31 Jan: We won. We lived out the first month of 2016. Eleven more to go. A typical Sunday was spent with Church, Brunch with Jon at the Yacht Club and platting maps. Life is exciting. Ron almost never gets headaches, but he has been plagued by one for three days. Dizziness getting up at night, sore calf muscles and soreness on the sides of his neck. We see Dr McGuire Wednesday. Perhaps side effects of meds.
30 Jan: Hey, lookee: 15 hiking spots in Texas: http://www.onlyinyourstate.com/texas/15-epic-hiking-spots-in-tx/. Another week and Ron might be able to increase his heart rate by walking outside. We have a mystery to resolve. We sleep with the French doors open to the lake and doors to the BR and LR closed. Ron asked Cynthia why she closed the French door. She didn't. But it was closed and locked. Plus we discovered two urine spots on the carpet at the foot of the bed. No doubt a cat or possum or coon entered the room. The urine has a very bad smell. Yes, an animal could have entered. Probably Ron closed and locked the door and forgot. Scary!
29 Jan: Another of our exciting days: up at 7:30 to a cool but VERY sunny day; drive to the gym for Cynthia to attend crossFit (she does chiropractor exercises when the class becomes too demanding); drive to Magnolia Diner for egg white veggie omelets (Cynthia had cheddar on hers this morning, but the cooks do NOT understand what "a little" means); drive to ENT (Cynthia's ears are now uninfected - does that mean no more evening drops??); SMOOTHIE KING (highlight of the day); WallyWorld for cokes; pharmacy to exchange pills (our prescription is for 90 days, why did they only give us a 30-day supply despite our repeatedly specifying 90-DAYS ??); and home again, home again, jiggity jig. So where did the day go, and why are we not having fun yet? Ron is still restricted to NO EXERCISE - i.e. nothing to raise his heart rate - so that his sore mouth can heal. Angelic Cynthia made potato salad for her poor hurt honey and ran it through the blender so that he can eat it. Wonderful! During all that driving Ron sat in the car and worked on James Lea properties using Cynthia's MacBook. All those photos of deed books, etc. have certainly proved useful.
28 Jan: 26 De-de-de-gre-gre-degrees! Ron waited in the heated car working on James Lea while Cynthia attended her 8 AM personal trainer session (in an unheated gym); she won round one for showing up; then we boogied to the orthodontist in the Woodlands, stopping by the Toasted Yolk for egg white veggie omelets; Ron was careful to dice the fruit into small chunks, but his mouth started bleeding again; Fooey. At least Cynthia gets a little peace and quiet when Ron's mouth is entirely filled by a tea bag. Is there a cure for cabin fever when exercise in any way that would increase heart rate is verboten? At least Cynthia is excited over Caswell County land plats that Ron is creating using platplotter (yet another Google freebie). Turns out that the discovery about 1990 of antioxidants and free radicals that spawned a giant supplemental industry may be exacerbating certain diseases instead. Well, how about reading 1990 was a quarter century ago? That is enough to raise your heart rate. Early to bed again this evening.
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| Mee WeeFee the champ !! |
27 Jan: It is a long drive to the periodontist's for a follow up to Ron's gum grafting and ridge augmentation surgery. The long day began at 5:00 AM when Ron's palate "bandage" became stuck to his dry tongue and pulled loose. A tea bag stopped the bleeding. Cynthia told the nurse she was checking Mr. Beatty in for his dental appointment - please phone her when he is healed completely and she will return to claim him. The periodontist applied a new palate bandage and said the mouth is healing. We return next Wed. for another follow up visit. Taking 149>249>Beltway 8 is a smooth journey without a lot of traffic. The chiropractor visit was followed by a trip to Smoothie King.
26 Jan: Fast forward to another beautiful sunny, but cool, day in Montgomery, Texas; the lake is shining like a sea of diamonds. Following workout at CrossFit and breakfast, we imploded under our computers for the day and evening. Gurgle gurgle!
25 Jan: Whoa! Where did this month go??? All too soon we are down to 11 months remaining in 2016. Scary, isn't it? Cynthia makes certain medical appointments are posted on the blog to keep records for the IRS: she saw the chiropractor today after CrossFit and she is getting fitter. It was psychologically unsettling. Now all is well. We sat on the deck watching the duckies in the warmth of the sun.
