Merry Christmas in Texas. Great grandchild # ten arrived.

31 Dec: Hmmm! 123123: 12/31/23, the last day of the year!   Worship at 10:00 AM.  Fifteen years ago, on New Year’s Eve, Ron responded to a friend's suggestion and proposed.  Cynthia surprised both of us by saying, “Yes.”  It has been a marvelous decision, a happy time, and a wonderful life.  We are amazed at how fast the years have passed, but we echo each other’s: "Thank God!"  5.0 miles 

30 Dec:  We walked to the lake and worked on financial reports; Cynthia upgraded her junk report, and Ron worked on James Lea.  Late afternoon, we walked once again to the point.  5.20 miles

29 Dec:  Today, we were glued to our electronics; Ron analyzed financial records for IRS required RMD calculation, and Cynthia did DNA administrative duties.  We walked five miles, followed by egg white omelets at Magnolia Diner, picked up packages at Jon’s and an RX at Walgreens, and shopped for groceries at Walmart.  Tick! Tick! Tick!  Yup!  Here we go again, zooming through another December to the big countdown at midnight Sunday.  5.0 miles

28:Dec:  The day was chilly but sunny; we delayed walking until one PM when the outdoor temp hit 52 degrees.  Ron completed his RMD analysis up through November, and we had a lovely dinner with Pastor Diane & John, Bishop Mike & Susan at the Cafe on the Green.  5.0 Miles

27 Dec:  Wednesday was a most enjoyable day to sleep late, catch up on projects, turn on the old Dell laptop, used to write five volumes of the Rambo Book, to see if it works; yes, it does.  Ron is working on financials to complete the MRD before Dec. 31.  Cynthia completed Ron’s medical paperwork for Pritikin; hers was done yesterday. Reviewing cardiac procedures since 2010, we are thankful for Medicare, plus excellent supplemental policies.  Cynthia’s Plan J requires no co-pay; it is no longer available, and the government cannot take it away.  Ron has supplement D via Mutual of Omaha, which offers great coverage in addition to Medicare.  We walked 5.31 miles. 

26 Dec:  We walked five miles after early AM email distractions. Cynthia checked her blood pressure after the walk: 104/68.  Then we walked five miles before jumping up on the motorcycle to shop for food. (Well, we don’t exactly jump up, but it sounds energetic.)  Traffic was heavy, the stores were still crowded, and the restaurant was closed.  Because she was starving, Cynthia ate a half bag of unwashed globe grapes in Walmart.  Ron is industriously editing James Lea.  5.0 miles. 

25 Dec, Sunday:  Merry Monday, Merry Christmas!  Son Paul and his family are in England visiting granddaughter daughter Zoe and her new husband, Jack.  Zoe is at the U of York studying for a master's in Public History.  Jack is playing soccer (see photo).  They will FaceTime at noon CST.  Thank God for the gift of family, phone calls, e-mails, plus our 5.0-mile walk to the lake and back, and we call it a day!  ZZzz 

Jack, Paul, Zoe, Fyn, and Cheryl

Fyn in England

Zoe's husband Jack

Blaire and Becks

Sister Bonnie and her family

24 Dec: Brunch with Jon and Jim & Jan at the Yacht Club, followed by visiting

 23-month-old Charlotte and her parents at one PM.  We met   Roxanne and Kiira, Julie, Lamar, and Jade for worship at four PM, then a Christmas celebration over dinner at the Salt Grass Restaurant.  

Little Charlotte (upper right)

Ron and Cynthia after church

23 Dec.  We exercised, oatmealed, and walked; Ron did Sudokus and edited James Lea.  Cynthia said this is Clean Condo Day!  5.0 miles 

22 Dec:  Ron is sending his Christmas cards today.  Cynthia is not sending cards.  5.0 miles 

21 Dec:  Winter Solstice is upon us.  So is writing Christmas cards, running errands, walking, and having a late lunch at Magnolia Diner. The hard drive did not successfully migrate everything to the new Mac, so we have many more things to accomplish before Feb. 10th.  However, the past three days of work on James Lea's book were not saved when the Mac rebooted.  Very sad!  8.31 miles 

20 Dec:  Another five-mile day!  Ron is hard at work on the Lea book  Yaay! 

19 Dec:  IMAGINE!  Yet another crazy busy day doing the usual, followed by a five-mile walk, then a trip to the Apple Store in the Woodlands for Apple School on the new Apple Watch #9.  The traffic was horrendous, but we were only a few minutes late.  We learned GPS and cellular on the Watch are the same as on the iPhone.  We get complimented often because we hold hands, “So sweet,” a lady said in Walmart.  The truth is Ron holds Cynthia’s hand to keep her from falling, shopping, or dawdling.  Take your pick.  And now we are tired, as usual!  5.51 miles

18 Dec:  Computers and James Lea ruled the day!  Ron worked on the book, and Cynthia spent half the day struggling with security issues on several websites.  We enjoyed two walks, 6.12 miles  

17 Dec, Sunday:  Worship was wonderful with tiny angels dressed in white fluttery wings, Mary adoring, Joseph with arms raised, a heavenly choir, and bell ringers telling the story of Jesus’ birth. Midafternoon we walked 5.08 miles 

16 Dec:  We exercised, oatmealed, walked to the lake, and drove to Jason’s Deli for their salad bar and our bike. Ron ran errands; Cynthia stopped at the pharmacy and then went home to read a gifted book, From Bremerton to River City, written by a 95-year-old woman about the first North Iowa Band Festival in 1938. And we walked again. 7.15 miles 

15 Dec:  Another early AM, but an appointment with Cynthia’s retina specialist is scheduled for ten-fifteen.  Good news all around. The retina specialist said everything looks good, and her AMD continues to be stable.  We ate lunch at Jason’s Deli and walked to Eyeland to schedule an eye appointment for Ron’s RX glasses.  Thankfully, they had an opening at two PM. He has prescribed transition lenses for reading and distance, using OSHA Safety design for use on the motorcycle.  It will have a gradient design to turn into sunglasses in the bright sun.  At 2:33, trouble started! Cynthia said, “I received a weather warning.  Heavy rain is scheduled for 2:33.  Oh, that’s Now.” And the forecast was right.  But the optician was measuring Ron for new glasses.  We finished, paid the bill, and wondered if we should sit at the optical company to wait for the rain to pass over or return to Jason’s Deli.  Cynthia bolted towards food.  By the time Ron arrived in the midst of the deluge,  she was nearly finished eating avocado sourdough toast.  The rain promised to pour indefinitely (eight PM).  Cynthia texted Jon, who just had a flat tire and needed to get new ones a block away.  He picked us up, we waited for new tires, and he brought us home.  We will get the bike in the AM.

14 Dec:  We left by nine-thirty for the ride to Hempstead for lunch with Carol S., stopping at the CPA, then onto Brenham for Ron’s eye appointment at 1:45 PM.  It was a successful visit until we realized Ron’s eyes were still dilated as we returned for the ride home on the motorcycle.  Thankfully, Ron did a great job, and we are still alive.  We arrived home after dark; we had no walk today.

13 Dec:  A busy day! Ron affixed the AZ motorcycle license tag for the next five years.  6.0 miles 

12 Dec:  Our walk to the lake at ten-thirty started out chilly but warmed up in the bright sunshine.  Ron is in a HO HO HO mood, writing Christmas letters with a goal of ten a day until the end of the month.  Cynthia is FA LA LA ing projects completed.  Becks is amazingly alert for a newborn.  Big sister Blaire is in love.  7.0 miles, all of the fitness rings are closed.  

