Merry December Together in Texas

Cynthia is the shorter one

25 Dec: Family Gathering

24 Dec:

23 Dec:

22 Dec:

21 Dec:  Today Ron is walking right after breakfast, i.e. noon.   Cynthia is improving after a good sleep. The wracking cough stopped wracking and is down to hacking. Ron walked twice!

20 Dec:  MEDICAL 8:50 AM we left for Cynthia's annual retina specialist appointment.  This was strictly a routine exam to make certain dry AMD has not turned into wet AMD.  All is stable. We decided to go to ER next since Cynthia's cough is worser and worser.  Besides Ron was not confident that the Urgent Care nurse practitioner was competent.  Four hours later, after blood pressure, X-Rays, blood work, inhalation therapy with steroids, we were able to eat at Jason's Deli, our favorite hereabouts.  After dark, Ron walked to the lake and back. 

19 Dec:  And we are awake early today.  Cynthia's cough sounds more normal today, and she is feeling better.  Ron has thought of another couple of people to send cards.   Cynthia needs to get the car license numbers to send to EZ pass.  Turns out the message from TxTag was a scam.  Last thing in the evening Ron walked to the lake and back.  Cynthia's cough is still fierce at times.

18 Dec:  MEDICAL; Cynthia had a miserable night coughing, so we are visiting Urgent Care first thing. The first Urgent Care doesn't take Medicare or medical insurance, so you are expected to pay out-of-pocket.  We didn't.  The second one was a couple of miles further away, near the marina.  The nurse praticianer said that it is either a cold or allergies.  Cynthia was given a steroid shot and anti-cough pills.  Pills, not syrup for the diabetic.  We fell back to sleep soon after getting home.  The meds are helping.  Ron is writing more Christmas cards!  And Volume I is completed.  Thank you Smooch!  Last thing in the evening Ron walked to the lake and back.

17 Dec:  We again arose late and walked after noon, 4.44 miles.  Ron then finished addressing Christmas cards and rode to the post office to buy stamps, and Eureka, the cards are in the mail.  Now he is working on a few more, but has decided upon the Christmas annual letter; the brief note he sent to cousin Kamie will do nicely.  Cynthia's runny nose and drainage suddenly turned into a dry cough before bed time.

16 Dec:  Ron planned to mail Christmas cards to family and friends.  Oh well, maybe tomorrow?  We enjoyed sleeping late.  Now, onto the big 4.30 mile walk.

15 Dec, Sunday:  A hard freeze last Wednesday ushered fall into SE Texas.  Leaves are turning bronze, orange and gold, are now falling; golden sunlight filters through the treetops and casts a magical glow.  Christmas worship was lovely; children and tweens performed the Christmas story and the congregation did our part by adding on cue, “Do not fear!”  We had brunch at Magnolia Diner, followed by a Rip Van Winkle nap for Cynthia while Ron corrected a mistake he made in the manuscript.  Cynthia watched the Reagan movie reaching the conclusion that Ron Beatty is like Ron Reagan in amazing ways.  We walked 3.2 miles.  

14 Dec:  promises to be rainy?  Ron was relieved to sleep until 10 AM after his late bedtime last night.  Then he worked on the index a tiny bit and wasted more time on basketball videos of Marques Haynes (6') and Lance and Lawrence Cudjoe (5' 5" twins), whose three short guards college team won 112 games while losing only 3.  They even beat the Harlem Globetrotters, but the next year all three joiined the Globetrotters.   

13 Dec:  Oh, what fun! Oh, what fun! Oh, what fun!  Indeed!  We worked on the index.  Ron again wasted much of the day watching basketball videos.  We walked 5,33 miles;  Cynthia thought she lost her cell phone until she discovered it right where she left it on the kitchen counter.  We enjoyed baked acorn squash, baked potato, and baked salmon.  The Lea Book index edits are updated.  Volume II is waiting in the wings until after Christmas.  Fooey, Ron found more things needing fixes throughout the index and stayed up until 1:30 AM working on them.

12 Dec:  Today Ron WILL get Christmas cards written and into the mail.  (or at least written.)  We walked to the lake and back about noon, and we drove to Walmart to get groceries, including coffee and oatmeal.  Now Ron is back to work on Christmas cards - after adding Cynthia's index fixes.

11 Dec:  Tomorrow.  Ron enjoyed frittering away the entire day watching U-Tube basketball highlights of Pistol Pete Maravich, Dr. J, and Larry Bird.  He still thinks that Wilt Chamberlain, the Big Dipper, was the greatest of all time, and Wilt said that Meadowlark Lemon was the best player he ever played with or against.  We listened to a couple of KISS songs when Cynthia thought that Bill O'Reilly was going to interview one of those guys who dated Cher, and that led to another distraction finding out how much Cher has done in her life and that she wasn't so disrespectful of Sonny after his death.

10 Dec:  Without snow it doesn't feel like Christmas, despite all the adorable photos of great-grandchildren with Santa Claus we are receiving in emails.  Ron has Christmas cards on the counter to send.  The Smooches walked four-plus mile.  The attendant at the Fitness Club calls us “The Lovebirds.”

9 Dec:  It was a cloudy and then a sunny day in Montgomery Town.  We walked five miles, which is a good thing.  Cynthia went the weekend without her hand brace and paid the price of the pain. 

8 Dec, Sunday:  It is a rainy Sunday in Montgomery, Texas, but our brunch guests brought laughter and sunshine into the Cafe on the Green.  Cynthia forgot to take photos of her son Jon, granddaughter Samantha and her three-year-old son Noah, and grandson Steven.  Noah is a delight to be around.  When he was ready to leave, he walked around the table to pleasantly tell everyone goodbye, it was time to go.  We are very proud of granddaughter Sam who is the Director of Counseling at a school for autistic children.  Her husband Adam is an engineer with Forde Construction.  They are expecting new baby Theo in six weeks.  And wow for grandson Steven who teaches science and chemistry to eighth graders at Cy-Fair.  Fifteen rahs for you Steven!

Lunch with Jon (photographer)

7 Dec:  No schedule !!  We can and did sleep in today.  Rainy day, so we are indoors working on the index until noon or later. Uffda.  The index was completed and inserted into the book, but the concordance disappeared when Ron attempted to format a couple of lines that appeared to be in a larger font.  What a sick feeling that was until he discovered that TextEdit comes with at Revert To previous version choice.  All is well, the index is in the book with a total of 489 pages.  We went for a short walk just before dark and dined on popcorn again.  Now, after taking a couple of days off, he will add the appendices to Volume II.  Thank God! 

Cynthia is the shorter one

6 Dec:  Up early again, this time to get the car seats recovered.  At 42 degrees, this was a Brrrh motorcycle ride home for Cynthia.  After noon, when Cynthia had thawed out, we walked across the peninsula and back for our usual four miles.  The upholstery shop did a fantastic job for Cynthia, improving her seating position and lumbar support.  Ron again spent the day indexing, and since it is now nighttime, eating popcorn.  Lauren sent this photo of Lauren and Grandmother Cynthia, a memory of the last family Thanksgiving.  

5 Dec:  We had a lazy morning and went for our walk at noon.  Ron spent the day indexing; only 280 lines left to finish.  What a relief.!!  We are back to eating popcorn in the evenings to avoid calories.

4 Dec:  We did it!  We were up at five AM, exercised, oatmealed, and in the car by 7:15 for the 1.5 hour drive to the ophthalmologist in Brenham, Texas, arriving with three minutes to spare.  The Dr. dilated Ron’s eyes, but won't do the cataract consultation until 6 February.  Bummer.  It is likely he will have more lab and measurement appointments prior to surgery.  This postpones departure and scheduling indefinitely; we will know more 6 February.  We had lunch at Magnolia Diner, where the waitress remembered us and greeted us cheerfully, and we slept the afternoon away. 

3 Dec:  Ron indexed; we walked four miles, brought home a load of boxes from the storage unit, and shopped for groceries,  After some popcorn, it will be an early bedtime because we leave at seven AM tomorrow for Ron’s dilated eye exam, a prerequisite for cataract surgery. 

2 Dec.  There are only 23 days until Christmas.  We enjoyed sleeping late and having a lazy morning, although Ron continues working diligently on the Lea index.  We walked almost four miles on a lovely, warm, pleasant day.  Cynthia is re-reading Bonhoeffer’s book, The Cost of Discipleship.  A significant chapter deals with denying self by forgiving others.  

1 Dec:  Ron completed his PACEMAKER test - again.  He also announced the December blog title: I love you!  Cynthia spent the day going to the Nutcracker Ballet again, but this time with her two sons, Jon and Paul, plus Paul’s two daughters, Zoe and Fyn.  Zoe received highest honors for her MA dissertation from University of York. 

