Making a lot of progress with the Florida house. Sure, the major plumbing issues still exist, but the same can be said for the Georgia house. To our surprise my brother and I actually repaired the outdoor light post which hasn’t worked in years.
We, the three of us, have an open day today. On what adventures will we embark I do not know…
Wordle: two, my starter was CREAM
Connections: one mistake, Yellow > Green > Blue > Purple
I apparently missed a helluva Super Bowl ending. When I purchased a new tv for the Florida house on Saturday it never dawned on me that I wouldn’t be able to pick up CBS using an antenna. I was able to watch the first half in Spanish on Univision, but the picture kept breaking up at halftime so I turned the game off.
Wordle: two, my starter was SUPER
Connections: two mistakes (and I struggled a lot), Yellow > Purple > Blue > Green
Disappointed in myself, I got home from having a few beers with my buddy Hank and was too tired to gather my stuff for today’s journey. Therefore I will be hitting the road later than desired today.
Happy Super Bowl (commercial) watching this Sunday. I wonder if Taylor Swift will be in attendance? I do hope that the show her often is she is. Actually, I couldn’t care less if she is there…
Wordle: five, my starter was DINGY
Connections: perfect, Green > Yellow > Purple > Blue
Nothing really to report today. I wasn’t feeling great after returning home in the morning so my productivity went to zero as I rested all afternoon. I ate too much last night because I was hungry shortly after getting home from Betsy’s, so I finished up some leftovers.
Today is my last day to get prepared for my upcoming trip. I don’t know how the time has arrived and I’m not completely ready to go, but it is what it is. It is my intention to get an hour in on the trainer prior to taking it off the trainer, putting the road wheel back on, and getting it ready for transport tomorrow.
Wordle: three, my starter was DRIFT
Connections: one mistake, Green > Blue > Purple > Yellow
Even though I was not raised by “outdoorsy” parents, I have always wondered why hiking never entered in to my life until my thirties. And then this week I looked for hiking trails in the greater Clearwater, Florida area and understood — nothing of note. What cycling/walking trails exist in the area today did not forty years ago, they were railroad tracks then.
Welcome to my world, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet. I realize that you come with a $60/month cost, but it’s very possible you will replace AT&T at the ITP Estate when the Florida house is sold. I was a little surprised how busy the T-Mobile store at the intersection of Scott and North Decatur was yesterday, given how slow the store at the mall was on Monday, until I found out it was “T-Mobile Tuesday” on which they give something to their customers for free. Yesterday appeared to be some sort of wire-bound notebook. No, I didn’t get a free book yesterday.
I failed to get on my trainer yesterday, but salvaged some exercise by getting out for a three-mile walk around the neighborhood in the afternoon.
Wordle: four, my starter was LAUGH
Connections: perfect, Yellow > Green > Blue > Purple
At the Waschsalon this morning, and just like everything else, the cost of cleaning clothes has risen.
Yesterday was an incredibly frustrating day for me. I ended the daytime by going grocery shopping for an interesting 4.3 mile walk which took me past familiar sights and many happy people, which of course sent me in the opposite direction. Things were so strange that I had to cross the street to not appear to be the creepy guy walking behind the pretty woman out walking her dog.
Okay today… I’m struggling to decide whether or not I should try T-Mobile again, given that I theoretically thawed my credit checks until tomorrow. There are still many chores already on my schedule for today, this week, and in the time period when I return from Florida.
Wordle: three, my starter was FIGHT
Connections: perfect, Yellow > Blue > Purple > Green
As Georgia state parks go Don Carter State Park in Gainesville, Georgia is a bit different. Prior to driving up I scouted on the Georgia State Park website to ensure that I would be able to get a sufficient hike. According to their website four loops exist for hikers, which intersect one another; there are also equine trails. In essence I did all four hiking trails and the initial connector, making a convoluted cloud shape by taking the right fork every time I encountered a new trail loop. My cloud covered a little more than eight miles, which was more than sufficient given my lack of exercise due to pain these days; fortunately for me I opted out of the “Whale Tail Spur” which would have tacked on another 1.75 miles. What’s unusual about the hiking trails inside Don Carter is that they must be relatively new since there were fairly well-marked, but exist only on the Georgia State Park website, as well as the paper map I carried with me. When I had reached the far side of my big loop while on the blue trail I missed a turn. It was like hashing all over again, especially when I found an unfortunately placed bit of blue surveyor tape which hanging from a tree branch which had nothing to do with the hiking trail. I stopped, pulled out my phone and looked at the AllTrails app, Strava app, and REI Hiking Project app, none of which identified any trails in my vicinity. While the paper map I possessed and the State Park website showed the trails, neither could show me my relative position to them. Fortunately I backtracked and finally saw a blue blazing in a direction from which I had not been. The trails are nice, mildly strenuous at points, but don’t offer too much in the way of scenery.
On Friday evening I realized that after the process of taking my bum’s shower in the bathroom I inadvertently left my TSA-Approved squeeze bottle of body wash on the sink. Clearly Gainesville is far too distant to return to reclaim a bottle and soap which cost no more than $3, especially since I still had two empty squeeze bottles which were part of the four-pack I purchased a few years ago.