11 Dec:  After the morning EO routine (exercise/oatmeal), we walked almost to the lake but turned to boogie back for our dentist appointments at 2:00 PM.  Our good reports were followed by a stop at Walmart to search for hard sourdough pretzels; they did not have them.  Dinner at Jason’s Deli was filling, and the ride home was not quite as chilly.  5.0 miles 

10 Dec:  We worshipped at Grace Lutheran Church, followed by brunch at Magnolia Diner.  Cynthia erred in trying to type a document on her Mac; her right-hand ring finger and middle finger sagittal bands do not allow her to be raised to type on a keyboard.  She put the brace back on.  4.0 miles 

9 Dec:  Luxuriating on a Saturday with nothing on our schedules except a walk, a trip to Walmart, and a package pick up from Jon.   Almost everything from the 2011 17” MacBookPro hard drive migrated successfully to the new 15” MacBook Air.  As we travel, it will conveniently hook up to 48” TV screens with an HTML cable.  We started our walk at 2:00 PM despite 80 degrees, plus high humidity, because of some cloud cover.  It worked - - sort of.  We returned home alive but sweaty after a five-mile jaunt to the lake.  Cynthia prepared baked salmon using a new recipe.  Ron made a baked sweet potato using the potato pocket that ElaRuth gave him years ago.  5.0 miles   

8 Dec.  The Bishop’s Clergy Christmas luncheon was at 11:30 AM, but we arrived late and ate lettuce.  We don’t eat pasta in cream sauce or butter rolls, and Cynthia disciplined herself not to eat the yummy-looking homemade carrot cake.  We left the luncheon a few minutes early to get to our appointment at the Apple Store to have Ron’s old Mac checked out, plus Cynthia’s 2019 Apple Watch needed to be checked.  The battery did show deterioration; she was offered a $60.00 trade-in on a new Apple Watch and bought one that includes the GPS and the cellular on the 2019 Watch.  Ron successfully removed the hard drive from the 2011 Mac with a delightful Apple Store assistant. We walked to Best Buy, nearby, and Ron bought an adapter, and their Geek Squad announced the hard drive was still good.  It is being migrated to the new Mac as we sit here exhausted from the day.  Riding on I-45, one of the most dangerous freeways in the US, in the dark is stressful to one of us, while the other said he was ready to do something different after arriving home.  Today's walk: two miles.

7 Dec:  After oatmeal and exercises, we were off to the Apple Store to buy a new MacBook for Ron.  Thankfully, they had what he needed in stock: a 15-inch MacBook Air with 16 Gig memory and 1 Terabyte SSD hard drive.  We stopped at Jason's Deli for large luncheon salads and a baked potato, and then Cynthia had an eye appointment next door, with very little change in her RX.  We walked to the lake and home, totaling 6.6 miles for the day.  Ron could not take the old MacBook Pro apart to get the hard drive out to attempt migration to the new computer.  When we stop at the Apple store again tomorrow, he will take both MacBooks to see if their Genius bar can help.  This is being typed on the new MacBook Air, and Ron is delighted with the keyboard.  Cynthia is happy to be riding the motorcycle instead of driving.  One of these days, her disinclination to present "hairdo by helmet" will overcome her reluctance to drive in Houston traffic.

Miss Blair & Baby Becks

6 Dec:  Our tenth great-grandchild, Becks, arrived late afternoon, 7.6 oz.  Her parents and big sister are elated and exhausted.  The Smooches slept late, luxuriating in the peace of togetherness.  We will be much rejuvenated if we get another few nights of good sleep.  After compulsory morning exercises and oatmeal, we walked to the lake and back, collected too much from the storage locker, and bought groceries (although Ron forgot the walnuts on his 4-item shopping list).  Ron connected Cynthia’s Mac to the 48” TV screen for a monitor to read about new Macs.  5.0 miles  

5 Dec:  Ron said his goodbyes to Rex and the dogs before continuing to Corsicana to research Albert Miller Lea, who died there.  The local genealogy librarian was familiar with Albert Miller Lea but had no Bible record.  However, there were a couple of good biographical sketches of him in their vertical files.  Next time, Ron will dig out his camera to take photographs.  He did promise the librarian to send a copy of the Lea book and articles from the Freeborn Standard next time he researches in Minnesota.  And home on the range, Cynthia walked to the fitness center and back, brimming with excitement because Ron is due in Walden soon and very soon!  The happy ending is that he arrives about 3:30, and the Smooches are very happily reunited.

4 Dec:  The ride from Miami south to Rockwall, Texas, on US 69 was quite pleasant, with fall scenery and colors adding to the green grass and fields along the road.  Ron spent the night with cousin Rex and his wife Danielle, and we all went to dinner at a great restaurant there.  Their home is quite hectic with four large dogs and eleven !! puppies.  Cynthia made chili to take to her granddaughter in Bryan, Texas, for an all-gathering birthday party with Jesus in the morning.  She was home by two.  Two miles 

3 Dec, Sunday:  Ron is visiting Clarence in Kansas City for a couple of hours or maybe sixty hours!  Who knows!  Cold and rain are forecast in one hour (at three PM) south of KC.  His next stopping spot should be a little more than an hour south of KC UNLESS HE DECIDES TO GO ELSEWHERE.  WHO knows? Aha! Ron made it to Miami, Oklahoma, by dark.  He phoned from a Walgreens drugstore while searching for a hotel.  The good news was that he was only two minutes from a hotel and checked in with a Subway restaurant nearby.  Meanwhile, at home on the range in Texas, Cynthia completed the final day of a 21-day, 10,000 steps-a-day challenge. 14,958 steps, 6.26 miles.  She is a happier hiker with more steps daily, but walking on uneven ground in the dark (alone) is not a good choice.

2 Dec: Sat: Ron left Trenton, Illinois, mid-AM, for the arduous ride to Kansas City, MO, arriving in Excelsior Springs, MO (drenched) to visit his friend, Les.  His wet shoes and socks sizzled on the heater.  At about eight-thirty PM, he will ride to Kearney, MO, a suburb of KC, check in at the hotel, shop for food, and fall asleep.  Kearney is about fifteen minutes west of Excelsior Springs.  Ron has a detour, wet drizzle, or heavy humidity riding to Kearney.  He arrived wet again at about nine PM.  Tomorrow, he will visit Clarence in KC, and, God willing, he will leave for the next overnight before dark or rain. Cynthia walked 6.5 miles today (day 20 of 21)

Hudson, Holden and Santa

1 Dec:  Ron spent another day and night in Trenton, Illinois, keeping Ann company.  He plans to leave for Kansas City, MO, tomorrow, likely about ten AM; he has several places to stop en route to Texas.  Cynthia walked at 10:30, shopped for groceries, and (for those who understand the importance) had a broken fingernail repaired.  HA! From the state of extreme boredom.  5.79 miles (day 19 of 21-day challenge)

November Give Thanks No Matter What

Cynthia walked to this view point on Nov 9

 
 

30 Nov: The End marks a beginning, well, maybe. Ron rode early AM to Edwardsville, but he hit rain at Lebanon, unable to return to Carlyle and pack his belongings to bring them back to Trenton. He is in Trenton to again spend the night.  God willing, Friday AM he will check out of the hotel in Carlyle, return to say goodbye to Ann, and MAYBE he will begin the very cold ride to Texas. Ann will go into assisted living very close to her son, but lots of paper work needs to be done. It is a very rainy, all-day-rainy-day in Texas where one of us needs to walk at least five miles Thankfully, at eleven AM, the rain turned into a fine mist, allowing a one-hour boogie almost to the lake and back.  She stopped short of walking the last stretch through the wet grass.  By evening, feeling house bound and bored, she walked circles in the condo for twenty minutes. 5.68 Miles 

29 Nov: Wed: Ron returned to visit Ann in Trenton, rode to pick up his Mac near Scott Air Force Base, where Computer Geek only charged $49.00 because he could not fix it. He spent the night at Don’s house but, following an hour walk, he returned to find Ann had fallen, unable to get up.  A neighbor was called, and the two of them maneuvered her into position to get on her feet.  5.02 Miles 

28 Nov: Tues: Ron’s friend Don in Trenton passed away this AM.  Ron spent the day with Don’s invalid wife, other friends were there for support,  too.  Cynthia’s D-I-L’s mother suffered a fatal heart attack this afternoon.  Prayers go up for those who are mourning. 15,329 steps  6.30 Miles  

27 Nov: Mon: Cold in Texas! 5.0 Miles 

26 Nov: Sunday: It is bitterly cold in Illinois. Ron rode in 32 degree temperature from Trenton to Carlyle.  Cynthia is presiding at Grace Lutheran Church in Montgomery, Texas. Samantha, Adam, Noah, Steven, and Jon are worshipping at Grace, followed by a brunch at the Yacht Club. Two-year-old Noah was ill en route to the church, upchucking all over his clothes.  His dad wrapped him in his own shirt and stayed in the car with him so Samantha and Steven were able to come into the church. It is a chilly 55 degrees in Texas.  Cynthia only walked 3.0 miles, and none of it walking outdoors.  