Thank God for Thanksgiving. Thankful in Nov. Despite Distance Apart

The Smooches are together again in Montgomery, Texas. Oh Joy, oh Joy.

Mom and Jon at the movies, having fun

30 Nov: (4)  Ron called ElaRuth and joined her for breakfast at the IHOP in Nacogdoches for two hours.  The ride was still not really warm although it was much better today. and best of all, he was able to hug Cynthia three days earlier than originally planned.  Whoopee.!!.  An Amen is heard in Texas!  Cynthia, Julie, Corrie, Abigail, Eleanor and Caleb enjoyed attending the Nutcracker Ballet at the Brown Theater in Houston. And yay is us today!

29 Nov: (5)  Oh My God, the forecast is for a high of 31 degrees in Mount Olive.  That is brutal on a motorcycle, so Ron left on Thanksgiving, a day earlier, and arrived in Memphis "warm" and dry.  He enjoyed a good night sleep with plans to be on the road at warm-thirty.  The big surprise was to find frost on the motorcycle seat the morning after Thanksgiving in Memphis.  After another chilly start, the day warmed up quickly to a high of 55 degrees in Little Rock, Texarkana, and Nacodgoches.  Thanks be to God, after a long day, he made it to Nacogdoches,TX!  That is only 125 miles from Montgomery!

28 Nov: (6)  Happy Thanksgiving.  Ron thanks God for Cynthia and thanks Cynthia for our wonderful life.  He did enjoy "warm" weather (above freezing) all the way to Memphis Tennessee, starting at 32 degrees in Livingston, IL, 37 degrees at the Jefferson Barracks Bridge, 40 to 44 degrees through Missouri and briefly 48 degrees in Marion, Arkansas.  While riding through Missouri in 40 degree temperatures, Ron was amazed to see three other motorcyclists heading north on the I-55 on Thanksgiving Day plus another two elsewhere.  Cynthia went to her bishop’s home for their Happy Hour and drank Apple Cider.  Ouch, it has 24 grams of sugar in it.  The roast turkey was the best she has ever eaten.  Cynthia and the bishop walked four miles.  Cynthia thanks God for Ron and thanks Ron for our wonderful life.  Ron arrived about ten miles from Memphis, TN. Yayayay. 

27 Nov: (7)  After his usual communing with nature and decimating bush honeysuckle, Ron is celebrating Thanksgiving with Carol and Bill on this day and packing to be ready to leave Illinois Thursday morning heading south.  Carol's dinner of roast turkey was absolutely delicious with homemade cranberries, fat-free mashed potatoes, peas and homemade persimmon nut bread.  Ron ate until full and then we all returned to the jigsaw puzzle.  By the time Ron checked the weather, it was raining, so further bush honeysuckle escapades are postponed until next year.  Despite his curtailed day, he felt rewarded to cut a couple of large bushes, one of which had red berries.  Ron was happy to be able to do his laundry so that no one can tell that he scooted down a couple of hills on his butt.

26 Nov: (8 days until the Smooches reunite)  The temperature in Mount Olive, IL at 8:30 AM was a chilly 30 degrees, and in Montgomery, Texas it was 46 degrees.  Cynthia ran errands and walked almost four miles at eleven AM.  Ron told his sister about the forecast for Friday, and she suggested that we celebrate our Thanksgiving meal a day early so that he can travel on Thanksgiving day in above freezing temperatures.  He wonders if he can find gasoline that day.  In celebration Ron walked the woods twice and pulled 178 bush honeysuckle, including a couple that were too large and required sawing.

25 Nov: (9)  Oatmealed, ready to exercise and hit the trails walking before running errands.  Lunch and dinner today was soup.  Ron was a bit slow early in the day, but warmed up after noon and managed to pull 213 bush honeysuckle, a new record.  He was falling asleep sitting while Carol and Bill played Mahjong but didn't fall sleep in bed until midnight.  Indexing continues apace after dark every day.  There are less that 1600 "lines" of the book that need indexing attention. Yayayayay! 

24 Nov, Sunday: (10)  Julie and I enjoyed a lovely visit.  Her home is beautifully decorated in every corner, even down to unique toilet paper. Oh My!  Cynthia was delighted to visit new baby Hayden Grace, Kiira, Roxanne, and Austin.  Roxanne wasn’t excited about the oatmeal and banana cookies sans sugar.  

23 Nov: (11)  Cynthia is going to daughter Julie’s to overnight after walking to the lake late morning. 5.0 miles.  Ron got out into the woods to pull bush honeysuckle three times and wore himself out each time.  The hills around here are steep and footing is uncertain.  121 bush honeysuckle.

22 Nov: (12 days until the Smooches reunite)  Cynthia and Jon are going to find out about replacing auto seat covers this morning.  She has an appointment in Hempstead with the CPA at two PM.  She baked three dozen more cookies. 💋  Ron dragged his feet a little bit in order to ride warmer, but it didn't help.  It was a cold, 47 degree ride from Carlyle to the Denny's in Edwardsville, where he met Maxine and Doug for a late lunch (of egg white veggie omelets).  The rest of the ride to Mt. Olive went quickly and seemed less cold at 44 degrees.  Carol had salmon and sweet potatoes for dinner, delicious.

21 Nov: (13)  Cynthia walked almost five miles in fabulous 66 degree weather.  She baked three dozen cookies for Ron today; additional bananas are ripening to be turned into banana oatmeal cookies.  Maybe the frozen mango will need to be eaten fast so there is room for the cookies.  Ron ventured out into the cold wind once for a three mile walk along the haunted trail, sheltered somewhat by the forest.  He attended to genealogy and indexed a bit.  

20 Nov.  We are both energetic this AM; exercised, oatmealed, and we were ready to roll onto our trails at 8:20 AM.  Cynthia took Ron’s advice to not overdo it after several days of rain and the five mile jaunt yesterday by turning back at the fitness center; mileage total is 3.21 at noon-thirty, no doubt energized by the cool temperature of 62 degrees.  She is still doing tax bookwork.  Winter temperatures have arrived in Illinois.  It was no warmer than 55 degrees with a very strong and cold wind as Ron rode from Carlyle 50 miles to Belleville to see a Junior High School classmate.  Bill wasn't home, but Ron was delighted to meet his son Matt, a well groomed, well dressed, good mannered 20-year-old.  Next was another brief visit to Cynthia at the Cambridge House, who was leaving for a shopping trip to Dollar Tree with a cousin.  And finally Ron caught Dick at his law office at 3:30 and enjoyed listening to Dick's stories about college, cars, military, etc.  The return to Carlyle was even chillier in gathering darkness.

19 Nov: Cynthia walked 5.0 miles and had dinner with Jon and friends. Ron walked the dam twice.  See the photo of sunlight sparkling like trillions of diamonds on lake.

sunleght sparkling like trillions of diamonds

18 Nov:  Ron enjoyed a nice visit with Ann and Diane at Cedarhurst in Highland.  Diane picked him up at Mariner's Village at 9:30 so that he didn't have to risk getting wet and windblown.  Cynthia (in TX) drove to the bank to figure out what eye online DDA’s were in her checking account.  No, she was not hacked.  The items were reimbursement to son Jon for shipping prescriptions.  Jon took Cynthia to see the movie "Bonhoeffer" tonight. 

17 Nov, Sunday:  Ron transitioned again to Mariner's Village at Lake Carlyle in order to visit other friends from high school and junior high, starting with a different Cynthia at Cambridge House in Belleville.  That visit went very well, and we enjoyed chatting for more than an hour.  Ron’s Texas Cynthia sat inside the entire day because of rain.  The best part was watching Martin Scorsese new series, The Saints, with episode one about Joan of Arc.  That was followed by a great story about George Washington before and leading up to the Revolutionary War.  Following that was a documentary about James Armistead Lafayette, a slave who was a spy during the Revolutionary War.  She feels very inspired and patriotic. 

16 Nov:  Saturday in Texas will be lovely with a high forecast of 78 degrees and sunshine.  It is a great day to walk to the lake.  Ron received cataract aftercare instructions from Bonnie: 1. Do not sleep with pets.  2. Do not wear make up.  3. Do not bend over or lift over 5 lbs.  Ron appreciates the good advice.  He walked to the mailbox again after dark this evening (a mile each way).

Cynthia with newborn Hayden Grace

15 Nov:  Cynthia thoroughly enjoyed seeing new born baby Hayden, her mama Kiira and her grandmother Roxanne.  (The hospital was unable to force Roxanne to leave her new grandbaby.)  Ron went into the woods twice again today and pulled another 132 bush honeysuckle.  That and a trip to town for groceries consumed the day.  Carol again cooked a delicious dinner of salmon and sweet potato.  Eighteen more days until Ron arrives in Texas.  Joy is us!

