A Day Of Changes

No fear, nothing drastic in the 'change dept' it's just that the weather has had some distinct changes as you can see here in the first two pictures. I was expecting rain early in the morning and got it. Enough rain not to go riding during the time of day I like to ride. So I turned my focus online to finding the black wheels for the FJ, the same brand and design that I had on my first FJ in 2014. I found them right under my nose at the TireRack, a company I had used years ago for one of my Mini Coopers.

Within an hour after sunrise Stella and I put our walk into a 'rain delay' just like baseball. I didn't mind getting wet under the light rain but I didn't feel like toweling her off when I got back. With the natural oil in the coat of a hound, the water is never absorbed by the towel. So we waited and I went back to my searching online, comparing prices and where they were in stock. I was hoping I could make a trip to Tucson and get them today but that was not possible. They will be here with free shipping within 2-3 days.

I like the Duluth Trading Company and their tv advertisements. I've never bought anything from them but after my first order I placed last Sunday I doubt that I will buy again. In fact by late tonight if I don't get some kind of update about shipping I may cancel the order. It wasn't a hard order. Another flannel shirt since I am finding out that might be the winter shirt around here. They had a short strap that attaches on a seat belt of a passenger seat, to Heidi's collar. It's a safety thing, keeping her from flying into the dashboard on our road trips if I ever had to slam on my brakes.

In this day and age of online sales and surveys in your inbox anytime you buy anything online or in person, I may be expecting too much ... such as an email telling me my order has shipped within two days of the weekend order. If not that, at least have my order show up on my online account when I log in to check status ... instead of NO RECORD OF ORDER. I have their order confirmation email with an order number. Seems simple, maybe not. Yes, I have called and talked to a real person the last two days, who told me it was shipping that afternoon. I lose my little patience with stuff like this.

Note:  It has come to my attention at 5:17 AZ time, from a blog reader that lives in Duluth MN, not only is the 21" of new snow a problem but many roads are closed or not passible. With all the snow and ice their major lift bridge is not working. So even if my order were ready to ship, highly unlikely it would get anywhere. As she said "the point" where Duluth Trading Company is located has been closed and just opened up for residential traffic. SO MY APOLOGIES FOR BAD MOUTHING DULUTH TRADING COMPANY.

I should have turned off my kitchen light when I took this picture.

REI is another disappointing online order. You would think companies such as this would be on top of their game with so much competition for online sales other than Amazon. I ordered three things November 23rd ... they shipped them in three different shipments and based on tracking information they all came from the same warehouse in Kent Washington. The problem is on order#2 they decided to send it cross country to Richmond VA first, then figured out that Arizona is in the opposite direction. I am suppose to get it today in the mail. Let see ... Amazon delivers in 1-2 days after the order is placed or REI for 12 days after the order?????

I keep reminding myself that nobody's perfect but really ... it's not that hard to ship something correctly and on time. I DO KNOW I will not buy anything else from REI or The Duluth Trading Company online ... I'll go back to Amazon.

Later in the morning it was time for a walk. My lower back needed some exercise from that huge error in judgement I had Monday afternoon. You remember how I was going to lay on my back under the side of my FJ to lift a very heavy rock rail with brackets, up into the area to bolt it to the frame of the car. I didn't succeed but Toyota did yesterday. In the meantime all that twisting, turning and lifting irritated my lower back on the new hip side. Sore enough, stiff enough that I wasn't going to get on a bicycle today. Stella trotted a lot during her walk. Heidi stayed behind to finish her late morning nap.

I had a feeling that as the weather turned to sunshine that the winds would pick up. They did, making that 67° feel a little cooler than it was. Am I not adapting to the SE Arizona winter like I thought I would, turning into a whimp instead so soon after moving? I never thought temps below 70° would give me so much problem. I'm already looking forward to springtime and a hot summer.  Ha Ha

Stella and I rarely hear the puppy next door anymore. They surely didn't get rid of it already. I haven't seen them walking it on the sidewalk in front of the house, so it's hard to say. Stella will stand and listen for the puppy barking or crying every morning soon after 8am.

Another change I was feeling today was my lack of motivation. Granted I got up early (5am) but that is not a rare thing for me. Normally on a day that I don't feel like riding a bicycle, I feel like taking a hike somewhere or driving around the local area with my camera ... but not today. Those urges were nowhere to be found.

So while Stella slept on the patio and Heidi was on the bedroom floor in the sunshine, I sat on the patio facing the sunshine and feeling the cool air whip by my face. The sun was so hot on my face but the cool wind kept me in my sweatshirt. It didn't take 30 minutes before those winds blew in the gray rain clouds to mix with what you see here. No rain is on the hourly forecast for today.

I guess Stella was feeling the same way I was today.

Since I didn't have a lot of pictures for today's post I decided to pull some from the library like I have done before. All of these next pictures were taken on the 4th of December in different years.