25 Nov: Ron will return to Carlyle, stopping at the computer geek near Scott Air Force Base to retrieve his Mac. He plans to stay the week in Carlyle, visiting Don and Ann for card game fun. Cynthia is out for her walk to the lake. 5.0 Miles 

24 Nov: Carol prepared a Friday Thanksgiving feast for Ron and Bill!  Jon, Lauren, Tyler and Charlotte had a Friday Thanksgiving at the Cafe on the Green; all of us were entertained by Charlotte.  Cynthia had two walks totaling EIGHT MILES, 8.17 Miles  

23 Nov: Happy Thanksgiving! Cynthia is eternally thankful to God for Ron, for our relationship together even when apart for a month. We are thankful for siblings, four adult children, eleven grandchildren, and almost ten great grandchildren (8 are four years old and under).  She is very thankful her hand is healing nicely, but she is cautious moving the right hand certain ways. It is raining in Texas at seven AM until ten AM, at forty four degrees. Ron, his sister Carol, and his nephew Eric, are identifying as Christmas tree ornaments.   2.0 Miles

 

22 Nov:  Today is day 10 of a 21 day 10,000 step challenge, and on this day, she achieved 6.0 miles. Yaaay!  It is a BRRRRRR day!   Cynthia had a haircut, picked up packages at Jon’s, plus printed sermon and order of worship.  It was time to eat salmon. Ron is delighted to get out of the house and into the woods again.  Bush honeysuckle (click here) are terrified.!! Haha! Yes!  

21 Nov:  Having soaked his feet and shoes yesterday, Ron decided to spend the day inside today reading The Pritikin Edge from cover to cover.  It never ceases to amaze him that Americans are so much in denial of the future that awaits them as they sit hours daily indulging their every dietary whim.  Brrrr!  It is chilly in Illinois!  Snow is forecast for Sunday near Trenton.  It is even chilly in Texas!  Cynthia treated herself to a VIP Pedicure that included a fabulous foot massage.  Today’s 12,319 steps are nine to ten thousand less than our daily steps in Colorado through July and August.  But, between being busy, a lot of rain, and now cold, it is good to be thankful NO MATTER WHAT!  5.04 miles  

20 Nov:  In eleven days Smooch leaves for Texas.  Cynthia met with the pastor at Grace to review logistics for presiding at worship next Sunday.  After that she had the rear brake pads replaced.  In Illinois, it rained in the morning and again afternoon and into the night.  Ron pulled only 12 bush honeysuckle while getting his shoes and socks entirely soaked in the water on wet leaves.  Ron’s Mac cannot be repaired.  He will go Mac shopping in Texas  

19 Nov, Sunday:  Worship in Texas included a festive hymn sing followed by a meal with a huge dessert bar.  Cynthia ate a 2”square of quiche and fresh fruit, thereby avoiding all of the tempting home made desserts.  On day 7 of the 21 day challenge, doing the exact same route to the lake and home to the condo, there is 500 step difference. 500 fewer steps.  How can this be?  Wearing the Apple Watch on the left hand instead of the right?  5.0 miles.  Ron spent the day in Illionis pulling bush honeysuckle.

18 Nov:  Early AM chaos reigned in Texas with a text message that a document needed to be scanned and resent.  Instructions were included to scan with an iPhone or IPad, but neither worked.  Cynthia explained to the sender she needed to EAT instead of trying to locate a scanning app.  Cynthia does not have scan capability on either of her apple products.  She drove to Jon’s and he scanned it using Turbo Scan, a download, and he showed her how to use this genius hack.  She raced home to discover she had missed yesterday’s eye appointment, and now her phone is installing updates, so she missed calling Ron.  Calm comes after coffee.  6.0 miles in Texas.  In Illinois, Ron enjoyed a full day of pulling bush honelsuckle.

17 Nov:  Day 5 of Cynthia's 21 Day 10,000 Step Challenge.  Ron awakened at his sister's place in rural Mt. Olive, Illinois, and is preparing to wage war on bush honeysuckle again.  He has nearly healed from his battle wounds of last week.  Oh boy, oh boy, Carol, Bill and Ron drove into town for dinner at Ruby Tuesday, and Ron was able to buy frozen mango and blueberries as well as sourdough hard pretzels.  Now it is time for his daily walk to the mailbox - a mile each way.  Cynthia forgot a three PM eye appointment.  6.75 miles in Texas.

16 Nov:  Ron returned to his sister’s tree farm near Litchfield, Illinois.  His Mac has a “short” in it that the Geek cannot find.  Ugh.  Sad.  The good news is the hard drive is not the culprit.  (Give Thanks No Matter What.)  During her afternoon walk, Cynthia took a video of a huge Great Blue Heron that allowed her to get very close to him.  16, 800 steps.  7.0 miles.  

15 Nov:  Ssshhhhh!  Cynthia is planning a quiet day to complete a sermon.  Ron won a game of Liverpool Rummy.  (This is a miracle !!)  Before dark, he put shoe glue on the soles of his Hoka shoes.  Cynthia hiked 6.15 miles, 15,243 steps 

14 Nov:  Ann won two afternoon card games.  Ron and Don played a game of chess but quit when Don insisted on the tournament "touch-move rule."  Cynthia is crazy busy in Texas, preparing a sermon for 26 Nov and running errands.  This is the second day of her 10,000 steps a day, 21 day challenge, and she aced the goal again.  5.0 miles

13 Nov:  Good Morning Lake Carlyle from South WET Texas.  At 5:00 AM, it is again raining, with the forecast of 100% wet stuff all day!  Cynthia has an appointment with the audiologist at nine AM, followed by a trip to our Hempstead CPA, and lastly, the Grease Monkey to change oil in the car.  In Illinois, Ron and partner drew wonderful cards for pinochle, and he had a very good time.  Diane is such a good sport and energetic participant.  5.0 miles 

12 Nov, Sunday:  On this today, Ron relocated to Lake Carlyle for several days - until Thursday.  Liverpool Rummy or pinochle.  Ron arrived at Lake Carlyle after helping load firewood at his sister’s tree farm, then lost a couple card games to Ann and Don in Trenton.  Cynthia attended worship at Grace Lutheran followed by a fellowship meal that included her first-ever piece of lasagna.  It became a popular treat a long time after she stopped eating pastas.  She is not sure why it is a treat to anyone.  Only 1.5 miles accrued-because it rained all the day long. 

Charlotte, Tyler, Cynthia & Lauren

11 Nov:  Ron's last consecutive opportunity to pull bush honeysuckle is TODAY!  Cynthia baptized Sweet Charlotte at her home.  It was a lovely day, a wonderful ceremony, with such a loving family surrounding her. 

Jon, Cynthia and friend from Elkhorn

10 Nov:  TODAY. a day for more pulling of bush honeysuckle, that terribly invasive species.  So far, Ron's body is not complaining, and he is sleeping quite well and waking well rested.  That is such a relief.!!  Ron's day proceeded as planned with bush honeysuckle until Carol & Bill arrived in the "side by side" to ask if he wanted to ride in the pickup with Mom's dining room table to go into his storage locker - which is where we went, then to Culvers for a sandwich (Ron had a small salad) and then to Dairy Queen for frozen custard - Ron ate a whole quart for only 12 grams of fat.  Boy oh boy, did we celebrate Dad's birthday.!!  Ron pulled a bit more bush honeysuckle and poached some from the neighbor.  Carol cooked excellent salmon meal at 4:40.  The rain in Texas started early, drizzle continues in the afternoon.  The carpet cleaners arrived at eleven to clean the area rug spot where Cynthia spilled her Smoothie.  She had dinner with her son Jon and a classmate from Iowa. Tomorrow she is presiding over the baptism of two-year-old great-granddaughter, Charlotte, who has a three-second-attention-span, max.   2.0 Miles

9 Nov:  Another great, God-given day for pulling bush honeysuckle (184 today).  Thank God.  (It never hurts to thank the creator.)  Cynthia, in Texas, arose at five AM eager to expend energy before rain late afternoon.  She hoofed it out the door at 8:20 AM making the distance to the lake, stopping at the Fitness Center to say hi to the delightful attendant.  On the way back, the older man with running difficulty challenged her to a race.  Of course, she agreed and kept up with his pace by fast walking and running.  That lasted only three blocks when he won because she tired out.  She fell asleep at high noon until two PM when the rain started.  3.90 miles.  Uffda Rain forecast for the next six days.  Thank God no matter what!

