. The hard part is to get it all laid out on the transfer tape with the various pieces properly aligned. And to make it for general consumption may be beyond the scope of people's abilities. The orthotics people took impressions of my feet, they figured about 3 weeks until the insert would be done...and then they will have to customize it. I was hoping to go out and walk today but the right foot is still burning. I'll use a lidocaine patch on it tomorrow and use moleskin on the left foot. I'll take Kassi out to see how things go and plan on Kara on Thursday. Tomorrow night I have the plastics rigging for bass class, then Thursday night will be fly tying. Nathaniel says he'll be the one teaching it. It should be another of the clouser minnow which I struggled with before...but I watched Charlie Craven tie it and it is actually pretty simple. The other is a shad of some type...neither of the flies would be anything I would use around here...I'm not sure they fully understand who their intended audience is. Not everyone can pick up and drive 3+ hours minimum for trout waters...and pretty much the same for salt water. They should be focusing on what might attract the warm water species, crappie, bluegill, bass, pumpkin seeds...but none of them are active yet, still too cool. Oh well, hopefully my mood will be better tomorrow but I'm about to load up on pills again so it's doubtful. Kami keeps jerking in her sleep, it must be some interesting dreams she's having. I wonder what cats actually dream about. I need to measure the desk in the fly room. Bood got a shoe rack because she didn't like seeing my shoes on the floor. They were all lined up along the wall though instead of being scattered around the living room. But, I could use something like that for my bins storage for the fly tying materials. The one she got is about 4 feet across, I don't think the desk is that wide...but I could put a board across if needed. There is 4 feet going all the way to the wall. I'll try to remember to measure the next time I get up to pee. This hasn't been a real interesting blog...but it is what it is... That's a wrap. |
| Once again, like a bad penny I keep coming back! It's been a busy time since my last visit. I've gotten into fly tying and have been ordering materials left and right. I finally have enough now to tie quite an assortment of flies, now comes the need to sit down and do it. I started tying a pattern the other day but found I was missing one item. I got in something similar today but none are the right color, black. But some of the pieces are transparent so I'm going to get out my fat pointed sharpie and make it black. I don't need much...and using sharpies is a highly recommended method to get the colors you want. I also got a Cricut machine. This is basically a cross between a laser engraver and a cnc machine. I can install pens to create all types of designs or I can install various cutting knives to cut out designs in vinyl, cardstock, paper, cardboard or even very thin balsa wood. It uses a rather crude software which utilizes vectors for drawing. The advantage to a vector system is you can resize your object without distortion. If you paint or draw something and try to enlarge it, at some point it will begin to distort and show small blocks (bit mapped graphics). Unfortunately, it seems to be rather simplistic. Therefore I am in the process of learning how to use Adobe Illustrator. Adobe is the famous name behind Photoshop and since I use many of the applications, I am somewhat familiar with the user interface. Of course, drawing uses different terms for common items...such as "art board" for the canvas associated with Photoshop. Since I am paying for the suite of Adobe products, I might as well use yet another. There is also Inkscape, basically the same as Illustrator except it is free...always attractive. But, I had to flip a coin and since I already have access to Illustrator as well as it being an industry standard, I went with it. So today I was working on a tutorial for it. Unfortunately, I spent a lot of time looking for things. One of them being my graphics tablet. Actually, I have 2 of them but I was unable to find either one of them. I hope tonight the gremlins will bring them back out of hiding. I want to use one because I have a logo that I wish to cut into vinyl to use as decals on vehicles. It isn't simple though and will have 4 colors, white, blue, light blue and red. And of course, one piece of vinyl won't do it, I'll need to do what they call "layering". I have a vague concept of the idea but other than that, I know little more than the word. However, Youtube is full of tutorials. There are thousands and thousands of "makers" in the world doing this type of stuff...and that means there are at least hundreds of videos of how