My Gosh, is it February already ??

28 Feb: Just as soon as February became the new normal it will be gone tonight at midnight. Short and sweet, that's February but not our days; they are racing by as we pack and prepare to be gone hiking for six months. Younger Next Year is wearing Ron out at the Fitness Center. See you next month!!!

23 Feb: Life is good here in Montgomery, TX. Temperatures overnight allowed cool sleeping, so Ron is again up & at James Lea at 5 AM. (Actually up and at coffee first, e-mail second, blog third, then James Lea - or William or George Lea.)

22 Feb, Sun: Fatigue is apparent with midnight bedtimes and early risings. Vol. 6 Index is so very close to completion. James Lea is in the backseat for now. But, we are being faithful to Younger Next Year by showing up. Speaking of showing up, we did indeed show up for brunch at the Yacht Club, but we could not be seated without reservations because the house was full of reservations - something about a stage reducing seating. Our second choice was brunch at the golf club house; the food does not compare to the fine food at the Yacht Club, and we missed Oscar to cook our omelets. We spent most of the afternoon on our computers before going to the fitness center for an hour's workout. Ron had a second strong showing after being puny (full/upset stomach) for a couple of days. Global Near Frozen will appear in Houston on Tuesday. Rain is forecast for almost every day for the next ten days meaning our motorcycle ride to Raleigh might be postponed due to inclement weather.

21 Feb, Sat: Ron crawled into bed about 3AM after re-working the Vol. 6 index because of too many variant spellings--one alphabet letter at a time-- arising about 8 AM. Vol. 6 MAY be sent to Dropbox yet tonight. We had a lovely day; Ron walked to the Fitness Center while Cynthia baked bread and nursed her feet; the footies are suffering from tendonitis due to daily 4.4 mile hikes on concrete. Will the feet be ok for our BIG hike??? The new Superfeet insoles are helpful; shoulda coulda woulda bought multiple sets to use in all her boots and shoes. Oh, well. The feet will be good by the time we commence hiking the AT. We seldom use the Jacuzzi, but it was wonderful this evening.

20 Feb, Fri: Auuuggghhh. Someone (unnamed) left the keys in the car's ignition last night and the battery was dead this AM. Fortunately, Jon was still home with cables to jump the battery; Cynthia drove the car around the block to recharge the battery a bit. The driveway repair crew cancelled today because the rain forecast is too great. Packing, editing, exercising will continue for more exciting days with the Beatty's. Ron started creating our gear list on Trail Journals besides updating our TJ diary. Notes on the gear: the solar charger charged, the JetBoil appears to be a good purchase and Cynthia reports the LuluLemon Sports Bra is Comfortable. A hiker named Lady Grey recommended 100% Merino wool tees will work for three seasons. Ron's umbrella hat arrived; pictures to come soon. The excitement builds.

19 Feb, Thurs: Off to UPS to return some shoes that won't work, a polar fleece shirt that won't work and the Garmin 920 that worked erratically. The weather on the East Coast will NOT work.

18 Feb, Wed: Cynthia drove to the Woodlands to the orthodontist; she thinks he is wise because he tells her children their mother is an amazing woman. Her plans to spend the rest of the day with her daughter were postponed so we exercised. Imagine that!! The point of Younger Next Year is to keep showing up. Consistency pays off. Boxes of gear are arriving making the afternoon a little like Christmas.

17 Feb, Tues:

16 Feb, Mon: how quickly we forget.

15 Feb, Sunday: In Montgomery, Texas counting down days until departure March 1 towards Harpers Ferry and the AT. We will ride the motorcycle, stop at Mountain Crossing, photo James Lea documents in Raleigh, and be ready to hike by March 17th when warmer overnight lows average above freezing. Jim has graciously agreed to let us park our motorcycle in his garage for the duration, and Cynthia, the veteran on-line shopper, is accumulating gear even as we speak. Pr. Hinkhouse had a marvelous sermon on this Transfiguration Sunday sharing his life experiences of being transformed making the points: Jesus Christ is the center; being transformed cannot be manufactured and it happens within the communion of saints. After such good news we enjoyed brunch with Roxanne and Kiira at the Walden Yacht Club; Jon is sick in bed with a bad cold. Now, back to Vol. 6 since the skies are leaking. Cynthia, have you ordered those rain ponchos yet????

14 Feb, Sat: Happy Valentines Day from the TWOS of US. Our Younger Next Year increased by two minutes this morning as we exercised our hearts fitter at the Fitness Center including the usual 4 mile round trip walk to and from, preceded by breakfast brunch at the Golf Club. Valentines dinner at the same place was delightfully festive with a rose and a filet mignon for the girlie. In between times Ron exercised the motorcycle briefly and returned with coral pink roses for Smooch Smooch. She failed the "you didn't notice" quiz and was surprised to see the updated slide show of recent sunrises and sunsets on Lake Conroe. (On digital photo frame that was a wedding gift from Walt & Pam; many thanks.)

Friday the 13th: Smooch and Smooch Smooch! Marvelous food and service for dinner at the Walden Yacht Club, except we forgot about their noisy Happy Hour revelry. We were also force to sit seated across the table with a vast gulf of dead air between us; we do so prefer to side snuggled against one another.

12 Feb: Good grief, awake at 2 AM in Montgomery, Texas, but Ron had 7 hours sleep already, and there is plenty of coffee needing to be reheated. James Lea calls as soon as e-mails are answered and blog updated. Happy Valentine's Day to my beloved SmoochSmooch; I love you so much. (I wonder which day is actually Valentine's Day; guess that will be the day all the candies go on sale at big discounts. Maybe I can afford roses then.)

11 Feb: Another 5 AM day in Montgomery, Texas. The lake is so foggy this morning that nothing is visible beyond the patio railing. Perhaps we will have another lovely red sunrise like yesterday. (Photo still captive in camera.) (Nope, dense fog only today until late.) Valentine countdown: I love you SmoochSmooch. Mmm! We did indeed have a lovely day with a 4.5 mile walk, round trip, to the fitness center so Ron could sweat enough working out to fill Lake Conroe. The walk on concrete sidewalks has been hard on our bodies -- especially Cynthia's feet when she is hustling. Four pair of new shoes have arrived; we have hopes that hurty feet will soon be permanently banished. The Salomen's are the most comfortable. Her present pair of Vasque Vista which work well for hiking have been joined by a brand new pair. The other two pair will be returned immediately, worlds less comfortable than the Solomons. Ron decided to post a gear list on Trail Journals.com; we looked at Gossamer Gear groundcloth, OutDoorGearLab for solar cell phone charger, AntiGravityGear rain poncho, and Big Agnes tent. We love our Marmot down undie_wear and mittens, ThrmoRest air mattress and down comforter, GoLite and Granite Gear backpacks, and Ron loves his treadbare "layered" clothing. Good night from Cynthia; Ron crashed before finishing one sudoku after his workout this evening. He must plan to become Younger Next Year by sleeping.

10 Feb: And yet here we are again at 5 pm, wide awake and back to work on Ben Rose's books about Caswell County Lea Families. News agrees that N'oreaster did indeed clobber Boston. Today Ron MUST shift gears and begin preparing for departure to Harpers Ferry. We seem agreed to ride the bike so that we can stop at Mountain Crossings in Georgia to acquire needed ultralight gear. Long range weather forecast for Harpers Ferry is cold, but we can sit in Raleigh researching while waiting for warmer weather. Let's hope my beloved is feeling better this morning. Happy Valentines Day sweetie. (Is that enough planning?) Her first (of six !) new shoes arrived; these Solomon's seem to fit her hurty feet perfectly. Cynthia wore the shoes for an hour before bedtime, and the feet felt comfortable until she took the shoes off - then the pain resumed !! Ron is again Younger Next Year for 10 minutes on elliptical at 95-104 bpm; Ron is also exhausted. Where did the day go, it was suddenly 7:30 PM and time to slice and bake sweet potato french fries; the experiment was successful, but the oven needs to be hotter for crispy fries.

