Category: Old Journal

12/01 There was an unusual amount of traffic in the city this morning.  The woman that looked at my house today is in fact a Buyer’s Agent.  She’s interested enough that she wants a copy of the blueprint.  There are seven bathrooms in this house and Avery does her business in the pantry.  I’ve contemplated putting the potty chair in there, but that just doesn’t seem right.

12/09 Yesterday I downloaded and installed Inesoft’s “Cash Organizer 2007 Premium” in an effort to sync Microsoft’s “Money 2007” to my Pocket PC.  The software seemed to install fine but I kept getting password errors when I tried to sync.  I uninstalled.  I still get a password error and can’t open “Money 2007”.  I’m hoping I can restore from a backup I’ve got at the office.  Glutton for punishment that I am, I have reinstalled all around.  87 minutes, 12.85 miles, 8.86 mph and Grey’s Anatomy; Season 1, episodes 3 & 4 on the Wave.  I’ll catch up with the rest of you fans before too very long!  The ice skaters out on the lake are so picturesque it makes the thought of leaving this place down right painful.  I survived a trip to the Ridgedale Mall and surrounding shops.

12/02 I can’t get my iPOD video to play on anything.  There’s got to be a fundamental I’m not understanding.  It helps if “TV Out” video setting is set to “On”. 

12/03 87 minutes, 5.0 miles and Grey’s Anatomy; Season 1, episodes 1 & 2 on the Woodway followed by a bit of weight work.

12/04 Today’s DailyOM is a good one.  Read it!

12/05 Caribou Coffee #19 and a tasty game of checkers.

12/06 One of my tests earlier this month came back abnormal enough to require further testing.  That happens this morning.  While I won’t know for sure until the Lab reports come back, my Doctor is confident there’s nothing to worry about.  Christmas shopping for the Critters.  Visit with my Therapist.  Laundry and present wrapping.

12/07 It’s hard to maintain a normal routine this time of year.  I really need to be OK with that.  The glass is hung, now if only the UPS Guy would get here, I could get to work!

12/08 Since a little girl can not live on cottage cheese alone (M&Ms don’t count); at lunchtime I mix in some fruit and for dinner it’s cooked cauliflower.  At naptime Avery hollers for Hanna and Coco.  Hanna comes running, but Coco isn’t interested.  Hanna lays down, Avery plops her pillow next to her, covers her up with her blanket and goes to sleep with her arm over the dog.  So cute!  One of these days I’ll get a picture.

11/01 A hair cut that almost wasn’t.  I guess I need to quit rolling my eyes when folks tell me how unique I am, if for no other reason than my name.

11/02 Much to my delight, it was 70° in my kitchen at 5:00 am!  A Brownie-in-the-Night installed newfangled thermostats.  Sweet!

11/03 Avery still had a cold, so it wasn’t such a bad thing that we had to stay home and tend to the Security System and Cable.

11/04 Swamp Hike:  97 minutes, 5.32 miles, 3.3 mph, HR=111.  I managed to crash and burn with Hanna.  I’ve done some damage to my left knee, time will tell just how much.  Neil Simon’s “Lost In Yonkers” at the Guthrie.

11/05 UTI.  The old knee is giving me a good example of why mobility (or lack of) should be a consideration in choosing a new home.  I don’t realize how many times I’m up and down the stairs until it becomes difficult.

11/06 Caribou Coffee #15.  Kudos to those who noticed it’s a day early.  This evening finds me in Rochester as my annual physical at the Mayo Clinic begins bright and early tomorrow morning. 

11/07 I got my flu shot, did you?

11/08 The instructions say not to drive for 24 hours.  I don’t understand why, because I feel fine.  I’m outta here.  Seems my Beloved Brownie put up some shelves and organized my garage, even washed the floor!

11/09 Fun to show up at the office unexpected.  My poor over full calendar!  I guess that beats an empty one, right?  Almost every afternoon the Dogs get all excited when they mistake the neighbor’s white Escalade for Mr.B’s white van.  One would think they would figure it out eventually.  I can go up and down the stairs with alternating feet again!

11/10 Avery still isn’t quite over her cold, so we stayed home and took it easy.  We went to Norwood/Young America for a pork chop dinner in celebration of the Carver County Attorney’s reelection.  Avery enjoyed herself.  I met someone who lives in my Grandmother’s old house.

11/11 Coco:  103 minutes, 6.21 miles, 3.6 mph, HR=119.

11/12 94 minutes, 10.75 miles, 6.86 mph, HR=107 and “Bad Santa” on the Wave this morning.  Annual meeting of the Carver County Historical Society.  The familiarity of names and places is interesting and comfortingly familiar somehow.  Dogs stealing food off the counter and/or island has always been a problem around here.  It seems to be getting worse of late.  This morning when they ate a whole Tupperware container full of frozen home made blueberry waffles was the last straw!  I dug out the Invisible Fence device that’s designed to be used indoors to keep your pet away from certain areas.  I planted it right in the middle of my kitchen island.  The dogs are now terrified to go in the kitchen.  This would be a good thing, except the door I want them to go in and out of is in the kitchen.

11/13 When Mr.B left last night, he stuck his head back in the door and hollered; “It’s snowing!” I decided to not look and leave it for a surprise this morning, but I can’t say I’m disappointed to find there was none.  Now that it’s falling off, I wish I had taken a picture of the scab on my left knee.  The snow plow man put up his markers today.  Tonight Mr.B fixed it so that Invisible Fence device is hidden inside the back of one of my island drawers.  This has helped a lot in narrowing the field and should allow the dogs to get in and out safely.  Good bye, Netflix.  I’ve got two whole seasons of “Lost” sitting in iTunes that should get me through most of this winter’s indoor exercising.

11/14 Hanna put her front feet up on the kitchen island this morning.  How quickly she forgets.  Since she didn’t get “zapped”, I turned up the power a bit.  Coco is still not venturing into the kitchen at all.  Caribou Coffee #16.

11/15 Coffee with the Raconteur.  Dinner with Gabriel.

11/16 For some reason, I have no internet service at home.

11/17 Avery and I went to “Mary Poppins” at Macy’s.  Much more crowded than last year, no way were we going to get in that line to see Santa.  We grabbed a pizza and had dinner with Mom and Dad.

11/18 Avery spent the night.  I made blueberry pancakes for breakfast and later this afternoon when I was cooking the last of the batter to freeze pancakes for the toaster, both dogs got “zapped” in their unsuccessful attempt to steal them off the cooling rack on the kitchen island.  Ha!

11/19 Hanna:  99 minutes, 6.09 miles, 3.7 mph, HR=118.

11/20 The Minnesota History Center for the opening of their “Baseball As America” exhibit.  We also took the opportunity to look around a bit.  I will have to return with Avery.

11/21 Lunch with the Accountant.  Caribou Coffee#17.  A game of checkers.

11/22 Today finds me profoundly grateful for the unconditional love of my family.  Few are as lucky as I am.

11/23 Happy 6th Birthday, Hanna!  Maxwell Loop:  102 minutes, 6.23 miles, 3.7 mph, HR=105.  Dinner at G’ma Lucy’s apartment party room.

11/24 I tried to get a picture of Avery wearing a dress that was mine, but she really wasn’t in the mood to have her picture taken.  The dress just barely fit, so it’s unlikely I’ll get another try at it.

11/25 Coco:  92 minutes, 5.69 miles, 3.7 mph, HR=94.  Christmas lights!!!

11/26 Hanna:  87 minutes, 4.99 miles, 3.4 mph, HR=104.  A banana falling out every time I open my freezer made it time to make the banana chocolate chip bread.  I ended up with four big and three small loaves!  In an effort to be rid of the last of the sherry, I also made beef stroganoff.

11/27 Rent-A-Geek day.

11/28 I made serious progress with my Christmas shopping today.  All from the comfort of my office.  Isn’t the internet a wonderful thing?  Caribou Coffee #18.  Click here and save the site in your “favorites”.

11/29 Yikes.  Someone is coming to look at my house on Friday afternoon.  All of my old playlists have reappeared in iTunes.  Go figure.

11/30 I’ve deleted a whole bunch of old stuff.  You folks don’t look at it anyway (well, the Raconteur being one exception and I still haven’t decided how I feel about that) and it’s silly for me to pay for it’s storage when I’ve got it backed up locally seven ways from Sunday already.  I’ve also printed the entire journal and will put that in my safe along with the even older one that’s on my bookshelf at home.  Hmmmm, remember those old iTunes playlists I mentioned yesterday?  Gone today.  Replaced by some that were more current, yet not the most current.  When syncing to my network I’ve been saving both files.  Seemed like a good idea until now.  I’ve got disk full errors because the synced music folder is very full, yet I can’t delete anything because I’m not connected to the server.  And when I connect to the server, I’ll be deleting things off the server file which isn’t what I want either.  I’m thinking it would be most efficient to dump iTunes from the laptop and use a stationary machine.  Is there a known issue with iTunes on a Media PC?

