First Signs of Dimensia

We had our monthly meeting of the Board of Ministry for Plymouth Congregational Church tonight. I volunteered to take the meeting minutes since our secretary didn't make the meeting.

As the meeting began and I started writing, I suddenly had a complete blank on how to spell "minutes". I first wrote "minuet" and knew that was wrong. I wrote minuete, minute, (as in "minutely") and then I gave up. Everything I tried didn't look right.

When I started writing this post, I knew I was going to have to write the word. I didn't even think about it until it was typed and then everything came together. I looked at it and knew it was right.

I have never had an episode like that. It was just the one word. Just something else to keep an eye on.

I need to write the minutes now while they are fresh in my head but I'm going to wait until I'm sure my head is into it.

New Exercise Regimen

I got a new pair of boots for Christmas. Thank you Mom. I wore them for half a day inside the house to make sure they fit comfortably. Once I stepped outside, the General Store would not take them back.

Today is the second day that I've worn them to work. I believe they fit okay, by it's not like I'm floating on air. In fact, with these boots, I'm experiencing something I haven't with other footwear. The boots are heavy. They weigh 220 grams. According to the Interweb, that's half a pound. That can't be right. These things are heavy.

By the end of the day, I was ready to get them off. Not because they pinched or hurt. My legs were tired from lifting them all day.

So in one sense, this is great exercise.

Also on the health beat, I'm trying to lose some weight. I got up to the 230's and that is too fat. So I am observing the No sugar, No grains protocol and I'm not drinking beer when I get home at night.

In two days I'm down two pounds. Slow and steady, baby!

427 Days

It is time to get back to the daily grind. Long holidays wreck havoc on my system and make me wish for retirement. All that undirected time with whatever I want to do makes me look forward and dream about retirement. That is going to be my theme for the next year. Retirement!

It's not that I dislike my job. I love what I'm doing. However, there are lots of changes going on and I'm feeling like an old dog. I don't mind learning new tricks, and if new tricks make things work smoother, I'm all for it.

I'm just tired. Many of my friends my age are already retired or easing into it. I have not lived my life in a manner that will allow easing.

I have roughly 427 days to go to retirement. That is when I turn 65 and Medicare will help pay for my drugs. Then I shall slam myself into retirement and look for new ways to torture myself.

December BP

 Here we are at the end of this horrible year. It's pretty clear that no one has been a fan of 2020. I am ending the year with my weight up and my blood pressure down. My Resolution is to reverse that. That's always my resolution.

Ski Day Number One

I started the day with a Doctor's appointment to look at my left eye. A cataract has been building for over a year and I am done waiting for something to be done. I met with Dr Jansen and he agreed it has gotten worse and he is referring me to Spokane Eye Clinic. So now I have to wait for them to give me a call and schedule another round of the exact same appointment I had today. That's efficient.

Part of the examination is to dilate my eyes. Supposedly, it makes me sensitive to light. I didn't really notice a big difference. Until I arrived at the parking lot of Mt Spokane...about two hours after my appointment. It sure was bright out there with all the snow.

Perhaps I skipped ahead too far.

I took the day off due to the Doctor visit and my many vacation days I have accrued. I decided that because of the early hour of the visit, I had time to go skiing.

So that's what I did.

Many thanks to my longtime friend, John who allowed me to use his Corporate Pass. That means that all it cost me was the gas to get up there.

Having the pass made it much easier to leave after only four runs. It was really foggy and it made the light flat...which made it very hard to see the terrain. At one point I stopped and almost fell down as I came to a stop because I couldn't tell if I had stopped. I had not! I was still moving and it made me a little disoriented.

But now I have a ski day in the books for the 20-21 Ski Season and that makes me happy.

Soap Records

Through meticulous record keeping, I have learned that a bar of soap lasts me a month in the shower. This may seem like useless information to you. But to me, armed with this valuable knowledge, I am able to more efficiently plan my soap purchasing activities. It becomes even more efficient with the realization that I buy my soap in the 20 Count Costco pack. So now I know that I only devote about 2 minutes every couple of years to purchasing soap.

This is an example of how good my life is.

We are painting the final sky walk today. And it's only the fifth of December. We have the whole rest of the month to procrastinate on Christmas stuff. That a lot more procrastination time than we have had in the past.

Another example of how good my life is.

Before painting, we are off to church to decorate the building for Christmas.

12:20PM: We were looking forward to some Gonzaga basketball. But the game was canceled due to Covid. The news said one player and one non player for Gonzaga tested positive.

So we headed downtown to finish our last sky walk.

We completed our painting about 5:00 and came home for a celebratory dinner of Grilled Cheeses sandwiches and Chicken Noodle soap. I shall continue to keep meticulous records and see how long that lasts.

Day Off Hi Jinx

It is just after nine on Friday morning. I'm just getting my morning started. I have my coffee and the biscuits and gravy are in my stomach. Next up, clean up, shower up, and get out and do something.

I've done something. I fixed my brake lights. It wasn't very difficult to figure out how to access the bulbs and I ran over to the General Store and purchased two new bulbs. So all is well in that area and I'm ready to move on to the next project. 

Susan left me a note this morning that said the floor in the bathroom was not heating up. I've never been happy with the connection of the wall mounted thermostat for that floor. It has never fit snugly and sometimes does not make contact.

My fix for that was to stick a little dollop of JB Weld into the screw hole. While at the General Store, I bought found some tiny washers which I hope will make the control box clamp down a little tighter. It appears to have worked. The floor is heating as I write. I will now go check it.

Can't tell. The display says it's up to 72 degrees but the floor doesn't feel warm yet. 

I was going to go to Costco but I think I'll wait as it is getting close to the time the tow truck is coming to remove the Escape. It's been sitting in the driveway for a year now and it is time to say good bye.

Good bye!

I made my trip to Costco although I forgot to get bacon bits and Irish Creme. 

Now it is time to head downtown and decorate sky walk number se7en.