27 Feb: Yup, we are almost out of February. Sistah Carol sent a wonderful photo of uncle Lawrence, Carol and Ron taken in St. Louis, Mo in January. Lawrence contracted very painful shingles the very next day despite having had a shingles shot. Ron finished the Caulk package, fixed nephew Eric’s coin website (again), and did trail maintenance to drain standing water from the sidewalks we frequent hereabouts. Cynthia drove to the pharmacy and met Hiker Ron at the Golf club for our typical steamed vegetable, salad and baked potato dinner. This evening Ron threw lentils into the Instant Pot.
 |
| Sistah Carol is the short one |
26 Feb: and the end of another month approaches. The day was lovely, cool but sunny. The trees are putting forth; pear trees are blossoming and the redbuds are budding. The abundant recent rainfall and more recent sunshine have borne fruit. After going through the 2012 tax records searching for the actual cost of Ron’s (never used) MacBook Air we found the receipt in gmail - $1800. We are trading it in for $300 the 2018 MacBookPro 13” for Cynthia to use because it is so very light. Since Ron uses the 17” MacBook Pro so much for creating PDFs for the Swedish Colonial Society using Adobe Acrobat Pro software, Cynthia has wanted a computer of her own again so that she doesn't have to hippie toe around the hundreds of windows that Ron insists on leaving open. (His memory has grown so short that he doesn't remember where he was without a screen open to remind him.) A second breakfast at the Toasted Yolk filled us up nicely before the doctor appointment for Cynthia’s tendinitis. All of the pain is gone; no need to return. We shopped at Wally World and walked to the fitness center for workout. Now, we are filled with salads, and Ron is cooking black beans in the Instant Pot. Good night.
25 Feb, Sunday: The rains they came, torrential rains, gully washers, creating road hazards because the runoff wasn’t draining effectively. But we did make it to the church on time. Worship was moving, peaceful, uplifting, with comedic moments when the children looked up astonished by loud, clapping thunder during the children’s message. Best part is that Cynthia can now hear the sermons; she turns her new hearing aids up and up and up ... and she hears !! The rain increased in intensity as we our destination. Brunch with Jon, Rachel and Ryan was so much fun. We drove to the fitness center by 3:30 to work out. Both of us have the munchies today. Ron munched on oatmeal, popcorn and fruit; Cynthia had oatmeal and fruit. Cynthia was in a thinking mood... what can be done about dysfunctional families and rootless, angry kids? How do we find the root causes? Angry, emotional talking heads on the treadmill TV, promoted reflection: TV is intended to create emotional reactions in the viewers. TV and internet changes the brain. Why invite anger and violence into a child’s formative mind? Turn off the TV, video games, violence in movies; put away cell phones and electronics, instead, talk to/ with children. Teach children kindness and respect for all things living, to be stewards of Gods creation. Teach children that God loves them beyond their wildest imagination. Amen
 |
| Ron's idea of a good time and good company |
23 Feb: Ron’s weight is 174.2. Good job! Our poor Miss Smoochie Frog with one eye missing, was confiscated by sistah Carol in exchange for a brand new identical frog named Miss Smoochie with two perfect eyes. Carol, who has a PhD in biology, wrote her dissertation on Frogs. She thought our Miss Smoochie should be retired since she has traveled the world: Italy, all of the UK, Paris, Northern Europe and the entire US of A. Maybe so, she looked very tired. Ron has several more Family group sheet packages almost ready to be posted for sale on the SCS website.
21 Feb: 7 days to March! 7 marching days to get the taxes prepared for the CPA. Cynthia has lodging ready for Sedona April 15th to May 15th, and Santa Fe May 17th to 31st. We are excited to see our friends again. Ron is working on the James Lea Book, plus doing Trail maintenance on the jogging path that floods with rain. We are also working on our exercise program: 6 miles walking, plus 45 minutes in the fitness center with weights and the elliptical machine makes us happy
20 Feb: New technology is amazing. Cynthia’s new hearing aids connect to Bluetooth and controlled with iPhone X. We picked up the now charger from the audiologist this morning; it charges the hearing aidsso we never have to buy batteries. Yes, it is amazing. Ron shopped for a heavy duty toenail file at the tool store. Cynthis thought a large heavy duty tool box was warranted for the large file. Jason’s Deli was a great treat for lunch. We walked early afternoon to beat the rain. It was also amazing to see the temperature reach 76 degrees, yet, it was still a chilly, dark, and gray day.
19 Feb: 8:00 was WAY too early to leave the house, especially since we overslept until 7:20. Cynthia had a 9:00 AM appointment with Bambi before we met daughter Julie for a huge salad at Salata. We shopped for groceries at Kroger’s and walked to the fitness Center for a workout. The National Genealogical Society publications have great articles.to read.
