February - I Love You

Bill & Merry, Ron & Cynthia

28 Feb, Sunday:  Ron awakened at 2:30 and was unable to get back to sleep, so he has been functioning on 2.5 hours of sleep (sigh).  Church, then brunch with Bill & Merry, who lived through a nightmare of plumbing breaks last week caused by our icy winter.  The Bishop's assistant conducted service at church, and Cynthia was able to understand because she talked slowly (apparently accustomed to us older folk).  Packing continues apace, so did our three-mile walk to the lake.  Ron did go for a second quick walk to bury his beloved compost.  The hole he has elected to fill is almost level now; check back next year to hear if it settled.  OK.  This is the end of the road, the end of February, time for a new month. THE END... FINIS... TERMINUS.

Baby Blaire, Ryan, Rachel, Ron & Cynthia

27 Feb:  countdown 4,3,2 (exit apartment by 11AM),1 exit Texas westward after 2nd Pfizer vaccine.  (We are keeping our fingers crossed.)  Baby Blaire's baptism, a stop at Target to drop off recycling, oooops!  We forgot to stop at Target!  As much as Cynthia complains about the clutter of recycling, it is hard to imagine that she forgot to stop to rid herself of the annoyance.  C'est La Vie.

26 Feb:  Cynthia began her day by calling St. Luke's to see if we could indeed get our covid shot before we leave town and got us an appointment for 8:30 AM Tuesday.  Perfect !!  (St. Cynthia scores again.)  She plans to return EVERYTHING to the storage locker today.  Ron hopes that he is not included in that "everything."   We are off to the storage unit by 2:00 PM, then to Jon's to pick up a package, and finally to Cynthia's doctor appointment at 3:30 and to the pharmacy for a prescription.  On the way home we stopped for salmon and potatoes at the Cafe on the Green (aka Caddy Shack).  Ron walked early this evening, but delayed to long to have daylight to wash the motorcycle (reading about powder-coated rims).

25 Feb:  Our plan for today is medical and psychological; we go to Cynthia's dermatologist and hope that she can treat the "jungle rot" on Ron's face.  She diagnosed it as a fungus (not nearly as exciting as jungle rot) and prescribed pills and a cream.  Then we went to Sasha, Cynthia's hairdresser, for a much needed psychological lift.  And Sasha was true to his usual energetic self although a bit obsessed with the yo-yos who think that a "little" socialism is a good thing.  Sasha escaped communist Hungary and the Russians, so he has absolutely no tolerance for the idiots who have been indoctrinated to think that socialism is OK.  Once they have power, they take away your rights; criticism of the regime is punishable by imprisonment and death.  Traffic was not bad, and Cynthia was delighted to get to both appointments early and even have time for lunch at Jason's Deli, although it is a disappointment that sweet potatoes have not yet returned to their menus.  We both received a recorded phone call telling us that our 2nd vaccination will have to be rescheduled.  Phooey.  Ron made the changes to Volume 7 to eliminate the snafu discovered yesterday, reran the table of contents and the index and the volume is now ready for final proofreading.  A miracle: Ron thrashed through five boxes and is ready to return them to the storage locker.  Ron wants only three things, none of which were in those boxes.

24 Feb:  Up too early (5:30 again), Ron rode his BMW to Woodlands Premium Motorcycles for its 66,000-mile service (1700 miles late).  Cynthia is cleaning and getting a manicure, but she is not feeling well in reaction to the novocaine-like injection for her tooth extraction.  Despite a good day with Volume 7 while awaiting his motorcycle, Ron ran into yet another snafu to discuss with the other editors.

23 Feb:  Good grief!  Us, awake by 5:30 AM?  Yup, we must be up, exercise, oatmealed, and take off by 7:00 AM (!!) for the dentist appointment (and extraction of a back molar).  And we did just that (despite the odds).  The biggest snafu was the line of cars that traveled only two blocks in 30 minutes.  After we escaped that line by driving through the St. Luke hospital campus, we realized that the line was for Covid vaccinations.  It was much worse than the one when we got our vaccinations because they rescheduled all those canceled by our once-in-a-lifetime (we hope) ice & snowstorm.  Recycling drop-off went smooth and easy, and we were home by 2:00 PM with all six errands accomplished.  Then Ron got really busy, first with more mending, then washing dishes, then washing the motorcycle, then burying compost, and finally washing body and clothes.  All that and he was in bed by 10:30.

22 Feb:  All we do is run, run, run!  But the day was successful; many good things accomplished; only a trillion more to do before Monday.  Ali S. sent a video of the Scott Forde Memorial Park in Alacati, Turkey taken last week showing how the landscaping has flourished since it was completed in 2005.  At 8:30 PM Ron has the car loaded with his recycling treasures, now he will take a second walk.  Cynthia is working on her sermon for Saturday's baptism. 

21 Feb, Sunday:  And we worshipped at Grace, followed by Sunday brunch at the Yacht Club - except that it was closed without notice, so we enjoyed breakfast at Magnolia Diner instead.  Ron added a page of scandal to Volume 7 before we walked to the lake to enjoy the water, wind (lots), and painted rocks.

20 Feb:  And another month falls through the hourglass with alacrity.  The last vestiges of snow have disappeared; the grass is a vibrant green, and bright sunshine bounces off the water to blind us.  Water is to resume running at 1 PM.  Ron finished another portion of Volume 7.  Only a few small items remain until he can call it done and send it back to Ken.  We sashied out to the bank, to Kroger for groceies, to the Magnolia Diner, to the storage locker, and to Walmart for more groceries.  Next up is a walk to the lake at 3 PM. 

19 Feb:  Thank God for today; we did get here alive, and we have a surfeit of blessings: electricity, heat, shelter, food, and rest.  Not complaining, but it would be nice to have running water too.  Ron was able to "milk" a pot of water from the faucets, and yes, he did boil it before pouring it onto his oatmeal.  Projects continue apace, although Cynthia has already mandated a trip "abroad" today to search for gasoline and water.  Wish us luck.  Thanks for your good wishes; we did indeed find gasoline at the first station and food at the first grocery.  We walked to the lake twice today, perhaps too much too soon for Cynthia's feet.  They were used to those miles a week ago, but five days of zero miles caused her feet to complain during the second walk today.  Ron is now frantically trying to finish all recycling projects while also finishing volume 7 while also finishing mending projects.

18 Feb:  We awakened early at 8 AM and were done with exercises by 9 o'clock pill alarm.  Ron has completed 53 pages of edits for Volume 7; only four more to do.  Whew.  At ten AM, the power went out sending Cynthia into panic mode.  Evidently, we are going to be part of the rolling blackouts that our little street has missed over the past four days.  We were without power the first night (Sunday) but it returned by 2:30 AM, keeping us warm and toasty while many family members have experienced up to 63 hours without power and water.  Everyone is doing fine, but Roxanne had a burst pipe in her garage; Karen had some broken water pipes.  The rolling outages have been challenging for the mothers of little ones, like Corrie.  Samantha is expecting in July so this was a challenge for her, too.  But, compared to so many millions of people we are fine.  Aha!  Our power returned two hours later.  The lights are on, the electronics getting charged up in case this happens again, and we are once again cozy and warm.  At 5:40, we lost water.  Thankfully, Saint Cynthia put some in the refrigerator.  We have to boil water once it gets back on.  Hmm, boil water for oatmeal?

