April in Miami!

Sharon with Cynthia and Ron

30 Apr:  Tomorrow we hope to see cousin Sharon and watch Rhys play music.  And we DID.  Rhys as a 10-year-olf guitarist and his 6-year-old neighbor drummer are phenomenally good.  Ron made a trip to Walmart for frozen mango, blueberries, carrots and grapes beforehand, but in the evening as he tried to find the nearby IHOP, he went in the entirely wrong direction on a different street.  Since he has been similarly confused all his adult life, this is not worrisome.  Our visit with cousin Sharon was an unqualified success.  She was sufficiently distracted by our company/ conversation that she seemed somewhat oblivious to her perpetual pain while we visited.  She and Don live in Presbyterian Village in Athens (click here), a lovely, brand new facility.

29 Apr:  We took our time getting packed and on the road today.  Temperatures were a bit warmer than forecast, so we were very comfortable all the way.  The route was Mt Param Road through a posh part of Atlanta to Roswell Road north (not New Mexico) to I-285 E with a million other traffics, to I-85 N (traffics continuing) to E on GA 316 and lots more traffic.  Georgia 316 is one peculiar road, a divided highway with right hand exits and overpasses for many streets, occasional traffic lights, and occasional left had exits.  Ron missed several turns today and had to back track to get to the Ruby Tuesday in Winder.  The rest of the way eastward was without surprises except that Ron missd another turn when he was stopped at a stop light directly beneath GA 316 (that he intended to take).  The GPS told him that the turn was still .4 miles ahead, so we went 5 miles southeast on GA 53 before picking up US 78 northeast into Athens and then Epps Ferry Road to our Quality Inn hotel.  We visited Quint and Lori in the evening and enjoyed dinner with them and Rhys at DePalma's Italian Restaurant.  Their dog, Ollie, ate hole in Ron's pants cuffs.

28 Apr:  We slept well except for both of us awakening at 4 AM for a couple of hours before returning to sleep.  Up and oatmealed, Cynthia took a cold shower (apparently Michael forgot to turn on the water heater in the guest house.)  We luncheoned at Ruby Tueday again and stuffed ourselves wonderfully full.  Tonight Angi invited us over for dinner, and dinner was indeed marvelous.  Michael grilled chicken into wonderully tasty morsels, and Angi provided baked sweet potatoes and asparagus.

27 Apr:  Our readers know what comes first:  Exercise, then oatmeal with berries and bananas!  We bought our own food.  The hotel manager said she is excited about implementing healthy breakfasts. Yay for her.  Ron remembered a Ruby Tuesday restaurant in Marietta, Georgia (near Angi's) for lunch.  Yaaay.  They are open, although many Ruby Tuesdays are now closed.  Plans for the next two days are to stay with Angi in Sandy Springs, GA.  Route: N on I-75 to exit 261 (Ruby Tuesday) Delk Road E to R on Powers Ferry Road S across river to R (near Publix) on Northside Drive S.  There are marvelous HUGE mansions along this part of Northside Drive.

26 Apr:  We arose early, ate our oatmeal with bananas and berries and departed forthwith to the Archives, a two mile ride.  Unfortunately Ron found nothing of significance about the Joseph Henderson family there.

25 Apr:  And just like that, tomorrow turned into today. We have our own comfort food for breakfast, Yaay!  The manager asked how we liked the breakfast and was quite surprised when we replied that we cannot eat anything they provide and that we bought our own food.  At high noon we rode to Clayton State College and walked 3.4 miles around a lovely lake.  Cynthia had a protein drink and frozen raw veggies for lunch. Ron ate oatmeal.  5.0 miles total today  

24 Apr:  Morrow, Georgia until Wednesday.  The breakfast at this Comfort Inn is not good.  We bought our own oatmeal, berries and bananas.  It is convenient to have an IHOP next door for egg white veggie omelets, but the wait was excessive.  We tried the protein pancakes (olive oil instead of butter in the batter), and they are fine.  The drive to visit cousin Don C. in Lithonia was interesting and uneventful; the ride home facing the sun was unnerving to the passenger, but Ron is a confident rider.  We stopped at Clayton State University to walk for an hour and twenty minutes on their lovely campus.  That was so enjoyable, we will do it again tomorrow.   Our route to and from Don's was amusing in that we were on 5 sections of Panola Road: Clayton State Blvd to L on N. Lee -> N. Parkway to R on Forest Parkway -> Panola Road -> Village Parkway and R on W. Panola Road, L on E. Atlanta and immediate R on Fairview Road short distance to L on Panola Road to L on GA 155 (Snapfinger) across river to R on Panola to R on US 278 (Covington Highway) to L on Wellborn to R on Stone Mountain, L on Shadow Rock R on Holt L on Deshon

23 Apr:  Our lunch at IHOP in Macon with niece Danielle was lovely.  The cook did a geat job with our egg white omelets.  Todays ride north on US Highway 23 was delightful; little traffic, lovely verdant hills and woods, etc.  The GPS was hard to read for the last ten miles on Interstate 75, but Ron was able to see enough to make the correct turns and get off at the correct exit for Morrow, Georgia.  

22 Apr:  Breakfast at the Comfort Inn was Yuk.  Post Covid restaurants are understaffed with long lines; many closed.  We had a lovely visit with Don Bankston and his wife, this AM.  The ride from Brunswick, GA to Macon, GA was made so enjoyable by a stop at Captain Joe’s Seafood Restaurant in Baxley, Georgia.  Mmmmm!  Their salad bar was a delightful surprise.  The Hilton Garden Inn no longer serves dinner in the evenings, a big surprise, so Cynthia ate a protein bar.  We drove towards a blinding sun to Kroger to buy pretzels, frozen mango, oatmeal and berries, our evening meal.  Our route: Golden Isles Parkway N to county road 99 W to US 341 to Jessup, Hazelhorst & Eastman, US 23 to I-16 into Macon, I-75 S to hotel.

21 Apr:  Orlando to Brunswick, Georgia by evening.  Verizon and Wi-Fi are deplorable in Florida.  Our overnight was at a Choice Hotel, which features package instant oatmeal, bananas, apples and oranges for fruit.   But two long lines of fat-laden eggs, sausage, bacon, biscuits and gravy.  So folks are Happy.  We are happy with our oatmeal and fruit.   Route: US 192 W to US 27 N to L on county road 474 (W) to FL 33 N to FL 19 N in Greenland to US 17 N at Palatka to I-295 W around Jacksonville to US 17 N to I-95 briefly into Brunswick

20 Apr:  And so we go!  Who knows what time Ron will have us packed and on the road!  But, today, we begin a two-day ride to Brunswick, GA.  Hotel rates are now astronomical.  We said goodbyes to special new friends and to old friends like Diane, plus the staff. We finally departed Pritikin at two PM and arrived in Kissimmee (near Orlando) at eight PM after un uneventful but windy and chilly ride.  Seeing an IHOP and Denny’s within walking distance was a good sign, but they were short-staffed in both places.  We opted for IHOP.  Interesting to see people order monster cinnamon rolls!  We are full and ready to go to sleep.  Our route was simplicity itself: North on 87th Street to US 27 north (Okeechobee Street), skirting South Bay by taking FL 827 and county road 827 to find US 98 N through Pahokee then back on US 27 N and followed the GPS directions to W Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway and a Comfort Inn.  The wind was too strong to enjoy the one good view of Lake Okeechobee from a highway overpass.  (Altogether, the scenery was disappointing.)  Ron found it amusing to go right through Lake Wales.