10/01 Stubbs/Maxwell Loop with Hanna:  89 minutes, 5.61 miles, 3.8 mph, HR=101.  The Box Elder Bugs and Beetles-that-look-like-LadyBugs were disgusting!

10/02 In light of my weekly visits to Caribou, it now seems silly to pay postage and handling for the convenience of having coffee delivered to me.  Good bye, Peet’s.  I started my Christmas shopping today.  I came home to Mr.B in my kitchen cooking dinner!  The little car is put away for the winter.  We went for a walk around the neighborhood then retrieved the Wagon.  While I was posting pictures and doing laundry, Mr.B made Goat Cheese-Stuffed Roasted Figs for dessert.  Not much to look at, but oh, they were good!

10/03 Piano lesson.  Remember those?  Yeah, me neither.  Guess who’s hardly touched it in the two weeks the Piano Teacher has been out of town?  That would be me.  There’s a new version of iTunes out.  Could I be so lucky as to have that fix my disappearing playlist problem?  Caribou Coffee #10.

10/04 Hair Cut/Color.

10/05 Treadmill:  45 minutes, 3.0 miles, 4.0 mph, HR=?

10/06 Today Avery tried to drag the B.O.B. jogging stroller out of the exercise room.  Much to my dismay, she hasn’t wanted any thing to do with that stroller all summer.  Today I can’t get her out of it.  Go figure.  Unfortunately, we can’t go for a long walk because the Furnace Maintenance Guy is here and we’re waiting on the Bug Man.  But, we’ve been up and down our street at least a half a dozen times already.  Dinner at Mom and Dad’s.

10/07 Baseball is over and the puzzle is done.  Now what?

10/08 Knitting.  Brownies.  Cheesecake.

10/09 I’m fighting a cold.  Perhaps losing.  Nahhhhh!

10/10 Caribou Coffee #11.  A game of checkers.  Sock knitting machine, if anyone can figure that out, Mr.B can.

10/11 It’s time to get serious about snow tires.  Geeks!  Gotta love them.  Or not.  I’m having a bit of trouble with my application software upgrade.  I had dinner with a friend and upon leaving the restaurant found my car covered in a blanket of snow. 

10/12 I never did get a cold.  Is it the apple I eat every afternoon?  Vitamins?

10/13 Avery and I went to visit Ellie and Jim, but they weren’t home, so we left the brownies and cheese cake with a note by their door.  Then we went to the organic farm we visited previously and got a few groceries.  Off to Waconia to visit my Grandma Lucy.  Tonight’s pizza had butternut squash, fontina and romano cheese.  It was Avery’s favorite so far.

10/14 Avery spent the night.  We had organic scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast.  As soon as the sun was out, we hit the trail.  97 minutes, 5.13 miles, 3.5 mph, HR=?  We went west on the Luce Line because the stroller and dogs gets to be a bit wide for the road side.  We saw a group of sled dogs out practicing.  We went swimming at my gym and met Tim and Amy for dinner at Snuffy’s.

10/15 I started out doing laundry and cleaning closets, but on one of my trips to the garbage can I noticed it was just too nice an afternoon to waste.  Coco:  97 minutes, 5.89 miles, 3.6 mph, HR=108.  We worked on leash behavior with much success!  There’s a red squirrel hanging out on the window ledge of the Dogs’ room.  Check out BIMactive!  I’m playing with it using a Motorola MOTOKRZR K1m from Verizon.

10/16 Is that poison ivy on my ankles?

10/17 Caribou Coffee #12!  That rash on my ankles?  Gone last night.  Back this morning.  Huh?

10/18 I wore a skirt today.  Yes, you read that right.  Pantyhose too, if you must know.  Why?  Well . . . I have them and might as well wear them or give them away.  Since after almost 19 years they still fit, I decided to try wearing one once a week.  We’ll see how long it lasts.

10/21 I haven’t been able to talk since Thursday evening.  As of this morning, I’m a little better.  Avery spent the night.  She was a tad under the weather yesterday.  We did nothing but lay on the couch until almost 2 pm.  Then we got up, made egg bake with the last of our eggs from the farm.  Made another squash pizza, though Avery didn’t feel much like eating.  I think she’s got a cold, but she’s not very snot nosed.

10/22 Happy Birthday to my Dad!!  I surprised them by showing up . . . . at Church.  I left with a lot to mentally process. 

10/23 I got the sweet mug back on the “Today” screen of my Verizon XV6700 with black text!  It doesn’t take much to make my day.

10/24 My Dell Precision M70 has started making a chiming sound a few times each day.  I know not why.  False(?) burglar alarm at the house this afternoon.  Caribou Coffee #13.

10/25 Dipping my toes into the relocation waters and looking at a house tonight.  This is going to be a very long drawn out process, so don’t be getting all excited.  I’m in no hurry to move, but realize it’s inevitable.

10/26 This working late business is for the birds!  But, today it was made worth my while by fun Visitors.

10/27 Avery has a cold, though she doesn’t seem to be feeling too badly.

10/28 Question over breakfast:  Why is a brown egg brown and a white egg white?  Answer:  Chickens with brown ear lobes lay brown eggs, white ear lobes result in white eggs.  I’m thinking further research is required.  Hanna:  85 minutes, 5.9 miles, 4.2 mph, HR=126.

10/29 Coco:  99 minutes, 6.02 miles, 3.6 mph, HR=107.  There’s no way I’m wasting this sunshine!  I took my knitting out on the deck for a couple of hours.  The Karnoven Method of determining target heart rate during exercise:  Target Heart Rate = (Maximum Heart Rate – Resting Heart Rate) × %Intensity) + Resting Heart Rate.  For me:  50% Target HR: 170-59=111×50%=55.5+59=114.5, 75% Target HR: 170-59=111×75%=83.25+59=142.25, 85% Target HR: 170-59=111×85%=94.35+59=153.

10/30 My winter wheels and snow tires are on my car.  Let it snow!  Or not. 

10/31 Caribou Coffee #14.  A game of Scrabble.

09/01 Morning person that I am, I rarely see the sun rise.  On one of our treks down the Luce Line we determined the 6th tee box of the Orono Public Golf Course would be the perfect spot.  A little screen tent was pitched.  The word “sprinkler” crossed my mind just as I was settling down to sleep.  I got caught in one a while back at the Fred Richard’s Course, they put out an awful lot of water.  1:50 am found us pulling up stakes and sliding the tent out from under the water spray.  Pretty much everything was damp, if not wet, but not terribly cold.  So we stayed.  Awesome!!!!  Two golfers showed up as we were packing up to leave, they didn’t seem overly concerned to find us there.  I love the sound of a driver hitting the golf ball.  I picked Avery up later than usual as she had a Clinic visit and got her shots.  She’s sporting a band aid and a strawberry sticker on her left thigh.

09/02 Another Sleep In Saturday!  Tony helped to get my boat out of the water.  Thanks to Mr.B, my garbage can is now the cleanest one in the neighborhood.  Tim stopped by to pick up some stuff just as chicken stir fry was being prepared, so he joined us for lunch.  Took the kayaks out for a bit and got home just ahead of the rain.  Mr.B made curried chicken salad while I made muffins.  The rain made for a lazy evening.

09/03 A walk in the rain.  Puzzle.

09/04 Stubbs/Maxwell Loop – backwards with both dogs:  113 minutes, 6.87 miles, 3.6 mph, HR=92.  Beyond that, I’m speechless.  But, a picture being worth a thousand words; see the PhotoJournal.

09/05 Caribou Coffee #6.  Biking west on the Luce Line:  73 minutes, 15.3 miles, 12.5 mph.

09/06 A man.  On the Girl’s tractor.  Never figured I would see the day.

09/07 3:47 pm and I’m just now getting ready to leave my office.  My dock is out. 

09/08 Avery and I went to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum to see the Secret Gardens Exhibition.  Mr.B joined us with Chai Tea and showed us around the place.  After dinner we met Tim and a Friend at a coffee shop in Uptown.  Since we were in the neighborhood, we took a quick tour through the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.

09/09 Maxwell Loop w/both Dogs:  91 minutes, 6.0 miles, 4.0 mph, HR=105.  Nice!  A dreary day.  The laundry is mostly done.  The filters and grates for the air exchange system are cleaned.  The puzzle was worked on.  My iTunes playlists have disappeared again. 

09/10 I saw Santa on the side of the road on my way home from breakfast with a friend at the Lafayette Club.  I think I need to have Mr.B lock the dining room when he leaves so I go to bed when I should and leave that darn puzzle alone.

09/11 My iTunes music folder is detached.  Again.  Drat!  I wish I understood what happens with that.  My network syncing theory didn’t hold up.

09/12 Today I got out the silk long underwear, wool socks and cashmere sweater.  I’ve drawn the line at removing my bracelets.  For now.  Caribou Coffee #7.  Paddle boat.  Found a big egg out on the Island.  More baseball!

09/13 Manicure, pedicure, hair cut.  Oh, the drama.

09/14 Three squad cars and police officers putting handcuffs on a guy at the entrance to my gym this morning.  That sort of stuff isn’t supposed to happen in that neighborhood.

