31 Aug: Eight more days until departure towards Salt Lake City, God willing.
30 Aug:
29 Aug: On this rainy day, we haven’t figured out a course of inaction. Volume One galley proof arrived yesterday creating joy followed by panic. Ron extolled the beauty of the workmanship until he recognized we sent them a link to the wrong manuscript. The correct link was sent giving Ron time to make a couple more corrections. The correct galley proof will be ready early next week. Cynthia sent the cover design with very explicit instructions. That, too, will be ready next week. Ron decided a morning nap would be good.
28 Aug: It is a gorgeous day in Pagosa to have a wonderful day! And we did! Our walking totaled 2.84 miles and we enjoyed a delicious garlic/salmon/veggie/pasta salad. Ron mended his socks and walked again tonight.
27 Aug: The sun is shining and so are our hearts. Life is good as long as we don’t turn on the news to the Minneapolis killing fields. Ron finished recording his receipts, we had a lovely walk, and Cynthia totaled sixty minutes walking for the day.
26 Aug: We were very surprised to sleep past 9 AM this morning, but we felt wonderful. Ron got busy with much-neglected correspondence, which he finished after lunch at Boss Hogg's and promptly mailed at the Post Office. Martin told him of a new route to avoid the construction. The new route was very nice, but that bridge over the river showed the water level disappointingly low. Late afternoon, the rain began and looks to have poured down an appreciable amount of water before dark.
25 Aug: Yaay Hooray! Hallelujah! Volume One is off to the publisher! It will take a week to go through clearing it legally; they check for copyright and plagiarism. Then they start on the cover design. Ron plans to take a couple days break before finishing Vol three and Vol two. Both are written but need work. We are lunch at Gustoso's, pasta salad and salmon.
24 Aug: Sunday: Ssssshhhh! This is Ron’s day of rest. We did indeed sleep late and enjoyed our usual breakfast while Ron watched financial news.
23 Aug: Ron said he is shellshocked because Volume One is really completed, including creation of the .pdf. But, he won’t email it out of his control to Cynthia until Monday morning. Cynthia has the submission letter prepared. Being bored in the hotel room this past month, she thought to submit her latest book, SUNDAY OFFERINGS, as her PhD dissertation. It was due 28 years ago when she had a traumatic horseback riding accident. We will see if they accept it this week. Ron is walking (maybe dancing).
22 Aug: Yay for sleep. Yay for Ron who is at page 229 with sixty pages left in the very last procedure before he creates the .pdf of Volume One for submission. He is highlighting the index entries leading to family group sheets. And now he is going for a walk while Cynthia does exercises. After Ron’s walk, we had a great lunch at Boss Hogg’s, agreeing that fresh, raw vegetables make us feel good. Ron needs a break from the computer tonight so he will take a thirty minute walk, and we will say Good Night! Page 229! Hooray!
21 Aug: Today, we did the epidural at 8:30 AM. It was a rousing success. Zzzz all morning and afternoon. Yay! It transformed me from the Wicked Witch of the West into Glenda the Good Witch with a pink halo.
20 Aug: Epidural Day! Hooray! No? Waaah! The appointment was a consultation instead of the epidural… Despite a gloomy forecast, those saintly medical professionals got the epidural scheduled for tomorrow at 8:30 AM. I continue to learn more each visit. Today, I learned it is likely I will not need surgery, but I may need a couple more epidurals in the future. The page checks are completed, and Ron is highlighting the index entries leading to family group sheets. I am hopeful we will be able to submit Volume One to the publisher this week. He is working hard! Cynthia submitted the laundry to the washing machine early.
19 Aug: Ron completed pruning the index! Now, he is verifying page number references within the text; the final step will be to go through the book searching for family group sheets and highlight those pages in the index via bold print, but there are not too many of them. Soooo close! Yaay! And on this day, Cynthia had a blood test to see if she still has any left. Indeed she does. MEDICAL. The salad bar at Boss Hogg’s is the best!
18 Aug: Mon: Ron mailed an Amazon return package at the UPS near City Market. We enjoyed lunch at Boss Hogg’s because Gustoso’s was closed.