9 Feb: Coffee is on at 3:30 AM, kitchen floor swept, cereal quieted the hungry beast, and it is time to resume James Lea (and plan Valentine's Day). Plan ? Who wrote that? Younger Next Year is again the mission, and it is amazing how much effort is required to raise my heartbeat to 100 bpm. After reviewing photos of Wilhelmina Lea's diaries, Ron is ready to resume forward progress on James Lea whilst Cynthia sleeps. Omelet finished, Vol. 6 indexing progressing, fitness center elliptical machining completed with complementary talking while walking to & fro fitness center, a bit more indexing, and after doing the dishes at 10:30 pm, Ron is ready to sleep - it has been a long day. The genealogical highlight of the day was diving in to Chronicling America and discovering nothing useful therefrom, but finding two gems via Ancestry: Vance Mechem is on Find-A-Grave and George B. Mechem is in Pennsylvania death records on Ancestry; both died in 1960. Sistah Carol is excited to track down children for more DNA samples.

8 Feb, Sunday: Rev. Hinkhouse delivered a wonderful sermon promoting distributing the good news. Breakfast buffet at the Yacht Club is always a real treat. Amusing that Ron coached the novice omelet chef to use a little more cooking spray for the egg white veggie omelets; that worked out much better than too little. Next on the agenda was restocking the depleted diet cherry coke supply (plus veggies, flour, cereal, etc. etc.). After a couple of hours proofing Vol. 6 index Ron walked & talked while walking to the fitness center for 20 minutes on the elliptical machine, simultaneously watching TWC live coverage of yet another N'oreaster about to clobber Boston. The disadvantage of a low heart rate (50 bpm at rest) is the amount of effort required to get to 65% of max (99 bpm). After walking home, consulting with the "boss" afoot dinner (skip it), and an hour editing Jonasson vs Jonason in Vol. 6, Ron suddenly became incredibly tired - at 7:30 PM. Good Night. Cynthia, poor dear, is suffering mightly with hurty feets from those blisters. (Mankind's worst enema is continually changing my words.)

7 Feb: The Garmin 920xt is looking good; battery lasted more than 10 hours and still shows 50% charge, heart rate showed reliably, but menus decidedly awkward. After brunch at the Walden Golf Club we walked home to get our workout clothes and walked the 4.5 miles RT to the fitness center, worked up a good sweat, stopped at the yogurt shop followed by lunch at the Caddy Shack. In the meantime, sistah Carol and bro Dean provided non-stop humor by phone. Sistah Carol is just overjoyed that cousin Ray found obituaries for the two John Mechems who died in Belmont County within two years of each other, although the tombstone she found is not our ancestor. Fatigued but busy, Cynthia addressed 75 Save the Date cards for Roxannes birthday party while Ron is indexing. We are too tired to go out to eat, or to Wal-Mart to shop, besides Cynthia's feet are badly blistered - and painful. Online articles from Backpacker are pretty good reading. Only three weeks to go before departure.

6 Feb: We really got younger today after a 4.5 mile RT walk to the fitness center plus using the machines and weights until soaked with sweat. The Garmin 920 works better than the 305. But it is impossible to get an elevated heart rate, even while walking fast to catch up to Cynthia. Party canceled; the birthday girl has the flu; the anticipation of a wonderful dinner at Perry's with Roxanne and Kiira will have to continue until they recover. So instead we enjoyed Mardi Gras Seafood Buffet at the Walden Yacht Club. At 10:30 Ron said he'd be back in an hour and walked the golf course for two hours; one hole out there is surrounded on three and a half sides by water.

5 Feb, Thurs: The Garmin Forerunner 305 was returned. It worked erratically. The Garmin 920 will be tried out today. Brother Dean is sending his Polar heart rate monitor. Free. That's the best kind: free. We exercised. We ate. Volume 6 with 802 pages was sent out via Dropbox. Checking for/ correcting duplications in the index, and then it is done. Done too: We have completed our medical visits, most of the tax info, with four weeks to departure for serious hiking. It is time to get serious about shopping for hiking. (Obviously Cynthia wrote that last sentence, Ron serious about shopping - HA !)

4 Feb, Wed: Etc., Volume 6 is close to completion. James Lea needs a lot more work. After working on our projects we repeated yesterday's schedule apart from breakfast at the Toasted Yolk; and we stopped to rent the car for another month followed by a sweat producing workout at the Fitness Center, lunch at the clubhouse, computer work, another two miles walking, dinner at the Caddy Shack, and now one more walk around the golf course while talking to Ed K. We must be getting younger next year???

3 Feb: Lake house on Lake Conroe, Montgomery, TX. Yup, been here for nearly a month already and we are still working on the same projects. One difference is that this year we are interested in leaving less in storage than last year. That is going to be a BIG challenge since the Christmas reindeer& ornaments are occupying a top shelf. We went to the Toasted Yolk for breakfast yesterday and resupplied the frig with fresh veggies, so today I cooked egg white veggie omelets. Dishes are done, work on James Lea preceded breakfast, so it is now time to create index for Volume 6. Wish me luck. More later. And... Later we worked out at the fitness center actually reaching heart rate goal for a brief time on the elliptical machine. We spotted 13 or more deer leaping off into the bushes on our walk home from the fitness center. Did I mention we are having fun, too?

Fowl Weather

Fleurs for Smooch Smooch

Once a comedian... always a comedian!

2 Feb: So it says on this computer. Golly gee, where does the time go? The newest gadget is a Garmin heart rate monitor (discontinued 305 model) that tells me that I cannot achieve "Younger Next Year" simply by walking briskly. My heart rate never climbed above 79 beats per minute; it needs to be above 90. Fooey. Maybe I can carry a couple of cans of beans to do curls while walking. Either that or I'll hafta learn that duck waddle race walking. There, now that Cynthia will be shocked to see that I've updated the blog; it is time to return to editing James Lea. Our lives here in Texas are just too consistent to provide fodder of interest for this blog. I wake up early, make a pot of coffee, drink that while editing James Lea; Cynthia wakes up, I fix omelets & wash dishes, we go for a walk to the Caddy Shack for a late lunch and continue afterwards the fitness center - or vice versa. Then we type or read until dark:thirty and go to bed early. Can you figure some way to liven up that schedule for daily blog posts? I cannot without resorting to fiction. We walked to the fitness center, and even on the elliptical machine for 10 minutes I couldn't get my heart rate above 90. This "Younger Next Year" gig is becoming much more difficult than I imagined.

1 Feb, Sunday: We enjoyed going to Grace Lutheran Church again; pastor Hinkhouse delivered a timely message to spread the good news. Although I grew up Methodist and converted to Southern Baptist during high school, I prefer the Lutheran focus on the grace of God. (Never mind that I don't know who/how/what/or why God is - not my job - my job is simply to Thank God and praise "Him" - and I do that continually). Hmm, let's do the calculation for my heart rate. 220 minus my age (67) gives a "max" of 153. 65% of that is 65+32.5+1.9 = 99. With my knees, I'll need some way besides walking/running to get there. Hard for me to imagine a way that I can get it up to 90%, i.e. 153-15.3 =138

 

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2015 - Happy NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

31 Jan, Sat: The first month of the glorious new year bites the dust with resolutions intact. Ron is close to completion on Vol.6 of the Colonial Record Project.  James Lea and his kin James and James will not be finished before we begin the Appalachian Trail hike next month.  The two GPS watches with heart monitors arrived: Garmin Forerunner 305 and the 920 to see which works best for us. Tent and backpacking shopping at REI is on the agenda. the biggest challenge will be leaving computers behind.  We pretty much have everything we need using box bouncing for supplies as we go.

