Frozen Fish & Other Ideas From The Freezer

matt & kelsey june 2008

paper-foxy designs jewels of phoenix

valentine wired heart-khristy schmidt

font-Rockford

It was mighty chilly last night here, attaining a cold 38F degrees. Brrr. Cold. Had to turn on the space heater in the bathroom. As our house is so well insulated (thanks to yours truly!), the tiny appliance pretty much kept the whole home warm.

While out biking today and taking a whole different route, I think I might have seen a ZEBRA. Or, I might have been hallucinating. Take your pick.

If I pass by that ranch again, I will endeavor to take a picture.What with the humpty-back camel and now the zebra, I have to wonder if I am living in Idaho or the Seregenti.

The wind was so blustery today that even when I was biking downhill and attempting to coast, I felt like I was hitting a brick wall. The wind nearly put me at a standstill. So it was a really good workout today.

Greg talked with his dad the other day. Did I tell you that? Whatever.

Anyway, Marv FORGOT that he could only have $100,000 in each account in order for the FDIC to insure the money. So he panicked when the news came out that a few banks were failing. Grandpa L ran to his phone and proceeded to re-distribute his wealth in various accounts.

Duh. Can he really be this DUMB?

I thought he had his accountant think about things like that.

Obviously, I was wrong in assuming that.

Wish he would hire ME as his accountant.

I'd give him bad advice (or NO advice in this case) just like that accountant

and still get paid $75K per year.

Washing the dog bedding today. Which royally pisses her off. She has to sleep on her bed with only her down comforter now. Poor little thing.

The vet reported that she lost 6 pounds and has 24 more to go.

When we went up to Sandpoint last night to get groceries, hubby stopped at Arby's to get Cheddar & Roast Beef sandwiches for her.

She only got 2 instead of all 4.

There were a couple neat things we found at the store the other day. One special thing for Matt, so we packed them up and should be ready to ship them out tomorrow. We are going to drop them off when we go on our bike ride along the Centennial Trail.

Hub is really getting into biking all of a sudden.

Just too bad I can't get him into motorcycling again.

We will probably have to pick up a bike trailer for Isabelle as she probably can't run that far along with us without having a heart attack~

I think it might be fun to take the dinner cruise on the St. Joe River when Kelsey comes back at the end of the month. It might be fun. Hope the weather stays pleasant until then.

Spoky-Jo Fair Sept 5-14

Brunch/Dinner Cruise on the River

Soldering Workshop in Portland, OR - Sept 30

Pick Up Kelsey's New Jeep

Ride the Route Of The Hiawatha Bike Trail

Thanksgiving at Grandpa L's in Tucson, AZ

Yes Sir, Anything You Say, Sir!

I've been ordered to be less cryptic.

Since I was only writing for myself lately, and not my teeming audience of millions, it seemed to be easier - not require as much effort.

So here goes the official "book" of Bob's Life.

I have been suffering from an unusual ennui (duh, look it up. Do I HAVE to explain everything?) This general disinterest or boredom has immersed me in the dumps lately. Everything I do has not pulled me out of this. I would hate to go back on the meds that I was taking many years ago. The feeling I am suffering from now is more boredom than the anger that I experienced in the past. The meds I was taking for depression last time was the Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) named Paroxetine (Paxil). Which reminds me that my mother used to bring me HER Paxil when she would visit - I dunno. Probably thinking that I couldn't get anymore or needed more than my prescribed dosage. I would take them from her politely "Thanks Mom, I really appreciate it" and then stick them back in her purse behind her back!

After my morning 15 miles on the bike Monday morning, it required a necessary overwhelming effort to come home, put away dishes, do some laundry, tan, and vacuum.

I wandered the house all day, like a worn-out ghost. Wanting to do something, but having no direction to do anything!

So at the end of the day, it looked like nothing had been done and I was no further ahead yet still the feeling of disinterest remained.

Monday night ended with me having endometriosis pain yet again. This usually strikes at the most inopportune of times. Specifically in this instance it was 2AM. Not a most aware time of the night for anyone. In the not-so-distant past, Greg (hubby-bubby) had not comprehended or experienced with me the extent of the pain that I endure while in the throes of this malady. One night while I was in the midst of my excruciating anguish, trying to keep as quiet as possible the screaming agony, rocking away naked in the bathrub (wow-isn't this just the greatest picture in your imagination!) the hubby came downstairs to use the bathroom. Obviously my leaving the bed had awoken him from sleep. So he heard & saw the actual suffering. Immediately that night and forever since, he has badgered me to have an hysterectomy - as if that invasive surgery would be the be-all, end-all cure of everything I am suffering. What 1950s retro-thinking!