14 Nov: MEDICAL. Cynthia has a dental appointment.  Cynthia and Ron have a 12th great-grandchild, Hayden Grace, just born!  Ron again searched in the woods for those lost clippers and pulled another 130 bush honeysuckle.

13 Nov:  In Mt. Olive, Illinois, Ron hunted (without success) for his clippers hanging in a tree somewhere in the woods.  He did find the last honeysuckle he cut, retraced most of his path and pulled another 51 honeysuckle, so the time was not entirely wasted.  And true to forecast rain began after noon for which genealogy projects were waiting.  Cynthia bounced out of bed at five AM, exercised and ate a hearty bowl of oatmeal and berries.  Taxes, a trip to the pharmacy for a RX,  plus attending a funeral are on the ticket for the day.  She is to stay out of the sun on her skin for a couple days so will work out at fitness center.  Thanks to ‘Lizabeth in South Carolina for the following amusement: Remnants of the old Richmond, Nicholasville, Irvine & Beattyville Railroad (RNI&B) are still visible today, including these bridge piers in the Kentucky River at Valley View, Kentucky.  The RNI&B once stretched from Frankfort to Airedale, but much of it was abandoned in the 1930s.  The bridge over the river was dismantled in 1942, though the piers were left in place to serve as supports for the nearby Valley View Ferry.  More photos and history of the RNI&B from our partner site.

12 Nov:  MEDICAL Jon is taking Cynthia to her dermatologist appointment.  A good day despite waking up at 3:30 AM.  She put the brace back on her right hand after too much work on the IPad keyboard.  Ron pulled 105 bush honeysuckle and left his new clippers somewhere in the woods.  He got off to a sluggish start this morning and afternoon before finally feeling more energetic after a couple of rest breaks.   

11 Nov:  Cynthia is on a sleeping binge.  She had a three hour nap yesterday afternoon and went to sleep last night at 9:00, arising this AM at 5:50.  She walked almost six miles.  Ron also slept well and pulled bush honeysuckle in three bouts, the rest are shaking in their roots!  What a fabulous day! 

10 Nov, Sunday:  Ron, in Illinois, pulled a lot of bush honeysuckle and snipped multiflora rose bushes today, with more of the same planned for tomorrow.  Cynthia walked four plus miles.

9 Nov:  We both slept wonderfully well last night, and Ron awakened ready to burn leaves, which we did until the rain started at 10 AM.  Then we made a trip to town for groceries, and Ron went out to pull bush honeysuckle for an hour in the afternoon.  We might have figured out all Eric needs for his web site.  Cynthia walked exactly six miles in two trips, plus bookkeeping and writing a meditation. 

8 Nov:  MEDICAL Cynthia is delighted that she can now hear the GPS clearly and that her iPhone relays the messages to her hearing aids.  Jon fixed something; we don’t know what happened, but she enjoyed the drive to MD Anderson for her annual mammogram.  This was a very long day at MDA.  But, thanks be to God, it is a negative mammogram.  After having breast cancer in 2011, going in for a mammogram creates anxiety.  Now, praise God, and home to relax following several over-filled days.  Ron returned to Carol and Bill’s tree farm, stopping first in Trenton to see Dean, a high school classmate, and then following GPS directions over innumerable one-lane asphalt roads.  No wonder county roads have a reputation.  Carol and Bill welcomed Ron with a delicious salmon and sweet potato dinner.

7 Nov: Cynthia and Jon tried to install a new Bluetooth dash mounted GPS.  The installation was seamless, but it will not work because Bluetooth only sends sound to car speaker blocking sound to hearing aids.  The device is the size of a cell phone, too small to see while driving.  It is being returned in the AM.  Exciting to see and read Wall Street’s reaction to the election.  Ron walked the dam twice today and ate a baked potato and steamed veggies at Los Amigos.  Between walks, he rode first to Edwardsville to the Credit Union and to his storage locker to pay rent, then to Fairview Heights where he got to see and briefly say an unadorned "hi" to a junior high classmate, Dick, and while riding on U.S. 50 towards Lebanon, the road was closed, leading Ron to an extensive search for an alternative route with his GPS for a guide. Extensive detour, Silver Creek is flooded.

6 Nov:  Historic Election!  Congratulations to the American People!  2:00 AM in Texas.  Ron has had a lazy day, getting up late, breakfast late, a walk on the formerly haunted trail mid-afternoon, and he has quarters for laundry.  Maybe laundry is why he dragged his feet today.  Cynthia walked almost five miles.  Ron did walk the dam once today.

5 Nov:  Election day with all the media fanfare and BS.  It is raining again this morning here at Lake Carlyle.  Sistah Carol reports that her pond is full.  Now if only the well would replenish its supply.  Another day indoors with indexing.  Maybe after 2 PM it will stop raining so that Ron can walk the dam.  But instead, Ron watched Larry Bird basketball highlights for a couple of hours, Bill O'Reilly for another hour or more, and finally started walking 10:20 to 11:26 PM.  It isn’t raining in Texas; Cynthia walked to the lake and home, enjoying a phone call from Smooch. 💋 Once home, she ordered the protein (for Ron) which will arrive 7 Nov.  Cynthia is working on the Rambo DNA Project; FTDNA was helpful in restoring ten kits (that she deleted) back to the project.  Carol is very happy. We want Carol happy.   Our God reigns.  

4 Nov:  Jon is driving Cynthia to her ten AM Dr Appt at St Luke’s.  She ordered a $109.00 GPS for the car as recommended by the former owner.  Ron was tired last night while walking across the dam and went to bed about 6 PM, slept until 5 AM and still feels a bit lethargic this morning whle indexing.  It has been raining in Carlyle non-stop since well before dawn.  Odds are good that the lake level will rise and more water will be released from the dam.  Nephew Eric visited but Ron was unable to figure out what Google has done to prevent photos from showing up on his web site.

3 Nov, Sunday:  Ron did depart at dawn for church in Trenton to see if twins Cheryl and Carol are there.  Don and Ann told him last year that Cheryl's husband in homebound requiring constant attention, so the odds are good that still applies.  They attend a different church in Carlyle now.  As of 10:00 AM, we are both at worship, different churches, different states, but united in Thanksgiving.   Cynthia and son Jon enjoyed a lovely birthday party at Good Charlie’s Oyster Bar.  Indexing always continues.  Ron was delighted to learn from the other couple in his pew an address for his classmate Dean H., but he doesn't answer his phone.

Cynthia and granddaughter Lauren

2 Nov:  Reading news before bedtime is not conducive to a good night sleep…  tick tock…the hours passed.  Finally,  at 11:30 Cynthia slept until close to two and Boinnggg!  Awake again, dozing/dreaming and awake at five AM.  The dream might have made a great movie, if she could remember it.  Exercised, bathed, weighed, and fed, she is preparing for a 10:00 brunch with Lauren’s family and Jon.  It rained all afternoon in Texas.

2 Nov:  Ron enjoyed a second night of good sleep.  Cynthia was plagued by restlessness.  Ron went into the woods three times pulling bush honeysuckle and clipping multiflora rose.  His knee and back seem to be improving as he continues taking it easy on them.

1 Nov:  Meanwhile in Texas, Cynthia slept ten hours before exercising, eating, calling Ron, responding to messages helping two people with their Rambo DNA questions, calling FTDNA, reading the news, walking four miles, calling Ron, eating lunch, responding to MD ANDERSON about next week’s Mammogram, and she is now on hold with Customer Service at 1:25 PM.  But she is ever so thankful for life in Christ, Ron, our life together, family and the return of health! .  

Following Fall South in October

Ron is now at his sistah's in Mt. Olive, Illinois; Cynthia is in Texas.

And a fun time was had by all

31 Oct:  Thank you, God, for RON.  Bless him with renewed energy.  All Saints Blessings on All Hallows Eve... the dark is rising… until the morning light.  We all called Dean and left a Happy Birthday song on his voicemail.  When he returned the call, we serenaded him again.  This evening after sunset, the colors of the trees along the meadow were marvelous despite not being BRIGHT.  Ron is happy that his body is tolerating the walking, kneeling and clipping activity, and has discovered that the best schedule is to walk until everything feels OK before kneeling to clip again.

30 Oct:  Jon is taking C in his car to get a haircut.  Cynthia did not walk today.  Ron has been enjoying reading Confronting the Presidents , although he did take a break to ride into town with Carol for groceries, aspirin and multiflora rose clippers.

29 Oct:  Cynthia walked 6 miles in two trips.  It was warm late morning, and windy early evening, huffing and puffing.  This day Ron decided that he could work harder since his body hasn't been complaining . . . yet.   

