Summer II is Done

Another early morning had me getting things ready at 5 after I finished my first set of exercises. I washed some clothes, gathered some stuff for the trip tomorrow, put a few things in the truck and then headed down at 9 to call Rob’s office about the large blister on my big toe and between the next toe. Fifty yards down the road and a big tree had fallen. I tried to call Mike but only left a message, then got my chainsaw out and cut it almost completely through before the battery gave out. I went back and put the battery on the charger and then Mike appeared but without a chainsaw. He called Eric, the chief logger, who said he would come up soon and help. We waited a while and then Mike left and I went back to work on getting the truck ready until I heard a chainsaw and Eric was down there cutting the whole tree up and rolling the pieces down into the ravine. I helped a little but in ten minutes he was done and I was so glad. I offered him some money and he refused so I asked what he drank and I am going to get him a couple cases of Bud Light. I drove down to the pasture and Rob’s office said I could come in at 11:45 so I rushed back to the house, showered, got my stuff together and then headed to Rob’s where he said he wasn’t sure what it was but he told me to soak it in salt water and see if that dried it up. I took a quick nap and then played nine holes of golf with all my clubs (my leg was a little shaky from the chainsawing) and played very well, a 43 with the last two holes from the blue tees. I then drove to my office and got some stuff packed, took a quick nap, then packed everything up. I put in my grades earlier so I am all done with the semester and when I return it will be to my new office. I still have to write a teaching plan for Rosemary but that is about it.

final day of classes

Another day that went pretty well but I was very tired in the afternoon. I got up pretty early, did one set of exercises, then cut the grass. After that I went back to sleep and woke up about 9:15, did another set of exercises, some weights, a laundry and then drove in to Red Lobster to see Claire. That was a lot of fun and it sounds like she and luke are going to end up buying a house after all. I drove in to RU and met with one student and she accepted an A- so she wouldn’t have to rewrite her paper again and my other student’s paper was fine so he got an A. I took a nap then did more work on clearing out my office and then at 4 I went over to the event for Mark Shanley’s retirement and he was very friendly. I went back to my office and rested again and then drove out to Walker and got a few hits and landed one fish. Then it was time to drive to VT for my bike ride of 45 minutes. Following that, off to Macado’s for a little bit to eat. I think getting up so early (a little after 4) really threw me off.

One more day of teaching

Today was a very good day. I did one set of exercises, did my weights, played most of my piano pieces, ate a tomato from my greenhouse, got the gas container from the shed and pruned a little along the road. I drove to class and found the student papers in better shape and was able to give one student his final grade. I met for a long time with each of the other students and this evening I was able to finish the second student’s grade after she sent me her rewrite. I went to play golf before my therapy appointment but I only got 5 holes in before a thunderstorm came in. I had a late lunch at the Pizza Inn then had a nap before my therapy. It was a pretty easy one and my knee held up pretty well. I got out just after 6 and I was able to finish my 18 short holes though I was pretty bad the last two holes and failed to break 72. After that I took another nap and was pretty tired when I woke up but an iced tea perked me up and I went for a nice 40 minute ride over to the ROTC training area. That done I was ready for a little food so I headed to Macado’s to look at the student paper and do my lumosity training.

Starting to get ready for my trip

A decent day as I got my truck in pretty good shape for the trip, did two sets of exercises, played half my piano pieces, did my weights and got some stuff for the trip ready in the house. I drove in to teach and the student papers were mixed. One was pretty bad, the other needed more detail, and the two other were decent. The students don’t seem to have been taught structure or how a paragraph works. Pretty stunning to me. I had a meeting with one student after class and I went through a topic sentence outline and that helped. I will meet with the other student tomorrow at 12. After my office hours I headed to Tom’s creek to meet Rob and go on a full walk, the first time since my surgery. After that I drove out along 42 then drifted over to the lovely John’s creek valley, then a quick nap, then a bike ride at VT for 45 minutes then sushi at Greens. Kim Gainer got the interim Associate Dean’s position and I am very happy for her. I moved my Yellowstone reservation to the 18th through the 21st and I should be able to at least spend one day in the park. I am ready to go right this second.

