March Winds

31 Mar:   Hmm, what did we do two days ago.  Breakfast at Toasted Yolk?  Hike??  Good Lord, we've moved into another month while I wasn't watching.  New Post ahoy.

30 Mar, Sun:  7:28 AM - One of us did not think we would make it to church on time. The true optimist swiftly showered, dressed and chortled, "We still have ten minutes before we have to leave for church."   Glad we did make it; the sermon by  Rev. Blair Lundborg, a long-time colleague of Cynthia's from the Brenham area, was terrific.  We ate too much at the Yacht Club Brunch.  Ron accidentally ate a whole herd of scones.  The "fat gram policewoman" erred; it is NOT low fat, it is low sugar.  My BAD.  Ron wrapped up the most recent edits to Vol. 6 and whisked it off to DropBox, worked on James Lea and mopped a floor.   He must really like married life.  AMEN.  

29 Mar:  What a difference a day makes.  Yesterday was hot & humid, and thunderstorms blew through before dark followed by a chill wind.  No more humidity now.   The lake is placid, bright blue sky, sunshine sparkling on the water.  No more Diet Coca Cola in the house = we must go shopping.  Ron did not make carrot, asparagus, and mushroom omelets; the brunch at Walden's Caddy Shack was fine, and we finally met chef Oscar.  More recycling, more James Lea, and more vacuuming.  Now time for Vol. 6.

28 Mar:  Montgomery, TX, 5 AM start to the day for Ron.  Now that the blog is updated, James Lea calls.  The Big Y DNA test results for Cynthia's son Jon are due today; the order, placed early November as part of a special introduction to a new breakthrough test, has had many glitches.  Sistah Carol is working diligently gathering the family's autosomal DNA; she even coaxed a cheek swab from Aunt Eleanor.  Cynthia's two maternal aunts have tested along with her son and cousins from different family lines.  If a match occurs with Cynthia and not her maternal aunts the match is to her paternal Norwegian line.  If son Jon has a match not matching Cynthia it belongs to Jon's paternal Norwegian side.  We walked 4.5 miles RT to the fitness center with a stop for dinner on the "Green" and watched a golfer killing golfs with his chipper.  By the time we walked the rest of the way home the temperature had dropped, wind increased and the sky became  dark and foreboding.  Looking across the lake from the living room,  lightning displays are visible across the sky amidst loud thunder rolls.  The first photo below doesn't capture how eerie the clouds on the horizon.  The storm passed quickly followed by an Aha!  A double rainbow appeared with luscious intense colors followed by a spectacular sunset.

Approaching Storm

Double Rainbow After the Storm

The colors in the rainbow are awesome

Light Changes After Storm

Sunset After the Storm

27 Mar:  With the drive looking so grand Ron is certain that the third house hunter to see the house will buy immediately.  Lake Conroe, the Woodlands, etc. are in a real estate boom; it is the fastest growing area of Texas.  New homes are going up all over Walden, and the inventory of houses for sale is depleted.  The luxury homes market is just beginning to be impacted.  We started the day with Ron's omelets to fuel a full day of housework.  After dishes and recycling, Ron busied himself rendering the huge wall o' windows transparently spotless, followed by vacuuming downstairs.  It is a cloudy day with thunderstorms forecast, so we opted to drive to the fitness center to work out.  The storms missed us north and south, but we did get enough rain to wash our pine pollen into streaks and puddles.  After dark but before dinner, Ron was able to locate several e-mails relative to Volume 6 proofreading.  (For us, dinner is usually 5 PM - long before dark.)  It has been a peaceful day; tonight we dine with Ruth and Casey.  Casey plans to expand his Purteq business here after doing such a spectacular job on the driveway.

26 Mar:  Being "lazy" we decided to drive to Toasted Yolk on the way to the library to request inter-library loan in person.  Immediately after breakfast pure serendipity prevailed, and Dr. Douglas's office called to say Cynthia's sublingual allergy drops were ready.  Afterwards we shopped at HEB for bread-making provisions and found a cute little pint of Dulces de Leches for Cynthia.   Ron did a marvelous job of cleaning the spoon and the inside of the container.  We have moved on to important (and needed) housecleaning so the house can now be shown again.  Ron washed windows with water and a squeegee as a first step and vacuumed upstairs.  The landscapers arrived to trim trees, plants, clean and mulch the beds for spring plantings.  Cynthia is researching lodging for next year on the East coast.  How can two retired people be so busy?

25 Mar:  We seem to have lost a day.  Fortunately we both slept well last night.  Now I am drinking coffee while Cynthia pounds away on her IPad.  The exciting news for the day (exciting to genealogists) is that the Wilson Library (UNC Chapel Hill, NC) will send microfilm reels 1 and 2 of the Herndon Haralson Diary to our local library through inter-library loan.

24 Mar:  Up "early" and out the door to the allergy tests.  Dr. Franklin Douglas is wonderfully clear and attentive, too bad Cynthia's hearing is so poor that she didn't hear him.  It woulda helped if the battery door of her hearing aid had been shut.  Fortunately her human hearing aid was providing said aid.  Cynthia is mildly allergic to EVERYTHING (and that certainly includes Ron).  (He is hilarious!) She can eating allergy drops when the concoctors deliver finished product.  We breakfasted afterwards at the Toasted Yolk, our favorite omelet nearby.  The twos of us walked to the fitness center & back.  Ron called his friend Beanie and was very upset to hear that her kidney transplant has been postponed, perhaps for two years, because her pre-op physical discovered melanoma, one of which had metastasized.   There is hope for re-consideration since the margins were clear after the dermatologist dug the melanomas out.  Poor little SmoochSmooch fell asleep ASAP in the evening, before Ron finished with pills, salt water gargle, cereal, etc.  We like to leave the sleeping girlie lie, so Ron hunted through e-mail past for two hours looking for edits to Vol. 6 and discovered that it was not "my bad" so much because the proofreader waited 6 months before sending edits, and the subject line was nonsense.

23 Mar, Sun: We awoke in Waller, TX and thought that the first service started at 8:30 AM, so we arrived at the church at 7:55, expecting to have a half hour to get ready. Imagine our surprise to find that the service started at 8 AM, so Cynthia was a bit rattled as she delivered the first sermon.   The second sermon was flawless, and I was so very proud of mee WeeFee, her High Holiness. Evelyn and Wayne were delights, Pastor Ed was very good, Samantha, Jacoby and son were a joy to behold, and it was a pleasure to enjoy breakfast at La Madeline with Roxanne and Jon. Late afternoon the Smooches went for a long walk to the fitness center that emphasized the disadvantages of walking on concrete; Cynthia's feet became "tired," and Ron's knee hurts.

22 Mar: 6 AM on Lake Conroe in Montgomery, TX, Ron is again up to his ears editing. One proofreader has already replied, insulted that his few suggested changes to a biographical sketch in the introduction haven't been incorporated. My bad, in the rush to DropBox, I forgot to search my e-mails for those. Now that the blog is updated, time to send a Smooch-mail. Recycling preparations and house "clearing" came to an end at 3 PM when Cynthia and Casey arrived. Cynthia was SOoo relieved to find that the driveway actually looks GREAT; it does not look orange.   Casey was SOoo relieved to hear that she was happy. I was amazed that one little color picture could cause such turmoil and decided to only post Black & White from now on. We drove to Perry's to pick up dinner and to Julie's. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Julie and was delighted to see Eric again. (Cynthia is still AMAZED that his biceps are bigger than her thighs; he has been working out a lot.) After a very pleasant dinner, we smooches toddled off to the most luxurious lodging in Waller, TX, the Holiday Inn.

21 Mar: Awake at 5:30, unable to get back to sleep, our hero is again editing the same sentences within James Lea, seeking to further improve the reading thereof. WoW, is there ever a heavy fog on the lake. Around noon Casey took me to lunch at Phil's Roadhouse. Normally Cynthia posts all the pictures to the blog, but this time I figure to surprise her with a picture of the completed driveway. Unfortunately, the driveway in the picture looked "orange" to Cynthia, and my cellphone somehow turned itself off without my permission so that she was unable to reach me. My eyes don't see any orange, and the picture looks fine to me. Vol. 6 is finally uploaded to DropBox and an e-mail sent to the proofreaders. Eureka. Before dark and bedtime, Ron straighted up the house and consolidated recycling preparing for recycling tomorrow.

20 Mar: For the first time in a week, Cynthia awoke feeling rested and somewhat energetic. Sadly Smooch and Smoochie separated at 7:30 AM so that Cynthia could take her daughter Julie to a medical appointment. Gladly they will be reunited Saturday afternoon for an exciting trip together to recycling in Magnolia. Da Rev. Cynthia is working on her sermon as a guest pastor in Waller on Sunday soon. Ron hopes that he is not the target of the sermon; he drank coffee, washed dishes, trimmed flowers, copied 1099 & W-2 tax forms, and finished drafts of the Intro, Appendix and Conclusions for James Lea. Now it is time to start consolidating recycling and straightening the house. Soon after the driveway is finished, the house needs to be presentable for houseguests and attractive to prospective buyers. The driveway stain improves the appearance immeasurably, thanks to Casey, Alan, Rooster and the fisherman. (He caught a good sized bass, and I shoulda taken a picture for the slideshow, but he released the bass, and the picture got away.) Ron's finale for the day was to walk to the school and recycle paper into the PaperRetriever. As a special treat, in the absence of his missus, Ron enjoyed a pleasant nights sleep outdoors on the patio.

19 March: The croupy cough still disturbed Cynthia's sleep, but less that previously. After the executive chose the color stain for the driveway, we were free to eat breakfast at the Toasted Yolk. Despite having errands to run, we chose to research James Lee at the Montgomery County Central Library since we were very close to it. En route, Ron divorced the IPad because it's GPS directed us to the Montgomery County Airport, ignoring our request to go to the Montgomery County Library. Da--ed thing "helped" us turn a 1/2 mile stroll into a 20 mile drive. We enjoyed a successful afternoon at the library followed by dinner of Texas Redfish at Pappadeaux. Cynthia was quite shocked to complete all of the errands after 5pm on the way home; she retrieved sunglasses at Jeff's Jewelry, deposited a check in the bank, sent a package with FedEx, and filled the car with gas. During our absence, Ron's annual box of mail arrived from Kansas filled with financial statements and a few letters. Good thing they don't need answers to questions.