8 Nov:  Cynthia had an appointment with the foot and ankle specialist at ten AM, but the appointment was made in Colorado and showed up on her calendar as eleven MST.  Therefore, she was unknowingly an hour late and unable to be seen.  But, she did get an injection for bursitis from the orthopod.  Ron spent the day getting up close and personal with one hundred eighty nine bush honeysuckle plants.  Hmm, why are we seeing no mileages?  Ron is walking the mile to the mailbox and back every evening.  Ok. Cynthia got the point; once the temperature dropped to 77 degrees at seven PM (dark-thirty),  she walked through lit parking lots for fifteen minutes.  Thanks to a busy day with a lot of steps, she accrued 2.5 miles.  It will be cooling off beginning tomorrow so she can walk before dark. 

7 Nov:  Ron took his computer to I Fix Gadget (click here) near Scott AFB because the owner is confident that he can repair the broken Mac.  Let’s pray!  On the way he stopped in Edwardsville to drop off recycling and deposit a check at the Credit Union.  Suzanne was there this time, and we enjoyed a quick half hour catch up.  Ron arrived home in time for a delicious stir fry dinner with rice.  In Texas, Cynthia picked up a RX and drove to the Woodlands o see Dr. Dice, the hand specialist.  She bought a Juice Smoothie at a health food bar, brought it home and promptly dropped it on the clean carpet in the living room.     

6 Nov:  Ron slept very well and quite long, from 9 PM to 1:30am to 4am to 7am, and he feels really, really good.  After exercising and eating, he bounced out of the house to do battle with bush honeysuckle.  The bush honeysuckle that he eliminated last year has regenerated, so we think that the bush honeysuckle is winning.  It was alarming to see that the poison ivy still has green leaves.  Carol fed Bill and Ron yummy bean soup for lunch.  Ron decided after pulling 108 plants that he had better give his back a rest.  Cynthia had a busy day planned, helping Jon with some needed paperwork and seeing a couple of doctors, the allergist and the ENT. 

Cynthia's daughters are taller

5 Nov, Sunday:  Fall back!  The blog posts will be brief until Ron’s Mac is repaired.  Cynthia still types slowly with one finger to protect her sagittal bands.  She is off to worship, then an afternoon baby shower for Miss Becks, due Dec. 11th.  Ron enjoyed a good night of sleep, but wore out early from pulling bush honeysuckle.  Apparently moving 20 boxes weighing 30 to 50 pounds each was a bit too much. 

4 Nov:  Phooey! Ron cannot update the blog because his Mac died.  He reports in our early AM phone call that he slept wonderfully well in his sleeping bag outside.  Ron, Maxine and her husband Doug enjoyed breakfast at Denny’s at 9:00 AM.  Maxine survived a stroke and appears fully capable, thanks to good doctors at Barnes hospital who inserted a tube into her arm all the way to the stroke site in her brain to syphon out the blood.  Ron then spent a few hours digging through his storage locker in search of his 55-year-old orange Burton Third Bomber basketball jersey; he thrashed through four boxes and trunks full of shirts without finding it.  He searched until exhausted at four PM, then rode to Sistah Carol’s for a couple of weeks to pull bush honeysuckle.  Meanwhile, in Texas, Cynthia had a haircut followed by a manicure in preparation for Rachel’s baby shower tomorrow.   She met son Jon for dinner at the Cafe on the Green.  The TX weather turned TX hoT.

3 Nov:  Ron rode from Carlyle Lake in Illinois to Gateway BMW Motorcycles of I-64 in Chesterfield (St. Louis) to give his motorcycle the 12,000 mile service.  It is about an hour and a half ride to get there taking a slightly less traveled route over the Jefferson Barracks Bridge.  We've had the bike just over one year.  As usual, he was late leaving and arrived for the appointment an hour late.  The folks at the shop were marvelous.  Rachel is quite the motorcycle addict, Shannon is very, very expert at diagnosis, and Mark is a white haired wonderful mechanic.  Ron borrowed a demo bike to ride ten miles to visit his aunt Margaret in St. Louis  Ooops! Ron’s 2011 Mac has died. deader than a doornail.  He may need to buy a new computer, but first he is going to take it to "I fix gadgets" near Scott Air Force Base.  Thank God the critical files are all backed up (we hope). Just befpore dark, he rode to Edwardsville to search his jam-packed storage locker for his orange MIT Bomber basketball jersey.  Cynthia had a Dr appointment and walked 3.0 miles

2 Nov:  Ron is pleased that his Van Buren Telephone Co. material arrived, plus numerous envelopes of Sudokus from Oke and the Stalcops.   Ron’s mail has not been opened since last March.  Thanks to Cynthia's "heads-up" early morning call, Ron had great success with QQQ this morning.  Now it is time for him to exercise and walk across the dam.  Then he spent the day with Don and Ann and Diane playing cards with much gusto.  After Diane left, Don beat Ron at one game of chess and made a significant oversight in the second.  It looked like Ron was going to win that one until he blundered into a stalemate.   In the meantime, Cynthia, after exercise and oatmeal is enjoying morning coffee looking at Lake Conroe in the newly remodeled condo.  We lease the condo for our four-month stay in Texas.  It overlooks the marina on the lake; we can walk next door to the yacht club, and the golf course and the fitness center (with swimming pools and tennis courts) are nearby.  The sun is shining.  Her heart is happy.  Hmm, but I don't see any mileage.  (I love you.)  2.5 miles! I love you, too. 

1 Nov:  Cynthia flew back to Houston, thereby avoiding a potentially cold ride on the first of December (and frozen "hairdo-by-helmet.")  Will Cynthia continue posting daily mileages here?  YES,  Cynthia’s flight was fine.  TSA precheck makes boarding a plane pleasant again.  Son Jon picked her up at IAH with her car shiny bright, filled with fuel, and a happy guy to have his mom home.  They picked up boxes she shipped home, plus boxes from the storage unit.  Then Jon helped her get the boxes up to the condo.  She did not get many miles: 3.0.

Colorful October in Illinois

This 

This_photo_needed_an_extra_long_word_to_set_it_apart

31 Oct:  Cynthia leaves for Texas tomorrow.  Boo! I love you!  And Hoo! SmoochSmooch, I love you. We sang the birthday song to bro Dean, and he complained that we were off key.  What's a key?  Ron walked across the dam twice on this cold and windy day.  The second walk was no warmer than the first.  QQQ was a big disappointment today.  Maybe tomorrow will be better.  I guess we are prepared for Cynthia's departure tomorrow.  We will miss each other terribly unless we stay way too busy.

30 Oct:  We both had a great sleep.  And it is 33 degrees this morning; Cynthia is aghast.  Ron is watching QQQ but realizing that it needs to go up an impossible amount for him to escape without a loss.  If it goes up as much tomorrow as it did today, Ron will breathe a big sigh of relief.  We tested Ron’s pacemaker and sent the results off to the electrophysiologist.  Testing schedule according to doctor: (1/29/2024 4/29/2024 7/29/2024).  This morning’s walk didn’t happen until noon and the temperature reached 44 degrees; but, the sun felt warm despite the wind.  As we returned to our hotel tonight on the second walk, the temperature was a very cold 35 degrees. 8.08 miles 

29 Oct, Sunday:  We were very sluggish this morning, but still quite happy to be alive and kicking.  After the color radar stopped forecasting rain around 11:30, we walked across the dam in occasional very light drizzle.  Carol and Bill drove down from Mt. Olive to join us for a late lunch at Los Amigos.  Everyone enjoyed the food and conversation.  We spent the remainder of the day on our computers.  4.5 miles 

28 Oct:  Sorta just like yesterday, Ron awakened at 3:30 am and didn't seem to sleep much after that.  Despite a chilly, cloudy day we walked across the dam.  Don and Ann joined us for lunch at Los Amigos, a trip to Walmart, and much conversation.  The afternoon rain prevented us getting a second walk.  Ron believes he might have slept better had we gotten a second walk.   4.0 miles

27 Oct:  Just like yesterday although Ron awakened at 3 am and slept little after that, we did exercise, watch QQQ, and ate breakfast before walking across the dam on a beautiful day.  We celebrated with lunch of steamed veggies and a baked potato at Los Amigos.  Thereafter Ron fell asleep at his computer while transcribing a document and took a nap.  QQQ was a severe disappointment today.  80 degrees for the high !!, but we walked again after it cooled off, and this time we walked into a light shower and returned home in dampened clothes.  7.69 miles. 

