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| Mom and Jon at the movies, having fun |
29 Nov: (5) Oh My God, the forecast is for a high of 31 degrees in Mount Olive. That is brutal on a motorcycle, so Ron left on Thanksgiving, a day earlier, and arrived in Memphis "warm" and dry. He enjoyed a good night sleep with plans to be on the road at warm-thirty. The big surprise was to find frost on the motorcycle seat the morning after Thanksgiving in Memphis. After another chilly start, the day warmed up quickly to a high of 55 degrees in Little Rock, Texarkana, and Nacodgoches. Thanks be to God, after a long day, he made it to Nacogdoches,TX! That is only 125 miles from Montgomery!
28 Nov: (6) Happy Thanksgiving. Ron thanks God for Cynthia and thanks Cynthia for our wonderful life. He did enjoy "warm" weather (above freezing) all the way to Memphis Tennessee, starting at 32 degrees in Livingston, IL, 37 degrees at the Jefferson Barracks Bridge, 40 to 44 degrees through Missouri and briefly 48 degrees in Marion, Arkansas. While riding through Missouri in 40 degree temperatures, Ron was amazed to see three other motorcyclists heading north on the I-55 on Thanksgiving Day plus another two elsewhere. Cynthia went to her bishop’s home for their Happy Hour and drank Apple Cider. Ouch, it has 24 grams of sugar in it. The roast turkey was the best she has ever eaten. Cynthia and the bishop walked four miles. Cynthia thanks God for Ron and thanks Ron for our wonderful life. Ron arrived about ten miles from Memphis, TN. Yayayay.
27 Nov: (7) After his usual communing with nature and decimating bush honeysuckle, Ron is celebrating Thanksgiving with Carol and Bill on this day and packing to be ready to leave Illinois Thursday morning heading south. Carol's dinner of roast turkey was absolutely delicious with homemade cranberries, fat-free mashed potatoes, peas and homemade persimmon nut bread. Ron ate until full and then we all returned to the jigsaw puzzle. By the time Ron checked the weather, it was raining, so further bush honeysuckle escapades are postponed until next year. Despite his curtailed day, he felt rewarded to cut a couple of large bushes, one of which had red berries. Ron was happy to be able to do his laundry so that no one can tell that he scooted down a couple of hills on his butt.
26 Nov: (8 days until the Smooches reunite) The temperature in Mount Olive, IL at 8:30 AM was a chilly 30 degrees, and in Montgomery, Texas it was 46 degrees. Cynthia ran errands and walked almost four miles at eleven AM. Ron told his sister about the forecast for Friday, and she suggested that we celebrate our Thanksgiving meal a day early so that he can travel on Thanksgiving day in above freezing temperatures. He wonders if he can find gasoline that day. In celebration Ron walked the woods twice and pulled 178 bush honeysuckle, including a couple that were too large and required sawing.
25 Nov: (9) Oatmealed, ready to exercise and hit the trails walking before running errands. Lunch and dinner today was soup. Ron was a bit slow early in the day, but warmed up after noon and managed to pull 213 bush honeysuckle, a new record. He was falling asleep sitting while Carol and Bill played Mahjong but didn't fall sleep in bed until midnight. Indexing continues apace after dark every day. There are less that 1600 "lines" of the book that need indexing attention. Yayayayay!
24 Nov, Sunday: (10) Julie and I enjoyed a lovely visit. Her home is beautifully decorated in every corner, even down to unique toilet paper. Oh My! Cynthia was delighted to visit new baby Hayden Grace, Kiira, Roxanne, and Austin. Roxanne wasn’t excited about the oatmeal and banana cookies sans sugar.
23 Nov: (11) Cynthia is going to daughter Julie’s to overnight after walking to the lake late morning. 5.0 miles. Ron got out into the woods to pull bush honeysuckle three times and wore himself out each time. The hills around here are steep and footing is uncertain. 121 bush honeysuckle.
22 Nov: (12 days until the Smooches reunite) Cynthia and Jon are going to find out about replacing auto seat covers this morning. She has an appointment in Hempstead with the CPA at two PM. She baked three dozen more cookies. 💋 Ron dragged his feet a little bit in order to ride warmer, but it didn't help. It was a cold, 47 degree ride from Carlyle to the Denny's in Edwardsville, where he met Maxine and Doug for a late lunch (of egg white veggie omelets). The rest of the ride to Mt. Olive went quickly and seemed less cold at 44 degrees. Carol had salmon and sweet potatoes for dinner, delicious.
21 Nov: (13) Cynthia walked almost five miles in fabulous 66 degree weather. She baked three dozen cookies for Ron today; additional bananas are ripening to be turned into banana oatmeal cookies. Maybe the frozen mango will need to be eaten fast so there is room for the cookies. Ron ventured out into the cold wind once for a three mile walk along the haunted trail, sheltered somewhat by the forest. He attended to genealogy and indexed a bit.