18 Mar:  The Mrs. slept well this evening, Thank God.  Ron is up at 4 AM to work on James Lea and perhaps finish the Introduction.   And the Mrs. awoke feeling improved, albeit not well, yet the terrible cough has dissipated thanks to the breathing treatments and antibiotics.  The Mr. is a devoted caregiver;  this morning's question, "What constitutes for better or worse?"   Casey's crew is sealing the stone walls, patios and flagstone in the driveway.  Tomorrow Casey will seal and stain the drive itself.   The color on the cobblestones and flagstone is bright with a permanent wet look.

17 Mar:  Another night of racking coughs for poor Cynthia.  Still, we are thankful that it is not any worse.   Ron is up to work on James Lea for an hour or two while awaiting his beloved SmoochSmooch.  It is quite cold (for us: 42 degrees) this morning and windy (15 to 20 mph), so we did stay indoors.  Late morning Cynthia's diagnosis from the ENT was bronchial pneumonia; this is the fourth winter for the bugger to appear as the result of initial allergies.  Interesting that she has been on antibiotics for ten days and it worsened.   Plan is to be allergy tested and carry selfies.   RX was a shot of sulfa, oral powerhouse antibiotics, two inhalers.  Casey power-washed the stone for the last time before applying the sealer on Wed and Thursday.   May St Patrick be celebrated!!  We've finished about six paragraphs of James Lea; looks like this will take a while.  Ron finished index comparisons on Vol. 6 and set it aside until tomorrow for the final additions and index insertion.  "Final" slide show of sunrises, sunsets, and duckies on the lake occupied his evening hours, and that is here at https://picasaweb.google.com/113780268026608859160/13506Northshore.

16 Mar, Sun:  Ron is up early at 5 AM, trying to leave Cynthia asleep undisturbed since she was not sleeping well at midnight because of occasional sciatica.  Her "cold" has developed a croupy cough that interferes with sleep, poor thing.  Vol. 6 calls, but duty requires that I work on James Lea until Cynthia awakens (which happened with my help at 7AM).  The vivid lightning and fearsome thunder was impressive at 6:30, so the computers and TV were unplugged before Cynthia's sleep was disturbed, as requested, at 7 AM (for church).  Despite her clogged head, church beckoned strongly, so we got up and got going quickly, especially after discovering that, after the brief power outage "yesterday," the bedroom clock had been reset 15 minutes slow.  Pastor Lorin's last Sunday sermon was weepy and compelling.  He and his wife are moving to Oregon; he will be sorely missed here.  Since the thunder storms ceased about 8 AM, we wondered if Casey and crew would work on stone repairs today.  Indeed they were industriously working away when we arrived home from a good breakfast at I-Hop.  (Seems like the new manager at IHOP has indeed improved everything, although we missed our buddy Zack.)  Now that James Lea is in Cynthia's hands for the day, Ron is back to work on Vol. 6.  It was a windy day, so we simply stayed indoors and worked most of the day.  Casey's crew finished resetting the stone wall of the patio and completed grouting the flagstone in the driveway.  The improvement is substantial with more to come.  The winds were so strong that a blue heron capsized in the wind and landed in the drink right outside our picture window.

15 Mar: (The Ides of March), Sat:  Our noontime walk was shortened drastically when the rain started coming down.  No surprise, it was forecast, but the color radar didn't look so bad.  So we are house bound for the day, working on projects.  Since Ron prefers to have a rain assist when he washes the motorcycle, it is nearly done now, waiting for dry to dry before garaging it for the night.  Another early morning for Ron, who began editing Cynthia's James Lea volume.  Bye; it is time to wrap up Vol. 6 before sending it to the delinquent proofreaders.

14 Mar:  Already?  Time does indeed fly.  Ron is up at 5:30 to get busy on Vol. 6, but first thought it best to deliver an early morning Smooch to Cynthia, hidden here on the blog for all the world to see. Today we decided to hike the Lone Star Trail in the Sam Houston Nat'l Forest close-by.  The trail was quite acceptable, especially since Ron had done his research and knew to bring clippers.  (He is now sporting a brand-new little blister on his right-hand index finger.)

Smooch

13 Mar:  Ron rode the motorcycle to the BMW dealer for service opposite the spectacular sunrise;  Cynthia is enjoying a GIRL DAY to celebrate "I Been Good".  That ride was surprisingly cold at first, 39 degrees, but warmed rapidly to 52 degrees by the end of the 60-mile trip.  Ron took his computer and some of the home-made bread since the snack machines don't carry low fat snacks like carrot sticks.  My most intimate friends know that I NEVER buy new clothing, but Cynthia needs a new rain jacket for riding, and Wild West Honda carries Tourmaster riding clothing.  Around 1:30 Smooch called SmoochSmooch to inquire if she wanted to come on over to try on a new jacket.  Imagine her surprise !!  The suits suited, and Ron got his come-uppance when Cynthia bought jackets and pants for us both.  OHMYGOD, married life is full of surprises, and with us they are non-stop.  Now Cynthia is diabetic and was hungry and Hooters is right next door.  (Matter of fact, the HOOTERS sign is three times as big and three times as high as the Wild West Honda sign, so we always look for Hooters to know where to turn -- no other reason, of course.)  Ron was shocked speechless when Cynthia agreed to see if Hooters could feed us (yes, she was THAT hungry.) Unfortunately, the parts manager suggested that the Black-Eyed Pea, also close by, would probably work for us.  This big shopping trip  resulted in two matching (2 piece) TourMaster Rain Suits; one size extra long and Large and the other one small.  Small is just small, so the wearer of the small will just have to roll up her pants legs.  The time at the shop was well spent, and Ron nearly finished adding the markup for the index to Vol. 6.  That went much better than he had thought.

12 Mar, Wed.  2 years and 10 months = bliss.)  Gopher: If I was you, I'd think about skedaddlin' out of here. Winnie the Pooh: Why? Gopher: 'Cause it's "Winds-day."  Winds-Day is indeed a blustery day.  Big white caps are blown hither and yon.  The pump or motor in the power washer burned out so a Crew member is off to Bubba's to have it replaced returning with welder supplies to repair the iron railing.  Crew boss Casey reported the stone wall (about 18 feet high) needs some serious repairs.  Good discovery since this  was a structural issue we have averted.  The windy Winds-day hike of 4.5 miles was followed by dinner at the Caddy Shack. 

Ron created a super slide show of our sunrise and sunset views for Jon to post on the listing website:
https://picasaweb.google.com/113780268026608859160/13506Northshore

Cynthia's Speech 24 April:  Someone Happens to Us (I CHOOSE to live or not live  well in relationship  ie., Download Cynthia's iRelate app : ) 

Sunset Lake House

Preparing to Grout

Flagstone Grouting Removal

11 Mar, Tues:  The duckies perched picture perfect on the power lines seem to say, "Life is good" while sunlight sparkles like diamonds on the bright blue waters of Lake Conroe.  We are smiling.  The temperature is 67 degrees late morning.  Our projects are progressing at a good pace. The Vol. 6 index is closer to completion with comparisons to older versions coming soon.   The stone crew worked industriously power washing stone and flagstone to 5 PM already improving the appearance. Tomorrow they will remove grout in the flagstone.   The heavy (real) iron patio tables (made in Turkey) were challenging for them to move; the stone flower pots are equally heavy filled with dirt and cannot be moved until they bring a furniture dolly.  Cynthia made a list of the furniture for sale and the packing list for items to go into the storage unit, baked bread but she did not eat any.  ATTA GIRL!  It is rodeo time in Texas but, like movies, we don't attend.  The 4.5 mile walk on concrete is beginning to cause painful wear and tear to Ron's knee and Cynthia's feet.  Pound, pound, pound, ouch!  We can hike hours on a trail but the concrete sidewalks are problematic.  The Sam Houston Natl Park is 9.6 miles north of Montgomery with a lot of trails (flat land, not well maintained at all) but it is dirt and our plan for Friday and the weekend.

Like the duckies, we reminded ourselves again how fortunate we are; life is good.  Despite losing a son-in-law (like losing a son again) we are thankful to  have had Jim the extra fifteen years after cardiologists learned he had an inoperable blockage on the heart wall; it was a genetic condition inherited from both of his parents.  It will take time for his grieving children and Julie to reach that point but it will happen; their faith is deep.  Beautiful rose, violet and blue colors on the horizon at sunset.

10 Mar,  Monday 2 AM and exhausted the Smooch Smooches slept soundly until 7 AM.  Ron is making progress manually entering missing names into the Volume 6 index.   Today we turned into Mollie and Mort maid service to clean the mess we made.  Ron cleaned waaay early so his recycling is safe from Cynthia who dangerously multi-tasks as she cleans.  The house shines, the laundry done,  a 4.5 mile walk completed.  Ron's new pants arrived from REI but they are too lightweight for riding on a motorcycle.  The nice part about those pants was the long side zip that makes removal easy, even while wearing boots.  The fabric used for hiking pants has become increasingly inferior.

Besides cleaning the house,  Cynthia recommends two books,  "Killing Jesus" and a political commentary by Robert Gates.   A niece suggested we see the movie Philomena with actress Judi Densch; it is a tempting topic but we rarely have time to attend movies.  A sermon must be written for 23 March at St. John's Lutheran Church in Waller, TX (and let Mary and Bill S. know we will be there both services).  And she has a speech to write.

We are approaching the middle of March with much to do  on our manuscripts.

9 Mar, Sun: Ron awoke at 4 AM;  Cynthia awoke at 6:30 AM.   Ron looked outdoors thinking it must be late because it was so light, yet, the kitchen clock said 6:30!   Cynthia awoke, showered, dressed and shrieked: WHAAAT?????  We forgot the time change.   We missed church.  Ron (begrudgingly) stayed Dressed to the Nines to Dine at the Yacht Club breakfast buffet with grandson Steven to celebrate his 22nd birthday.   Last year Ron surprised Steven by arranging a Happy Birthday phone call from the Band Boston's leader Tom Scholz; Steven was rendered appropriately speechless.  This year we e-mailed Tom a happy birthday and invited him to come visit us; they are unable to come because of this year's tour, so they sent tickets for Steven's birthday present.  The Band Boston is Steven's favorite group as it was his dad's.  Steven was small when his dad died from Leukemia, yet he lives his life thankful for what is without begrudging what isn't.  Steven graduates from TX A and M in six weeks with a job hunting agenda; he plans to attend U of H law school for a career in public policy.  Steven ( an Eagle Scout) tested in the top 2% academically.  We are Steven PROUD!