26 Oct:  After sleeping well another night and exercising, watching QQQ, and eating breakfast, we walked across the dam in significant winds.  Ron spent the day doing things for members of the Swedish Colonial Society and editing Barb's manuscript.  His medicines arrived today.  He has gotten a lot of open windows closed on his computer, but next up is his text files, all 18 of them.  We had to wait for a shower to end before Ron walked alone after dark, and it is still 74 degrees out.

25 Oct:  We had a great night of sleep.  The day is filled with huge responsibilities.  Ron is watching the markets, cleaning before the cleaning crew arrives, making three phone calls, packing Cynthia's box and shipping it to Texas.  There are Turvold photos to retake, and it would be great to shop for pretzels in Edwardsville.  Cynthia's job is done; she reminded Ron.  And we thank God daily for our life together.  4.01 miles 

24 Oct:  Ron again awakened at 3 am and was mostly unable to get back to sleep.  At least this time there was a plausible explanation as he kept obsessing about flushing terrorists out of tunnels.  The kids have their remote cars that they drive all around.  One could be fitted with lights and a camera and run through tunnels in safety.  Tonight, on our second walk, we avoided the stressful topic of terrorists.  8.53 miles

23 Oct:  Ron had another sleepless night and is very puzzled about this sleeplessness.  The good news is that he doesn't feel wiped out.  Thank goodness Cynthia slept well.  After exercises we started watching QQQ drop precipitously for the first few minutes, then gain for the rest of the day.  Ron was able to sell one of yesterday's three call options for a profit, but the other two need the climb to continue before the end of the month.  Two good walks and we achieved 8.0 miles. Jon shipped Ron’s RX. 

22 Oct, Sunday:  A gorgeous day unfolded, we are rested, temperature is sixty degrees, wind is light at five MPH, skies are blue, and the sun is shining brightly.  It is indeed a beautiful day in the neighborhood, and we decided to try a a walk in the park.  We hiked through the Haunted Nature Trail set up by the City of Carlyle for last night’s children’s Halloween party that included hay rides.  This is sponsored by the Carlyle Lake Fireworks Committee and the Optimists Club.  Most of the Halloween decorations were being dismantled by noon, but we did see a couple of coffins, a lot of pumpkins, etc.  After a lunch of steamed veggies and baked potato at Los Amigos, Ron worked on James Lea until he was startled to see it was already dark outside.  Where does the time go?  We walked the dam and celebrated a total of 9.1 miles today. 

21 Oct:  We are exercised, oatmealed, and likely feeling fatigue and muscle ache side-effects from Covid vaccine.  It is a good day to sleep, especially after being awake since three AM, unable to go back to sleep.  Recent statistics: We now have 11 grandchildren, the youngest being age nine.  And we have 9.8 great-grandchildren with 7.8 of them age 4 and younger.  Despite being worn out, Ron decided to walk at six PM after this day of recouperation. 

20 Oct:  Early morning walk didn’t happen until early noon; but, it was fun to see a trio of white-tailed deer scrambling down the steep side of the dam walkway.  Ron bought two calls today when the price of QQQ dropped two or three times.  We got our newest Covid booster, mailed a check to the bank, and bought sourdough English muffins, frozen mango, etc.  These sourdough muffins might also be helping Ron sleep through the night.  Ron had hoped to sell the calls at a profit, but the price of QQQ never went back up sufficiently. Our late afternoon walk didn’t happen until very late; we are thankful for covering 7.81 miles 

This is the shouting tree.

great grandchild.

T'nother great grandchild

19 Oct:  Ron again spent the day with Barnett's great grandchildren.  Perhaps they are now finished.  Midway through he placed a limit order to buy a put option if the price rose higher than earlier, and after that transpired, he placed a new limit order to sell that put if the price dropped, which it did, so Ron made money today !!  Life is EXCEPTIONALLY GOOD.  Cynthia is feeling even better today (less congestion) so we walked twice and covered  8.18 miles

18 Oct:  Ron spent the day working on Barnett Lea's great grandchildren.  Life is good.  Cynthia is feeling better today (less congestion) so we walked twice and covered 7.0 miles 

17 Oct:  Sistah Carol and hubby Bill joined Ron for another walk across the dam and made it as far as yesterday.  While we were walking QQQ dropped enough for Ron's limit order to make a profitable transaction for him.  We bid adeau to Carol and Bill after lunch at Los Amigos; they like the place and enjoy the more authentic Mexican food there.  Then Ron and Cynthia returned to the hotel, and Cynthia is now snoozing and hopefully recovering from her congestion.  Ron took a walk and talk across the dam after dark.

16 Oct:  Ron's sister & husband arrived for one delightful, fun-filled day at Mariner's Village on lovely Lake Carlyle.  Oops! Because of walking the dam in cold and wind, Cynthia’s annual sinusitis has kicked in, so she sat out the afternoon walk with Carol and Bill.  Carol opined that she might nap, so Ron rode to Walmart for frozen mango, etc and returned just in time to walk over to Los Amigos for dinner at Bill's accustomed dinner time: 4:30

15 Oct, Sunday:  Again the forecast is too cold to want to ride the motorcycle to church at 8:30 AM.  Only two more Sundays in October.  We walked the dam and faced heavy winds on our return trip at eleven AM, so we walked straight to Los Amigos, and it felt good to eat steamed veggies and a baked potato.  We walked again at 5:30 PM with less wind.  7.0 miles 

14 Oct:  Ron slept surprisingly well considering the lack of pretzels.  Maybe sourdough English muffins are a good substitute.  Cynthia returned with a couple of new shades of pink after patronizing Lucky Nails.  Ron walked across the dam and up one set of stairs.  (The wind was too loud for walking and talking.)  Cynthia was too cold to consider walking. 

13 Oct:  Ron spent another morning glued to his computer watching QQQ with great results today.  A few more days like this and he will have recouped his entire "educational expense" for learning the ropes.  Also, it appeared at midnight-thirty that he has finished all of Barb's suggested changes to the James Lea manuscript.  It did rain in the afternoon, but we were able to walk across the dam about 6 PM.  Cynthia said she is watching apples turn brown (hint: she is bored!)  6.0 miles. 

12 Oct:  Oatmealed and exercised, we are glued to our electronic devices after having wished granddaughter Zoe a happy birthday.  She is in York, England studying for her MA in Public History.  Amazing that she and Jack successfully moved to England with their two cats.  Ron decided to buy a QQQ put at an early high today and sold it near the low for a handsome percentage profit.  He is remembering that these options are short term investments, hopefully in and out on the same day.  We went to Walmart for groceries and our annual senior flu vaccinations.  Ron will likely run out of pretzels tonight, so this may be his last night to sleep uninterrupted until the next trip to Edwardsville.  4.86 miles

11 Oct. Wed:  Our big excitement was having the cleaning ladies come in today.  Cynthia gets excited about the strangest things.  We walked the dam giving us 4.12 miles 

ggranddaughter Blaire

ggranddaughter Charlotte

10 Oct:  Exercised, oatmealed, and our eyes are glued to Mac screens.  It is a gorgeous, colorful fall day at Lake Carlyle.  Photos of great granddaughters always stir Cynthia to post photos.  These are Jon's granddaughters.  He is outnumbered by two daughters and two great granddaughters.  Ron continues working on James Lea, finding new things, thanks to Ancestry.  4.5 miles 

9 Oct:  The weekend events in the Middle East cast a pall over the world and our hearts.  Ron is staying focused on James Lea now that he has resumed work on the manuscript.  We walked the dam twice, and tried to focus on our projects.  7.49 miles 

8 Oct, Sunday:  The plan was to attend the 9 AM worship service at the Methodist church in Trenton and then to visit with Don and Ann.  When temperature at daybreak was 47°, we were convinced to not ride 20 miles to Trenton.   Then Don and Ann decided to not drive over to visit.  So we are home alone at high noon, well-fed and exercised with plans to do a huuuuge walk over the dam and over the Kaskaskia River bridge.  We sat for a couple of hours after that and went out for a second walk at 5:30 PM.  8.49 miles total 

Youngest and oldest of us.
Cynthia, at 18 again, is the youngest.