09/15 I can’t help but wonder who it is Avery talks to on the GPS.  Spacemen?  After lunch we went back to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.  What a difference a week makes!  Last week we had to carry Avery, she wouldn’t even ride in the stroller.  This week, she got out of the car and took off running.  She explored the trails near the Sensory Garden and we went back to the Children’s Garden.  I’m sure we’ll be going back, as we’ve not even begun to see all that’s there.  We had dinner with Mr.B.  Yogurt and M&Ms for dessert when we got home.

09/16 Maxwell Loop with both dogs, but the GPS only got half of it.  I would call it a lazy Saturday, but my bathroom exhaust fans have been disassembly, cleaned and reinstalled.  A fantastic dinner of curried pork tenderloin, curried sweet potatoes and green beans was made and consumed.  A delightful lightening show just before bed time.

09/17 Windy!  Laundry.  Must do the laundry.  Ashley’s 18th birthday dinner at Mom and Dad’s.  Mr.B survived meeting the family.

09/18 I’m packing away my tank tops and getting out my sweaters.  Boo!  I took my ankle bracelet off this morning and the wrist one comes off tonight.  BOO!!

09/19 As of the payroll dated 08/31, my software has quit printing the distribution totals at the end of the register.  Weird.  Installed Activesync 4.5 BETA 2 – so far, so good.  Caribou Coffee #8.  A short walk.

09/20 Much tidying up around the house.  What’s with the itching shins?

09/21 Happy Birthday Ashley G!!!  Happy Birthday Mr.B!!!!  I’ve got lots of email weirdness from overnight.  I’m thinking someone inadvertently sent me something nasty, though it looks more like someone else is using my email address as nothing is in my “Sent Items” folder.  Damn!  Installed Microsoft Money 2007.  Chocolate cake for lunch.  Thanks, Mr.B*.

09/22 A dreary day.  Nap.  We just had to get out of the house so we took a short walk in the drizzle, twice.  Probably should never have started the M&M’s in the overalls pocket business.

09/23 The email weirdness has disappeared.  Maxwell Loop, backwards:  106 minutes, 6.26 miles, 3.5 mph, HR=98.

09/24 Coco/Maxwell Loop:  78 minutes, 5.9 miles, 4.5 mph, HR=148.

09/25 Rent-A-Geek.  Respiratory distress.  Change is in the air!

09/26 Caribou Coffee #9.  Sweet!!  East on the Luce Line in an unsuccessful search for tomatoes.

09/27 Wow!  The last entry in my private journal is dated 08/30/06.  Life is settling down.  That’s a good thing.  Soup for lunch, fall is really here.

09/28 I saw the Chicken again on Leaf Street. 

09/29 In our search for fresh tomatoes, Avery and I discovered a quaint organic farm just west of here.  We purchased the fresh tomatoes we wanted for tonight’s pizza.  But, that’s not all!  The Proprietress had just pulled apple pies out of the oven, and we bought two!  Also a green pepper and a loaf of pumpkin ginger bread.  We spent an awful lot of time with her chickens.  I think we’ll go back for pie pumpkins soon.  Good thing we bought two apple pies – Coco ate one.

09/30 A baseball game at the Metro Dome followed by a walk around the neighborhood.  Laundry and knitting.  A repeat of last night’s dinner.

08/01 A little bit of thunder, lightening and rain in the wee hours of this morning.  Piano lesson this afternoon and for the first time in ages I’ve actually practiced!  I met Steve for coffee and had him over for dinner.  Hanna was all over him, but weirdly enough, Coco didn’t feel the need to bother with him at all.  That’s not like her.

08/02 I got my anchor chain bracelet back!  I drove the Wagon to town to get my hair cut and it’s running just fine now.  Last time she cut my hair I had to keep telling her; “shorter!  shorter!”.  Today, I think it’s a tad too short.  But, it’ll grow.

08/03 Happy Birthday, Tim!!  Today I relieved myself of lawn mowing duty for the rest of the summer.  Spiders, a Bee and Poetry.  There is eucalyptus growing at Noerenberg Park, which means there could be eucalyptus growing in my yard.  I must research!  For reasons obvious to those of you who know me well, I won’t go to the most convenient place, so I will have to put forth a bit more effort in traveling to Dundee on Hwy.55. 

08/04 To whom it may concern:  Avery’s website is alive and well, though not updated recently, her picture above is a link.  I hate it when Coco steals my breakfast.  The delight of a two hour afternoon nap!  Thai food, more spiders, guitar, cigar and a poem just for me.

08/05 Hanna was the breakfast thief this morning.  My iTunes were messed up again today, but I think I’ve got it figured out; for some reason I keep having to copy the “iTunes” folder from the external drive.  No big deal, just time consuming, especially since I lose the play lists every time.  Hanna:  88 minutes, 5.84 miles, 4.0 mph, HR=146.

08/06 Coco:  86 minutes, 5.81 miles, 4.1 mph, HR=127.  Humid, ugh.  The Wagon died again today, but started right back up. 

08/07 An afternoon for household chores; light bulbs, laundry, mail, etc.

08/08 I’m going to pick up Blondie’s ashes today.  Someone will be with me this evening.  I’ll be OK, really, I will.  Or not.

08/09 My iTunes have survived a trip to the office and a sync with the network.  Today I saved the offline files instead of the network version.  Which makes perfect sense, I don’t know what I was thinking before.  It’s still too early to be sure, but I’m optimistic.  I don’t understand why the picture of Blondie on the kitchen bulletin board will make me cry, yet the one in the Dogs’ room doesn’t.

08/10 It was all I could do to stay awake during my manicure/pedicure.  I’m going to do my chores and go to bed early. 

08/11 Amy and Avery have gone to Wisconsin.  I’ll take this opportunity to get some things done around the house.  I already got sidetracked by the camera, I had put the macro lense on one night we were watching spiders and never did get around to using it.  See the PhotoJournal.  I’m pondering putting a different lense on the camera every day and making a point to play with whatever I’ve got that day.  Great in theory, difficult in the execution.  Shouldn’t be.  The big leather chair from the downstairs family room has now been moved to it’s new home in the north sun room.  Thank you, Steve and Joel!

08/12 Coco and Hanna:  95 minutes, 5.93 miles, 3.7 mph, (not my) HR=98.  Both Coco’s back feet were bleeding when we got home, I’ve put salve and booties on her.  Last night’s leftover blueberry/peach crisp mixed with oatmeal made for a delightful breakfast.  I’ve now got screens installed on my windows!  I have blueberries and yesterday’s email brought me a blueberry pie recipe from Dr. Weil.  Funny how life works out sometimes.

08/13 Thunderstorms make for delightfully lazy mornings!  I feed him dinner, he cleans my garage.  Sweet!!!

08/14 1:00 this morning found me laying on my back on my picnic table watching The Perseid meteor shower.  It was cold!  There was hot cocoa.  I don’t want to know what time I finally went to bed.  We went to Body Worlds at the Science Museum.  Enjoyed the river bank.  The stairs!

08/15 Another week I’ve hardly touched the piano.  I’m going to have to get out the timer and instigate the old “no ifs, ands or buts about it 15 minutes per day” rule.  A short visit at Caribou – how many Tuesdays in a row can we do this?  A wonderful evening walk and me with no camera.  Blueberry pie for dinner!

08/16 Blueberry pie in oatmeal for breakfast.  Kids’ birthday party at Mom and Dad’s.  What seemed like a good idea yesterday, wasn’t tonight.

08/17 He cooks!  East on the Luce Line.  Rock “tower”.

08/18 My piano is tuned.  Two naps!  Beach play.  Left over chicken stir fry and the last of the blueberry pie.  It doesn’t get any better than this.  Or does it?

08/19 Coco and Hanna: 97 minutes, 6.11 miles, 3.8 mph, HR=110.  An awkward moment out of the blue.  A surprise Visitor, worried about me.  Funny:  There are people who read this journal and I wish they didn’t, then there are others who obviously don’t and I wish they did.  There’s just no pleasing this Girl.

08/20 A restful morning spent laying on the dock, reading my book, listening to the ducks.  Kayaking.  Sunburn.  Motorcycle.  Caribou.  Sunset.  To bed at a civilized hour. 

08/21 Breakfast on the porch beats breakfast in the car!  Couldn’t resist the urge to stop for a photo of the Pink Monster.  A short walk.  A beautiful place, so close to home yet not previously explored.  An unlocked door.

08/22 The disc space errors are starting to annoy me, I must put more effort into clearing stuff out.  Note to self:  Never, ever open iTunes while attached to the server.  A game of chess at Caribou, I lost.  Short walk, another trail. 

08/23 Thunder!  Lightening!  Me, with no time to lay in bed and enjoy.  A short walk, a heavy talk.

08/24 The Accountant now has my life sorted out.  At least as it relates to the Federal and State taxing authorities.  OUCH!!  This name change business is a struggle for me.  Damn!  Hail.  My poor little car.