Ron is working on the index for Volume 6 of the Gloria Dei record project by manually entering names that did not get into the first creation of the index.  Ron's creation of the sunrise slideshow is a success.  With the foggy, gray mornings it is a good choice to view the sunrise on the lake.  Lots of duckies are on the lake today, a large great blue heron flew overhead past the patio.  The number of deer sightings are increasing along with their bravery in not running away when they see us approach.  One young, small deer seemed to have an injured leg lagging behind the others leaping over bushes.

Driveway dilemma resolved:  Casey with Surface Solutions will clean the drive, sandblast the flagstone in the driveway, plus all of the stone walls and patios in the rear of the house,  re-grout all of the flagstone and put a sealer on everything.  The product is chemical free.  This is a ten day job for a whole crew of men with machines and big tools.   We had a good day.  Good 4.5 mile walk.  Good Night!

8 Mar, Sat: We hardly worked on our projects.  Cynthia has two Lea men signed up for DNA testing; one from JLCL and one from JLCC. One more DNA Bankston participant joined the project.  We need hundreds more!!  A good 4.5 mile walk to the fitness center with food at the Caddy Shack ended the day. By 7 PM we were ready for sleep.

7 Mar: Ron continues gargling salt water to rid himself of chronic sinus symptoms.  Cynthia is feeling better living through chemistry.  Both are hard at work on current projects; Ron assembled a slideshow of sunrises and sunsets and birds on the lake to run while realtors are showing the house.  Soon he may find himself committed to resurfacing the driveway - does anyone have pointers to offer?  Cynthia's bread machine pumped out another delicious loaf, and she has been making progress on the Jame Lea volume.  When she finishes, Ron gets to do final editing.

6 Mar:  Amazing that an entire day can be spent in one doctor's appointment, one breakfast (at the Toasted Yolk), a suit fitting (for Rachel's wedding), a little shopping at Dollar Tree & Walmart, a visit to the bank to extract external hard drives from the safety deposit box, a stop at the Post Office to mail a key back to cousin Don C., and dinner.  We were nearly asleep by 7 PM but didn't get to bed until after midnight, WAYY late for us.

5 Mar:  The computer tells me that this is today.  Using the Toshiba Portege is proving a challenge since the installation of 32-bit Windows.  The touchpad has returned to overly sensitive with no apparent place to adjust it.  The first Synaptics Touchpad driver downloaded (eventually) but refused to work with 32-bit Windows; second driver asked for touchpad to be connected.  Now the Alps driver installed from a TOSAPINS directory requires a computer restart.  Wish me luck. EUREKA, now at 5 PM I can get to work on Volume 6 of the Colonial Records, providing I can figure out what was needed a year ago.

The computer tells Cynthia that today is Ash Wednesday.  She found a deeply meaningful reflection on why we need the Lenten Season:  http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/03/05/lent-2014-why-does-ancient-ritual-still-have-so-much-power/?intcmp=features

4 Mar:  Again cold and rainy with cute little bitty icicles on the deck railing - that lasted all day.  Cynthia has contracted something that has her all congested and makes her head hurt.  I'm resuming gargling with salt water.  After walking to the Caddy Shack to discover that they closed because of the ice, we again drove to Phil's Roadhouse for dinner and to Walmart for bread.  Projects seemed to be a repeat of yesterday.  Cynthia and her bread machine produced a wonderfully crusty loaf, and of course she indulged while it was toasty hot.

3 Mar:  Cold and dreary day.  We drove to Phil's Roadhouse for dinner and to Walmart for bread, but they were out of 0-fat bread. Ron spent the day working on the James Lea book, on his tax information, and on his asset allocation.

2 Mar, Sunday:  While things will never be "normal" again following Jim's passing, the Smooch-SmoochSmooch relationship is successfully re-established, and the breakfast buffet at the Yacht Club is indeed a treat.  The plan was to digest first and walk later, but the color radar showed advancing rain, so we walked out until the sprinkles started.

1 Mar:  Sad day in TX.  The funeral will be at Messiah Lutheran Church, Cypress, TX.  A reception will follow at the church; the burial will be at 4 PM at Scott's Grove (family cemetery).  So many people attended the visitation last night with huge floral displays filling every corner and wall space.  Jim was well-loved.

Ron's epic ride from Atlanta came to a successful conclusion with his arrival at the lake house at 2 PM.  First order of business was to eat some cereal, blueberries and protein powder; second necessity was to shower off all the road grime before Cynthia sees it; then he resumed updating the blog.  Today's ride was uneventful although it is quite remarkable to cross all the bridges on I-10 across the swamplands that fill southern Louisiana; a couple of those bridges are unnervingly high on a windy, blustery day.  At times the bike was leaned 10 degrees into the wind for miles in order to go straight.  The only alternative was to take slower roads, but speeding back to Cynthia seemed preferable.  Fortunately no cops noticed my speed.  Usually when I ride at 55 mph on old U.S. Highways, everyone exceeds the speed limits and passes me; on this trip riding 70+ mph on the Interstates, most drivers were much slower and I passed them quickly.  The volume of traffic heading towards New Orleans was extremely heavy for a Saturday morning and was a puzzle until I realized that it is Mardi Gras.  It was 60 degrees at Diamondhead, MS at 7 AM and 85 degrees in Montgomery, TX at 2 PM.  It was such a relief to remove the helmet when I entered Texas. (Many of you will say tsk, tsk - but I am convinced that helmets CAUSE accidents from fatigue, heat, and obstruction of vision and hearing.  If you want to argue, first try wearing one for an entire day, especially on a hot summer day.)  Mileage today was 409 miles in 7 hours.  So the Smooch and SmoochSmooch are again reunited and celebrated by walking to an Ahi Tuna dinner at the restaurant formerly known as Caddy Shack.  With our dietary restrictions, of course the waiter and the cook remembered us.

If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.   Our unscheduled month of March on the East Coast changed beyond recognition.  But we still find lotsa reasons to enjoy life and Thank God.
scheduled - 5 Apr 2014: Rachel and Ryan's wedding.
scheduled - 23-24 Apr: Cynthia honored as the distinguished alumna of 2014  by her seminary in Austin, Texas

OhMyGod, Little SmoochSmooch declared herself bored or lonely and posted the entire summer itinerary with minute-by-minute details.  Ron will remain clueless.

LUV-in-February

28 Feb:  Overnight low in Atlanta was 28 degrees, so Ron was in no hurry to commence the ride to Texas.  Instead he called for financial information and prepared precious recycling.  Finally he was ready to ride and was out the door at 11:30 when it was a balmy 55 degrees.  By 1:00 PM he was in Montgomery, Alabama and the temperature had risen to 64 degrees warm.  Asleep in Missouri @ 10:01 PM  (Notice that Cynthia experiences difficulties understanding telephone conversations.  Ron stopped at the Diamondhead Inn in Diamondhead, Mississippi because raindrops had wetted him, it was getting dark, and the temperature had dropped to 59.)  So the mileage for today was 415 miles in 7 hours.  Dinner was from the grocery, turkey and pretzels.

27 Feb:  Another early 5 AM start to this day.  First order of business was to pack one box to return the items shipped in four big and bigger boxes from Texas.  Next was to pack the things for the motorcycle trip (including recycling).  Then Ron had to find the WiFi security key and locate a shipping company.  Both FedEx stores and one nearby UPS store had only bad reviews, so Ron strapped a big, heavy box on the back of the motorcycle and the wind blew him everywhere on that 10 mile trip, routed by the GPS poorly to the UPS store in Decatur.  They declared themselves happy to accept styrofoam peanuts, so Ron returned to Don's and strapped the monstrously HUGE box of peanuts to the back and was again blown everywhere, this time with much less weight and much more anxiety.  In the evening, Don allowed Ron to use his neglected desktop computer and scanner to scan his complete copy of the Vacher manuscript.  The HP multi-purpose machine was so automated that it scanned a stack of papers without intervention and without "eating" any.

26 Feb:  Ron's day dawned at midnight.  Lots of things needed re-arranging before his possessions left at Greg and Donna's were sufficiently well "stored" out of the way.  The forecast rain arrived exactly on time before dawn, so Dick drove Ron to breakfast at Lizard's Thicket (waitressed by a very busy Susan).  Dick had to suffer through another Smooch conversation before returning Ron to Greg and Donna's to pack the motorcycle for the trip to Lithonia, GA.  Although the rain arrived on time, it departed late and ended at 2 PM; Ron finalized packing by 3:30 and stopped briefly at Dick's to borrow some compressed air for inflating tires to optimum.  The ride started nicely enough at 70 degrees in Columbia but rapidly turned chilly and was soon only 58 - then 53 in Augusta, GA.  By 7 PM when Ron stopped at Walmart, the temperature was only 44 degrees, and upon arrival in Don C's driveway at 8:30 PM, Ron reported a temperature of 41 degrees in a phone call to Smooch Smooch.  The boxes of  "stuff" we left at Don's will be shipped to Texas.

25 Feb: Happy Birthday John B in Santa Fe!!!!  After packing bags and walking with Dick, Ron motorcycled Cynthia to the airport on time.  The red bud trees were glorious on the airport drive.  After boogying over to the Archives to look at a 1798 Bankston land grant and hustling back to Greg and Donna's, there was just enough time to box Cynthia's gear and FedEx it to her in Texas.  Her flight was fine.  After several early mornings, Ron slept early but not long enough.

24 Feb:  The day dawned earlier for Ron than for Cynthia.  It is expected that a pleasant 9:15 AM walk with Dick will be punctuated by mutually enjoyable verbal sparring.  We hope that Cynthia will arise in time to eat the free breakfast omelet at the Hilton Garden Inn where we are staying.  (She did!)  We arrived 20 minutes late for the walk with Dick and Jim but caught up on the bike.   (Cynthia is always ready on time, but as we walked towards the bike, Ron suddenly remembered that he needed the garage door code, and as he was certain where that was written, he dashed back to frantically search EVERYWHERE without success.  Hence the delayed departure.)  In the evening we walked to the Bonefish Grill for a lovely dinner with Dick, Clark and Elizabeth.  The evening reminded one of us of our "anniversary" Ron proposed on his knee three years ago.  Refusing offers of a ride, we walked the 1.5 mile return to the hotel.

