December BP

 

Weight Loss and Retired Guy

I am pleased to report that I have lost four pounds and quickly moved away from the terrible weight I reported in the last post. I'm feeling pretty confident that I will be able to lose this weight as I'm feeling pretty motivated.

I'm going for 40 pounds, that will get me to and even 200 pounds which I feel is a good weight for me. With four pounds off I'm a tenth of the way there.

I'm back to walking. I've been going to Northtown Mall and walking there like all the other old people. I'm walking 1 1/2 miles every time I go and I'm shooying for a goal of completing the walk in 20 minutes by the end of January.

My first walk was 25 minutes and I managed to take two minutes off that yesterday.

I'm not really calling tthis next thing a New Years Resolution although you could easily categorize it as such.

I want to be drawing more. I've pretty much stopped doing anything artsy and in the process, I've lost a lot of knowledge on how to operate Adobe Illustrator.

So I've started a new Blog where I'm going to post a cartoon a day.

www.the-retired-guy.blogspot.com

I've put up a page that says it is starting January First. I already have about ten cartoons in the hopper.

I'm really having fun doing this. The tough part is coo\ming up with ideas. But now that I'm in that mindset, I'm finding they appear to me fairly easily.

I'm getting a couple of good ideas a day and I've been drawing since the 19th when I first thought of the idea.

I'm using Procreate on my i pad. It's a great graphics program that I have only touched the surface of. It is so complex and loaded with features.

I watched a couple of instructional videos on YouTube to help me learn it.

I've developed a character called Retired Guy. See below.

I kind of want to fashion his persona as a Super Hero. You know, here comes Retired Guy. He is definitely based on me and the stuff I go through day to day. But as they say, write what you know!

I'm getting ideas everywhere, especially when I'm on a walk. 

There is potential here to earning some money from this but that is going to be a ways down the road. For now, I just want to draw more. If money comes from it later, that is a bonus.

 

    

Merry Christmas

I received a lump of coal from my body this morning. I weighed 240.6 pounds. That is my heaviest ever and I really mean it this time when I say, nay...exclaim, it stops here.

I'm sure it had nothing to do with all the crap I ate yesterday. Let's see...cookies, cheese and crackers, a giant piece of delicious prime rib with creamy mashed potatoes, all topped off with two large glasses of eggnog. 

As I said, it ends here!

Update: After being up for a while and a very healthy visit to the bathroom, I re-weighed myself and found I lost a pound. So I have started my path back to a fit weight.

As I said, a very healthy visit to the bathroom.   

Heavy Stan

Yesterday I weighed in at 238 pounds. This is the most I have ever weighed and it ends now.

Fortunately, the scale displayed 237.2 pounds this morning so I'm heading in the right direction.

I've been hoovering at 234 for the last two months. I can't seem to get below it. Frankly, I'm not trying that hard. I'm hoping I now have the motivation to lose the weight.

As always, my progress will be chronicled here.

Sleep Score

So far this month, I have been very successful with my BiPap usage.

Every nightly score has been either 99 or 100 points. 

I had a range of 9 consecutive 100 point nights up until December second. I had another 99 last night that broke my current streak.

I tried for the longest time to get a perfect score but it alluded me for months. I get 70 points just for using the contraption for seven hours. If I’m trying for 100, the other 30 points are where I run into trouble.

I know it’s a weird thing to keep track of, and even weirder to mention it, but that’s my life now.

By the way, I don't believe that any of these scores translate into whether I slept well or not.

November BP

 

Holiday Sphincter

We have a total of four skywalks to decorate for Christmas this year. Two of them are for Riverpark Square and two are for the Spokane Transit Authority.

Jenni Knoll, who works for STA, wanted us to use their logo in a few of the windows we paint. It’s just a little round circle with a stylized S and T in it.

Susan used it in some snowflakes and I used it with some snow men and snowballs. (All my snowmen have snowballs)

Jenni e-mailed me last night and said she loved what we did but to hold off on the second skywalk until she got back to me today.

It turns out that the Communications Dept. at STA was not happy with using the logos. Since they were painted on with a primitive stencil I designed, they weren’t quite round enough.

The long and short of it is they wanted them removed. Jenni asked me how much to remove and fill in with more flakes and I told her 200 bucks.

This actually worked out great for us because painting the logo was very time consuming.

It took us no time to scrape off the logos and fill them back up with an appropriate image.

In the course of doing this work, I had to stop and use the bathroom.

STA currently has a program where they have shut down all their bathrooms and only allow one person at a time for no longer than 10 minutes. This is due to all the illicit drug activity that goes on in their bathrooms.

There was quite a line so I decided to walk over to Riverpark Square and use their facilities.