to do it. All I need is time and motivation. Motivation is a current issue. I developed a pain in my side and it isn't going away. It gets to be a major issue when I am laying down. I had an ultrasound done last week and the liver, pancreas, gall bladder, bladder and right kidney all appear to be normal. Meanwhile, I've been taking pain meds. Those reduce my motivation and also lead towards depression so I try to avoid them. In this case though, things aren't working out that way so I contacted the doc today and she is putting in an order for a CT scan. Right now she doesn't have a good idea of what is the issue...I don't seem to be able to make any movements that make things any worse...or any better. My shoulder has flared up as well. I saw the shoulder doc early last month and everything was good. A week later though it became quite tender. I'm a shoulder sleeper so by the middle of the night, between the shoulder and the opposite side, I'm not a happy camper. Meanwhile, I also became incorporated. I'm hoping that at some point I can generate some photos/videos that people would be willing to pay for. I don't have any delusions of becoming an overnight sensation but perhaps I can get something with an emotional appeal. I see a guy on facebook that I believe lives in Louisiana and he takes photos that really draw me in. I feel nearly anyone can take the "post card" type images but this guy has images that really trip an emotional button in me. These aren't exotic photos taken from far away places but are all local to his area. I would love to be able to create images like those...and those are ones that I feel I could actually sell. Time will tell. As if all that isn't enough, I am doing an online course for starting a business as well as one for magazine writing. I'm hoping to put all these things together successfully. Only time will tell. I think that is a wrap for today. |
| I had my alarm set for 3:30 yesterday afternoon but I wasn't home. Apparently that time isn't going to work. I got home just shy of 4, took Kara out for the 2.5 mile jaunt and finally got home a bit after 5. It was 49 degrees when we started and 40 when we got home. By then I was pooped, had a can of chili for supper and headed to bed. I've had a blister on the front side of the ball of my left foot and had moleskin to protect it (which works surprisingly well) but where they removed the toe is a wrinkly spot and I got a blister there. How that happened I have no idea. It is definitely tender though. I hope it doesn't keep me from my mile with Kassi today. With Jeannette gone to Cleveland, I slept downstairs because the dogs need to get up in middle of the night to go out. I had the thermostat set at 68 and woke up shivering. I had to get an additional blanket. Tonight I might sleep upstairs but I can't feed Kami after 8 due to her surgery tomorrow. I don't want to listen to her all night wanting something to eat so it may be another night downstairs. I did go up and give her some treats at 2:30 this morning and I'll try to spend the bulk of the day with her. I'm missing a shelf pin for the bookshelf. I picked up a package at Lowes on the way home yesterday after I returned the other shelf. Of course, they're a bigger diameter. I either need to enlarge the holes or find pins elsewhere. Lowes didn't appear to have any smaller ones. Of course, I had knocked my glasses off when I loaded the shelf into the back of the truck and hadn't noticed so I couldn't see when I was at Lowes. I could go back this morning and look but it might be easier to just enlarge the holes, it will definitely be faster. I think that will be the plan for today. I got my new BassPro card yesterday. I'll pay for Kami's procedure with that tomorrow instead of using the wife's card. I'd prefer to not use the new one as I'm struggling to pay off what I already have. I want to save it for my fishing trips. I hope this will be a one shot deal. I did use it to order some elk hair for flies. I had a discount offer and wanted to make sure the card worked so it was $20. Plus the $63 I paid at Basspro it still totals under a hundred bucks. I'll pay that off at the first of the month. The SS check next week is gonna catch up what wasn't paid for on the first (which I'm not sure why not). Next checks will be bigger due to the cola raise, not enough but better than a stick in the eye. Kami is saying she's hungry (again) so I better go feed her and give her some time. There, Kam is fed as well as the dogs. Kara got her glucosamine as well. And I drilled out the two holes a bit so now they have pins in them and the shelf is in place. Today the loading begins. There is a pile by the bed where the shelf collapsed yesterday so that can ger cleared up today. It is only supposed to reach the low 50's today so I