19 Apr:  Ron again rode, facing the morning sun, to Margate, FL to visit former boss Jerry and wife Judy.  They were not yet home when Ron arrived, so he waited on the porch eating frozen mango until they did arrive with grandchildren in tow, Lucas and Andy, Becky's kids, amazingly well behaved.  Jerry revels in seeing shock register on faces when he tells people that he is 80 years old.  Jerry and Judy are still in great shape.  Cynthia has core, then cardio classes, followed by a body composition scan.  Ron returned tonight, but two hours late.  The GPS took him to the old Pritikin location in Aventura, FL !  He was only a little lost in metropolitan Miami but his GPS finally got him back after he set it manually.   Route: US 1 N to Florida Turnpike/ Ronald Regan Toll road to exit 66, FL 844, Atlantic Blvd to Margate Blvd.  Return trip was a mess following the GPS that found Pritikin's old address at Aventura Mall.

18 Apr, Post Easter… Ron is in the Keys, Cynthia is at Pritikin in Doral, FL  She did 45 minutes on the Arc Trainer: 2.5 miles and 300 calories, followed by the fitness trainer at 9:30, then lunch.  This afternoon, it is time to memorize her speech for the Rambo reunion, and walk again at night.  Total 6.9 miles today!  Ron and friends Greg and Cindy had a leisurely day at the beach, relaxing and enjoying the ocean views.

17 Apr, Happy Easter Sunday!  Cynthia has wished everyone in the Western Hemisphere Happy Easter!  We awoke to news that Carol and Bill are engaged.  Yaaaay!  Bob and Bobbie left to return to Maine, such a great couple!  We had early AM final labs, took the strength class, Ron packed, and we returned to the dining hall to eat lunch at 12:30, starving.  Ron was able to be on the bike heading toward the Keys by 2:30 PM.  He will return Tuesday night to retrieve his beloved bride for early Wednesday AM departure towards GA, a two day ride.  Cynthia walked on the golf course trail tonight… 6 miles total today.  Ron's ride to Big Pine Key was uneventful although Miami Turnpike traffic isn't fun.  Neither was facing the Florida sun while riding westward, although the sparkling sunlight off the water was quite striking.  Lots of bridges, lots of water views.  Cynthia usually revels in the water views, so it seems strange that she preferred to eat a few more Pritikin meals rather than ride to the keys.  Route: FL 826 toll road to FL 874 toll road to Ronald Regan Florida Turnpike to Homestead and US 1 into the Keys.

16 Apr, Holy Saturday:  Two fitness classes this AM, Cynthia has a workout with her trainer at two, and a haircut at three. Today,  James made Ron an Easter egg omelet.  Tooo cute!  The variety of fresh fruits and veggies is such a treat for us.  Cooking class was a delicious delight, including pineapple sorbet.  The chef invited Ron to eat the leftovers.  The class applauded!  Dinner was very pleasant!  We enjoyed the company of  a cute couple from Connecticut, Lisa and Richard.  She is here for two months. We walked the trail tonight

Ron scarffing cooking class leftovers

15 Apr, Good Friday:  James, dining room manager, made Ron an Easter Bunny egg white veggie omelet!  Cute.  Ron eats an inordinate amount of food, goes to cooking classes so he can eat the leftovers, and loses weight.  The vegetable Quesadilla was delicious.  Cynthia lost two pounds this month, too.  Our box of clothing is almost ready to ship back to Texas.  We had a great evening walk. 

14 Apr, Maundy Thursday:  The clock is ticking!  Ron leaves Sunday for the Keys; this means our packing has to happen tomorrow and Saturday in order to ship a box of our belongings back to Texas. Cynthia stays here until Ron returns Tues. night for our Wednesday departure towards GA.  

13 Apr:  Ron has celebrity status at Pritikin again because of outstanding labs.  (Also he finished the new puzzle.)  We had good sleep, and we had a good day with  three workout sessions. 

12 Apr:  We are not sleeping enough at night because of early rising.  Cynthia had labs drawn at 6;45 AM, and Ron has yoga at eight AM.  Today Cynthia's new Earlens hearing aids allowed her to actually hear the lectures.  Frank's lecture on feet and the back this AM was terrific; Cynthia especially enjoyed Dr. Fruge's talk about the necessity of sleep.  Zzzz. Dr Fruge uses a CPap.  That might be nice, but it certainly would interfere with cuddling.  The day is lovely.  So was our evening walk at sunset.   

11 Apr:  We are blessed with another unusually cool day for south Florida, a forecast high of 80 degrees with a cloud cover and breezes; it feels chilly at 70 degrees mid-morning.  The A/C in the fitness center feels like subzero.   There are no organized fitness classes on Mondays, but Cynthia has a personal trainer hour and Ron is deep at work on the new puzzle.  We meet the loveliest people at Pritikin, and some left yesterday. 

10 Apr, Passion Sunday takes time for meditation on the suffering of Christ, and also on Holy Week ahead.  This is a lovely day in Miami. Cynthia’s hearing cleared.  Yaaay  

9 Apr:  And another cool, lovely day filled with a lot of exercise, too much food, and great conversations.  Chef Vince received a new puzzle which Ron promptly started.  

8 Apr:  This is a gorgeous day in Miami… cool breezes blessed our walk to breakfast.  Our normal schedule prevailed, like overeating three times a day, plus snacks.  But it is good, healthy fruits, vegetables, and grains so we each lost two pounds in two weeks.  Tonight’s dinner service was crazy.  The woman who joined us never did get her meal.  We walked the golf course trail accompanied by a gorgeous sunset.  

7 Apr:  Today’s torture was core, cardio, and fitness training for Cynthia, and Ron continued with core and two cardio’s, plus lectures and mind-bending puzzles.  Cynthia remembered to set a workout on her Apple Watch, but she forgot to turn it off after the exercise.  This means the exercise numbers look astounding!  We both had medical appointments today… and continue our gold star status.  

6 Apr:  Another successful day of being good little longevities.  We exercised, attended lectures, and Cynthia’s fitness trainer Jacky taught her how use her Apple Watch to record workouts.  Only two more weeks left of our Pritikin stay!  The days are racing by.  Cynthia is finally getting serious about writing the speech about Colonial Swedish women for June.  

5 Apr:  We sent Ron's pacemaker report electronically to the doctors in Houston before breakfast.  Exercise classes were followed by another great lecture by Frank.  Cynthia had a 2:30 appointment at Mercy Hospital to have her hearing checked.  Evidently, her current hearing loss issue is head congestion that started clearing by lunchtime today.  She used one of the private cars available for Pritikin guests that comes with a driver.  It was not cheap, but the driver waited for her so she did not have to hassle with an Uber on the return trip.  Dinner conversation with a Harvard instructor and an MIT microbiologist researcher was delightful.  The sunset was marvelous.  Sleep is good! IRS ALERT 

4 Apr:  Cynthia awoke to an absence of sound.  She alerted her audiologist and ENT in Texas, and she had a personal trainer for her workout session.  Ron did cardio, attended two lectures, did puzzles, and ate a lot.  The light rain is lovely.  Are we boring or what?  This happens when Ron is distracted by jigsaws, Pritikin or genealogy, but it is marvelous fun for us.

