Saturday, October 29, 2016

Biking and Hiking

Saturday turned out okay but I was pretty tired all day, with naps after almost any activity. Still, I took a short walk down to my favorite pine in the morning (I got up at almost 6 and didn’t take an OTC sleeping pill and I’m sure my bp is better. I did my partial exercises (still protecting my right calf) and did a wash, then practiced all my piano pieces, did some reading for Monday, then napped again then watched the Virginia / Louisville game (which Virginia led with less than 2 minutes left but eventually lost). I then was going to go biking at Merrimac but since it was still early, I decided to drive out to Eggleston but the river was very low and nary a nibble. I drove back to Tech, parked and napped, then rode my bike for 40 minutes in the parking lots. Now I headed for Macado’s for dinner and hopefully to watch some of the big games and some of the World Series. I did my lumosity training and I am doing my blog.

Friday, October 28, 2016

Blood work and a Flu Shot

Today was certainly a day I wasn’t looking forward to. I had to fast last night and not drink any water and I was worried I would be up at 3 in the morning but I got home after the Tech game and went to sleep at midnight and slept through the night, getting up at 7:15. I did my limited exercises and my upper weights and then showered and headed off to Rob’s office for blood work and a flu shot. I get there around 10, and since I took 1 and ½ five mg valliums, I was really calm. It wasn’t bad at all. I then drove over to Red Lobster for lunch with Claire and that was also a lot of fun catching up. Then I went to get my birthday surprise for my kayak friend. It looked even better up close and now it was time to go play nine holes of golf, shooting a 45 from the forward tees. I then met up with my kayak friend and gave her the surprise and she really liked it. We then had ice cream and chatted for an hour. Finally it was nap time and I had a really good nap before I rode my bike (the first time since I hurt my calf) for 35 minutes and headed to Macado’s in Blacksburg for dinner and the World Series.

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Five more weeks left

Today despite my lack of sleep went pretty well. I did check my blood pressure and it was 174/78 which really hit me. I wonder if it is the otc sleep meds. I am going to cut down on salty snacks and bean burritos and see if eating healthy gets my bp down. I did my left leg exercises and my right calf felt even better and I practiced all my piano pieces. I did my upper body weights and then drove into town to teach my two classes. Both went well. I had good meetings with my students and took care of one advisee and scheduled another. I still haven’t heard from the gutter cleaning place so I may have to look further. I headed to Gillie’s for dinner with Gyorgyi and that was fun. We had a very good discussion about the environmental situation and the essay I want to try to work on. Then I took a 30 minute walk around the VT campus and headed for Macado’s for a side salad.

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

A slow recovery

Another broken night of sleep, this time waking up at 2 and staying up till 3:30. I did some reading and when I got up at 8:30 I did part of my exercises, did a laundry, did my upper weights and did the dishes. My calf felt a little better and I am pretty sure I can go with my kayaking friend on Saturday. I drove in to Radford and got a nap before my office hour at 3. No one showed up for their appointments so I did some bill paying and organizing stuff and responding to emails. I did get some info from Robert Tuckwiller, a new river painter and I hope to buy one of his prints. My class was okay but quiet as usual. I did show them some of my publications since I will be evaluating that class. After class I drove to Merrimac and took a 25 minute walk and my calf felt okay. Now I am at Appleby’s watching the World Series with Chicago leading 1-0 in the first inning.

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Fishing at Walker

I did go see Deepwater Horizon and it was very good, not great, a pretty intense indictment of BP. My calf was really aching and it was hard to sleep. Tuesday morning I got up around 9 and both my legs hurt pretty bad, especially my calf. I did exercises that didn’t affect my calf and I did practice some of my songs. I also did my upper weights but no yoga because it would have hurt my calf. I got to class on time and both classes went pretty well and then I drove out to the bridge on Walker Creek and caught one fish, which was fun. I ended up at O’Charley’s for dinner and to watch the World Series but I had to talk to Amber to tell her that I needed people to leave me alone when I was working. I did my lumosity and I also did my blog. My kayak friend wants to go kayaking this weekend and I may go since I can rent a kayak and get a shuttle from Tangent.