17 Aug, Sunday: Neither of us slept well due to Cynthia’s back pain. She is counting the minutes until Wednesday at nine AM. The spinal issue dates back to Nov 30, 1997 when she was thrown thirty feet from a retired race horse. This will heal again! Ron took a long walk today after he worked on the index. We ate lunch at Boss Hogg’s and took a three hour nap. Will we sleep tonight? Yes, we did. Only two more days until pain relief!
16 Aug: Lazy day. Ron enjoyed watching a motorcycle police video while Cynthia slept. Now he needs to ride his motorcycle to find Tylenol. Riding in the mountains this past week, Ron realized he needs to practice his riding skill doing circles and figure eights. We walked to Gustoso's Italian Restaurant for pasta salad with yummy salmon. Only three more days to Cynthia's steroid epidural. Uffda! God willing it works!!! She has zero pain sitting, only particularly when standing up and much less while walking. And only three more weeks until we begin the ride to Minnesota! Cynthia needs a photo of Pagosa Springs for the August post! Ron is at page 439/489 on the index of Volume One. It is slow-going, bless his heart!
15 Aug: Ron picked up Cynthia at the Durango airport after her flight from Houston arrived as scheduled at 11:21 AM. She arrived 11:15, Ron arrived 11:30. YAAAY !
14 Aug: Ron traveled to Gunnison, Colorado yesterday to visit Howard and Sage. He rode to Pagosa today arriving wet from rain the last ten minutes. I LOVE YOU, Cynthia has a morning appointment; she cleaned and organized the storage unit.
13 Aug: Ron is visiting friends in Montrose where he discovered his calling to become a plumber by helping to replace a garbage disposal. SMOOCH, Cynthia has two MEDICAL appointments. Howard has promised to call today to decide if his calendar has sufficient time to see Ron this month. If not, we will stop by after September 8th on our way northward.
12 Aug: Ron is a free spirit. MUAH, from TX. Cynthia has an eight AM DENTAL appointment. Pray for her as she drives east into Houston’s bright morning sun. WHY is the Sun brighter in Texas than any other place on earth? Cynthia enjoyed a lovely pedi/mani and TWO naps today. Ron and Pat got the old garbage disposal out of the sink and read everything under the sun to figure out how to install its replacement ... tomorrow. Cynthia is moving about quite nicely today and yesterday, Thank God.
11 Aug: We hustled up early to get Cynthia to the Durango airport by 10:30 AM; she flew to Houston. Ron continued riding north to Silverton and Ouray over the Million Dollar Highway to Montrose, Colorado to see his former roommate Pat. It was 63 degrees at noon-thirty atop the red mountain pass and the wind began buffeting Ron during all those switchbacks on the way down. Ron enjoyed the awesome scenery much more previously when he was more confident about his motorcycling skills. After Pat and Ron enjoyed a terrific meal at the Stone House, our favorite in Montose, Ron returned to James Lea and found that many of his page numbers installed after the pages were set in stone are now incorrect. Bummer.
10 Aug: Sunday, We had a delicious night sleep. Cynthia is preparing for tomorrow’s flight. Ron worked industriously completing D-LEA of the index. Ron, Extraordinaire! So close to completion, but we had to stop and pack because our motel is on the pre-evacuation list for a wildfire four miles west of Pagosa Springs. Hopefully, we will get to sleep through the night!
9 Aug: We didn't sleep well last night either, but we are awake and working on computers at 10:36 am. By 1:30 we were enjoying salmon and chicken pasta salads at Gustoso’s. Yum. By 4:55 we woke up from our long nap and were back to work! At 8:30 with 381 pages of James Lea completely proofread, Ron intended to go walking but instead told motorcycling stories for two hours to two motorcyclists from Kansas. He reviewed 20 pages of the index, but because he is finding too many corrections for the index, it won’t get done this week! Bummer!