After soaking in the tub with the hottest possible boiling water available and taking God-knows how many aspirin... (if I die folks, check my body for aspirin-it will probably be an accidental overdose!) I trudge to my bed feeling like I had been hit by a tank. The hubby - barely awake, starts the torment all over again as he attempts to convince me to have something done about it. As one can read and as I have been told by the doctors repeatedly, there is no known cure for endometriosis. Hub is attempting to talk to me after I loaded myself with aspirin - and he is nearly half-asleep. This haranguing keeps up for well over 30 minutes until he falls into a gentle sleepy-slumber.

Tuesday, was cooler and after my 15 mile bike ride with the sudden winds coming up, I got home in time to see my latte on the deck. Again, the hubby has drawn another "cat" upon it and cheerfully, I sit at my computer to check messages, savoring the java hot concoction.

After a while, I arise to visit the refrigerator to see what delicious Yogurt that I can ingest that day. For many years my husband attempted to have me try yogurt and I refused vehemently. UNTIL our Euro trip and the hotel in Rome. At which point, I spooned what looked like white pudding into my mouth - (daring! folks. Putting something in your mouth and not knowing what it is!) the white pudding ended up being the most delicious vanilla yogurt that I have ever eaten. Yum. Yummy. Yummy-licious! Yummy-potamus!

So now I am stuck on Yogurt, Cause Yogurt's stuck on me! Here is my yogurt "cloud" that I made over at WORDLE. You could sit for hours having fun making one after another. Try it. You'll get hooked!

By the way, I had Blueberry flavor yogurt on Tuesday morning.

The dog awoke from a nap/rest/sleep – when you get a Mastiff – you will realize that they sleep pretty much 23 out of 24-and she waddled out onto the deck to take a nap in the sun. I caught a picture of her before she jumped and scuttled back into the house. It gives me hours of entertainment watching her walk. A Fila Brasileiro or 'Brazilian Mastiff' has a "camel's gait" moving two legs of one side first, followed by two legs of the other side, which causes a rolling lateral movement on the hindquarters accentuated by the tail when raised. Her belly rolls sideways and it is most amusing to observe when walking behind her.

Anyway, a pic of her heavy napping in the sunshine. --->

In the late afternoon, a brilliant wind came up and was blowing everything to chaos & back. Then a little spittle of rain fell. Not much to worry about.

Greg worked on Joe's Bronco for a while and Chachi came over to help for a while. There were a couple of other kids down there - Jonathan and a friend - who were working on Jonathan's transmission.

I rode down to the shop a few times on my bicycle to razz them all - then back again. The dog followed me down both times, so she got her work-out for the day!

Have been totally frustrated in my battling of the ATVs, motorcycles and other vehicles that have been annihilating the land in front of our property. These rude people think it is their “right” to destroy right-of-way property along the highway even those these are not appropriate trails.

Each year, an increasing amount of users of off-highway vehicles are abusing the highway right-of-way for their recreation. This practice creates a safety concern for both motorists and homeowners.

The majority of the off-highway vehicles that create problems by traveling along the highway right-of-way are all terrain vehicles (ATVs), motorcycles, and snowmobiles.

Safety issues associated with off-highway vehicles traveling along the highway right-of-way include errant off-highway vehicles having the potential to strike licensed highway vehicle users, off-highway vehicle users damaging ditches, backslopes, driveways, etc. This can lead to a massive amount of erosion problems that can be significant and expensive to fix.

Off road travel can scar the land, disturb wildlife, ignite wildfire, and spread noxious weeds.

The preceding paragraphs were included in the letters that I wrote to the Idaho State Patrol, the Idaho Governor's office and my Congressman. I did receive a letter from the ISP; blah, blah, blah. Can't patrol - not enough force - impossible to enforce. Which is a B.S. lie because I have NEVER seen any patrol car sitting in a strategic spot to enforce this situation. Plus, the ISP makes me sound like a complaining old biddy.

HERE are pictures of the wreckage that has occurred in 3 short months. As the Avista natural gas had installed pipe in this area just last year, this is totally VIRGIN right-of-way that was seeded.