(CFB: Pondering en route to TX:  I always told Jim, my son-in-law, he was my favorite.  Julie started dating Jim when she was 16; they married right after graduation from Iowa State University.  Such devotion...  he ironed her blue jeans while she was working on her PhD.   Jim was a kind, loving outstanding father and husband.  What a blessing to have had him in our lives for so many years.   The power of the resurrection carries us through the pain of grief and loss to thanksgiving.)

 23 Feb, Sun:  The six hour ride from Richmond, VA to Columbia, SC went by pleasantly enough for Interstate travel; temperatures were pleasantly warm in the 70s; traffic on I-85 was light most of the way; and very few cops were working the Interstate during daylight, so fastest traffic was indeed very fast.  This was the most distance (380 miles) that Cynthia has ridden in a single day, and we were overjoyed that her back tolerated it well.  Cynthia flies to Texas tomorrow; Ron will follow by motorcycle, looking for an enjoyable route.  We will stay in TX until the end of April.  This death in the family reminds us that our lives are short and precious, not to be wasted, and reiterates the necessity of healthy habits.  Ron's turn to deliver a sermon: "Cynthia needs to return to Texas to support her family & vice versa following this death; Ron has no desire to spend time in Texas but feels that it is very important to support Cynthia while she deals with this huge loss; so he will happily ride cross country in winter and stay in Texas knowing that it is the 'right' thing to do for his beloved WeeFee."  Following good advice to always compress any statement into a single sentence, that sermon condenses to: "Sometimes supporting people you hold dear is far more important than mere personal preferences."

22 Feb:  The Virginia Historical Society has a marvelous repository of Rambo items plus the very information Cynthia needs for her book.  The staff was pleasant and most helpful.  Dinner at the Can-Can French restaurant on Cary Street was delicious, but it was a challenge to find food on a busy Saturday night in a trendy French restaurant that is not previously prepped with butter.  YES!? - French, duh.  Cary Street is like 6th Street in Austin, TX, crowded with people, cars and musicians.  It was an experience, but the congestion and noise gave us both a headache.  Riding back to the hotel, on complained of a lack of good interchange planning.  We received the following sad news which changes our lives from enjoyable unscheduled travel back to a scheduled life.  Cynthia booked a direct flight Tuesday from Columbia, SC to TX because:

Jim, her son-in-law, husband of Julie, father of Corrie (Alan Thetford) and Eric, new grandfather of Abigayle Elizabeth, died late yesterday afternoon, apparently from a heart attack, while hunting with Eric near College Station.  Jim complained of not feeling well and passed out.  EMS attempted CPR but to no avail.  Jim has had cardiac issues for several years, including a heart attack and by-pass surgery.  Corrie and family arrived in SE China a few days ago; now they are making arrangements to return stateside ASAP.

21 Feb,  Friday, Departure for Richmond is imminent; severe rain is forecast for 11:00 AM.  The plan is to stop at  the first sign of sprinkles for lunch at a restaurant during the storm that is forecast to last for two hours.  And the rains came!  When the first two drops hit, Ron immediately started looking for a restaurant; two minutes later we were drenched !!  Two traffic light stops and three minutes later we pulled into a shopping center and inquired of the GPS for a nearby restaurant, but a Ferrari driver gave us a better suggestion, the Weathervane and further said that we had to browse the adjoining Southern Specialities shops as being truly unique (and they were).  The wait staff had to wipe up our puddles while we waited two hours for the storm to pass.  Two hours later, after our uneventful arrival in Richmond, VA we heard about the tornados Richmond experienced this morning.  The Hilton Garden Inn accommodated us nicely.

20 Feb, Pittsboro, NC: A beautiful, balmy day with a high of 74 degrees, we had a pleasant ride to the Wilson Library at UNC Chapel Hill.  Interesting to see piles of dirty snow alongside the road left over from last week.  Our eyes became exhausted from reading the fine print of Wilhelmina Lea's Diaries from 1872-1935; it was also disappointing to discover pages cut from a critical portion of her last diary.  Yellow Fin tuna for dinner at Squid's was tasty.  The couple dining next to us was decked out in the UNC school colors, insignias and buttons that read, "Beat Duke." They doubted they would win the big game.  Everyone must have attended since Wally World was almost empty.  Our bags are packed, breakfast will be at 8:00 AM tomorrow for an early departure to Richmond, VA unless it is raining.

19 Feb, Pittsboro, NC:  We awakened early at the 58 West B&B, only 36 miles from the NC State Library in Raleigh.  Host Houston had coffee ready to brew.  Many thanks.  A thunderstorm rolled through at 5:30 AM while the coffee brewed.  Breakfast was good, and we enjoyed chatting with another couple until nearly 10.  As we walked towards the motorcycle at 10 AM, we felt the first hints of a spritz of water in the air ... with more thunderstorms anticipated by the forecasters.  Ron hates to start riding when rain is falling, so we hurried to start while it was only mist ... and got lucky enough to arrive at the State Archives in Raleigh absolutely dry !!  It is always fascinating to see steamy fog rising from the ground, from Lake Jackson, and from the snow and ice alongside the highway.  All told, the 45-minute ride this morning was more interesting than anything we saw during our 5 hour ride yesterday.  Our primary objective for this entire trip was to see the back cover of the Alexander Rose Bible, and all the pages of that Bible with annotations are there, but that cover is NOT; apparently it is still attached to the Bible in the possession of the heirs of Ben Rose.  Ron was happy to see a transcription of Lorenzo Lea's family genealogy; Cynthia was happy to find the Montgomery County 1782 tax list for Pat; and we were both happy to find out that Mrs. Grear was granted a judgement nisi over the villainous Henry Fuller.  Dinner at Perkins was a bit better than the Golden Corral.  At this point we are a day ahead in our "unscheduled" Lea research agenda.  The trick will be to get to Richmond on Friday when there is an 80% chance of rain. HA.

scheduled - 17 Mar:  Smooch & SmoochSmooch will again separate; Cynthia flies from Atlanta to Texasunscheduled solo motorcycle trip to South Carolina to collect things for storage, to Illinois to see sistah and dump things in storage, and onwards to Texas by April 5; any guesses about spontaneous diversions?
scheduled - 5 Apr 2014: Rachel and Ryan's wedding.
scheduled - 23-24 Apr: Cynthia honored as the distinguished alumna of 2014  by her seminary in Austin, Texas

18 Feb: The Ball and Cue in Georgetown fed us a fine breakfast earlier than our normal rising and shining habits.  Packed and ready to roll after egg white veggies, our next food stop was (yuk!) a Golden Corral in Johnson, SC.  Everything is soaked in fat except the salad bar.  Even there, danger lurks. The good part of a view-less day along old U.S. Hwy 17 and U.S. 501 & 15 northbound was the balmy, beautiful day.  We are ensconced in a B and B south of Chapel Hill, NC until Friday morning when rain is forecast.  We expect to check out and get our first soaking of the week.   Dinner this evening was at the highly recommended Oak Leaf Restaurant.  Cynthia does not complain about food, but disliked the rockfish and thought the water tasted funny.  Awesome ambience.

17 Feb: The ride to Georgetown, SC was pleasant until after lunch at the Boone Plantation Cafe in Mt. Pleasant.  The sun disappeared and the wind whipped enough to make us chilly.  Interesting to see broken tree limbs scattered alongside the road as reminders if the ferocious storm that left thousands without electricity last Wednesday. The hotel was filled to capacity upon our arrival about 5 PM because of many homes without power.  We hiked through the historic district admiring the charming old homes some with side entries that seemed quite peculiar.  Once we arrived at the historic old waterfront, we strolled the length of the dock and, upon bellying up to the rail, saw a great blue heron standing almost directly below, only 15 to 20 feet from us.  The restaurant was located on the dock: Dinner at the River Room was sumptuous for the same price as two salad bars at Ruby Tuesday's.  Tomorrow the plan continues:  Archives in Raleigh, NC and on to the Wilson Library in Chapel Hill for the remainder of this week with the next target the Virginia Historical Society (Richmond, VA).

16 Feb, Sunday:  lovely, effervescent cousin Sharon and her new beau chauffeured us to the Hilton Head Country Club for a brunch 'till you burst good time.  The food was fabulous. Don is a delightful guy.  Feeling fat we returned to the Nature Reserve to  hike about five miles.

15 Feb, and what a Happy Valentine's Day we had right down to the hand designed card.  We hiked about four miles in the Nature Reserve spotting a Great Blue Heron on the wing who later perched picture perfect for our camera.  Ron saw a large turtle.  Our dinner with Gene W. was immensely enjoyable.  Thank you once again for the treat, Gene.

14 Feb, Happy VALENTINEs Day:   I LOVE YOU.  Smooch, smooch, smooch  (Awwww!  I love you, too!)  My goodness, Valentine's Day on the road without a confirmed reservation for lodging; perhaps we will discover an unexpected gift (says the eternal optimist).  At least the day "dawned" at 4 AM with temperatures above freezing.  Forecast departure - after it warms to 40 degrees at noon.  The plan is to ride towards warmer temperatures in Hilton Head, SC.  *** The plan worked. We rode towards HH for five hours arriving at the Hilton Garden Inn at the crack of dark.  The sunset near Savannah was magnificent.  Tired, but hungry, we dined at Neo's (described as a fresh farm to table restaurant) a five minute walk away.  The salmon was delicious.   

13 Feb:  Here in Atlanta, the "sunny south," we awakened to a winter wonderland of white & tan fields, mostly white roadways, and white falling from the sky.  However, the temperatures rose rapidly, so the black of roadways (or black ice) contrasted nicely by the time we finished breakfast (think of finishing breakfast as 10 o'clock).  The ice on the rental car was over an inch thick in places.  Traffic was exceptionally light as we drove on I-285 and I-20 to deposit stuffs at Don's and later on I-20 and I-75 to return files to Pegram and even during the 4 PM rush hour - Amazing.  Pleasant times and scintillating conversation was enjoyed by all.  Ruby Tuesday fed us with salads and baked sweet potato fries again.

12 Feb:  The forecast of 70% chance of rain & freezing rain was accurate.  It is already turning the landscape frosty and the roadways into ice rinks, so we are not going anywhere today.  Several members of the hotel staff inquired about our motorcycle (which will remain parked all day and which will slowly become an ice sculpture).  Ruby Tuesday was apparently closed, and we decided against slipping and sliding outdoors, instead exercising at the hotel fitness center on treadmill and elliptical machine.