30 Jan, Fri: Smooch, the world traveler, returns home from Denton, TX this afternoon reassuring me he is becoming younger next year by doing TWO 45 minute cardio workouts a day.  We have dinner plans with son Jon, my bishop and his lovely wife at the Yacht Club.  Now, this blog returns to its rightful writer.  The microphone paired with the streamer by Bluetooth to the hearing aids is quite remarkable.

29 Jan, Thurs: The new bread baking machine is working nicely, although more complicated than the old Panasonic, it WORKS!  Dorothy savors the "homemade" bread Ron brings when he visits her.  Ron is good to her; he is one of the most considerate people I know.  Speaking of considerate -- see the meaning of it's opposite, inconsiderate.  I would add arrogant and judgmental to the definition of being INconsiderate.  Inconsiderate people do not deserve my consideration.

in·con·sid·er·ate

ˌinkənˈsid(ə)rət/

adjective

1. thoughtlessly causing hurt or inconvenience to others. 

   synonyms:

   thoughtless, unthinking, insensitive, selfish, self-centered, unsympathetic, uncaring, heedless, unmindful, unkind, uncharitable, ungracious, impolite, discourteous, rude, disrespectful; More...

28 Jan, Wed: Great Blue Heron on our boat slip.  she sat still for an hour...

How highs the water, mama?

Dorothy and Ron

27: Jan: Cynthia is enjoying beautiful Lake Conroe:  Ron is in Denton with our 98  year old genealogy cousin, Dorothy.    He tried to install an old/new computer for her because the new/new one works too fast and competes with the internet when she is trying to focus on writing.  But the memory card is bad.  TOO BAD!  My new Bluetooth speaker for the hearing apparatus arrived today; it will improve my hearing in a group.  This is a good thing.  Ron can clip it on his nose so he can hear me in the kitchen.  Hahahaha!   I leaped (well, almost) out of bed at 5:45 AM,  completed the usual stretches, did two sets of modified sit-ups and set the incline level to 15 on the treadmill for a short workout.  Once I get past the first ten minutes, my feet stop hurting.  The Foot and Ankle Dr. Gave me some exercises.  No surgery needed.   Both of us have good health reports from the cardiologist.  Ron's blockages remain, but he appears to be gaining blood flow around the blockages (not IN the arteries, but around the arteries).  My labs were awesome even.   The evening sky is breathtakingly beautiful with shades of blue and rose blending into deep lavender.  Aweeee!  Thank you, Lord for the wonder of creation; thank you for the  gift of family the past two weeks.  JOY!  Thank you, Lord!

Thank you Lord!

26 Jan:  Here's a bit of a blog: its a beautiful day on Lake Conroe.  The skies are a briliant blue with yellow and golden sunshine promising a warm day for Ron's trip to visit a  98 year old genealogy cousin in Denton, TX.   Ron will install a different PC, clean her gutters and spend quality time visiting that sweetheart.  She was the first female CPA in the state of TX and became one of TX leading watercolorists in mud-life.

25 Jan: GOOD GRIEF!  Four days of blog abstentia.  Yes, good grief! We ARE busy.  Roxanne arrived early morning to make her momma happy by painting the front doors, but she could not go to brunch with us. Thank you, Roxanne!  We re-listed the house with Keller Williams.  The agent is highly experienced; but she expressed caution because the current market is soft.  Our hearts were warmed listening to Her story: she told us she wants a relationship like ours.  How nice!  It is indeed a joy to be in a positive, healthy relationship. Ron's story is one of a perfect life; but leave it to God to improve upon perfection.

Ron, sunshine and Sudoku

24 Jan:  Rainy and cold.  Dinner at the Yacht Club with son Jon, Pastor Hinkhouse and his lovely wife Judy.

23 Jan: Rain! Once again, departure to Denton is postponed.  Cynthia is cleaning while Ron is organizing ahead of that ferocious roaring beast vacuum cleaner.

22 Jan: Ron's plans to go to Denton got washed out by heavy rain.  Cynthia had a girl day, then time with her daughter in the afternoon.

21 Jan: The Toasted Yolk fed us mighty good omelets before the morning drive to Spring for the Audiologist appointment.  Somehow, I forgot what we did all afternoon that delayed our return home until dinner time.  Or maybe it was nighttime????

20 Jan: The 9:00 AM appointment with the audiologist was disappointing; UPS had not delivered the new hearing aid.  Oh, well.  We are rescheduled for tomorrow in Spring, TX.  Breakfast at the Toasted Yolk across the street was worth the drive.  The ride home again afforded several little stops: scans on a John Lea research paper,  the MAC stand in the storage unit, plus mailing Cynthia's class notes at UPS, and Walmart to have bent eyeglasses bent back in shape.  Well!  The stellar day is ending less spectacular!  Cynthia has scanned hundreds of files, photos, documents, etc into PDFs and put on flash drives.  Tonight, all of the flash drives were copied onto the Mac with a corresponding index when she accidentally hovered making All Files highlighted.  Then she hit Copy and 250 plus files were copied onto her desktop.  Fortunately, the new Time Machine is supposed to restore the desktop to yesterday.  She hopes.  Ron is puzzled.

19 Jan:  Blue skies, nothing but blue skies do I see.  Ron attempted to repair the broken paper shredder, ran errands to give the touring machine some exercise, and he is close to wrapping up Vol. 6.  Cynthia drove to Brenham for an appointment with her ophthalmologist followed by lunch with two best girlfriends while Ron enjoyed the lake views.   We dined "in."  We are indeed enjoying the book, "Younger Next Year!"  Likely we have already gained five years.

East Patio

Life is Good!

18 Jan, Sun:  The sunrise was so spectacular.  Ron called Cynthia out of the shower to see the magnificent view.  Even so, we arrived at church ten minutes too early.  That is a record because we usually walk in during announcements.  The interim pastor had a terrific sermon about being chosen to follow Jesus, "Do you remember sixth grade recess? "  That was the long recess when sports were played and teams were chosen the smallest and shortest being chosen last.  One recess, when he had a brand new baseball, one team captain called him - right at the beginning of choosing sides!    How good it feels to be chosen when we are too small, too short,  or undeserving; how awesome it is to be chosen.  Cynthia told the pastor she really appreciated the message; he gave her a hug and said, "So you were too small and too short, too!"  Oh what fun.  Merry and Bill joined us for Sunday brunch at the Yacht Club after worship.  Now I need a nap!  Ron walked for a couple of hours talking to Ed K, Donna G. and sistah Carol.

17 Jan.  Sat: Another super stay at home day to work on computers.  Cynthia copied her sister's idea to create  a medical file to hand out to doctors at each visit so she does no have to fill out endless, repetitive forms.  It will always be on her computer complete with end of life instructions.  Ron bought the book "Younger Next Year," an excellent read.  Cynthia ordered the same tittle but for women as a download on her Ipad.   The AX Year End Summary is ready for the accountant.  Receipts are ready, too.  Very, very sad to learn that one of our favorite folks from the Norway tour has passed away.  Natalie S, one of the super Scrabble players had a stroke 23 Dec.  Deepest sympathy.