24 Jan, Sunday: At 5 AM this morning Ron awakened to discover that his face was lying in a puddle of warm blood on the pillow. This is not one of the recommended ways to wake up; quite disconcerting actually, even for the normally stoic Ron. So, being ever the techie, he quietly took the pillow to the bathroom to wash off the blood, but soon realized that he was swallowing blood frequently and suddenly felt strongly the familiar faintness that in the past has preceded passing out, so he braced himself on the counter and remained conscious. Again quietly so as to not awaken Cynthia, he walked to the kitchen and boiled a bit of water to wet a tea bag. Since the bleeding seemed stopped, Ron got back into bed with a second tea bag close to hand; good thing too because in a minute he felt a drop of blood fall from the roof of his mouth. The second tea bag stopped the bleeding, but Ron kept the bag in his mouth until we arrived at church. We did make it to the church on time, drove all the way back to Sunday brunch at the Yacht Club (egg white omelets & soft fruit for Ron - but then, that is the usual), then zoomed back to church for a new members pizza luncheon we knew we couldn't eat. Bummer: the realtor who showed the house a second time yesterday to the same clients said that our house was the client's second choice. (Close only counts in hand grenades and horse shoes.) Oh, well.
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| Mee WeeFee, da artist, self portrait w/ family |
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| Nice moon after dark tonight |
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| Same moon before dark. |
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| Maria at work, preparing Ron for EKG (90/42 pulse 39) |
21 Jan: Quiet day! Cynthia did CrossFit (while Ron worked on James Lea/computer in the car) later followed by chiropractor treatment. Ron is her hero for successfully platting Lea properties in North Carolina ca.1760's.
20 Jan: An easy five minute drive from the hotel allowed for an early arrival at the Periodontist. Ron was immediately whisked off for oral surgery that required no sedation, only novacaine; the surgery lasted an hour and a half. The doctor praised him for being a good patient. He certainly deserved a Smoothie King on the way home. When we arrived at the house Ron was delighted to discover a large envelope of Sudokus from Oke (Vermont). WooHoo! Thank you, Oke. Eating dinner was a challenge: Ron was unable to eat salmon or a baked potato, smoothies will be the diet for a few days. We are thinking of friends tonight: Beanie needs prayer as she recuperates from a new kidney transplant; John is facing hip replacement in February and Linda is having a knee replacement in May. We look forward to seeing them frisky by summer. Good Night!
19 Jan: Early morning fitness classes were good, Ron did a lot of rowing. Cynthia's cardio was boxing, kettle ball and bicycle rounds, plus, she enjoyed a good massage after lunch. Ron is prepped for periodontal surgery (taking meds). Busy Buzzy day. The drive to the Hilton Westchase Hotel (close to the surgery location for early morning surgery) was mostly pleasant without a lot of heavy traffic. The sunset was glorious from the tenth floor! Why do some hotels block the Verizon signal so guests are forced to use the hotel's unsecured Wi-FI? It is a silly nuisance to log in every time we need the Internet. The hotel did upgrade us to a suite so we could use the Penthouse lounge appetizers. We dined at Rio Ranch on red snapper and returned to the lounge for fruit dessert and Cynthia's favorite carrot cake. Ron racked up Fitbit steps tonight!
18 Jan: Appointments all day, we are burning rubber on the highways and by-ways. Thankfully (Cynthia's son) Jon watches the house while we are away. Jon (realtor) is rightfully pleased because his photo of the sunrise from our patio was put on the cover of the Walden News. Granddaughter Corrie and family arrived home from China three days ago; she is expecting another baby in July. Three days of eating homemade bread and the scales go up two pounds, time to go walking. Words to live by:
17 Jan: Today is different. We slept late, didn't exercise and Cynthia ate carbs at the Yacht Club. We enjoyed having friends Bill and Merry S, our neighbors James, Stella with Baby Zori, and son Jon, dining with us having some great conversations. Ron successfully learned how to use the map platting software to determine where James Lea of Kilgore's Branch lived. Facing the busy week ahead, wondering, "how do we catch up from being behind and getting behinder?" Our week ahead is filled with appointments; we would much rather be traveling.
16 Jan: Hello to another day of doing what we did yesterday except for medical appointments. One of us is being smug because the house was clean when a realtor called for a viewing with an hour's notice. We managed to clear away our projects immediately, and we drove to the parking lot of the fitness center to do computer stuff in the car until we got the "all clear" that the prospective buyers had departed. Back home, the house is smelling very good; Cynthia baked bread and various sugar-free and fat-free foods for dinner. Ron is getting his Fitbit steps every night.