Rambo Reunion tees

Ron at jigsaw during cooking class

3 Apr, Sunday:  We had two workout sessions.  Cynthia had a personal trainer for an hour.  Ron walked to the market, did a second 30 minutes of cardio, and walked the trails tonight.  Plus, we ate a lot.  We talked a lot.  And we wore our matching Rambo shirts for a publicity photo-op session!  A fun day was had by all of the survivors!  Us!

The Cross from Dublin

Cynthia didn't explain this one

2 Apr:  Cynthia’s book, A Lost Sheep of Shenandoah. is published and awaiting marketing.  Son Paul and Granddaughter Zoe sent the photos of the cross from Dublin Ireland today; she is looking at grad schools.  We had core, cardio, and Cynthia had a fitness training session.  Ron ate a monster salad followed by another cardio session and the charges paid.   The food today was divine.  We said good-bye to Tami, a very lovely lady who is leaving early in the AM, and enjoyed dinner with Ward from Toronto, a nice breath of fresh air! 

1 April, Happy Birthday Samantha, with humongous hugs from Grandmother and Ron!  Granddaughter Zoe and her dad are in Ireland attending a writers conference while shopping for graduate school. And we are happily exercising and learning more about keeping our bodies heathy in Miami.  Ron is feeling much improved, but Cynthia is dragging. 

Marchin On Wheels To Miami

31 Mar,  Thurs: And with this day, we kiss March good-bye and say hello to sound.  The new ear buds arrived for the hearing aids and Cynthia is ecstatic.  Wow!  Dessert at lunch was warm bread pudding. Mmmm!  We exercised three times today, and Ron went for an evening walk, too.  Good-bye March!  

30 Mar:  Cynthia’s new ear buds arrive tomorrow.  This is to be an uneventful day, three lectures, cardio and strength training, plus a long evening walk. 

29 Mar:  Time is going too fast!  We are moving to the middle of the second week at Pritikin.  The good news is that Ron is apparently over his cold, and Cynthia has not inherited it.  Cynthia will post her awesome labs to tell our readers what a difference it makes to not eat added sugar or added sodium in our meals, plus we are committed to maintaining the exercise when we leave here.  Cynthia and Ron each had total cholesterol of 101.  Her BP upon arrival was 123, two days later it was 118, and today it is 110.  Ron always has perfect BP.  Yay for us.

A Pritikin sunset

28 Mar: Cynthia filmed a video of a very large iguana for her  grandchildren.  We don’t have regular fitness classes on Mondays, but we did hit the gym. and atttended lectures.  In addition, Cynthia had an hour cardio with her fitness instructor.  We enjoyed a nice dinner with a couple from Dallas.  The sunset was lovely, 

27 Mar, Sunday:  Neither of us slept well!  Two fitness classes, one personal trainer class, and no lectures today.  We napped this afternoon.  It was fun to meet Asha at dinner, to see Tammy and Dianne again.  Ron has a bad cold.

26 Mar:  We are worn out!  Ron was on the arc trainer twice, and we did strength training.  Cynthia worked out with fitness trainer and loves icing her feet with the machine.  The weather has cooled down considerably.  The second jigsaw is now complete, but Ron asked Vince for a few days off to get other projects done.

25 Mar:  Cynthia has an early AM appointment with the medical director who awarded her a gold star for reaching Okinawa status with her health.   Cardio was great… the "arc trainer" (click here) machine is awesome. Ron is making great progress on this second Pritikin jigsaw puzzle.

24 Mar:  Ron met with Dr. Areces, his Pritikin cardiologist.  She was beside herself with delight that Ron had aced his entrance labs.  Ron is eating with gusto everything he can find and loving the challenging puzzle.  We had the second of four Covid tests while we are here and attended a lecture on diabetes.  It was also great to see young Brian again; he is quite the success story for losing so much weight.

23 Mar:  More eating, more exercising, and lectures on managing aging joints.  Ron spent four hours this afternoon,and Cynthia four this evening with Frank, the biomechanical fitness expert.  

22 Mar:  We were scheduled to be awake early, but that didn't happen until 7:20.  The day was filled with yoga for Ron, exercise classes for both of us, and lectures.  Ron completed that jigsaw puzzle in short order.  The supervisor of the medical department, Nelson, was quite surprised that the jigsaw puzzle was completed overnight; (it had been sitting unfinished for two months).  He surmised that the motorcycle guy was here and came searching for Ron.  As it turns out Chef Vince had copies of several puzzles, so he found another one to challenge Ron. 

21 Mar:  New arrivals have a busy Monday with a blood draw, stress test, Dr. appointments, etc.  Cynthia aced her stress test but her feet paid a price.  Ron apparently lasted a little longer and was awarded a higher MET level (metabolic equivalent test (click here)).  It was wonderful to discover a much thinner Brian (from Texas).  Apparently he is finally sticking to Pritikin eating while not here better than in the past.

20 Mar, Sunday:  For our final day riding from Naples to Pritikin (at the Trump Doral) we took the old Tamiami Trail, US 41 and stopped midway at the Big Cypress Swamp Welcome Center (click here) to watch the alligators, fish and birds.  Apparently alligators eat only once a week but can survive without eating for a couple of years, so the other critters are nonchalantly cohabitating.  After check in at Pritimin, we were able to eat snacks and our first Pritikin dinner.  Ron discovered a wooden jigsaw puzzle 80% completed.

19 Mar:  Venice to Naples, dinner tonight with Annie and Dave.  We were introduced to a dizzying array of neighbors and friends.  Oh, did we have fun, and oh, is Annie a great cook!  Again, door to door on I-75 to avoid Spring Breakers.

18 Mar:  A short hop on the interstate between Ocala, Florida and Sarasota brought us to visit Jan and Dorothy.  Another short stint on I-75 brought us to Venice, Florida to overnight with Drew and BD.  They are such fun.  After our ever so slow day of Spring Break traffic on the 16th, we opted for the Interstate 75 door to door.

17 Mar:  St. George Island to Ocala, Florida with a stop in Crystal River to visit with Tom and Dot K.  We spent the night in Ocala and enjoyed an awesome dinner with Eddie and Beanie at Ivy’s On the Square.  Route: after retracing our steps across the causeway on FL 300, we turned east on US 98 for miles and miles of Florida piney woods until we arrived at Crystal River.  Tom and Dot were waiting for us at Crackers Bar & Grill, a nice restaurant, and they bought our lunch.  We retraced our route north on US 98 to east on W. Dunnelson Road to L on US 41 N to R on FL 40 E to the Ocala downtown Hilton Garden Inn.  Pleasant, bucolic scenery for today's relaxing ride.

Hampton Inn has views of the Gulf

16 Mar:  Leaving the lovely views from the Hampton Inn, our first stop was the CVS to get a Covid test, a requirement for Pritikin check in.  Our route between Daphne, Alabama and St. George Island, Florida covered a lot of miles along the coast during Spring Break, so we had bumper to bumper traffic for eight hours, especially on US 98.  In compensation, the gulf views were wonderful.  Route: I-10 E (no scenic route available) to Pennsacola and I-110 S to US 98 across bridge to FL 399 through Pennsacola Beach and E to US 98 through Mexico Beach and St. Joe to R on South Bay Shore Drive (scenic) to FL 300 S across the causeway onto St. George Island.  It was fun to see Trudy and family, including a couple of very tall young men.