08/25 I was thinking the weather would foul any plans for playing on the beach, but we were pleasantly surprised.  I can’t believe how much sand was clinging to Avery, and how it’s all over the house!  Proof of a good time!  The wagon wasn’t running right.  Again.  Still.  It died twice trying to get out of Tim’s driveway this evening.  My knight in shining white van met me at Sears, where I’ve left the blasted thing.

08/26 A very lazy morning.  Stubbs/Maxwell Loop plus exploring the woods around Noerenberg Park.  Picked up the wagon.  It was an oxygen sensor, no big deal, just an inconvenience.  Checked on my Geocache in Minnetonka. 

08/27 Took the little car to the car wash.  Enjoyed my second-to-the-last Sunday laying on my dock with my book.  Light bulbs were replaced – no ladder or stool required!  The white chair is on it’s way to pink.  Avery’s deck chair is assembled and clear coated.  Laundry has been done.  A walk has been had.  A productive day!  Where, oh where, is my Garbage Man?

08/28 Rent-A-Geek day at the office.

08/29 Tony had an appendectomy this morning.  When someone tells me; “Yeah, I heard the whole story”, I can’t help but wonder, yet resisted the urge to ask, exactly what story was it they heard.  Caribou Coffee #5!  East on the Luce Line:  134 minutes, 6.?? miles, 3.3 mph.  Now we know who made the rock tower.  I got the barrel back!!

08/30 Yesterday at the hospital I tied a blue rubber glove to the handle of my purse to remind me of two things.  Both of which escape me still.  East on the Luce Line with Coco:  63 minutes, 4.75 miles, 4.5 mph, HR=149.

08/31 I must have some weird strength spurt going on.  This morning my Trainer was sneaking in a little extra weight and most of the times he didn’t I was heard to comment; “could be heavier”.  As much as it pains me, I’ve admitted defeat and removed the rubber glove from the handle of my purse.

07/01 I had my boat out almost all day!  And, yes.  There’s a whole lot I’m not writing about.  Patience, grasshopper. 

07/02 Coco:  93 minutes, 5.81 miles, 3.8 mph, HR=124.  It was a little too warm for Coco, so I stopped at the Maxwell Bay boat landing for her to get wet and drink some lake water.  Goofy dog stood in the water and looked around, didn’t drink.  About another mile down the road I was able to get her wet in someone’s sprinkler.  Bailey arrived yesterday and is having a great time with the “Big Girls”.  She slept in the bed with all of us last night.  Coco was first with the snarled; “shut up and go to sleep” . . . and Bailey understood completely.  We all slept very well.  In fact, after the usual 5 am outing and feeding, we all went back to bed and slept until 7:40!  I’ve got Curried Chicken Salad and Key Lime Pie made.  It’s been a productive morning.  Dinner was cooked for me again!  The girl could get used to that . . .

07/03 Five hours of sleep just isn’t enough.  I worked with my Trainer at the gym today instead of tomorrow.  I got all my mail opened and sorted, so today I must pay bills.  Bills are paid!  Heck, I even have a little bit of money left over.  How kewl is that?  One minute it’s sunny, the next it’s not.  Perhaps a nap.  About the time I get upstairs with the intent of putting on sunscreen and a bathing suit, the sun goes behind the clouds.

07/04 I had every intention of being asleep by 9 last night.  Neighborhood fireworks made sure that didn’t happen.  Coco hates that stuff and kept trying to crawl under my pillow.  Hopefully she’s now too tired to put up much of a fuss when I take Hanna for a walk.  Hanna:  85 minutes, 5.79 miles, 4.0 mph, HR=134.  Mother Nature seems to be repeating yesterday’s sunny/cloudy routine. 

07/05 The party is over.  Between month end, quarter end and the wedding, the next few weeks will be very very busy.  The lawn is mowed for another week.  I sure do like lengthwise week better than crosswise.  A relaxed and quiet walking tour of Cottagewood this evening.  I needed that. 

07/06 I was talked into leaving the house at 9:30 pm to go downtown to the warehouse district for live music.  I’m not sure which was more fun; the music or the people watching!

07/07 In someone’s wedding pictures I saw blue hydrangeas.  I have tons of white ones in my yard.  Today Avery and I cut some and put them in water with green food coloring to see if they turn green.  If they do, I’ll buy red food coloring to get pink flowers.

07/08 The hydrangeas are green!!  I’m grateful I didn’t wake up with the headache and sore throat I went to bed with.  I spoke too soon about the sore throat.  Damn!  I managed to get myself to town for dog chow and the undergarment I needed for the dress I’m wearing for the wedding next weekend.  I’ll spend the afternoon snoozing in the sun.  A last effort on my tan.

07/09 Such a beautiful day!  A shame I’ll spend it at my office.  One good thing about working on the weekend; the air conditioning isn’t blasting me, I’m comfortably warm in my office.  Tomorrow I will appreciate having been here today.  Goals are met, an hour earlier than I figured.  I’ve not been wasting these late nights in that I’ve been watching the bat activity.  While there are not nearly as many as there were, they are without a doubt coming from the woods to the south of my house.  I am delighted at the thought they just might be using the bat houses I put up a few years back.  I’ve spent a much needed quiet evening.  yOUCH! Damn!  I just sliced off a bit of the end of my finger while slicing my bagel.  I no longer find myself hungry, I’ve put the bagel in the refrigerator and will have it for breakfast.  I covered the finger with a gauze pad and wrapped it up good with Vet Tape.  I’ll take a good look at it in the morning.  It should have stopped bleeding by then.  Don’t worry, I don’t think it’s a mortal wound.  I promise if blood soaks through the gauze and tape before I go to bed, I’ll call someone to take me to the ER.  Note to self:  Always slice bagel before drinking margarita.  Not that that had anything to do with it, but you never know.  9:06 pm:  Finger doesn’t hurt so bad any more and there’s no blood seeping through the bandage.  I think it’s safe to go to bed. 

07/10 I crawled in bed at 9:22 last night.  I heard the chimes at 9:30 but not 9:45.  Social life or no, I need to be more mindful of my natural circadian rhythms.  My health and well being depend on it.  And that goes triple for this week.  When I tell you I’m not stressed over the wedding, surely you know I’m lying.  Golf was not good for my finger.  Piano lesson tomorrow is going to be worse.

07/11 It was easier to play the piano with four fingers than it was to golf.  Go figure. 

07/12* Happy Birthday, Ashley!!!!  Tonight I did the craziest thing I’ve done in my entire life.

07/13 The “Girls” are off to camp!  There’s an Excessive Heat Watch advisory for Saturday afternoon through Sunday afternoon.  Not good.  Today I am very much humbled by all the phone calls I’m receiving from people I feel I hardly know who are offering their help.  In any way, shape or form I might need.  I am blessed.  A nasty wind storm!  Just after Tony lit the brush pile, but I think it’s going to be OK.  The kayak blew off the dock rack.  I’m not going to be able to keep those there.  I’ll have to figure out something up by the shed.  Now there’s sticks and leaves all over the yard.

07/14 If I had a second thought about doing this wedding here, it’s completely and totally gone.

07/15 I’m enjoying my last moments of calm before the chaos begins.  There’s a bit of a breeze, for that I’m grateful. What a beautiful wedding!!!

07/16 Oh.  My.  God.  The mess!  It’s a good thing Ginny and Mike spent the night.  If I was alone here now I would be having a major meltdown.  Much help arrived and by noon the mess was gone!  After a failed attempt at a nap, I worked on the laundry and made cookies.  TJ and the kids stopped by to pick some up on their way to church.  I am going to turn off my cell phone, unplug every phone in the house and go to bed early tonight.

07/17 The trash should be out of here today or tomorrow!  Weird, the battery in the Wagon is dead.  I really don’t want to put the Dogs in the mCoupe.  I love BMW Roadside Assistance!  Assistance will be here within an hour.  I’ll take this opportunity to take the bike racks off the car, they cost me 3 mpg.  Though I’ll leave the cross bars until I pick up the new kayak I ordered last week.  The trash is gone!  The “Girls” are home!!  I have absolutely no energy.  It will be a miracle if I can get myself out of the house for golf tonight.  I made it to golf and actually did a bit better than last week.

07/18 I’m better than yesterday, but I’m still not myself.

07/19* Rain!  This will be good for my lawn.  There’s a dead spot where the dance floor was and a few more around the yard from parked cars.  I’m going to wait a few extra days to mow and allow it to heal some.  Does that make sense or is it just a lame excuse not to mow?  TJ was here for dinner.

07/20 My new kayak is in!  So much for washing the wagon tonight.  I got the kayak picked up and the wagon washed!  My iTunes are all back to normal again, I wish I knew what makes that work and not work.

07/21 Happy Birthday, Tony!

07/22 Coco:  86 minutes, 5.8 miles, 4.0 mph, HR=137.

07/23 Hanna:  92 minutes, 5.86 miles, 3.8 mph, HR=132.  Hot and sticky, amazing what a difference 10° can make.  My new kayak is a very sweet boat!!