16 Jan, Fri.  HOME and NO PLACE TO GO! What fun is this!  We slept until we were done.  One day Ernie asked Bert, "Today, let's do nothing."  Bert replied, "OK.  Good.  But how will we know when we are done?"   HMM.  Instead of doing nothing we pecked away at the keyboards with the new Mac "Airport" running in the study backing up every thing on the Mac.  It  - Will  -  Take     - Days -- at the rate of 3-5 GB per hour.  The new bread bakery arrived; Cynthia's 17 or 18 year old bakery machine is breathing its last.   23 deer were spotted cavorting around on a perfect cloudy day.

Deer in Walden

15 Jan, Thurs: We are running to appointments and not having time to blog.  The first New Year's resolution has been tossed: the older posts have not been corrected and "smythed" to correct errors and polish verbs that have accumulated in our haste to write something, anything, to remember where we are and maybe who we are.  Somedays we are not certain of those important facts!  Another busy day of running only Ron ran in place at the lake house while Cynthia raced to appointments.  Ron accompanied Cynthia in the afternoon to the audiologists for another session to learn about the techie part of her aids to hear.  Lunch at the Toasted Yolk is always good.  Being in proximity to the Montgomery County library is always a great way to spend five hours until closing.  Dinner at Pappadeaux.  Always good.

14Jan: Mac instruction for organizing and editing photos.  Endocrinologist appt was fruitful. Dinner at the Caddy Shack. Good night

13 Jan: we are indeed still alive but cold!!! Cynthia had an appointment with the ENT followed by the Foot and Ankle specialist. She may have found a Bluetooth device that works with her hearing aid to assist with her hearing loss.  Dinner at Pappadeaux was awesome.

11 Jan: Oh what fun!  Most everyone came to the a Yacht Club for Lovely Brunch.  One granddaughter objected to her photos so the group picture is not here.  The girls looked very cute and the guys handsome!!!

Steven, Sam, Karen with Grandmother

Jon, Lauren, Grandmother Cynthia

10 Jan: Our days are filled with doctors, computer work and now preparing for a big family late Christmas, New Years, Epiphany, early Valentines Day and save the Dophins Week... Tomorrow!

9 Jan:  Dr. Gould said it, so we will believe it; we are still alive.  It's always good to have a professional opinion.  And the good doctor did not need to chastise Ron because he had gained weight.  The nurse slid the weight bar to read 173.  It was a miracle. The good news kept coming: no more Niaspan, no more Plavix, just double the Statins, and we get to eat when we are backpacking and hiking the AT in the spring.  The idea of eating trail mix is overwhelming.  All other reports being good, we walked to the Rotary House out the back door of the professional building accidentally touring Rice University before we figured out we were sorta lost.  Fasting for early AM blood work, we worked up an appetite.  Cynthia stopped for a hair cut, bought new hiking boots, Lowa Renegade GTX, at REI, and we drove an hour and a half to the BMW shop for oil they don't carry.  Another hour of driving to Cynthia's daughter's Roxanne's home; she gave us a tour so she could see how she redecorated before joining us for a lovely dinner.  The hour drive from Houston to our lake house was interrupted a shopping spree at Kroger's.

8 Jan, Cynthia drove us to the medical center for our cardiologist appointments at the crack of light tomorrow.  Because the med center is heavily trafficked we spend the night at the Rotary House and walk to the Hermann Professional Building. The restaurants in the Rotary House have exceptionally good food. The salmon was awesome.  Two boat sized potatoes arrived by accident.  Cynthia doesn't eat potatoes and Ron never leavs food. Those potatoes will show up on the scale already a few pounds heavy.

7 Jan: Dentist and Ob-Gyn; nice dinner at Pappadeaux.  REI in the Woodlands is NOT the sporting goods store, but an insurance company.

6 Jan: Frustrating that photos from the IPad cannot be directly accessed by this blog.  Our fun day was accomplished by seeing check lists after projects that needed to be done.  4 months of mail, a box of receipts sent to accountant, Rons gift returned. Well. One of the many gifts returned. One to be exchanged. And maybe we keep the JetBoil Flash.  We did enjoy a three mile walk after Lunch at the Caddy Shack.  The AT looms large as we search ideas for gear from recent hikers.  Cynthia ordered wool  balaclavas.  Go lite has gone out of business (bankrupt).  Bummer. They had a tent we liked.  The packing list has to have weight lists. Rons pack can be no more than 20 pounds and Cynthia can carry 10 pounds. No cute shoes.  She ordered new Vasque Breeze and plans to try the Lowa Renegade.  Two shirts, one pair of hiking pants, one pair tights.  Our meds and vitamins weigh a lot!  Friday we ask the cardiologist what we can carry to eat on this ten grams of fat a day heart reversal program.  Cynthia cannot eat sugar.  We will find a plan.

5 Jan: Monday. Ohhh boy.  29 degrees at 8 AM.  And the Gerbings heated gear has a malfunction. The oncologist is 45 minutes away so we braved the cold bundled up in the wind blocking rain gear on top of the heated gear that doesn't work.  The good news from the doctor was heart warming. All is well at 3.5 years.  The next mammogram will be 3-D no longer needing the ultrasound.  We celebrated with a great breakfast at the Toasted Yolk.  And Then we picked up the CAR!

4 Jan: Sunday was a stellar day with bright sunshine for the last leg of the trip home to Texas.  We ate a lot of breakfast so we didn't need to stop other than the necessary stops and arrived home about 4 PM. By that time the thermostat was turned down to COLD.  Son Jon had the house decorated for Christmas with poinsettias throughout and the tree beautifully trimmed

3 Jan:  Sat: Posted by a friend on FB: "Ralph Waldo Emerson once asked what we would do if the stars only came out once every thousand years. No one would sleep that night, of course. The world would become religious overnight. We would be ecstatic, delirious, made rapturous by the glory of God. Instead the stars come out every night, and we watch television.” ~ Paul Hawken

May this new year be filled with moments of wonder, of tenderness, of presence. Blessings and love.

Ron drove during the rain respite to mail post cards he wrote last September about the time he mailed this year's Christmas cards.  Washing the bike seemed like a perfect idea until the rain poured again.   Cynthia accomplished a lot of DNA organization in a new spreadsheet.  Now we pack.  Tomorrow we drive four hours with the sun shining on us.   G'nite!!

2 January:  It is raining in SW LA all the way to TX;  so - we are ensconced in this hotel until Sun AM; OH WHAT FUN!  Cynthia used the fitness center; we walked to the market for lunch and drove to  Don's Seafood Restaurant for another fine meal.

1 January:  Happy New Year!  Ron, today is January 2nd!  What happened to blogging on January 1st?   Is this a foretaste of the year to come?  Well,  this is the excuse for tardiness:  rain is forecast all the way to Lake Conroe leaving us no choice but depart now, as in yesterday.  We did.  Packed and fed, we left Point Clear at 11:45 AM - hugging Roxanne good-bye as she left for the airport.  Our four hour ride was dry and uneventful to the Hilton Garden Inn at Lafayette, LA.  Dinner at Don's Seafood was quite nice; we appreciate when the chef agrees to prepare our favorite sweet potato french fries BAKED!  Don Landry had the first Landry's Seafood Restaurant.

LEFSE!

POINT CLEAR, LOUISIANA

December-Celebrations

31 Dec., Wed:  The girls enjoyed the Spa; Roxanne took a taxi to Fairhope to shop; Ron and Cynthia walked along the board walk beside the bay enjoying all of the lovely vacation homes in families for generations.  We had a tour of the village of Fairhope, AL (one of the top ten best retirement spots) enjoying the community's famous Christmas lights.  Another outstanding dinner set the course for an awesome New Year celebration.  Plans changed because of rain - four days to get to the lake house with two days of rain scheduled!  Happy New Year!!!