As I walked over, it became clear that I needed to get there as soon as possible. I don’t know how the sphincter knows how far away the bathroom is, but it does.

As I got to the entry of the bathroom, the Bombay doors opened. It was a horrible mess. I used half a roll of that shitty public restroom toilet paper and I must have flushed 7 times.

I walked back to the skywalk and told Susan about my predicament. I quickly finished off painting the images I had to do.

It was still early in the day and we planned on getting started on the other skywalk.

We hauled all our stuff over to the skywalk and Susan got to work on her snowflakes.

I slinked home, threw my clothes in the wash and threw my ass in the shower.

How humiliating!

And now I have shared it with you.

Netty News and More

Before bed last night, I tried using the netty pot over the sink and it worked out pretty well. 

I once again was able to expel a great deal of bulbous globules of mucusy snotballs. The problem I find with using the netty pot is that it is a very brief cure to a stuffed up nose. You breath great for about 15 minutes and then the blockages start building again.

We are now heading into the Winter Holiday Season, with Thanksgiving coming up this Thursday and then, of course the big Christmas season extravaganza.

The stores seem to be promoting Christmas earlier and earlier every year . Halloween wasn't even a week away before Christmas stuff started showing up in ALL the stores.

Scott and Erica will be here Thursday along with two or three of her kids.

After that, we have two skywalks to paint. And then, we have to get to work on our Christmas card. I hope we get them out in a timely manner this year.

Finally, I counted 20 sneezes throughout the day yesterday. Today, as of 1:30, I've had four.   

Update from Mr. Sneezy

I shall begin today’s post with an update concerning the last post. I finally found it!

I forgot that I have a shelf in my closet that is hidden behind a rack of clothes. I happened to move some of those clothes a couple days after writing the post, not consciously looking for the camera bag. And there it was. Nice surprise.

But the real reason for today’s post is to report on a couple of health issues I have.

I was recently started on a drug called Imdur. It has something to do with my heart. I think it might have a side effect of muscle soreness. It’s been very difficult to walk more than a mile because my leg and hip muscles get so sore.

I’m not convinced that Imdur is the cause but I will bring it up at my next doctor visit.

The other new health issue I’m experiencing is sneezing. I have been a sneezy machine for at least two weeks and probably longer. I decided today to count how many times I sneeze. Right now, I’m at two.

Because I’ve been so plugged up, I’ve started regularly using my netty pot when I’m in the shower. I am producing some major booger blockage. I am wondering if maybe I should be using the netty pot before I go to bed. I’ll have to think about that.

I like using the netty in the shower because it’s kind of a messy operation and I can blow in the shower to my nose’s content.

Lost Stuff

 I have been racking my brain trying to find my camera bag.

Back in August when we started installing the floor, we had to move a bunch of stuff out of the kitchen. The table, the piano bar, another big side table and the TV with its stand.

Sorted on the stand, I would keep my camera bag, which held my camera, extra lens and all the batteries.

Upon moving all that stuff, I had to find a place for my camera bag. I have no idea where that place is. Since we returned all the furniture to the kitchen upon completion of the floor, I have been unable to remember where I put the camera bag.

As the Pirate said when asked about the steering wheel in his pants, “It’s driving me nuts!”

Neither Susan or I have any idea where I put it. I have looked in all the logical places and many illogical places.

I’ll keep you posted.

October BP

 

September BP

 

A Night in the E.R.

Friday night, we had Shaun come over and we did a little floor leveling in the kitchen. 

Later in the evening, I told Susan that I was feeling pressure in my chest. I had been feeling it since mid afternoon and had finally decided that there might be a problem.

We checked into the Emergency Room at Sacred Heart Hospital about 7:00. It was a pretty busy night in the E.R.

We finally got in to see a doctor around 11:00. They had run blood tests on me and found no issues that indicated heart problems. They put me on an I.V. drip of Nitro Glycerin and that eased the pressure. it went from a 4 to a 1, then it bounced back up to a 3. They bumped up the Nitro and the pressure faded, then it returned. They finally got it to where I was feeling just a shadow of pressure...perhaps a .5 on the pain scale.

I was in an alcove of the E.R. all night. Susan finally went home around 4 to get some sleep.

The decision was to admit me and then do a heart cath some time on Saturday.

They moved me to another little room in the E.R. around 6:00 and Susan showed up around 9:00. 

There were more tests and visits from various doctors and they got the heart cath scheduled for around 1:00.

The heart cath went well although it showed no major changes from two years ago.

I got parked in a nice double room on the sixth floor that I had all to myself.

Susan left for home at 7ish and I spent a restless night in good ol Room 622.

They let me out on Sunday just in time to get home and watch the Seahawks beat the Carolina Panthers.

I still feel a little woogy.