15 Jan: CrossFit followed by food and relief at the chiropractors office: the doctor treated Cynthia's L-4 and 5 with ten minutes of laser and gave her a diagnosis of spinal stenosis. The laser treatment gave immediate relief. More laser treatments follow next week; she will see a spine specialist in a week for cortisone injections. With beautiful sunny blue skies and a temperature of 66 degrees, the motorcycle almost drove itself out of the garage to take us for an hour ride around the lake; we enjoyed dinner outdoors at the Caddy Shack. Ron's script for Vol. 7 marriage indexing worked - scooting thousands of names in order with a click.
14 Jan: Exercise, breakfast, followed by housekeepers and indexing while watching the waterfowl out the window. Too bad Blogsy won't allow posting videos. Here is a photo of the birds.
13 Jan: 8:30 at Cap-elite for CrossFit (although we only dabble at the exercises the class does - far too challenging for the likes of us). Today was a sort of a repeat of yesterday with exception of driving half-way across Houston to the gum surgeon; pre-op for gum grafts next week. "Gum" will be grafted on the upper anterior, "ridge augmentation" (to plug the hole in Ron's smile above his bridge), and on the lower canine anterior. The drive to SW Houston was a breeze both ways. Very light traffic. Our reward was a stop at Smoothie King. (Cynthia has discovered, to her dismay, that low-carb smoothies do NOT exist; without fruit the smoothie becomes more like an "ice." We enjoyed a nice, brief walk tonight. Cynthia's feet and back are getting better quickly thanks to the chiropractor and focused exercises. Did I say we are tired? Ron's heart finally recorded a "Normal" EKG on Cynthia's cell phone app. Cynthia celebrated. Ron was frustrated that he had to spend the evening hiding recycling and papers and everything else from the Tasmanian Devil cleaning crew that Cynthia has hired to torment him tomorrow. Imagine anyone getting excited over clean sheets and a clean house?
Sunset view as we walked...
12 Jan: ICE on the windshield !! We are unaccustomed to such wintertime hardships. Ugh! Cynthia's personal training sessions begin today. We like to spend our mornings casually rather than forced into premature activity by an odious schedule. Unfortunately, the only time slot available for much-needed therapeutical exercise is 8AM. The CrossFit is so challenging for her horseback injury the trainer will spend an extra thirty minutes pre-CrossFit doing resistance conditioning and training. Ron brings along Cynthia's MacBook to work on James Lea while Cynthia drives. Our schedules are becoming far too tight: personal trainer twice a week, CrossFit six mornings a week, Magnolia Diner six times a week, chiropractor three times a week, and tomorrow is Ron's Pre-Op for gum grafting surgery next week. His indexing on Vol. 7 continues.
11 Jan: Our eventful day begins early with CrossFit - breakfast at the Magnolia Diner - Chiropractor and then the dermatologist to treat a precancerous spot on Cynthia's nose - returning home just in time to stop at Smoothie King. Ron racked up 16,000 steps while enjoying phone calls with Joe H. in Edwardsville, IL and Bill S. in Waller,TX. This morning Ron's trip to the bathroom scales was rewarded by the long-sought-after weight of 174 lbs and later his heart rate hit a normal 50. It was most encouraging not to have dizzy spells now that Metropolol is no longer taken. Checking Google to see if Wee-fee is Ron's coinage - no. Wee-fee is French for wi-fi and had lots of hits. That's OK, because the one and only Wee-Fee is Ron's beloved.
10 Jan: The temperature dropped to a very chilly 36 degrees. We bundled up for church. Son Jon, Granddaughter Lauren and her friend Tyler, had brunch with us at the Yacht Club. Ron's teeth are shining brightly in the photo. Our home made Smoothies were delicious using frozen strawberries, protein powder and ice cubes. The same activities consume our days except Ron gets to walk while Cynthia sits.
9 Jan: The temperature is 51 degrees on this partly sunny Montgomery, Texas day where the Smooch family enjoyed quiet indoor activities like serious eating, indexing, stretching and very serious FUN. We are easily entertained with the silliest activities. Ron reached 20,000 steps while Cynthia sat healing her feet working on YDNA projects.