8 Aug: MEDICAL- The plan is to leave for the doctor’s appointment in Durango about ten AM - and we did leave at 10:22. We are home at 1:30 PM with MRI results of Radiculopathy... meaning the L-4 and L-5 are in a tight squeeze for space causing the nerves to complain loudly. Unfortunately, the doctors do not have space in their calendar to do a steroid epidural injection for weeks. But, Food Is Our Medicine! Prayer Works! And Cynthia Will Work On Physical Therapy to Relieve Symptoms. Team work! Ron is doing an amazing job on the manuscript; he reached p. 261. Proofreading gets easier at page 296. We should be able to submit Volume One manuscript Sat or Sunday, God willing. Yay. 😀 He is beyond amazing! And he walked to Wally World for raspberries, blueberries, almonds, and popcorn.
7 Aug: Ron is delighted to be going through James Lea so quickly and is making many improvements and corrections. Smiles and Hurrahs! Today we arose early although I cannot imagine why, so Ron is out the door at 9:45 and 73 degrees to walk to the boat ramp and back. Then it will be time for lunch at Boss Hogg's, and then James Lea all afternoon to avoid the 85 degree heat. The salad bar is above and beyond most salad bars. We eat a lot. We fell asleep at four PM to six PM, now, back to work. Ron is hopeful we can send it to the publisher by Monday. That’s good! Page 240, but Barb, don’t get your hopes up. We have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow.
6 Aug: Another day, another dollar ... actually $75 from options today, and lucky to get that. Cynthia's spinal pain is just about intolerable; she is quite the trooper. We did walk to Boss Hogg's even though today is Liza's day off. Amber came in to do our housekeeping and kept Ron talking for that duration (poor Amber). Now it is time for Ron to relinquish James Lea at page 173 in order to walk before dark to Walmart for blueberries, raspberries, frozen mango, jam, and Tylenol. He actually remembered them all.!!
5 Aug: I love you (and get first written I love you of the day). And Cynthia IS very surprised! We are two worn-out puppies. We walked to lunch and returned to our computers only to fall asleep sitting up. Ron has completed his proofreading and editing up to page 148 now. Our only walking today was to Boss Hogg's for lunch.
4 Aug: Medical: 3:45 PM, MRI. Ron lazed in bed and answered two e-mails by noon. Then he did his exercises, and we walked to Boss Hogg's for luncheon salads. Cynthia had to lie flat on her back for the MRI, and the pain was VERY severe. Afterwards we rode to Gustoso for salmon and it was very good. Cynthia especially enjoyed the feta cheese and olives on the accompanying salad. Ron resumed James Lea instead of trying to take his over-full body out for a walk. 111 pages, but no long walk today.
3 Aug, Sunday: Good Sunday Morning! Ron started early doing the final pass through of Volume One. In just one week, he has proofed eighty-eight pages; there is a good chance he will have Volume One ready to go to the publisher in three weeks, God willing. By evening, after spending hours on broken links Ron decided to go to the market for groceries. Cynthia decided to see if her seminary will accept her recently published book, Sunday Offerings, as her PhD dissertation. She was ABD in Nov of 1997 when she had a life-changing horseback riding accident, and her son Scott died from Leukemia a few months later. We will walk to the corner in an hour.
2 Aug: Another great day! Ron had a very challenging Sudoku captivating his attention until two PM when we walked for lunch. Cynthia is avoiding news by focusing on FTDNA. We walked again tonight to check out two restaurants for salmon. It was fun to learn that the upscale French bakery, Faire, is owned by the same woman who had the Two Chicks and a Hippie restaurant in there, but this new cafe is managed by her daughter, Bethany. Two Chicks has greatly expanded and is very successful.
1 Aug: Happy, happy August! After two weeks in Pagosa, mostly spent in our hotel room with hip pain, healing appears to be on the horizon. Cynthia’s hip pain is greatly improved, thanks to a spinal relaxation exercise recommended by Dr. ChatGPT. The MRI is scheduled for 3:45 PM on Monday. Colorado Spine is scheduled for Friday at 11:30 AM. Vol I is getting the final pass through. We have five weeks to finish the index for Vol II and maybe Vol III, God willing, before we ride to Denver, then to Minnesota about mid-Sept, and through Iowa in early mid-October. Then we start planning 2026? Yikes!