excellent kayaking

Sunday was a tiring day but it ended quite well. I wasn’t sure I could rent a kayak today so I didn’t sleep that well and at 7 I drove down and called Shawn and he told me I could definitely get one at 11 do I emailed my kayak friend and she okayed the time. I went back to sleep for a while, after playing some piano and doing one set of exercises. I got to Tangent about twenty minutes early and then my friend and Mark Shanley showed up and we got out boats and headed to Dudley’s landing. It was a fun trip and Mark spent a good bit of time collecting golf balls from the River Course (he got 28 keepers) and my friend and I had a lot of laughs and a good chat. The river was very low (2.1) but it didn’t cause any real problems. Then I drove to my office for a nap and then off to Craig creek for a drive then to Roanoke College for a 45 minute bike ride just before dark. I drove to Applebees for dinner and my lumosity training and my blog.

lunch with Claire

I didn’t sleep too well and it took a long time to get back to sleep (I didn’t use the otc sleep aid) but at least I got one set of exercises in and when I finally got up it was after nine so I drank a cup of coffee and finally got going a little, doing another set of exercises and my weights and heading off just in time to meet Claire for lunch at Red Lobster. We had a good conversation about her upcoming marriage and it was nice to see her. After that I took a quick nap in my truck, then headed over to the Toyota dealer to have my oil changed and the tires rotated. I got a lot of work done there (including finished my outlines for the fall) and doing my lumosity training. Toyota finished just in time for me to make the 4:50 Star Trek movie (good but not great and pretty slow starting). After that I headed over to the Huckleberry trail for a 45 minute bike ride. Then it was time for dinner at Panera, where I also got a gift card for Total Motion.

one more week of class left

Another good day, with two sets of exercises, a hike, weights and piano and then teaching a good class. I went and played 18 holes (two balls on the back nine) and shot pretty well. I went back to my office and got a few things out that I don’t need and then rode my bike for 40 minutes (with no Tylenol) and no knee pain. My kayak friend emailed me and we may still go on Sunday, a lot depending on the weather.

No lasting damage from my bike crash

My knee was very good today and I only took 2 tylenol all day. I took a hike in the morning, did my weights, practiced piano, did a set of exercises, then showered and headed in to teach. Class was fine and I have only a couple of real teaching classes left, then paper classes. After class, I took a quick nap and headed to therapy. My knee got down to 3 degrees and it didn’t hurt too much when I was done. After therapy I drove out to Walker Creek and caught 3 red-eye bass and then rode my bike for 35 minutes at New River Community College. Now I am at O’Charley’s, having finished my chicken salad, and finishing up my blog.

"Stupid is as Stupid does"

I ended up meeting Maddie and Claire and it was nice to see them both. After dropping them off I drove out to the Walker Creek bridge and got two fish, a bluegill and a bass. I had a nice drive back and then stopped at the Armstrong parking lot to ride my bike. I was doing fine until I was going up a slight incline when I couldn’t do it and I fell over. I was really scared that I had hurt my knee but after a few seconds of lying on the ground, I was able to get up and nothing seemed too bad. My knee hurt but not much more than at other times when I have overdone it. I went for dessert at O’Charley’s and then drove home. I iced my knee and took two Tylenol and thought it was a bit messed up but I thought there was no permanent damage. In the morning my knee hurt, but I decided to go cut the grass and my knee didn’t hurt too much. Later, I did two single sets of exercises and iced my knee both times and thought I was okay but I didn’t do any exercise bike or much walking. I did all my piano and my weights while watching the Open, and when I got ready to shower, I found the area just above my ankle was swollen. That freaked me a bit but I put the compression sock back on and then after I took a 20 minute walk on the Huckleberry, the swelling had gone down some. I went to my office to do my lumosity training and my blog and get the stuff ready for when I go to Social Security on September 1st. I am pretty sure I didn’t damage the knee surgery but I will keep taking it easy for at least another day. I had some good email exchanges with my kayak friend.