17 Feb:  Today at 4 AM rain began falling at 32 degrees and continued until well past noon.  The rain melted lots of snow, but there is lotsa ice!  Cynthia grew up in Iowa and has learned to prepare for blizzards; always have drinking water, gallon jugs of water to flush toilets, a week’s worth of non-perishable food items, and always keep the car’s gas tank 50% full, minimum.  Now we are prepared to flush toilets well into the next millennium.  Ron swept snow off the covered walkway and shoveled inch-thick ice from the walkway into the parking lot.  Late afternoon Ron walked through the little slush left on the streets to be disappointed that the gravel pathway looked very slushy and very muddy with tracks where utility vehicles had used it.  He had a shovel in hand, prepared to move more of the gravel from a culvert back into the path, but turned around rather than getting muddy and messy (a sign of advancing age).

16 Feb:  Today is supposed to max out at 36 degrees with bright sunshine - but it only made it to 32 degrees.  Fortunately, the sun was bright enough to turn most of the snow on the roadways into slush, which will freeze solid tonight and be cemented in place by icy rain tomorrow morning.  Cynthia’s pharmacy called to tell her that they had power this afternoon and could refill her prescription, so her son Jon picked it up and told us that the roads were passable, so we quickly hustled off to Walmart for grapes, bananas, berries, etc.  Tomorrow's forecast is more freezing rain in the morning, 36 degrees high afternoon, and below-freezing temperatures all day Thursday.  I tell you, it is Sooo nice to be here in the sunny South for the winter.  Ron continues to make progress on Volume 7 and on several other recycling projects.  One of these days he needs to start getting ready to leave Texas on March 1.

15 Feb:  Snow !!  An inch or two of the white stuff is covering everything in sight out our patio door (which will remain closed).  Electricity came back at 2:30 AM; various family members have been without electricity on and off through the day.  We need food so Ron left on skis searching for a market.  Baby Blaire is undaunted by 18-degree temps, she loves the snow. 

Baby Blair in the snow

Galveston also got snow

Our balcony view has changed

Our front porch this morning.

14 Feb, Sunday:  Happy Valentines Day (click here).  Best intentions went astray.  We enjoyed a wonderful night's sleep to get our Valentine's Day off to a wonderful start, but that delayed our morning awakening until 9 AM, too late to make it to church.  So we Thank God individually instead.  By the time Ron finished exercises and breakfast, it was time to run off to the Yacht Club for Sunday Brunch, but fortunately, they are very, very busy on Valentine's Day, so we cannot get a reservation until 2 PM.  That gives us time to get Cynthia's new medication and to get a walk-in before the icy rain starts, forecast to turn into as much as 2 inches of snow by tomorrow afternoon.  Wow, this sure is a change from Spring-like weather last week.  Today's listening is the Velvet Underground, one very weird old rock group that Ron likes.  Another page of Volume 7 edits finished, another foot of thread added to mending, and it looks like the weather may stay dry long enough for Ron to walk another time.  Well, Ron walked, but the return home into the wind and sleet was far less pleasant.  There were several slippery places on the streets, so we can expect a bumper crop of accidents tomorrow.  Ron is convinced that our best approach to exercise tomorrow is to wait a day or two for the snow and ice to melt.  Then the lights went out about 7:30, so we went to bed Waaay early.

13 Feb:  And it is another wonderful day, even if the temperatures are forecast to rise no higher than 38 degrees here near Houston Texas.  (We are not accustomed to this.)  Cynthia dreaded being cold on our walk to the lake today and was quite surprised that it wasn't too bad.  Needless to say, several neglected indoor projects have become more desirable thanks to the cold weather.  Ron has finished another page of Volume 7 and some mending; the dishes and kitchen cleaning are next.  Tomorrow's agenda is much the same.

Dining at Amores

Baby Blair

12 Feb:  Today Ron started listening to the Moody Blues.  So far, only John Fogerty has rivaled the Cream in listening pleasure.  Cynthia made a mandatory run to the manicurist, so Ron was able to get another couple of pages of edits added to Volume 7; 39 pages done, 18 more to go.  Cynthia is preparing baby Blaire’s baptismal service.  We enjoyed a lovely dinner this evening at Amores with Jon and his amore, Tina. 

11 Feb:  Another day another dollar, especially since the stock market is skyrocketing unbelievably.  Ron is back to work on Volume 7 while listening to John Fogerty now.  Cynthia posted (below) photos of Ron’s lake views for MIT alum Ed K. who enjoys Ron’s descriptions during nocturnal walks and phone calls.  We ate beans and lentils this evening and slept quite well.  No walk this evening, Ron was tired.  It was unbelievable that we did not walk at all day today; no wonder Ron was tired.

SW sunset view

west (notice rocks in foreground)

 

longest view to the east

10 Feb:  Cynthia is oatmealed, exercised, and she is writing a baptismal sermon.  Ron returned to sleep.  Our walk started at high noon, with color radar suggesting it would be dry for a while,  But, once we passed the fitness center, a light shower helped us decide to head home short of a goal at the lake.  We did walk a second time in the late afternoon before Cynthia's dinner of Pritikin salmon and a baked sweet potato. Ron went for a third walk at 9:10 and is late for bed now at 11:20.

9 Feb:  Surprise !!  We are vaccinated!!  St. Luke’s hospital in the Woodlands had a circuitous car caravan to the shooting zone.  Cynthia had an appointment, but Ron had not heard from his registration.  After the endless bumper-to-bumper crawl through all the paperwork, we arrived at the tent where we were to be shot, now informed that Cynthia's second shot will be on the 2nd of March, two days after we intended to leave Houston aimed for Sedona.  Ron asked if Cynthia's second shot could be moved up a day from a firefighter who was helping organize the lines of cars.  He immediately rushed off to ask the powers that be, who denied that request.  Pfizer vaccine is 21 days between first and second shots, cast in concrete.  Cynthia then asked him if Ron could also be vaccinated here and now before our trip.  Our firefighter quickly went again to consult those powers and returned with a handful of papers for Ron to fill out ASAP.  We thanked him profusely for being amazingly helpful.  Our arms are a little sore, but nothing to complain about.  Cynthia’s article about Harry King's DNA is returned from the editor, so Cynthia will now submit it to NGS for publication.  

8 Feb:  And TOMORROW is another day.  Happy Birthday, Roxanne!  We walked seven miles during the day and Ron walked another three at ten PM.

Thanks to Fyn for artwork

and More artwork

7 Feb:  This is a gorgeous day!  After worship, we celebrated Roxanne’s birthday with a brunch at the yacht club, and her siblings had fun sharing stories of growing up on an Iowa farm.  Granddaughter Fyn (6 years old) sent a gift of artwork which delighted her grandmother. 

Youthful Smooches in 2009

6 Feb:  Day before Cynthia's big family birthday party - no aging information is available.  Ron is continuing a respite from Volume 7 today, almost done logging receipts (prior to recycling them).  Apparently, there is a crucial need to acquire a store-bought birthday card TODAY.  We managed a nice walk afternoon and are ready for lunch/ dinner.  The crucial need for the birthday card seems to have fallen into the background.  Cynthia has to create thirty Lea/Lee family trees on Ancestry; searching, she found a fun photo from 2009 that needs to be re-posted ^^. 