The waiter took this photo of everyone.

7 Oct:  After spending the day on our computers getting Cynthia's photos of the Turvold Family OCRed and onto her computer, we met Eric and Denise, Eric's Uncle David, Erika, Trey, Chelsea, and Kyle for dinner at 3:30 PM at the 1818 Chop House in Edwardsville, Illinois.  We food was very, very good and everyone enjoyed the meal and conversation.  One week down, three to go before Cynthia flies to TX.  4.0 miles 

Cynthia's sails were refreshed

6 Oct:  Another lovely morning, 60 degrees, and the sun is shining.  After exercise and oatmealing, Cynthia bounced out to walk the dam, and Ron watched the markets.  Ron was able to sell a couple of QQQ calls at a tiny profit, but the market was quite strange today, starting out way down for the first hour, then gradually gaining until it closed at an unusually high level.  Ron was unable to convince Cynthia's Ventura operating system to read a jump drive.  He is quite intolerant of these newer things that do not work.  They frustrate him, so he avoids newer technologies like tablets and smartphones in order to be much less frequently frustrated.  We walked the dam this evening, and Cynthia installed the newest updates on her macbook, which fixed the recalcitrant jump drive problem.  7.83 miles for the day. 

5 Oct:  A rainy day in Illinois!  We walked late day after the sun appeared.  4.0 miles 

4 Oct:  Ron announced he is as happy as a seagull with a French Fry before heading to Don and Ann’s to spend a day.  Cynthia is going walking and is editing a story she wrote for her grandchildren.  4.0 miles 

3 Oct:  After a great lunch with Carol and Bill at Ruby Tuesday's in Litchfield, we rode south on Illinois 127 through Greenville to Mariners Village at Lake Carlyle where we will walk,and enjoy the lake for the month of October.  After dark, we walked partway out on the dam.  Our total for the day is  2.7 miles.

2 Oct:  Litchfield, Illinois:  Cynthia is having a humorless day!  Ron is at Sistah Carol’s tree farm.  The Storage Company sent a statement charging $17.00 a month for insurance, totaling $204.00 a year, in addition to the cost of the storage unit.  Insane, yes!  Then a knock on the door and someone speaking in a foreign language, followed by a phone call Cynthia could not understand, so down to the front desk to learn they mistakenly had us checking out today.  They had to make a new key.  Then the internet keeps logging out.  The desk clerk is really rude, saying his internet works fine, so mine should, too?  Yes, GRR.  Oh, well, life is too short to be grrrrring.  It is time to meet Ron, Carol, and Bill for dinner.  Unfortunately Ron arrived at the hotel to walk his bride to the restaurant only to find his key didn't work and his bride was gone, so he had to walk alone to find her already at the restaurant.  Tomorrow is another day!  2.71 miles 

1 Oct, Sunday:  Turn the page.  October is opening in Litchfield, Illinois.  Our plan is to watch Mother Nature dressed in her fall finery using every color in the Crayola box.  It is warm this week, but there is hope for cooler temperatures by the end of the week.  3.5 miles

September is Rolling Along On Two Wheels

These flowers say "I LOVE YOU"

30 Sep:  After our usual exercises, we joined Carol and Bill at Denny's for breakfast.  Cynthia enjoyed a ride out to their tree farm and further enjoyed hiking several trails through the woods.  Carol made a marvelous salmon dinner, first marinating the salmon in balsomic vinegar with blackberries, and cooking squash, sweet potatoes and broccoli w/ green beans.  Carol and Bill extended their hospitality by providing Cynthia a ride back to the hotel so that she didn't have to ride the motorcycle on their mile-long gravel driveway.  Are we really ready for October?  3.8 miles.

29 Sep:  One final visit with cousin Scott and Nadine before we left Keosauqua heading toward sistah Carol's.  The day was pleasant but warm; we left at 1:30 PM and arrived in Litchfield at six PM, in time for dinner at Ruby Tuesday.  Carol and Bill were surprised that we arrived so quickly and joined us at Ruby Tuesday.  Route was US 34 E past Burlington to Monmouth, IL, R on US 67 S to Carlinville to L on IL 108 E to R on I-35 S 8 miles to Litchfield.  This is our best, most comfortable route so far between Keosauqua and Mt. Olive.  US 34 in Illinois was not good (and much of that can be avoided), and a few miles on US 67 were a bit bumpy.

28 Sep:  After exercises and breakfast as always, we rode to Keosauqua to visit cousins Ken and Marvin at the Riverside grill for lunch, and then Ken dropped us off to visit Rex and Susie at their house.  Ken gifted Ron with a strongbox full of old family photos.  Some we've seen before but many were surprises, even to sistah Carol.  Route was I-35 S briefly to L on IA 5 E quite a way to L on IA 92 E to R on IA 163 bypassing Ottumwa and on to US 34 E to Fairfield.  The AmericInn was comfortable.  Iowa state highway 1 was still miserable, but cousin Ken said that they've repaved the road to Selma providing that as a more pleasant route to Keosauqua.

27 Sep:  We enjoyed a lovely ride on US 65 south to US 30 W to I-35 S to West Des Moines to visit cousin Sandy.  Our hotel is 2 miles from her house.  Sandy is as delightful as ever, and today is her birthday, so we sang Happy Birthday to her twice, the second time with her family at dinner.  Van and his wife have raised a wonderful couple of kids, a high school freshman, Colton, and a college junior, Julie (?).

26 Sep:  We were packed and ready to roll "early" at 11 AM for lunch with Ray and Mary in Mason City.  Our hotel is 1.4 miles from their house, but Ron missed the turns and arrived at their house first.  We thoroughly enjoyed good conversation until Ron and Ray were dispatched to Subway for luncheon fixings and enjoyed more good conversation as we ate.  Cynthia opted to rest at the hotel in the evening, whereas Ron chose to attend a flag football game wherein second grade grandson Rory nearly scored a last minute touchdown.  

25 Sep:  9 AM breakfast with Dick and Jane was a lot of fun, as usual.  Ron and Dick talked about guy things, and who know what the girls talked about.  Since Dick runs local coin auctions over the internet, I showed him my nephew's RPM coins web site (click here).  Cynthia and I repeated our 3-mile walk of yesterday in an hour and ten minutes (according to the official time-keeper.)  At 4:30 PM.  Jerry and Betty picked us up for dinner with Dave and Annie, Dale and Ann.  As usual, Annie outdid herself and prepared enough yummy food to feed a much younger army.  As usual, we all ate far too much because it was so good, but surprisingly, Ron was able to sleep quite well without the usual need to empty fluids every couple of hours.  A very good time was had by all.  Thanks Annie.  3 miles 

24 Sep, Sunday:  Since it rained overnight, Dale and Ann picked us up at 8:45 sharp for church.  We enjoyed seeing several people at church and at the ensuing coffee fellowship before Dale and Ann took us back to the hotel.  After several days of inactivity, it was refreshing to get out for a familiar 3-mile walk from the hotel south.  Dale and Ann picked us up again at 3:00 PM for the Sion Church Talent Show, a fund raiser featuring many church music singers.  At 5 pm Timen drove us to meet Cynthia's Turvold cousins, Joey, her daughter Stephanie, and Tommie, a cousin from another line of Turvolds at Subway in the Casino for dinner and boisterous genealogical conversation.

23 Sep:  Danny picked us up at 10:20 for lunch with him and Julie at the family farm.  Their cat thoroughly enjoyed Ron's petting while we all conversed.  Cynthia seems to be on a mission to acquaint everyone whose family has lived in Northwood for two generations that they are related to everyone else who has lived there two generations.  Danny was happy to show us a couple of his newest excellent drawings, one of a B-29 flying low over the barn, much of which was drawn from memories of buildings removed and family long gone.  Because of the wet conditions, Mary picked us up at the hotel for dinner with her and Lonnie at their farm.  Lonnie never farmed, but bought twenty five acres from a neighboring farmer and has built a wonderful home with gardens and fruit trees all around.  They fed us wild Minnesota rice, squash, and Alaskan halibut from his fishing trip last summer.  Seven guys came home with 700 pounds of fish.  LL (Lucky Lon) made his living as a contractor developing commercial properties in Rochester, Minnesota.  If the drive were not so long, he would probably still be working.  Mary has been Cynthia's florist for the last 15 years, an occupation that developed from picking flowers in her front yard.  (It is a BIG front yard.)