20 Nov. We are both energetic this AM; exercised, oatmealed, and we were ready to roll onto our trails at 8:20 AM. Cynthia took Ron’s advice to not overdo it after several days of rain and the five mile jaunt yesterday by turning back at the fitness center; mileage total is 3.21 at noon-thirty, no doubt energized by the cool temperature of 62 degrees. She is still doing tax bookwork. Winter temperatures have arrived in Illinois. It was no warmer than 55 degrees with a very strong and cold wind as Ron rode from Carlyle 50 miles to Belleville to see a Junior High School classmate. Bill wasn't home, but Ron was delighted to meet his son Matt, a well groomed, well dressed, good mannered 20-year-old. Next was another brief visit to Cynthia at the Cambridge House, who was leaving for a shopping trip to Dollar Tree with a cousin. And finally Ron caught Dick at his law office at 3:30 and enjoyed listening to Dick's stories about college, cars, military, etc. The return to Carlyle was even chillier in gathering darkness.
19 Nov: Cynthia walked 5.0 miles and had dinner with Jon and friends. Ron walked the dam twice. See the photo of sunlight sparkling like trillions of diamonds on lake.
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| sunleght sparkling like trillions of diamonds |
17 Nov, Sunday: Ron transitioned again to Mariner's Village at Lake Carlyle in order to visit other friends from high school and junior high, starting with a different Cynthia at Cambridge House in Belleville. That visit went very well, and we enjoyed chatting for more than an hour. Ron’s Texas Cynthia sat inside the entire day because of rain. The best part was watching Martin Scorsese new series, The Saints, with episode one about Joan of Arc. That was followed by a great story about George Washington before and leading up to the Revolutionary War. Following that was a documentary about James Armistead Lafayette, a slave who was a spy during the Revolutionary War. She feels very inspired and patriotic.
16 Nov: Saturday in Texas will be lovely with a high forecast of 78 degrees and sunshine. It is a great day to walk to the lake. Ron received cataract aftercare instructions from Bonnie: 1. Do not sleep with pets. 2. Do not wear make up. 3. Do not bend over or lift over 5 lbs. Ron appreciates the good advice. He walked to the mailbox again after dark this evening (a mile each way).
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| Cynthia with newborn Hayden Grace |
15 Nov: Cynthia thoroughly enjoyed seeing new born baby Hayden, her mama Kiira and her grandmother Roxanne. (The hospital was unable to force Roxanne to leave her new grandbaby.) Ron went into the woods twice again today and pulled another 132 bush honeysuckle. That and a trip to town for groceries consumed the day. Carol again cooked a delicious dinner of salmon and sweet potato. Eighteen more days until Ron arrives in Texas. Joy is us!
14 Nov: MEDICAL. Cynthia has a dental appointment. Cynthia and Ron have a 12th great-grandchild, Hayden Grace, just born! Ron again searched in the woods for those lost clippers and pulled another 130 bush honeysuckle.
13 Nov: In Mt. Olive, Illinois, Ron hunted (without success) for his clippers hanging in a tree somewhere in the woods. He did find the last honeysuckle he cut, retraced most of his path and pulled another 51 honeysuckle, so the time was not entirely wasted. And true to forecast rain began after noon for which genealogy projects were waiting. Cynthia bounced out of bed at five AM, exercised and ate a hearty bowl of oatmeal and berries. Taxes, a trip to the pharmacy for a RX, plus attending a funeral are on the ticket for the day. She is to stay out of the sun on her skin for a couple days so will work out at fitness center. Thanks to ‘Lizabeth in South Carolina for the following amusement: Remnants of the old Richmond, Nicholasville, Irvine & Beattyville Railroad (RNI&B) are still visible today, including these bridge piers in the Kentucky River at Valley View, Kentucky. The RNI&B once stretched from Frankfort to Airedale, but much of it was abandoned in the 1930s. The bridge over the river was dismantled in 1942, though the piers were left in place to serve as supports for the nearby Valley View Ferry. More photos and history of the RNI&B from our partner site.
12 Nov: MEDICAL Jon is taking Cynthia to her dermatologist appointment. A good day despite waking up at 3:30 AM. She put the brace back on her right hand after too much work on the IPad keyboard. Ron pulled 105 bush honeysuckle and left his new clippers somewhere in the woods. He got off to a sluggish start this morning and afternoon before finally feeling more energetic after a couple of rest breaks.
11 Nov: Cynthia is on a sleeping binge. She had a three hour nap yesterday afternoon and went to sleep last night at 9:00, arising this AM at 5:50. She walked almost six miles. Ron also slept well and pulled bush honeysuckle in three bouts, the rest are shaking in their roots! What a fabulous day!
10 Nov, Sunday: Ron, in Illinois, pulled a lot of bush honeysuckle and snipped multiflora rose bushes today, with more of the same planned for tomorrow. Cynthia walked four plus miles.