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Finally fixing the bed

I was pretty exhausted when I got home but I did watch the rest of the Cubs game, which they won 5-0. In the morning my right leg had a bad cramp in the calf and my left leg hurt but after doing the first part of my exercises, both felt better (that was the result of two days of no exercises, mainly because of the height of the bed). Now I had to tackle the bed problem and after cutting off two inches, then five, I ended up taking the legs off so all I had was the two by four frame covered with plywood. I put the mat and the two mattresses back on and it worked fine. I rearranged the back seat of the truck (putting the chain saw up there) and put the golf clubs up on the bed as they used to be, then finishing up with 3 boxes in the back, which means I will have to move only one when I want to take a nap. I may put back up the netting at some point. I was exhausted when I finished, around 11:30, and I took a long nap. When I got up I practiced all my piano pieces for the first time in a week, the did the rest of my exercises along with my weights and yoga. I then headed to Merrimac to ride my bike on an even surface for 40 minutes and my legs felt okay. Time for some work so I headed to the University Mall Starbucks and did my lumosity and my blog. I may end up going to a movie later.

Saturday, October 22, 2016

back from Chincoteague

I had a tough time sleeping with a steady, hammering rain most of the night. Finally it stopped and I was able to sleep for a few hours. I got up around 7:30 0and felt good enough to have a breakfast burrito and a coffee then go for a double loop ride and a quick visit to the beach. I then decided to leave and I was able to call the motel but they couldn’t give me a refund (72 hour limit) so I lost 120 dollars. I started driving and stopped for a fried flounder sandwich, then drove some more and stopped for a nap just after the bay bridge. I had no intention of making it back tonight so I stopped at Royal New Kent and played pretty bad partly because it was crowded and windy. My phone wouldn’t recharge and that threw me off but I kept driving because I wanted to beat the UVA game traffic and I got to exit 181 before dark. My ankle was swollen so I iced it and I decided to drive on the Salem and watch some of the Cubs / Dodgers game. I got to Applebee’s and had a half rack of ribs and salad and string beans and did my lumosity and my blog. The Cubs are winning 3-0 so I am pretty happy.

Friday, October 21, 2016

Chincoteague

It is Friday night and I am sitting in the McDonald’s in Chincoteague. It has been a good trip so far, very little traffic and I got into Charlottesville to watch the Tech game at Fly’s Spring Station. The food was excellent and Tech won easily over Miami so they should be back in the top 25. I slept at the KOA about 10 miles outside of town and that was okay. I didn’t sleep well but eventually I dropped off around 4 and slept to 7:30. It was time to head off toward Chicoteague so I began my drive, figuring I would drive straight through but as I approached Richmond, I decided to head to Tredegar and ride my bike on Belle Isle. It was very pretty and the water was very low (probably class 2, 2+). I drove along the canal also and that was fun. After that I drove for an hour, took a nap and then headed for the bay bridge and it was a lovely ride across. I was thinking of playing golf at Bay Creek after lunch at the Oyster Farm (decent grilled oysters but a really nice salad and a terrific clam chowder). But when I called Bay Creek they were still crowded so I drove on to Chincoteague, where I caught a quick nap and then drove around the loop road, stopping on the second time to visit the ocean, which was pretty turbulent. After that I headed to Tom’s Cove campground, checked in and then got a wonderful shower. It was time to do some work so I headed to the wifi at McDonald’s and did my lumosity and my blog.

Monday, October 17, 2016

New Computer

An okay day, though not much sleep the night before. I got up about 3:30, took an otc sleeping pill, then got back to bed around 4:30. I got up with the alarm at 8:30, did my exercises, then my weights and yoga. I headed in to get Maddie and had a nice chat with Maddie. She was surprised that Claire had not thanked me for my recommendation. I then drove to RU, took a quick nap then trained and got my new computer. That worked fairly well and then I was able to set everything up in my office with Holly’s help. There is a problem with the internet but it shouldn’t be too hard to fix. I headed off to Bburg to ride my bike for 50 minutes, then to Macado’s to have some soup and salad and do my lumosity and my blog.

Sunday, October 16, 2016

Kayaking again

A very decent day, highlighted by the kayak trip with my kayak friend. It was a lovely day with the colors in the leaves really starting and not too hot. Our conversations were very comfortable and relaxing. I was tired at the end and went to take a nap in the back of my truck. After that I went bike riding at Merrimac for 50 minutes, then headed to O’Charley’s to finish grading my midterms and to get more of the reading done for tomorrow since I have to pick up Maddie early and I have to go to the new computer training session at 2, then teach at 5. I was able to do a wash this morning and my exercises, along with the weights and yoga.