15 Mar:  Jackson Mississippi to Daphne, Alabama… maybe!  Rain is forecast from here to Daphne.  Ron, however, interpreted the color radar forecast to imply that we might avoid all the rain, and we did.  We started at eleven after the streets dried and rode east on Pascagoula Street to I-55 south to US 49 south and east to US 98 east at Hattiesburg to I-10 east and back onto 98 south to stay at the Hampton Inn.  (Ron is a bit puzzled that US 98 went smack dab into the heart of downtown Mobile in contrast to his reading of the maps.  The mis-queue came with a scenic bonus on Spring Hill Avenue; the huge overarching live oak trees draped with Spanish moss were an awesome sight.  (Ron had also intended to look for a restaurant going through Hattiesburg, but after waiting a long time at the first stop light, he changed his mind to take I-59 south, bypassing Hattiesburg, to US 98 instead.)  After the delightful views of water crossing the rivers on old US 98, we arrived at 2:45 PM dry and hungry.  Dinner at Felix’s Fish Camp was delicious, and we had a great view of the bay.  Ron was reminded that we must get a Covid-19 test within seven days of our 20 March arrival at Pritikin.  Cynthia booked our CVS appointments with dizzying quickness for 11:00 AM tomorrow.  

14 Mar:  We spent all day at the Mississippi Archives hunting for any documentation among Frances Powell Otken’s papers for that 1788 death date of a James Lea, and we found her source.  It was sent to her in 1913 by a LEE descendant (not Lea) who had attended a DAR convention - which means that no family Bible record is involved and that this is second hand, unverifiable information.

13 Mar, Sunday:  We attended church with Pat at a New Life Gospel Church in Walker, then rushed over to Don's for another salmon luncheon.  After returning to Pat's condo to pack, we departed towards Pat's ancestral properties and then up I-55 to Jackson, Mississippi.  The roads and sights on MS 442 etc were pleasant and unremarkable.  The ride up to Jackson was punctuated by multiple pit stops to relieve ourselves of excess fluids.  The Old Capitol Inn is a more pleasant hotel than expected, in the heart of the Jackson state capitol district.  Surprisingly, the streets are nearly deserted on this Sunday afternoon. Hungry, we walked eight blocks to the Westin Hotel to have a light dinner, but this was a bit too far for Pat since she hasn't been walking much since covid.  

12 Mar:  We enjoyed a wonderfully pleasant visit with Pat all day in Denham Springs, and lunch at Duke's was every bit as good as expected.  Too amusing to learn that Don and Duke are both Landrys.

11 Mar:  We spent the day after noon in Denham Springs with Pat B.  Our schedule traveling is tight; we will catch up as time permits.  We had a fabulous lunch at famous Don’s Seafood Restaurant.  

10 Mar:  Let’s roll to Baton Rouge.  We anticipated leaving by nine, but it was 11:00 by the time we were fully loaded and 12:00 after mailing a box to Pritikin, dropping more stuff at the storage unit, and returning the car.  Our arrival time at the Hilton Garden Inn in Baton Rouge was 6:00 PM.  We rode on Texas Route 105 east through the piney woods to I-10 east to Texas 12 (which turns into Louisiana 12) to Louisiana 190 east to Baton Rouge where the pines disappeared to bayous and fields turning green.  Somehow the scenery was more interesting once we crossed the Louisiana border, despite the bridge construction for the first 20 miles.  The take-away was visible poverty in western Louisiana with Dollar Stores as the most frequent retail outlet in many towns. 

9 Mar:  MD Anderson Mammogram Woodlands, males not encouraged to attend.  Observation… we sold the lake house 6 years ago and gave all of the contents to children and grandchildren, so how do we still have so much stuff to pack, both into storage and onto the motorcycle? 

8 Mar:  7:30 AM departure, and the rain was challenging at times.  It won't be fun to unload recycling in rain (85% probability).  Then we see Sasha for final finishing touches, and afterwards, lunch at Pappadeaux with Helen.  The treasured recycling was conveniently dropped off at the Pruett location since the Magnolia center is no longer open on Mon and Tuesday, despite the erroneous hours posted on the website.  We dropped off a load of our packed items at the storage unit, and Cynthia found her TurfToe shoe insert. 

7 Mar:  We enjoyed another pin cushion treatment from Dr. Wendy.  Everyone asks Cynthia about her wonderfully colorful black eyes.  She tries to incriminate Ron, but he quips that he will never understand female aesthetics since her aesthetician gave her the black eyes.  Dr. Wendy played GO quite some time ago, and her father is a good player, but he speaks no English.  It must have rained last night because all the usual puddles were again filled with water.  Ron continues his mission to transfer as much of the dirt at the waste treatment construction site to the various pitfalls that have jarred our bodies during our walks.

6 Mar, Sunday:  Dinner with Jon and Tina.  Ron walked twice today, at 4 PM and again at 7 PM.

5 Mar, Sat.  Cynthia finishes packing for the thirty third time.  Ron had the delightful surprise this evening of seeing three otters swimming in the lake at dusk.  There was too much cloud cover for a nicely colored sunset.

4 Mar, Fri:  Cynthia is off to see Dr. Sharpless.  (Ron gets to skip this one, so he is going to attempt photographing postcards in light winds.) 

3 Mar:  Cynthia was fitted with new tips for her hearing aids and they they work immeasurably better !!  The new ear buds go down into her small ear canal, and sound, sweet, precious sound, is reason to rejoice. EARLENS.. Hearing, plus new prescription glasses are another reason to shout Halleujah.  Halle= Praise, Lu = To, Ya= Yahweh.  Ron walked a bunch (twice to the lake and to the point with Cynthia), Cynthia walked 2.7 miles total including he first outing in three weeks, to the point.  Not a big walk, but no foot pain.  Whew !!

Ron loves his SmoochSmooch

2 Mar:  Cynthia ventured forth to an appointment with Dr. Birken. She was surprised by a Smooch Note when she returned.  The patio doors are open to cool, fresh, fragrant breezes; the lake is peaceful and calming.  Ron photographed photos, etc., is organizing stacks of paper, and planting welcome home love notes.  More clipping bushes, more transplanting dirt today.

1 Mar:  Yes, the heated gear is still for sale, but we will try again next fall.  Today is our last session of fitness training with torturess Erin.  Ron clipped a few more bushes on his way to the lake and back.  Cynthia says our schedule is crazy for the next ten days.  Ron pulled another couple of boxes full of old leftover recycling from the storage locker since our schedule includes stopping by the recycling drop off in Magnolia on the 8th.  The challenge is to get everything ready to be recycled in a week.  No way will James Lea be finished then, but much progress has been made.  After we left the storage unit, Cynthia decided she had forgotten her sunglasses.  We went back to retrieve them, but they weren’t to be found!  Right.  They were on her head!  Ron again "freed" a bucket of dirt from one of the 30' tall piles on the construction site and transported it to the several holes he is attempting to fill/ mitigate on our normal pathways.

February for Lovers

 

A beautiful model in Gerbing gear

Who wants to buy Gerbings heated motorcycle gear, size small, $50.00?  Ron really, REALLY, REALLY REALLY needs to update that on the BMWMOA site. HAHAHAHA!  Yes!  Would someone please buy the heated gear?  The girlie and BMW are not included.