5 Feb:  Today is the grim day that Ron has decided to clean the house.  All those previous days he has been single-mindedly focused on the endless editing tasks for Volume 7.  Cynthia has been a patient saint waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting for the house cleaning to EVENTUALLY happen.  We can call her Saint Cynthia from now on.  The kitchen was mostly clean before our afternoon walk, delayed on account of rain and errands.  Ron walked a second time after dark.

4 Feb:  Life is still good.  Our 10:30 Skype call from Maurice, Cynthia's newest DNA expert, was delightful and informative.  This follows four half-hour video clips chock-full of tables and graphs.

3 Feb:  Life is good.  We awakened, thank God, exercised, ate oatmeal, and are now working on computers.  No change from yesterday except that Ron's weight is finally down to 176.2, so he is allowed to eat pretzels again this evening. The weather is glorious; we were thrilled to see a magnificent bald eagle flying low over us, returning to his nest.  Our walks take longer because we keep meeting new friends.  Today we met Malcolm, walking his half-corgi, half-collie dog, and a fisherman recently moved from Wisconsin who wished he had moved here years ago.  He was trying to decide which of his four poles would catch the biggest fish.

2 Feb:  I guess we lost this day because my computer says today is the 3rd.  But, we did have a lovely dinner with the bishop and two Luther seminarians on an internship in Texas at the April Sound Country Club.

1 Feb:  Woooie, we had to be at the dry cleaners by 10 AM.  It is a real rush for us to get exercised and breakfasted and out the door that early.  Retirement is great !!  Ron promised that he would mention Matthew in the blog; he is the pleasant new fitness trainer at the Fitness Center where we stop nearly every day.  I should also mention Daniel since he asked.  Our walk to the lake and back was a comedy of missing each other at the bathroom stop.  Volume 7 is progressing nicely through 6 pages of the 57 pages of corrections from Peg.  We baked sweet potato in a ZipLock bag for dinner, supplemented by oatmeal and cornbread, etc.  Time for pills and one more walk this evening, although I will have to walk without talking because my cell phone battery is exhausted.

God Bless 2021

31 Jan, Sunday:  Up, exercised, breakfasted, and late to church.  Well, our car told us it was 9:57, but the pastor was already conducting service when we entered.  We invited Chris and Connie to brunch at the Yacht Club, and it was indeed much fun to talk Iowa with them.  (That is a dialect of Midwestern.)

30 Jan:  Yikes! Only one more day to think of a blog title for the month of February, the I love you ❤️ month.  Amazing, last night we got to bed at midnight, and this morning we are up, exercised, fed and working at 10:04.  Our first walk this morning was foreshortened by a drizzle, and since more rain is forecast within an hour, we decided that retreat was appropriate.  We will try again later, after the rain threat diminishes.

29 Jan:  Earlier to bed (meaning before midnight) made us earlier to rise ??  i.e. before 10 AM ??  Yes, indeed !!  I am eating breakfast at 10:42 this morning.  We made a trip to the Enterprise car rental to renew Cynthia's steed and stopped for groceries on the return.  Then we walked to the lake, and Ron taught Cynthia how to bake a sweet potato in a ZipLock bag.  Ron's dinner was cornbread, so he is nibbling on shredded wheat before retiring after Cynthia let him play with the Bankston Y-DNA spreadsheet from FTDNA.  The index is finally finished, but there are a few more projects before Ron can be done with Volume 7.  But now it is time for bed.

28 Jan:  Awake, exercised, fed twice and walked, we are now awaiting our 15 minutes of Podcast "fame."  Cynthia's cell phone didn't ring; apparently thought it was a robot call, so NoMoRoBo blocked it.  They will try to find me again tomorrow.  We walked for the second time today to the Cafe on the Green (aka Caddy Shack) for salmon and a potato.  We thank God for lots of everything.

27 Jan:  Another day, just like the other day: awaken, exercise, eat, work on genealogy, walk, eat, work on genealogy, walk, brush teeth, sleep.  The new wrinkle is that we discovered that our newly acquired "friend" Margie is a poop.  She had the construction guys blockade our walking path past the construction site.  As I always say, "I trust everyone."  And now I trust Margie to be an evil-spirited bitch who will gladly stab an older person in the back to prove that she is in charge.  Ron is being interviewed about genealogy tomorrow at 2:35 CST by PBN, a podcast business network.   

Cynthia takes photogenic photos

26 Jan:  And Ron is back to work on the index after four days off for the package that was supposed to take only one day.  Indexing is going well, I am proofing the P's now, not too much further.  It was great fun to meet Chris from Iowa City; he and his wife, Connie, will join us for brunch on Sunday. Cynthia treated herself to a pedicure and manicure (simultaneously) this afternoon after our mandatory daily walk. Ron did rock maintenance, we likely spotted the bald-eagles nest with two babies, although we didn’t see the babies.  The deer seem very young and small.  Recently, we were scolded by a gander protecting two females.  After the walk, we ate at Magnolia Diner and shopped for grocery resupply with good success.  Cynthia loves the lovely fleurs. The newspaper says that three places in the county are dispensing covid vaccine.  Now Ron needs to eat his evening pills and get in another walk with compost. 

25 Jan:  The days are really rushing by recently, but we still Thank God for every one of them.  Color radar showed an intense storm (colored yellows and reds) passing directly over us, and all we got was a brief shower.  But we did get to the pharmacy to pick up Ron’s meds. We walked to the lakeshore once and are about to go for a shorter walk before dark.  Ron has enjoyed great success in completing (and sending) the Kampe package to the Swedish Colonial Society member.

24 Jan, Sunday:  We awakened late and had to rush to get to church on time.  Brunch at the Yacht Club was as good as usual recently, and we embarked upon a walk about 1:30 despite a 2:00 forecast of a shower.  We were lucky to stay dry for our entire walk.  Ron finished his work on the next package but failed to walk in the evening and consequently slept no more than 45 minutes between trips to the bathroom all night. On the other hand, we got to bed at 10 PM and got out of bed at 8 AM, so he feels fairly well rested despite all the nighttime exercise - and his weight was less in the morning: 176 pounds. :) :)

23 Jan:  Is supposed to rain after dark this evening, so we are up, exercised, fed and ready (almost) to walk early, i.e. before noon.  We need to reprovision the larder today: blueberries, walnuts, frozen mango, bananas are absolutely essential, and we did accomplish that.  Since we were out and about early, we decided to enjoy an egg white veggie omelet at Magnolia Diner before shopping, and we did find all above-mentioned items except for the frozen mango and frozen blueberries.  We managed a second walk, returning just after dark, so we feel very virtuous.

22 Jan:  And it has been another good day of exercises, oatmeal and walking.  Cynthia received the second installment of Y-DNA analysis done by Maurice Gleeson, a highly reputed specialist, so she is delighted with what she is discovering about her Leas of Caswell County.  Ron spent the entire day working on the next package ordered from the Swedish Colonial Society and was delighted to get it nearly completed.  Ron had read that he could safely microwave a sweet potato in a ZipLock bag at lower power settings, and we are happy to report that it turned out delicious.  It only took 3 installments of 4 minutes each at half power.  But now it is time for another walk.