Saturday, October 15, 2016

A visit to Paint Bank

Another tough night of broken sleep. I got up around 3:30 and with the help of an OTC sleeping pill finally got back to bed around 5. I arose at about 8:30 and though I had planned to do an overnight trip to the Monogahela National Forest, my day didn’t go as planned. I did some of my exercises, packed my traveling bag and headed out around 10:30. I got an email from Kate about kayaking tomorrow and I emailed her back that tomorrow would work fine. Now I knew I wasn’t going overnight so I wandered up 311 to Paint Bank, stopped at pullout just outside of New Castle and caught a chub and a small bass. Lovely spot and I should go back. I took a nap in the back of my truck in Paint Bank and then drove up 18 to Covington without finding a really good spot to fish and so I drove on to the Tap Room restaurant about 10 miles from 81 to watch the Tech game. Tech didn’t look very good and I left at the half and had dessert at Mac and Bob’s and watched the second half, which got close but then Syracuse beat them pretty badly. Then it was bike riding time, 50 full minutes at Roanoke College and some shrimp wonton stir fry at Appleby’s. I did check the crawl space (78% humidity) and I checked my records and I am going to put off any work until April (the humidity goes way down in the winter) and by then I will have started social security.

Friday, October 14, 2016

Big Unexpected Expenses

Well, it was a decent Friday with some financial concerns. I found out yesterday that the replacing of the insulation (taking the old stuff out and putting in new stuff), if I do it with Dodson, will cost 2200, a lot more than I thought. Today I found out that the automatic venting system will cost at least 2400 and that doesn’t involve a dehumidifier. I am going to have Brandon and a guy who knows the system better out on Thursday morning so I will have a better idea. I wonder if they will guarantee that the humidity will go down a certain percentage. If not it will be very expensive with no guarantee. Not sure what to do right now. I had lunch with Claire Hall and she threw me a curve when she said that luke and her are putting the house search off for a bit and are going to try to pay off their student loans. I didn’t say anything at lunch or during our walk after but I did call her later and she made it clear that my wedding gift will going in the house fund, which made me feel better. I did a good recommendation for Claire Gallo and I hope she emails me a thank you at least. Maddie took the GRE again and did about the same but at least she is done with math forever. I will see her on Monday when I drive her to Tech for class. I did my exercises this morning and my weights and yoga and after my lunch with Claire I went to play golf and shot the worst 49 I have even shot. I was awful but I kept hitting a few decent shots and I got my 49 on a pretty long final putt. Then I went to pick up a humidifier and my meds, then a good nap in the back of my truck, then off to Tech for a 50 minute bike ride all around campus. I then headed to the University Mall Starbucks to grade midterms and do my lumosity training and my blog.

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Midterms

I gave the first part of the midterm on Monday to my class at 5. I think it was slightly harder than the ones I gave today so I will grade it a little easier. Some of the students did pretty poorly in not even finishing a question and a half. Some students finished both questions during the time period so I know a question and a half was possible. I did my exercises this morning and even got a little piano in, along with the weights and yoga. I rode my bike after work for almost 50 minutes then had dinner at China Inn before going for another ride at Tech for 30 minutes. My butt hurts a bit as do my knees. I went to Macado’s to watch some baseball and get some ice cream. I also did my lumosity training and my blog.

Sunday, October 9, 2016

Claire's wedding

Yesterday I got on the road around 5:30, having slept about an hour all night. I drove for about two hours then stopped for a nap, then drove on through the rain toward Asheville. Just coming into town, the rain stopped and the blue sky appeared and I was able to ride my bike for 35 minutes at the local community college. Then I headed to the Highland Lake Inn for the wedding, which was by the water and went very well even though it looked like the weather might change at any moment. I was going to drive some and get a room, but instead I stopped in Weaverville and watched the third quarter of VT trouncing NC. I called to set up a room in Johnson City but there were not rooms left in town so I just drove until it got dark and stopped for a nap at a Perkins in Johnson City. I then drove on until Wytheville where I stopped for a snack and then drove home in time to watch the end of the Miami/Florida State game which ended with Florida State blocking the point after to win by a point. I slept until almost ten and drove down to call Rob and he wanted to take a walk so I went back to the house, did some of my exercises, then headed in to walk. We had a very good chat and the day was lovely, cool and sunny. After my walk, I took a nap in the back of my truck (that is easier now) and then went biking at Merrimac before heading over to The Meadows to maul a few golf balls for an hour. I was awful and I really didn’t enjoy it that much. I am going to clean my club handles and if that doesn’t work I will have new grips put on. After golf I headed to O’Charley’s for dinner and watching the Cincinnati/Dallas game which has Dallas up 21 to 0.