Ron's petite salad

28 Feb, Monday, the last day of this too short month, and then it is TOMORROW.  After our appointment with Dr, Wendy, eating at Jasons Deli, Cynthia dropped Ron off at the library to do research, she got good news in a second opinion about her RX from an eye specialist.  Ron enjoyed his hours at the library without need to leave soon until the librarian suddenly announced that they close the genealogy section at 5 PM.  Ron photographed most of the book pages that he wanted.  One of these days we will see if his photographs are clear enough for OCR to work well.  We returned to feast at Jasons Deli again.  The Ukraine situation is overwhelming. 

27 Feb, Sunday:  First I lOVE you of the week !!  We celebrated Blaire’s second birthday with family after worship and brunch.  Ron walked after dark and carted dirt to fill one of the holes that we occasionally stumbled into.

26 Feb:  Ron gets points for first written I love you of the day.  SURPRISE !! Cynthia and Roxanne are off to do girlicure things giving Ron a day without adult supervision.  And he spent the entire day transcribing a couple of Wilkes County, Georgia wills and looking for  others. 

25 Feb:  What happened to our lovely warm Texas winter - another cold day forecast today.  After trimming flowers, Ron continued getting things organized for our departure on 10 Mar.  Cynthia interrupted to check her Rinker/King manuscript before it was sent to the publisher.  That was good thing, because the last half of the manuscript was in footnotes.  Whew.  The manuscript is off to the publisher and the cover chosen.   Ron weighed in today at 175.2 lbs, so tomorrow he can go to buy pretzels, especially since he walked twice today and carried dirt to one of the ruts he filled with compost earlier this winter.  Finally after the evening walk, Ron was able to again work on James Lea.

24 Feb:  It is not supposed to be any warmer today.  It isn’t either.  Cynthia lost her condo key.  And she didn’t quite make the three point turn in the tight drive of the storage unit.  Jon is going to see if rubbing compound will take the tan stucco off the bumper.  Apart from WWIII beginning in Europe, 10% inflation, and threats to tax our pension plans, life is good.  A woman at the fitness center said she loves watching us, because we are so obviously in love.  She nailed it!  Cynthia hauled a load of clothing to the storage unit, picked up dry cleaning, and mailed old photos to be restored. The rain on the plain means pain, it’s too cold and wet for Ron’s second walk.  Serendipitous that, because Ron found a deed recorded in 1771 that showed that a James Lea had bought property on Richland Creek in 1760 from Lawrence Vanhook, a perfect match to Lawrence Bankston information.

23 Feb:  Lazy day at home, especially since the temperatures were so cold that even the chronic hyperthermic was chilly on his two walks.  The short periods of drizzle did not improve his walking experiences either.  One of the bigger bucks had antlers worth 8 points and wasn't skittish.  At least Ron was able to write the five Christmas cards to send to people without e-mail ... and he caught up with the last two taxable items $0.48 interest from one bank account and $0.22 for the other.  It is going to be hard to make those stretch far enough to cover expenses until next year.

22 Feb:  Off to fitness training.  Feeling fit, too.  Great workout!  We are thankful for our torturess, Erin.   Cynthia had lunch with Pastor Diane while Ron walked.  Then we shopped for groceries (winding down since we need to consume EVERYTHING by March 10th).  Amazing how time flies for the last three weeks before any year-long travel.  

Cynthia's sister & family

21 Feb: Dr. Wendy continued needling Cynthia’s improved feet.  We rejoiced at the thought of going to Jason’s Deli to overeat at their salad bar.  Cynthia sneaked in a tiny gingerbread muffin.  We raced home to clean the condo for Laurie’s arrival to fit Cynthia’s dress for the Rambo Reunion in June.  Laurie made Cynthia’s wedding dress.  Ron went for his walk when the girls started fitting and went for a second walk at dusk.  It is fun to walk after sunset because the deer are far less afraid and sometimes let Ron walk by within six feet of them.  And today is Cynthia’s sister Merrilee’s heavenly birthday.  Beautiful picture of her family.

20 Feb, Sunday:  We are exercised and oatmealed, have worshipped, and enjoyed brunch with Merry & Bill, and Jon & Tina.   It has been an exceptional day.  Ron walked and did Sudokus.  Our daily sameness is really boring unless we are traveling.  (Gosh, the things Ron discovers only because he occasionally updates the blog.  Ron thought that we have been having fun working non-stop on James Lea.)  Cynthia added a Preface to her book; as soon as Kathy W sends the Foreword it is gone to the publisher.  Disappointed that it was declined by NGS, she is determined that 35 years of work will be in print!  

19 Feb.  The clock ticked 5:34 PM.  And all we have to say about that is we had a great day, we are well-fed, exercised, and the Condo is CUHLEEENN!  Ron walked early; Cynthia is still pondering walking, because her foot complained after tearing through the house with chemicals to disinfect everything.  Oops! The clock tocked (ticktock) 6:14 PM, Ron is going for his second constitutional.  Cynthia will shower for church in the AM. 

18 Feb:  By one PM we are well fed, exercised, and sudokued.  Ron has walked, Cynthia organized the Swedish Colonial Society Luncheon for 12 June in Essington, PA, also did eye exercises, read a chapter of the book, Rigged, by Mollie Hemingway and she proudly accomplished walking 2.6 miles, that included a walk on the marina point.  Ron, while writing an e-mail, just hit upon an excellent idea and title for a best-selling book, "Things We Do to Enjoy Our Aging Bodies."  Oh, oh!  This sounds really racy!  Yeah, race walking.

17 Feb:  Days get longer as they race by like a bullet train.  Ron makes our fitness trainer laugh until she gets a stomach ache. But she still gave us a challenging workout.  Ron walked to the lake, and is hardly working on the James Lea book   Cynthia has the King/Rinker manuscript ready to upload to a self-publisher as soon as the Foreword arrives from Kathy.  

16 Feb:  Another tomorrow, awake, exercised, oatmealed and sudokued.  Ron is resuming James Lea edits while munching frozen mango and veggies.  Cynthia, in the meantime, Upped her exercises to include those found in the book, Do You Really Need Eyeglasses? And she included some exercises for bone spurs found on numerous google sites.  Also, she is organizing drawers and clothes to pack for the March 10th departure.  Also, she is preparing a manuscript for publication.  The new hearing aids are great! 

15 Feb:  Another hour with our favorite torturess.  We will let you know if we survive.  Oops, Ron forgot (as usual) that we don't see Erin this week.  Instead, Cynthia had her new EarLens hearing aids (click here) installed and is quite pleased with being more able to hear now.  Ron spent the day reading his favorite self-help book, "Do You Really Need Eyeglasses?"  Perhaps that was recommended to me by Linda centuries ago in Santa Fe.

14 Feb:  HAPPY Valentine's Day !!  And Smooch to my beloved SmoochSmooch.  It was a good day for our favorite Dr. Needles, and the acupuncture helped Cynthia's feet.  Then we pigged out at Jason's Deli as usual and ran errands on the way home.  Now Ron is debating eating more or not while he works on James Lea again.

13 Feb, Sunday:  Another Tomorrow, and a nice message from another substitute pastor.  Pastor Diane has laryngitis.  Ron continues working on Cynthia's James Lea book.  Cynthia's research on the internet highlighted the advice Dr. Margolis had given: ice that foot.  Apparently, bone spurs are actually calcium deposits instead of bone, and they can be reabsorbed into the body with ice and exercise.

