It started with painting the hallway

Day 3117

Missed my 8.5 year smoke-iversary last month. Same day as my parents 55th (!!) wedding anniversary. Since Mom never re-married after Dad passed 19 some years ago, it still counts. (For the record, I was born 9 months and 26 days after my parents were married. Coincidence? I think not!)

Anyhow. After finishing the master bath a year and a half ago, I still had to re-paint the upstairs hallway. Removing a door and patching the hole will make that a necessity it seems. After a bout of unemployment, job search, new job, newer (present) job, grand baby (still the cutest thing in the entire world) and arm surgery recovery, we were ready to go.

Then the cascade started. If I painted the hallway, I needed to do the stair case. But the stairs, newel post, balusters and banister were too dark. So we thought about re-doing the steps, except the oak of the steps wouldn’t match the Pergo floors. And we were planning on re-doing the basement this spring (it ain’t spring here yet – no matter what the clock & calendar say) and we needed flooring for down there. Somehow this morphed into pulling up the Pergo in the kitchen & living room and replacing it all with hardwood flooring. Of course the stairs and floor had to match so the search was on.

Here we are, barely a month from “it’s finally time to paint the hallway” and the Pergo is in the basement all neatly stacked, new handrails, newel post & balusters are on hand, new stair treads are on a truck being shipped in from Tennessee, and two guys are in my living room laying new flooring while I sit here at work wondering how they are doing.

But here’s the progress they made yesterday:

Quick look at the new kitchen floor.

Today the living room gets done, then work progresses into the laundry room. Tonight’s task for me is getting the washer & dryer out of the way so the contractors can get the flooring in tomorrow. Time to call in the heavy artillery (Zach) to help with the washer & the behemoth laundry cabinet. Gonna be a joy.

 

Of course, the stair treads aren’t due to arrive till Thursday sometime (a week late!!!) and the contractors will be getting antsy to move on.  We’ll see how that goes.  I think we’ll be fine – contractor seems like a solid guy.  It’ll work out.

 

In other news, I snuck out and got in some bowling in the afternoon.  Good lord, I never realized the effort required from your forearm, back and legs.  Bowling alone may have something to do with that too – the frequency of throwing is much higher and those 15 pound balls aren’t going to move themselves!  It’s good to be able to be active again.  Last check in with the surgeon tomorrow too.  Just about 6 months from the surgery date and I will be officially done.  Still have strengthening to do, but at least I can now go at more aggressive pace.

Apropos of nothing . . .

Holy smokes, this thing still here? Happily, life has me too busy to be able to spend much time whining in here. Busy is good, but holy shit, I need a break here soon.

Day 3103

Regarding the so called title of this post – heard a great quote last night. Can’t remember the source, but I will try to look them up. Paraphrasing the quote here:

“Fables aren’t meant to teach children that dragons exist – they already know that. Fables teach them that dragons can be beat.”

For some reason I can’t pin down just yet, that resonates with me.

I have 6 reports to write, 2 products to test, 3 clients impatiently waiting for their reports and 3 more that will be in the same boat next week. I need a week of 36 hour days just to catch up. But – busy is good.

13 February, 2013 06:18

http://yesteam.org.in/ckgvz/s6n9ngedoglsv1kwdv3376ss9rviagf75ox7.tjx7umde59d

Brian

Finally, Winter

You know it’s been cold when you look at the dashboard of your truck, see a double digit number for the outdoor temp and think “Finally warming up a bit!”

Also – for the first time in a couple of years, the waterfalls on the pond froze.  This forces the water to fall further upstream and it doesn’t necessarily return to the pond.  Doesn’t take long for the pond level to get so low that the pump isn’t pumping.  Had to shut it down last night, and I really can’t do anything to fix it until we get a day or two of above freezing weather.  That would be above freezing for water, not alcohol.

 

Had bowling round #2 last night too.  Got brave stupid and tried to start out with a 14 pound ball.  Two frame in and I understood that it was just too heavy, so I switched to a 13 pounder for a bit.  Ended up throwing a 172 that first game – same as I bowled last week.  For the second game, I switched to the 14 pound ball.  It was much better throwing that one after having warmed up a wee bit.  Result?  181 with I think 2 open frames.  Got brave stupid again and started to bowl a third game. No progress if you don’t push the limits, right?  Had a very nice game.  No opens but only 1 strike resulting in a 190.  Averaged 181 for the night which is a little under last years average, but all things considered, I’ll take it.  

