Saturday, January 5, 2013

January 2013. Dr. Gould gives good news

Bill and Merry might need to know our schedule in Texas, so here is a link to a Google Calendar that might give us a clue.


31 Jan Thurs: Nary a moment's rest as we prepare for a year on the bike with everything we can get crammed into two saddlebags and the top case.  The top case holds two helmets and our shared Mac computer.  Cynthia's stuff sorta spilled over into Ron's saddlebag.  He is allotted one quarter of a saddlebag.  We are packed, the stuff that was spread out over the upstairs game room is packed in storage; the car is serviced and nearly ready for storage once a couple of sensors are fixed.  Cynthia spent the better part of the day at the Apple Store having her Mac Book Pro separated with an installation of Windows in 109 GB with 640 GB remaining in the Mac side.  It took the better part of the evening to upload Kaspersky security onto the Windows 7 partition; MS Office 2007 was a breeze.  Not all of the Gerbing's Heated gear arrived and they sent the control to her PO Box in Hempstead instead of the lake house.  But, we have to return for a three thousand mile service on the bike so the gear may arrive by that time.  Seems Gerbings has a new owner and they have a huge backlog of orders unfilled.  Cynthia is baking bread to take to our 96 year old cousin in Denton, TX tomorrow.  We will return on Monday to attend her intern supervisor's funeral, get the car taken care of and hopefully get enough miles the service can be done and we are outta here.

27 Jan: Sun:  We are sleeping a lot!  Maybe we should go to bed before midnight?  We worked out driving the motorcycle to the fitness center. had dinner at Ransom's Steakhouse and Saloon by car since the rain started to fall.  And here we are working late once again.  Goodnight!

26 Jan: Sat:  Soon to be running out of January and nice weather, we walked to the fitness center to work out (3 miles RT).  Bill S. was available in the afternoon, so Ron rode to Waller while Cynthia had spa time before having dinner with her four children and 12 year old granddaughter Zoe.  Cynthia was elated with the big hug from Zoe when she opened her gift:  a framed drawing Cynthia had done when she was in the sixth grade (like two year ago?)

25 Jan: Fri, Temps in the upper 70's are nice for riding that baby blue!  We drove to Sam Houston National Forest for an hour plus hike in Texas humidity.  The trails are desperately in need of maintenance, but we avoided the tackling any of it.  Realizing our physical stamina is pretty low for the amount of work yet to accomplish by the first of February, we made plans to delay departure.  Ron is doing asset allocation, reading the last six month's mail sent from KC, working on the Index for Vol. 6 of the Wrangel Years, while Cynthia is working on business stuffs.

24 Jan: Thurs.  Cynthia did not wake up until 11 AM.  Good for her.  Ron slept until ten.  Good for him!  He enjoyed riding Baby Blue to Wally World for egg whites.  This was errand day: the bank, UPS, fitness center, ride to Sam Houston National Forest.

23 Jan: Wed: The car went in for servicing and new tires - Ron rode to Wild West Honda BMW to pick up the new license plates for the bike and took Smooch Smooch out for lunch before he rode to Hempstead for the license registration for the motorcycle trailer.  Cynthia's wait at the Lexus dealer was an agonizing six hours.  She shoulda gotten a loaner car because she was worn out cookie by the time she arrived back in Montgomery.

22 Jan: Tues:  Cynthia had annual medical stuff all day with the back specialist who injected a new medication with a lumbar epidural procedure under X-ray.  Two discs are bone on bone;  surgery is not prescribed; hopefully this new steroid injection will help.  Walking works wonders.
21 Jan: Monday, What did we do Monday????
20 Jan: Church and I-Hop before hopping to the fitness center for a workout;  dinner with son Jon and Barb, Cindy and Jim.  We had a great time

19 Jan: Nice walk to the Fitness Center (3 miles RT) with half an hour on the elliptical machines.  We celebrated Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's days plus the birthdays of three of Cynthia's grandchildren.  Steven (soon 21) was amazed when Ron handed him the phone with his favorite band owner Tom Scholz on the line wishing him Happy Birthday!  It was the talk of the table for quite some time!  Tom was Ron's college roommate who is the nicest guy yet today; fame has not changed him.   We also celebrated Eric's new truck (the love of his life).  He was accepted into TX A&M College of Engineering following his HS graduation in May.  Granddaughter Rachel and fiancĂ© Ryan were there showing off the ROCK on her finger with such excitement that Ryan pulled off the surprise proposal on a cruise a week ago.  Grdaughter Samantha (Steven's sister) was accepted into grad school - another reason to party.  Granddaughter Lauren completed her GRE and is grad school shopping after May graduation from TX A&M.   Eric got it right today, "We had a blast!"
Steven, Sam, son Jon, Lauren, Rachel, Ryan (standing), Eric, Cynthia and Ron

17 Jan:  The sun is now appearing! Arise now and greet the morning, the day begins anew:  The SCS councillor reports are mailed; Austin has finished his project with a final report delivered to the SCS; the rental laptop has been returned; the Bankston DNA article submitted for the SCS Spring newsletter which promises to be most interesting overview of Anders Bankston, his DNA, his grandson Lawrence's descendants among the SCS members.  Cynthia is doing tax stuff ad nauseum.

16 Jan: I'm hoping that the forecast makes for a nice motorcycling afternoon here in Montgomery, Texas. It was just too cold after all.