18 Feb, Sunday: And we need to leave by 9:15 to stop for gas en route to church. Worship was delightful with children participating in the service, too. Jon joined us for brunch; we did a good long walk followed by a visit from Rachel and Ryan.
17 Feb: 54 degrees at noon thirty! This might be one of Texas coldest winters. We should be having comfortably warm weather by mid-February. The condo is clean! The housecleaning is done! We walked to the fitness center for Cynthia's session with Brenda, her personal trainer, then we walked to the "Caddy Shack" for a late lunch before heading home again, home again. Ron completed the last package pending and updated his nephew's coins page. Maybe tomorrow he can work on Harry Bernard King and James Lea.
16 Feb: This morning Cynthia suffered a brief morning meltdown about her macular degeneration, but she soon recovered and is back to being Pollyanna. We ran errands, taking Cynthia’s albs (garments that pastors wear) to Pastor Diane who accidentally washed her own alb with a ballpoint pen in the pocket. (Blue stains everywhere.) Ron pointed out a tiny coffee stain on Cynthia’s alb and told Diane, "If the coffee stain doesn’t come out, she could dye it ballpoint blue". Ron’s new convertible (to shorts) khaki pants are back from alterations with 22" zippers in the pants legs so that the convertible pants can be converted to shorts conveniently (i.e. without removing muddy hiking boots). Cynthia has good ideas. (She has been known to hurt her shoulder while patting herself on the back.) Ron bought more roses and a wonderful floor lamp to give his beloved WeeFee the additional light she needs to read without fretting about macular degeneration. Ron has good ideas. We walked to the Caddy Shack for dinner and on to the lake totaling a whopping 16,000 steps. Ron and Cynthia have good ideas!
15 Feb: We are off to Brenham, TX for retina testing followed by personal trainer. The test showed Cynthia does not have wet macular degeneration, but dry. Neither one is good. We had lunch at Magnolia Diner and worked out at the Fitness Center. Our granddaughter Lauren is published: https://www.theconativegroup.com/single-post/2018/01/30/After-The-Valentine-Healthy-Habits-for-Couples. Cynthia scared herself by reading about the progression of macular degeneration. Sometimes this reading stuff isn't recommended for the faint of heart.
14 Feb: Is Valentine's Day. I love you, mee WeeFee. Isn’t Love grand? Ron had a dental appointment at 9:00 in the Woodlands. (His only filling needed to be refilled.) Afterwards we lunched at the nearby Jason’s Deli and drove to the Apple Store where we learned that they only sell standard issue, minimally-configured computers and do not take laptop trade-ins. Since we want a bigger hard drive and memory, it has to be customized and purchased online.
Lenten Lessons for Life
by the Rev. Dr. Cynthia Forde
Tonight, Ash Wednesday, I receive the mark of the cross on my forehead to remind me I am dust and to dust I shall return. Do I really need another reminder that dusty state is approaching faster than a bullet train? The mirror already tells me this is so. Frustration and stress with hearing aids echoes the news. The opthalmologist confirms unwelcome news of age related wet macular degeneration. The sip of wine and morsel of bread tell me that inside I grow newer inch by painful inch while outside I grow old pretty darn quick. How do I live out aging? I fight with all of my strength against those things I can do something about. And I surrender to diminshment, I acquiesce, knowing Christ must increase as I decrease. I let it be done. Amen
Ron's Lenten message is much simpler: Thank God for whatever still works. Amen.
 |
| Ron bought a firewire cable to enjoy TV as computer screen |
12 Feb: Ron weighs 175.6. Six ounces to go ... so nibbling consists of a bowl of chopped celery instead of fat/sugar/sodium free/ pretzels. Even though the weather is cold, we walked 6 miles and worked out at the fitness center; Cynthia hired Brenda, a personal trainer, for the next two months. We enjoyed lunch AND dinner at Magnolia Diner. The deer population in Montgomery is huge; nine in this picture; on our daily walks, we've seen two herds of 16 to 20 within five minutes.
11 Feb, Sunday: This morning Ron weighed 176.2 (still too heavy). Cynthia's weight is right on the money, honey! Worship at Grace was especially delightful when the little children, including precious identical twins, used musical rhythm instruments during the recessional hymn. Global freezing blasted us walking to and fro church, and fro and to brunch at the yacht club. Having eaten our fill and more, Ron napped at home before he walked to the fitness center. (Cynthia has no tolerance for cold; she drove.) We drove home together and quickly cleaned up to attend an open house at the pastors new home. Zzzzzzzzz -->
10 Feb: Another day, another dollar. Does that saying imply a dollar earned or a dollar spent or all of the above? We arose, stretched, ate oatmeal, and Ron weighed 176.6 pounds. Since he is not allowed to go above 175, he will have to wait until hungry to eat today and to stop when no longer hungry. Stay tuned for the results tomorrow morning. Today was the day to update the blog; I think Ron has finished updating back to February 1 now.