11 Feb: Scheduled measuring of Smooch for tuxedo?  Good God, what is the world coming to?  But the rainy weather prompted the tailor to cancel, so we spent the day at the hotel reviewing James Lea, the Bankstons, DNA, and Rev. Cynthia's biography.  Our only outing and exercise was the usual half-mile hike to Ruby Tuesday where the staff is considering us "family."  Martin was pleased that we did indeed mention him on this blog earlier.  Not bad, this blog shows up on the first page when Googling  Atlanta Ruby Krystal Martin

10 Feb:  Monday we drove to Lithonia to visit with cousin Don C. and to collect the remaining goodies that Cynthia had shipped from Texas.  For half of the things, my little SmoochSmooch said, "What was I thinking when I shipped that?"  After discussing the Bankstons (and discovering that we've all forgotten whatever we once knew about them), we all piled into the rental car seeking lunch and decided that Panera Bread was closest best choice for our dietary limitations.  From thence to Staples for copies of Lea stuffs, to WallyWorld for bread & Healthy Choice cusine (for Don), to GNC for protein powder, to Kohl's to check Don's work schedule, and finally to Radio Shack for antenna cabling advice.  We returned Don home and scurried to the hotel ahead of the rain with enough time to walk to Ruby Tuesday for too much food.  Krystal remembered us and was excited to see the blog.  If I were a little more motivated, I'd Google Atlanta Ruby Krystal Martin
several times to see if I can get the blog to show up first for that search.

9 Feb, Sunday in Atlanta:  Ron is again updating the blog while Cynthia sleeps.  We will be at the hotel until Sun late AM; pick up the rental car, drive to visit cousin Pegram, tell tall tales, gossip, chase a wild goose, not necessarily in that order, nor limited to those pursuits.  Our day with Pegram and his lovely wife, Ann, was most productive. Pegram had a file of correspondence with Ben Rose that details the location  of the records we want to see; the best part of the day was enjoying their hospitality and conversation.  We bid them adieu and discovered the Oceanaire Restaurant on Peachtree Street, a real treat, the fine dining that my beloved SmoochSmooch enjoys; quite a surprise to learn that they are also owned by Landry of Texas.

8 Feb:  A day of Rest!  Cynthia is sleeping in whilst Ron updates the blog.  We are in Atlanta at the Hilton Garden Inn Airport, in a nice room with coffee in hand.  E-mail has been checked (imagine).  Now back to transcribing notes & scraps of paper into the computer so that they can be found when wanted and the paper recycled.  We enjoyed a nice, lazy day.  Cynthia has been enervated due to pain and lack of sleep ever since the misbegotten suggestion that she see a personal trainer at the health club.  Who could have known that such an innocent suggestion could have such dramatically nasty results?  We walked about a half mile to Ruby Tuesday for lunch and dinner today and had marvelous service from Martin.  The first TWO vegetable sides were obviously buttery/oily, so he asked his manager, and Krystal steamed broccoli from the salad bar for us.  Now we have to tell Martin to Google Where is Ron?  Before dinner, Ron borrowed scissors from the front desk and proceeded to cut his hair in preparation for tomorrow's first impressions.  While doing so, he reflected upon the notion that you never get a second chance to make a first impression and realized that, as one ages and becomes forgetful, second and third chances abound.

7 Feb, Smooches Reunion Day, Atlanta:  This should become a new national holiday, the day Smooch and SmoochSmooch resume their life of travel and fun together.  Cynthia's flight to Atlanta arrived mid-afternoon without incident; cagey Ron brought flowers on the shuttle to surprise her, but the shuttle driver dropped him off at "Arrivals," and by the time Ron had walked to the pick up area, the driver had spilled the beans.  We asked to be dropped off at the Ruby Tuesdays near the hotel and were pleased that he accommodated us.  Huge coincidence that as we left the restaurant, he was waiting at the first corner and took us back to the hotel.  It is so nice to be "home," back to our life of travel together.

6 Feb: Riotous living???, Ron asked about my 2:30 AM hotel changes.  We will be at the hotel until Sun late AM; pick up the rental car, drive to visit cousin Pegram, tell tall tales, gossip, chase a wild goose.  Ron spent the day trying to resume computer projects, but became depressed by the unsettled state of his projects.  The nearby Subway provided a tasty foot-long turkey sub with all the veggies except olives, known for oil.

5 Feb: Whereabouts: Columbia, SC and Montgomery, TX.  Ron and Dick walked on drying pavement and breakfasted at Lizard's; unfortunately it was Susan's day off.  Returning to the  Gowdy's by noon, he finished packing and departed for ATL by 3:30 PM, stopping first at American Eagle Outfitters to redeem the American Eagle gift certificate, found at the eleventh hour of packing, only to discover that the gloves had been sold.  DRRat!  It was warm and pleasant to start the ride, but within 20 miles the temperature had dropped to 58, brrr.  After eventually stopping to add a coat, hat & gloves, the temperatures dropped another 10 degrees in the next few miles.  The gusty winds made everything worse.  Since the light was now fading, Ron "sucked it up" and kept riding chilly until dark before he finally stopped again to pull on another, wind-proof layer.  Now in Atlanta, Ron discovered a veritable mountain of boxes Cynthia shipped to Don's house, after all, you never know when a girl will need cute shoes and accessories.  Well!  Obviously Cynthia isn't wearing motorcycle gear on the flight.  Security might have a problem if she wear a helmet.  Plus, Ron needed dress shoes for taking measurements for Rachel's wedding. (Yes, Cynthia had mentioned such an event, but Ron was clueless that it was scheduled for this coming Tuesday in Atlanta; Somehow that one little item was omitted from the thorough schedule keeps moving up on this blog.)  Life is so simple when we are traveling; Ron is in charge.  He makes certain we only schedule food and fun.  We are eager to be together again.  Good night!

4 Feb:  Cynthia loves Tuesdays at the lake.  The nice restaurants open after Sunday through Monday





Tuesday Morning Moment

closings.  Dinner promises to be excellent (it was).  Even on this gray day,  I love the lake.

A trillion-zillion flocks of water-fowl frolicked, flapped and fluttered across the lake, dancing, diving, hovering and swirling.  Mesmerized, I could not think to reach for the camera.  Once they passed by, I rushed outside zooming the cell phone camera on the flotilla nestled in the cove;  aha, iPhoto.  (Note: watch: Ron will change my sentences...  hahaha)  Since it was a dreary, rainy day in South Carolina, the morning walk was postponed until after breakfast at noon.   Each time Ron and friends have dined at Lizard's Thicket, Susan is so busy she has not had time to visit.  Ron, Dick and Jim walked in the mall today where Ron discovered some interesting, 

Body Rests While Spirit Soars

fingerless gloves, with mittens tops attached, for 50% off at American Eagle; now he's searching for an old American Eagle gift card; if he finds it, he will have new gloves.  Smooch did RETURN the nearly-three-year-old year old briefs and tee shirts his sister gave him for a wedding gift (sitting in a box at the Gowdy's all of this time); J C. Penny's refunded with a gift card which he will re-gift to said sister.  Two bags packed, the Gowdy's house is once again presentable.  Tomorrow,  Ron will ride to ATL.  I arrive Friday mid-afternoon.  Today,  a magnificent heart-covered card arrived in my mailbox.  Awww and Smooch!! 

Cynthia stopped at Scott's Grove; it is a two acre private family cemetery created at the request of her son Scott when he was dying from Leukemia in 1998.  Not even the cows in the near pasture noticed a weeping mother.  Scott's widow,  children, siblings, nieces and nephews take marvelous care of the Grove (now a non-profit.org).

3 Feb:  Awake at 5:30 for no good reason, Ron had to await daylight to begin yard work; Mary Lou needs pine straw.  The plan, successfully completed, was to walk with Dick, breakfast (lunch at 11:30) at Lizard's to see waitress Susan, and decide whether to ride to Atlanta today or later, depending upon rain.  The color radar map looks ominous, but this internet connection (from the next-door neighbors through a couple of brick walls) is ungodly slow.  The rain indeed came, light and brief, during the morning walkathon with RonFriend, Dick.  After returning to pack, Ron discovered that the early start and insufficient sleep has left him a bit lethargic - absolutely unfit for motorcycling to Atlanta, so "tomorrow" it is, and updating the blog is first project, before organizing and recycling.   Cynthia has an early morning medical appointment in the Woodlands, noon at the

4 Generations of Strong Women

aesthetician in Tomball, and then the drive to Stewart Title to close on the property in Hempstead (someone bought the contract in the midst of foreclosing on
 the current buyer).  Cynthia's heart hurts for daughter Julie's family (as well as for the doting great grandmother); her daughter Corrie and husband Alan, plus new baby Abigayle, are in the throes of preparation for departure to the mission field in SE China 15 February.  Three years  absence seems like forever.  Poor great grandmother.  I love you. (Awwwww! Sweet! Sweet! and Sweet Smooch, I love you, too! )

2 Feb, Sun:  After breakfast at Lizard's Thicket with Dick, Ron continued recycling & cleaning out his "stuff" at Greg & Donna's, but is planning to leave behind two packages of new undershirts and shorts given to him from the E-Vile older Sistah as a wedding gift (plus several computers and a few other items).  Oh what fun!!  Now Greg & Donna will be able to entertain in their formal living room without Ron's stuff leaving only Greg's Atari collection stacked to the ceiling in one corner.  Cousin Don in Atlanta will be happy to accommodate Ron upon arrival, who knows when.  We may rent a car in ATL so Don won't have to be tied to the top case of the motorcycle as we ride to dine out.  SuperBowl Sunday weather in Dallas is cold, raining and an ugly gray.  SmoochSmooch is pleased with her dress fitting; the five pounds seems to have disappeared; the silk charmeuse dress is elegant.  She left Dallas in heavy rain as the temperature dropped towards freezing every few moments. The traffic was not heavy, and drivers moved cautiously as warnings  of ice on bridges flashed alongside the freeway.  Smooch's soothing words were but a phone call away.  EXACTLY the time Cynthia turned onto TX SH 105, he phoned to find out if his beloved SmoochSmooch had arrived.  Such a sweet Smooch!  It is nice to be home.