15 Jan: Poor little Smooch Smooch had to hop abruptly outta bed immediately after awakening at 6:45 am in order to get trapped in traffic en route to see Sasha, then to a new (Turkish) ENT, and she finally returned home in light rain after dark.

13 Jan:  Moving Moment:  Hundreds of waterfowl-a-flutter taking flight from our back "yard."
Waterfowl and Cynthia's Thumb
Interesting video conference with SCS's Bill W regarding the new website.  COOL! is the word when it opened seamlessly on Cynthia's new MacBook Pro.  Ron took a ride to Wally World and announced, "It is cold!  Better to recycle and record receipts."  We have much to finish before departure to the sunny SW in 18 days.  Gulp!  Did you read the weather forecast for PHX?  Our E-mail correspondence lags behind; one of us boasts it may be months or years behind!

12 Jan: Apple Store One-on-One training was ... Ok.  The assistant did not receive our request for specific topics:  1.) transcribe sound into text from cell phone vox messages.   2.) How do we use IBooksAuthor?  But, he was good at winging it; we learned some shortcuts.  Dinner with Cynthia's son Jon and his Barbara, friends Cindy and Jim at Pappadeaux was delightful.

Jim, Cindy, SmoochSmooch, Ron, Barbara and Cynthia's son Jon
11 Jan:  Nice sunny day with warm temperatures = a great day for the introductory ride with the WeeFee on the "new" motorcycle.  A fine time was had by all the survivors.
A hair-raising ride
10 Jan:After Cynthia's appointment at Apple Store and with doctor, we drove to Wild West Honda and picked up the new Baby Blue BMW R1200RT motorcycle.  The ride home felt mighty fine.
Baby Blue and Lexus "Mom"
9 Jan:
Sunrise at the Texas Lakehouse

8 Jan: At our Lake Conroe home: Ron the Egg White Omelet Chef outdid himself after discovering the mushrooms hidden in the refrigerator:

Cynthia's granddaughter Rachel just relayed news of engagement from a cruise in the Caribbean; Cynthia is VERY excited to be one step closer to having a new infant in the family.  We are back to work on our various computer projects.  Bo just called to report the "new" BMW ready to roll ... just as the most recent downpour came to an end.  We will probably pick up the bike on Thursday.  The forecast shows pleasant riding weather Thursday and Friday only. Cynthia has ordered her Gerbing heated underwear. We worked out at the Fitness Center for an hour, ate dinner at Walden on the Green (formerly the Caddy Shack), and are back to work before sunset on a chilly, grey, rainy day.

7 Jan: Cynthia went off to the optometrist and was given a clean bill of health.  Towards noon she experienced low blood sugar fatigue because she missed seeing the protein drink in the driver's side door of the car placed there so lovingly by her beloved Smooch!  Her labs were not as good this time: higher blood sugar, higher cholesterol. [ed note by Cynthia:  The labs are excellent by normal standards; by the cardiologist's standards they are a little too high; I am diabetic and have to keep my BS well below 95 to maintain the nice little arc without the peaks and plunges].   Ron behaved himself organizing projects and preparing recycling.  After all, we plan to motorcycle the entire year.  Pappadeaux prepares wonderful dinners; too bad their restaurants are so terribly noisy.

6 Jan., Sunday: We thoroughly enjoyed Sunday Services at Grace Lutheran Church nearby followed by egg white veggie omelets at IHOP and Blue Bell Spicy Pumpkin Pecan ice cream.  Yup, we celebrated the good news from the doctor by pigging out on ice cream this afternoon.  Jon &Barbara visited briefly this evening, and we are back to work until bed time.

5 Jan.: Sluggish today.  I'm going to bed for a nap.

4 Jan.: We always enjoy seeing Dr. Gould; he is an inspiration. In particular, his professional opinion is that I am still alive despite the two blocked arteries. Cynthia did not receive as favorable a review since we are all concerned with her blood pressure, blood sugar, and momentary black-out at dinner Dec 14th. After our doctors appointments and lunch at the Oaks, we drove to Wild West Honda, test rode a deep blue 2009 R1200RT around the block, and bought it from Bo.  Plugs and fuse panel to be installed before we start riding.
Wowee Zowee!  Let's Ride!

3 Jan.: That is one long drive from Baton Rouge to Houston.  Lots of swamp to be seen at first, then lots of development.  Cynthia noted fewer trees, probably victims of rising water levels & global warming.

2 Jan.: We enjoyed a delightful visit with genealogy cousins Pat and Reggie at the hotel dining room in Baton Rouge.  The drive from Columbus, GA was a long one.

Lake View at Hilton Garden Inn Columbus, GA
1 Jan.: Dick R. joined us for a lovely breakfast at Hilton Garden Inn in Columbia.  Thank God that Cynthia slept after so many pain filled, sleepless nights.  We were packed up and on the road at the crack of noon.  As we sped west on I-20, Cynthia determined that Macon, GA was close to the interstate, so we arranged to see her niece Danielle, a wonderful "kid."  Macon is indeed close to an interstate, but not one convenient to our route, so we wandered through the Georgia countryside for 60 miles to Macon and 100 miles west from Macon to rejoin our planned route.  Seeing Danielle was delightful and well worth the additional time. Our "bonus" for this detour was an excellent room upgrade at the Hilton Garden Inn in Columbus, GA.

 Nice visit en route to Columbus, GA with Cynthia's niece Danielle