30 Dec, Tues. Daphne, AL;  departure imminent for Point Clear, AL where Cynthia's daughter Roxanne will be joining us for the New Year Celebration.  And we arrived in Point Clear about 1:39 PM in time for lunch.  Roxanne arrived just in the nick of time for food before the restaurant closed at two.  Oh what fun!  Oh what a huge lunch.  We talked the afternoon away followed by a marvelous dinner in the Grand Hotel's Steakhouse.

29 Dec, The trip from Greenville, AL to Daphne, AL on I-65 was dry and pleasant.  After checking in to the Hilton Garden Inn a month early (it was an ACCIDENT) we ate a fine lunch at the Pro Bass Shop and toured the USS Alabama, the USS Drum and the Air Museum.  The tours were so enjoyable we only regret we did not have an entire day for exploration. Pictures will follow once Cynthia posts them.

28 Dec.  The forecast of rain kept us in Greenville until Monday.  Unable to eat the breakfast buffets without a chef we walked to Shoney's only to learn they are like Cracker Barrel, Denny's and most fast food chains and told the manager we would not be back.  It took three napkins to mop the oil from the omelets.  Evidently the vegetables were cooked in or on an oily grill.  The manager did not charge us.  Ruby Tuesday's fed us a very good lunch and dinner.  Wal-Mart's Raspberry Sorbet is dessert.

Quote of the Day: So Caught Up 

WHETHER HE WAS born in 4 B.C. or A.D. 6, in Bethlehem or Nazareth, whether there were multitudes of the heavenly host to hymn the glory of it or just Mary and her husband—when the child was born, the whole course of human history was changed. That is a truth as unassailable as any truth. Art, music, literature, Western culture itself with all its institutions and Western man's whole understanding of himself and his world—it is impossible to conceive how differently things would have turned out if that birth had not happened whenever, wherever, however it did. And there is a truth beyond that: for millions of people who have lived since, the birth of Jesus made possible not just a new way of understanding life but a new way of living it.

For better or worse, it is a truth that, for twenty centuries, there have been untold numbers of men and women who, in untold numbers of ways, have been so grasped by the child who was born, so caught up in the message he taught and the life he lived, that they have found themselves profoundly changed by their relationship with him . And they have gone on proclaiming, as the writers of the Gospels proclaimed before them, that through the birth of Jesus a life-giving power was released into the world which to their minds could have been no less than the power of God himself. This is the central truth that Matthew and Luke are trying to convey in their accounts of the Nativity. And it was a truth which no language or legend seemed too extravagant to convey. What the birth meant—meant to them, to the world—was the truth that mattered to them most and, when all is said and done, perhaps the only truth that matters to anyone.
-Originally published in The Faces of Jesus

27 Dec.  Departure imminent for Greenville, AL.  Quote of the day from Einstein:  "If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not people or objects."  Quote from Smooch Smooch, "Until you are happy all alone on a flat rock, you are not ready for relationship."

Quote from  Thich Nhat Hanh

"Whether this moment is happy or not depends on you. It's you that makes the moment happy. It's not the moment that makes you happy.  With mindfulness, concentration and insight, any moment can become a happy moment. Happiness is an art."

We arrived in Greenville under the hotel canopy just as the Vault of Heaven leaked.  My goal for next week is to correct all grammatical errors on this month's blog during the frantic rush to write lest it be forgotten.

26 Dec, Fri:  The Smooches enjoyed a Marvelous Merry Christmas at Biltmore. Ron had a delightful time hiding Christmas cards espedially as a very surprised Cynthia squealed upon each discovery.  Too much over fed... healthy, no fat food, we accidentally embarked on a last tour of the estate by taking a wrong turn. Oh, happy accident.  In Geenville, SC we filled with gas that gave us a huge start, sputter and finally stop a mile or two down the road.  Thankfully we were across the road from a Yamaha Motorcycle Shop.  Thankfully a fellow with a trailer happened to be bringing his 14 year old son's bike to the shop for a new key, and thankfully he offered to load our bike and transport it to the shop where the service manager drained the gas, which was diesel.  After refilling with gas, the bike started and thankfully we were on our way.  No, Ron had NOT accidentally filled the tank with diesel but the Premium tank at the station was empty and diesel was draining into the Premium. This calls for a letter to the state of SC fuel control.  Off we were indeed, arriving in Peachtree City, GA at a nice Hilton Garden Inn.

25 Dec. Thurs:  We (in the mirror over the fireplace) wish you, our friends and family, a Merry Christmas!  May the peace of Christ reign in our hearts and through every land.

24  Dec, Wed: Freaking out at our weight on the bathroom scale, we asked for a replacement and immediately lost 8 pounds.  The staff is the epitome of hospitality.  Everyone is so very pleasant.   We had the best of plans to walk to the Biltmore house (4 miles) but the mist felt ominous.  A shuttle appeared at a Kairos moment and we hopped aboard.  The driver was congenial and knowledgeable offering many unknown facts about the house and its owners: Mrs. Edith Vanderbilt drove a 2 seated Harley around the thousands of acres with Cornelia seated behind her as they delivered gifts to every newborn among the staffs family.  The Harley is in the basement of the Biltmore for evidence.  We toured the house to see the ca. 1900 era Christmas decorations, beautifully crafted, with displays in every room.  Since we have taken all of the tours available during other visits here, we opted not to take a guided tour today.  Light rain was evident when we exited the house so a shuttle back was another good idea.  We were let off in Antler Village to shop and walk back to the Inn, racking up a couple of miles.  Christmas Eve dinner was specially prepared with no fat for us.   O Holy Night!

Ron and his dinner date, Miss Smoochie

Christmas Eve Dinner

Christmas Eve 2014

23 Dec, Tues, Mist turning to snow followed us for about twenty minutes; mist continued  for awhile as we approached Asheville, but thank the Good Lord, we arrived at the Biltmore dry having enjoyed lovely vistas on every side.  The afternoon was surprisingly dry allowing us to take a four mile walk in the afternoon.  The lunch in the library was $70.00!  We opted for Dinner at the Bistro which was the same price for a large meal.  It was excellent.  Cynthia lost her knit cap which was turned into lost and found;  JOY in Asheville tonight.

20 Dec-22 Dec.  Greenville, SC.  The Hughes Library is an excellent repository of NC and SC records.

19 Dec, Fri: Another good walk with Dick, bags are nearly packed for departure to Greenville, SC to research their fine record collection at the Hughes Library. Thanks to Dan and Christine for the photo taken when we visited their home a few weeks ago.  Dan and his M-i-Law are in the background looking like they are ready to jump on the bike with us.

Traveling Towards Texas

18 Dec, Thurs: Triple the work.  Ron did not finish the clopping and lipping until 8:PM - totally worn out.

17 Dec, Wed: Ron Worked and Worked and Worked clipping and lopping at the Gowdy's; Elizabeth drove him to the dump the dump the dump... with bags of recycling and clippings; pine mulch went to Mary Lou's who so appreciated having her "wild man" come visit.  Her vision and hearing are failing but she is learning to cope with the downside of living a long life.   We had dinner with Clark, Elizabeth and Dick at Ruby Tuesday's.

16 Dec,  Tues:  The Smooches saga of life in the fast lane continues:  we are walking about 7-8 miles a day, eating at Ruby Tuesday's, writing, editing, besides lopping and clipping the trees in the Gowdys yard.  Christmas gifts ordered...  !  No doubt we did the same activity yesterday and the day before. This works great when our forgetter is working overtime.