Three weeks of class finished

Thursday was the end of my third week of classes and class went well and I treated the class to pizza. Two more weeks left and I am on my way to Canada. In the morning I did my exercises, some medium weights, piano, and did a few things around the house. After teaching I headed out to play 18 holes of 80 yard golf, then went for a good walk with Rob on the Tom’s creek trail, then rode my bike for a half hour at VT. I shouldn’t have ridden my bike so when I was done my knee was pretty stressed. I didn’t do any exercises when I got home, just iced my leg and watched some more of the Open. In the morning my knee was a bit swollen and very stiff so I walked a little, did some tasks around the house (putting the bottle holder on my bike, getting the recycling together, getting a bag of garbage ready, watering the greenhouse (the only thing left are the tomato plants and I’m not sure they will ripen before I leave. I cut up the cardboard boxes and fixed my fishing gear so I am ready for my next time out. I also saw that I can get my golf bag under the bed so that is where it will probably stay, thus giving me more room. I did some weights and practiced piano and then headed in for my therapy session. Dan’s sister Theresa was there and she was fun to joke with. I didn’t do much damage to my knee so Dan thought it would be okay to ride my bike a little bit later on. I drove to my office , walked over to the library to get The Rise of David Levinsky and American Beauty so I will have some reading for my summer trip and the movie for class on Tuesday. In about an hour, I will meet Maddie for dinner. Had a nice chat with Dave and I think it was good for him.

Back on the Tractor

On Monday I was able to take the tractor out for the first time and I filled three potholes and scraped the road in a few spots. I also did some trimming around the house. I did some weights but only half of my practicing. At Radford, I gave the first part of the midterm and then headed out to play golf and then take a walk with Rob. Tuesday was also pretty busy but I got my exercises done and half my practicing. I also took a walk to the big White Pine and that was comforting. I talked to Omnicare and the new bill is down to 358 and they didn’t file the insurance yet so it should be even less. I would be okay with 200 but if I can get it lower that would be fine. My class went very well and I let them go early after we looked at the two stories assigned. I took a quick walk around campus before my office hour and that felt good. Talked with my kayak friend outside Russell for a few minutes and I hope to take a walk with her and Hank later this week. I decided to drive out to Walker even though it was iffy weather and when I got there the weather was okay and I caught two red-eye bass. I then cut over to Eggleston and walked by the river for twenty five minutes. I sent belated birthday greeting to Claire and I am going to take the girls out on Friday and I will give Claire her present then.

back kayaking

A very good day in ways, although my morning exercises were tough and I had to cut them short. I am not sure if it was Friday’s session with the machine or playing golf yesterday. Anyway, I did a decent set, put the firring strips on the sides of the generator box, painted them, trimmed a little around the house, played most of my piano pieces, did my medium weights, and showered. I was to meet my kayak friend at 1 at Tangent but I got there early so I set things up and when my friend got there with her kayak things went slowly with the shuttle but we were on the water by 2. We had a very good chat and my friend did very well in the rapids toward the end. After the shuttle back my friend took me out for ice cream at Cold Stone and it was very good. I took a nap and then had dinner at Nagoya. I finally talked to Cathy and hopefully we will have dinner before they head south for a few weeks. Cathy said the girls would like to get together and that would be fun.

An especially grueling therapy session

I had a pretty good day, starting with my exercises and a good icing. I did some piano, trimmed the road to my cabin and got my kayaking gear out, trimmed the road to the orchard some, tightened the clamps on the camper, washed the dishes and then got ready for physical therapy. It was a tough session (especially the device for straightening my knee). Two five minutes periods of that and I was ready to cry. I could hardly walk after the session but by the time I got home, my knee was better. I napped, did the rest of my practicing, cleaned the stove, did medium weights and did some straightening up. I do have an appointment with social security on September 1 to sign up for medicare. I drove to the mall and walked for 20 minutes on the huckleberry trail before heading to Panera for dinner, a funny email to my kayak friend about our planned trip on Sunday, lumosity and my blog.

Still problems with my therapy

A good day of teaching; a frustrating day at therapy. I spent the morning cutting the grass, working on piano, doing a set of exercises, medium weights, reading for class, doing a wash and washing the dishes. I headed in to teach and it was a good class on Fuller and Thoreau. I then took a quick nap and headed over to Total Motion where I could see that Dan was not too happy with the straightness of my knee. He really manipulated my knee and I was in intense pain for many minutes. I talked it over with him and he thought I might be doing a little too much and that my pain with walking is coming about because my knee is slightly bent when I am walking, which is a no-no. Dan also thought I might cut back my at home exercises a little. It was very frustrating and I decided after I left to go play golf and I did, and it didn’t seem to hurt my knee much (I played from 80 yards out and shot a 36 for nine). I emailed my kayak friend and told her I want to go this weekend and I do even though I am not totally sure I should. Matt at East Coasters has found the stuff to lower my pedals and I should be on my new bike next week. I talked to Rob and he had a good time in West Virginia rafting the New and I should get a walk in with him next week. I haven’t heard from Cathy so I assume things were fine with Claire. I am at O’Charley’s, having finished my dinner and my lumosity training and I will stop over at Walmart for supplies.