28 Oct:  Cynthia had two Dr appts: Dr Sharpless and Dr Hyman, dermatologist.  On his third day in the woods, Ron walked a bit more, did a bit more, and enjoyed the colors again.

27 Oct:  Thank you, God, for RON.  Bless him with renewed energy, health, and rest.  Amen  Lucky Ron got to tend fire nearly all day, with only a couple of breaks to walk in the woods and eat lunch and dinner.

Can you tell  that Kiira is expecting?

26 Oct:  We both experienced delightfully pleasant days, despite being apart all day long.  Cynthia reports that the baby shower was beautiful, and she got good photos. (No doubt a dozen will be posted tomorrow.)  She was also exhausted. Driving was the challenge; she needs the GPS guidance to shout at her louder than the surrounding traffic.  Ron enjoyed walking in the woods luxuriating in the marvelous fall colors still in full bloom hereabouts.  He found 6 bush honeysuckle to pull besides clipping and poisoning multiflora rose. With a surprising show of self restraint, he stopped before wearing himself out in the woods and resumed indexing.  (That is where those couple of days disappeared: indexing.)

25 Oct:  Today was traumatic; Cynthia left me to fly back to Texas.  No sooner was she out the door than a light rain began, but it is badly needed, so I'm not complaining.  The hard part is that I now have to pack up everything without her to blame whenever I cannot locate something.  I do miss her and prefer to be with her, so this is a sad morning.  I hope her flight goes smoothly and that she enjoys the baby shower tomorrow.  It did; she did.

24 Oct:  Sistah Carol and Bill came to visit and enjoy a meal with us at Los Amigos.  We did our usual morning "haunted trail" and evening "to the spillway" walks.  Cynthia is in final throes of packing for her flight tomorrow.

23 Oct:  What happened to yesterday?

22 Oct:  Yesterday.  Again, oatmeals, haunted trail and indexing.

21 Oct:  We awakened earlier this morning at 7:30 AM, ate our oatmeals, and walked along the formerly haunted trail.  One of the guys picking up the cemetery told of wearing his wolf costume and jumping out and growling at a little girl and her mom; the girl offered the wolf her popcorn.  Scary !!  6.27 miles, 15,000 steps. Yay.

20 Oct, Sunday:  We slept in until 9 AM, then had to hustle to get to Oaxaca Restaurant in Edwardsville for a great lunch with Eric & family.  Much fun was had by all.  Cynthia was not happy with all the lumps and bumps on Illinois highways.  I thought the roads were relatively smooth.  Indexing continues.

19 Oct:  Moving slowly this morning, Cynthia spent an hour with Apple Support to get her calorie counter "recalibrated" so that her calorie counter gives a more satisfactory number.  We then had to walk for 20 minutes on level ground to do the recalibration and continued walking entirely across the dam.  Indexing away all afternoon.

18 Oct:  RVS VACCINE DONE.  We walked the haunted trail about noon, again before lunch at Los Amigos, and Ron walked a second time in the evening across the dam.  The Haunted trail hosted innumerable kids.  No telling how many survived.  Cynthia paid attention and did a good job indexing today.  Ron continues with the impossible task of deciding which Major Lea is being referenced on each page.  (There are four Major Leas and four Luke Leas.  Only one Ephraim.)

17 Oct:  We are feeling even better, walked once before lunch at Los Amigos.  The weather is magnificent for late October in Illinois.  The people working on the Haunted Trail say it is all a fundraiser for the 4th of July fireworks.  We successfully walked the dam to the rest area and back, perhaps a bit too far.  All three Apple Watch Fitness Rings are closed with 19,000 steps and seven miles!  Indexing continues; It is a slow grind.

16 Oct:  We are feeling better and walked twice today, although it was cold and windy.  Cynthia almost got three of her fitness rings closed.   The Apple Watch increased the goals this year, and it has been harder to reach them with injuries.  We walked around Walmart shopping primarily for raspberries, almonds and frozen mango.

15 Oct:  FLU SHOT 2024. And another day dawned bright and cold.  Temperatures are finally where they should be this time of year.  We survived our hike on the "haunted trail" despite the slithering ghoul we had to pass in the cemetery.  Cynthia didn't like the coffee provided by the hotel machine, especially after she added cornbread mix to it from a bag of mine she found lying on the counter.  She usually knows not to mess with my stuff but apparently needed a reminder.  We removed one of the shimms in her footwear and improved her comfort while walking.  Too bad we didn't realize that advantage earlier, like two months ago when we examined the same orthotic

14 Oct:  PACEMAKER TEST DONE. We thought it was going to be extremely windy and cold for our ride to Carlyle, but the ride was actually quite pleasant although not warm.  Pam greeted us warmly when we arived at the Mariner's Village, another hotel where the managers treat us like family.  We shopped at the nearby Walmart for groceries and walked halfway across the dam to the spillways.  I was quite surprised to see that they are releasing quite a flow of water from the lake into the Kaskaskia River.   Cynthia is washing all traces of poison ivy out of her clothes.  We have no idea how and where she got it.  We remembered to send Ron's pacemaker data off to Medtronic using Cynthia's smartphone and a pacemaker device reader (aka magic).

13 Oct, Sunday:  We enjoyed a second day with sister Carol & Bill in their woods.  Ron walked to mud slide hill and saw Eric's new deer blind next to the ashes signifying an earlier burn pile and stack of firewood chopped from the tree on the neighboring property.  (Carol says the tree was on her property, walked a few steps over onto the neighbor's property and fell backward onto hers.)

12 Oct:  Carol & Bill will pick us up at 10 am, God willing, and take us out to the country to enjoy an 83 degree day.  We were all worn out, Ron from overeating oatmeal first thing, Cynthia from days on end of travel, Carol from her early morning schedule.  But Carol did fix us a great lunch of salmon, sweet potatoes and colorful mixed veggies.   Bill took Ron on a quick tour of the property, to the splitter shed to see the new firewood racks all dado jointed and sturdy, down mud slide hill to see the new bridge, and on the new path: "Carol's Lakeside view" with a magnificent view of the Mt. Olive Lake, now drained down to a swamp full of weeds.  Apparently it would cost the city over a million dollars to bring the deteriorating dam up to modern standards, so the lake is now drained.  No doubt someone on the city council will have a plan to enrich himself by selling development rights to someone, and then the city will repair the dam.

11 Oct:  We managed to get on the road at 10:30 and only stopped once to arrive in Litchfield at 2:30 in the afternoon and have Carol and Bill join us at Ruby Tuesday.  Much fun was had by all.  The fall colors were less frequent and less striking but were still very nice.  The most amazing part of today's ride was that the pavement was very smooth from start to finish.  That is so very unusual in Illinois, a state known far and wide for poor pavement.  US 218 into Keokuk, US 136 crossing the Mississippi on a bridge undergoing repair, 3 miles to a R on IL 96 S 28 mi (missed turn #1) to a L on US 24 (missed turn #2) for 3 mi to a R on I-172 for 20 miles continuing onto I-72 for 55 miles to a R on US 67 S just west of Jacksonville, about 4 miles to a left on Woodson-Winchester road 4 miles to a R on IL 267 S (which i recognize as Lawrence''s favorite) 22 mi to Greenville for gasoline and a L onto IL 108 which was surprisingly nice and newly repaved, 22 mi to a R in I-55 S in increasing winds 7 miles to Litchfield.

10 Oct:  We visited with cousins Ken and Marvin (& Doris) at noon at the Great Day Cafe in Keosauqua.  Unfortunately, we missed both Rex and Scott in the afternoon and left at 4:30.  We are spending the night in Keokuk and bought blueberries, raspberries and bananas to go with our oatmeal dinners.  Route wasn't great: US 63 S -> US 34 E, R on V43/ IA 16 E to R on IA 1 S which is much improved by grinding and replacing pavement joints.  Continuing IA 1 S from Keosauqua was again rough and lumpy to IA 2 which is not as smooth as previously to US 218 S to the Quality Inn in Keokuk. 

cousins

9 Oct:  Our visit to Northwood was a success; we managed to spend two hours apiece with loved friends and family there.  We are heading south before snowfall and hope to see a few relatives in Keosauqua.  No worries about being too cold this year.  Fortunately the fall colors are beginning in each place we stay, and the colors were gorgeous as we rode south on I-35.  Route: I-35 S to I-80 E skirting Des Moines, R on US 65 S briefly to L on IA 163 S for miles to join US 63 S to Otumwa and IA 149 to the Quality Inn there.