13 Dec:  Another stellar day; Wow !  Ron arose at 5:30 to work on James Lea and his cohorts James Lea and James Lea and included Capt. William, several Williams, a Will or two, and innumerable Wms.  How incredible that all the YDNA for these Caswell County Leas indicate a VERY close kinship; once we have a LARGE number of participants, we should be able to tease out familial groupings.  Ron again spent the afternoon clipping branches to drag the yard waste to the dump on Sunday.  Mary Lou was quite thankful to receive a bag of pine "straw" for mulching her ornamental beds.

12 Dec:  A stellar day, we woke up.  First things first, breakfast, then we arrived right ON time to walk with Jim, Steve, Dick.  Ron showed the guys evidence of his tree trimming progress in Greg and Donna's yard.   We had a pleasant, warm four mile walk, followed by another walk for lunch - two+ miles round trip to Ruby Tuesday's.   Computer stuff will fill Cynthia's day; Ron is off to remove unwanted growth from Greg's yard.  The night promises to be exciting (and was) since dinner is planned at Ruby Tuesday's with Clark and Elizabeth, Dick, Mary and Vince, Cheryl and Tom.  The second round trip to Ruby Tuesday's walking brought our total mileage to 8 today.   Cynthia's Health app on the IPhone 6 syncs with "My Fitness Pal" to record mileage, calories burned and nutrition, too.  8 miles earned 313 extra calories.  Cynthia showed all this on her IPhone to Cheryl and to Clark (his watch does similar things).  Christmas is approaching like a speeding bullet.  (Ron is oblivious.)

11 Dec:.  Ron walked with the guys while Cynthia worked out in the fitness center.  But we walked to Ruby Tuesdays for lunch and were charmed by the delightful, lovely Russian waitress.  Ron again attacked overgrown plant life in Greg's yard.  In Minnesnowda, a friend described Advent life with his Norwegian-Swedish wife: the Swedish half got satisfied by going to the Gustav Adolphus Santa Lucia Ceremony.  The weekend before the Norwegian half got satisfied by going to a St, Olaf Concert so awesome they did not get home until ten PM.  This weekend is the Lutefisk and lefse supper in the Lutheran Church basement.  The excitement in the air is electrifying (or maybe the threat of lutefisk is paralyzing).

10 Dec. Another great day, sunshine, fun time on our walk. We searched for the sunglasses in the Porta Potty, nada.  Then Cynthia noticeD her cell phone missing.  Pooh, boy.  The cell phone was not far away.   Returning to Gregs Ron noticed one of Cynthia's mittens missing so he got on the motorcycle to retrace our steps and found the mitten.  Such excitement.  We walked to Ruby Tuesdays... And the manager asked if we lost a pair of sunglasses!  There is a God!!!

9 Dec, Tues:  7:24 AM ????? Goodness!  We had six minutes to boogie to breakfast.  Dick was patiently waiting for us downstairs.  We walked 3.84 miles.  Ron brought Cynthia back to the hotel so we could do our computer stuffs before venturing forth to Ruby Tuesday's for lunch racking up another two miles.  The Health app on the iPhone 6 is terrific.  Ron cut down trees at the Gowdy's, visited Mary Lou for the better part of an hour.  She is having eyesight and hearing loss.  That is mighty tough for someone who was the chauffeur for the handicapped in her neighborhood and church. Cynthia misplaced her sunglasses.  Maybe she should post a sign in the porta potty with her phone number????

8 Dec:  MONDAY - RON, remembered: to ship Dorothy's OS/2 machine.!! (And pick up Greg's new HSN computer from UPS at 1782 Dunbar Road, West Columbia, but he forgot to remember to bring the UPS slips so he had to return to the hotel and caught Cynthia red-faced on the hotel treadmill machine with a clean room, too);  now he is off to visit Susan at the Lizard's Thicket in Oak Grove , and spend the day at the Caroliniana).  By 6 PM we were ensconced at Bone Fish Grill Restaurant near Harbison Mall in Columbia, SC; this night, after a phone call to the nutritionist this AM, they had food we could eat.  We ordered two entrees instead of splitting one because their portions are so small. It was delightful to see Tom and Cheryl; we had a fun time discussing DNA!  Imagine that!  By the time we departed it was raining.  Ron was happy he did not have to wear a helmet.

6 Dec:  dawned at a more usual hour for us; 8 AM for Cynthia, and 5 AM for her Smooch.  Little Smoochie moved from the door handle to a new perch on the shower faucet, ever hopeful for water in the frog pond bathtub.  James Lea, James Lea and James Lea are continuing to develop more substance and more potent citations, thanks to the millions of pictures we took in Raleigh last month.  98-year-old cousin Dorothy says to ship the OS/2 Thinkpad to her; we can fix it to satisfy her in January.  When asked, Dick volunteered to drive Ron to the AMROC train Christmas open house downtown.  (If the Caroliniana had been open later than 1 PM Ron would have gotten wet riding the motorcycle into town.)  It was fun to watch the trains run and to chat with the AMROC members.  After the return to Irmo in light rain, we were EXTREMELY surprised to learn that Susan has flown the coop and is now working at the new Lizard's in Oak Grove.  Hmm, I have now added links to the Caroliniana catalog and to the SC Archives catalog, and inserted a wedding photo on the RSBeatty website.

5 Dec, Fri: "For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move." -- Robert Louis Stevenson 
Another 7:30 breakfast with Dick & 9 AM walk with Dick & Steve.  Much fun.  Ron rode the bike to Kroger looking for fat free bread and stopped just before dark to visit Mary Lou (who calls Ron "Wild Man").  Her eyesight is rapidly failing, and the lifestyle transition is a major stress and disappointment.  Mary Lou hates to ask people to give her rides, etc, and unfortunately, very few people think to ask her if she wants to go.  Ron remembered to retool watermarks and protection for a Rambo "package" to be sold on the Swedish Colonial Society web site; too bad he didn't remember to set "fast web view."

Steve, Dick and Smooch turning the blue air between them

4th Dec., Thurs:  Cynthia planned to do the laundry on Thursday until she realized today IS Thursday!   Dick joined us for breakfast; we joined Dick, Steve and Jim for a walk at 9:00.  Those guys are really prompt.  If you are late, too bad, you will have to run to catch them.  Cynthia is wildly excited that the signature of James Lea of Cobb's Creek is deemed authentic by the historians!  Ron was pleased that he was able to extract the OS/2 Warp Thinkpad from under piles of possessions without excessive stress and strain and even more pleased that the computer worked flawlessly.

3th of Dec, Wed:  Hilton Garden Inn, Irmo, SC (Columbia Annex).  Yikes.  We were up early two days in a row and managed to meet Dick R. for a four mile walk by 9 AM.  Plans are to stay ensconced here with daily walks, writing projects, celebrations with SC friends before trekking to Asheville, NC for Christmas.

Morning Has Broken

View (landward) of marsh from elevator

View to the east from Shell Island Resort 

Wrightsville Beach, NC High Noon

2th of Dec, Tues: A Picture Paints a Thousand Words, so someone famous said once upon a time (apparently a modern time).  We enjoyed the Shell Island Resort!  Sun rise and beach views were awesome.  After our delayed departure and late arrival yesterday, we packed early in preparation for the ride to Columbia, SC.  (Cynthia used the phrase "meager possessions."  Ron is happy that the load is slightly less since recycling is recycled and unneeded items were mailed to Texas.)  The four hour ride took five hours because we enjoyed a timely stop for lunch at Ruby Tuesday's in Florence, SC.