think I'll have some coffee upstairs when I go up. I had bad dreams twice when taking percocet late at night and I think I was irritable the other day so I think I will wean off of it and stop. It doesn't seem all that effective. My shoulder is becoming less troublesome; I;m still aware of it but it isn't as bad. I think using the walking stick with the left hand and exercising the left arm/shoulder is helping as well. I did do a dead lift of 20 pounds the other day, that bothered my back more than my shoulder. I think I will clutch a 10 pound weight to my chest and just do bend-overs and see what happens. If I can get those muscles flexing and strengthening then perhaps they will be less of an issue if I want to carry a backpack. I'm hoping I can stay with this 2.5 mile walking every other day. It's an effort currently but as long as I can keep the motivation going, just like with the mile I can hope to be in some semblance of decent shape to go to the BlueRidge. That is the goal at this point. And it is good for the dogs to get out and get some exercise. Kara enjoyed the cooler walk yesterday compared to the 70+ degrees on Saturday. I did as well but I was dripping when I got home. I laid my jacket in fron of the fire so the inside would dry. Aapparently it doesn't breathe so I guess I need to be looking at alternatives. I think it is somewhat waterproof but I need something like gortex. For now I guess i will stick to hooded sweatshirts. Well, this is for yesterday, I'll try to hit it again this evening... That's a wrap! |
| Well, that sucks...I had written a substantial amount, then the keyboard froze, I reloaded and lost it all...that wasn't a good thing. And since I'd been typing for 20 minutes, I was just about ready to wrap it up. I have other things to do so I'm not going to spend another 20 minutes now...so, That's a wrap! |
| Oh no! I forgot! I'm going to have to set an alarm to remind me to write! Meanwhile, I copied an email I just sent to a good friend I've knows since first grade... "put out some food...probably a stray with no home to go to....out in the weather (and you've been having glorious weather as of late).My oldest cat is the daughter of a cat that had showed up in my garage...I had started feeding her and she was friendly, not running off like most do. Then one day she brought out her kittens to show me... With the passing of Chatterbox, I figured he would want me to find another abandoned kitty and give it a new home. I went to the shelter and wanted to see the cat that had been there the longest. It was not really interested in attention but really wanted to get out of the cage...then below her was a nice male, a satin gray and had Chatterbox's eyes...plus it came in on my birthday. I wasn't quite ready to adopt but figured that was the cat I would take. I went in a few days later, no more gray cat...somebody had come in right after I was there and adopted him. So, I went back to the kitty that had been incarcerated the longest. She'd been turned in as a stray. Brought her home and she growled and hissed when I tried to pet her, even fake attempts to bite me. She was a climber though, wanted to get high. I cleared a spot on top of the bookcase behind the tv at the foot of the bed and she'd sit up there, sleep and be able to watch the world go 'round. After a couple days, the came down in middle of the night and laid by me...now she's borderline being a pest. She gets into everything. She refuses to use the community litter box. It's the one that Missy and Chatterbox shared. She decided to use the bathtub...I don't use it since it's difficult for me to lift my feet high enough to get in over the side, preferring to use the shower downstairs. Once I found that out (she s*** in middle of the night and it smelled to high heaven) I got her a small litter box and put it in there. She's good at using it. And, like Chatterbox, she really likes tummy rubs. And yes, she is psychic." So there is a typical email I write to him. And since I just spent the last 20 minutes typing it up, I'm posting it here since it was a writing effort. Meanwhile, it is oh-dark-thirty and I need to get back to sleep. This is gonna have to be it for yesterday, I'll have to do better today...and I can brief you on what I did yesterday...it was a busy day. That's a wrap! |