21 Jan:  Cynthia’s renewed passport arrived, just as additional  documents (proving that she really is who she says she is) arrive today at the passport office in VA.  This was a headache... advice: don’t lose your passport.  It is a dreary, rainy day.  Ron is working on the index, dressed warmer in a down jacket, a reversal of our roles having Cynthia always cold and Ron over-heated.  Other changes, Cynthia deleted Facebook, social media, and she won’t click on MainStreamMedia sites. The corrupt media is laying off so-called journalists by the thousands, and thusly, many MSM will crash in 2021.  We walked in mid-afternoon drizzle after avoiding earlier all-day drizzle, then we decided to eat salmon again at the Cafe on the Green, so we ended up with a 6-mile walk today.  Ron is about to go out for his usual nightcap walk since the color radar says that the rain & drizzle should have departed by now.  Except it wasn't; and Ron got wet.

20 Jan:  Up, exercised, fed, and working on index by 11 AM.  Early birds we are not, but we did manage to walk to the lake twice this afternoon.  We agreed that we miss the pipeline crew.  Ron walked again at 9:30, so we were not early to bed.

19 Jan:  Two great walks, our mileage totaled 7.9 miles.  Dinner at the Cafe on the Green outdoors was pleasant, plus we enjoyed visiting with folks from Minnesota.   And Ron is late taking his evening pills and getting out for the bedtime walk.  Cynthia has dutifully reminded him a couple of times.  Ain't love grand !!

18 Jan:  Another Day, another dollar three eighty.  On our usual daily walk to the lake we again found Margie enjoying the pleasant weather with more gardening.  Another small world coincidence is that her husband is named Ron, but he stumbled once in Galveston and accidentally threw Margie off a curb face down into the street.  Cynthia is happy that she holds my hand since I seldom stumble.  And Cynthia is happy that the worst part of the tax preparation is organized and off to the CPA.  Audiologist appointment at three PM, and the audiologist passed with flying colors, turning volume down and clarity up.  Ron started his second late evening walk at 11 PM, so didn't get to bed until nearly 1 AM.

17 Jan, Sunday:  Fooey!  Cynthia wrote extensively about Sunday worship, brunch, the pleasant walk, meeting Margie.  And it all failed to upload.  Good night.  Margie looked very familiar to both of us for different reasons.  Cynthia and Margie remembered a chance encounter at Toasted yolk when Margie was with her mother.  Much later Cynthia remembered that Margie was the landscaper for the house on Northwood Drive.  Then a day later Ron also remembered seeing her as the landscaper at Northwood.

16 Jan:  Another day, more exercises, more oatmeal, and Cynthia hurried out the door at 10:30 for hair repair.  We walked once to the lake and were amused with the thought of pipeline pigs.  Close to the lake we met a very pleasant guy practicing his golf named Rob, who knows both Jon and Paul.  Ron is off again at 9:38 for one more walk & talk.  Goodnight.

15 Jan:  It is another day much like any other: exercises, oatmeal, computers, and walking.  Ron is making good progress with his indexing, and Cynthia is attacking her tax records.  Ron walked a second time at 11:09 and was home at 12:10, after Cynthia was asleep.

14 Jan:  Another tomorrow, thank God.  We walked early and were surprised that it was so warm so quickly.  Now we are eating before going to LabCorps for Cynthia's labs.  After the labs we returned to the storage locker for the paper shredder, an important instrument for financial papers.

13 Jan:  Again tomorrow.  Where does the time go?  We are happy to report that we are still having fun even though our time vanishes so quickly every day.  Blasted scale showed 177.4 this morning after extended coaxing.  Blood pressure 91/61 at pulse of 62, so it is staying low despite reduction of medicines.  Another good day with too much to do.  Just before dark we walked to the Golf Club for dinner of salmon and potatoes.  Walking home on the inky dark golf cart paths was not Ron's best idea, but we survived.

12 Jan:  Ron cannot keep up with this constant changing of the days.  here is yet another tomorrow.  This morning that blasted scale reported a higher weight instead of a lower one.  I may have to bribe the scale, but I did reduce consumption throughout the day, so perhaps that will help.  We walked to the lake at noon (when it was a balmy 50 degrees).  We had great plans to get the shovel out of the storage locker so that Ron can bury the compost (and Cynthia really, really wanted her battery powered, heated coat), but neither of us thought to bring keys with us --- so --- maybe tomorrow.  We did resupply with most groceries, but Walmart had neither Jolly Time popcorn nor the desired Snyder pretzels nor the large bag of frozen blueberries.  Again, maybe tomorrow.  Ron is filling up on dry cornbread preparatory to his after dark additional walk to the lake (an additional 3 miles in an hour+).

11 Jan:  Good grief, is it tomorrow again already?  Yes, and we already walked to the lake and back once in 40 degree temperatures.  Now Ron is back to work on his indexing.  Then late afternoon a second, shorter, colder-feeling walk to the fitness center, and now at 9:30 Ron is going again to the lake since he is desperate to lose weight to afford buying more pretzels tomorrow.  At 178 pounds, he is three pounds over his "ideal" body weight.  Three pounds ... and the goal is so close - in one day he has sometimes dropped three pounds.  Women should be so fortunate. 

10 Jan, Sunday:  We slept a lot last night.  Ron laid down soon after dinner and was still in bed this morning at 9 AM when his pill alarm sounded.  His blood pressure was 96/61 this morning, so it is a bit higher now.  Our 11:30 breakfast brunch date with Jon and Tina felt incredibly close to breakfast oatmeal - because it was !!  Brunch with Jon and Tina was lovely; they are massively excited that their home remodel will "soon" be completed - painters are to start tomorrow.  Another strangely empty restaurant.  Apparently lots of older folks are avoiding restaurants here now.  It is a cold and rainy day, so we are unlikely to get our daily walk today.  (And that forecast was indeed accurate until 7 PM.)  But, as Cynthia loves to say, "Tomorrow is Another Day."  We had SNOW !!  It covered the rooftops and autos, but didn't stick on the ground around us.  Elsewhere nearby they did have a coating on the grass.

9 Jan:  Imagine our embarrassment trying to explain to the condo maintenance man that we broke the bed!  Yes!  And it happened while we were innocently taking our blood pressure.  Honestly.  No lie.  The day is lovely!  We had a great walk to the lake and back.  Ron is working hard on the never-ending indexing of Volume 7.  And soon we walk to the Yacht Club dinner.  How cute to see video of baby Blaire walking at 9 1/2 months, hanging onto a chair as she circles it. 

8 Jan:  Gone already.  Good grief, you just start working on the index and first thing you know it is time to go to bed again. 

7 Jan:  So this morning we need to pack everything back onto the motorcycle before Ron's 1 PM appointment with the electrophysiologist for his pacemaker reading.  With luck it should have another five years of battery life remaining.  12:23 and ready to go to see the doctor.  Another A+ doctor visit; yes indeed, 5 years left in battery.  The ride home was quite chilly after we stopped at Jason's Deli in Conroe for salads and baked potatoes.  Their salad bar is again open, but it is a big disappointment that the have no sweet potatoes.  It was very amazing to see so few customers inside Jason's Deli.  Once we arrived home Ron laid down to get warm and awakened 3 hours later.  Cynthia is still feeling under the weather... so the plan for a major house cleaning blitz won't happen tomorrow.  Perhaps because of the nap, but more likely it is compulsive behaviors that motivated Ron to stay up working on the index until 12:45 PM.  Ouch.