9 Nov: We both slept wonderfully well last night, and Ron awakened ready to burn leaves, which we did until the rain started at 10 AM. Then we made a trip to town for groceries, and Ron went out to pull bush honeysuckle for an hour in the afternoon. We might have figured out all Eric needs for his web site. Cynthia walked exactly six miles in two trips, plus bookkeeping and writing a meditation.
8 Nov: MEDICAL Cynthia is delighted that she can now hear the GPS clearly and that her iPhone relays the messages to her hearing aids. Jon fixed something; we don’t know what happened, but she enjoyed the drive to MD Anderson for her annual mammogram. This was a very long day at MDA. But, thanks be to God, it is a negative mammogram. After having breast cancer in 2011, going in for a mammogram creates anxiety. Now, praise God, and home to relax following several over-filled days. Ron returned to Carol and Bill’s tree farm, stopping first in Trenton to see Dean, a high school classmate, and then following GPS directions over innumerable one-lane asphalt roads. No wonder county roads have a reputation. Carol and Bill welcomed Ron with a delicious salmon and sweet potato dinner.
7 Nov: Cynthia and Jon tried to install a new Bluetooth dash mounted GPS. The installation was seamless, but it will not work because Bluetooth only sends sound to car speaker blocking sound to hearing aids. The device is the size of a cell phone, too small to see while driving. It is being returned in the AM. Exciting to see and read Wall Street’s reaction to the election. Ron walked the dam twice today and ate a baked potato and steamed veggies at Los Amigos. Between walks, he rode first to Edwardsville to the Credit Union and to his storage locker to pay rent, then to Fairview Heights where he got to see and briefly say an unadorned "hi" to a junior high classmate, Dick, and while riding on U.S. 50 towards Lebanon, the road was closed, leading Ron to an extensive search for an alternative route with his GPS for a guide. Extensive detour, Silver Creek is flooded.
6 Nov: Historic Election! Congratulations to the American People! 2:00 AM in Texas. Ron has had a lazy day, getting up late, breakfast late, a walk on the formerly haunted trail mid-afternoon, and he has quarters for laundry. Maybe laundry is why he dragged his feet today. Cynthia walked almost five miles. Ron did walk the dam once today.
5 Nov: Election day with all the media fanfare and BS. It is raining again this morning here at Lake Carlyle. Sistah Carol reports that her pond is full. Now if only the well would replenish its supply. Another day indoors with indexing. Maybe after 2 PM it will stop raining so that Ron can walk the dam. But instead, Ron watched Larry Bird basketball highlights for a couple of hours, Bill O'Reilly for another hour or more, and finally started walking 10:20 to 11:26 PM. It isn’t raining in Texas; Cynthia walked to the lake and home, enjoying a phone call from Smooch. 💋 Once home, she ordered the protein (for Ron) which will arrive 7 Nov. Cynthia is working on the Rambo DNA Project; FTDNA was helpful in restoring ten kits (that she deleted) back to the project. Carol is very happy. We want Carol happy. Our God reigns.
4 Nov: Jon is driving Cynthia to her ten AM Dr Appt at St Luke’s. She ordered a $109.00 GPS for the car as recommended by the former owner. Ron was tired last night while walking across the dam and went to bed about 6 PM, slept until 5 AM and still feels a bit lethargic this morning whle indexing. It has been raining in Carlyle non-stop since well before dawn. Odds are good that the lake level will rise and more water will be released from the dam. Nephew Eric visited but Ron was unable to figure out what Google has done to prevent photos from showing up on his web site.
3 Nov, Sunday: Ron did depart at dawn for church in Trenton to see if twins Cheryl and Carol are there. Don and Ann told him last year that Cheryl's husband in homebound requiring constant attention, so the odds are good that still applies. They attend a different church in Carlyle now. As of 10:00 AM, we are both at worship, different churches, different states, but united in Thanksgiving. Cynthia and son Jon enjoyed a lovely birthday party at Good Charlie’s Oyster Bar. Indexing always continues. Ron was delighted to learn from the other couple in his pew an address for his classmate Dean H., but he doesn't answer his phone.
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| Cynthia and granddaughter Lauren |
2 Nov: Ron enjoyed a second night of good sleep. Cynthia was plagued by restlessness. Ron went into the woods three times pulling bush honeysuckle and clipping multiflora rose. His knee and back seem to be improving as he continues taking it easy on them.
1 Nov: Meanwhile in Texas, Cynthia slept ten hours before exercising, eating, calling Ron, responding to messages helping two people with their Rambo DNA questions, calling FTDNA, reading the news, walking four miles, calling Ron, eating lunch, responding to MD ANDERSON about next week’s Mammogram, and she is now on hold with Customer Service at 1:25 PM. But she is ever so thankful for life in Christ, Ron, our life together, family and the return of health! .