1th of Dec, Mon: Happy December!! Ho Ho Ho is merrily packing while thinking up a Decemberry title for the blog.  The bike was loaded by noon thirty, but we were hungry, so we stopped for lunch at the Black Pelican.   The sunny warm day made the ride to Wrightsville Beach, NC ever so pleasant, although the late start delayed our arrival until dark.  The Shell Island Resort is unique with marvelous views of the Atlantic Ocean from our living room.  Their elevator has a glass window wall overlooking the bay; fascinating to watch the horizon grow as the elevator rises.

Novembrr brr brr

30 Nov, Sun: First Sunday in Advent.  Cynthia's Sunday Offering: Advent is time to quiet my soul, to remove distractions, in order to spend time preparing for Christ instead of spending Christmas.  This is not something I talk about  - just something I do.  I hope you will, too.
Quiet my soul, O Lord, release  the pain of recent weeks into your loving hands.  Free my heart and mind from all distraction that I may surrender in naked desire to you alone.  Come O Come, Emmanuel.

After a walk out to the end of the pier we hopped on to the bike for a ride to Jockeys Ridge Sand Dunes.  Very little trail for hiking unless one wants to plow through sand.  The visitors center was nice.  From there we drove north to the end of the island, looked at the Hampton Inn as a possibility for another trip, searched for Class 10 SD cards 2 GB unsuccessfully.  Dinner at the Black Pelican was another success.

Jockey's Ridge Sand Dunes

29 Nov, Sat: Six plus mile walk to a preserve after devouring fat free yogurt at the OBX Yogurt Shop next to Walmart.  Yummy yummy yummy.  The shop owner is a delight, too.

28 Nov: Ron arose with the sun; the water looks breathtakingly blue but the waves are whipped by wind.  Everyone coming into the hotel is shivering from cold.  We worked - we ate - and enjoyed another fine dinner at the Black Pelican Restaurant.   Cynthia read an interesting article about Soul Care, a widely popular book by Thomas Moore; twenty years ago she attended the lecture series at the Jung Center given by Moore.  Here is a link to an excellent article about the book, Moore and spirituality: http://www.realclearreligion.org/articles/2014/11/11/what_happened_our_souls.html

27 Nov: Happy Thanksgiving!!!! Thanks be to God for His great goodness, for love, laughter  and happiness. What more can be said other than thank you;  it is the greatest prayer we can offer.  In being grateful I discover the secret to contentment.  Our day was spent walking in various fun ways; we walked on the beach watching surfers leaping while we dodged the surf.  Cynthia took a video of Dolphins in the distance but missed getting a shot of one leaping in the air.  The sun is shining brightly.  JOY!  Thanksgiving dinner at the hotel was delicious.  Adam, the chef, prepared baked beets and sweet potatoes for Ron with steamed veggies.   Ron walked to Walmart tonight to get a flash drive on sale at 8 PM.  The sales have begun!!  Cynthia received photos from family in Texas today.  May your everyday be filled with Thanksgiving.

Granddaughter Lauren and Cynthia's son Jon

Granddaughters Lauren and Samantha

Son Jon and granddaugher Rachel

26 Nov, Wed... Rain.  Rain... But by afternoon it cleared enough for Ron to reach Walmart and return quickly because he forgot his money!!!! Sistah Carol enjoyed the lengthy conversation while he made trip one.  The second trip he returned with money while he and Ed had a marvelous long conversation.  We rode the bike to the Black Pelican for a yummy swordfish dinner.

25 Nov, Tues:  Smooch surprised his delighted  wee-fee with red roses.  Rain was predicted; in-between water leaks from on high, we did indeed manage a pleasant, dry walk in 65 degree weather beginning with a half hour on the beach.  The walk was longer than planned because  Boy Scout Beatty decided to investigate a sidewalk with a bridge.  The walkway led through parts of woodlands and suburbs that have no outlets; the streets make loops or trails ending up at the origin,  or nearly so.  According to Cynthia's Health App on her new IPhone, we walked six miles.  The App exaggerates about 10% high. The only downside to our wandering was a blister  on Cynthia''s left foot.  The new liquid bandage works great so she is busy bandaging her blisters.  Ron  walked to Walmart, Harris Teeter's and the Frozen Yogurt (shhh!) shop to forage food for the next couple of days when rain is anticipated in large quantities.  Dinner at the Black Pelican was very tasty.  We stayed dry.

Miss Smoochie and Roses from Ron 

24 Nov, Mon: The wind howled last night with gusts yet this morning; the sun came out, temperatures reached 69 degrees.  We walked the beach t2.6 miles to the Black Pelican Restaurant for a delicious salmon lunch but walked the asphalt beach road back to the Hilton Garden Inn because walking sand affects our bodies!  Light drizzle fell once in a while but we ducked under a beach house.  Great walk!  Great day!  Great life!

High Surf Attracted Surfers

Beach at Kitty Hawk

Blue Skies!

Fishermen 

23 November: Ron captured a beautiful sunrise at 6:00 AM; mid-morning the skies and sea were breathtaking from our balcony:  We walked the beach for an hour before the rain began to fall.

View From Our Balcony

6:00 AM Sunris

22 Nov: Breakfasted, packed and on the road by noon, we had a pleasant ride from Raleigh to Kitty Hawk,, NC... Ron wishes he had worn his coveralls.  Cynthia was warm in heated gear.  The sun shine sparkled like diamonds on the bright blue water as we crossed several long bridges from the mainland.  We will be on the Outer Banks for a week of  hiking beaches, sand dunes, writing and watching water. Tonite we walked to the end of the pier and then to A market and Walmart but we were side-tracked at a frozen yogurt shop. Fat-free and no sugar added!!!

21 Nov: Ron arises early to edit. We did well today arriving by bus at the State Archives  by 12:15 and returning to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse by 6:40 PM. Ron enjoys having three scoops of Raspberry sorbet for an appetizer.  It makes a terrific dessert, too.  He is happy to finish Cynthias sorbet, too. Everybody's happy.

20 Nov, Thurs: Thanks to Cynthia's cousin Krista Gandrud Sanda Johnson for sending  a delicious recipe for sugar cookies for Christmas.

Nellie's Sour Cream Cookies

"The Gandrud Cookie"

from Detroit Lakes, Minnesota

1 cup butter (no substitution)

2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup (8 oz.) Sour Cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon soda

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

5 cups flour

Sift the four, Baking Powder and soda.  Cream butter and sugar; beat in eggs and add vanilla.

Add part of dry ingredients to egg mixture.

Add sour cream, then rest of flour.

Roll on very lightly floured board to desired thickness and cut round with cookie cutter.

Bake at 350 degrees F. to desired browness, or keep them Norwegian white!

Richwood Lutheran (ELCA) church - favorite cookie from Becker County, Minnesota

Made by the hundreds by Nellie Gandrud, daughter of Engebret E. & Ingeborg ( Leknes ) Gandrud

Dunked in "egg-coffee" cups by Norwegian farmers for generations. Make them large!

from Krista

11/20/14

19 Nov, Wed:  Ron arose at five AM to become sufficiently caffeinated when Cynthia awoke at 8.00 AM; the electricity was out, no doubt because of ice someplace, but turned on by 8:30 AM.  We stayed in bed to stay warm.  Ron went to the Archives alone because the high temp is too cold for Smooch Smooch.  She planned a girl day around hair and nails and the fitness center.