Charlotte is TINY, grandmother happy

12 Feb:  Another Tomorrow. We enjoyed meeting great granddaughter Charlotte today.  Expect to see photos soon.  And we were surprised in the evening to discover that we had invited granddaughter Samantha, husband Adam, and baby Noah to Valentine's dinner.  Noah is quite the inquisitive, solid little seven-month-old.  He already knows all about food: if he sees anyone else put anything into their mouths, he wants some and pursues it.  His parents are going to have to themselves give up anything that they don't want him eating. Baby Noah pictured, and Deceased grandpa Scott, with Noah’s uncle Steven, and Cynthia. 

11 Feb:  Another morning of exercises, oatmeal, and sudokus.  Now Ron is eating frozen mango and veggies preparatory for his morning walk to the lake & back.  Today promises to be a big day, with both a shower and laundry scheduled after the evening walk.  Cynthia is forced to focus on genealogy projects while her foot heals.    

10 Feb:  Here we are, home again after fitness training with Erin.  Ron makes her laugh!  Ron spent a couple of hours reading "Who's My Daddy?", a tale of DNA discovery that his MIT buddy Joel suddenly embarked upon after a DNA test revealed that his sister was a half-sister genetically.  Ron is experiencing a real change in his telecommunications now that Cynthia is trying to let her body heal around the bone spur so that she can walk again without pain.  It can't happen soon enough for her, but the pain persists whenever she wobbles the foot in unfortunate directions.  Ron is walking and talking with an expanding circle of his friends since he is walking and talking alone mid-day and early evening.  Cynthia's new glasses are getting quite the workout doing sudokus.

9 Feb:  Inactivity is hard on the scale.  Cynthia was Four pounds up after ten days without walking and the scale groaned.  Ron’s scale was happy.  (Yes, we use different scales.  Cynthia's provides lower numbers; Ron's was hidden amongst his stuff in the storage locker.)  Lots of errands were completed,  Cynthia’s reading glasses arrived.  

8 Feb:  Happy Birthday Roxanne!  We were early arising, exercising, oatmealing, and off to fitness training.  Home again, home again, jiggity jig, and back to computer projects.  Cynthia sent the Rinker wills to be printed, confirmed the videographer for June 12, and now completed the schedule.  Sudoku break!

7 Feb:  Already !!  Where does the time go ??  Monday, acupuncture, Jason's Deli, computer projects!

6 Feb, Sundy:  Early to rise, off to worship, then brunch with family, but only Roxanne and Jon joined us for her birthday celebration.  Everyone else called in sick.  We spent the day in the house.  It is amusing to see Cynthia becoming interested in difficult sudokus.  Ron walked to the lake at sunset to enjoy a lovely, rippling, reddish lake view.  His compost burial site looks nearly smooth and level now.

5 Feb:  The forecast isn’t changing any time soon, but if we want to survive, we will be forced to venture forth to get bananas.  The cold continues to Sunday, albeit a warmer cold with less wind - 49 degrees and 1 mph wind now - Whew.  We are engrossed in our computer projects, taking breaks for Sudokus.  Cynthia "likes" sudokus, but she doesn’t like losing.  But, today she did a really hard one without help from the genius.  How do we get so busy?  This is more fun.  Ron procrastinated until after dark to venture forth again to bury compost and then walked to the lake and back.

4 Feb:  Forecast is for a very cold day with a high of 36 degrees with 15 mph wind too.  My friends up north would love to see such temperatures !!  Interesting to notice the cleaning frenzy that ensues when Cynthia's feet aren’t hurting.  After a day of sitting, Ron finally ventured forth for a long walk to the lake which was not even really cold.  However, as soon as he turned around to come home, the wind chill ramped up to frigid, even for our chronic hypothermic.  His decision to postpone compost burial by a day was a good one.

3 Feb:  Fooey, Ron had a short description of driving to the exercise session because it rained all day again.  Then Cynthia drove off for pedicure and manicure leaving Ron to enjoy computer activities.  Somehow Google lost it.  (Yeah, blame defenseless Google.)  Dr. Wendy told Cynthia that your body is similar to babies . . . except that your body signals pain when it is unhappy instead of crying, and if you ignore it, it sends more pain, and if you continue to ignore it, it can send even more pain and more and more ...  Sooner or later, it will win, and you will have to figure out what your body is demanding by sending all that PAIN.  Once you correct that problem, the pain will diminish . . . until you resume the problem behavior.

bird's eye view of Ron's bald head at refrigerator 

2 Feb:  After visiting Dr. Wendy and Jason's Deli, we returned to Dr. Margolis’ office to retrieve the new eye glasses Ron left there Monday.  Oops.  Putting frozen blueberries into plastic fresh blueberry containers in the refrigerator seemed a great idea until we found blueberry juice all over the bottom of the refrigerator this morning.  Oops2.  Dr Wendy's needles today were more effective than yesterday's cushioning.  And now that the pill alarm is sounding, Ron is overdue for his walk, sadly without his beloved weefee for several days to come.  Oops3, big, fat, wet raindrops cut the walk short after only two blocks.  And the rain is continuing at 4:30 when Ron decided to Google overlarge photos in a PDF.  Wow, what an excellent solution.  Google certainly knows a lot.

1 Feb:  Feb is another month for lovers.  Therefore, here is the first written I love you!  Smooch!   Ron was surprised to see an empty bag, five pounds of frozen blueberries, empty !!  Are we going to need to take Cynthia to the hospital to have her stomach pumped ??  Ha! Cynthia transferred them unbeknownst to five one-pound containers in the refrigerator.   But the bag of grapes did disappear in three sittings.  It is a cloudy day in SE Texas.  We are off to fitness training.  Because of mist, we didn’t walk to the lake.  Sadly, Cynthia's foot is no better.  Ron is prepared to add thickness to the cushion.  

Happy New Year 2022

Cynthia's sunset photo January 1

31 Jan:  We need a title tomorrow.  Hmmm, how about 2022 and climbing.  We upped, exercised, ate, and drove to another needling.  We really like Dr. Wendy, and her treatments help, but after another huge salad for lunch, we saw Dr, Margolis, and his X-rays showed a significant bone spur precisely where Cynthia's foot is so tender and painful.  Dr. Margolis is such a dear man that he gave us three feet of padding 1/4 inch thick.  That is it for now.  Cynthia is a bit dubious, but Ron is ever hopeful.  It rained ALL day, so we did not get to walk - which is probably a good thing for Cynthia's hurty foot.  Now it is 10:30 and Ron needs to follow Cynthia to slumberland ASAP.

30 Jan, Sunday:  And another month is almost gone.  Time flying.  At least we are having fun.  Typical Sunday: early up, early eat, get to church on time, huge lunch at the Yacht Club, so full that we are comatose in the afternoon, late walk, and lots of genealogy.  Now it is time for Ron's evening constitutional.

29 Jan:  We can sleep in ??  ZZZZZzzzzzz and we are awake!  Ron is focused on James Lea, while Cynthia is preparing an income tax report.  It was disappointing to learn that the article (about using DNA to reveal ancestor Harry King) was declined for publication in the NGS Quarterly six months ago, and we didn’t get the message.  Oh, well.  The article will make a good book.