I had an appointment this morning with the Zeus Study people and my blood pressure was really low. Like 75/45. I was feeling dizzyish and my vision seemed cloudy around the periphery.

They made me stick around until it came up a bit. I was let go when it hit 89/65.

I am currently feeling okay but still woogy. I just checked my blood pressure and it was 105/64.

So I'm taking things easy today.

Stuff To Do

Yesterday, I didn’t do anything! It was a bit too chilly and rainy to do anything outside, and I didn’t really have anything to do inside. That was yesterday.

I have several little projects to do today but the primary job is to get the TV working again.

Last evening, Mark came over to help us clear out the kitchen. We moved the bar, a side table, the small beer refer, our big kitchen table and the TV stand.

After we were finished, Susan and I settled down into the TV Room to wind down with a little television. With no luck.

Apparently, all the TV’s are tied to the main set up in the kitchen.

So my first task of the day is to figure that out.

8:37AM: That turned out to be easier than I thought. All I had to do was reconnect the Kitchen TV’s cable box and all was well in TV Land.

Next, I’m going to have some breakfast and then clean up all the extraneous debris we found while moving stuff last night. 

12:05PM: I have just about finished cleaning the miscellaneous debris from the kitchen. The back of the Piano Bar was stuffed with useless crap I never use. Flashing booze necklaces, dice games, and more coasters than a bar needs. There was also some useful crap that I had forgotten I had.

I’m doing pretty well with the useless crap, most of it going into the trash and the rest to Goodwill or the church basement sale.

5:45PM: Susan and started on the last remaining window that needs to be stripped. I pried off the trim and we got to work stripping the paint off.

We put in a couple of hours and got a pretty good start.

DecaFecta

For several months now, I have been creating shower art. I have been saving the little slivers of soap. In the past, I will take the previous sliver of soap and fuse it to a new bar of soap.

I started fusing the slivers together to make an all new bar of soap. When I had three pieces I called it the trifecta bar of soap.

Today, I am happy to present the Decafecta.

That's right. It's ten slivers of soap combined into one. There are five slivers of Irish Spring interlaced with five slivers of Dove.

I'm going to keep building it. This is the fun kind of stuff I do here in Retirement.

Visit to G.P.

I woke up this morning to discover that many of steri-strips had fallen off the Pacemaker scar during the night. So I peeled off the remaining ones in the shower to expose my nice new scar.

Pretty, huh?

It still looks a little rough to me but maybe it will mellow as the healing continues.

My blood work indicates that I have a kidney problem. In my paperwork from the Pacemaker install, there is a line that says, “Acute kidney injury with acute tubular necrosis.” 

Today I went to Dr. Henry, my G.P., to get a referral to a kidney specialist. In looking at my chart, he determined that my kidney injury isn’t as acute as the notes might suggest. He decided the better option was to put me on another drug called Farxiga. It deals mostly with diabetes but is also beneficial to kidney issues.

So I’ll see Dr. Mooney tomorrow and see if she approves of adding this drug.

Oh boy! Another one! That makes nine.

Rogue Flora

 Susan and I generally feel that our house is where plants come to die. We have major brown thumbs. Mine is perhaps browner than Susan’s but not by much.

I bring this up because of this amazing floral phenomenon happening in our yard.

This pot used to contain a grassy plant that came back every year. This year, it was all dried out and didn’t respond to watering when we brought it out of the Carriage House last April.

So we left it alone and these petunias bloomed out of the pot all on their own. We didn’t even water it.

This morning, I found this one lone petunia that bloomed right out of the cement. I think it popped out and bloomed overnight. I’m going to drop a little water on it and encourage it as much as possible with what is left of the growing season.

My tomatoes are still going strong and I’ve had trouble eating them all. I hope I remember that for next Spring.

Our State Fair . . .

Today we went to the fair. The Spokane Interstate Fair is a tradition that Susan and I have attended ever since we started going out together. We attended this year with our friends, Jim and Jill, who also have joined our annual attendance tradition for nearly the same length of time.

Also joining us was Ellen, our nemesis in the Wine Competition. 

We are happy to report that we did well this year. Both our wine entries received Reserve Grand Champion awards.

A 

Our wine labels did well in the competition as well, although I thought Susan’s label should have done better. I really liked her design.  

The guy who won Grand Champion for both wine and label is the same guy who beat us the last few years, Frank Burk. No relation.

We had a great day at the fair and ate a lot of bad fatty food that was really gooood.

Pace Maker Day

I am writing from Room 560 of the Heart Institute. I am being prepped to replace my defibrillator with a shiny new pacemaker.

It’s 11:00 right now and my procedure is scheduled for 1:30. So I have this iPad here to keep me entertained.