8 Jan: God was willing, we did survive FASTING for lab work after our 8:00 appointments with Dr. Gould. Ron didn't need to fast after all. Ron's EKG affirmed the heart is still in normal sinus rhythm since the cardioversion in Philadelphia. Weight was up two pounds from a year ago; but the heart rate is too low. The doctor stopped Niacin and Metorpolol to bring the blood pressure and heart rate back to normal. We giggled and gaggled over pigging out on King Size Smoothies before returning to the lake house.
7 Jan: God was willing, we did enjoy another hearty breakfast before heading to the medical center at 10:30 AM, stopping en route at Sasha's for Cynthia's haircut. Cynthia is driving, Ron is indexing, and we do have fun!
6 Jan: God was willing, Dr. Anderson DID force Ron to keep his mouth wide open for four hours replacing a bridge and capping nearly ALL of his upper teeth. I tell you one thing, Ron DID enjoy a hearty breakfast first and Smoothie King afterwards. Cynthia opted to work on her Mac in the dentist's waiting room while Ron was otherwise occupied. The dentist restored the upper anterior teeth with temporary caps removing the bridge bro Dean fitted so many years ago after Ron broke his two front teeth ice skating. Another dental specialist, Dr. McGuire, will do gum grafting where needed; when the gums are healed Dr Anderson will restore the anterior bottom teeth with temporary caps. When everything is fully adjusted permanent, porcelain caps will be the final step, restoring Ron's teeth to last a century. Dr. Anderson is one of Houston's top dentists. And here we are home again this evening, Foodified, and back at work on our computers. Sistah Carol responded with hilarious mirth to this photo of Ron with updated smile. Cynthis says the Beatty wit is incomparable.
5 Jan: Montgomery, Texas on Lake Conroe. 37 degrees with no heat in our CrossFit class this AM. Cynthia had a chiropractic treatment after breakfast. The summary analysis is osteoporosis in the feet and areas of the spine, a slightly out of alignment sacroiliac under the periformis muscle causing sciatica. She will have therapy while we are in our winter Howdyland. Oh, goody! We knew that today would bring more recycling, more indexing, more exercising, more eating, and definitely something fun.
4 Jan: My goodness we are sluggish, maybe because the days are racing by like a bullet train? Our CrossFit classroom was COLD this morning - only 45 degrees and sunny here in Montgomery, Texas today. Ron recycled a bit in preparation for the trip to the dentist (near the recycling center) on Wednesday. After lunch and Cynthia's computer teleconference, Ron worked on the index for Vol. 7 until 4 pm. Now it is time to check with the beloved WeeFee relative to dinner, etc. Cynthia continues to marvel at how tiny she looks in a photo of her standing between grandson Brett & Ron.
CANCER – The Beauty (June 21 to July 22 - Dis would be da WeeFee)
MOST AMAZING KISSER. Very high appeal. A Cancer’s love is one of a kind… Very romantic. Most caring person you will ever meet in your life. Entirely creative person, most are artists and insane, respectfully speaking. Extremely random. An ultimate freak. Extremely funny and is usually the life of the party. Most Cancers will take you under their wing and into their hearts where you will remain forever. Cancers make love with a passion beyond compare. Spontaneous. Not a fighter, but will kick your ass good if it comes down to it. Someone you should hold on to! (Ron, "Duh: Yah fur Sure You Betcha."
TAURUS – The Tramp (April 20 to May 20)
Aggressive. Loves being in long relationships. Likes to give a good fight. Fight for what they want. Can be annoying at times, but for the love of attention. Extremely outgoing. Loves to help people in times of need. Good kisser. Good personality. Stubborn. A caring person. They can be self-centered and if they want something they will do anything to get it. They love to sleep and can procrastinate. One of a kind. Not one to mess with. Are the most attractive people on earth! (Woo Hoo RSB, you are indeed an awesome kisser! This is most certainly true)
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| Fleurs for the beloved Wee-Fee |
1 Jan: We hope 2016 will be a wonderful time for you and bring you the best of health, happiness and FUN! We awoke after 12 hours of sleep, then made our way to the Magnolia Diner for breakfast, and now we are at home where one member of our family is recycling. The perpetual cleaning machine has moved at lightning speed through part of the house providing lots more recycling. The Hawkeyes lost today, but how wonderful they got to play. This is the fourth time they have played the Rose Bowl, winning in 1959. The Iowa Marching Band had 782 members in the morning parade. Go Hawks.
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