There has been many times when the roaring, speeding idiots have ripped through so fast that they are totally ignorant of any vehicles in driveways or on the highways. Several have not stopped when we were actually sitting in our vehicle in our own driveway. When I am on my bicycle, I have nearly been hit by several of these joy-riders!

Here are a couple of pics of ONE ATV and the dust created in the wake of his vehicle. This kid was obviously underage, which requires a helmet to be worn...speeding at over 55 miles per hour, and not wearing any protective gear whatsoever. The resulting dust storm obliterated a clear view of the oncoming traffic in the highway and I observed vehicles turning on their lights just to be able to see. This has occurred to me many times as I have driven different highways locally. It would not take a lot for these things to wipe out on the treacherous terrain and go sliding out in front of a vehicle. But dammit! It is their God-Given right to abuse the land such as this. NOT.

In addition to this obscentity, I will have to start writing MORE letters as Idaho State Statute
49-1801 indicates- ABANDONMENT PROHIBITED.
(1) No person shall abandon a vehicle upon any highway.

Obviously, the Idaho State Patrol refuses to enforce this State Statute, also. See below photo - to wit. These are the vehicles parked for the last 5 weeks at the corner of Hwy 95 & Hwy 54 -directly in the right-of-way. These people that own these vehicles think that this is a prime area to advertise their vehicles "for sale". But the amount of cars that pull out onto the roadway in between the traffic lights without observing surrounding cars are numerous. I have been almost hit twice by cars that pull over to gawk at the sale cars. Gee. Didn't know there was a car lot along that highway!

Do I really sound like I complain a lot? I don't. It just frustates me to see the area deteriorating so rapidly with no enforcement at all. There are laws in effect that address these issues.

This morning, hubby, myself & dog went down to town to get lattes. It was a fun few minutes together and Isabelle had a great ride with her head hanging out the window, ears flapping in the wind!

I am presently going to go and exercise on my stationary bike in the gym basement as the wind is blowing too much outside with storm clouds threatening. It might be that we will get the rainfall today that we missed yesterday.

On MSN today, I thought it was entirely amusing to see "How To Leave Your Husband/Wife" in the Money Section. Great. Expert advice. Just what we don't need!

Tonight we tentatively plan on getting groceries. Woot! A big Date-Night-Out!

Am still working on my flannel rag quilt. It takes so very long to cut all the pieces. Urgh.

P.ost S.cript - I got Jill's blanket done & mailed. And she was nice enough to take a picture of it for posterity. Go see it here http://jsikardi.blogspot.com/

Later - the UPS man came flying down the driveway. Isabelle began braying & barking to ward off the big brown van...and I ran out to exchange a few words with Bill as he had been on vacation for the past few weeks. Bill & family went over to Bend, OR to visit relatives and bicycle. He even showed me the crashandburn scar on his leg. Gross. Guys always love to show girls their bloody injuries.

Even Later - Shined, buffed, & polished the wood floors to a high gloss. Whew! Sweat is pouring off me, will have to sit down with a nice cup of suntea!

Life Continues

Same old, same old.

Saturday
I woke up in endo-pain, so skipped biking; Dosed myself with so many aspirins that I couldn't wake up until late afternoon. Real groggy.

While I was being an invalid, Greg hauled old cars out to back of property; sorted through old metal.

Sunday
Had coffee on deck while reading newspaper. Gave dog a wash. Went for a walk. Relaxed around home.

Hiawatha Trail

THURSDAY

Bike ride in AM; Then took Isabelle into the Vet at 3:15PM for her annual check up and get her toenails trimmed.

Doc said she is doing perfectly. Brought her home afterwards for a great treat of hotdogs!

FRIDAY

We arose bright & early. Packed a lunch & snacks. Ensured we had plenty of fresh water. Then we all climbed into the truck for a 1 1/2 hour trip to the border of Montana so we could bike the Hiawatha Trail.

17 miles which stretches between the East Portal of Roland - an extinct mining town; the trail includes ten tunnels and seven high steel trestles. It was such a fun, beautiful day. We even had time to have lunch along the trail. Stopped in Kellogg on the way back to have ice cream at Izzy's favorite hamburger joint. Looked at new trucks at Dave Smith Motors. Then came home - by that time it was very late 6pm.