I shall update further when I have something worthy of updating

1:39PM: The procedure was initially set for 12:30. It’s now 1:39 and I’m still waiting.

2:00PM: Okay, here we go. They are taking me in. If this post ends here, you’ll know it didn’t go well.

4:00PM: I just out of the surgery and feeling a little groggy. Apparently, all went well. I am hungry so I think that’s a good sign. 

My new pacer has got me to about 60 beats per minute. I am excited to see if it makes a difference with my stamina.

In the meantime, let’s eat!

7:23PM: We have just returned from the Cathay Inn. I am now fat and happy. Of course, I was already fat. And happy too!

Un-Disabled

As of today, I am 66 1/2 years old. According to the Social Security Administration, I am no longer disabled. I’m now just an old guy on Social Security.

I don’t have anything else to add but I thought it was an important item to make note of.   

Heart Update

On Friday, the 8th of September, I am going in for a quick surgery to update my Defibrillator.

Dr Harwood, who is my Electro-Physiologist wants to change out the Defib for a Pacemaker with an additional lead. Right now, I have one lead to the top of the heart. The Pacemaker will add a lead to the bottom of my heart.

Instead of having a Defibrillator that will pace me when needed, I am now getting a Pacemaker that will raise my heart rate and defib me as needed.

The hope is that with a faster heart rate, my stamina will improve. Right now, my daily heart rate seems to be around 50 beats per minute. 

I don't know what the new rate will be but I will find that out and report it here.    

August BP

 

Finally…An Update!

 I have been doing a horrible job of keeping this updated. Well, there has been a lot going on and I guess I just haven’t felt like sitting down and writing. That’s a crappy excuse but there it is!

The kitchen remodel project continues. We were expecting counter tops to go in last week but that got delayed due to a lack of counter tops. They thought they came in, but they didn’t.

We are expecting them in this week and then they will reschedule the install. I hope that is not another two weeks out.

This is my health blog so I should be talking about that. I am continuing my tradition of being fat. I weight 229 pounds this morning. I’m not very happy about that.

I have an appointment with my Electro-Physiologist in about two weeks to discuss making a change to my defibrillator.

I’ll have more information on that after August 17th.

July BP

 

June BP

 

My Decaf Coffee

 I just returned from my morning walk. It’s a bit of a chilly morning. 

I decided that rather than walk my regular morning route, I would walk over to Starbucks. I have been drinking their instant decaf coffee. I’m not a huge coffee fan but I am a big Irish Cream fan and Irish Cream is made to go in coffee. I don’t drink regular coffee anymore because it makes me dizzy.

So I have settled for the Starbucks instant decaf. It costs me about a dollar a cup. I think I can make it much cheaper if I bought whole beans at the grocery store and ground them myself. I just haven’t found the right blend of beans to water to make as good a cup as the Starbucks instant. 

I guess a dollar a day isn’t so bad.

Bad Owie

I got up at my usual bright and early time, showered, got dressed and headed out to my Doctors office for a blood draw. I have an appointment with Dr. Mooney on Wednesday and they always like to have a fresh report on what my blood is doing.

Afterwards, I stopped at Ferguson's Café for breakfast and then off to the local Sherwin-Williams store for some paint for the deck. I spent over $60 for a gallon of what had better be really good paint.

I got in the truck and proceeded to the exit of the parking lot that would put me on Division Street. I was going to turn right onto the busy street and was waiting for an opening in the traffic. Looking to my left, a lady in an SUV stopped in front of the parking lot exit and I figured she was letting me into traffic. She actually had stopped because a transit bus had stopped in front of her and just to my right to let a rider off.

Thinking she was letting me in, I proceeded into the first lane of traffic and drove into the back of the bus.

I saw the bus immediately but couldn’t stop fast enough. My passenger side front corner bumper hit the corner of the buses rear bumper. I barely tapped it but it was enough to cave in my bumper.

There was no damage to the bus fortunately. The driver had to call a supervisor who was on the scene in about ten minutes. She took all the information about the incident including my license and insurance.

I guess I need to find out if this dent can be pounded out. I don't think I'll contact my insurance. No need to get this on my record if I don't have to. 

So that was my morning.

A Tribute to Lee

I haven't written anything here in a month and it's really a crime considering how much has happened.

First, let's start with the pregnancy. There wasn't one.

How about the Cancer diagnosis. Nope! Nothing there.

Well, my friend Lee died. That was a thing. He was my age and a guy I'm sure I've mentioned here or on the other blog. I'm still feeling the shock of his death. It's just hard to believe that he won't be calling me up soon.

Lee once asked me to speak at his funeral. I said that I would if he would speak at mine. That's not going to happen now so I'm kind of pissed at him for that.