07/24 The radar trap on northbound 494 and Highway 55.  How many more times do you suppose I can breeze through that going 85 in a 60?  I think I’m on 3 or 4 and should probably not push my luck.  I’m thinking golf is going to get rained out.  I considered golf rained out because getting my wedding pictures tonight became a much higher priority.

07/25 I had hoped last night’s storm would clear out some of this heat and humidity.  No such luck.  FedEx stopped by for a visit.

07/26 Documentation, got to love it.  Man, do I have a headache, not sure if it’s last night’s wine or what.  Had lunch with Tim.

07/27 My grass needs mowing, but it’s the only green grass in the neighborhood so I’m going to leave it until the weekend.  Met Craig for a drink.  I’m trying to separate out the various family’s pictures and burn them to CD for distribution.

07/28 I’ve been doing so well at the nap thing but just can’t manage it today.  At least Avery still has it.

07/29 My GPS was messed up this morning, according to it I walked to Medina and back.  Weird!  Coco:  94 minutes, HR=112.  I stopped at the Maxwell Bay Boat Landing to let Coco play in the water for a bit, but she’s so darned focused on the walk, she can’t grasp the concept of swim and drink.  One of these days I really need to get a bird bath to cover that stump.  Brunch with Bruce followed by a wonderful day out on the lake!

07/30 Hanna:  109 minutes, 5.85 miles, 3.3 mph, HR=99.  Hanna can’t figure out a stop at the boat landing to swim or drink either.  Goofy dogs!  I set the height adjustment on my tractor as high as it would go and mowed my grass.  There were 10 here for dinner and present opening this evening.  Everyone brought something, all I had to do was set the table and clean up.

07/31 97° and I can’t say as I’m looking forward to golf this evening.  I went to the golf course only to find the parking lot empty.  The thermometer in my car read 116°.  I left.  My car started to run badly near Ridgedale.  I really needed to put gas in it, but I was afraid to turn it off.  I’m thinking it wasn’t liking the heat, but the temperature gauge was fine.  This wagon has give me more than it’s share of grief.  If it wasn’t such a waste of resources (and I could get another one with a V8) I would get a different car, but with only 54,000 miles on it, I just won’t do it.  I think I’ve just been given an opportunity to get some laundry done.  My shins itch!  I’ve been having an awful lot of trouble with that lately, what gives?  Odd.  I just heard the security system chime that a door had been opened.  It wasn’t me.  Last I checked, the dogs can’t open doors.  A walk around finds everything secure.

05/01 Blondie is gone.  So sad.

05/02 I still had trouble sleeping last night, and went looking for an old journal.  I found it!  Blondie came into my life on Monday, April 26, 1993.  She was probably born in the fall of 1992.  So interesting to go back and read that stuff!  I don’t remember Blondie ever being anything but the perfect dog, but my journal says otherwise.  I found my 1994 journal to be very disturbing.  I left the Lawyer’s office with visions of coming home and tanning my tummy and damn if it doesn’t look like rain now that I’m home. 

05/03 Hanna spent most the night on the bed Blondie used to sleep on.  I managed 20 minutes of tummy tanning before the Security System Technician showed up.  Tony should be arriving shortly with my tractor!  I mowed my grass!  Took two hours.

05/04 Golf lesson, finally outside and it was miserable cold.

05/05 I had hoped to introduce Avery to the Purple Dinosaur on the deck, but it was just too nasty out.

05/06 I slept better last night than I have in a while.  Must have been the sandwich and the beer.  I rolled up the living room and foyer rugs and the cleaning crew dragged them to the garage and from there I was able to get them into the back of my car for donation to the Salvation Army who’s in my neighborhood today.  While I must admit I was a tad worried, my new foyer rug is yet more proof it doesn’t pay to shop.  I spent 20 minutes online picking out that rug, I’m well pleased and don’t think I could have done better had I spent the four or five hours it would have taken to go to an actual store.  The neighbor lady walks her little black dog by driving up and down the street a few times in a golf cart with the dog running beside.  That has got to be the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen.  Hanna:  87 minutes, 5.50 miles, 3.80 mph, HR=145.  Not liking that heart rate, I must admit I’m still a little stressed but I know where it’s coming from.  Something funny as hell happened here this afternoon and while it would be unkind to write about it, I really need to make note of it.  I got to see Ashley and her friends in their prom dresses!

05/07 Coco:  81 minutes, 5.28 miles, 3.9 mph, HR=127.  Better.  Hammock has been deployed.  Looks like it might be a good day to burn the brush pile, wash the cars, use the boat.  Two out of three isn’t bad.  I won’t light the brush pile unless the flag is laying on the pole and it’s not.  But, the boat’s been out and the cars are clean!  I’ve been having trouble with the logistics of getting the Wagon detailed, now it can wait until fall.

05/08 Rain this morning.  So much for my clean car.  So much thunder!  It rained so hard for a while I couldn’t even see the fire pit.

05/09 I really need for it to not rain tonight so I can mow tomorrow as that will be my last chance until Saturday at which point it will be way overdue.  To whom it may concern:  I have no need for a fertilizer spreader, I hire someone to do that.

05/10 I got the lawn mowed!  It’s supposed to rain.  Off and on looked like it was going to.  Finally I decided to just do it.  I should figure out the trimmer, but I just don’t have that in me this afternoon.  In part because I forgot to eat lunch.  I went to yoga, which was a most excellent idea.

05/11 Golf is no fun when it’s cold.  Golf will be no fun tonight.  It will help if I wear socks.  I wish I could go longer than three weeks between hair cuts.  Cute that the logs for one of my GeoCaching Travel Bugs are currently being written in a language I don’t read.  German, I think.  Today I made an appointment with a Psychologist.  Golf was in the dome.  We worked on our short game.

05/12 Housebound again by rain and cold!  Not a total loss as we had a nice nap this afternoon.

05/13 The cold and rain continues, making the day perfect for laundry, coffee and knitting.  Candle party at Amy’s.  My dogs won’t leave me alone for the sniffing of the cat scent on me.  Evening sunshine!!

05/14 Tony and Ashley treated me to a wonderful brunch!  Nicole’s birthday dinner tonight.

05/15 Not only did the irrigation folks show up right on time, but the Gardener is here working on spring clean up!!!  I can’t believe the trailer load of stuff they hauled out of here, and it was from only one planting bed.

05/16 I thought I was done crying over Blondie.  Until I got this morning’s mail and the package of pictures and notes from the Kennel Staff.  Not only did I survive the Psychologist today, but I’ve agreed to go back.  Yay me.

05/17 It’s not very confidence inspiring when the Dell Repair Technician arrives and has to borrow my tools.  And therefore no surprise he didn’t have the right part either.  My evening ended up nothing like I planned!  None the less, I think I enjoyed myself more than I might have as it ended up very quiet and relaxed.

05/18 I swear the rabbits know exactly where the Invisible Fence line is.  I think I’m actually going to be able to do this golf thing without embarrassing myself too badly.

05/19 We ran outside and played in the yard every time the sun came out.  Avery still wants nothing to do with the purple dinosaur.

05/20 Hanna:  84 minutes, 5.57 miles, 4.0 mph, HR=154.  Lawn is mowed!  I really must get the new trimmer out of the box, maybe tomorrow.  Looks like it could rain.  What else is new?  I was going to turn on my irrigation system, but I think I’ll wait until we’ve gone three days without rain.  Nicole’s confirmation.

05/21 Coco:  79 minutes, 5.76 miles, 4.3 mph, HR=142.  I can’t get my trimmer started, I guess I’ll have to work on my tan instead.  Or not.  It’s 55° and mostly cloudy.  Too cold to even lay out on the deck.  This evening I came in to find the BSOD Parity Error on my laptop.  While it seems like it happens often, I can’t find note of it in my archives since late 2005.  A forced shut down always solves the problem.

05/22 6:30 am and there’s five trucks, two trailers and 8 or 10 people here!  The stucco will be finished today.  The stucco is finished!  My car is fixed.  It was a wheel bearing, just like Tony said.  Tony got the trimmer running.  I may have not had the switch in the “on” position.  Geezzz!

05/23 I survived a second visit with the Psychologist and am going back for a third.  It’s already helped an awful lot and I’m thinking every week will be more than I need before too long, but also know I won’t be giving it up completely any time soon.

05/24 I get to spend the afternoon with my Dentist getting another crown and some filling work done.  The anticipation is always worse than the actual event.  The copper work is all done on the back of my house.  I wonder how long it will be before it’s all one color again?  I turned on the sprinkler system and now it’s raining.

05/25 I can’t get my Cingular 8125 PocketPC/Phone to sync with my Exchange server.  My Cingular 2125 SmartPhone syncs fine and all the server settings are the same.  What gives?  I can’t help but wondering if it’s got something to do with the new mailbox name and alias, but why would one sync and not the other?  The window washer was washing my windows when I got home!

05/26 BSOD and Parity error twice today.  This winter Avery played “Hide & Seek” with her toys by zipping them into my polar fleece vest.  In hindsight that was a bad idea as today she kept trying to stuff her Duplo Blocks inside my running bra.  OUCH!