Put bikes away, took baths to clean off the dust & dirt of the trail. Watched a little tv, went to bed.

Bugs, Rain & Clouds

Sunday

Both of us were sick with a low-grade fever and body aches. So we pretty much stayed at home, dozing on the couch - swallowing aspirins.

Monday

I was still pretty much out of it, even tho hubby managed to go to work. Felt like a zombie all day.

Tuesday

Back in the groove. Must have been a 24 hour bug. However, it rained with dark, dingy clouds hanging in the sky all day. I did my 15 miles in the basement gym.

Wednesday

Again, rain & dark clouds. Getting my hair done today over in Spoky-Jo. Since hubby started work early today, he will be off in time to come with me. So maybe we can catch a movie.

Buh Bye Dually!

It's been 3 years. Time for Dually to go. Going to a very nice, loving home. He will be traveling over the road nationally to pick up custom cars. Josh will be a good owner. He's coming to pick up Dually today and told us he already has scheduled an appointment to detail & wax him. Lovely.

Isabelle never had a window to poke her head out of...only a little window that popped out - she could put her nose out, but actually could not hang her head out. Plus, I never liked the seats or the console in the Dually. The seats were uncomfortable and the console would flip up if you leaned on it. Not quite my favorite vehicle. Greg has a lot of ideas what to buy next, consolidate all our cars so we don't have to insure EVERYTHING...or get a roll-off to haul his trailer across country. He's not sure.

We went last night to pick up the check as the new owner is financing it through American General Credit. We made a nice tidy profit considering that we put on 30,000K miles in 3 1/2 years, and never put a penny into it except for the killer stereo. Afterwards, we stopped on the way home to eat at Las Chavelas - Greg's favorite Mexican restaurant.

After my 15.9 miles biking, we went to get lattes, drop off garbage at the dump, then stop at the Post Office to mail the kids' boxes - mostly clothes that they had purchased while they were here. Greg joked that he had to sell the Dually in order to pay for mailing the boxes. One box weighed 43 pounds = $75 plus insurance...the other weighed about 50 pounds = $83 plus insurance. Also mailed off Jill's baby blanket. Damn it. I forgot to take a picture to show. Shit. Crap. I'm so dumb.

Greg will work down at the shop for a while on Joe's Bronco; while I work on my quilt some more. Then at 3:00 we plan to go to the FREE concert.

Restful

Last night after Buddy Lee got home, we packed a picnic lunch and drove down to Farragut Park to eat. We spread out our quilted blanket on the grass verge overlooking the lake.

You could be seeing pics of us on the blanket, the deer we saw, the prairie dogs that Izzy ran after voraciously, or the ducks that paddled to see us as we walked on the docks. But NO, I forgot to take my damn camera.

Remind me to get a piercing in my right wrist so that I may attach a chain to the camera. Thus, it will be with me permanently!

After a wonderful sleep last night with temps around 47F degrees and the ability to leave the windows open all night long Buddy L went to get lattes this morning. As he was in line getting them, the latte girl had made contact with a local (country) radio station that was giving away FREE tickets to Clint Black. I hate Clint Black. His singing is nasal. That's MY opinion - don't bitch. Mostly, I dislike most country except for select Trace Adkins songs (such a deep voice yummy) or ANYTHING by Eddie Rabbitt - oooh, driving my life away, looking for a better day...huh? What? Oh. Sorry. Just lost in the past-

So BL got free tickets to see CB at the Two Rivers Casino which has a new venue with Festival Seating - *in other words - sit on the grass, bring your own seats* They want to encourage attendance, (what is Clint Black really THAT old and THAT bad that they have to 'encourage attendance'????) anyway, BL wants to go just to have something to do and "if it's free, it's for me!" plus, there will be 3 other bands there. They might be good. Or we might leave early.

The wind is blowing at a brisk 10 mph, with lots of gusts. So no bike riding for me today. I will go down to the gym room and exercise for an hour, then tan. Work on quilt again today. Looks to be a very nice day outside, so maybe more mowing later.

Ben & Jerry's have an ice cream flavor - Cake Batter. Thinking that this would satisfy my craving like TCBY's Cake Mix, I decided to try it. They must have loaded it with the incorrect flavor as it tastes like chocolate & vanilla; weaved ribbons of ice cream. Not Cake Batter at all. Unless you have ever tasted chocolate & vanilla cake. Odd.