8 Oct:  Breakfast with Dick & Jane at the Holiday Inn was again delightful.  It is nice to talk with people who share convictions and observations.  Ron rode into Northwood to pick up Annie's leftovers at Susan's Corner Cafe.  (We were lucky that no one else ate them.)  At 1:30 we rode to Kensett to see Danny, Deanna and Julie for delightful conversation and snacks (lefse !!).  At 3:30pm, we set off the exit alarms first and then visited Ann-n-Dale and their grandkids Cole and Bria.  They guided us into the nursing home next door to visit Cynthia's cousin Nelda.  Next stop was the cemetery to pay our respects to Cynthia's parents.  After parking within twenty feet of their graves, we wandered around for ten minutes looking for them.  Before leaving Northwood, we shared a foot-long veggie sub at Subway.  Next year we hope to visit Ray and Mary

All the kids at the playground in Wayzata, MN

7 Oct:  Ron called his cousins in Iowa and was lucky to talk to three of the four in Keosauqua.  Lunch with Annie and Dave, Ann-n-Dale was delightful and delicious as always.  Everyone actually looks better than a year ago, better health is such a blessing at our ages.  Annie is such a good cook that Ron was still too full to eat dinner with Dave and Pat in the evening.  We have to thank Ann-n-Dale for the ride to Annies so that Cynthia could enjoy seeing her friends without the embarrassment of hairdo by helmet.  Ron was quite disappointed to discover that no one had remembered to bring the leftovers that Annie had packed for us.  Pat is having back pain and nerve problems, Dave is older too, but we all enjoyed good conversation despite discomforts.  The biggest surprise is that Dave and Pat sold all their "rendevous" gear and are planning to do their camping in a tin can.

6 Oct, Sunday:  We had great fun visiting with Brett & Holden at breakfast before driving to Northwood.  We really missed Jen and Hudson, but they had to attend a birthday party.  Holden has a smile a mile deep.  Both of the boys were sad to see us go.  Hudson gave us huge hugs last night, and Holden hugged tight this morning.  Precious boys.  The wind was horrendous whipping us around for 2 and a half hours.  There aren't good restaurants in Northwood, so we ate popcorn for warmth and crunch, then shared a Subway filled with veggies.  We've seen lots of fall color in Minnesnowda.

5 Oct:  We relocated as early as possible (11:30) to another Country Inn closer to Brett, Jen, Hudson & Holden and then joined them at the Birches on the Lake for lunch, a Wayzata playground on a lake (see photo) for an hour and again at Gianni's for dinner.  We are now way too much overfull, but it was delicious.

4 Oct:  We enjoyed a nice 45-minute walk in the neighborhood around Neil Armstrong Elementary School.  Then, suddenly, it was time to shower and pack in order to check out and relocate to the Hampton Inn in Eagan, near the airport.  The ride N on US 10 to I-494 W to I-35E South one exit onto Lone Pine Road and the Hampton Inn was easy in light traffic.  We had great fun at dinner tonight (starting at 4:30) talking with Lance & Shelley, and Carolyn at Jensen's in Eagan, Minnesota.  We sat at a booth next to Shelley and across from Carolyn and Lance, so were able to converse in separate conversations: Ron & Carolyn versus Cynthia & Lance & Shelly.  Then we used the restroom and switched seats to switch conversational partners.  Now, at 8:33, Ron can get back to work on Cynthia's James Lea index, but he worked far too late, past midnight. 

3 Oct:  More indexing, more walking, more raspberries and almonds at ALDI.  Cynthia went walking the halls of the hotel without me, so I started ten minutes later and could not find her.  She left her phone in the room and hid in the fitness center on the treadmill. Cynthia treaded on the mill for thirty minutes, but the Apple Watch only recorded nine minutes as exercise because she only walked 2.5 MPH…not pushing fast enough to be considered exercise.  Sadly, Axel’s Restaurant closed permanently on 30 Sep, so Ron was forced to find an alternative and located a Jensen’s Restaurant that might be very good.  Donna is still suffering from a bad cold.  We walked outdoors twice totaling 5.38 miles, and we split a Subway whole wheat bun filled with veggies.   (15,101 steps) 

2 Oct:  More indexing, more walking (twice for 45 minutes each).  Donna didn't call today, so we assume that her cold is worser.  Let's hope she feels better tomorrow.  We baked our huge sweet potato in the microwave in the potato pocket that Elauth gave us, and it turned out perfectly.  This time we bought blueberries and raspberries at ALDI (again).

1 Oct:  We spent the day at the hotel since Donna's cold has gotten worse.  Her doctor prescribed medication, so we will see how she is tomorrow.  In between times, we did walk once to ALDI for a sweet potato and continued for a mile or two, and repeated the walk around the Neil Armstrong school before dark.  Ron spent the day working on the James Lea index and is ready to redo the text file to find more needed index entries.

Fall Foliage in Vermont - September

30 Sep:  We did depart Wisconsin "early," 11:30 AM, and returned to the hotel in Cottage Grove that we liked last year.  Donna came over to join us for dinner at Applebys, which can prepare only broccoli and salmon for us, no baked potato, no rice, no bread, very unsatisfactory.  Ron walked to ALDI nearby for almonds, blueberries, raspberries and bananas; he forgot the spinach and sweet potatoes.  Our route was simplicity itself, I-94 forever into Minnesota, MN 95 south several miles, R on 70th Street to a traffic circle, L on Kent Street S to a R on 90th Street W to the hotel, 250 miles later.  Ron is now "free" for three days to work on that James Lea index.

The Valley Orchard was fun

29 Sep, Sunday:  We said our goodbyes to Stan & Raquel.  WOW, did they ever treat us good.  We rode left on Indian Trail to R on something to L on I-88 toll (pay on-line for 50% off) to R on I-39 N to US 20 E 1 mile to Valley Orchards to visit Spruce & Molly & family (Ada, Eve, and Otto) at an apple orchard in Rockford, IL.  A fun time was had by all.  Ron and Spruce regaled each other with reminiscences and stories.  Cynthia and Molly talked intently about who knows what.  The kids shot a bucket of apples via slingshot at targets, and Eve even shot an apple through the mouth of the target to win donuts.  After a couple of hours, it was time to get the kids home, so we said our goodbyes and rode north on I-39 to join I-90 into Wisconsin where we stopped for dinner in Madison at an IHOP and at a Comfort Inn for a night's sleep.   

28 Sep:  We visited Raquel and Stan for the day.  It is quite unique for us to visit another couple, both of whom are genealogists.  Everyone took a nap in the afternoon except for Ron, who worked on his index.  We went to dinner at a new, ritzy Italian place that couldn't offer anything to fit Ron's diet, so he ate a plate of noodles and half of Cynthia's Norwegian trout (which was quite good).

27 Sep:  We enjoyed breakfast with Dave & Barb before packing and leaving Fort Wayne at 11:30 AM with a forecast of rain coming in an hour from the south anywhere along our route.  Our plan was to circumnavigate Chicago to Aurora, Illinois to visit Raquel and Stan  Despite the threat, we stayed dry and enjoyed the scenery, fields and occasional harvest activity..  Stan has lots and lots of interesting stories and an excellent memory (for his stories at least).  They fed us a delicious chicken, sweet potato and salad dinner.  Route was West Washington to West Jefferson -> US 24 (12 miles) to R on IN 114 a long way to join IN 14 through Rochester (where I expected rain but was not disappointed to stay dry) but there was a detour that took us north to IN 10 W until it crossed into Illinois and became a very rough road, IL 114 to Momene where we turned L on Second Street and continued through Kankakee to a R on IL 102 that was a very nice road to Wilmington, IL, L on IL 53 briefly to R on Strip Mine Road, R on IL 129 onto I-55 N 20 miles to exit 257, L on US 30 4 mile to IL 59 N 10 miles that took forever, L on Aurora Road -> Indian Trail Road, L on Felton into Stonegate West, R on Havershire, 2nd R on Kingsley.  We were so happy to get off the bike and be done traveling for the day.

26 Sep:  We enjoyed a peaceful, quiet day at the Allen County Library (Indiana) with Barb and husband Dave.  They have certain traveled to a lot of places and have interesting tales to tell.  Since Ron had no research plan to follow, he didn't find anything important.

25 Sep:  We plan to leave somewhat early, ride all day through Ohio to Ft. Wayne, 230 miles.   Wow, Did we get wet.!!  We ran head on into a massive downpour or two or three on Ohio highway 3 southwest of Hudson, Ohio.  The rain started so quickly and came down so hard, that we didn't even have an opportunity to find a place to stop until after we were soaked through to the skin.  So, since we were so wet and the temperature was above 72 degrees, Ron decided to keep riding so that the wind would help evaporate all that water.  He was looking for a Shell station, but none appeared before the fuel gauge read only 10 miles left.  We stopped in Findlay at a Martin's grocery hoping to find a salad bar.  No such luck, but the greeter recommended Chick-fil-A for a good, big salad.  Bad recommendation, but we did get an inferior salad.  We arrived in Fort Wayne before dark and enjoyed a simple dinner of grilled salmon without any sides since the restaurant did not have rice or baked potatoes or steamed anything.  Route: Pekin Road west to L on OH 306 S fifteen miles to Streetsboro, R on Market Square to R on OH 303 W through Hudson twenty miles, L on OH 606 S eleven miles to R on OH 3 where the rain hit us like a hammer as we rode through Medina, OH and, rain-blinded, we missed US 42 S but still came to a R on US 224 forever, drying out a little bit more with each mile, stopping in Findley, OH for food, continuing to Van Wert, OH (146 mi), R on US 30 towards Fort Wayne (25 mi), straight on IN 930 towards downtown and our hotel.