6 Jan:  And the day dawned beautifully here with marvelous colors in the clouds over Lake Conroe.  And the color radar shows no rain in sight, no rain in the area until noon, so our ride will be comfortably dry and maybe even warm.  Ron slept fine and lost two pounds by not munching shredded wheat all evening.  The 60-mile ride to the medical center was delightful, especially since the Hardy Toll Road is so much less trafficked than I-45.  Cynthia was not allowed inside the hospital to hold Ron's hand during the PET scan, so he had to go it alone.  The results are astonishing.  Ron has a beautiful palette of reds, pinks and yellows indicating adequate blood without any of those ugly greens and blues that previously indicated inadequate blood supply.  So the stents are working, and his diet is keeping his arteries clear.  Goodie.  Now if we can just figure out how to get that blood pressure up (86/50 this morning).  Dinner wasn't much since the medical center seems to be in lockdown, and we are staying in the Hilton to make tomorrow's 1 PM appointment with the electrophysiologist easy.

5 Jan:  To ride or not to ride, that is the pressing question for tomorrow morning when Ron has his PET scan to see if his heart is more clogged or less clogged.  Tomorrow's forecast calls for 40% to 70% chance of showers and thunderstorms.  We've ridden in enough rain recently to be a bit cautious now, but we did ride "home" Monday rather than stay in the lockdown hotel.  (By that I mean that their restaurant is closed for dine-in and, being full-service, their rooms are absent a microwave to heat our oatmeal and popcorn.)  Oofta, the instructions for the PET scan say no carbs for 24 hours before the test, so Ron already screwed up by having mixed vegetables including carrots and corn before dinner.  How is the poor guy going to sleep without his accustomed full stomach?

4 Jan:  Our early AM appointments went well; we are certified alive by our doctors.  By 1:30 we were eating lunch at the Toasted Yolk close to home.  Ron forgot to look for his recommended DHEA supplement on the way home and had to search (and ask) at Walmart, Walgreens, and CVS before he actually located it at Kroger, two hours later.

 3 Jan, Sunday:  Church is locked down, so we didn't go, but we did enjoy a fun brunch at the Yacht Club with Karen, Steven, Samantha & spouses.  We decided that traffic into the medical center would be lightest around 2 PM, but I-45 was a poor choice with heavy traffic and significant sunlight blinding the GPS.  This would have been less stressful if Ron had checked the route prior to departure.  Regardless, we arrived at the Hilton early enough to walk the entire perimeter of Rice Campus - five miles.  (It is a BIG campus.)  The hotel restaurant is carry-out only, so Cynthia ordered oatmeal for dinner.  (It did not rate rave reviews.)  Our appointment with Dr, Gould, our cardiologist, is 8 AM tomorrow morning.  

2 Jan: Cynthia slept the clock around; we awoke to feel almost over our colds, and we had a lovely four-mile walk late morning.  At six PM, we think sleep is a great idea.  

1 Jan:  A New Year, a New Day, and a New Us??  Yes, please!  We caught colds traveling back to Montgomery (or perhaps passing through vacationing crowds in Fredericksburg).  Cynthia asked Ron how he was feeling today.  He replied that the cold is progressing.  Worsening or better?  Do you have a headache, she asked.  Ron replied that he has a cute little headache, her name is Cynthia.  And so a New Year begins.  (Ron hereby goes on record as saying that she was the best little headache a guy could ever hope to have.)

December... Christmas Time in Texas

31 Dec:  The Smooch Family has bahd cohds!  We are stuffed up, sneezing, but we don't have Covid.  Cynthia has put away most of the stuff we brought from storage yesterday, except for whatever she assumes is recycling, which is still in the car.  She thinks everything in the boxes looks like it is to be recycled.  Ron hopes Cynthia won't accidentally (or deliberately) take him to recycling.  Ron did indeed sleep very well last night starting at 7:30 when his eyes refused to stay open and he laid down "briefly" to rest.  He first awakened at 11:30.  Cynthia had much less rest last night, but is soldiering on regardless.  Since the rain continued unabated until 4 PM, we did not manage to get out for air and exercise today, but "Tomorrow IS another day."

30 Dec:  To be or not to be... in Montgomery tonight?  That is the question.  And we made it despite rain and possibly a tiny bit of sleet.  At 6:30 AM Ron pulled up the color radar and color radar forecast.  No rain at present.  Ditto at 7:50 after we breakfasted and packed.  By the time we were rolling at 8:20, the drizzle was falling.  Not good, but it stopped encouragingly a few miles east of town, just as the radar had implied.  Soon after and eastward, the radar was sadly wrong.  We were on wet roads a lot in the next 130 miles, many times with mist, drizzle or rain falling.  For a few miles in Austin the rain was quite intense, but the worse downpour was east of Bastrop, when the color radar forecast had assured us (lulled us into thinking) that we would have clear and dry sailing.  Our route was US 290 east to Austin City Limits, then Texas 71 east to Bastrop, to Texas 21 east, rejoining US 290 east to Brenham (home of Blue Bell Ice Cream), where Blue Bell Blvd avoids town to deposit us on Texas 105 through Navasota all the way back to Montgomery, where we satiated our hunger with egg white omelets at the Magnolia Diner, before getting the key to our vacation rental from Daniel at The Management Company.  Once situated inside with a computer Ron checked the color radar again to see major storms rapidly approaching, so we high tailed it to Enterprise for Cynthia to rent a car, loaded that car full from the storage locker, and stopped at Walmart long enough to stock the pantry and allow those storms to drop a deluge for half an hour.  We watched the deluge from the safety of the Walmart store and made a break for home as soon as it stopped sufficiently.  We are going to sleep well tonight.

29 Dec:  Counting down, Fredericksburg for one more awakening.  We are shooting for 6AM tomorrow to get miles in before rain.  Ugh, forecast is intimidating.  Oh well, the plan is to check the color radar in the morning.  The plan is to breakfast at Ollie & Lena's again this morning (despite already eating a bowl of oatmeal in the hotel).  Bah humbug, the lines at the restaurant for breakfast were out on the sidewalk, and they could not seat us, so we hustled off to recycle boxboard at the city drop-off, intended to be a drive through, but the employees met us at the "Stop Here" sign.  We then walked across town to the girlie salon to see if Cynthia could walk in for her "girlie-acure."  Ron walked back to the hotel, Cynthia called to offer him a Subway sandwich, and he surprised her by walking again to meet her! 

28 Dec:  Fredericksburg for two more mornings, then we (hopefully) transition back to Montgomery, depending upon luck and thunderstorms.  Uh-oh! Inclement weather is likely to preclude travel until 1 January.  We will be in Fredericksburg during rain Tues, Wed., and snow on Thursday!  Bummer.  But, stay tuned!  We will check the color radar at 6 AM to assess our risk.  We were out the door for our morning walk before noon today since the forecast called for rain (which never materialized).  We rode out to walk the Fredericksburg Nature Trail again.  It is our favorite trail discovered here to date without the concrete and asphalt of our in-city walks.  There are other choices, but we haven't explored to find them yet.  The one that sounded most appealing was at Kerrville lake.  Also the LBJ ranch is not far.