Just to let you know, we didn't win the lottery.

Energy Reserves

I have energy galore. Feeling really energetic. Full of vigor. Oomph.

So, after biking 15.9 miles today from 7:00a - 8:15a I came home to pick up pinecones, mow the lawn, install my new solar path lights, water the plants, pick weeds, make chicken for dinner tonight, do 3 loads of laundry, wash dishes, put dishes away, and work on my quilt. It is only 2:00p now.

Might have to tan later tonight.

How's your day going?

Same Old Shit, Different Day

Boring.

My life has turned into one boring non-entity. Day after day of the same thing.

Boring.
Wake, bike, tan, exercise, clean, sew, eat, pee, poop, sleep.
Boring.

We ran into town today to deposit our government stimulus check (hubby's social security number was probably one of the very last to be issued a check...) and stopped at Costco to get some necessities.

Really, really, really NEED to do something else to break out of the doldrums.

Life is probably so content right now. Do we really need something disturbing to break us out of the routine?

Hubby might have sold the Dually, so we can put that towards the purchase of a new Dodge Ram PowerWagon.

Right now, I'm looking forward to the Spoky-Jo County Interstate Fair taking place in September 5-14. That's always fun to attend.

Gosh-That's SO pathetic. Looking forward to a freakin' fair. Ugh.

A Brief Glimpse of Death

Somewhere during my 15.6 miles yesterday, a mini-van decided they wanted to run me over. I'm not the quiet type, so when their vehicular behemoth winded beside me closed enough to ruffle the sleeve of my sweatshirt with their side mirror, I was immediately returning their favor with a lifted finger raised & a scream - "move over, lady or i'll beat your ass with a stick!"

This incident scared me enough that I'm taking a short break today from biking on the road. Instead, I will go downstairs to the gym room and bike on the stationary bike while watching a movie. It is very enjoyable to get outside to enjoy the beautiful summer day, but Hey! Enough is enough. I don't want to die. I just want to get into shape!

Hubby took Isabelle to the Auto Swap Meet to sit with him for HOURS. The poor little dog was pretty well-behaved and even let several people pet her. They had a great place in the shade of a tree so were not hot all day long like some in the sun.

While they were gone, I got a little of the house cleaned, and exercised even more on the elliptical while watching a movie on TV - Broken Trail staring Robert Duvall. Which, by the way is a great mini-epic movie.

We ran up to Sandpoint to see the lake; while doing some grocery shopping. Why does it seem like you always run out of everything at once?

Today will be spent picking up the car from the Swap Meet- and hey! Guess what else? Since steel prices are so high, and everybody is getting big bucks to take things to the crusher, I have almost talked Greg into taking most of everything around the shop to the crusher! Yippee. He has been so defeated lately, with the way he feels. The last surgery has really sapped his strength and even tho he has been talking for years about "I'll fix that up" (you know the old line...) but never has the time to do it. He is finally working on my Bronco, but that will probably take another year b4 it is finished.

Well, I hate to burst his bubble, but it has been about 17 years since he touched any of the vehicles he wants to restore. So they are just sitting there decaying. Why not clean up the property, and get some money out of them? I advised him, just select 1-2 "special" projects he might want to do...then scrap the rest.

Really hoping that he takes advice this to heart. Maybe he'll think about it today.

When I returned home from my biking yesterday, he had gotten lattes (for a guy that didn't know about caffeine until a few years ago, he has turned into almost a bigger addict than I am...) Out on the deck stood my lone drink and he had drawn his logo "cat" on the side. He doesn't draw anything else besides this. Not artistic at all. But as I rode my bike up the drive, it was so cute to see, standing there in the sunlight. Cheered me up a lot.

Freezing My A** Off!

So today dawns nice and early. 6am was when hubby set the alarm to ring. Yeah. We still have one of THOSE alarms. But he hits the snooze and it keeps ringing every 5 minutes. How irritating. So we roll out of bed by 6:15 and he's out of the house shortly thereafter to take the car to the swap meet; taking along the dog & Chachi for company.

I'm out biking by 7:45. Because I had to wait for it to WARM up! YES. You heard me. Warm Up. Because when we woke up, it was friggin' 36F degrees! Only 4 degrees above freezing. Tonight's balmly temp is reported to be 37F degrees! With a high of 85F degrees tomorrow. This is insane weather!!!