| The urge has finally struck....I've been neglecting the blog pursuing too many other interests. Today, I decided I am going to sit down and finally take writing somewhat serious. My fly fishing group has a monthly newsletter and it could be an ideal location to write short articles about our various fishing trips...possibly even add a touch of humor here and there. I'm already doing most of the photos used on the facebook page. This could be a normal progression. Anyway, I've done a ton of reading, have plenty of reference material and I know how to do research. Now the mind is settled... I managed to get a couple bookshelves, not quite the ones I wanted but I wasn't going to pay big $$ for furniture quality shelves, I just need something to put books on. Right now I have stacks on every flat surface to include the floor. It makes it hard to find what I'm looking for. I ran across a photography book yesterday that I'd been looking for for a couple weeks...I figured I would find it once I started putting books on shelves. Then I stood up at my table/makeshift desk and there it was, right in front of me. One shelf is almost put together so I'm going to go finish it, start loading it and once I get a space cleared, I can set up my color laser printer (finally). Then I can get that box out of here, load a few other pieces of junk into it and tomorrow I can make a garbage run. It is also supposed to be nice weather tomorrow which means I can give the truck a good cleaning inside. I'll be back to this in a bit.... Crap...I'm missing 4 pieces for my shelf. I saw them yesterday so I know they were in the box...when things like that happen, it means I'm missing a step or doing something wrong and need to step back and look at what I'm doing. I guess I'll have to pause and do something different for a bit... Even worse, I got my hearing aid back from repair today...and they found a replacement for the one I lost, different color but it's above my hear and not visible. The one they found needed to be charged so I got the little charging container, opened it up...lo and behold, there was the missing hearing aid...oops! Darn...oh well...life goes on... I did manage to find the 128gb micro-sd card I wanted to my gopro. I'm hoping to do video of fishing but I have to learn how to operate the gopro...I haven't played with one for a very long time...something else to relearn. It had a 64gb in it, I can put that in the Raspberry Pi 5 that I'm waiting for a power supply for...that will be the end of next week until it comes in...meanwhile, time to go looking for my cam locks... Found the camlocks. The package had fallen into a box. Whether I knocked it down or Kami, doesn't matter, I found them. All I have left is tack on the back. I want to make sure it is square and I'm not finding my square clamps. I checked Lowes online and they were $20 each. I need at least 2, 4 even better. Harbor Freight has them for $3.99 each so I'll head there in the morning. It means I won't get the shelf done which means I can't get the books moved so the color laser won't be set up today. Another day isn't a big deal. Now I'm trying to find somewhere that shows the stages of the various flies for fly fishing...whether there are multiple physical forms or simply nymph or adult which it appears the stone fly fits. I'd like to find actual photographs...but, never know, if I find some, I may have to get my macro lens and take my own photos. That could be pretty cool. They gave me a new hearing aid for my left ear since I thought I had lost it, turns out it was in the case that they charge in. Oops. This one does not seem to want to connect to my phone. Since I found the original, I'll give it a try but it needs to be charged first. Well, if I connect it, then the right won't show up...so, back to the new one. It is working, I just can't control it...it's not overbearing so I'll leave it alone. And on the 26th I should be getting a new set...I've gone over a month without so less than 3 more weeks, not a big deal. Ah ha, persistence. It finally connected. Life is good. I was hoping to crank out a thousand words but I'm just short of 800. It will have to do for today... That's a wrap! |
| I guess this is the last thin I'll get to for the day. We had our Thanksgiving today since my son was working on Thursday. He was supposed to come today but sent a note that it would be tomorrow. Meanwhile, the turkey was already in the oven. And my wife loaded up my plate, enough for three meals. I was supposed to ride bike today in addition to my walk but it was cold and with a breeze so I only did the one mile walk with Kassi. She is hard to walk with. If I walk on the sidewalk, she wants to walk down the middle and not far enough ahead so I risk tripping over her. I did trip twice today and almost fell down the first time. I have a walking stick and I keep prodding her with it but she doesn't get the idea. Strange though, on the way back she always gets about 6 feet ahead. I wish she did that when going. She's also fearful of strangers, always has been, even with kids. Usually with collies, kids are like magnets. She is small though and perhaps was the runt of the litter. Meanwhile, my cat Chatterbox isn't eating or drinking, has lost a lot of weight and I think he's going