30 Aug:
29 Aug: On this rainy day, we haven’t figured out a course of inaction. Volume One galley proof arrived yesterday creating joy followed by panic. Ron extolled the beauty of the workmanship until he recognized we sent them a link to the wrong manuscript. The correct link was sent giving Ron time to make a couple more corrections. The correct galley proof will be ready early next week. Cynthia sent the cover design with very explicit instructions. That, too, will be ready next week. Ron decided a morning nap would be good.
28 Aug: It is a gorgeous day in Pagosa to have a wonderful day! And we did! Our walking totaled 2.84 miles and we enjoyed a delicious garlic/salmon/veggie/pasta salad. Ron mended his socks and walked again tonight.
27 Aug: The sun is shining and so are our hearts. Life is good as long as we don’t turn on the news to the Minneapolis killing fields. Ron finished recording his receipts, we had a lovely walk, and Cynthia totaled sixty minutes walking for the day.
26 Aug: We were very surprised to sleep past 9 AM this morning, but we felt wonderful. Ron got busy with much-neglected correspondence, which he finished after lunch at Boss Hogg's and promptly mailed at the Post Office. Martin told him of a new route to avoid the construction. The new route was very nice, but that bridge over the river showed the water level disappointingly low. Late afternoon, the rain began and looks to have poured down an appreciable amount of water before dark.
25 Aug: Yaay Hooray! Hallelujah! Volume One is off to the publisher! It will take a week to go through clearing it legally; they check for copyright and plagiarism. Then they start on the cover design. Ron plans to take a couple days break before finishing Vol three and Vol two. Both are written but need work. We are lunch at Gustoso's, pasta salad and salmon.
24 Aug: Sunday: Ssssshhhh! This is Ron’s day of rest. We did indeed sleep late and enjoyed our usual breakfast while Ron watched financial news.
23 Aug: Ron said he is shellshocked because Volume One is really completed, including creation of the .pdf. But, he won’t email it out of his control to Cynthia until Monday morning. Cynthia has the submission letter prepared. Being bored in the hotel room this past month, she thought to submit her latest book, SUNDAY OFFERINGS, as her PhD dissertation. It was due 28 years ago when she had a traumatic horseback riding accident. We will see if they accept it this week. Ron is walking (maybe dancing).
22 Aug: Yay for sleep. Yay for Ron who is at page 229 with sixty pages left in the very last procedure before he creates the .pdf of Volume One for submission. He is highlighting the index entries leading to family group sheets. And now he is going for a walk while Cynthia does exercises. After Ron’s walk, we had a great lunch at Boss Hogg’s, agreeing that fresh, raw vegetables make us feel good. Ron needs a break from the computer tonight so he will take a thirty minute walk, and we will say Good Night! Page 229! Hooray!
21 Aug: Today, we did the epidural at 8:30 AM. It was a rousing success. Zzzz all morning and afternoon. Yay! It transformed me from the Wicked Witch of the West into Glenda the Good Witch with a pink halo.
20 Aug: Epidural Day! Hooray! No? Waaah! The appointment was a consultation instead of the epidural… Despite a gloomy forecast, those saintly medical professionals got the epidural scheduled for tomorrow at 8:30 AM. I continue to learn more each visit. Today, I learned it is likely I will not need surgery, but I may need a couple more epidurals in the future. The page checks are completed, and Ron is highlighting the index entries leading to family group sheets. I am hopeful we will be able to submit Volume One to the publisher this week. He is working hard! Cynthia submitted the laundry to the washing machine early.
19 Aug: Ron completed pruning the index! Now, he is verifying page number references within the text; the final step will be to go through the book searching for family group sheets and highlight those pages in the index via bold print, but there are not too many of them. Soooo close! Yaay! And on this day, Cynthia had a blood test to see if she still has any left. Indeed she does. MEDICAL. The salad bar at Boss Hogg’s is the best!
18 Aug: Mon: Ron mailed an Amazon return package at the UPS near City Market. We enjoyed lunch at Boss Hogg’s because Gustoso’s was closed.