Lee and I bonded over our watches. We both have Rolex watches that we got from our Dad's. We would be out somewhere and start talking about them, taking them off and exchanging them. Lee would comment about how scratched up my crystal was. I would comment on how accurate his watch was. It seemed to keep really good time, I would tell him. He would say that it is a very good time piece and is very accurate.

"Then how come you can't be anywhere on time?" I would exclaim.

He was horrible about showing up on time. I would be sitting in a bar, waiting for him. He would call and say, "I'll be there in 20 minutes." That 20 minutes could take forever.

Last summer, he organized a gathering at a bar on Coeur d'Alene Lake called Shooters. He planned it about two months in advance. He would call me and remind me about it. He would say, "Are you gonna be there?" I would say, "Yes, I will." The day came, and he was late.

So Lee ol' buddy, I'm going to miss you. But don't worry. I'm coming to join you. It'll be about 20 minutes!

We have been busy on the kitchen remodel. We are making slow but sure progress. The main cabinets are almost up in the kitchen. We have finally finished the pantry. Next up is the island. I hope to be working on that this week. 

I think I've been saying that for two or three weeks now.  

May BP

 

April BP

 

Right Heart Cath

I spent most of the day at the hospital without any food. So did Susan. The reason for the visit was because my Cardiologist wanted to do a heart cath on me to see what's happening in there. That procedure was followed by a stress test.

Neither procedure alllowed me to eat prior to the event.

It was a long day.

I'm not sure how any of it went. I guess I'll find out on June 7th when I have my next appointment.

After we got out, we went to the Cathay Inn and I ate the whole thing.    

March BP

 

Ski Day

Today was Day #13 for the ski season. Rob and I went to Mt. Spokane for another stellar day of skiing. While it was cloudy in town, the mountain was clear and sunny. There was a semi constant light cloud cover that kept the snow from getting too soft and sloppy. It was a really great day and we got in sixteen runs. I kept thinking this is my last run, but then we went again. 

We plan to ski next week which will be our last day of the season. Mt Spokane is closing for the season on April 9th.

Zeus Day One

I began being a Guinea Pig today with my first injection of the drug they are testing in this Zeus Trial in am participating in. I don’t know if I got the drug or a placebo. I guess I’ll find out in four years.

In other health news, my weight finally dropped below 220. I weighed 219.8 this morning. There’s two weeks to go in Lent. I’m hoping to get lower but I have very low will power.

We’ll see how I do.

Okay, I went ahead and published this post and then looked at the Blog and realized I haven’t said diddly squat about this drug trial I’m in.

About a month ago, I had a routine appointment with Dr. Mooney, my cardiologist. In the course of the appointment, she mentioned that I might qualify for a research study about a new drug in development.  

She asked if I was interested and I decided I was.

I’ve been going through several tests involving blood draws and echo cardio grams and the like.

One of the benefits of participating in this study is the increased level of care I will be getting. For example, the afore mentioned echo told me that my ejection fraction is at 30%. It’s actually slightly improved since my last echo. This echo cost me nothing.

In fact, I am paid a small stipend to participate and they pay for my parking every time I visit the office.

From here on out, I will be getting an injection once a month. Nurse Nicole gave me the injection today but next month, I will give it to myself under her watchful eye. After that, I will give it to myself at home.

The name of the drug is Zeptimab and it is supposed to control inflammation in the body. 

So that’s the update. You’re all caught up.

Ski Day #12

Today was one of the best days of Spring skiing I've ever had.

The sky was blue, the snow was white, it was warm and everything fell into place except my stamina.

Rob and I skied ten runs and I was exhausted. I really wanted to ski more but I know that was probably not smart, considering how tired I was.

An absolutely GREAT day!

Ship Your Pants

I just suffered through the worst episode of shitting myself in years, if not my entire lifetime.

I went to breakfast with Mark and I felt an ever so slight urge to visit the bathroom before we left Ferguson's. But I ignored it. Dumbass! I had two errands I wanted to run and I thought I was okay. Stupid, stupid Man!!!

I drove to a local ski shop and bought some all purpose ski wax. Then I went to Staples to get some file folders so I can be more organized.

I collected my pack of file folders and felt a little burp in the butt region as I walked to the check out.

I made it to the truck and realized I was in distress. I drove home as quick as I could and felt a couple more burps that had me crowning.

The thing I hate most about this is that the closer you get to the toilet, the less sphincter control you have.

As I put the key in the door, I lost all control.

The bathroom was a mess. The sink, the bathtub and the shower were disaster areas. I managed to get undressed and get into the shower. I got my pants and my undies rinsed out enough to be acceptable to the washer.

What a nightmare!    

Ski Day #11

The update on my arm injury is that I skied today. No issues! Didn't even notice any pains or problems.