When I returned home from my ride, I had to sit in the office with the space heater on full blast - while my frozen fingers scrapped out many digital LOs to commemorate the kids visit in June.

An-t-way, I did 15.6 miles today. Got to say "hello" to my friends, the baby alpaca who is now running over to the fence to see me; "hi" to the mini cow (remember, Kelsey?) and "hi" to the many horses along the way. And the stinky pigs.

After tanning- boy, I am SO brown (red). But probably not as brown as the in-laws. I was so envious of them when we met at the airport to drop off the kids. The in-out-laws seem to tan naturally. My tans tend to be a more dark reddish. The tan-tattoo of a bunny is back on my boob. Hey Kelsey! I said BOOB!

The kids called - seemed like they didn't want to talk about much. We all just rambled. But Matt got his wisdom teeth removed. Poor kid. He was having a lot of pain in his jaw while he was here and I was able to get him fixed up with some nice meds to combat his pain. Trust a Mom to have leftover prescription medicine! Can you say PERCOCET?

Since we watched Hellboy last night, Greg is intrigued to see Hellboy 2 - so maybe we get to go to another movie this weekend!

So Much

So much to do. So little time.

By the time I get up at 6am; make breakfast & pack a lunch for hubby; then bike for 1 1/2 or 2 hours; I return home to suntan for 20 minutes; then outside to enjoy the wonderful summer weather by picking up pinecones; gardening; mowing; then back inside to work on my quilt for a while; plus work out on the elliptical; clean house which includes doing laundry & dishes. By which time somewhere in there, hubby returns home - and we have dinner. Then I fall exhausted into bed. And I mean DEAD exhausted. Where does the day go?

Yes, Theresa, I am feeling so G.U.I.L.T.Y. about not getting back to scrapping yet. I will try to make it over to the scrapbook stores this week. Gee only 1 day left of this week! Anyway, I was enthused again over Shawna's LOs and finally was looking at her pics on SLIDE. She has one she did about ME! It's called KINDNESS. What a sweetie.

Kindness by Shawna Clingerman

My biking overall total was dismal for the 2nd week as there was too much wind. The headwind defeats me, so I bike downstairs, instead. Today begins the 3rd week I have been biking everyday.

Lost track of Greg's dad yesterday. Friends of his called our home looking for him. He was playing possum and wasn't picking up his home phone or his cell. In a panic, we tried contacting him and after many hours finally got to talk to him. He is OK, at home. Greg scolded him and told him "Mister - You are going to be on a curfew from now on..." and Marv in his funny I Will Not Be Told What To Do voice replied, "I don't need a curfew!"

Other than that, Life has been pretty boring.

Greg is getting a car ready to take to the Spoky Automotive Swap Meet this weekend.

4th Weekend - Independence Day Weekend

FRIDAY
Our 4th was kinda boring.

I biked in the morning; however, the wind was blowing so hard that I called hubby to come pick me up after 4 miles...finished working out on the elliptical after I got home.

We spent the rest of the day sitting around home -

It was overcast like it would rain with lots of dark grey clouds.

We watched some TV

Sat outside enjoying the sun & relaxing

Played with the dog rolling the ball around.

I made M&M cookies late in afternoon.

Got groceries in Spirit Lake around 4:00pm - it was a mad house!

All we needed was bread & milk.

Had to fight to get through the aisles.

Then about 9:15 we went over to Silverwood to watch the fireworks.

About 10minutes worth- but there are so many others around that were shooting them off.

Instead of vacationing, more people are staying home because of the gasoline prices and setting off their own fireworks!

At 10:15 we returned home, and I was so tired I fell into bed.

SATURDAY
Got up early & biked
Got latte at Starbucks
Picked up yard lights at Home Depot
Washed truck

Walked along Lake Shore Drive in CDA
Went to Hancock movie in Post Falls at 12:20PM. Isabelle napped in the aisle while we watched.
Got yogurt at TCBY (kids got me hooked on Birthday Cake)
Wedding at Farragut Park at 3PM

Isabelle chased prairie dogs at the park
Home by 7:45PM

Fell into bed exhausted after a hot shower.


SUNDAY
Another relaxing day at home.

I made waffles, bacon, eggs & toast for breakfast.

The traditional big Sunday breakfast.

We haven’t indulged in a while.

Greg watched his Spike TV & Auto shows on TV

We picked up lattes later.