17 Aug, Sunday: Neither of us slept well due to Cynthia’s back pain. She is counting the minutes until Wednesday at nine AM. The spinal issue dates back to Nov 30, 1997 when she was thrown thirty feet from a retired race horse. This will heal again! Ron took a long walk today after he worked on the index. We ate lunch at Boss Hogg’s and took a three hour nap. Will we sleep tonight? Yes, we did. Only two more days until pain relief!
16 Aug: Lazy day. Ron enjoyed watching a motorcycle police video while Cynthia slept. Now he needs to ride his motorcycle to find Tylenol. Riding in the mountains this past week, Ron realized he needs to practice his riding skill doing circles and figure eights. We walked to Gustoso's Italian Restaurant for pasta salad with yummy salmon. Only three more days to Cynthia's steroid epidural. Uffda! God willing it works!!! She has zero pain sitting, only particularly when standing up and much less while walking. And only three more weeks until we begin the ride to Minnesota! Cynthia needs a photo of Pagosa Springs for the August post! Ron is at page 439/489 on the index of Volume One. It is slow-going, bless his heart!
15 Aug: Ron picked up Cynthia at the Durango airport after her flight from Houston arrived as scheduled at 11:21 AM. She arrived 11:15, Ron arrived 11:30. YAAAY !
14 Aug: Ron traveled to Gunnison, Colorado yesterday to visit Howard and Sage. He rode to Pagosa today arriving wet from rain the last ten minutes. I LOVE YOU, Cynthia has a morning appointment; she cleaned and organized the storage unit.
13 Aug: Ron is visiting friends in Montrose where he discovered his calling to become a plumber by helping to replace a garbage disposal. SMOOCH, Cynthia has two MEDICAL appointments. Howard has promised to call today to decide if his calendar has sufficient time to see Ron this month. If not, we will stop by after September 8th on our way northward.
12 Aug: Ron is a free spirit. MUAH, from TX. Cynthia has an eight AM DENTAL appointment. Pray for her as she drives east into Houston’s bright morning sun. WHY is the Sun brighter in Texas than any other place on earth? Cynthia enjoyed a lovely pedi/mani and TWO naps today. Ron and Pat got the old garbage disposal out of the sink and read everything under the sun to figure out how to install its replacement ... tomorrow. Cynthia is moving about quite nicely today and yesterday, Thank God.
11 Aug: We hustled up early to get Cynthia to the Durango airport by 10:30 AM; she flew to Houston. Ron continued riding north to Silverton and Ouray over the Million Dollar Highway to Montrose, Colorado to see his former roommate Pat. It was 63 degrees at noon-thirty atop the red mountain pass and the wind began buffeting Ron during all those switchbacks on the way down. Ron enjoyed the awesome scenery much more previously when he was more confident about his motorcycling skills. After Pat and Ron enjoyed a terrific meal at the Stone House, our favorite in Montose, Ron returned to James Lea and found that many of his page numbers installed after the pages were set in stone are now incorrect. Bummer.
10 Aug: Sunday, We had a delicious night sleep. Cynthia is preparing for tomorrow’s flight. Ron worked industriously completing D-LEA of the index. Ron, Extraordinaire! So close to completion, but we had to stop and pack because our motel is on the pre-evacuation list for a wildfire four miles west of Pagosa Springs. Hopefully, we will get to sleep through the night!
9 Aug: We didn't sleep well last night either, but we are awake and working on computers at 10:36 am. By 1:30 we were enjoying salmon and chicken pasta salads at Gustoso’s. Yum. By 4:55 we woke up from our long nap and were back to work! At 8:30 with 381 pages of James Lea completely proofread, Ron intended to go walking but instead told motorcycling stories for two hours to two motorcyclists from Kansas. He reviewed 20 pages of the index, but because he is finding too many corrections for the index, it won’t get done this week! Bummer!