24 Sep:  Walt says rain is forecast all day, so he took us to the renowned Cleveland Art Museum for the day.  It was wonderful; Cynthia really enjoyed seeing so much fine art (as I did also).  We walked and walked so far.  When we got back outside, the sunshine was very enticing, but that disappeared as Walter drove us home.  Pam cooked for us again this evening, salmon, brown rice, sweet potatoes and salad.  We are so happy that she is a VERY good cook. 

23 Sep:  We certainly slept soundly and long, not awakening until 8:30 AM.  Walt and Pam are busy with doctors appointments today, but they will have time to see us tomorrow.  It is drizzling, so we sat indoors all day working on the James Lea book.  The drizzle abated after noon, allowing Ron to rush out for groceries.  Walt and Pam invited us over in the evening for grilled chicken, quinoa, corn and salad.  (Pam is a very good cook.) 

22 Sep, Sunday:  Google maps said our selected route to Novelty, Ohio was 256 miles, and they were indeed beautiful miles with mostly good pavement.  We arrived at Walt & Pam's house just minutes ahead of Walt, a few more minutes ahead of Pam, and even a few more minutes ahead of Ben.  Everyone is tired from long days in the sun, so we all agreed to see each other later, like tomorrow.  Our route was full of turns, and we only got lost once.  US route 6 W to Smethport (93 miles), where we did not find a good restaurant, PA 59 W (44 miles) to Warren, PA, rejoining US 6 W (14 miles) to a L on PA 27 W (20 miles) to go straight onto the Enterprise/ Titusville Road (3.6 miles) to rejoin PA 27 W again (18 miles) to L on PA 173 S eight miles to a R on PA 285 five miles to an unmarked turn onto Adamsville Road (which was fairly bumpy but came to a T intersection that was unexpected - we crossed under I-79 as expected and wandered around on bumpy roads following the GPS for 20+ miles until we discovered Adamsville Road again and resumed our intended route) R on Liberty Street 1/2 mile to L on US 322 (43 miles) into Ohio to L on Auburn Road (3 miles) to a R on Pekin Road (3 miles) to Walt & Pam's.  A lovely day with surprising fall colors in several places.

21 Sep:  After heading west for 15 miles on old US 20, Ron missed the turn onto I-88, so instead we rode parallel to it on NY 7 for a dozen miles on a smooth road.  I-88 to Binghamton, NY (105 miles) and I-86 & Old US 17 W until Waverly (40 miles) when we dropped into Pennsylvania on US 220 S for about 15 miles to take old US 6 west.  Again the interstates were mostly smooth pavement with  a couple of 10-mile expansion joint lumps and bumps, but road work is underway to replace a couple of those sections.  Thirty-five miles later, we were nervously watching steel grey skies as we approached Mansfield, PA and decided to spend the night in the good Comfort Inn we found there.  Good thing too, color radar showed that it was raining just to the west.  The motorcycle is getting rained on now as I write this.

20 Sep:  Departure for Texas via New York, Ohio, Indiana, MN,  IA and Illinois.  Forty days on the bike?  We need exercise!  Well, we started at 3:30 PM after saying many goodbyes! and after Ron had pleasant success in the options market.  Instead of Binghamton, we are overnighting in Latham, NY. after a very lovely and comfortable ride on US highway 4 S 53 miles to L on NY 149 S for 12 miles to L on US 9 S a mile to I-87 S for 47 miles, a nice, easy 110 mile day on mostly good pavement.!  (I-87 had bumpy expansion joints for a couple of 10 mile stretches.)  Cynthia LOVED the hotel, especially the bed, soft enough to sink into, relax and sleep the night away.

19 Sep:  Our morning hike was again gorgeous; the trees are more colorful, fallen leave cover the trail, and we hiked quickly on our usual route to the top of the hill and back.  Cynthia took a HOT shower afterwards while Ron was fussing with recycling.  We ride up the montain to Cynthia's physical therapy appointment at 3:30.  Cynthia has got her box ready for final packing and shipping to Texas.  And she is learning to index.

18 Sep:  This is the take away from September in Vermont:  After two months in Vermont of conservative hiking due to her three torn tendons, Cynthia is trying to make up two months in twenty days.  This is what happens when she tries ro get everything done yesterday.  Cynthia is fatigued after longer and more industrious hikes, but happy to have those tendons healed.  We hiked to our favorite boulder and back in time for a 2:00 PM nail appointment.  Ron's last QQQ option sold while we were gone, so we are ready to do our final laundry here before packing those clothes and then eat dinner.  While Ron was finalizing travel plans, Ed Kellett did not respond to e-mails or phone calls, and Ron discovered an obituary; Ed died on 5 Sep, another excellent good friend gone.  (This is perhaps another way of defining time, by the passing of family and friends.).  Cynthia is going to miss Ed’s calls to Ron.

17 Sep:  And today we hiked to our favorite boulder atop the hill and down to the second turnaround spot, then returned.  Ron is feeling quite energetic and lively; Cynthia is exhausted.  Ron suddenly realizes that he hasn't updated the blog for two weeks, and with his memory like it is, those two weeks are lost forever.  He has been working diligently to clean up his "Google Drive," to document Oke's life (a potential best seller), to index the Lea books, and to recycle everything possible.  Suddenly it is time to pack everything besides all of the above.

16 Sep:  Physical therapy is cancelled.  We hiked Kent Pond to the big boulder.  Ron is trying to teach Cynthia about creating an index.  She is falling asleep.  It is easier to teach her when she is sleeping; she makes fewer mistakes.

15 Sep, Sunday:  Cynthia slept twelve hours!  Ron’s attempt to back up his new Mac to the time machine failed.  We hiked to the big boulder to see a cute little white fuzzy catapiller trying to hike up Ron's pant leg.  Then, back at the first stream, we witnessed a turtle (maybe a snapping turtle) big as a dinner plate with a head the size of a tennis ball.  Ron is attempting to teach  Cynthia about creating an index.  She prefers eating.  Ron's time machine backup refused to work despite trying several suggested fixes, but the fix that worked was credited to ChatGPT.  HA.

14 Sep:  We are in progress of creating a place name index to the Lea book, Volume I.  Our hike to the stone steps was exhausting.

13 Sep:  Cynthia wanted to reach Thundering Falls, so we rode the motorcycle to River Road and hiked to the falls, then up the steep climb to the big boulder and back to Thundering Falls Brook Road and River Road, walking to the motorcycle by road.  Cynthia was exhausted but pleased.

12 Sep:  Temps are warming up in the mountains!  Ron wants to hike early.  LOL  It is the same time either of us gets ready to hike… noon.  The problem is that Ron asks Cynthia when are we going hiking.  She replies, as soon as I finish my coffee.  She finishes her coffee, changes clothes and shoes and she is ready - but doesn't say so and starts looking at her iPad.  Ron, meanwhile is doing whatever he does while waiting for her.  So Ron is waiting for Cynthia whle Cynthia is waiting for Ron.  And we both prefer to stay busy, so when Ron eventually says when will you be ready, Cynthia replies that she has been ready for an hour already.  Ain't love grand !!

11 Sep:  We had a fabulous hike to the stone steps… another closed ring wonder.  The markets had good news

10 Sep:  We hiked to the big boulder!  Cynthia is learning about creating an index.  With her at the helm of indexing, it will be another two years before we get the books to the publisher. 

9 Sep:  Monday Physical Therapy after we hiked to the big boulder.  Ron updated Oke's story and decided that Cynthia could help with the index for her Lea books to speed things up to her satisfaction.

8 Sep, Sunday:  After breakfast, Cynthia was cold (49 degrees) and feels beat up, so we went to bed for a nap instead of out the door for a hike.  By the time we awakened, the forecast called for showers soon.  We had a day off.!!  Ron began cleaning old files from his Google Drive, updated the QQQ spreadsheet and did Sudokus. 

7 Sep:  We hiked Kent Pond ... carefully so as not to cause body ACHES.  We are guessing that this was the day we met a lovely couple through hikers who flipped to summit Kithadin and are now again northbound to finish after crossing the Kennebec River Ferry, Sunshine and Scarecrow, now as a couple Sunny & Scare.