It was a nice mostly sunny day. The wind was light and Rob and I skied 15 runs. That's my most runs for a day this season. I really felt good. My stamina was in pretty good shape. I stopped fewer times on each run.

I did have one incident where we were skiing over to the B-29 and I tried a different way which ended up in a sea of trees in untracked snow. I eventually fell trying to navigate the trees and totally wore myself out getting back up.

I also renewed my Season Pass for next year.

After a brief stop at the Hub, I came home and enjoyed a nice dip in the hot tub.

Damaged Arm Update

I went to the Doctor yesterday and he confirmed my thoughts that there was nothing broken, just some muscle damage. He gave me some Prednisone and told me to come back in a week.

I took my third one this morning and I am starting to feel improvement. I had a much better nights sleep and my range of motion this morning is much better.

Now I have to go and scrape some window trim.

Ski Day #10

Susan and I skied at Lookout Pass today. It turned out to be a great day with one little exception.

It was clear blue skies when we arrived and even though we had access to the handicap parking right up front, there were not a lot of people on the mountain and we would have had good parking anyway.

I was excited for this day because Lookout has opened a new chairlift on a completely separate mountain. The picture above is a view of the new mountain from the top of Rainbow Ridge.

After a few runs together, Susan and I broke off and I headed for the new chair, Chair #5.

After a couple of enjoyable runs, we connected back at the bottom of Chair #2. We decided to take a few more runs and then meet at the lodge.

I skied nine runs. Susan skied seven. On my eighth run, I was planning to take two more, giving me a even 10 runs. I was skiing along when I got an edge. I went over on my left side, trapping my left arm between my torso and the ground. I hit hard! I got up slowly and realized that my arm was hurting. It wasn't in the joints, more a dull pain in my upper arm, in the muscle.

I decided against going for ten runs and took Chair #2 to the top and skied towards the lodge.

Susan said she had a fall on her last run as well.

We bought some beer and had lunch and limped down to the car.

It was a great day but man, my arm is sore. I cannot lift it in front of me. If I use my right hand, I can lift it without too much pain. I think I'll call my doctor tomorrow.  

Ski Day #9

Mt. Spokane has shifted to its Spring schedule which means they are closed on Monday and Tuesday.

This week, Mt. Spokane got nine inches of snow between Sunday night and late Tuesday.

When Rob and I got up to the mountain at 10:00, it was already packed. We managed to score the last available handicap space at Lodge One.

The climb to the lift at Lodge One is quite an arduous one, due to it's length and it's elevation. So I was pretty wiped out when we reached the 10 minute chairlift line.

Fortunately, that was the only line we stood in all day. The rest of the day, the crowd spread out and there were no long lines. Half the people in this city must have taken the day off the attack the powder.

We got in ten runs and I am feeling every one of them.  

February BP

 

The Best Way to Lose Weight

It is the season of Lent which means we have given up beer. AND, for these first two weeks, we've given up alcohol.

Susan always goes on the South Beach Diet during Lent and the first two weeks of the diet require giving up alcohol. I'm not following the diet but I've given up the hooch to be supportive.

I've lost three pounds since Tuesday. I checked in this morning at 222.6 pounds. Giving up booze is really a great kick starter for losing weight.

But I don't recommend it.

Cushy Life Problems

For the last month or so, I’ve been trying to get into a new morning routine. When I get up in the morning, I go get my morning pills and head for the bathroom.

Once there, I raise the heat on the thermostat to 80°. That way, I have a nice warm bathroom when I get out of the shower. The one part of my routine that I cannot seem to remember is to turn off the heat before I get in the shower.

The problem is that the heat discharge vent is straight across the room from the shower door. If I forget, the warm air is blowing on my wet body and it feels a bit chilly.

Now, I’m not such a wimp that I can’t take a little chilly breeze on my freshly cleaned nether regions. In fact, one could make the argument that a little discomfort in your life is a good thing, a character builder.

But I’m not that guy. So I shall continue too try to get my morning routine correct.

Ski Day #8 Spinout

Today, Rob and I both broke even on our Season Passes. It was our eighth visit to the mountain which technically matches what we paid for our passes.

From here on out, we are making money.

It started snowing shortly after we got on the chairlift but it was a gentle snow that did not impose itself on the joy of our day.

We got in ten runs and finished our day just after noon o'clock. I was quite exhausted. We had a couple of beers in the lodge along with the customary burger that is not very good. 

On the trip out, Rob managed to put us in a 180° spin that bumped us up against the berm but caused no damage. I maintain that he was not in four wheel drive but he thinks it was just really icy. 

Time for the Goat

So, here it is, the first thing in the morning and I have a mission. It's Valentine's Day and although Susan and I decided not to give gifts, I have one that I'm going to give her.