05/27 I set the mower up to three inches so I can mow again on Wednesday.  I’ve got to get off this weekend mowing schedule.  As a single girl, I really must put effort into finding better things to do with my weekends than mow my lawn.  I think I’ll leave the trimming for tomorrow.  BSOD and Parity error.  Again.  Some thing is wrong with my iTunes software.  It doesn’t seem to be connecting to the folder on the external hard drive.  All my play lists are gone.  I used it Thursday morning and all was fine.

05/27 I set the mower up to three inches so I can mow again on Wednesday.  I’ve got to get off this weekend mowing schedule.  As a single girl, I really must put effort into finding better things to do with my weekends than mow my lawn.  I think I’ll leave the trimming for tomorrow.  BSOD and Parity error.  Again.  Some thing is wrong with my iTunes software.  It doesn’t seem to be connecting to the folder on the external hard drive.  All my play lists are gone.  I used it Thursday morning and all was fine.

05/28 Hanna:  82 minutes, 5.51 miles, 4.0 mph, HR=159.  I had a delightful boat ride this afternoon!  I think all the trouble I’m having with my electronic devices is related to my name change.  Ugh!  All my music is licensed to the old name and now all my machines are using a new one.

05/29 Coco:  87 minutes, 5.55 miles, 3.8 mph, HR=130.  Coco doesn’t do well in the heat, twice she thought about laying down in the grass but decided to keep on walking.  I slowed down a bit for her as I wasn’t carrying any water to cool her down with.  I spent the afternoon doing laundry and lounging on the deck working on my tan.  I’m interviewing (what else do you call that first time you meet a person and decide if you ever want to see them again?) a potential Date tomorrow evening and if it goes well I expect it could go late, I need to be well rested.  I’ve not been writing about the whole dating thing here, but it’s a part of my life I’m going to want to reflect upon some day in the future.  So, from now on you’ll get to read about it.  Well, not all about it, but a little.  The good news:  Tony installed the bagger on my tractor.  The bad news:  I always have to bag.  There is no easily disconnecting it and not bagging the lake side lawn.  It could end up taking way way more time to keep dumping the bags than the one way fussing I do to avoid blowing grass clippings into the mulch.  The ceiling fan in my bedroom is haunted, it turns itself off, or turns the light on.  I think I need a new one. 

05/30 I’m having trouble wrapping my brain around the fact it’s Tuesday, not Monday.  I didn’t think to order groceries last night and will have to brave the grocery store or starve this week.  On a whim I decided to see if the Qtek 9000 would sync to my exchange server.  Bingo!  So, for now I’ll use it even though it’s a bit larger than the 8125 and I’ve got to enter the Cingular server settings manually.  And my iTunes . . . all fine.  Go figure.  I’ve graduated to every other week visits with the Psychologist. 

05/31 Four and a half hours of sleep is not enough.  For those of you paying attention; that means it went well and he will in the future be referred to as PDM as I will be seeing him again.  I have my dress!  I tried on 12 or 15 dresses and ended up buying the first one I had on.  It’s raining so there’ll be no mowing this evening. 

04/01 I’m thinking I can take the down sleeping bag and other winter survival gear out of my car now.  There are 9 houses on my street, two have “For Sale” signs out front and someone is obviously moving out of a third.  What gives?  It’s the mailboxes!  Had dinner with Tony and Ashley at Mom and Dad’s.

04/02 Such a nice gentle rain, I decided to set my plants outside for a bit rather than water them at the sink.  Still raining.  Perfect!  Hanna and I curled up on the chaise and completed my assignment to watch “Under the Tuscan Sun”.  Thanks, Kristen, I needed that!  Dinner time and it’s still raining.

04/03 The dogs were all sound asleep when the alarm went off this morning.  I neglected to tell them about daylight savings time.  They poop scooped my yard today! 

04/04 It’s beginning feel like spring!

04/05 Dentist this afternoon.  The good news:  No new cavities.  The bad news:  An old filling they’ve been watching for a few years needs to be replaced soon and the first tooth that got a root canal a few years back needs to be crowned.  I ordered a lawn tractor this afternoon!

04/06 I had the nicest seatmate on my flight!  I can’t believe how dismal this place is, all boarded up.  I’m thinking it’s going to get worse long before it gets better.  I’ve moved my return flight up a day.

04/07 I will be done packing tonight or tomorrow.  The truck is scheduled to pick up the boxes on Tuesday morning.  I’ll drop one last box off at FedEx on my way to the airport and that will be that.  Window Contractor stopped by to let me know he’s going on vacation.  No one will be here Monday, but Tuesday looks good.  This morning when I took the first bunch of boxes to the truck a Guy in the parking lot says, “You look like you could use a hand!” and starts to clap.  Nice, huh?  The boxes stacked in the foyer were just too much added depressing stuff, so I decided to lug them to the truck and the UPS Store myself.  I encountered a Plumber doing some work on a unit a few doors down and he let me use his cart!  The bulk of it is gone.  I took my bike to the bike shop.  Vacation, such as it is, starts tomorrow!  There’s a music festival in town, I may have to take a walk tonight and check that out.  Gelato?

04/08 135 minutes, 6.92 miles, 3.1 mph, HR=127.  Heart rate still higher than it should be.  I’m sure the loose sand and wind contributed some, but obviously there’s still some extra adrenaline.  They are pumping sand onto the beach.  I’m not sure if that’s why there’s all the hairy red stuff that’s rotting and smells really bad.  It’s odd there wasn’t a single seagull on the beach nor pelican on the pier.  There were at least a half dozen fish caught the short time I was on the pier, I’ve never seen that before.  There were also a lot of dolphins.  I never did make it up town last night.  I took my dinner and wine out on the dock instead.  I’ve finished the last of the wine.  I won’t be opening another.  At least I don’t think so.  A measly 250 ml of red wine with my dinner pretty much renders me useless for the rest of the evening, but I’m well rested, so it’s not a total loss.  The plywood and the stinky beach are making this all easier for me, for that I’m grateful.

04/09 A dreary day.  I want to go home.

04/10 A friend spent a lot of this morning offering support, encouragement and a different perspective.  I think I’ve used as many cell phone minutes in the last 10 days as I have in the last 10 years and I’m thankful for each and every one.  No food to be had here so I had lunch up town, managed a successful shopping mission on the way home.  Remotely connected to my office and did a bunch of work.  Took stuff to FedEx and UPS.  Got a few groceries.  There’s severe thunderstorm warnings for today and the wind is really picking up.  I sure hope that plywood stays put.  And, speaking of the plywood.  Another Contractor Guy stopped by to measure for the beam that needs to be fabricated.  Something tells me if they are measuring at 2:44 this afternoon it’s not likely they’re going to be working here tomorrow either.

04/11 They showed up and replaced the little window in the entryway.  I’m not sure why that job required a jackhammer.  I’m avoiding the beach.  I’m not sure if it’s because I’m afraid of getting rained on or because this is no longer my life and I’m anxious to be home and get on with what is my life.  Received a gentle reminder as to what’s important.

04/12 Happy Birthday to my Brother!  137 minutes, 7.33 miles, 3.2 mph, HR=109.  I’m feeling much better today and my heart rate confirms that.  I won’t be saying good bye, there remains something special about this area and I know I’ll be back.  Home sweet home!

04/13 I was able to do so much of my work remotely that by the end of today you’ll not be able to tell I was gone for a week.  I signed up for golf lessons.  I’m finding Angie’s List to be an invaluable resource.  Today of all days the UPS Man leaves my nine huge boxes at the neighbor’s house.  Drat!  It seems my two little ivy plants died while I was gone.  I’ve replaced the ivy plants.  I noticed the pothos from the dining room does not look as good as the one from my bedroom and I’m wondering if that’s because the plants on the dining room table never get any direct sunlight.  I may want to consider moving those.

04/14 Avery didn’t want anything to do with the jogging stroller today.  Let’s hope she changes her mind.  We celebrated Brother’s birthday at Mom and Dad’s.

04/15 85 minutes, 5.82 miles, 4.1 mph, HR=138.  I’m now the proud owner of a set of golf clubs.  Can you believe it?  Me neither.

04/16 84 minutes, 5.86 miles, 4.1 mph, HR=103.  Easter celebration at Mom and Dad’s.

04/17 I’ve got my ankle bracelet on, that makes it officially “No Socks” season!  Today I created my Christmas Shopping List.  I ran across a great idea for someone on my list and I ordered it.  Next week you’ll read I wrapped my first gift.  I bought another plant today and split it into three, only one of which I could plant as I have no more pots.  Though I’ll take one more look around the house to see if there’s one I missed.  I also put big pots of pansies by my front door.  Tomorrow I’ll pot the other two pieces.  Then I quit with the new plants and it’s back to planting bed cleanup.  I also purchased a rake with a handle, as clearing out those dead leaves with a hand rake is way more work than it needs to be.

04/18 I got one cart full of plant bed debris before it started to rain.  I potted those last two plants.  I’ve also added a “Plants” page with basic care instructions.  This is mostly for my information but you might find it interesting.  Or not.  I’m using “The Complete Houseplant Survival Manual” by Barbara Pleasant as reference.