18 Nov, Tues:  How nice to have a bus to ride downtown escaping the cold except for the few blocks to the Archives.  We were pleased with our success at the Archives.  Ron found Lawrence Rambo and Lawrence Bankston on the same abstract.   Cynthia discovered several goodies.  The shuttle dropped us off at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.  We like to eat there because the food is delicious and the raspberry sorbet has three scoops.  Cynthia orders one dessert for herself but eats less than one scoop so Ron gets 5 scoops!  All fifty states have freezing temperatures.  We appear to be in the midst of a polar vortex.   Ron found a 42nd Street Oyster Bar and Seafood Restaurant in Raleigh five blocks from the Archives.   If it warms up we can try it.

17 Nov, Mon:  The Archives is open so we will take the bus! NO NO NO!  We took the shuttle from the hotel to the airport and the city bus to downtown Raleigh only to discover that the Archives is NOT open.  Leaving downtown Raleigh early we caught the 5:05 bus back to RDU and the shuttle to the hotel.  We dined IN!   The cold is getting colder, didja notice?

16 Nov, Sun:  The Archives is closed on Sunday.  Breakfast at the HGI, followed by computer time, followed by a 4.5 mile walk over the hills and onto the highways.  Dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse again was delicious and delightful.  Now we can take the shuttle and stay warm.

15 Nov:  Another hour at the Archives.  We had a late AM arriving by 1 PM; they close at two PM.  The Raleigh Times Restaurant had been recommended to us but the noise of the band playing outside and the noise of a thousand little kids inside was simply too much for us.  We don't do noise.

14 Nov: Raleigh, NC at the Hilton Garden Inn after a hugely successful day at the State Archives in Raleigh. Cynthia found an original signature of James Lea of Cobb's Creek that appears to be distinct from James Lea, the deposed.  We had many wonderful dinner suggestions by the sweetest young woman at the archives, but opted to get outta Dodge before rush hour and colder temps.  Rush hour on Friday night was a given, but we were ok temperature wise.  The salmon and baked sweet potato french fries here in the hotel restaurant were delicious.

Raleigh, NC

Fall has not fallen in Raleigh, NC

13 Nov.  Thurs.  En route to the State Archives in Raleigh to research we discovered fall has not yet fallen in North Carolina.  Beautiful trees lit up the Target Parking Lot.

12 Nov. Wed:  Cynthia's dear friend from Houston surprised her with a visit; Suzanne, a very lovely attorney, has relocated to Virginia with her large family.  Following the visit, breakfast at Weasie's, we rolled off to Yanceyville, NC Courthouse to examine deeds; then onto Pittsboro, NC with glorious weather accompanying us all of the way to the 485 West B&B.  Dinner at the Roadhouse Bistro was a delightful treat.  Searching for a good restaurant we strolled downtown asking the first couple we met if they were local and if they could recommend a place for dinner.  They laughed heartily while pointing to the Roadhouse, "Yes! Indeed, we own that restaurant; we will take very good care of you."  They certainly did.

Cynthia with Suzanne

 11 Nov,  Tuesday: hiked from Mc Cormick Gap to Beagle Gap and back.

View of Beagle's Gap 

Fall Foliage is Fading

10 Nov: Good grief, where does the time go. Well, hiking for one. Oh, yes, and sleeping in until 10 AM is another.  So we enjoyed a late breakfast at Weasies ... have you heard this before?  We are still at the Comfort Inn in Waynesboro, Virginia since the weather has continued ideal for hiking.  Today after breakfast we stopped at the health food store for Elderberry Juice and Norwegian fish oil.  Then we rode quite a long way on Skyline Drive to the Riprap Trail Parking to commence our hike, again uphill both ways.  We wore ourselves out hiking 5.8 miles round trip to Blackrock Gap.  We started hiking at 12:30 and finished at 4:45, four hours of strenuous workout and speedy for us.  Again the sunset skies were beautifully pink and lit the landscape similarly rosy as we rode "home."  After dinner at Ruby Tuesdays Ron resumed mending, and Cynthia resumed computer work.  Ron has been arising early (4:30 AM today) to edit the James Lea book; that project is moving along at a satisfying clip (think tortoise).

9 Nov, Sunday:  It is going to be hard to reconstruct our hikes.  Sunday we started so late that we opted to shorten our ride time by hiking south from McCormick Gap.

8 Nov: We hiked from Rip Rap Trail to Browns Gap. 7 miles.  Hiker proud!!!

7 Nov:  We bought a new iPhone. This was our day off the trail.

4 Nov: Good grief, where does the time go. Well, hiking for one. Oh, yes, and sleeping in until 9 AM is another. So we enjoyed a late breakfast at Weasies, and the cook remembered our order and sent the waitress back to ask if we wanted cheese or NOT. We returned through a thousand stop lights to the Comfort Inn for pills and shoes and hiking supplies (jelly beans). After a pretty ride on I-64 and along the Skyline Drive, we arrived at McCormick Gap and changed shoes. Neither of us remembered that the trail was THAT steep to the top of Bear Den Mountain and the full complement of radio and microwave towers. The trail then goes steeply downhill to Beagle Gap and back up sharply up to the Little Calf Mountain meadow for lovely, lovely views of the Shenandoah skyline.   On the return, after the forest of towers, we met two southbound through hikers, Mav and Birdie. After they completed the trail to Rockfish Gap (on slippery leaves after dark) and after we stopped at the Rockfish Gap Outfitters to buy hiking poles, a GoPro helmet mount, wind-up flashlight (no batteries) and to try on hiking shoes, we treated Mav and Birdie and Ty to dinner at Ruby Tuesday.    And this was the day we turned back at 3 PM in time to see ominous black clouds approaching; we arrived at the bike by 5:10; the rain was a mist at first but becoming wetter and wetter.  Part way down the mountain we saw two very large bears; one lumbered across the road in front of us while the other one went down the ravine on the side of the road. Now it is time for me to sleep. Maybe I can write about yesterday tomorrow.  Another sentence to repeat ... tomorrow.

3 Nov: After a pretty ride on I-64 and along the Skyline Drive, we arrived at McCormick Gap and changed shoes. Neither of us remembered that the trail was THAT steep to the top of Bear Den Mountain and the full complement of radio and microwave towers. The trail then goes steeply downhill to Beagle Gap and back up sharply up to the Little Calf Mountain meadow for lovely, lovely views of the Shenandoah skyline. We started back at 3:PM just as the skies turned an ominous black.   On the return, after the forest of towers, we met two southbound through hikers, Mav and Birdie. After they completed the trail to Rockfish Gap (on slippery leaves after dark) and after we stopped at the Rockfish Gap Outfitters to buy hiking poles, a GoPro helmet mount, wind-up flashlight (no batteries) and to try on hiking shoes, we treated Mav and Birdie and Ty to dinner at Ruby Tuesday.   Now it is time for me to sleep. Maybe I can write about yesterday tomorrow.  Another sentence to repeat ... tomorrow.

2 Nov: Drive to Waynesboro, VA; it was very long. We did manage to get to Ruby Tuesday's for a huge salad dinner.

Miss Smoochie was ready to roll!

View of the Potomac from Jefferson Rock

Thomas Jefferson admired the view from this rock

Fall Foliage at Jefferson Rock

View of Susquehanna and Potomac

Love the color 

1 Nov. Sat:  Rain was forecast for this afternoon but surprised us by arriving early morning; thankfully it had cleared in time for a historical tour of Harper's Ferry, the train depot, the John Brown building, photos of flood damage that wiped out the bridge in 1924 and again in 1936.  We circled around town to the Appalachian Trail northbound about an hour of  trail hiking.  Lil Mak's picture was discovered posted on a mile marker.