I biked in the basement as it was overcast again & very windy.

High of only 78F degrees.

Watched Sin City while biking.

2 hours 15 min and 24 miles.

That should make up for the lack for the past couple days.

Downloaded digi-scrapbook stuff;

organized my files on my computer. Picked up pinecones.

Went for a bike ride with Greg & Izzy.

Dog kept up pretty good. We only rode for about 1/4 mile.

While they drove back, I rode about 3 miles before going home.

Watched In Plain Sight and Law & Order; Criminal Intent.

That's How Izzy Rolls

Obviously a new catch phrase. Calvin coined it after watching Isabelle flop out of the truck post-marathon nap.

"That's How Izzy Rolls".

WEDNESDAY

Was almost 95 percent humidity. Soaking wet. Couldn't breathe. I woke up at 3AM to turn on the swamp cooler and it still couldn't cool the house down at that time of morning. Felt like a massive rock on the top of my chest. Neither of us could sleep. I turned on a fan directly on us. When we woke up that morning, all the windows in the house had a fine sheen of moisture on them.

Isabelle came into our room to sleep by the bed.

Something must have frightened her during the night?

Biked, tanned, picked up pinecones, started on sewing quilt, washed Izzy's bed.

Didn't really want to do too much as it was too humid.

Greg worked on fixing diggy things on VZ equipment. New rules, money tight at VZ, no overtime. Bad times. Management being cheap - so Greg puts in regular ticket and he can repair their stuff for them.

The Locating contractors that VZ hired have had more cuts in 1 month than in the previous 12 months combined. VZ is now looking to get out of the contract. Love to say "Told You So" to those butt-hos. VZ is also looking to sell any property they can - obviously trying to find a way to declare a profit to shareholders. I repeat- beware of this company.

(My computer desktop for July)

THURSDAY

FYI - I biked a total of 81.3 miles last week.

This morning I only biked 10 miles. Still humid. But not as bad as yesterday.

Think pancakes sound good after seeing the picture on my kid's blog site. She made pancakes, bacon, & eggs for their breakfast the other day.

Will probably sew on quilt more today, straighten out the rat's-nest of extension cords that hubby has in the garage.

4th of July will probably be a BBQ at the Fireworks stand in A-town, Richie C has invited us down for FREE BBQ & drinks. Plus fireworks. Bayview's fireworks will be on Saturday night directly after the boat parade.

Sure wish the kids were here to share the fireworks with us!

Biking Maniac

I have been doing pretty good on my biking so far. This is a chart that I made. This exercise is in addition to the 30 minutes I am doing on the elliptical.

Tania JPS really inspired me to exercise. She lost a bagunch of weight when she started to RUN. Even tho I can't run because I have too many old injuries, I can bike! I learned that too much was aching when the kids were here and I knew that I had to get back into shape.

Sleeping at night has been much better and we have been getting to bed sooner. Getting up at the butt-crack-of-dawn is not so tough anymore - along with the opportunity it gives me to enjoy the beautiful mornings.

Today hasn't been so great - the heat is horrible - along with the oppressive HUMIDITY. The swamp cooler can't keep up; the air is SO heavy; it feels as if we are still living in Iowa. Detesting my hair's constant frizziness while living there became a way of growing up. I didn't realize that a permanent bird's nest was affixed to my head until we moved from there!

*Little Known Fact - We were watching Hello Dolly! the 1969 film starring Barbra Streisand. And the actor that plays Cornelius Hackl is actually MICHAEL CRAWFORD who later went on to be the in the title role of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom Of The Opera (1986). The musical in London that we saw while we visited the kids in the UK. Of course, Michael Crawford was not in the title role when we saw it. But you could have knocked me over with a feather when I saw Hello Dolly!'s screen credits and saw that. Because he didn't sing very well back then as in my opinion, he was kinda scratchy and screechy - for a guy.

I also got my crocheting of a certain baby blanket for a certain friend - so it will be shipped off to IOWA soon.

G-Greggy (after P-Diddy; the guys gave him a new name at work while he was gone) is fixing the plows for work - so he had to go into CDA to obtain steel. B4 we went there, we dropped off Debbie's car at Richie's. In town, we also stopped at Costco for chicken and I got a new IRONMAN bike helmet. So now, I won't bonk my noggin'.


Hey Kelsey! I said BONK!


Bonk. Bonk. BONK!