Bird's eye view of Inn at Long Trail

6 Sep:   We did it!  We hiked to the ski run!!!  Amazing after so many torn tendons and so much pain!!!!  Yay.  It was only five miles but a lot of elevation gain,  Good for us!!!

5 Sep:  Cynthia organized stuff to get shipped home to Texas and arranged appointments for that first week back in Texas.  She arrives the 25th of Oct; Kiira's baby shower is scheduled for the 26th. Cynthia doesn't want to leave Vermont, a hiker's paradise, well, except in two weeks it will be cold!

4 Sep:  As we head inexorably towards our likely departure date of Sep 20, Ron took the first bit of recycling out and is mending socks now.  Oke's book is due for an update before Ron forgets everything Oke told him.  Most important is to go hiking after Cynthia awakens from a necessary morning nap.  If Ron gets pills done and sock mended, perhaps he will leave a note and hike up the Sherborne Pass Trail until Cynthia phones him. 

3 Sep:  Up and exercised, fed and ready to go hiking.  The temp of 60 degrees was perfect, the sun just warm enough, thank you, God!  Big day ahead with trip to Rutland for shoe repair and Post Office mailings.  Ron is busy mending a jacket while waiting for Cynthia to finish coffee.  Shoes should be ready by the 10th, excellent.  Postcards and check mailed, Great.  Hike was very pleasant, and Cynthia's back and feet complained less than usual recently.

2 Sep: We had a lovely day hiking after the sky stopped spitting on us. Ron finished sawing a maple tree across the AT Trail entrance at Kent Pond. A tree branch swatted him across the eye but he is fine. After dinner we showered and fell asleep!  

1 Sep, Sunday:  26 years have passed since Scott died from leukemia.  It seems like a moment ago.  Cynthia’s heart hurts like it was yesterday, but she is thankful for the memories.  We have been noticing more and more reds and yellows in the leaves underfoot as we hike, and a couple of the roadside trees have turned brilliant.  Fall is falling.  We enjoyed a "short" hike of 2 miles each way, taking it easier on our bodies for a second day.  Oke stopped by again with more materials (homework) for Ron to help "flesh out" his biography.

August in Vermont

Photo credits: Carolina Sunshine

31 Aug:  The last day of August in Vermont, and the forecast has turned better for us hikers with little chance of rain until after dark.  We will let you know how it went, but first, Cynthia went back to bed to see if she could get back to sleep after awakening at 4 am.  Ron completed a second draft of the index. 454 pages in Volume One!  We never got out of doors today, but a day of rest is necessary every once in a while for us old folks.  (Me, not Cynthia.)

log rolling with LoMein

30 Aug:  And another day dawns bright and beautiful.  We got to bed early and slept well, so we were full of energy and ready to hike.  Here we are home again after a vigorous hike, over 14,000 steps.  It was delightful to meet Chef Reggie on the trail; he was mushroom hunting, one of our favorite cooks here.  Then we had a delightful visit with a hiker from Wyoming with the trail name SideQuest.  Ron clipped overhanging branches along the way and sawed a huge log laying across the trail.  Thankfully, a strong hiker named LoMein happened along and offered to help finish the sawing.  He and Ron shoved and rolled the log off the path.  Ron has a major job redoing the index.  Bummer.  Cynthia was hopeful it could get to the publisher by the time we leave Vermont on 20 Sept.  The good thing about leaving will be having decent wifi!

29 Aug:  Unfortunately Cynthia's hip gave her significant pain when she rolled over in the night.  It got quickly better as she walked to breakfast, and we had a great hike before her physical therapy at 3:30 PM.  Then we rode to the pharmacy for a prescription refill and back to the Inn ASAP for FOOD.  Ron continues working on the James Lea index; lots to do.

28 Aug:  We extended our hike today past the ski run and third turn-around to the stone steps.  So far we seem to have survived without undo discomfort, but the real test comes if we sleep well tonight.  Ron discovered several flaws in his index and hopse to be able to rectify them "easily." Our new hiker friend had dinner with us tonight.  

27 Aug:  I love my wife, and I get points for first written I love you of tomorrow.  We got out for a good hike today around Kent Pond, up to the big rock and down to the ski trail.  That was enough for today, and we met a delightful hiker named No Shit, who has flip flopped and is now southbound with 1400 miles done and "only" 800 "easy" miles left.  Ron sent a new draft of Oke's life to him.

26 Aug:  And just when we were preparing for a hike, the rain came down fiercely.  It then rained a second time just before Oke showed up with more artifacts for his long life story.  (Ron expects the book to be a best selling classic American novel.)  That second rain ended just in time for us to ride dry all the way to Cynthia's physical therapy.  Ron is  delighted to have a rough draft of the index in the book now, so it is time to work again on Oke's life story, typing for a couple of hours before bed.

25 Aug, Sunday:  Surprise!  We awoke early and amazed the staff at the inn when we showed up for breakfast at 7:40. Then we fell asleep after breakfast!  Ron is working on the Index for the Lea book using a VI editor.  It is going well. After the index he will look carefully for errors, double check page numbers, order the copyrights and ten Library of Congress numbers. The DNA study will be a separate book, but it is already written. The appendices will be a separate book, but it is already written. Cynthia is elated. Oke stopped to visit this afternoon so we did not hike.

Ron, Cynthia and salads

24 Aug: Sat: Cynthia slept ten hours and declared she is rested!  Indeed she is rested and the torn tendons seem to be healed; she is exuberant!  Yaaay!  At 68 degrees, the day is gorgeous, the sun is shining and we hiked four miles. It was fun to shower and clean up!

23 Aug:  We slept in longer than expected and were rousted from bed by a phone call from Jan asking us to come to breakfast at 8:30.  We enjoyed tremendously our lively conversation with Jan, Dorothy and Donna.  What a fun bunch of people.!!  At noon we went for our usual hike across the stream to the big rock a the top of the hill before rushing off to Cynthia's manicure and pedicure appointment.  After five sudokus while waiting, Ron sneaked out to ALDI for groceries.  We lived life on the wild side this evening and had toasted soda bread for appetizer and dessert.  The scripts for the index are proceeding exceptionally well.  (I am so proud of you! by CF)

22 Aug:  Ron spent the morning absorbed in computer programming with the Vi editor to create an index for the James Lea book.  Initial results look interesting.  Then at 1 pm we rode to Kent Pond and walked as far as the little stream, still just a tiny bit too high to cross comfortably.  So we walked across the dam and made it to physical therapy just three minutes late.  Jan and Dorothy and sister Donna are due to arrive before midnight after a long day supervising movers.

21 Aug:  24,000 mile service scheduled with MaxBMW in NY.  The ride wasn't bad at 3:30 am; no cars passed me for the first hour, but I only went a little over 30 miles in that hour because of darkness and rain from the Inn to Rutland and wet roads for the next thirty miles.  I arrived at Max BMW about 6:30 and met the owner, Ben, who was there early and still has a tremendous passion for BMW motorcycles.

Queen Anne's Lace

Glodenrod

Ron wearing gloves for Cynthia

20 Aug:  The temperature drops today.  Brrr!  We hiked at noon.  Despite cold, wind and mud on the trail, we had an excellent hike.  The small waterfall was full of rushing water.  Goldenrod and Queen Anne’s Lace made a lovely photo.   It is amazing that Cynthia's tendons are healed and her hip pain is gone so quickly.  We met another couple of couples hiking, Chuck & ?, Steve & ??, and enjoyed a very nice conversation over dinner.  The page numbers are in the book and it awaits the index.  Ron rode to Rutland for groceries.  

19 Aug:  Monday… Cynthia has physical therapy at 2:45.  This morning while sitting up in bed at 8:45 am, Ron experienced sudden, intense dizziness for thirty seconds followed by a sudden sweat for two minutes, exactly the same sort of symptoms from his first episode of Afib in 2015.  Cynthia got on the ball and wrote to our doctor and Ron's cardiologist.  Cynthia's Apple watch can and did take an ECG that shows normal sinus rhythm.  All is well.  We made it to Cynthia's PT appointment but a downpour ensued delaying our departure for 45/minutes.  

18 Aug, Sunday:  Again we slept well and are delighted to be feeling better rested.  Cynthia is marveling that she has no pains after walking as opposed to severe pains after sitting.  We will not be walking this morning in the drizzle and rain, but it is supposed to go away at noon, so we should get in another good walk since the rain isn't sufficient to make the creeks rise.  Oke visited us again with more momentos of his earlier life.  After his visit, the rain finally stopped after it had intensified enough to raise water levels.  Ron was falling asleep working on James Lea, so we took a nap.  Eric made us another great dinner of salmon, sweet potatoes and veggies.  Life is good.   