28 Jan:  We drove at noon to see "Dr." Wendy for acupuncture.  Today Cynthia told Dr. Wendy to concentrate on the hurty foot, and the acupuncture provided significant pain relief.  The big treat on these Dr. Wendy days is that we stop at Jason's Deli afterwards for a lunch of huge salads.  We stopped to renew the rental car contract for another month, and Cynthia picked up her new glasses at Vision Source, but they are blurry.  Fooey !!  5 PM we joined Bill & Joan, Larry & Dawn for a delicious dinner at the Eatery (click here) (at the Hodge Podge Lodge in Montgomery), with conversation and fellowship that was even better.  Ron embarked on his evening walk and talk with friend Ed earlier this evening after the 2:30 bedtime last night.

27 Jan:  Another day just like any other day or better (we hope). Fitness training with Erin, plus a long walk despite Cynthia's hurty foot.  At 4:00 we drove over to see Dr. Stark for new hearing aid called EARLENS.  The fitting was not painful, but it is a bit unpleasant to have your entire ear canal filled with goo to get an impression of the ear drum.  Pulling out the plug required making lots of faces with mouth open wide.  Too bad Ron didn't videotape the expressions.  Cynthia's Earlens will arrive in two weeks, and we will discover what it takes to install them.  Ron has progressed to violently difficult sudokus in his book and will go for his long evening walk as soon as the pill alarm sounds.  Well that was the plan, but he is getting to bed at 12:18.  Goodnight.

26 Jan:  Dr Wendy was as pleasant as always, but treatment failed miserably.  She needled Cynthia's back, but as soon as we walked out the door her foot was excruciating.  We drove to Jason’s Deli for lunch (and Ron stuffed himself with salad and potato).  Cynthia's foot remained too painful to walk at all, but at least we slept well.  

25 Jan:  Today's torturess was Erin, but she took it easy on us because of Cynthia's various pains.  Then we walked gently to the lake, and Ron clipped overhanging trees along our route (trail maintenance dontcha know).  Cynthia is so pleased with her weight and her foot is not hurting.  (3 lbs. down 2 lbs to go!)  Ron is perpetually pleased.  We walked 7 miles today!  Ron walked another 4 miles after dark as usual.

“What day is it,” asked Pooh.
“It’s today,” squeaked Piglet.
“Oh! that’s my favorite day,” squealed Pooh! 

24 Jan:  We enjoyed our sleep again although Ron didn't arrive to bed until midnight (so he immediately got points for first "I love you" of the day).   After exercising and oatmealing, we drove off is keep our appointment with "Dr." Wendy to turn Cynthia into a pin cushion.  We shopped at Wally World on the way home bought replacement flowers for the old, tired bouquets.  Today the relief from foot pain has lasted all day, perhaps because it was a drizzly day, suitable for staying indoors instead of walking excessively.

We were inside looking out

23 Jan, Sunday:  Off to worship at 9:30, then stuffed ourselves on egg-white veggie omelets, fruit and veggies at the Yacht Club.  It is a lovely, pleasant day, and the dining view is a delightful blue!  This afternoon we walked to the point of the breakwater for the marina because that is on grass and dirt, so hurts Cynthia's foot far less than pavement and concrete.  Our walk totaled 2.5 miles  

22 Jan:  Well, we missed a day of blogging, not that anything exciting happened!  We walked to the Cafe on the Green for a salmon  and salad, totaling six miles.  Then we hunkered down to our Macs and James Lea.  Cynthia watched a movie, "Is Heaven Real?"  This is her third movie in fifteen years! 

21 Jan: This was another one of those slow-moving mornings.  We were en route to see Dr. Wendy by 12:22, arriving six minutes early.  She worked on the lower back, with a needle in the knee,  causing Cynthia to levitate off the table and up to the ceiling.  The arthritis foot pain relieved once again.  Cynthia asked (Chinese) Dr Wendy if she was trained in a Chinese torture camp; she thought this hilarious. Ron walked five miles tonight, plus our 2.5 this afternoon, all the while trying to figure out The George Leas of Caswell County   Cynthia read the book, The Letter, by Ed Munson, an author and friend of her sister, Merrilee, who is one of the characters in the story.  

Ron 20 Jan:  Freezing temperatures are arriving in Texas; a warning came to winterize the condo by leaving the lower cabinet doors open.  Fortunately, we are on the second floor with heat below us and above us.  In Iowa, winterizing started in September by wrapping pipes, having extra bottles of water, and a generator for the basement.  After exercise and oatmealing, we ventured forth in 37-degree temperature (real feel 27) to fitness training; Cynthia was happy she wore her heated jacket.  We continued our walk to the lake after class; it was really cold and windy.  Later, we ran errands to the pharmacy and found Masa Harina at Kroger's.  Ron walked to the lake tonight and got home comfortable and almost dry (although Cynthia says he is cold).  A hard freeze is expected by morning.  The color radar indicated icy rain nearby.  Ron walked ten miles today, Cynthia 5.

19 Jan:  We sauntered through the morning and sprinted out the door at noon-twenty, having reached our peak momentum for the day; an hour and twenty-five minutes later, we arrived at the ophthalmologist in Brenham, TX, with eight minutes to spare.  Cynthia wants more information on how macular degeneration causes decreased vision, particularly, why prescription eyeglasses cannot help.  She is puzzled that the retina specialist says her vision is stable, yet her vision has worsened.  Are there experimental meds available?  Meanwhile, driving in Texas, with a temperature of 77 degrees, we avoided the icy roads, blinding snow, and blizzards afflicting in other parts of the country.  We did see thunderstorms in the afternoon.  In tropical Texas, it is the rainy, slow season. 

18 Jan:  Another wonderful day to arise and shine, but then we walked to visit our favorite torturess, Erin, Cynthia's personal trainer.  Now we are returned, and Ron is actually working on James Lea again.  Those healthy cookies that Cynthia made on the 14th are gone already.  Imagine that!!  I wonder who ate all of the healthy cookies!  Hmmm!   Cynthia certainly looks very healthy! Hmmm!  We walked 5 miles this AM, fitness training for an hour, and tonight walked 2.5 miles to make 7.5 total.  The foot is apparently improved!  

17 Jan:  We exercised, oatmealed, dressed, and drove to see Dr. Wendy for another needling.  The needles were again placed in painful spots, but there was little relief today.  Then to Jason’s Deli for lunch and afterwards to the ortho Dr. Margolis, a foot specialist who declared Cynthia's foot pain to be emanating from her back, especially since she was experiencing stabbing pains in her foot without any obvious provocation other than sitting up.  Is this good news?  Ron took a shower and washed his clothes this evening, and it is now time for bed.

Grandpa Jon with Blaire at story time

16 Jan, Sunday:  We departed for Worship at 9:30 AM followed by brunch with Jon, Tina, Jayne and Gary.  And we thank God countless times for our amazing love, every day. Cynthia wrote: "Ron has a delightful sense of humor; he is  witty, supportive and loving in every way!"  Ron responds, “Aww shucks.”  We walked 5 miles.  Cynthia's foot was ok until the last block.  Great news of the day, Ron’s Mac is fully updated, everything is working, and James Lea manuscript is next!