1 Feb:   Ron spent the day having waaay too much fun transcribing metes and bounds from Spartanburg deeds on microfilm at the SC Archives, hoping to reconcile Laurance Bankston's purchases with sales.  Cynthia drove four hours in light rain and little traffic to Big D for a dress fitting tomorrow, Sunday, after which she will drive home again, home again, jiggity-jig.  There is little between Lake Conroe and Dallas except for the Blue Bell Ice Cream plant in Brenham and Corsicana fruitcakes. The Hilton in Highland Park is lovely; the nice staff  immediately upgraded my room.  (No,  Smooch, the super room does not make up for the absence of said Smooch.)   We shall see if Mr. Smooch departs for ATL tomorrow or Monday.  Sooo many big decisions.

JaNEWYEARy 2014

31 Jan, Fri: Two missed vox messages by 10:01 AM because Smooch Smooch slept.  And slept.  How great to sleep without being awakened by pain or the phone.  Ron (in SC) had a 5' high stack of recycling from the "formal living room" READY to go to the dump, to the dump, to the dump, dump, dump.  He finished the third proofreading of 208 pages, about half of Vol. 6, walked with Dick R. this AM, and explained punctuation, the use of comma or no comma with a compound sentence, to his WeeFee, his beloved SmoochSmooch.  Cynthia, with CDO (a little like OCD, but in proper alpha order), reports the plan to lose five pounds is progressing perfectly, although it is distressingly difficult to abstain from diet Coke; Auuughhh.  The rest of the wedding party is also losing bunches and is delighted to do so.  The WeeFee walked five miles in 72 degree temp this afternoon, stopping at the golf clubhouse for an early dinner of grilled Snapper, steamed asparagus and spinach salad.   Tomorrow afternoon Cynthia drives to Dallas (4 hours) for the second dress fitting, Sunday at one PM, in preparation for Rachel's wedding.  Simply too much driving (8 hours) for one day, so she will overnight in Dallas.  Tonight, the SC RonFriends are partying: Vince, Mary, Tom, Cheryl, and Dick sent cheery hellos from a very noisy Ruby Tuesday.

30 Jan: 12:01 AM vox message from the competitive Smooch, DETERMINED to win those critical points for the first I LOVE YOU of the day.  This morning he reports a scheduled walk with Dick  at 9:30 AM when the temp reaches 29 degrees.  The roads are clear of yesterday's ice.  After the walk they breakfasted at Lizard's Thicket, but favorite waitress Susan was too busy to talk.  Ron is spent the day proofreading Vol. 6 and found only punctuation errors.  Now he needs several answers from Kim-Eric.  Prayerfully, Vol. 6 will go to press in May.  Ron counted about  a zilion and a 78th 1/4 boxes of HIS stuff sitting in the Greg & Donna's formal living room.  The mix of stuff includes magazines & books that Ron rescued from Greg's discards since, in an earlier life (before marriage), Ron thought he might enjoy reading them.  SmoochSmooch will be greatly surprised if Ron recycles the boxes of old magazines.  (HA, you doubting WeeFee, they are already gone.)  Cynthia reports from Texas that the sun has been shining intermittently, but the temperature did not reach the forecast high.  Life is good.  There is always reason to be thankful.  Yet, my heart hurts over the Italian verdict reversal today.

29 Jan:  No satellite!  No internet!  No weather reports during Ron's sojourn in SC; Greg & Donna disconnected cable and internet during their "Christmas" in MinnaSNOWda.  (Hi, Dick, Please tell Ron the ten day forecast for SC: wintry mix today,  warming on the weekend, with rain to follow during the days he will ride to Atlanta.)  Cynthia will arrive in Atlanta the 7th during a predicted snowfall.  The traffic reports from ATL yesterday are horrendous; the  Atlantans drive on snow like Houstonians.  The airport in ATL is my least favorite.   Delay after delay.  Fortunately,  we will stay at the Hilton Garden Inn one mile from the airport, and the airport shuttle will insure that my "Precious Cargo" arrives intact.

Ron ate breakfast at Lizard's Thicket with Dick and Clark & Elizabeth; Elizabeth brought Ron some Dave's Insanity Ghost Pepper Sauce, since his stash of HOT sauce has disappeared.  Ron is is on the move recycling old papers left at the Gowdy's for the past trillion years (since our marriage) plus visiting Mary Lou, whose eyesight suddenly deteriorated beginning last November.  He dined with Clark & Elizabeth and Dick R. at Ruby Tuesday's.  The grocery shopping completed, he has food to survive the next couple of days of winter.  Ron had a nice nap around dinner time.  The recycling is ready but the center was closed today; maybe tomorrow, too.

Our 23 and Me DNA test results returned tonight.  Good news for the two's of us: neither one has  Parkinsons's or Alzheimer's genetic issues.  I do not have genetic breast cancer genes, but I have a slightly elevated risk for colon and lung cancer (still minimal); Ron does have male inherited baldness  (hhahaha; what a surprise!).  The cardiac/thrombosis risk is elevated, but certainly not news for his family of origin. Ron and I have an elevated risk for gout.  We have the same elevated risk for macular degeneration.  Ron has an elevated risk for prostate cancer but his PSA's are perfect.  Atta boy!   Ron has a high metabolism; now that is news! hahaha.   Ron's 23 and Me DNA family results are not completed.  Mine returned over 1000 DNA cousins with Norwegian names.  Uff da!  (Hallingdal, NOR inhabitants married second cousins; the DNA is puRRRRe.)

 Our Texas forecast warmed to the mid-forties today with 70's predicted by the weekend.  I will be preaching two Sundays in March, meaning two sermons to write. One cleaning project remained; finished it this AM.  I am mystified the Norwegian parish record books are missing from the upstairs library book shelves.  WHO would take four Norwegian language volumes out of the library?  Weird.  Sleep has been great once again, the back is almost pain free; the next ten days will focus on physical activity beginning with the 2.5 mile walk to the fitness center.  Ron reports good sleep last night, too.   I can't believe anyone reads this stuff,  yet, 1091 page views reported for January!!! The walk was 5 miles RT!

28 January, Tues: winter returned to Texas.  Wintry mix of ice, sleet, rain, snow means a quiet day at home.  23 degrees forecast with schools and businesses announcing closings.  Ron (in SC) is walking with Dick R. And petting Yodel (the cat ) while proof-reading Volume 6.   The internet is turned off at the Gowdy"s.  Perhaps he will use one at a public library.  From MN Ron's genealogy cousin writes that the temp is 50 degrees below zed with a blizzard bearing down and yet mystified they close schools in MN when it gets below freezing.

The day is quiet and peaceful; the Sappington database has been updated; now to format the book, the Sappington Spirit (Good Grief!  FIVE books.)   The Sappington's are included in my book, the Spirit in the South, now prepared for a second printing, but it will also include the new research from England.  The Sappington's database is very large beginning with colonist Nathaniel Sappington of Maryland whose great grandson Richard Sappington and his wife (Rebecca Jarrett) became  parents of all Georgia born Sappington's for 150 years.  I really detest formatting!!!  I can organize easily, but do not like writing the Foreword or bibliography, etc.

Good news via a phone call moments ago: the Hempstead property closing will proceed on Monday next.   The paperwork is in order.

I took a break to read a (tiny) favorite, "The Hound of Heaven" by Francis Thompson.  "I fled Him, down the nights and down the days; I fled him down the arches of the years; I fled him down the labyrinthine ways of my own mind; and  in the midst of  tears I hid from Him, and under running laughter."  Of course the upshot of the story is He catches us when we have no place to turn only to discover everything we were running from and towards we find in Him.   Hey! Its not even Sunday!

27 January, Monday morning waiting for Ron's phone call watching white-tipped waves dance across the lake as the palm trees shook their heads in response. Ron RODE through the night to SC, "because it was warm and the cold front is coming,"  Is that a surprise? No!  Donna and Greg are in MinneSNOWda while Greg recovers from recent heart surgery.  Yodel, the kitty, is certain to enjoy Ron's company although he is yet to be seen.  Ron said he will turn the vacuum cleaner on and Yodel will come running.  Ron enjoys the SC friendships, bantering with Dick R. on morning walks until 7 Feb. when CFB arrives in ATL.   Cynthia sent four boxes  of her motorcycle gear by UPS to Don C. in Lithonia with her motorcycle gear; Don said one of the boxes was so large he thought he should check to see if she had shipped  inside the box.   While Ron is getting into stride in SC,  Cynthia has been working on foreclosure of a property she sold in Hempstead; Texas has easy foreclosure regulations which she did herself.  The situation became complicated when a buyer appeared hoping to transfer the contract between he and Cynthia; it fell through because the current contract holder cannot clear his TX corporation issues so the closing fell through and now it is back in foreclosure but this time with an attorney doing the two notices twenty days apart, then an 18 day wait to see if the current contract holder can find the full balance due.  Wouldn't that be nice if he did pay off the contract?  I am surely owed a trillion zillion thirty-eight one-third of a fifteenth percent in late interest.

26 January,  Sunday early morning:  Sunlight sparkled like diamonds on the blue Beamer as the golden orb arose in the eastern sky; Ron is rolling towards Tupelo.  The temperature is 40 degrees.  (Smooch! Be warm).   Two phone calls by 9:30 AM (south of St. Louis, MO) reward Cynthia with the news Smooch IS indeed warm, albeit, the wind is gusty.  7:31 PM phone call from Birmingham; temperature is 55 degrees.  With a Turkey sub in his stomach Ron is ready to ride on this evening while the warm weather permits.  Once he turned east the wind was no longer a problem.   Cynthia, OTOH is impressed with her day, too.  The closet/drawer cleaning out process is completed; BOXES of stuff have been given away, yet, her finest accomplishment was cleaning genealogy files/records. The records are inventoried to be delivered tomorrow to a print shop to be scanned onto flash drives, thus they will be archived permanently in storage.  The edits on two of the books are now completed.  Formatting will follow over the next two weeks.  YES!  She dun good!  Four books.

1.) James Lea, 1790 Caswell County, NC  (which one is he?)   2)  The Spirit Runner (Extensive Norwegian genealogy dating to 1100 AD, Hallingdal, NOR, the farm still in the family),  3.) The Prussian Spirit of Wagner-Schulz, 4.) Contemplative Bible Studies, "Living with Questions."

25 Jan, Sunny day on the lake in Texas, cool weather requiring jackets.  Winter is over.  Maybe.   Cynthia has accomplished miracles cleaning closets, drawers and files in preparation to move items into storage when the lake house sells.   Housing is selling so well; building is everywhere.   But, Texas economy is so diversified the ups and downs are not so severe as areas with narrow fields of employment or business interests.   The tech industry in Houston rivals southern California.