I've been growing my beard since last Fall and today, I'm transforming it to a goatee, which Susan prefers. And yes, that's how I look first thing in the morning.

Here I am after a shower and shave. Much more presentable. But it's a little drafty around my cheeks. 

I left my sideburns a little long which I have decided to fix tomorrow. I look like I'm from Montana. 

New Weight Loss Goal

It was Super Bowl LVII weekend so I did not eat very well. Which is to say that I ate a LOT. And not good stuff. So I am happy to report my weight at 225.2 pounds. I have a doctors appointment in about three weeks and I really want to lose some weight. I would love to be at 215 but I don't think I have the will power to do it.

I'm going to concentrate on good eating today, and since it's Monday, I can easily go without beer.

We continue to make progress on the kitchen remodel. I spend a lot of time while in bed running scenarios about one aspect of the project or another. Lately, I'm trying to figure out how to run the ducting for the downdraft fan. I haven't got it nailed down yet.

     

Ski Day #7

 It's been two weeks since I've been up skiing. Matters with the kitchen remodel have taken precedence.

I felt we were well enough into it and had made good enough progress to allow for a day on the slopes.

Rob and I had a good day. It started out sunny but a high cloud bank came in and took the sun away.

Still, the snow was great, visibility was good and I had a good day. I added ten runs to my total.

January BP

 

Kitchen Crunch Time

 We had a little snow overnight. Only about three inches but enough to break out the snow blower.

Susan worked on the stenciling project and got a second color up on the south wall. She's concentrating on that wall first so we can move the TV back into position.

I'm preparing for more soffit destruction for tomorrow in the kitchen. We are getting to crunch time on this thing and we are getting to the point where we will be without a cooktop, oven or sink. That's the scary part.

We hope it will only be a short time without, maybe a couple of weeks. We shall see.

Ski Day #6

 I held off going skiing until today because it looked like today (Thursday) would be the best day of the week. 

I drove into fog as I crested the top of the mountain. But as I was getting my boots on, the sky cleared and it was actually sunny.

Mt. Spokane got a good 5 to 6 inches of snow overnight so that was kind of exciting. It was heavy snow and once it got skied out it was pretty chunky.

My first few runs were pretty good but the fog crept back in and while it was clear on top, it was foggy near the bottom and hard for me to see the terrain. That really wears you out.

I skied 7 runs and was off the mountain by noon.

Ski Day #5

 I should have skied yesterday! It was mostly clear and sunny. Today was mostly fog and snowy. There was a light skiff of snow here at the house when I left for the mountain this morning.

I compiled some good stats from the day. With gasoline at $3.34 a gallon, it costs me about $13.00 to go skiing. It is 30.5 miles to the parking lot and it takes about an hour.

I was able to capture this picture of me coming down the bottom of the Hourglass on my fifth run. I'm not kidding. That really is me. 

It was snowing most of the day but the problem came on my last two runs. The fog enveloped the whole mountain and the skiing was just sucky. I called it a day on my seventh run. 

Stuff To Do

 I should be skiing today!

I hope it’s that nice tomorrow.

In the meantime, I have stuff to do. 

I’m rebuilding one of our EdenPure space heaters and I received the two quartz bulbs I ordered from them yesterday. I went out to the various hardware outlets to purchase ceramic wire nuts. They are for high heat applications. It’s too specified an item apparently because they are not to be found. 

It’s a good thing I have the InterWebs. I should have them in a week. So, that project is on hold.

I had another gas guy in the house this morning to give me an estimate on the gas line. He said he’ll e-mail me a number later today. We’re getting close to getting going on the kitchen remodel.

I’m heading out today to look at a side draft fan for the cooktop. That is one item we have yet to purchase.

My weight loss program is going well but very incrementally. I weighed 228.6 this morning. We’ll, I gained it incrementally too.

Heavy Humidity

It’s been a rainy Sunday. Really rainy. So much rain. I’m betting on close to half an inch. That means we were pretty much stuck inside. Susan is working on stenciling. She’s just figuring out the logistics at this point.

Here she is working on a proto stencil to make sure it is going to work.

I puttered around in the Carriage House but didn’t really accomplish anything in there.

Today is the first day of my new diet. I’m starting out at 229.8. I’m going with N.S.N.G. No Sugar, No Grain. As usual, not drinking beer is the toughest part of this deal.

We’re having Cauliflower Cheese soup for dinner. I’m going to limit myself to 1 glass of wine for the evening.

So, here we go!

Carriage Cleaning

 I have been out in the Carriage House cleaning up. I did something today that I haven’t done in many years. I vacuumed the floor. It was badly needed. And I didn’t do a very good job. But it’s a start! 