15 Jan:  Cynthia had a girl day with her daughters: pedicure, manicure & girlie-acure, while Ron was left unsupervised.  Oh no!  Hooha!  A block from the condo, a big buck ran in front of Cynthia's car, she slowed to look, and three more bucks dashed in front of the car, way too close for comfort!!  Ron has good intentions to walk to the lake soon (and did).  Cynthia's sleep last night was disturbed by pain in both foot and back; we've progressed from bad to worse.  Foot pain has alleviated by dinner time.  After Ron's second solo walk to the lake, the 17” MacBook (with dead dGPU) is entirely operative once again, Word and all!  

14 Jan:  On the way to acupuncture, we stopped to get Ron's new reading glasses.  We can both see much, much better with these prescription glasses (but they don't help to solve sudokus).  We made the mistake of telling Dr. Wendy that Wednesday's acupuncture wasn't effective and that Cynthia's foot prevented restful sleep last night.  Dr. Wendy found at least three places to place needles that caused Cynthia to gasp and clench her fists.  Ron thought she might just levitate right up off the table.  Afterwards, her feet were better all the way to Jason’s Deli and another salad bar overload.  At home again, Cynthia made Annie’s healthy banana-oatmeal cookies.

New baby Charlie

Handsome Ron on new fangled playground toy

13 Jan:  Exercise with Erin is great.  We survived yet again, and we walked five miles, and are now at home, hardly working.  Ron is procrastinating dealing with his Microsoft Office problem for fear of losing access to the account for which we cannot remember a password.  Fortunately he discovered the password by accident when attempting to delete Microsoft Office from the machine.

12 Jan:  Morning exercises, oatmeal, and sudokus were followed by a trip for acupuncture, and a trip to Jasons Deli for a salad & potato lunch.  Unfortunately, Cynthia's foot pain isn't as relieved as on Monday.  By mid-afternoon we were at the audiologist for an appointment to learn about a high tech hearing aid called EARLENS, a lens that fits the ear drum like a contact lens.  Cynthia’s hearing loss in the right ear is too profound for the device, but it will work on the left ear.  We are just learning about EARLENS.com, only available via an ENT.  

11 Jan:  Erin delights in sadistically supervising our fitness training.  We love her enthusiastic, non-sadistic, Irish-Italian smile.  We finished our walk to the lake and drove to Cynthia's doctor appointment at 2:30 to discuss her thyroid medication dosage.  All is well; lab results two days later indicate that her dosage is perfect.  We ate an early supper (omelets) at Magnolia Diner.  Ron’s Mac with crippled dGPU is finally upgraded successfully except that Microsoft Office no longer works. 

10 Jan:  Happy Birthday, Paul!  We stretched, oatmealed, dressed, and drove to see doctor Wendy for acupuncture #2.  It was amazing that she was able to place a single needle into Cynthia's foot that immediately relieved the pain and allowed easy mobility.  We ate too much at Jason’s Deli, stopped at the storage unit and were home again jiggity-jig! 

9 Jan, Sunday:  And we were up, exercised, fed and to church on time (by 10 AM).  After another day of avoidance, Ron finally tried to use Excel and Word on his still recalcitrant Mac and discovered that they don't work after the "upgrade" to High Sierra 10.13.6.  Apparently the upgrade will make re-installing the fixes more difficult now.  His research continues. Julie and her Lamar joined us for brunch at the yacht Club where we had the most delightful time telling stories of when we did dumb things.  

Lauren's baby Charlotte

8 Jan:  Cynthia said, “There ought to be a better way to start the day than having to get up.”  Ron’s Mac refused to get up.  It died, but Ron raised him up again for the third time in three days.  Why deal with such an irascible Mac?  Instead, Ron cleaned the kitchen and vacuumed!  Sudokus were finished!  We walked, we marketed, and now we rest.  Miss Charlotte is finally home.  

7 Jan:  We followed our SOD routine: SOD! Stretch, Oatmeal and Dress.  On this day, we rushed to dress because we had an appointment with Dr. Wendy at eleven for acupuncture.  We rushed back home to eat, and then walked 4.5 miles.  Life is crazy busy.  Cynthia received an update to Ron’s Mac issues.  We ran out of time for a manicure, so that’s on tomorrows agenda.  Lauren and new baby will be discharged tomorrow night. 

6 Jan:  Stretched and oatmealed, we trekked to the fitness center for an hour’s workout, followed by a walk to the lake and then home.  Ron took a shovel to the empty lot we cross to the trail and repaired a monster hole that is dangerous to cross in the dark at night.  Cynthia turned in an order for prescription glasses, using a pair of her own sunglasses she likes.  Ron was hugely surprised when his Mac finally booted up. 

5 Jan:  We have a 9:30 AM appointment with Sasha for haircuts and then with Dr. Dougherty, Ron's electrophysiologist, at 1:00.  We stopped at Jasons Deli, for lunch of baked potato and salad bar.  All is weller than well, gooder than good  

4 Jan:  Good news from a Columbia University study saying the Omicron pandemic will peak on January 9th; we will be back to normal in two months.  Our next two months are crazy busy, so that’s good news.  Fitness training at ten AM, followed by a walk to the lake, then to the ENT to check ears, then the Vision Source to look at glasses.  Ron ordered new glasses; Cynthia is waiting until Thursday-when she brings her own glasses to have the new RX lenses.  And great news: Lauren and Tyler’s baby girl, Charlotte Reese, arrived this morning, 5 lbs and 10 ozs.  She looks like Jon did as a baby.  

3 Jan:  Cynthia would wear that heated gear if we were on the motorcycle with a battery to plug it into, but it’s a little too cold to do that.  She brought a jacket that heats with a charged battery in the pocket.  We will leave the hotel at 7:55 AM to our annual checkups,  it is 34 degrees with a real feel of  25   Wish us luck   Brrrrrrr.  Awesome even, we aced our annual checkups, and we didn’t freeze.  Cynthia dug into a bowl of hot oatmeal as soon as we returned to the hotel.  The return drive, navigating Houston’s busiest freeways, was successful.   After a late lunch at Jasons Deli, errands completed, we are ready for a walk.  The orange and coral sunset spilled onto an iridescent blue lake for a breathtaking view.  6.3 miles total today!  Ron finally bit the bullet today and installed the updates to his operating system with hopes that Safari would also be updated and be able to again access his Google Drive.  His distrust of updates was vindicated when the system refused to boot despite many, many, many iterations of the boot sequence.

2 Jan, Sunday:  Already?  Time is racing by.  After worship and brunch, Cynthia drove us to the medical center to overnight for early Monday AM annual checkups, despite saying she wasn’t going to drive on the freeways again.  But, the temperature is 31 degrees with a real feel of 24.  That is too cold for the motorcycle.  While driving, Cynthia is experiencing hesitation and lack of confidence; we survived and stayed warm.  Our appointments are at 8:15, a twenty-five minute walk at 30 degrees.  Ron walked for two hours tonight, talking to Ed K. in 32 degree, real-feel 24, temperature and announced, “It’s not cold at all.” 

1 Jan:  2022 is off to a roaring start!  WE WOKE UP!  Happy New Year arrived to a blog post near you.  Cynthia is in her cleaning mode. This morning we walked to the lake but our normal restroom stop was not available because the fitness center is closed.  We were able to use restrooms near the tennis courts instead, for the very first time.  It was beastly hot and humid at 83 degrees.  And tomorrow the high is forecast to be 42 degrees.  The cleaning was mostly completed when we did our second walk to the point at the marina, chalking up 8.5 miles total.