the new generator box is in place

Another pretty good day, the fourth of July, that finds me at the University Starbucks because of the threatening weather. I did two sets of heavy duty exercises and they really hurt. I have taken the compression sock off and my knee felt a little loose but not too bad (the sock goes after six weeks). I practiced piano and did my weights (most of which were with the heavier 8 pounder), then decided to move my new generator box over to the generator. I had taken the nuts off and one of the hinges yesterday (buying two new heavy duty ones) so I decided to flip the old one over and it broke free. Then after putting the box on the wrong way (rushing again), I put it back on the right way and put the wood screws in both hinges, having already put the new nuts on the bolts in the concrete. It looks great and it should last until I move out. I also swept out from under the generator and it is nice and neat and clean. I was happy that the copperhead wasn’t back although I would have just nudged him away. I also got in 30 minutes of biking. The weather is still threatening but I will probably head out toward Pembroke just for the ride.

More work on the generator box

Another good day of the Fourth of July extended weekend. I woke up around 8, did my first set of exercises, practiced piano, did some light weights, brought the hayfork and the scrap wood to the tractor barn, cleared out the area around the electric meter. Still made no sense of it. I decided to take the hinges off the old generator box and that took a few minutes since they were so corroded and painted over. However I did get one out so I could pick up a couple more later. I did a second set of exercises, again really working hard. I am done with my Tuesday-Thursday outline and I just have to change the dates for the Monday-Wednesday one. I also have the rules to do. I rode my bike for thirty minutes then showered and headed into Lowes to get the firring strip, some brads, and the new heavy duty hinges. Then I went over to Walmart for my meds and a replacement spinner. The weather was still holding so I went for a walk on the Huckleberry for almost a half hour. Then it was time to drive out to Eggleston and see if I could catch a fish or two. I got several hits on the popper but no fish but it was very nice out there even if the river was a bit crowded. I drove back to Macado’s for dinner, my lumosity training, my blog update, and hopefully some reading for Tuesday’s class. Overall, a pretty good day.

Three fish on Big Walker

Another good day Saturday turned out. I did my first set of exercises, then took a hike to my White Pine for the first time in a few weeks. I gave my usual thanks and asked for healing for those who need it. It was much easier getting back up because I could go faster. I did 30 minutes of biking, all my piano work, got a nap in, did the light weights and another set of exercises and painted the generator box (the caulking and the second coat on the roof). I put five of the novels in the course outline for the fall and then showered and headed out around 3:30. I ended up driving out to my spot on Big Rock road but there were a number of people fishing and swimming so I went out 42 and ended up on a bridge across Walker and caught two big bluegills and a small redeye bass. That was a lot of fun. I stopped at NRCC and walked for 20 minutes then stopped at Walmart for some supplies then headed to my office to finish the outline and update my blog. I will be heading out for dinner soon and I may still walk again if it doesn’t rain. Finally got a call from Cathy and she is doing well and so are the girls.

Ankle weights and a straighter knee

Friday turned out to be a very good day. I got the ankle weights yesterday and used them last night and I think it helped. This morning I did several sets with the ankle weights and I really think my knee is getting straighter. I practiced half of my pieces, watered the greenhouse (where I have a number of green tomatoes), caulked the new generator box, cleaned up the scrap wood, added water to the batteries (when I started to equalize, the figures were 1, 1240, 4, 1260 and 8, 1265, very good indeed. I am not exactly sure how to read the new electric meter (which gives you figures for what you have sold back to AEP and what you have used) so I will wait for the first few bills. I am not sure why I am having such a hard time getting in touch with Cathy. I have called her a number of times but she hasn’t been very responsive. I am not sure what is going on. I got the rain guards put on the windows by the Toyota people so that job is done and it cost only 60 dollars. I went to Radford and gave my kayak friend a copy of zootopia. I am pretty sure she will love it. Then I drove out to Dublin and headed to Big Walker but decided to follow Little Walker (Little Creek road, 601) and it was quite interesting as I had never been on it. I fished a couple of nice spots and then ended up on 77 about five miles from Wytheville. I drove back to Radford, had a cup of coffee, did a 20 minute walk and then did my lumosity training. Then it was time for dinner at O’Charleys and an update on my blog. Good day indeed.