to fall asleep and not wake up. He's around 18 years old and has been getting unsteady on his feet for several weeks. I'm going day by day. He likes being petted but no purring. He tries to arch up but he's very feeble. I hope nature will be kind and let him go peacefully. I've already picked out a resting spot in the front where he liked to lay in the sun. I watched quite a bit of the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry today. Unfortunately, the Buckeyes lost. They were higher ranked but Michigan seems to have their number. Hope springs eternal for next year. The Browns play Denver tomorrow. I think they should win but that's why they play, there are no guarantees who comes out on top in the end. I wish this had a word count feature. I have to copy and paste it into my grammar checker to find out how many words. Since it is late and past my bedtime, this will have to be a wrap. Sorry so short. |
| It's a struggle. Too many interests and not enough motivation to use all the hours in a day productively. I restarted my pursuit of learning Calculus. Unfortunately in high school in my senior year, I started working at night. I had an excellent math teacher (same one for 4 year high school). From Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II and then Advanced Tri/Pre-calculus. My grades dropped. I wasted the 4th year of math, the rest of school was pretty much a waste of time. I don't even remember what else I had for courses in my senior year. Now, it hurts. But, when you're 18, have bought your own car, beer in the trunk and folding money...and it did help establish a good work ethic. I'm not sure if it was a bad thing. I was sick of school in my junior year and came very close to dropping out. Let bygones be bygones, it is what it is. I'm doing online courses for math now. I started with Algebra I as a review and I can still remember much of what I was taught. Admittedly, I did try to keep those skills active throughout my working career. Now, I'm straining my brain to learn something I have absolutely no real-life need for. However, it does keep my brain working. Being at the age when dementia can raise its ugly head, I do try to keep my braincells active. Meanwhile, I'm also taking an online course in writing and keeping up, not doing assignments but they aren't required. I do plan on saving all the lessons for future review and if time permits, I may go back and do some of those assignments. It's in the back of my mind. Tomorrow I turn 70. Wow! I never expected that. Both of my brothers (older) have heart issues but, knock on wood, I'm fortunate in that aspect. My mother had a healthy heart and it appears I inherited that aspect. I have been quite active in cardio pursuits over the years, not constant but my resting heart rate in in the low 60's and 50's. Once I get back onto my bicycle, I expect it to be consistently in the mid-50s like it was when I was actively running. I never enjoyed running but it was something to do while in my off hours while stationed in the Navy in Guam. I took it serious for a while. However, getting married and adapting to married life put a halt to running. I'm not sure why that is. Over the years, I have ridden bicycle off and on. Not casual riding but putting effort into it. However, I was never an endurance rider. I got started again this summer after having to take many years off due to stability issues, medication related. I've been having to take a pause after shoulder surgery since the doctor is very concerned I'll fall and smack the shoulder and screw it all up. I've determined that the weekend after turkey day I will start up again. That will be 7 weeks post surgery. I did start walking again. In years past, I walked a lot. 5 or more miles was nothing. Then the knees went south, the back went south and my hips started to complain. I started this time since I can't ride and was going every other day. This week I've started daily but I only go a half mile. The end of my street is sloped, only a 14 foot elevation change but it is tough. When I go to the VA hospital, it seems like the places I need to go are on the third floor so I take the stairs. Whew! I am huffing and puffing after two floors. I think the walking will help with that. I hope to work up to a mile a day in a few weeks. I also started taking one of the dogs with me. They are very overweight and don't get exercise other than running around the back yard. For them a half mile seems about right, maybe a bit much for the collie but she should work into the. The Belgian Malinois also seems to get pooped at a half mile but that breed will run 10 miles, get a drink and run another 10. I'm sure she'll adapt quickly. Both enjoy it but the collie wasn't near as excited at the halfway point yesterday. I thought when I