24 Jan: ICE in Texas.   Cars in ditches.   Businesses closed. Ron and Sistah Carol looked out the sliding door in the early AM to see and count 24 geese amongst the grape arbors. Such fun!

23 Jan, 6 AM:  Ron is awake and fueling with coffee.  We should get more activity soon.  It was 1 (one) degree warm this morning after sunrise, another "cabin fever" day.  Biological sistah Carol is educating Ron about his DNA charts, fascinating to learn that the charts over-emphasize the miniscule ranges that are used for genealogical DNA studies and slyly misinform since all 23 chromosomes are actually inseparable pairs, so the same area on my 8th chromosome matches my mother's brother and my father's sister --- only because that "one" chromosome is actually a pair from my father and mother.

22 Jan:  Ron and Carol spent the day indoors even though the forecast high of 30 degrees wasn't nearly as cold as the day before or the day after.  The two of us only drank two pots of coffee; we're cutting back.   After dozens of searches, Ron has exhausted the possibility that Volume 6 of the Colonial Records can be completed with information from the computer-scanned files of the Craig Collection.  Poor little Smooch Smooch was severely traumatized by postpartum separation; her brand-new, twice-held great granddaughter is leaving with her parents for missionary work in China.  It was just too sad that so many miles separate the comforting Smooch from the distressed SmoochSmooch.

Grandmother Cynthia and Abigayle

21 Jan:  Ron awoke early but so did his sister, so they spent the greater part of the morning chatting and drinking coffee until she got the shakes.  Sistah Carol reported that Little Carol Ann is quite a pistol now that she's discovered how to pick locks.  Lord help us when she enters the experimental phase of cooking.

20 Jan:  Ron finished shrink wrapping the pallets at 5:30 AM and slept an hour and a half in the back of the U-Haul truck on the Big Agnes pad with wonderfully warm down sleeping bag.  That he felt rested after so little sleep is a minor miracle, and he drank far too much coffee quickly during breakfast at Denny's.  It was a substantial relief that RoadRunner Trucking answered the phone at 8 AM (on Martin Luther King holiday) and invited Ron to come on down with his shrink-wrapped-by-hand pallets.  I, Cynthia, am so proud of Smooch!  I deserve applause, too, after walking 4.5 miles!  We are having glorious weather at the lake, but leaving the doors open wasn't the brightest idea as two birds got loose in the  house.

19 Jan, Sun:  Oh what a day !  The forecast was not far off, so the motorcycle was flashing a snowflake warning at 8 AM, and its temperature gauge reported 26 degrees as Ron rode towards Highland and

A barely visible blue heron near the green tree

Edwardsville.  Ron and sistah Carol are having way too much fun digging boxes out of storage; those boxes await shrink wrapping in the 17-foot U-Haul truck Ron rented for this great adventure.  I (Cynthia) cannot imagine his storage unit less 220 board games and every piece of computer equipment he has owned since its purchase 3000 BC.  Boxes of games were extracted from high, low, over and under; requiring much muscle as well as bending, lifting, and squatting.  Several of the heaviest computer boxes were the most awkward, being extracted from under a train table.  Ron is convinced that it is Herculean effort like this that developed the collateral circulation

The rear view of our lake house 

that keeps him alive despite TWO totally blocked arteries.   Cynthia, OTOH,  arose late, arrived at worship during the sharing of the peace so no one noticed her sneak inside. Lumbar injections worked great - she is almost perfect again.  Today... is a gorgeous but cool day on the lake.  ( Ron: I forgot how to wrap text!!!!  Is it like shrink wrapping pallets?  Not much.)

Lake Conroe - almost back to normal depth

Rachel's Bridal Shower

18 Jan:  Ron says: Briefly, Don and I are visiting his grandson Brent in Highland, Illinois on this chilly Saturday.  Brent was a lot of fun and a good conversationalist at age 8.  Forecast for tomorrow promises a good day to yank games & computers out of storage & load them onto pallets for shipping Monday morning.  Carol has volunteered to photograph the process.  Cynthia says: Rachel's bridal shower on Saturday was magnificent.  Holding new baby Abigayle was the best.

The Moon Rises at Lake Conroe

(For those of you unfamiliar with the familiaritywith which we blog, this is a personal aside that can be skipped:  Hi there my beloved Smooch Smooch.  I'm updating the blog as we speak.  I love you (and she replies,"  AWWWWWW!  My eyes are dripping.  I love you, Ron Beatty!  Here is the start of sunset tonight at our lakehouse; smooooooch, g'nite")

17 Jan:  Ron again arose far too early (5:01) to start drinking coffee and attending to his projects.  With 21 degrees forecast for today's high, there will be no walk and no excursions.

16 Jan:  The computer called this Thursday at 5:51, so Ron was up drinking coffee, checking the weather forecast, and typing.  Today was filled by another trip to Highland for shopping with Ann and another lunch at the Family Restaurant.  Don and Ann enjoy the card game Liverpool Rummy, and Ron had forgotten that he never wins and doesn't care for the game.  Eventually he remembered that his favorite strategy is to "buy" the discard pile frequently to achieve his melds although that strategy makes it impossible to win.

15 Jan:   After going to bed at 10pm, Ron was awake from 2 to 5am working on the computer.  Don's approach at 7am was quite a surprise, but the two of us joined Hank for a long, early morning walk around the farm.  It was only a bit cold and icy until we turned to face the north and felt the full brunt of the wind and chill; that cut the walk "short" in a hurry.  Ron and Don drove to Highland to shop for groceries and to print a bill of lading at the library.  Ron was quite happy with the library time and was able to print both of the needed bills of lading.  Although the library holds NO books about coaching baseball, Don discovered one librarian who had worked in naval intelligence, and the two of them talked for hours.  We tried the Family Restaurant (Ann's favorite) for lunch and were pleased that their salad bar was good enough to satisfy Ron.  Today was the day for Cynthia's epidural lumbar injections.  All went well.  Son Jon delivered her to First Surgical Woodlands, and daughter Julie took her mother home.  Children are life's blessings, and grandchildren are the best of the best, icing on the delights of life.  Now - sleep is imminent for Cynthia!  Ron, on the other hand, has finished shopping in Highland, Illinois for blueberries and bread and responded to mandatory e-mails, so his next project is to describe the sunrise and the ride from there to here.  Then his Ron Beatty web site needs attention, then he will be ready to look for the other four documents needed for volume 6 of the Colonial Records of the Swedish Churches, searching through 200,000 scanned images for handwritten materials.

14 Jan:  The night did not go as well as hoped.  Ron's feet were cold ALL night, so he did not fall asleep easily nor sleep long.  Yes, he knew the sleeping bag was old, worn out, and was not designed for freezing temperatures, but he intends to leave it in Illinois in storage, so it was his (inferior) choice.  At 5:00am, he was surprised to be unable to get back to sleep, so he arose early despite dampness, packed and was riding in the early light of morning.  WHAT a MORNING.  The sunrise was astounding, starting with a fiery red brightening the horizon, which gradually turned orange as the light brightened.  Morning rush hour in Little Rock was the only part of this trip where there was much traffic.  Most of the time the roadways were nearly empty allowing me to enjoy the scenery, my philosophical thoughts, and all the hawks.  Fortunately Ron misread the GPS and fortuitously took the circumferential Interstate 440 instead of plowing through downtown on I-30 with rush hour traffic.  As the sunrise segued past a truly golden yellow towards a faded yellow against a pale blue sky, the sparsely-trafficked roadway crossed a long bridge over the Arkansas River and presented the marvelous vision of an outbound fishing boat in the center of the river scene surrounded by streaks of reflected color.  WOW !  Throughout the entire sunrise display, the effects were heightened by the enchanting accents of skeletal trees in winter garb against the sky and by continual glimpses of water reflecting the colors from all the swamps.  The final hurrah was a faint halo of reds and purples surrounding the final white against the pale blue seconds before actual sunrise.  Deer were the wildlife of choice last night, but daytime brought out the hawks.  All day long hawks were hunting from trees, power lines, and the air.  Apparently they get very, very hungry when winter warms and dinner starts moving around on the prairie.  It was still mid-morning when the first waves of fatigue washed right through me.  It seemed peculiar that there had been no places to eat appropriate for my diet of no oil, no butter, no fat, no cheese; no IHOP, no Denny's, only Waffle Houses and McDonalds.  Chevron gas stations were also mysteriously absent throughout Arkansas, so Shell gasoline is second best, $10 at a time (for half a tank - 140 miles).  It was nearly noon before there was at a Perkins restaurant in Blytheville, AR, just south of the Missouri border, where I drank a pot of coffee and ate an egg white veggie omelet, one of the smallest such omelets ever, and at $12 for the meal, one of the most expensive.  My American Express credit card was refused by the Shell there, so Visa, second best, paid Shell, second best.  The Missouri state line is mere minutes later, so I exited to don a helmet and, since gasoline was 40 cents per gallon cheaper in Missouri, again tried to charge Shell gasoline using American Express and was told to see cashier.  I did, and she authorized me for $10 on the American Express after asking me (slightly nervously) to remove my ski mask.  All that breakfast coffee did next to nothing to awaken me.  As soon as I resumed riding (on that boringly straight slab of interstate), my eyelids again became impossibly heavy.  So it was a bit of relief to run under dark clouds from which raindrops soon fell.  Since the duffel behind me was full of papers inadequately protected from water, I was forced to exit the highway and espied a grain elevator with an unused, sheltered "carport" where I parked the bike and immediately laid down to rest.  After only a half hour Ron arose much more alert and "rested."  The rain had apparently extended only to that locale because the roadways were immediately dry when he resumed riding.  It was a puzzle that the GPS guided me off the interstate and across the little bridge over the Mississippi at Chester, IL to Illinois Highway 4 north (where a Super Walmart in Sparta provided bread & cereal) and a few tiny, rough farm roads through New Memphis, past New Baden, and into Trenton just before 5pm.  27 hours door-to-door.  Don and Ann and I enjoyed a pleasant visit for several hours before my exertions left me unable to attend to anything but sleep.  Cynthia writes:  The wet and weary traveler is proof the Boy Scout still exists.  An amorous, magnificent card arrived in Smooch Smooch's postal mail today making Cynthia a very happy girlie.