04/19 The bike shop in Florida accidentally sent my bike to New York.  I came home for lunch and to let the dogs out because I have to be at my office from 1 to 5 this afternoon.  A huge thank you to Carol, I’m going to have fun with this!  It’s too nasty outside for yard work, but there’s more than enough to do inside.  I found some plant food and two pots in a laundry room cabinet!

04/20 Somehow I never find the time to call the Dentist and make an appointment for that new crown and filling replacement.  First golf lesson tonight.  Towards the end the tornado warning sirens were going off.  We just kept hitting balls.  This week’s homework is to practice my swing and if it works to hit tennis balls down the lawn, the dogs are going to be real happy.

04/21 Housebound by the weather.  Bummer!  It’s 8:43 pm and Avery is asleep.  In the crib!  Shortly I’ll tip toe in there to turn off the music and grab the monitor.  04/22 Mother Nature; having trouble making up your mind?  It worked pretty well to hit tennis balls with the golf club.  Though it’s something of a miracle all the dogs still have all their teeth.  While I had a whole basket full of tennis balls, we only used a half dozen.  They’re going to sleep well tonight!  Last week I was counting the days until I could be out of here.  Today, not so much.

04/23 Coco:  85 minutes, 5.43 miles, 3.8 mph, HR=136.  Tony power raked my yard!  Yard work goals having been met, I got in my boat.  No gas.  Gas dock closed.  Most unfortunate.  Hanna ate my dinner.  I went to town for ice cream, ended up with a hamburger.  All in all, a most excellent evening.

04/24 Too nasty out to be doing any yard work and still more than enough to do inside.  The Gardener was here when I got home, I should receive her proposal shortly.  I was asked to quit stirring up the mulch as it’s not nearly as deep as it should be and I’m bringing dirt to the surface which encourages the weeds.  Good to know!

04/25 34° and while I broke out the cashmere and long underwear, I did draw the line at socks.  Worked on my golf swing. 

04/26 95 oh, how I’ve missed you!  But, we better not be seeing too much of each other as I really don’t need another one of those ticket things.  Yeah, I got out the little car today!  Installed Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 on the Precision M70 this morning.  The Stucco Guys are here finishing up the porches!  I told them to keep an eye on their lunch and they obviously didn’t take me seriously as Coco just brought me a bag of sunflower seeds.  The alarm system has been reinstalled, recoded and tested.  You have no idea how it pains me to be wearing socks.

04/27 A bit unnerving to see Tony’s truck at the clinic when I went to the post office.  I haven’t seen him yet, but the receptionist reports he’s got some stitches in his pinkie.  Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 is gone, too many compatibility issues.  I find I’m skipping my snacks and have to absolutely force myself to eat meals.  What’s up with that?  I weigh myself almost every day and am careful to track what I eat so I know I’m consuming enough and not losing any weight, so don’t be worrying.  I’m fine.  Really.  From the Gym Shrink this morning; “There are only two emotions:  Love and Fear.  Absolutely everything boils down to one or the other.” Something to observe and think about.  Golf lesson this evening.  Next week we get to actually “play” outside!  I don’t think much of the golf dome, though I’m sure in January it would be more appealing. 

04/28 I startled a bunch of deer in the pine trees when I rolled my trash can out to the street.  I’ve never heard them snort like that, it was kind of spooky.  Housebound by rain.  Not a total loss as my spring A/C service is done and the filters have been changed in the air exchanger.  Now if only the Gardener would call.  There’s more piece of mind in a working security system than I thought there would be, especially at night.

04/29 It rained all day yesterday and looks like it’s going to do the same today.  96 minutes, 15.28 miles, 9.55 mph, HR=114 and “Nine Months” on the Wave this morning.  Rain, all day long.  Made cookies in an effort to at least warm up the kitchen.  If I’m going to unpack any more boxes from Florida, I’ve got to go to town for hangers.  I really don’t want to go to town, but since I won’t like the idea any more tomorrow, I might as well get it over with.  The Wagon stalled at a stop light.  Weird.  It died, started, sputtered and finally ran.  Seems fine now.  Rain?  Today the security system is a royal PITA.  Operator error, mostly.  Can’t give up in frustration, I’ll get the bugs out eventually.

04/30 It’s still raining!  At this rate I’ll get all the Florida boxes unpacked.  9:32 am and I’ve only got three boxes left!  Time for a break, I’m thinking puff pancake, coffee and Sunday paper.  12:17 pm and all the boxes are empty!  Yay me!  Everything from Florida smells funny and must be washed, there are five laundry loads left.  I may or may not be able to finish that today and it really doesn’t matter.  It feels good to have all the pieces of me in one place.  I went to check my rain gauge, only to find it broken.  Every time I think it’s stopped raining, it starts again.  6:25 pm and I’m done!  DONE!!  Every last thing; unboxed, washed and put away.  I can’t sleep.  Blondie couldn’t make it up the stairs on her own tonight.  Her back left foot was curled up like a club foot, I had to help hold up her hind end.  I didn’t have the heart to make her sleep alone in the dog room.  Though I don’t know why that seems less cruel when I know darn well she’s going to fall down the stairs again tomorrow morning.  It’s time.  Damn! 

03/01 Picnic basket to Ellie and Jim.  I got my car back!  It cost $150 more to have the rental car for five days than it would have cost to keep it for a week.  Go figure.

03/02 Avery and I went to the Minnesota Children’s Museum.  Her two favorite things were a pretend fish tank with three switches she could move to turn lights off and on and the pretend ice fishing.  Yes, ice fishing!  The MN Children’s Museum is a place we will visit again.  It was very clean and there is so much to do there.

03/03 Avery stayed overnight last night.  While she slept well, she surely wasn’t herself today.  We had to be out of the house by 7 am when the Cleaning Crew shows up, so we went to the Original Pancake House in Wayzata.  She lay in my arms like a rag doll and I spooned scrambled eggs and blueberry pancakes into her mouth, though her eyes were half closed.  She slept most of the day, though she did perk up a bit around dinner time.  I think she’s cutting some more teeth.

03/04 115 minutes, 5.75 miles, 3.0 mph, HR=132 and “The Butterfly Effect” on the treadmill this morning.  Car wash, finally.  Office.

03/05 Last night as we were getting ready for bed, Blondie was missing.  We combed the neighborhood, flashlights in hand.  No Blondie.  While Blondie has a microchip for identification, she was without a collar as she lost that some time last week.  We finally resigned ourselves to going to leaving the lights on, door open and going to bed.  As we were checking the lights in the kitchen, in strolls Blondie.  Blondie is now sporting a collar as well as a miniature cow bell.  On my way to the office today I will stop and by her a reflective collar.  While I don’t really believe she ever left the yard, Jim and I combed the entire 2-1/2 acres several times and I don’t know how we could have missed her.  116 minutes, 6 miles, 3.10 mph, HR=120 and “50 First Dates” on the treadmill this morning.  Office, again.  Blondie is now wearing a GlobalPetFinder GPS unit on a reflective/fluorescent green collar.  Of course she hasn’t left the house since I put it on.

03/06 What a messed up morning!  Good thing the afternoon went better.  The plan was to go to the Como Zoo tomorrow, but the weather forecast is rain all day.  I haven’t been to the Mall of America in years, but I just can’t get excited about that.  Just as I’m rounding up dogs for the night, I hear my cell phone tell me I have a text message.  Yup, Blondie has left the yard.  But, I’ve got her mapped!  I’ll bet she makes that same circle every night.  She’s getting a new Invisible Fence battery as soon as she gets back in tonight.  I think I’ll snug that collar up a bit as well.

03/07 Too nasty to be outside anywhere.  We stopped at the Hennepin County Service Center to get the Wagon’s new tabs, brushing up on the 2006 Minnesota boating regulations while we waited our turn.  Picked up the mail at the Post Office.  Stopped to visit my Grandma Lucy, but she wasn’t home and neither were Ellie and Jim.  Got a bit of laundry done.

03/08 Another Old Box died at the office yesterday and my last Spare Box went into service.  I’ve taken the opportunity to order myself a new Desktop machine and my current HP will become the new spare.

03/09 Today we went to the Como Park Zoo.  What a beautiful place!  We spent a lot of time in the flower gardens; it was warm and sunny, no one else was there so I could let Avery crawl around.  While most of the outside exhibits are still closed for the winter, it was nice to be outside.

03/10 Breakfast in Wayzata.  Avery’s other Grandma has been out of town for two weeks and she was in desperate need of a baby fix so Avery and I stopped at her house for a while this morning.  As we left, the sun came out so we headed to the Minnesota Zoo.  The place was a zoo!  Very crowded, inside anyway, so we enjoyed the outside trails.  Not a problem, since being outside on paved trails was the entire point of going there.

03/11 100 minutes, 5.0 miles, 3.0 mph, HR=123 and “Secret Window” on the treadmill this morning.  I met with a Personal Shopper at Marshall Field’s regarding dresses for the upcoming weddings.  The woman’s name is vaguely familiar, I think I know her from somewhere, though I can’t figure out where.