The rest of my weekend was boring. I made pizza on Saturday, and hung around the house all day yesterday. I did manage to put in a good hour on the trainer yesterday while watching soccer.
Cooking Pro Tip: The French call it mise en place, meaning get all of your goddamn ingredients in place prior to the start of cooking. If I had done so I wouldn’t had to have forgotten to add the four eggs into my batter prior to pouring the batter into the baking dish over the meat and onions that were already in it. Dumbass!
Busy week ahead, I am trying to make a schedule for myself so that I can stay focused and accomplish everything I hope to this week.
Wordle: three, my starter was LEAST (I was going to play TANGY or GRIEF, only to discover they’ve been solutions)
Connections: perfect, Yellow > Blue > Purple > Green
Happy Groundhog Day!
Happy Groundhog Day!
It’s been a long time since I’ve gone for a hike, too long. It’s been so long that I no longer fit into the hiking pants I bought in 2021. Regardless, I am going hiking today even though I didn’t accomplish some tasks yesterday and hiking today will probably see them unfinished again. Today I am headed to Gainesville (Georgia) to visit Don Carter State Park for the first time. It’s possible that I may ruin some of my exercise by stopping at a brewery on the way home. It’s 100% certain that I will be drinking beer later this afternoon.
For the first time this year I managed an entire hour on the trainer. Progress!
Dinner last night was my cannellini beans, sausage, tomato, and sage dish. The meal was decent if not a bit weird for an entree. I ate the concoction over thick toast made from Monday’s loaf, and along side salad greens.
Last night I watched a documentary about the Linotype machine. Nerd much? The film, Linotype: The Film – In Search of the Eighth Wonder of the World came out in 2020 and is currently on YouTube (follow the link). It makes sense that I would find this documentary entertaining given that I was intrigued by typesetting as a child.
It’s currently 5:30am and I am lying in bed, listening to the bizarre calls, which sometimes sound almost chimpanzee like, of the barred owls outside.
Wordle: three, my starter was WAIST
Connections: perfect, Yellow > Purple > Blue > Green
My walk to the post office yesterday was two-fold. Not only did I mail my letter, I also picked up a bag of trash on the journey. I wish people weren’t such shitheads, treating the planet like a trashcan, but that is not the case. Fortunately there are likeminded East Atlantans who also pick up trash, to be fair more often than I do, otherwise my neighborhood would look disgusting.
I didn’t feel like cooking last night, so instead I brought a frozen pizza and salad over to Betsy’s. Don’t laugh, oh he’ll laugh if you wish, but it was a Red Baron pizza and it was surprisingly tasty. I will cook the cannelloni beans dish for dinner.
For those keeping score at home, through January I have earned $1055 of the $3500 cost of the BRAG ride this August. This amount doesn’t include airfare, but for that I am hoping to cash in Delta SkyMiles.
It’s the beginning of a new month, one which will see me in Florida for most of it. I wasn’t completely successful from banishing myself from grocery stores in January, but I have done well eating food that was in my pantry, refrigerator, and freezer.
Wordle: four, my starter was PATIO
Connections: perfect, Purple > Yellow > Blue > Green
January Summary
01/01 – ?, M, walking ????
01/02 – X, M, walking ????
01/03 – ?, M, nothing ????
01/04 – ?, M, walking ????
01/05 – ?, M, nothing ????????
01/06 – ?, V, walking ????
01/07 – ?, M, nothing ????
01/08 – ?, V, nothing ????????
01/09 – X, V, nothing ????????
01/10 – ?, M, nothing ????????
01/11 – ?, M, nothing ????????
01/12 – ?, M, nothing ????????
01/13 – ?, V, walking ????
01/14 – ?, V, nothing ????
01/15 – ?, M, walking ????
01/16 – X, V, nothing ????
01/17 – ?, M, nothing ????
01/18 – ?, V, nothing ????
01/19 – ?, M, nothing ????
01/20 – ?, V, walking ????
01/21 – ?, V, trainer (40:00) ????
01/22 – ?, V, walking (4.14 miles, 1:21:44) ????
01/23 – X, V, trainer (40:00) ????
01/24 – ?, V, trainer (55:00) ????
01/25 – ?, V, trainer (60:00) ????
01/26 – ?, M, walking (4.25 miles, 1:21:51) ????
01/27 – ?, V, nothing ????
01/28 – ?, V, trainer (60:00) ????
01/29 – ?, V, nothing ????
01/30 – X, V, walking (1.65 miles, 34:29) ????????
01/31 – ?, M, walking (1.44 miles, 41:07), trainer (45:00) ????
The last day of January…
Well this is strange. I received an email this morning from Goodreads (an Amazon subsidiary) telling me that I finished reading “Strong Female Character”, except that I haven’t. According to my Kindle I am 71% complete at the time of writing this blog post.
Since we missed last week it’s still my turn to bring food over to Betsy’s tonight. I think I will make this Cannelloni, Sausage, Sage, and Tomato recipe (link removed because it’s behind the Washington Post paywall), and bring over the remains of the loaf of bread I baked Monday.
Wordle: five, my starter was MOUTH
Connections: three mistakes, Green > Purple > Blue > Yellow (the Purple did me in today, I knew what it was but I couldn’t get the correct set of four)