Next week I think I’ll see how it goes starting with a 14 and be prepared to drop to a 13 to warm up.  By the third game, I want to try a 15 pound ball but be prepared to drop back if the arm gets tweaky.  Eventually, I’ll work up to using a 15 pound ball start to finish.  Then I’ll switch to my own ball.  With the extra torque of the fingertip grip, it’ll still be a grind till my arm strength gets back to where it was.  At least it’s progressing.

 

Happy to add that my arm feels fine today, but my left hip flexor is feeling a little sore.  Not used to the slide.  That’s a bit of weight to support on one leg in a deep knee bend.  SO out of shape!

Let the Bowling Begin!

Day 3072

This past Thursday I actually got my butt out bowling. Had to wait till the leagues wrapped up, but I got some shots in. Used a 12lb house ball that didn’t really fit too well, but it was the closest I could get. Once I figured out how to grip & throw the ball, things went pretty well. I purposely modified my approach to try and slow down some. That seemed to work through the first game, but old habits (and throwing techniques apparently) die hard.

Scores? 172, 174. Missed my average by 15 – 18 pins, but with a 12 lb ball? I’ll take it. Best part was my arm felt good that night and also felt fine the next morning. Next week? 2 games with a 13 lb ball. I’ll increment a pound a week up to 15 pounds using a conventional grip house ball. Once I’m at 15 lbs, I’ll work up to 3 or 4 games. THEN I’ll switch back to my finger-tip grip ball and see how that goes. The finger-tip grip allows you to put more torque on the ball, but it puts quite a load on your fore arm & bicep. I want to sneak up on this puppy – while also remodeling the basement – all sorts of exercise activities around!

Speaking of re-modeling – I have to go re-paint a ceiling and do some wall touch-ups. More exercise!

Oh – the last two spin classes have thoroughly kicked my ass. Felt SO good!

Catching Up, Again

Day 3067

It’s been three months since we were in New Orleans last. I HAD to have some gumbo. My go to recipe calls for a 10 lb turkey to get things rolling. (boil, make stock, etc) Seems that 10 lb turkeys have gone the way of the 6 oz chicken breast – they happen when the bird is 4 months old, but they sell them at 8 months plus and they’ve outgrown USDA dietary guidelines.

All that to say I substituted a 7lb roaster chicken instead. Plus? It was already thawed sitting there in the grocery stores cooler. I usually use Andouille sausage too. Thought I had some. Got home to find I had 1 lb of fresh Chorizo and 1.5 lb smoked Chorizo. Worked for me. Both varieties of Chorizo were also made of chicken.

Busted out a relatively new bamboo spoon once I had the roux smoothed out with a whisk. Now I know how my favorite spoons get all black on the business end. That oil is HOT and it actually chars the spoon a bit! But I got my roux done to a nice chocolatey brown without burning myself (I have scars from hot roux splashes in the past – the price one pays for 20 – 25 minutes of stirring), and completed the gumbo without incident. Substituting chicken for the turkey and chorizo for andouille did nothing to dampen satisfaction with the end result. After all, there are how many gumbo cooks in Louisiana? Then, there are AT LEAST that many varieties of gumbo and I bet they’re all delicious. Now if I could just get one of them to send my some cryovac’d gator tail I could try another variety. Got a recipe for a smoked pork/black eyed pea gumbo I want to try too. Gotta buy some pork butts before prices go up for the summer.

Haven’t tried bowling with the new arm yet. Forgot my shoes last week and a window of opportunity never opened up this weekend. Maybe Thursday. I’ll toss my bowling gear in the truck tonight.

Oh – I need to get back to spin classes. I need to give up the late-ish nights and get back to morning exercising too. Last time I did that, once I reached my goal I backed off too much. Have to find that happy medium and the motivation to stay sub 200. I do not expect that motivation to be coming from the spousal unit either. She is just a bundle of contradictions and is her own worst enemy. Can’t get her to see that though.

Of course, last time I was super fit, I managed to fall victim to my own wanderlust too. Not a good thing at all. Oh! Sunday I was out shopping by myself, looking for vibration absorbers for the washer, when I ran into the twin of my old buddy Ms. CL. Same height, same hair, wore her jeans the same way so that her butt looked too small, posture very similar, boobs not quite the same, and her face was different, but geeze – they could be stunt doubles for each other.  Got me to thinking about Ms. CL again, but she’s moved off to the next county east and is working in the eastern half of that county.   Heard she interviewed for a position back closer to the city but no word on how that went.  Probably just as well.  (Unless she DID get that job at the college and was at Sears stocking up her apartment . . . . hmmmm – can’t go there, can’t go there, can’t go there, no matter how dissatisfied I think I may be)

I might just have to promise my innernetz girlfriends that before I start window shopping, I will be an eligible shopper.  Because I clearly am not accountable to myself. (I make such good arguments to me!)  We’ll see.