22 Sep:  After awakening, morning exercises and oatmeal, we rode the quickest route to Northwood via Minnesota highway 19 W and I-35 S.  The multitude of yellows in the fall folliage made the trip quite beautiful despite being interstate highway most of the way.  Mutual cousin David and his wife Pat joined us for dinner at the Casino, which did not disappoint.  Dave and Pat both admitted unhappily to age-related problems, which is very disappointing to us all.  We had hoped that Father Time was treating them better.  They drove us in the rain back to our nearby hotel, and we parted with hopes that the next year will be much better for us all.

21 Sep:  We stayed in Northfield a second night because Ron understood Cynthia to say that she would enjoy doing that to see the town.  After breakfast, we walked to St. John's ELCA Church to see if Karl's wife was quilting, but there were no quilters there.  It is allergy season so Cynthia went to the hotel and Ron walked alone through a very nice neighborhood to a small park, where he did his eye exercises while looking at a very vividly fall-colored red tree, and then found St. Olof's College, which is a very pretty campus.  Just after noon, we joined Karl and his wife at Goodbye Monday Blues coffee house for a couple of hours of pleasant conversation about our lives and experiences.  In the evening Ron and Cynthia again enjoyed fine dining at Subway.

20 Sep, Northfield, Minnesota:  We rode through Hastings on US 61 to Northfield, home of St. Olof College.  Karl met us at Perkins for a couple of hours over lunch.  Cynthia and Ron walked a HOT mile and a half to the Perkins and were surprised that there was no sidewalk for the last half mile.  Neither Karl nor I recognized each other, but I wore an unmistakable MIT tee shirt.  We enjoyed hearing about Karl's Norwegian ancestors, his teaching of economics, his roles in the Sons of Norway etc.  We parted with the expectation to see each other again tomorrow.  Cynthia and Ron opted for a quick & simple Subway sub for dinner after Ron mailed a check to the bank and walked about downtown to find blueberries and raspberries for breakfast tomorrow.  Route:  L on US 61 S 18 miles to R on MN 50 E 7 mi to L on 240th Street (MN 47) to L on Northfield Blvd 11 mi to L on MN 3 S 2 mi to R into Radison Country Inn & Suites.  It somehow seems improbable that the corn on one side of the highway can be dry and brown, ready for harvest, while the corn on the other side of the highway is lush and green, seemingly ready to grow for another month.  Fall yellows continue to range from faint to vivid.  QQQ closed disappointingly low after the Fed opined that another interest rate hike is likely to come.

19 Sep:  Ron was up early enough to watch QQQ and buy 10 contracts for 269 at an early low; now we wait to see if it goes up as expected.  Our route from the hotel to Hastings was absolutely familiar: out Lone Oak E to MN 55 S, merges with US 52 S, exit for 55 S to Hastings, and into town to meet Donna at the Perkins Restaurant.  As it turns out, the Country Inn in Hastings was not the one where Cynthia had reservations, so we had to ride several miles north on US 61 to Cottage Grove to a different Country Inn & Suites.  Donna drove out to our hotel to spend the evening with us over dinner at the Hy-Vee grocery Wahlburgers.

18 Sep:  We checked in to Hampton Inn at Minneapolis/ Eagen Airport.  Dinner at 4:30 at Axels in Mendota with cousin Lance and Shelly and sister-in-law Carolyn was every bit as good as the dinner we all enjoyed dinner together last year.  Route: I-94 W cross St. Croix River to L on I-494 S cross Mississippi to L on I-35E S to exit 98 Lone Oak Drive & Hampton Inn.  Continue on Lone Oak to end, R on Sioux Trail 1 mi under Interstate to L on Mendota Heights Road to L on Great River Road to Axels

Cynthia and Lana with Turvold trunk

17 Sep, Sunday:  It is dangerous for Cynthia to eat any sugar - it kicks off sugar cravings.  Yesterday the caramel pecan roll wasn't too bad (and it was very, very good), but that led to a sugary muffin and pastries at the wedding.  We rode to Hudson, Wisconsin in light traffic on scenic Minnesota highways 97 and 95 surrounded by early fall colors.  Cynthia's Turvold cousin Lana in River Falls, WI prepared a feast of foods we could eat for lunch: baked sweet potatoes, salad, fruit and veggies.  Ron was delighted and strove to leave no leftovers, but Lana packaged those to send with us to our hotel.  Route: cross I-35 on County Road 2 to R on US 61 S to L on MN 97 E through Scandia past farm to R on MN 95 S through Stillwater to L on I-94 E crossing the St. Croix River to R on WI 35 S 8 miles to exit for Radio Road - Chapman Drive E 1 mi to R on Kingsbarn, L on Newcastle Drive, a lovely ride full of the lighter green leaves of fall mixed with early yellows and an occasional tinge of red or orange.    

Cousins, Jim, Diane, Jenn, Cynthia & John

16 Sep:  We said our goodbyes to Brett's family before they left for swim lessons, packed and rode 48 miles on Interstate Highways to Forest Lake, MN, checked in to our hotel, and went next door to Keys Cafe to eat egg white veggie omelets with no oil and sour dough bread toasted dry.  Our plan was to arrive full at the wedding of Cynthia's cousin's granddaughter, so that we wouldn't eat bad stuff there, but our plan backfired because Keys makes everything from scratch and their pastries looked marvelous.  We were sooo good, and THEN we divided a caramel pecan roll.  (Cynthia ate one quarter of it.)  The wedding was a lovely affair at the family farm in Scandia, Minnesota, and Cynthia's cousins were a hoot.  Cynthia was delighted to meet nearly all of her cousin's kids and grandkids except for one who now lives in Hawaii.  A fun time was had by all the survivors.  Route: I-494 N to R on I-694 E to L on I-35W N to I-35 N to exit 131 L on County Road 2 W to Radison Hotel.  County Road 2 E to Broadway, R on US 61 S to L on MN 97 E 17 miles through Scandia to L into farm.

15 Sep:  Again Hudson was gone to daycare by the time Ron and Cynthia came upstairs.  Again Holden responded to Ron's smile EVERY time.   We walked only 3.5 miles because we overdid it yesterday and are too tired today.  Since this was our last evening with them, Brett took us to a delightful restaurant, Birch's on the Lake, where a couple of the waitresses were quite charmed by Hudson's cute smile.

14 Sep:  Hudson was gone to daycare by the time Ron and Cynthia finished exercises and came upstairs.  Holden again responded to Ron's smile EVERY time.  This time Ron and Cynthia turned right from Trace Ridge and walked too far, 7.0 miles.  It wore us both out, in part because it was 7 miles all at once instead of two 4-mile sessions as we did in Pagosa Springs.  We crossed Minnetonka Blvd and walked uphill to a park then beyond that into another forested pathway, seemingly far removed from traffic.

Ron (in middle) Hudson and Holden

13 Sep:  Precious boys.  Observe Ron smiling at Holden.  Holden's smile in return is delightful.  Ron was astounded by how chubby Holden is, but that baby fat sure protects him from falls.  The only time he howls is when he hits his head hard (about every third day) and whenever anyone takes something from him.  (The howls when the popsicle was taken away were awesome.)  Ron and Cynthia hiked left from Trace Ridge for 6.0 miles along a pathway that departed from the road into fields of cattails and swampy ground.  When we found ourselves in a subdivision, we continued through it and circled back to our original path back home.  It was quite delightful to discover so much undeveloped land so close to the I-494 corridor.

Ron is entranced with the programming.

12 Sep:  Vermillion, South Dakota to Wayzata, Minnesota, a Minneapolis suburb where grandson Brett and family are in a rental home.  Hudson has been counting the days until our arrival.  Holston was too young to remember us (and still is) and regarded us with suspicion at first.  Once he decided that we were OK (following the lead of his parents and brother), he returned our smiles with a delightful smile of his own.  As a matter of fact Ron decided that his job in the household was to continually smile at Holden, which caused Holden to continually smile in return, providing a very quiet household for everyone.  Route: E on South Cherry St -> SD 50 E 22 mi into Iowa IA 3 (Ron missed this at a T intersection and went left on Iowa 12 N 18 miles by which time he knew he was lost, turned R on IA 10 E for 16 miles to L on US 75 N for 36 miles.  Since we were approaching Minnesota, Ron knew that he was still lost and turned R on IA 9 E for 22 miles to IA 60 where we rejoined his original plan.)  Ron's original instructions were R on IA 12 S 1 mi to L on CR C38 E 22 mi to L on US 75 N continue on IA 60 N 70 mi into Minnesota (MN 60) around several rotaries to L on US 71 N 70 miles over Minnesota River bridge to Olivia, MN, R on US 212 E 54 miles to Norwood Young America and L on MN 5 E 18 mi to L on MN 41 N 2 mi to R on MN 7 E 6 mi to L on Williston Rd 1 mi to R on Minnetonka Blvd 0.5 mi to L on McGinty 0.5 mi to L on Trace Ridge.  This navigation fiasco probably resulted in 30 extra miles and an hour longer trip.