17 Aug:  Fortunately Cynthia slept well last night despite the excessive exercise.  Ron did not.  Even when he felt himself to be comfortable, he still couldn't fall asleep for a long time.  Fortunately we got to bed early, so we spent 11 hours in bed.  A light shower passed at noon, and we went hiking soon after, hiked to the big rock, and decided that was good enough after yesterday.  Ron is still making cosmetic changes to the James Lea manuscript; we both hope it will be finished soon.

16 Aug:  Ron is betting that Cynthia will take a nap this afternoon after our daily hike.  (Ron lost his bet although she did fall asleep on the heating pad ;on the couch for fifteen minutes before dinner.)  And our hike was the most difficult since Cynthia's injuries started complaining on day three here in Vermont.  We hiked past both of our earlier turn-arounds to the rock stairs fairly close to the road above Thundering Falls.  Cynthia's watch probably knows the distance (4.91 miles, close to closing all three rings).  Because of our poor sleeping recently, neither of us felt very energetic, and we were very tired afterwards.

15 Aug:  We left first thing in the morning to get Cynthia into town for her haircut appointment.  She liked her new stylist and style.  Then we have to leave last thing before dinner to get her to physical therapy.  In between we stopped for the first time this year at Sugar and Spice for egg white veggie omelets and pancakes.  Then Cynthia decided to try a scoop of their maple ice cream.  Consequently we were not very hungry at dinner time.  We haven't been sleeping well, and we are tired little puppies.  Ron slept much better this evening, but back and leg pains are still disturbing Cynthia's sleep.

14 Aug:  We awakened early despite not getting to sleep early.  Consequently Ron was dragging a bit on our ususal hike plus a little bit extra.  Now it is time for him to shower and nap.  And a good time was had by all.

13 Aug:  After breakfast, Ron finished the jigsaw puzzle because someone else had done a great job putting in lotsa pieces.  Then we chatted with a delightful hiker from Charleston, SC named Carolina Sunshine.  She spent the night at Pico shelter with a group of a dozen giggly girl scouts and drank eight cups of coffee at breakfast to offset the accompanying lack of sleep.  After noon, Ron & Cynthia rode down to Kent Pond and walked to the usual lawn chairs on the dock.  Imagine our surprise when Carolina Sunshine walked out on the dock to visit with us again.  She had hiked downhill from the Inn to the Gifford Woods State Park and learned that she could indulge in a fifiteen-minute shower for $1 in quarters.  She was so happy that she was dancing and singing in the shower, and we were happy to see her again, even if she was clean.  She took the precious photo of us holding hands sitting on the dock!!!  She is indeed Sunshine!  After dinner Ron to rode into town for groceries, esp. bananas, blueberries, yogurt and frozen mango, but on the way, exiting the parking lot, he stopped abruptly and dropped the bike, because the pavement is slanted downhill significantly there.  He had to ask for help at the pub to get another three guys help him right the bike before he left the parking lot.  Amazingly there is not even a scratch on the bike to commemorate the mishap, although Ron's hip is extremely tender in one spot. 

12 Aug:  Sixteen years ago Ron and Cynthia were going to do a thirty-day research trip together, but they had so much fun that they haven't stopped.  They fell in lust and got married.  Ron worked on a jigsaw puzzle this morning, and Cynthia had an eventful morning phone call from the author of Mocking Justice and learned that a documentary is in progress to tell Barefoot Oke's life story.  Cynthia had physical therapy early at 1:15, and it sprinkled on our ride home, and then the sun came out and it sprinkled some more.  We extended our stay until the first of October.  

11 Aug, Sunday:  Gorgeous weather!  A great hike!  We barely made it across the stream.  That was crazy!  Ron has been working on a mental outline for Oke's biography in the mornings when he wakes up early.

10 Aug:  Our hike was short because the stream was too high to cross on dry rocks.  The weather forecast is fabulous for the next ten days with high sixties and low seventies.  Oke visited us again with more notebooks from his colorful life.  Two-year-old great-grandson Holden broke his femur on a playground in Minnesota.  A cast will suffice, surgery is not needed.  The best news of the day is that Ron gets to start at page one again renumbering the pages.  The James Lea book will be three volumes with two of them about 400 pages apiece.  If all goes well with renumbering we will hope the index goes well, too!  Cynthia figured out the cover design for all three volumes, done identically using the deposition line: "I married the Bankston daughter" and the James Lea signature.

Cynthia can make shoes muddy

9 Aug:  After breakfast this morning, Oke dropped in to say hi.  It was great to see him.  Since the forecast had been for a lot of rain (shades of Debby), Ron took advantage of a break in the rain to ride into Rutland for groceries.  After lunch, Ron started in on the jigsaw puzzle, and Cynthia decided that this is almost a perfect day for hiking at 66 degrees with an overcast sky.  The wind is blowing, which Cynthia thought might dry the mud on the trail, so she succumbed to temptation, and hiked fifty minutes up the Sherburne Pass Trail in lotsa mud.  Cynthia was so pleased and thankful to have hiked alone to the first sitting tree (3/4 mile, halfway to the sinkholes).  It is a challenging trail.  Of course, our readers know exactly where the sinkholes are!  The trail is blue blazed, and under those blue blazes on the trees are 100-year-old white blazes; this is an original route of Appalachian Trail.  Cynthia's new hiking shoes are broken in, wet and mud-covered.  Cynthia hiked alone because she stuck her nose into the Inn where Ron was working away at the jigsaw puzzle and announced that she was going for a walk - - - without bothering to listen to Ron's inquiry whether she wanted to go down to hike at Kent Pond, our usual.  So Ron followed her up on an outstandingly muddy trail.  After dinner, the rain came down in sheets, as forecast.

Cynthia selfie, lake in background

8 Aug:  Another beautiful day for our great "morning" hike, the usual at Kent Pond with an extra walk across the dam, thanks to the overcast, cooler conditions.  Cynthia took a selfie while we relaxed on wooden lawn chairs at the end of a short pier in the lake.  Today's high was 72, and we rode to Cynthia's biweekly physical therapy despite threat of rain.  While there a brief shower passed by at 3:30 PM, so we were not terribly surprised to run into that same shower as we rode eastward downhill returning to the Inn.  We got soaked and the temperature dropped significantly.  After dinner Ron commenced on the jigsaw puzzle until 10:30 PM, during which time, Cynthia fell asleep on the heating pad wrapped in a blanket.

7 Aug:  Sunshine, a hike at Kent Pond, and the Lea book is close to completion.  Ever-hopeful, Cynthia hopes we get it off to the publisher by the end of August.  On the other hand, Ron was excited to find that someone had spread out another jigsaw puzzle and put the entire edge together.   

6 Aug:  We were delighted to see Jan and Dorothy, especially since they arrived with Cynthia's left-behind clothing in hand.  They enjoyed lunch at McGrath's and then left immediately to drive to Burlington to help Dorothy's sister pack and move.  (Their car is full of bags of newspapers that they had used for their own move, just completed into Marlborough, Massachusetts.)  Now we are preparing for another hike but, since the weather forecast turned sour and uncooperative, we napped!!!

Ron crosing stream, a daily event

5 Aug:  Fabulous day, great hike! 

4 Aug, Sunday:  Unfortunately we did not sleep well last night despite getting to bed early.  Nonetheless, we are up, breakfasted and enjoyed a lovely hike after the forecast showers departed the area.  We hiked a little further than usual rehab distance and added more distance by walking across the Kent Pond dam. 

3 Aug:  is forecast to be a rainy day all day, but instead we had a dry day, so we hiked our usual rehab route along Kent Pond in the early afternoon.  Renumbering and cosmetics not only continue for James Lea, but have expanded far beyond the original scope.    

2 Aug:  We slept very well last night and plan to continue our new sleeping positions and hiking without hills.  (Yes, it is Vermont, but we can walk along Kent Pond.)  After breakfast, Ron indulged in another hour of jigsaw and another hour at noon, and another hour at dark; sadly there are only 20 pieces left.  We did enjoy another walk along Kent Pond, but didn't walk again in the evening because Ron rode into town for groceries after dinner.  Renumbering P## continues and cosmetic changes continue too.

1 Aug:  We slept well last night and awakened feeling somewhat better than all last week.  Oh goodie,someone started a jigsaw puzzle and abandoned it.  Cynthia had much less hip pain today, thank God, and we went for a nice short walk along Kent Pond (to avoid stressing the glutes with uphills).  Ron was considering an after dinner hike when the rains came and canceled that thought.  He enjoyed doing the jigsaw puzzle for an hour before returning to James Lea, making those cosmetic changes and beginning the renumbering all of his P## page number references. (Fooey)