27 Dec:  Cynthia suggested our life would make a great movie, “It's a Wonderful Life,” but Ron's comment was, “I think that's already been done."  Ron is returning for his second after-oatmeal helping of frozen mango & pineapple.  Our major exercise of the day was walking 4.2 miles roundtrip to Subway (for 12” whole grain subs with the inside scooped out and filled with vegetables), then we hustled along the concrete trail to downtown, trying to pass hordes of people aimlessly drifting along, totally ignorant of serious concrete trail walkers.  Giving up, we booked back home.  Ron shared his newly purchased HEB shredded wheat with Cynthia, and he popped some popcorn.  Using Splenda on dry popped corn makes it taste a little bit like kettle corn.  Tomorrow, tomorrow, it's almost tomorrow!  And you know the drill:  "Tomorrow IS another day!!"

26 Dec:  Fredericksburg, Texas should be less busy today?  Especially since so few restaurants are open until Jan. 2.  Subway might be open.  The day after Christmas offers a morning for rest.  We snared tickets to hike Enchanted Rock this afternoon. Yay.  Our hike up required two sit-downs to catch our breath, only once to sit on the way down to rest tight IT bands.  With two hours left before sunset, we hiked the "closed" portion of the loop trail, and on to the Buzzard Roost Primitive Camp Trail.  Despite looking closely, Ron saw no evidences of a reasonable place to camp, primitive or not.  On the way back, blinded by the setting sun, Cynthia tripped on a rock and went down hard on her right hand, shoulder and leg.  Her SKreeCH would awaken the dead, and it even got Ron's attention.  Cynthia held her injured paw against her chest for the entire return trip.  All is well.  It is a beautiful day with memories of laughing children climbing a mountain with warm, smiling faces of parents.  The copper sunset spread shades of violet over the heavenly dome with a beautiful blue band along the horizon.  Wildlife spotted includes a huge black bull (hiking gingerly on the rocks), two even bigger longhorn bulls, llamas, deer, and crazy, two-legged critters congesting downtown without masks.  The city is not less crowded.  Subway is closed so we microwaved potatoes for dinner.  All things are merry and bright for us, and for five great-grandchildren:

Jon's multigenerational family gathering

Hudson has a white Christmas

Cory's kids, continuing to be adorable

This looks realistic to me

25 Dec:  MERRY CHRISTMAS !!  And we celebrated with smooches to each other, exercises, oatmeal and computer projects, just like every other day of the year.  Now that it is noon-thirty, it is time to put on our hiking shoes and return to the Nature Trail.  We have discovered that the native grasses hereabouts have incredibly sharp balls of thorns for seeds which cling to footwear until they transfer onto the carpeting in the room, where Ron's bare feet soon discover them.  Click here to read about the sticker bur.  We had another nice, relaxing hike and enjoyed oatmeal for our Christmas dinner.

Brightest light SmoochSmooch in foreground.

24 Dec:  Christmas eve in Fredericksburg promises to be uneventful for us.  And we are happy with that.  We arose at nine AM! exercised, and walked twice, in very chilly weather, to Ole and Lena’s (oops, Emma and Ollie’s - click here) for a marvelous breakfast of scrambled egg whites, veggies, fresh fruit, sour dough toast, and awesome pancakes.  Why walk twice, you ask?  Silly question!  Second time was to retrieve Cynthia's forgotten purse ... Duh!  At the table near us was a delightful young couple from Tyler, Texas, married just two days ago.  He is studying to be a professional opera singer.  In the evening we walked to Bethany Lutheran Church to receive a powerful gospel message of hope for our fearful, covid-stricken society, that a fearful society needs a strong church sharing the Good News of Christ.  The Christmas Eve Candlelight, Carols, and Communion was marvelous.  Then we walked outdoors into the Marktplatz just in time to see the Christmas lights being turned on, making all things merry and bright! (see photo)

23 Dec:  Only two more shopping days until Christmas, or is it one?  Thank goodness Ron finally slept enough last night.  Today our sole exercise was hiking to K-Bob's for lunch.  The snooty manager said that they would bake a plain potato again for us today, but this is the last time.  They are too busy (with no more than 10 customers) to bake a single potato for us.  And we agree - it is the last time we will eat there.

22 Dec:  Ron awakened at 4:30 and was unable to fall back asleep, so it is another day of dragging along.  Cynthia is struggling to find restaurant reservations for a dinner date with clergy friends she hasn't seen in thirty years.  Fredericksburg is booked this holiday season, no room for travelers seeking reservations for meals.  Aha!  August E.’s phoned to say they have room in their “stable” for 29 Dec.  Ron is making progress on Volume 7; Cynthia finally has all of her Mac/Apple electronics synced and operative.  She has also E-mailed Christmas letters and pictures to our friends.  This afternoon we explored Cross Mountain (click here), taking a trail up to a cross with a fascinating history.  Once upon a time, Indians used the hill for a lookout and a sent smoke signals when settlers were approaching   In 1847, John Christian Durst, an early German settler bought ten acres and discovered a primitive cross on the mountain, hence its name, Cross Mountain.  The new cross was erected in 1921, and until 1941, locals held Easter sunrise services atop the mountain.  HowsomeEver it was a short hike, so we arrived at K-Bob's early this afternoon, and since we had called a hour earlier, they had a plain baked potato for Ron.  At 10pm this evening Ron is already headed for bed. 

21 Dec:  Morning arrived too early for Ron and too late for Cynthia, so we are up early and Ron is too logy to write coherently.  But then a double helping of frozen mango perked him up enough to saddle up and ride to the Lady Bird Park again for another hike on the Nature Trail, this time reading the descriptions at each marker.  (It makes more sense that way.)  Since our start was late, so was our lunch at K-Bob's, but we finished at 4:53 and were out before the place got crowded.  Ron stayed up working on Volume 7 again until 11:30.  How does it get so late so quickly?

20 Dec:  Ten more days left in Fredericksburg.  Today it is Cynthia's turn to figure out the hike.  Looks like we will ride the bike to avoid walking too far on concrete.  It just amazes us that no reservations are available for Enchanted Rock for the rest of our stay.  Apparently the college kids are making the most of semester break.  That also implies that Fredericksburg will stay exceptionally busy too.  Fooey (for us).  Cynthia's hiking choice was excellent, the Fredericksburg Nature Trail adjacent to Lady Bird Park.  There was even a printed guide and markers along the trail to educate us.  (Well, at least I read the guide a couple of times.)  It passed through at least a dozen different habitat zones and along a nice stream and large pond.  Then we rode straight to K-Bob's again for another round of baked sweet potato, baked potato, steamed broccoli and salad.  Now Ron is back to work on the index for Volume 7.  (NO, this is NOT a never-ending job.)

19 Dec:  In Fredericksburg, Texas, thunder and lightening greeted us this morning, and the rain appeared intense at 8 am.  However at 10:30 it appears to have done, so maybe we can venture outside again today.  And venture we did, first to K-Bob's in the early afternoon to feed the starving Weefee a baked sweet potato and some salmon, then to the Japanese Garden of Peace (click here) in the Pacific War memorial (click here), then to the Marktplatz (click here) to see the Vereins Kirche (click here), lights, trees, crowds and crowds of people.  (No wonder that covid is on a rampage.)  Our legs were a bit tired after yesterday's hike up Enchanted Rock.  Good grief, how did it get to be 11:30?