11 Sep:  North Platte, Nebraska to Vermillion, SD where we visited Cynthia’s lovely friend, Gay and her husband Dean.  It was just too amusing to learn that Dean has a twin brother Dale, the same names as my two brothers.  Much fun conversation.  The evening was too short.  Route: US 83 N 21 miles to R on Nebraska 92 E 37 mi to R on NE 2 S only 1 mi to hard L on Victoria Springs Road N then E 33 mi to L on US 183 N 7 mi to R on NE 91 E 45 mi to L on US 281 N 13 mi to R on NE 70 E 23 mi to L on NE 14 N 26 mi to R on US 20 E 42 mi to L on NE 57 N 4 mi to R on NE 59 E 6 mi to L on NE 15 N 16 mi to R on NE 12 (and 15) to L on 15 N into South Dakota (SD 19) N 2 mi to R on 320th St -> South Dakota Street into Vermillion, SD.  Victoria Springs Road was under construction, and Ron was petrified to see that the surface had been torn down to dirt and there was water standing in ruts in the dirt road.  Usually that means mud and a VERY slick surface that can cause the rear wheel to slide around sideways in a heartbeat dropping the bike into the mud too quickly to control.  Fortunately, this particular time the bike stayed stable, and we sashayed across the mud surface in 100 feet.  It was also entirely amusing to enter into Vermillion on South Dakota Street and to realize that in the middle of town the street name would change to North Dakota Street.

10 Sep, Sunday:  We rode out from Berthoud under threat of rain, experienced about 5 minutes of light rain in Greeley, Colorado and continued on under heavy gray skies for an hour until a delightful light blue appeared on the horizon.  Soon thereafter we emerged into a lovely whisp-filled light blue sky and slightly warmer temperatures (71° versus 61°).  Imagine our delight when we exited I-80 onto old US highway 83 and discovered both a Ruby Tuesday and a Hampton Inn at that interchange.  We are full and ready to sleep soundly.  Route:  1st Street N to County Road 56 E past I-25 to L on CR 13 N to R on CR 50 to L on CR 17 (but missed this turn and rode through Miliken until a sign towards Greeley) R on US 34 E until merge with I-76 NE into Nebraska, merging into I-80 E to exit 177 at US 83 in North Platte.  There was light traffic on I-76, so that was quite pleasant, but the last 60 miles on I-80 was much heavier and faster, so not as enjoyable.

9 Sep:  We visited Dick & Fran, Ron's cousins.  We talked, ate and ate some more garden fresh vegetables (especially good tomatoes and cucumbers).  We did not walk.  Dick and Fran plan to be in Iowa about a week before we get there.

8 Sep:  We DID leave by ten AM for a 9.5 hour ride to Berthoud, Colorado.  HA!  A long funny story to follow when we have time.   Oh my, was that ride ever a joy.  Weather was perfect, uncrowded roadway was smooth and twisty with lots of greenery and delightful views.  Route: W on US 50 to Gunnison & over Monarch Pass (click here) 126 mi to Poncha Springs and L on US 285 N through Buena Vista and Fairplay 109 mi to a L on County Road 73 N towards Evergreen, L on CO 74 N 5 mi to L on CR 65 N 3 mi to L on I-40 W 3 mi to R on US 6 E 2 mi to sharp left on CO 119 N 26 mi to Nederland traffic circle CO 72 W 21 mi to R on CO 7 E 14 mi to R on US 36 E 1 mi to straight on CO 66 E 8 mi to L on US 287 N 5 mi to R on County Road 2E 2 mi to L on CR 15 E 2 mi to R on Indiana St to L on Victoria St.  Road construction on US 50 stopped us for half an hour in a spot that was cool and sunny with pleasant vistas, much less inconvenient than the possible 2 hour delays.  When we went over Monarch Pass at 11,312' the winds were strong and gusty, and Ron was happy that he chose a lower route rather than going over the Trail Ridge Road through the Rocky Mountain National Park.  The plan was to stop after a good distance, but the scenery was so beautiful and the road was so smooth that Ron just didn't stop much until it became possible to make it all the way to Berthoud, and we did.  Dick and Fran were expecting us tomorrow, and that was our plan too, but the ride was easy, beautiful and pleasant, so we surprised everyone by showing up a day early . . . and then had the audacity to ask to stay overnight, to which Dick and Fran graciously agreed.  Thanks a million, Dick and Fran.

7 Sep:  We are sleeping in.  Zzzz  Cynthia is exercised, oatmealed, with financial market, and communications completed;  Ron is enjoying a sound snooze that happens doing eye exercises.  We  hiked along the great water sports recreation area alongside Uncompaghre River for 6.0 miles.  Cynthia has a manicure appointment at three.

Ron in Botanical Garder

6 Sept:  Montrose, CO.  Exercised, oatmealed, and now onto our morning walk; we toured a fairly recent and small botanical garden followed by salmon lunch at our favorite Montrose restaurant, the Stone House.  Cynthia spent a century on the phone this afternoon with Verizon to get Ron’s name to appear on caller ID instead of her name. 

5 Sept:  Zandy was not happy to see her new friend Ron leave.  We were loaded and riding from Gunnison at eleven AM for the one hour journey to Montrose.  As we rode west on US 50, we saw signs announcing that the highway was closed 28 miles ahead, so Ron turned right at the first detour sign onto Colorado highway 92.  My goodness, is that a breathtaking road along the north rim of The Black Canyon, littered with 25 MPH hairpins and gorgeous views for two additional hours.  This took us all the way north to Delta, where we turned south on US 50 (yes, the same road we detoured from).  Dinner at the Stone House in Montrose is always a treat.

4 Sep:  Today Howard picked a hike where we could let Zandy, an oversized puppy that hasn't learned not to jump up on people, off her leash.  After our overexertion yesterday, this was a good choice, although there was little shade.  Cynthia and Sage hiked the three mile flats.  

The Pinnacles near Gunnison

3 Sep, Sunday:  Since Cynthia likes lake views, Howard took us to the Dillon Pinnacles Trail (click here) adjacent to the Blue Mesa Reservoir.  It was a lovely hike, slightly uphill, with water views for three hours.  Cynthia returned exhausted.  Sage prepared fabulous food!  Ron and Howard hiked a second time to the summit of 12,500' Napolean mountain.  The rocky top was merely piles of loose rock, and the wind was strong enough that Ron sat down a couple of times on the descent to wait for less wind.  We had enough time afterwards to look for the Jewish burials in the Tincup cemetery.

Howard & Ron in hiking regallia

2 Sep:  We left "early" to visit and hike with Ron’s MIT alum Howard and his partner Sage in Gunnison, CO until Sept 5.  Blogging may or may not happen.  Sage is an exceptional cook.  We had a fast three mile afternoon hike with their labradoodle Zandy, who dove into any loose water she could find.  Route: US 160 E 58 miles to Del Norte, L on Colo 112 E 13 mi to Center, CO, L on US 285 N 23 mi to L on Colo 114 W 60 mi to L on US 50 W through Gunnison to left turn followed by a curve right and R at Western Lumber onto frontage road, R on Thornton, then 2nd right on Carbon Court (no sign)  

1 Sep.  After exercising and oatmeal, we were NOT out the door early to walk. With the sun already intense at 10:30 AM, and two nasty blisters on Cynthia’s toes, we opted to turn back.  Yup, back to finishing up chores.  We watched the stock market until one and enjoyed a salmon lunch at Boss Hogg’s with our favorite waitress Eliza.  Twenty-five years ago today, Cynthia’s oldest son Scott died from Leukemia.  6.82 miles