8 Aug: MEDICAL- The plan is to leave for the doctor’s appointment in Durango about ten AM - and we did leave at 10:22. We are home at 1:30 PM with MRI results of Radiculopathy... meaning the L-4 and L-5 are in a tight squeeze for space causing the nerves to complain loudly. Unfortunately, the doctors do not have space in their calendar to do a steroid epidural injection for weeks. But, Food Is Our Medicine! Prayer Works! And Cynthia Will Work On Physical Therapy to Relieve Symptoms. Team work! Ron is doing an amazing job on the manuscript; he reached p. 261. Proofreading gets easier at page 296. We should be able to submit Volume One manuscript Sat or Sunday, God willing. Yay. 😀 He is beyond amazing! And he walked to Wally World for raspberries, blueberries, almonds, and popcorn.
7 Aug: Ron is delighted to be going through James Lea so quickly and is making many improvements and corrections. Smiles and Hurrahs! Today we arose early although I cannot imagine why, so Ron is out the door at 9:45 and 73 degrees to walk to the boat ramp and back. Then it will be time for lunch at Boss Hogg's, and then James Lea all afternoon to avoid the 85 degree heat. The salad bar is above and beyond most salad bars. We eat a lot. We fell asleep at four PM to six PM, now, back to work. Ron is hopeful we can send it to the publisher by Monday. That’s good! Page 240, but Barb, don’t get your hopes up. We have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow.
6 Aug: Another day, another dollar ... actually $75 from options today, and lucky to get that. Cynthia's spinal pain is just about intolerable; she is quite the trooper. We did walk to Boss Hogg's even though today is Liza's day off. Amber came in to do our housekeeping and kept Ron talking for that duration (poor Amber). Now it is time for Ron to relinquish James Lea at page 173 in order to walk before dark to Walmart for blueberries, raspberries, frozen mango, jam, and Tylenol. He actually remembered them all.!!
5 Aug: I love you (and get first written I love you of the day). And Cynthia IS very surprised! We are two worn-out puppies. We walked to lunch and returned to our computers only to fall asleep sitting up. Ron has completed his proofreading and editing up to page 148 now. Our only walking today was to Boss Hogg's for lunch.
4 Aug: Medical: 3:45 PM, MRI. Ron lazed in bed and answered two e-mails by noon. Then he did his exercises, and we walked to Boss Hogg's for luncheon salads. Cynthia had to lie flat on her back for the MRI, and the pain was VERY severe. Afterwards we rode to Gustoso for salmon and it was very good. Cynthia especially enjoyed the feta cheese and olives on the accompanying salad. Ron resumed James Lea instead of trying to take his over-full body out for a walk. 111 pages, but no long walk today.
3 Aug, Sunday: Good Sunday Morning! Ron started early doing the final pass through of Volume One. In just one week, he has proofed eighty-eight pages; there is a good chance he will have Volume One ready to go to the publisher in three weeks, God willing. By evening, after spending hours on broken links Ron decided to go to the market for groceries. Cynthia decided to see if her seminary will accept her recently published book, Sunday Offerings, as her PhD dissertation. She was ABD in Nov of 1997 when she had a life-changing horseback riding accident, and her son Scott died from Leukemia a few months later. We will walk to the corner in an hour.
2 Aug: Another great day! Ron had a very challenging Sudoku captivating his attention until two PM when we walked for lunch. Cynthia is avoiding news by focusing on FTDNA. We walked again tonight to check out two restaurants for salmon. It was fun to learn that the upscale French bakery, Faire, is owned by the same woman who had the Two Chicks and a Hippie restaurant in there, but this new cafe is managed by her daughter, Bethany. Two Chicks has greatly expanded and is very successful.
1 Aug: Happy, happy August! After two weeks in Pagosa, mostly spent in our hotel room with hip pain, healing appears to be on the horizon. Cynthia’s hip pain is greatly improved, thanks to a spinal relaxation exercise recommended by Dr. ChatGPT. The MRI is scheduled for 3:45 PM on Monday. Colorado Spine is scheduled for Friday at 11:30 AM. Vol I is getting the final pass through. We have five weeks to finish the index for Vol II and maybe Vol III, God willing, before we ride to Denver, then to Minnesota about mid-Sept, and through Iowa in early mid-October. Then we start planning 2026? Yikes!