started riding again that I would drop some weight. I didn't even though I was really pushing it. I'm not a speed demon but I tried to stay under 10 minute miles. I had some very hilly terrain for my routes. I try to stay off the main road and just ride through subdivisions but they are all relatively small so it took major effort to get up to a decent distance. I was up to 12.5 miles once and had a total of over 45 for the week. That was leaving out one seemingly forever hill climb since I would have not been able to go as far had I included it. The plan is to do shorter rides but include that hill. I'd like 30 miles a week but I may have to satisfy myself with 25. That's still 100 miles a month. A bigger question is if I can continue my walking as well. Not so much for me but the dogs really need it. I'd like to have them drop several pounds before their next vet visit next year. Interestingly, since I started walking I have actually lost several pounds.I was at about 212 for a long time (not all that many years ago I was pushing 240). I got down to 210 range, then 204 but I took two courses of prednisone for bronchitis and went up to 208 and could not get it to drop. Finally, back down to 204 and gradually down to 202 but the 200 mark seemed impossible to break. I started to track calories but eating less than my body needed didn't seem to have much of an impact. The walking does seem to have been the key though as I broke below 200 this week. My target for years has been 180 but I revised that to 170 due to my lower back issues. When I went in to boot camp I was 163 and I was solid muscle. My job was quite physically demanding. Boot camp was not as much the case and they made me eat 3 times a day, I gained 10 pounds and I've only gone up from there. I think I've rambled long enough and it's getting to be my bedtime. I'll call this a wrap.It's a struggle. Too many interests and not enough motivation to use all the hours in a day productively. I restarted my pursuit of learning Calculus. Unfortunately in high school in my senior year, I started working at night. I had an excellent math teacher (same one for 4 year high school). From Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II and then Advanced Tri/Pre-calculus. My grades dropped. I pretty much wasted that year in school, well, I wasted the 4th year of math, the rest of school was pretty much a waste of time. I don't even remember what else I had for courses in my senior year. Now, it hurts. But, when you're 18, have bought your own car, beer in the trunk and folding money...and it did help establish a good work ethic. I'm not sure if it was a bad thing. I was sick of school in my junior year and came very close to dropping out. Let bygones be bygones, it is what it is. I'm doing online courses for math now. I started with Algebra I as a review and I can still remember much of what I was taught. Admittedly, I did try to keep those skills active throughout my working career. Now, I'm straining my brain to learn something I have absolutely no real-life need for. However, it does keep my brain working. Being at the age when dementia can raise its ugly head, I do try to keep my braincells active. Meanwhile, I'm also taking an online course in writing and keeping up, not doing assignments but they aren't required. I do plan on saving all the lessons for future review and if time permits, I may go back and do some of those assignments. It's in the back of my mind. Tomorrow I turn 70. Wow! I never expected that. Both of my brothers (older) have heart issues but, knock on wood, I'm fortunate in that aspect. My mother had a healthy heart and it appears I inherited that aspect. I have been quite active in cardio pursuits over the years, not constant but my resting heart rate in in the low 60's and 50's. Once I get back onto my bicycle, I expect it to be consistently in the mid-50s like it was when I was actively running. I never enjoyed running but it was something to do while in my off hours while stationed in the Navy in Guam. I took it serious for a while. However, getting married and adapting to married life put a halt to running. I'm not sure why that is. Over the years, I have ridden bicycle off and on. Not casual riding but putting effort into it. However, I was never an endurance rider. I got started again this summer after having to take many years off due to stability issues, medication related. I've been having to take a pause after shoulder surgery since the doctor is very concerned I'll fall and smack the shoulder and screw it all up. I've determined that the weekend after turkey day I will start up again. That will be 7 weeks post surgery. I did start walking again. In years past, I walked a lot. 5 or more miles was nothing. Then the knees went south, the back went south and my