2018 Dec 04

2017 Dec 04

2016 Dec 04

2016 Dec 04

2015 Dec 04

2015 Dec 04

I think I have come to the phase where I have to have an exercise program on a regular bases that consist of stretch and some basic exercises. The doctor on Tuesday did not mention doing anything like that but I know when I feel I should. He did say I would not see a lot of improvement from here on out based on what I told him. Past patients have told him it takes around 8 months before they were feeling normal. I mentioned the small aches and pains I sometimes have and he said that is normal and part of the process then once again reminded me that I also have a femur that was broken before the hip replacement.

He did say I can do everything from here on out, except those activities like running, skiing, snowboarding, basketball games, racquetball, tennis etc. He did not verbally tell me those activities but they are listed in the book they gave me the day before surgery at the hospital. So stretching, some pushups and some resistant band training should be okay.

It's one of those days where the words don't flow easy. I sit in the chair grasping at something to write and at this point in the blog I cannot think of anything else to write about. I guess it's like I said on Facebook this afternoon with that picture of Stella stretched out sleeping next to my chair "Sometimes it's just good to take a day off during the middle of the week" ... I guess that is what I have done mentally today.

It's sunny, with dark gray clouds mixed in and gusty winds just like you would imagine in the 'Wild West.

Rain Leads Us Down Memory Lane

When it's raining outside and doesn't stop long enough for Stella and I to take our morning walk, I have no other choice but to dip into the photo library archives and see if I can find some photos that you have not seen before. I think I have. These are in no special order and some you might remember from my older blog on Blogger. Other hounds go all the way back to 1991, from Washington, Colorado and then Indiana. I hope you enjoy them.

I Forgot My Age

As some of you know, as you age you cannot eat all the different kinds of food you use to eat. Sometimes it's not the food but the 'combination' of food. I found out Saturday night or Sunday morning after midnight that food choices can ruin a good night of sleep. That leads into a terrible Sunday, although Stella and I got an afternoon walk in and I caught up on my sleep.

With a new week of warmer temps ahead, a time change that doesn't feel like one, Stella was ready to start her new week with some stretching and a nice morning walk, sunny and 30°. As you see, it was normal routine for Heidi.

I like this time change. It feels normal. I don't catch myself looking at my watch and saying "well the real time is an hour before this" ... it looks and feels like 8:30am when Stella and I took off. I wish the state of Indiana would stay on this time all year round like it use to.

When I left you on Saturday I was having a wild strong urge for Ben & Jerry's ice cream. That would require a 25 mile round trip to buy a small container or two. When you want something that bad, 25 miles is nothing. I have driven further late at night for a burger, a strom or a pizza. So, mileage was not a factor.

Possibly the start to my digestive torment that would occur sometime around 2am or 3am depending if you want to factor in the time change, was in the Frozen Food aisle. I cannot remember if the ice cream and pizza are on the same aisle but someway after buying two containers of Ben & Jerry's ice cream ... I ended up with a "Wild Mike's Ultimate Pizza", so large that I knew Walmart did not have a bag big enough for it to fit.

I had two to choose from. They had the 4-cheese option or one with pepperoni and a big red label on the box cover "Over 2 pounds of pepperoni" ... I doubted that, although it was heavy enough in my hand maybe it was true. Of course I chose the checkout lane that had no one in line. My cashier was either having a bad day or hated her job. She was not friendly nor did she have a sense of humor.

By the time she checked out my three items, I felt like she hated her job and possibly all people since she did not acknowledge my complimentary thoughts. It didn't matter ... I was 12 miles away from enjoying ice cream while my pizza was in the oven. (I waited until after I ate the pizza to eat the ice cream)

I found out that sometimes my brain forgets how old my digestive system is. Long gone are the days of bar hopping, eating at the prohibitive street vendors with a bottle of beer in my hand, from Tijuana to Olongapo City Philippines.

As recent as 5 years ago I would spend EVERY Saturday in the fall on a huge eating marathon while watching 14 hours of college football on tv. Those Saturdays would start with pancakes or waffles until all the batter was cooked, an omlet added on the side. Moving into the potato or macaroni salads with lunchmeat sandwiches, chips and salsa. By late afternoon I would move to pizza, maybe chicken wings, or baked salmon. I wouldn't be done though because at 7pm and 10:30pm a new game(s) would be starting.

That would bring out another bag of chips since I had eaten a bag of them during the day. A second jar of salsa ... hmmm time for burritos, cilantro, sour cream ... and ... at least a litre of Pepsi to wash all of that down, starting with the sandwiches. After midnight and into my last college football game from the Pac12 conference ... I would end the eating/football marathon with a container of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. What ... maybe 7,000 calories ... or more ????

