My lower stomach bothered me again yesterday but some painkillers subdued the pain and today I am in good shape. I wonder if it is the golf that does it?
I have a few things to do for Dolores’ visit but most of it will be done Thursday and Friday. I will try to see Rob, Gyorgyi, and Jeff and Rachel at least.
The greenhouse is still producing, with some final lettuce and some strawberries. I am still eating fresh asparagus out of the orchard garden.
I changed my withholding on my 403B so I am now putting away 1500 a month instead of 1200. That should help cover all my expenses in December, the trip to Charleston, the trip to Big Bend, new tires and presents.
I fished this morning with George and the fishing was slow although George got a red-eye and I got one nice bluegill. He knows how to fish to be sure. I hope we can fish again when it warms up.
I am giving my 203 final and after I grade that I should be done until Maymester begins.

I have rethought taking a semester off and I think I will just do the Alaska trip the following summer and perhaps this winter I will take the desert trip. Taking a whole semester off would be very costly and I’d rather have the financial flexibility.
I had a good hike this morning, walking the steeper part three times and then cutting the grass up at the orchard. It looks very nice but I will cut it again before Dolores gets here.
Back at the house I did my weights and yoga and then headed off to get my truck fixed. Fortunately, they are going to cover it with the warranty.
I am a little nervous about the curriculum meeting this afternoon. I hope nobody asks any tough questions.
Yesterday I sold my crushed flute and my high school ring for 265 dollars so that was nice. I hadn’t expected 100. I also thought I was going to have to pass on golf, since Auburn and the Meadows were closed, but Castle Rock was open and I played well out there, shooting a 47, with the last four holes from the white tees. I chatted for a long time with Amy, the waitress at Applebees, and that was nice.

It is a rainy Sunday but I got a hike in (and identified corn salad) and heard both wood thrushes and scarlet tanagers (the latter I was really worried about).
Back in the house I rode the bike for 30 minutes.
My weight is 214 but my belly is still hurting today (I did play golf yesterday) but I am going to see what happens when I get down to 210. That should help the scars from the surgery from stretching. I haven’t had to take any pain killers so the pain is manageable.
I am also done with my grading (half a paper and half a portfolio left) so tomorrow should be nice and easy. It is supposed to rain so I doubt that I will play golf tomorrow even if my belly is feeling better.
I did my second open house on Saturday and though I only had 2 people show up, I did a good job talking to them.
My finances are stable but I have to slow down on spending money. I went overboard when I got my back pay and now it is time to conserve a little.
I have been in the hollow for over 2 and ½ years since Tracy left and I really want to stay at least till 65. That will of course depend on my health. I think retiring at 64 is very realistic but I may take fall 2013 off to write and to travel. Then I would teach at least another semester.

I am grading papers and portfolios this weekend and I am not too happy. I will be very glad when things are over.
I have to go in to do my second open house in a row and that is going to cut down my grading time even more.
My walk this morning was fine. I saw field mustard, black raspberry, white and purple violets, ragwort (finishing up), ground ivy, wild strawberry, yellow cinquefoil, lyre-leaved sage, wild geranium, star and common chickweed, garlic mustard, henbit, small flowered crowfoot. I haven’t heard a scarlet tanager yet and I hope they will be here soon. More good financial news. I will be getting a 3% bonus in December and a 2% raise in December 2013.
I had a good time fishing the north fork preparing for George’s visit on Monday. I caught a very nice rainbow right in the bend pool and had several other fish following my spinner.
After that I took a nap and then did my yoga and weights and then drove into town to ride my bike at the corporate research center and chat with my Aunt Marie about Richard.

All goes well at Radford and I am recovering from my stomach pain. It is clear that if I stay under 215, my surgery scars don’t bother me but when I put on a few more pounds, they get stretched and can be very painful particularly if I play golf (which I did yesterday) or do anything strenuous.
I had a good morning and then I decided to head up to the peaks of otter and take some walks along the way to save my stomach. The first walk was very lovely looking to the west at the mountains. My second walk, after a nap and a cup of tea at the restaurant, was also fun as I walked around the lake. I decided to fish it a little and though I got no bites, I still enjoyed myself.
The house is in good shape and I am hoping Ryan will call soon to start getting rid of the Tree of Heaven.
I may have to go in to do Kim’s Open House since she was injured today. I hope it isn’t too serious.
The main spring flowers are done but there are still quite a few, including columbines, wild geranium, field mustard, spring beauty, and star chickweed.

Things have been busy but productive. I got the lawn tractor back today and cut the grass. I trimmed the foam insulation on the far side of the house. I also did a hike in the morning and saw rue anemone, small flowered crowfoot, star chickweed, wild geranium, garlic mustard, ground ivy, field mustard, large flowered white trillium, violets, spring beauties¸ and purple dead nettle. My left shoulder was pretty messed up (no golf, no yoga, no weights) but it felt better today and I even went to the golf course and practiced some putting and some sand wedge shots. Earlier I had gone on an eight mile bike ride.
Tomorrow Jeff, Rachel and Benjamin are coming over and on Sunday I go have Easter dinner at Gyorgyi's. Both events should be fun.

It is Saturday, March 31, and I am at the Omni Hotel in Richmond, having given my paper on Muir and Burroughs yesterday to an audience of about 12 people. I read it pretty well and answered a couple of questions and that was it.
I did a lot of bike riding so far and riding out to Belle Isle was fun and the James, over 9 feet above flood so the river was closed, was very powerful. I drove to Short Pump center this afternoon and was able to get a new golf bag, 4 pairs of pants to replace my very worn out pants and a new putter, all purchased after I found out about my almost 12K raise. That will make things a lot easier for the next three years and may tempt me to work another yet to have even more financial flexibility.
The greenhouse is producing lettuce and I should have peas and strawberries soon.
I tried to cut the grass before I left but the engine was backfiring so I had wimmer pick it up and do a servicing on it. My grass will be pretty long before I get it back but I’ll catch up.
I have also enjoyed walking around Richmond near the state capitol and down east cary where there are a lot of restaurants and nightclubs.
I played golf on the way up on Friday and after I calmed down (I was tensed about making the conference), I shot very well and ended up with a 48 on a pretty tough course with a lot of traps. I am going to try to play tomorrow and test out the new putter.

This is an update on how Sunday went. I got up at 5:00 and decided that it would be better to get going so I gathered up my stuff and by 6:15, I was on the way. I drove to Charlottesville, stopped and rode my bike around the campus. Then I got back on the road and drove towards home. I called the Meadows to see how late I could take out a cart and Ryan said that it wasn’t too crowded and I could come out now. I got there around12:00 and played a decent round—using my new putter which worked well but I need to practice more with it—and then drove home for lunch and a nap. I made a salad out of the fresh lettuce so that was healthy. After my nap I did my weights and yoga and did ten minutes of practicing before rob called and I headed off for a hike with him at Tom’s Creek. I am going to grade some and then watch the Baylor-Stanford game.