13 Jan:  Ron's departure is delayed a day - nothing unusual there.  He has gotten only three or four hours of sleep each of the last three or four nights trying to get everything, cleaned, organized, reviewed, and segregated into stuff destined for storage in Illinois, stuff left in Texas to deal with in April, and two absolutely full motorcycle loads of recycling to the Montgomery County recycle center hidden on Friendship Road in Magnolia.  Cynthia is still suffering with back pain for the tenth day now after doing too much for the personal trainer at Walden fitness club.  Obviously the guy is far too young to have any experience helping people with chronic injuries.  Lots more to say, but even more important is getting miles down the road while the sun shines.  Bye.  Early in the morning, Ron and Cynthia parted company without joy, one with tears, the other glumly waving good bye through the car window as Cynthia drove towards her doctor appointments.
Cynthia's day was spent at the oncologist who assured her she is  the least likely to get a recurrence of breast cancer, so she is freed from tamoxifen.   Her weight was up five pounds from the bad food we have eaten enroute home to Texas. -- SOOOO WITH THE WEDDING THREE MONTHS AWAY, Rachel is going to the same doctor tomorrow who uses the Ideal Protein Plan that Cynthia started today, hoping to shed 15 pounds by the wedding.  The best part for Cynthia was learning her body is 15 years younger than her biological age, solid, rock-hard muscle !!  Four phone calls later I (Cynthia) learn he (Ron) did not depart until 2 pm; SO NOW i know what awaits me in the house:  Flowers everywhere, the house is immaculate, carrots are peeled for my snacks, and the vitamins are bagged for morning.  (Before leaving town, Ron thought to surprise his beloved bride by dropping an "I miss you" card at the post office in Montgomery.)  After dark Ron calls from U.S.Highway 59 heading towards the Arkansas border (and Atlanta, Texas).  Ron has been surprised by the amount of water visible in the fields and ditches; it looks like Texas was flooded while he was preoccupied with packing.  He has "warm clothing," bike freshly serviced, new tires, everything is looking GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!   Oof and SmoochSmooch is ready for sleep... smooch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Today's route took Ron through the major cities of Trinity, Lovelady, Crockett, and Avon, Texas on various Texas highways and entertaining farm roads.  The GPS chose Texas Highway 30 for quite some miles, but as the evening darkened, Ron was happy to intersect a much larger road, U.S. Highway 59, because the danger from wildlife, especially deer, would be much reduced.  The relief lasted only a few miles a few deer appeared here and a couple of deer there close alongside the roadway.  Ditto alongside Interstate 55.  There must have been thirty deer on the shoulder in one 20-mile stretch along I-55.  Approaching Benton, AR, west of Little Rock, seemed like a good time to find a place to sleep close to a place for breakfast, so I exited the interstate and followed Arkansas highway 5 which parallels I-55 until I discovered a small church abutting a wetlands and woods.  My fingers were already showing signs of abuse, being painful when unclipping several fasteners on the luggage.  Maybe heated handgrips deceive me to believe my fingers are OK because my hands are warm.  (It took two days of Neosporin to alleviate the pain.)  Towards midnight Ron called Cynthia to say that he is near Little Rock ready to sleep, hidden outside behind a Pentacostal Church.

12 Jan, Sunday:  Ron and Cynthia ate brunch with Jon and two grandkids, Steven and Samantha. (Cynthia's deceased son left behind his two darling babies who are now college grads and in grad school.)  After brunch, Ron changed his mind about leaving today since the forecast high of 29 degrees for Edwardsville on Thursday was unappealing.  In addition, he prefers to complete several projects first.  One of those projects was to download our wedding pictures onto the SD card for the photo slide show picture frame that Walt and Pam gave us for a wedding present.  The current slide show has memorable moments over the centuries with friend Ron wearing never-to-forget clothing and shoes (gold-digger repellant).  Now Cynthia can watch Ron while he is absent - departing tomorrow instead.
11 Jan: more prognostication, better forecast, but not in Memphis or Joplin. Sunny warm day.  Recycling completed, nice breakfast with a Cynthia's daughter.  More packing to complete tonight. Ron rolls to Illinois tomorrow morning after church and brunch.  He and Cynthia will joyfully re-connect in Atlanta the first week in February.

10 Jan: rainy day brought the lake almost to normal for the first time since the big drought.  Busy day packing stuff from the storage closet to recycle.  Cynthia's back is not better, awaiting epidural lumbar steroid injections next Wednesday.  Sleep deprived.  Lesson learned : go slow in re-starting fitness training.

9 Jan: rain forecast.  But look at this cutie:

Abigayle with Julie (clone of mother Cynthia)

8 Jan, Wed:  Ron Brrrrrrrrraved the Arctic blast by riding to Wild West Honda in the SW corner of Houston at 7:30 AM.  (Cynthia exaggerates, it was a balmy 45 or 48 degrees for the two-hour ride, with a stop in Magnolia to drop off another load of recycling.)  The plan was to arrive at Wild West Honda before 8am for the 30,000 mile service.  In actuality Ron was just leaving the house at 8am that foggy morning.  The roadways were thoroughly wet as if it had recently rained, and perhaps it had.  Wet roadways always make me nervous, so I rode cautiously on my chosen route of lessor roads.  The scenic, foggy-morning bonus was the "smoke" arising from a sun-lit field which looked exactly as if a fire had burned there leaving a field full of smoking embers causing wraiths to rise into the morning sun.  In the last mile in Katy, a light rain developed so that the bike was sloppy wet when the shop got it.  The big surprise was that another low beam bulb had burned out, needing replacement, the third time in nine months ownership.  As often happens, Ron left his cell phone at home, dangling on the wall charger.  Ron stayed busy reading junk and working on Volume 6 of the Colonial Records of the Swedish Churches with satisfying results.  Cynthia was delighted that a property, which we sold on contract two years ago that was now three months in arrears and in foreclosure, will be purchased by a new buyer.  Oh joyous news that the new buyer will close next week and will assume the old contract, which pays us good interest.   Our Las Vegas guests departed at noon.  The house is quiet.  In Katy, the rain continued all day, and the prospects for a pleasant ride home seemed gloomy.  With Hooters next door, one would expect Ron to brave the rain, but he was too much absorbed in his computer project - obviously over the hill.  Maintenance was completed about 3 PM, and everything was still wet when Ron started homewards.  A mile later, the rain abated, but another motorcyclist took a spill while turning at an intersection; the rider picked himself and the bike up and resumed riding, leaving Ron aware that the roads are slick.  The roadways were drier and drier through Cypress, Tomball, and Magnolia until 3 miles from home when the drizzle resumed until Ron parked the bike in the garage, at which time it ceased.  After sending e-mails and updating this blog, I should go to sleep.  G'night.  Cynthia has tossed and turned in pain all night for five nights now.  She is looking frazzled and behaving like a zombie in training.  I'd dearly love to see her sleep soundly.

7 Jan:  Jayden's riding lesson, niece Kelly prepared a fabulous dinner for us with Lauren, Rachel and Jon as guests.  Cynthia went to bed early with ugly back pain.
6 Jan: Ron hardly worked preparing recycling while Cynthia and gang hit Houston hot spots during the day until getting together again for dinner at Phil's Roadhouse.  She was excited to see her daughter-in-laws expanding waistline.  Baby is very high risk, will be delivered C-Section about a month early.  Too soon for the sex report.

5 Jan, Sunday:  While our guests slept "late", we went to 8:30 worship at Grace Lutheran.  Ron is happy that XYWrite now works within 32-bit Windows 7 on both the Toshiba and in a VirtualBox on the MacBook Air.  Brunch with family at the Yacht Club.  Cynthia took Jayden for another excellent horseback riding lesson.  Too bad that the horse dust gives Cynthia a big head-full of allergies ... as if the back pain weren't debilitating enough.

4 Jan:  we are still alive.  That is the news of the day.  Jayden did an outstanding workout with grooming and caring for her horse, learning the movements for guiding her horse by herself.  Family party is planned tonight at the Yacht Club.

3 Jan:  Dr. K. Lance Gould provided his professional opinion that "We are still alive" and gave us good reports.  He is a research scientist who was the pioneer in using the PET scan for cardiology.   He is one the leading cardiologists in Texas and was Walter Cronkite's physician.  He is always delighted to see us among the living.  Ron's weight was 170..., but Cynthia does not tell hers.  Ron has made great strides to become heart stable.   The prevailing issues remain, but he can tell that he is stronger and has more stamina, and Cynthia thinks he grows more handsome daily.  Ron took Cynthia to the fitness center; she is a purpose-driven woman.  The back hurt but she stayed the course.  Ron removed the old Windows Vista system files from the Toshiba and regained 27 GB in order to install 32-bit Windows 7 for the purpose of using XY Write.  His concern about registration was for nought; apparently the former 64-bit system used the same upgrade disk.
Our guests arrived about ten PM after ridiculously long security - FOUR HOURS -  caused them to miss their flight from Las Vegas.  As their headlight swung into our drive, they were thrilled to see 5 or 6 deer in the yard.  Jayden did not see a deer with a red nose, so it was not Rudolph; Santa was not running late.  We chatted until the witching hour when Cynthia falls asleep. The adorable five year old has boundless energy no matter the hour.  Aunt Cynthia gave the five year old the note Santa left under our Christmas tree, the gift of horseback riding lessons; she can be a REAL Texas Cowgirl.

2 Jan:  We are off to the Clayton Library today to research, followed by an over night at the Rotary House in the Medical Center for our 8:00 AM appointments with the cardiologist.  Wonderful that the Clayton Library had three of Ben Rose's books about the Lea families of Caswell County, NC.  Now we know that the family Bible record we wish to have examined is likely to be laminated at the State Library in Raleigh, NC.  Road Trip !!

1 January, 2014:  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!  Can you believe it?  Wasn't it just yesterday we were worried about Y2K and entering a NEW CENTURY!!!!!!!   Now, 14 years later!  Much has changed, much is still the same ol' same ol' and we are no longer the same but we are NOT OLD!  Cynthia had an excellent workout yesterday with her fitness trainer who called the set of ten body lifts, "Awesome."  It must have worked muscles that had been idle awhile, since she woke up this morning at 2:30 with back pain.  We went shopping today for groceries to feed a five year old for five days.  On friday, Cynthia's niece and spouse with their five-year-old, the great niece, arrive for a visit.  Santa left a note for the little girl under our tree with the gift of lessons to become a Texas cowgirl.  The horseback riding lessons begin Saturday at one PM.