hips started to complain. I started this time since I can't ride and was going every other day. This week I've started daily but I only go a half mile. The end of my street is sloped, only a 14 foot elevation change but it is tough. When I go to the VA hospital, it seems like the places I need to go are on the third floor so I take the stairs. Whew! I am huffing and puffing after two floors. I think the walking will help with that. I hope to work up to a mile a day in a few weeks. I also started taking one of the dogs with me. They are very overweight and don't get exercise other than running around the back yard. For them a half mile seems about right, maybe a bit much for the collie but she should work into the. The Belgian Malinois also seems to get pooped at a half mile but that breed will run 10 miles, get a drink and run another 10. I'm sure she'll adapt quickly. Both enjoy it but the collie wasn't near as excited at the halfway point yesterday. I thought when I started riding again that I would drop some weight. I didn't even though I was really pushing it. I'm not a speed demon but I tried to stay under 10 minute miles. I had some very hilly terrain for my routes. I try to stay off the main road and just ride through subdivisions but they are all relatively small so it took major effort to get up to a decent distance. I was up to 12.5 miles once and had a total of over 45 for the week. That was leaving out one seemingly forever hill climb since I would have not been able to go as far had I included it. The plan is to do shorter rides but include that hill. I'd like 30 miles a week but I may have to satisfy myself with 25. That's still 100 miles a month. A bigger question is if I can continue my walking as well. Not so much for me but the dogs really need it. I'd like to have them drop several pounds before their next vet visit next year. Interestingly, since I started walking I have actually lost several pounds.I was at about 212 for a long time (not all that many years ago I was pushing 240). I got down to 210 range, then 204 but I took two courses of prednisone for bronchitis and went up to 208 and could not get it to drop. Finally, back down to 204 and gradually down to 202 but the 200 mark seemed impossible to break. I started to track calories but eating less than my body needed didn't seem to have much of an impact. The walking does seem to have been the key though as I broke below 200 this week. My target for years has been 180 but I revised that to 170 due to my lower back issues. When I went in to boot camp I was 163 and I was solid muscle. My job was quite physically demanding. Boot camp was not as much the case and they made me eat 3 times a day, I gained 10 pounds and I've only gone up from there. I think I've rambled long enough and it's getting to be my bedtime. I'll call this a wrap. |
| I'm starting to realize, I'd like to write and have a goal of magazine articles along with pictures but right now, that isn't my focus so perhaps i need to take a step back and keep notes for future reference so when the focus does come to writing, I'll have ideas/materials pigeon-holed. I drove up to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park on Sunday. I was able to visit an old boss from 20 years ago (I really enjoyed working for him). He wants me to come up in the spring and go fly fishing so I'm penciling that in on my calendar. He was able to show me around his place. His wife has horses and he has lots of nice toys (tractors/golf carts/lawn mowers/"man" toys). He has a huge pile of stuff from the horses and he showed me the resulting compost he gets. I went up to get photos of the fall leaves but I was on the late side. If I had gone out Sunday afternoon instead of meeting my old boss, I may have gotten some good photos but Sunday night/Monday morning there was a pretty good wind and the leaves were falling like snow. I don't much care for getting pictures of half naked trees...so no photos. Monday I was able to find a local waterfall and did get some nice, postcard type, images. I had to go up a set of stairs, 160+ steps and then a trail between big rocks and over roots. I was surprised I was able to make it but I was careful, took it slow and paid attention so I wouldn't slip on the leaves on the steps. I was hoping to get some photos of elk but I really didn't know where to find them. There are signs on the roads for elk crossing but in midst of commercial development, I think those would be a matter of luck. I was fortunate that I met a couple that was admiring the waterfall and mentioned to them I was looking for elk. They told me where they had seen them the day before and told me I should have been there Friday for the leaves, that was apparently the last of the good ones. Tuesday I went to the area I'd been