For the record – it was 69 here yesterday.  Almost all our snow from Christmas time has melted.  And?  We were warmer than Southern California.  In January.  I don’t know if it’s global warming, but weather patterns are certainly whacked lately.

I am reading a Kindle book (free!!) that is trying to disprove the global warming theory.  I’m not too far into it, but it looks like there has been some collusion amongst the weather studying community to make things look worse than they have been – at least up until 2008/2009 or so.  We’ll see hat that turns out.  It’s some pretty slow going though – lots of ‘facts’ being bandied about.  For my money – I don’t care if there is global warming or not, there are some things we just need to stop, period.

 

Umm – end of lunch – I better get back to work.

Enough

Day 3056

Not that this is a resolution or anything, but I have got myself the new version of FitDay and am hopping back on the get my ass back to fit wagon. I’ve used the new job(s) and my arm injury as excuses to get lazy. I need to cut that shit out.

Cindy is also doing her own tracking program and is being more diligent about exercise. We’ll see how honest she is about logging what she consumes. Somehow I think she still believes the afternoon/evening toddies are calorie free.

It’ll be interesting when I get back down under the Clydesdale biking category (<200lb). I’m curious as to where she’ll be. I’m taking bets, if anyone dares. My own goal? <190 by Aug 15 (our 32nd anniversary) Considering Tour de Cure again this year, but it is difficult to train for a 100 miler as early as June in these parts. Can’t really comfortably ride outside till April, and spinning just isn’t the same. Makes me slightly jealous of all my southern compadres!

Oh!!  I’m now comfortable up to 20 reps of 10 lb curls.  I’m going to get myself a 12 lb dumbell and work to get to 20 reps of that.  Then?  I can start tossing a 12 lb bowling ball.  Possibly overhand.  But I’m thinking maybe the 12th or 13th of January to start working on the bowling again.  Might even go hit the golf dome and hit a bucket of balls with some short irons.  All good for the fitness regimen too!

Late but not forgotten. Mostly.

Saw this on several trips around the innerwebz:

1. Eggnog or Hot Chocolate?
Eggnog.  Rum or bourbon optional.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Wrapped.  Not fancy, but you have to have a little mystery.

3. Colored lights on the tree/house or white?
White lights, gold ornaments, couple red items tossed in.
4. Do you hang mistletoe?
Nope

5. When do you put your decorations up?
Usually the weekend after Thanksgiving

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
Smoked turkey

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?
Getting up early and just staring at the tree/gifts Christmas morning

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
Not sure.  Being the oldest meant that I had to play along for a few years extra

9. Do you open gifts on Christmas Eve?
Nope.  Do not open till Christmas!!

10. What kind of cookies does Santa get set out for him?
Whatever I don’t eat first

11. Snow! Love it or dread it?
It’s upstate NY. No need to love it or hate it, it’s going to come anyhow.

12. Can you ice skate?
Yes.  I skated TONS on a frozen pond as a kid. Prefer hockey skates to figures skates.  Those damn toe picks can kill a guy,

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
Estes rocket model of a Mars Lander.

14. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you?
Family

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?
I rarely, if ever eat dessert.  Do cookies count?

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Baking and decorating cookies with the kids

17. What tops your tree?
An angel that isn’t self lit, so I stick lights up her butt to give her a little inner glow.

18. What do you prefer… giving or receiving?
Giving

19. What is your favorite Christmas carol?
TSO – Mad Russians Christmas.

20. Candy canes… yuck or yum?
Ew.

21. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Nope.

22. Favorite Christmas movie?
I generally avoid Christmas movies like the plague.

23. Do you have a nativity scene?
Two or three actually

24. What’s the most annoying thing about this time of year?
Besides stores putting Christmas stuff out before Halloween?  The sheer commercialness that has crept into what should be a time of giving and reflecting.

 

Looks like we made national news this past week for all the wrong reasons.  How about nut job that killed his sister, torched his house then started shooting at the firemen as they showed up Christmas Eve morning?  Total of 7 houses burned, 2 firefighters killed, 2 others shot.  They think they found what was left of this guys sister in his own burned out house.  Thankfully he killed himself once police got there – saves the county the cost of a trial.

My outfit has an office in Newtown Ct – about a mile from the Sandy Hook school, so that hit close to home too.  A guy I talk to frequently down there caught a huge break – his wife is a teacher at that school.  That will rattle you right to your core.