So you can see the potential but I have not eaten like that since 2014. Due to my changes in eating over these past five years, my digestive system has changed and not just because I am older. So I didn't think too much about some pizza and ice cream. After all I was drinking water instead of Pepsi.  :)

Wild Mike's Ultimate pizza probably didn't have two pounds of pepperoni but damn it tasted great and is now my #1 in frozen pizza. The crust was different and baked out just like it would if I were to have a fresh pizza at my favorite places in Bloomington. The sauce tasted fantastic and primo cheeses ... I highly recommend Wild Mike's pizza. (not an affiliate link)

Even with the temperature at 30° this morning, the field was so saturated from all the rain the past few days you can see the water as I walked on the path.

Since the pizza was so large, for the first time in my history of eating frozen pizza, I cut the pizza in half before I put it in my oven. My 45+ year Tappon 400 stove has a smaller oven above the stove and that is the oven I always use. If I wanted the pizza to fit in that smaller oven I had no choice but to cut it in half. So it was a win win. I can eat the other half of pizza this afternoon.

As with any pasta sauce I know there is a chance I might have a little indigestion but I am willing to find out which kind I can eat without any problems. I also knew that the combination of pizza and ice cream might cause some problems but when you are retired you have to take chances, you have to think outside the box sometimes and take that step outside your comfort zone. I am gambler and took that step.

Needless to say I lived on TUMS from 2am until 8am, spreading them out 1 per each time I woke up. The sleep app on my watch didn't like my sleeping pattern at all the next day as it sent me notification after notification just how screwed up I was and what I could do to imrove my sleeping cycle.

Is this what the world is coming to ???  LOL ... a watch or sleep app telling me how to live, what to eat, when to stand up, when to breathe deep ??? Luckily there is way to change the settings to receive only those notifications I am interested in

Sunday morning it was quite depressing to think that Ben & Jerry's ice cream had torn me up on the inside. All that rich cream they use had to be a factor. As I looked in the bathroom mirror I swore more than a couple of times "I'll never eat ice cream again" and wondered what I would do with the second container in the freezer.

As time passed and as I added more hours of sleep I started feeling better. I ate things that were easy on my digestive system. Nothing fried, plenty of water, no coffee, just olives, cheeses, an avocado, some spoons of cottage cheese. I only chose the cottage cheese because if my hounds were having digestive problems they alway say to mix rice and cottage cheese for an upset stomach.

By the time Stella and I returned from our afternoon walk I was ready to "step outside my comfort zone" again. I slowly tore off the plastic wrapping around the lid to a brand new container of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Same company but a different flavor/mixture. My addictive brain was telling me "just a couple of spoons" and that was all I had. I waited for the results.

I went back to bed for more sleep since my morning siesta had rated out as solid, deep sleep on my sleep app. It was not until after 10pm I woke up in a daze. I had no idea what time or day it was. Heidi was sleeping on her dog bed in the corner and Stella was stretched out as far as she could, on the couch. My addictive brain said it was time for ice cream as I read the internet to catch up on the sports I had missed on Sunday.

Two hours later I am back in dreamland for another night of solid sleep. It was nice to see that my watch sleep app was more than happy with me when I woke up and it congratulated me on my sleep for Sunday.

The MOST IMPORTANT result was not catching up on my missed sleep from Saturday night but finding out that the ice cream was not the cause of my discomfort ... ice cream was back on my menu and that promise I made looking in the mirror was just a rumor.

I woke up from a dream on Monday morning, where I was living an a new condo with new carpet and 4 different basset hounds. Two were grown and two were puppies. There was Harry, Arthur, Maggie and Sadie (basset) all wanting to go outside the first thing in the morning. I was trying to pull on a pair jeans to get two puppies outside before they peed.

About the time I heard yelling from the neighbors I was THRILLED to wake up in the country with no neighbors and two full grown hounds that were still sleeping. It must have been the ice cream late last night giving me that kind of dream.

So with half of Wild Mike's Ultimate pizza in the freezer, sunny skies, sleeping hounds and a time change my body prefers ... there is no place to go but up today. Things are back to normal as we start a new week. Conference basketball tourneys start this week and that is followed by March Madness which will lead me right into a new MLB season. All is good because I am that much closer to college football season ... and that infamous 'to do' list.

Not that I will ever go back to the eating marathons while I watch all of those college basketball games these next three weeks but I will be aware of the food combinations and quantities of food I am eating. I'll stay in the range of 1,500 to 1,700 calories per day. I'm still going to keep my carbs low but might add bananas and apples back to my menu.

As you can see, Stella took her time this morning. She walked at her 'afternoon pace' and stopped in front of me a couple of times after passing me just to let me know she was the one in charge and I was only along for fun.

What animal would move all of this bark out into the middle of the yard from the trees that Stella pass by the old fence?

That bark comes from the tree I burned when clearing out the brush years ago, just behind Stella.

It might be sunny and not raining but Stella is still following her recent habit of walking next to the house to conclude her walk.

Did I miss anything in the news the past few days ??? I haven't looked yet but will.

I feel good this morning in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.