told about for elk and I was there an hour before sunrise. There was another car that pulled up and I got out of my truck and started talking to two guys that had driven down from Maryland. It was dark but as it slowly started to get light, I looked out over the big, open field and saw a shape. It was a long ways off and I couldn't tell what it was and it wasn't moving. It wasn't there before though so I was sure it wasn't a bush. One of the guys got his binoculars and determined it was an elk laying in the grass. It didn't take long and there were several more shapes. I set up my camera on a tripod and was able to adjust it so the screen looked like it was bright daylight. The advantage of a mirrorless camera is you are seeing exactly what the sensor has. You can verify the affect of the various adjustments, shuttter/aperture/iso, and see exactly what the image will look like. I was impressed. Unfortunately, my lens wasn't really long enough to be able to zoom in and get nice, tight shots but I did get some nice wide angle views and by then there were about 2 dozen animals. Sunrise was at 7:53 and my first image I took at 7:55. In the valley, there is no "blue" or "golden" hour when the sun just starts to provide light. The tops of the ridges were slowly lightning up but it was still pretty dark on the valley floor. I came out with some images that I was quite happy with, especially considering what the conditions were. I had been told about another waterfall (there are dozens but I was looking for short hikes due to physical limitations). This one had a nice, paved trail, about a quarter mile long and then you had to walk down steps to get to the viewing platform. This was another 160+ steps, leaf covered but with benches to stop and rest on if needed. The bad thing was, you had to go down the steps to get to the view so you were committed. The day before I had to go up the steps. I felt that was better in case I decided I physically couldn't make it the whole way. Then all I would miss out was the view. In this case I had to go down and hope it was worth it. Fortunately it was and I surprised myself that Ii didn't have issues going down or going back up. The photo was well worth it. I drove back that afternoon. Almost 900 miles for a few pictures. I'm already planning for next year and I hope I'm in a bit better shape and can visit several more falls. It was nice to meet up with the old boss. I need to learn to fly fish before April. I'm taking a course at a local fishing education center as well as starting fly tying classes. I'm looking forward to it...and to another trip in the fall for the leaves. I hope in the spring I can get the baby elk, perhaps whitetail deer as well. And I received a new lens today. It will be much much better. And that's a wrap. I had PT this morning on my shoulder and now it is killing me... |
| Getting an early start at this today. I think it is better than my last minute entries at night. I met with my new primary care provider today. She seemed to be very good and someone I can work with. We discussed several different items and she sent in prescriptions for my meds that I take. We're going to try something for my ADD and see if it has any impact. Then I go back to see her in 2 months. This should work out well. The medication she is prescribing is also supposed to help with cognitive functioning, enhancing memory and creativity. That sure would be a plus. I took my lens, in it's case to be shipped. Although it does have a rugged case, I had them box it with bubble wrap around it. It is going Fed-Ex so it should arrive to the buyer early next week. Hopefully they accept it and will credit my bank account and then I can order the additional lenses that I want to get. That should be pretty close to satisfying my needs for lenses. I have a virtual course on entomology presented by the state this evening. It is targeted towards fly fishermen so they can recognize which insects the fish seem to be interested in. Fish can be very selective and if you have a different color or different shape, they'll ignore it. It keeps you from wasting your time casting the wrong thing. My course this evening preempts my writing tonight. so getting this done now is good...bad thing is my mind is rather blank at the moment. I guess I'll call this a wrap for the day. |
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It is nice to see someone here with similar background interests. I too like to ride my adult tricycle, spent time on Guam Island in 1968, and held a ham radio license. I was known as The Stork because I was an RN in surgery in charge of the OB/GYN Department. Hubby was known as The Bodyman{/] because he repaired and painted car bodies, and my son was known as 10 Speed. What better way to describe a teenage boy. 