Friday, October 7, 2016

Week Six is Over

Friday turned out quite well, even though it rained most of the day. I didn’t sleep well so I ended up taking an OTC sleeping pill at about 3. I finally woke up about 9 and then did my exercises, practiced, did a laundry, cleaned out the truck a bit since I won’t be going with my kayak friend on Sunday, and headed off to Toyota. There were problems with my tire warranty but after an hour of talking to my salesman Anthony and the service people, they fixed the tire for free and ordered me a new one. I was able to respond to my kayak friend, finish my last midterm, and finish all my grading. I then drove home for a nap and then finished my yoga and weights and my other exercises. I drove back into town for a visit to Lowes to check out how the screen in the storm door can be replaced and then I headed to Panera for soup and salad.

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

A Good Chat with Maddie

Wednesday was a good day. I slept till 5 so I didn’t take a sleeping pill. I did my exercises, practiced piano, did my weights and yoga and got a nap in before heading off to pick up Maddie. I had a very nice chat with her and she is rewriting her paper a little and will take the GREs for the second time on Friday. I was able to pick up my meds and take a 35 minute bike ride before I headed to my office to work on my midterms and some other stuff. I showed the Gatsby movie in class and they seemed to like it. After class I went for another long bike ride and then headed to O’Charley’s for planked salmon. I got to walk with Rob yesterday and that was fun. He has a lot on his plate.

Monday, October 3, 2016

Busy day

Monday turned out pretty well. I didn’t sleep well but that’s the norm these days. I finally got up around 9:30 and did my exercises, washed the dishes, did a laundry, did my weights and yoga, and all of my practicing. I left around 12:20 and despite a slow train in cambria, I picked up Maddie only a few minutes late. She is doing well and I may take a look at her paper again (she has edited for the conference). I gave her my advice for presenting it: speak slowly, speak loudly, and observe punctuation. I stopped at the Artful Lawyer Gallery to see Lauren’s work (quite impressive) then changed my office hours and went to play nine holes of golf (45,44) and then took a nap in my truck before teaching a good class at 5. After my office hour I drove to Tech and rode my bike for 40 minutes then headed to Macado’s to watch the Giants game and eat fish tacos and salad. I called Lauren to see about buying one of her paintings or commissioning her for a piece.

Saturday, October 1, 2016

Meeting Claire's Sister and Lauren Brooks

Friday was a decent day, with Raymond coming to work on the vent free heater and then I headed out to meet Claire for an early lunch at Next Door Bakery, which was a lot of fun. We took a nice walk after lunch. I drove back home and did my exercises and watched the Ryder Cup. I did my weights and yoga and some piano playing and finally headed into town around 6 and rode my bike at tech for 40 minutes, then went for dinner at India Gardens, where I ran into Claire and Luke and her sister Robby and her unfriendly friend David. I saw that Leslie Brooks was there and she came over and that made me slightly uncomfortable but then she said she wanted to go get Lauren, her daughter whom I liked very much so that ended up being fun. Lauren is at Blacksburg High School and planning on going to Hollins. Leslie showed me some of her art and it was impressive. I am going to try to see her exhibit at the Artful Lawyer gallery on Monday. I would like to give Lauren something for her graduation but dealing with Leslie might be too much. I didn’t sleep well on Friday night, so after an OTC sleeping aid I finally got to sleep around 4 and slept till almost 9. I did my exercises, my weights and yoga, my practicing, and watched a lot of the Ryder Cup. Around 3:30 I left for golf and played extremely well on the first four holes then ended up with a 6 and an 8 on number 14 but I still ended up with a 47 and a 46. After that I had dinner at Macados in Radford, watching the Michigan victory over Wisconsin and the end of the Ryder Cup matches (with the US leading 9 and ½ to 6 and ½. Then I headed for Tech to ride my bike for almost 50 minutes and talked to Dave for a long time and I think I helped him out some. Now I am watching the big showdown between Louisville and Clemson, with Clemson ahead just before the half 21-10.