9 Feb: We enjoyed an active day, walking first, then Cynthia spent time organizing things at the storage locker, then we grocery shopped at Wally World (Ron bought roses & Cynthia declared them a Valentine's present), the SuperFeet arrived, then we drove to Perry's Steakhouse for dinner with Roxanne and Julie. A fun time was had by all, and Ron adhered to his diet by eating only a salad and part of Cynthia's baked potato and salmon. (Cynthia was also dietarily perfect.) Ron remembered to Google Jack Lalanne (click here) and was amazed to see that his TV show ran from 1953 until 1985, i.e. overlapping Maggie's exercise class at MIT. What an inspirational guy - he enjoyed a life of good health and fitness until age 96. His wife Elaine is still going strong at 92.
8 Feb: Happy birthday daughter Roxanne! After breakfast we (Cynthia) will organize the storage unit and work on fitness! Nope, breakfast was instead followed by a long day of computer work before we sallied forth in the afternoon to retrieve a package from the post office containing Ron’s Superfeet (delivered yesterday to the condo mailbox; we don’t have a key). The issue is resolved, we think, with USPS bringing the package to us ... Sometime. We walked to the fitness center and back and saw two herds of 15 or more deer along the trail. We had a good day apart from the postal delivery fiasco.
7 Feb: Global Freezing has returned to Texas with an arctic freeze forecast for the weekend. We signed papers to extend the rental car for another month, and we dropped off Ron’s new cargo pants for alterations to add 22” zippers to the bottom sides of both legs. The cold, wet weather prohibited walking outside so we boogied to the fitness center for an hour workout followed by lunch at the caddy shack. Cynthia’s plan to spend the afternoon with granddaughters changed because of heavy rain. Ron zonked out for a long winters nap (three hours).
6 Feb: This was a very foggy day — rain and colder temperatures are approaching. Ron searched eBay for Toshiba parts, cables and flash drives. Per his suggestion, Cynthia purchased these for his Valentines Day and Christmas gifts for the next thirty years. After the purchasing adrenaline rush subsided, we walked to the golf club cafe for a terrific lunch sharing a plain baked potato; Cynthia ate steamed vegetables, and Ron ate an entree-sized salad sans dressing. From the Caddy Shack, we ventured forth on our walk to the fitness center, the lake and back home. Life is grand! Our peace of mind comes from eschewing television, especially news.
5 Feb: Montgomery, Texas, where Cynthia’s blood pressure is optimum. No meds. We don’t know why it was elevated for a couple of weeks. Ron’s new Hoka shoes arrived from Illinois after sister Carol forwarded them on to Texas because the shoes arrived in Illinois after Ron departed towards Texas. The new superfeet insoles will arrive in Texas on Wednesday. And Ron’s new pants arrived last week. The consumer queen is flush with Overwhelming Excitement.
4 Feb, Sunday: We awakened in Weatherford, TX and "breakfasted" at the hotel (lots of oatmeal). We enjoyed a fun day with Eric touring his 5.5 acre “ranch,” complete with house remodeling project curently underway (remodel mandated by his mother, Julie), and his professional project, the new Ft Worth Rodeo Arena (click here). The rodeo arena is being touted as the grandest, most upscale, rodeo arena in the world. Eric is one of 16 supervisors on this huge arena (85,000 cubic yards of concrete) due to open in 22 months. Not a bad job for a kid fresh out of college, but Eric has worked with the family concrete bridge construction business for 9 years before graduation, starting at age 14!! We ate lunch at a nearby Jason’s Deli and returned to our condo exhausted, but before dark.
 |
| Eric & Emily |
2 Feb in Montgomery, Texas: Since Ron is home, Cynthia posted the "Do Not Disturb" sign early, but we are now up, stretched, breakfasted and prepared to go out for a walk. We walked to the Caddy Shack for lunch of salad, steamed veggies and a baked potato. Then we walked to the fitness center and down the gravel path to the lake where a couple of guys were playing football catch with a youngster. Cynthia's FitBit buzzed her at 10,000 steps, and Roxanne called as we arrived home.
1 Feb: Ron departed from his Fortune motel in Newport, Arkansas and rode past Success on his way towards Houston, 500 miles away. It is barely possible to make it home before dark with a ten plus hour ride, home for the winter being the vacation-rental condo on Lake Conroe and a WeeFee who thinks he is outrageously funny and incredibly loving. Cynthia calls Ron a “balcony” person who lifts people up, including the "beige" people others don’t notice. Surprisingly, he learns the names of many wait staff and maintenance people, blessing all with his warm, million-dollar smile. To Smooch, I love you! ❤️
WooHoo! 6:15 and Smooch is home. 510 miles and in need of a rest!