 

‘Nuff bad stuff.  New year coming, time to re-start.  About time I got back on the sensible eating kick I was on a few years ago.  I am NOT happy with my expanding waist land and it’s time to get fit again.  Tour de Cure is in 6 months and I might be able to get into shape enough to crank out another 100 mile ride.   Sure would be nice . . .

 

Need to Go Slow

Day 3031

Had my 12 week follow up with the surgeon last week. His mouth said that I was free to do anything I did before the surgery – “return to full activity”. So I asked him about bowling. Apparently that isn’t covered under “anything” or “full activity”.

So no bowling until January at the earliest. I’ll also have to start out with the lightest ball I can get my hand into AND not be surprised if I can only throw a single game the first time out. I think he under estimates my desire to get back to bowling. I’ll grant him the 12 pound ball, but I think I can get through 2 games if not more. Arm might get tired, but it’ll hang in there. The doc also had a very poor idea of how a ball is thrown – thinking that there was a huge wrist twist in order in impart spin on the ball. That supination move scared him. In reality, there is no twist of the wrist – it’s all in keeping your hand behind or under the ball and bringing your hand straight up behind it. That twisty wrist stuff will got you hurt and not make your ball curve at all.

Anyhow.

Went out and hunted Christmas trees over the weekend. Bagged a beauty. Got it all set up in the living room and prepared to trim when what did I find? Of the 8 strings of lights I have (6 of which normally get used), every stinking last one of them failed to light. Spent the afternoon futzing around with the lights. Eventually got 5 strings working fine, canabalized one for parts and have two others to fix – next year.

Tonight we get to finish the tree trimming.

Uh-oh.    Just looked at my work schedule. A job I am supposed to start tomorrow is not happening in my lab.  It’s happening in a university town about 100 miles away and is a two day on site design review of a clients potential new product.  So much for going slow.  Now I have three jobs to wrap up this afternoon (1 down, 2 to go), then I have to go home tonight and study up on the 3 new particular standards I am reviewing tomorrow & Wednesday.  This is crazy.

Rough Year to be Me

Day 3028

Bad year to be me.

Lets count the ways!

1 Swimmers ear, Mexico, right side (thank god for OTC prescription level drugs in Mexico!)

2 Swimmers ear, NY, 3x right, left, right

3 Sore Elbow, right (tendonitis?)

4 Really sore elbow, right (still tendonitis?)

5 Swimmers ear, left

6 Torn biceps tendon (NOT tendonitis!)

7 Worst golf season ever (see 3, 4, & 6)

8 Surgery for #6

9 Swimmers ear, left

10 Middle ear infection, left

11 ineffective antibiotic, 10 days – 5 of them in NOLA (didn’t suck too bad)

12 New antibiotic, wiped out the buggers

13 Opportunistic fungal infection, left ear

14 Less than stellar reaction to fungal medication

15 There’s 25 days left this year – I’m still afraid.

On the other hand, good stuff happened too.

1 Got to vacation in Cancun

2 Came back from vacation to start a new, permanent, full time job with good pay.

3 Got a new primary physician in my neighborhood – not across town.

4 Quality time with the amazing little granddaughter (Monkey pants – because she NEVER stops moving)

5 Had a successful surgery to repair my tendon and really experienced very little pain throughout the entire process.

6 Got to enjoy a family reunion in Gloucester.  (The bad? – we’re responsible for planning the 2103 reunion for the other half of the clan)

7 Enjoyed another trip to New Orleans, in spite of the simmering ear infection at the time.

8 Monkey pants turned a whole 1 year old and is just an amazing little thing to watch.  She’s developing a vocabulary and is starting to explore developing an attitude too.

There had to be more that was good, I’m just not remembering it all.  4 & 8 ought to count triple too.  Those wee ones are a trip!  Oh yeah – we get to take her Christmas tree hunting this weekend.  Snow or not (likely not, L)

Some pics I owe

Arm Update:

12 weeks post surgery. Scar is wider, but overall it’s flatter too.

Chicks dig scars, right?

Standing at the top of the stairs, looking down towards the entrance to my lab.  I counted 19 courses of cinder block, plus probably another 8 that are hidden in the shot.  How far is that?

25 courses of cinder block floor to floor

Here’s the shot looking back up:

No, I don’t know how many steps. Too many is a good guess.

And a gratuitous shot of the cutest 1 year old on the planet eating her birthday cake:

You can tell she’s a girl – not really messy eating that cake at all!

Well, reports to write, part specs to scrutinize.  Gonna be an exciting afternoon.