I guess this is artwork

Cynthia ascending

Cynthia finished ascending

Hey, there is a view from up here

18 Dec:  Once again we are preparing to hike Enchanted Rock, and the temp is already 40 degrees, cool and overcast.  We were a bit late for our 10:30 start, because we returned to the hotel for another layer of motor-cycle clothing for Cynthia.  The climb was tough for her, but the brave girl succeeded, and we had an awesome view!  Since that 0.8-mile hike up went quickly, we decided to hike another loop consisting of the Loop Trail east to Turkey Pass Trail north to Base Trail west to Echo Canyon Trail.  Our wildlife sighting for the day consisted of two mountain climbers standing on a sheer cliff 100 feet above us.  (Apparently the Base Trail is named as a base for mountain climbers.)  Then, as we struggled on the rock-strewn track that is the Echo Canyon Trail, two other climbers with large packs sashayed past us nonchalantly, rope swinging and carabiners clattering.  Click here to see the Trails Map PDF.  Cynthia's smart watch concluded that we walked 7 miles total and climbed 64 floors, but that hardly measures the energy we had to expend.  Again we feasted on baked sweet potatoes at K-Bob's, although this waitress told us that the baked potatoes ARE wiped with oil before baking.  And tonight we were both so tired that we went to sleep early and easily.

17 Dec:  Cynthia was aghast at a 25 degree temperature reading upon awakening this morning, but we have reservations to hike at Enchanted Rock at 10:30, so we are preparing to ride the bike ... twenty miles from here to there!  Fortunately the bright sun quickly warmed the atmosphere so that our ride was 48 degrees instead of 25.  The thin, cheery lady at the entrance station admitted us quickly despite the fact that Cynthia brought her mammogram instead of the entrance tickets.  We chose to hike the loop trail which was wide and level gravel trail until we ignored the "detour" sign and continued on the unmaintained part of that trail.  Apparently part of the trail washed out in a flash flood in the distant past and the trail was left closed despite being very passable if insufficient rain falls to repeat that flood.  After we passed Buzzard's Roost, a primitive camping area, we came to the beginning of the Enchanted Rock Summit Trail.  Although Cynthia was too tired and footsore to hike it herself today, she was willing to wait for Ron for 30 minutes.  Of course Ron decided to make the most of this opportunity, so he did not stop breathing hard for the entire 17 minutes uphill hiking until he got to the summit and the expansive views.  The rock surface gives such good traction that the hike down was no problem.  7.2 miles total for the day. 

16 Dec:  We are relocated to the Comfort Inn in Fredericksburg, Texas for the next fifteen days.  Fredericksburg is an old town that began with German immigrants, and it is called a ”Christmas City” because of lighting and events.  It is too cold to begin our walk in town until 11am this morning.  We walked to town and toured the Admiral Nimitz museum, which was very, very interesting, a thorough, modern treatment of the war in the Pacific 1941-1945.  After a several hours in the museum, we walked down the street to K-Bob’s Restaurant which serves baked sweet potatoes and a terrific salad bar.  Our waitress said the baked potatoes were not wiped with oil before baking, but they were suspiciously different from the usual dry baked potato.  By the time we returned to the Comfort Suites, our walk totaled five miles.  Yay! 

15 Dec:  And today we leave as early as possible - meaning before check-out at 11am.  Since the forecast called for showers at 10 and 11am, Ron packed last night, and we arose at 6:15am (while it was still dark !).  Happily, the forecast changed, and we should be riding dry all day, but the temperatures are to stay chilly (44 degrees), so there is no benefit in waiting to depart.  We should be ready to leave before 9am - record  time.  WOW, this day was not what we bargained for.  At 9am, when Ron checked tire pressures, a mist was dampening everything.  It appeared to stop by 10am but five minutes later a drizzle made everything wetter.  Finally at 11am we decided to start drizzle or no, expecting it to end as we rode west.  We dropped off the keys with Danielle, picked up a prescription at Lakeside, and stopped to put the last few things into the storage locker, but our key code was denied and similarly for another lady there.  The manager was nowhere to be found, phone calls went to a machine, and we became quite frustrated and angry as the minutes extended into an hour.  Finally someone showed up whose key code did work, and we were able to leave after noon, angry, upset and riding in mist, drizzle, and rain for the next full hour.  We kept going, assuming that we would eventually get west of it all, but that didn't happen until we were approaching Brenham, 50 miles later.  By then Ron was chilled and soaked through since he had never put on his rain gear.  Fortunately Cynthia (the smarter SmoochSmooch) was toasty warm in her heated gear.  The sun made appearance as we were bypassing Austin warming us up nicely and drying us out.  That sunshine turned against us an hour later when it blinded us as we rode straight towards it.  We did get to Fredericksburg before dark and ate at Cultures, who did manage to find potatoes for Ron.

14 Dec:  Today's plan was to move things to the storage locker in preparation for relocating tomorrow to Fredericksburg, and we were quite successful except that we forgot about the pole lamp before we returned the car to Enterprise.  Ron has backed up his MacBook twice, a necessity before traveling in cold weather.  Cynthia did think that the ride on the motorcycle was quite chilly.  There is a bit more compost to bury this evening.  A crazy busy day, but we enjoyed two walks, a lovely sunset, and lots of very young deer.

13 Dec, Sunday:  In Conroe, Texas, we attend Grace Lutheran Church and enjoy fellowship with Pastor Diane.  Today the accompanist called in cautious late Saturday, so we had no music, which changes our experience dramatically.  Sunday brunch at the Yacht Club was as good as usual, and we were able to walk all the way to the lake and return home just before a sudden downpour which would have made us miserable one minute earlier.  Ron needs to take a break from indexing to clean the kitchen and pack two bags for the motorcycle.  Both bags "packed" and the kitchen is soon to be "clean."  Ron was delighted that the spade made quick work of creating a hole in which to bury the compost.  There is now one deceptively deep depression that is no longer quite so deep.

Cynthia in dress leather jacket

12 Dec:  And we were up no earlier than yesterday, and we were just as thankful as yesterday (perhaps more so).  After breakfast and sudokus we walked to the lake, being careful to avoid the muddy construction area.  Dinner this evening at Pappadeaux with a Bankston cousin promises to be exciting, and it was; he and his wife are delightful.  The motorcycle ride home after dark was too exciting for Cynthia, especially the exit from Pappadeaux, crossing two lanes of traffic immediately to take the entrance ramp onto I-45.  (This BMW K1600GTL is advertised to do 0 to 60 in 3 seconds, so our acceleration was exhilarating.)  Cynthia is modeling a jacket she bought several years ago, only to have granddaughter Rachel borrow it before Cynthia got to wear it; Rachel returned it two weeks ago.  

11 Dec:  Time is flying here at Lake Conroe.  We arose late, exercised late, breakfasted late, sudokued late, and then the rains came as forecast.  Now we will have to wait for our walk until late, but it rained steadily all afternoon until time for dinner with Jon and Tina at 5:30.  We were disappointed that the Caddy Shack is closed due to an employee testing positive, and we didn't get to see the progress with  Jon's home remodeling.  The food was great at the Walden Yacht Club and they steamed fingerling potatoes especially for me.  It was 8:50pm by the time Ron was able to walk to the lake.  (And then his cell phone battery gave up before he got home.  Progress on index continues, and Ron again stayed up rediculously late, perhaps as late as 2am.