In the course of all my cleaning, I finally hit on a goal I want to accomplish. I have a really nice drafting table out there. It is dismantled in pieces. I want to create a space for that table and reassemble it. 

It’s going to require a major purging of stuff. One item in there that I need to get rid of is an old M5 Hammond Organ. It’s sort of playable. It was given to me several years ago by a guy who wanted it to go to a good home. Well, sorry Kenny. This home wasn’t the one. 

I can’t bring myself to just haul it to the dump but I need to be rid of it.

I guess that is something for me to start working on.

Traeger Trauma

I tried to use the Traeger today and found it to still be malfunctioning. The glow stick was not getting any glow. It's going to require another dismatalation to find the problem.

In the meantime, I still managed some cleaning in the Carriage House as I continue to make it more useable.

Ski Day #4

Rob, Natalie and I had a fine day on the mountain. The clouds managed to stay above the peak and the snow was pretty good. I got in 7 runs.

We got up late because I had a Doctor's appointment with my Eye guy. Through a series of tests, we discovered I have a slight blindness in the upper left quadrant of both eyes, probably caused by a small stroke. 

I have no idea when the stroke may have occurred and I was not aware of the vision problem. I presume to be hearing from my other doctors soon.

In any event, the stroke victim got in nine more runs. A good day despite the stroke news.  

Today's Consideration

We have been busy putting Christmas away. The tree is down and the living room is mostly Christmas free. MantleVille is still up and I'm not sure when Susan will put that away. It seems to me that MantleVille hangs around for a couple more weeks.

I'm heading out to the Carriage House to see what I can do there today. I only need to concentrate on one item. Whether it gets moved or tossed is the only consideration I need to make. 

Throwing stuff away is really hard for me. I have to be tough.

11:07 PM: I'm not really satisfied with my efforts today. I cleaned up some lengths of rope and twine and nylon cord and I moved some bags of Traeger Wood Pellets. Not major progress, but it's a little cleaner in there.    

Day Two of the Initiative

Another productive day in the New Year.

I got in a 1 mile walk around the neighborhood this morning. I should have done two miles but it’s still a little slickery out there. It’s not quite ready for me out there to be walking in the environment. I need a controlled situation like the mall.

After a nice wholesome breakfast, I took down the Christmas lights from the front of the house. That all went smoothly. 

In keeping with my Initiative, I had Mark help me move the Traeger Grill out of the Carriage House and on to the back deck. That frees up a little more space in the Carriage House. Plus, I’m looking forward to cooking some meat on the Traeger.

Now, it’s time for a video of the train set.

Ahh! Isn’t that festive-ish!?

Captain Cliché

I am starting Twenty Twenty-Three out in classical cliché style with a declaration that I must lose weight.

Today I weighed in at 232.6 pounds. I have shirts that I cannot button, dress slacks that are really hard to button, and at least one pair of cargo pants that I really like that I cannot fasten as of three weeks ago.

I am going to go through my closet and purge and I need to take another one of those fat pictures to post here for the purpose of shame.

I'm also going to continue my project of cleaning up and organizing the Carriage House. It is the perfect place for me to work on projects but it is so full of crap and so disorganized that it is essentially useless. 

It was only a week ago that I needed to find my roof heat cable that came off the roof  a year and a half ago. I have come across it several times, even going so far as to wrap it around an extension cord sling, only to be completely clueless as to where it may be now.

I've been this way for 65 years it I think it should end.

I have three chores I want to complete today.

Number one is to get the vacuum into the basement and clean up the area near the boiler chimney flue. I also need to get the flue door duct taped into place.

The second item is to shred a bunch of paperwork I have here in this designated office space in the back bedroom upstairs. However, I am unable to shred until I empty the shred chamber. 

Before I can do that, I need to clean out the fireplace, which is my third item. I will throw all the shredded paper I have in there in order to facilitate the making of fire as well as the total disposal of all this shredded material.

4:23 PM: I think I did pretty good. I managed to burn up the shredded material by just feeding it into the fireplace. There was still some burnable debris in the firebox. So I threw in a bunch of newspaper, kindling and then shred.

The shred does not go up in flames like you might think.

I finally finished fixing the Flue Flap.

I'm happy with what I've done. How permanent and durable it is remains to be seen.

I have started a cleaning initiative for the Carriage House. That's how serious I am about it. It's an Initiative! 

I call it "One Item a Day". I shall pledge to make a strong effort to endeavor to make a significant change to one item in the Carriage House.

That means finding a better place for it or throwing it away.

Today I moved our camping tent and a big Dutch oven into a good spot upstairs and threw away an old cordless phone set. That gives me some much needed storage space under the work table.

I've also gotten a good start on Blogging for the year.