10 Dec:  Time for the annual mammogram.  (Cynthia, NOT Ron.)  Cynthia passed with flying colors - everything terrific.  (Ron also passed with flying colors by waking up early enough to accompany Cynthia).  But Ron was unprepared to spend 3 hours at the hospital, and he nearly died of boredom.  And then Texas Highway 105 was entirely shut down for 8 hours due to some major gas leak, so we had to retrace our steps all the way back to I-45 north in order to take FM 1097 as the next most "convenient" alternative, arriving "home" at 3:45pm.  Ron now is convinced that he will ALWAYS carry the charging cord for his computer and a pile of sudokus (Thanks Oke).  Then he again was captured by the effort towards a "perfect" index until the wee hours of tomorrow.  By the time he finished his fourth day of resuming work, he finally remembered what he was doing when he stopped a month ago.

Lake Conroe, terminus of daily walks

9 Dec:  Oops, Ron stayed up too late last night - 11:30, but he slept until 4 am first awakening and felt nicely rested by the time we arose at 8am.  Then it was off to the audiologist to tune Cynthia's electronic hearing aides.  (Ron is the biological hearing aide.)  Then we ate lunch and walked our usual walk to the lake and back.  Now Ron is again hard at it with Volume 7 index.

8 Dec:  Another good night's sleep, thanks to the miracle of salt water - to make Ron retain fluids - which increases his (very low) blood pressure.  (This morning his blood pressure was 112 over 68 with a pulse of 70.  Yesterday it was 92 over 64.)  Our walk to the lake and back was very comfortable at 70 degrees and no wind.  Today Cynthia took pictures of the artwork on the rocks.  Woo Hoo!  After a second walk at four PM, our total was 8.4 miles.  Yay for us.  Getting day passes to hike Enchanted Rock was crazy, but Cynthia prevailed, and we now have passes.  She checked the driving route to the hill country and discovered our Hilton Garden Inn is booked for Fredericksburg, VA (instead of Texas).  There is NOT a HGI in Fredericksburg, TX, sooo back to Comfort Inn & Suites there.  Oops, time got away, and Ron stayed up too late - 11:30.

7 Dec:  Ron experimented with drinking a mouthful of salt water every time he woke up to pee and is happy to report that it seems to help him sleep longer through the night (two stretches of 3 1/2 hours).  We drove over to Cypress to walk with Julie around a neighborhood lake (1 & 1/2 miles per circuit).  Here it is 8 pm, and Ron is already tired again.  At least today Ron finally tried to remember where he was with the indexing project for Volume 7 of the Colonial Records of the Swedish Churches of Pennsylvania.

6 Dec, Sunday:  We woke up early enough to make it to church on time, and we enjoyed the usual Sunday Brunch at the Yacht Club.  There were more items there that we could eat than previously.  Our Sunday walks allow us to pass through the construction area to see the progress since last year (several new structures).

Smooch and SmoochSmooch

Jon and Blalire

Kiira, Lauren and Blaire

Jon, Julie, Tina, SmoochSmooch and Smooch

Cynthia and niece Kelly

 

All God's children.  Baby Blaire in red on left.

5 Dec:  This was the main event for which Ron was summoned home, the Forde family Christmas party, in celebration of a visit by sister Marilee, her daughter Kelly and Jaden.  It was too much fun to watch 13-year-old Jaden's constant attention to 9-month-old Blaire.  Strangely, there are no pictures on the blog of Blaire playing with Jaden.  The party wrapped up by 9 pm, allowing us oldsters to get to bed on time.

4 Dec:  Ron is home, do not disturb.  Well, we did go grocery shopping and bought way too much.  Somehow it hasn't dawned that we are only here for 10 days before heading off to the "Hill Country" for two weeks.  Oke sent new sudokus and Ron is completing one or several every day.

3 Dec:  And we hope to report that the Smooches are successfully reunited, God Willing.  And she awoke at six AM with a joyful heart in anticipation.  And he arrived at 11:20 to an empty house.  Anticipations is all over the place.  Route was Texas Highway 19 through Crockett to Huntsville, right on FM (farm-to-market) 2821 W (Fish Hatchery Road) to TX 75 W to FM 1791 W to TX 149 S to Montgomery, then following familiar shortcuts around town and out the new pavement to the Pointe.  And we were indeed happily reunited at 2:30 when Cynthia arrived home 1 1/2 hours ahead of schedule.  We celebrated by going for our usual walk to the lake and decided to take Poe Street around the construction.  The newest scenery at the lake is painted rocks.  Apparently some kids and teenagers have decided to practice art by painting rocks on the lakeshore.  Some are quite artistic and well done.

2 Dec:  Forecast is quite miserable for this Wednesday in Palestine, Texas.  Let's hope that the forecasters missed so that the Smooches can reunite.  Ron awoke at 4:45am after getting to bed at 1am, so that is a good four hours uninterrupted, and it was raining here in Palestine, but then he couldn't get back to sleep until he Googled weather to discover that the rains are projected to fall ALL day along the corridor that he needs to travel to get to his beloved SmoochSmooch.  Paste a disappointed "smiley" face here.  Looks like he picked the cheapest motel in Palestine, so he is happy with that aspect at least, and he bought pretzels and spinach, so he has food for now.  Apparently he was more exhausted than he realized because he spent the entire day lying in bed, dozing.  After a final downpour at 2:30pm, he arose at 4 and walked to Mama Seafood (click here) for two more baked potatoes with salmon.  Route was suspended for this rainy day.

Baby Blair seems to like Cynthia

1 Dec:  Ron woke up near the north pole in Pittsburg, OK.  Once the blue BMW reindeer is harnessed, he hopes to be making things merry and bright in Texas by evening.  Will he reach Paris, Athens or Montgomery?  (All towns in Texas!)  A cheery "Ho!Ho!Ho!" echoes down to Cynthia from an Econolodge in Palestine, Texas, a mere 120 miles from her in Montgomery.  Ron loves saying that he started in Pittsburg, skirted Miami, rode around Paris, through Athens and ended up after dark in Palestine.  He now needs to forage for food after another day without food since breakfast.  The forecast is for rain all day tomorrow in Montgomery, so it will be a challenge for Ron to get there with the motorcycle.  He decided to gather a few provisions in case it does rain all day, but then he started towards Mama Seafood Restaurant going east instead of west, so he got there after they had nominally closed, but the drive-through attendant took pity and accepted his order for two baked potatoes.  Ron then walked another mile to Kroger without incident to buy berries, bananas, pretzels and spinach.  On the way home Ron just seemed to make one wrong turn after another until he had reached two of the edges of town to the east and south.  His buddy Ed looked up directions on the computer and directed Ron correctly back to his motel.  It is truly amazing how turned around a person can get after one innocent wrong turn.  His 2.9 mile walk turned into 8 miles!  Meantime in Montgomery, Cynthia can't slow down.  Crazy schedule! Ron's route was US 69 south until Oklahoma Alt 69 south to I-44, a toll road bypassing Miami, Oklahoma, to US 69 south at Big Cabin, to the Indian Nation Turnpike past Antlers to US 271 south to Texas 286 loop around Paris to Texas 19/ 24 south to TX 19 south through Athens to Palestine for the night.  (As he rode south on US 69, Ron was quite surprised to pass through Muskogee and to see the expanse of the Eufaula Reservoir.