03/12 97 minutes, 5.0 miles, 3.1 mph, HR=122 and “Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen” on the treadmill this morning.  Lindsay Lohan has lost a lot of weight since she made that movie.  Must work this afternoon.

03/13 Wet, sloppy snow.  They must have put the snowplow trucks away already, as they’ve not been out plowing.

03/14 We have a date for completion of our Florida Windows!

03/15 86 minutes, 5.0 miles, 3.49 mph, HR=123 and “Teacher’s Pet” on the treadmill this morning.  Shoveled the front sidewalk.  I’m awaiting delivery of a TechnoGym CardioWave.  This morning’s ad from Neiman Marcus contains the perfect dress for Tony and Ashley’s wedding.  Unfortunately, it only comes in a color I can’t wear – rust.  I’m going to print a copy for my Personal Shopper at Marshall Field’s in hopes she can find the dress, or one very similar, in another color.  Failing that, I’ll hire a dressmaker to copy it.  Picnic basket to Ellie and Jim.

03/16 What is it about used dryer sheets that Coco finds so enticing?

03/19 71 minutes, 8.0 miles, 6.76 mph, HR=146, Level 2 and “13 Going On 30” on the Wave this morning.  I’m a bit befuddled as to the speed thing, no way could I manage 6.76 mph on the treadmill and it didn’t seem to be that much more effort.  We’ll see how I feel tomorrow.  I don’t very often “get” the Dilbert cartoon, perhaps because I’ve never worked in the corporate environment, but I very much enjoy Scott Adams’ Dilbert Blog.  Click here to read an entry that I found amusing this week.  This afternoon we went to Gale Woods Farm, we were both underdressed for the wind, so we watched the fat (pregnant?) sheep for a bit, met a friendly cat and went to Baker Park where the trail was more protected.  While I’m in a sharing mood, click here to see another site I find intriguing.

03/20 I can’t get used to it being light when I get to work, I keep thinking I’m late.  I’m not one bit sore from my Wave workout yesterday.  I guess I didn’t work hard enough.

03/21 63 minutes, 4.0 miles, 3.81 mph, HR=156 and an iPOD Nano loaded with 60’s Rock and Roll and maybe a little too much Cat Stevens.  It’s no coincidence that exercise and exorcise are different by only one letter.  That heart rate concerns me some.  It’s time to admit all this not eating and not sleeping has not only taken a figurative toll on my heart, but takes a literal toll as well.  The Pot Hole Fixers are out!

03/22 Picnic basket to Ellie and Jim.  Last one.  I’m actually going to miss them.

03/23 Though it wasn’t in the forecast, I had hoped we would be surprised with nice weather today and didn’t plan an indoor activity.  Unfortunately, it’s barely over freezing, there’s no sign of the sun and it’s actually snowing just a little bit.

03/24 Avery stayed the night.  This morning we went to Denny’s for breakfast.  Then we stopped at my office and I was actually able to get a few things done.  We went to visit my Dad and Gladys then came home.  Still not nice enough to be outside, but Avery at least “walked” to the end of the driveway and we brought in the garbage can.  That’s actually quite a ways for her (and me, oh my aching back from the bending over to hold her hands) and I had hoped it would tire her out for a nap, but no such luck.  Why do babies fight sleep?  After much tired eye rubbing, fussing and rocking, we both finally crashed on the lower bunk and were joined by Hanna.  We slept less than an hour, but I really needed that.

03/25 105 minutes, 15.75 miles, 9 mph, HR=137 and “Mean Girls” on the Wave this morning.  I just put some chocolate chip banana bread in the oven and I can’t wait to see how it comes out.  Right now I’m a few cards short of a full deck and I added baking powder instead of baking soda, baking powder being still on my mind from the scones I made earlier this week.  I thought about it for a minute and decided to add baking soda as well.  The banana bread is flat on top, a wee bit rubbery but tasty none-the-less.

03/26 Yellow Post-It notes are blooming around the house, he’s marking what he’s taking.  Coco convinced me to take her for a walk.  I’m missing the first bit on my GPS, but I’ve got 71 minutes, 4.56 miles, 3.8 mph, HR=135.  I feel better now.  Let the spring cleaning begin!  Elephant be gone:  My Husband has left me.  I think I’m done crying.  Past denial.  Can see anger peeking around the corner.  Anyway.  Today I bought two plants.  In the picture you’ll see four.  That’s because I split each one as the pots I had seemed too small.  Right now I’m all about conserving resources, so I had to make do with what I have and I hope I haven’t done any damage in the splitting.  I tried to be gentle.  If there’s one thing I don’t have, it’s a green thumb.  If there’s one thing I really need right now, it’s a green thumb.  I am now solely responsible for hundreds of plants, shrubs and trees, not to mention almost two acres of grass.  And there’s a wedding here in July, so the pressure is on!  I was chatting with my Dear Brother today and he feels since his Wife and Girls do a fine job of maintaining their lawn, surely I can maintain mine.  OK.  Heck, the plantings part may be therapeutic.  Though I’ve never mowed a blade of grass in my life, surely I can learn!  Truth be told, I can actually get a wee bit excited at the thought of my very own lawn tractor.  There is so much more at stake in the life of these plants than the $7.98 I have invested .  Keeping these plants alive will go a long way towards giving me the confidence that I can maintain my own lawn.  And if I can maintain my own lawn, I can afford to keep my gym membership.  And this evening, that makes me just a little bit happy.

03/27 My plants weren’t wilted this morning!  My summer wheels/tires are on my car.  I actually completed the work I brought home from the office.

03/28 Someone had the nerve to use “my” shower at the gym this morning and I darned near scalded myself trying to use the faucet in one I was unfamiliar with.  Perhaps my little plants are his Post-It notes, I must respect that.  I think I’m going to come away from this experience having learned some profound things.

03/29 Blondie is missing.  Again.  She’s not wearing the GPS device, I took it off when I realized her Invisible Fence battery was dead and replaced it.  She is wearing her ID tags this time.  Surely I’ve reached my trauma quota.  I checked the battery in Hanna and Coco’s collars and they’re good.  I wouldn’t put it past Blondie to be smart enough to stand on the line and let the warning tone wear the battery down so she can leave.  She’s always come home.  I put her rug and a water dish out on the porch.  Surely she’ll be home for chow at 4:00 if not sooner.  Blondie is home!  She’ll be wearing that GPS device (which is only good as long as the batteries) or cabled.  The Invisible Fence people are going to change some settings on Blondie’s collar, let’s hope that works.

03/30 I have three Labrador Retrievers and if I don’t find this absolutely necessary, I can’t imagine anybody would.  There’s nothing like a little bit of thunder to keep the dogs in the house.  The Community Ed class I signed up for many months ago has been cancelled for lack of participation.  Darn it anyway. 

03/31 Anger.  A normal part of the process.  Avery has a cold and fever, so we’ll be staying home today.  The Invisible Fence Technician put longer prongs on Blondie’s collar and changed the settings.  He’s not hopeful it will work as Blondie’s behavior is not uncommon in old dogs.  Avery lost her lunch twice today.  Once when the Invisible Fence Technician arrived and again when a group from the DNR showed up.  Seems I’ve got some rock/boulders on the beach that are going to have to be moved.  They are going to check for a permit (they won’t find one).  They wouldn’t share their recommendation verbally, I’ll get a certified letter.  Great, just great.  Lucky for me, Brother has use for those rocks.

02/01 The doorbell rings.  Odd, because typically I unlock the door in the morning and the Window Guys just let themselves in.  The guy standing on my doorstep knows the English word “Painter”.  I let him in.  He stands there and looks at me.  I walk around the house and point out the windows.  He knows the English words “window”, “sand” and “paint”.  He says the word “paint” and looks at me expectantly.  I show him the closet upstairs where there are paint cans.  I mutter and go back to my knitting.  I won’t be leaving the house again today.  Motion Based was down yesterday and it’s still down today.  132 minutes, 6.69 miles, 3.0 mph, HR=102. 

02/02 149 minutes, 7.59 miles, 3.0 mph, HR=105.  I’ve got nasty shin splints with my right leg being much worse then my left.  All the window work that can be done this round has been.  Tonight I’ll get out the vacuum and dust rag and start cleaning up.  For as tidy as it seemed they were, there’s a layer of grit on everything.  I switched to new running shoes this trip after I discovered I had about 186 miles on each pair of the old ones.  No wonder I’m going to lose another toenail!  A pair of running shoes only last a little over 100 miles for me.  I wear them out from the inside, they really don’t look too bad on the outside and I get quite emotionally attached.  Really weird since the new shoes often are exactly like the old shoes, only new.

02/03 Happy 1st Birthday, Avery!!!  My right leg was still sore this morning.  I gave thought to taking a day off, but hate to waste light and sunshine.  I decided to cut it a bit short and take it a bit easier, not that the pain would allow otherwise, dammit.  When I put lotion on my legs this morning, I noticed there is a horizontal ridge of swelling on my right shin.  Weird.  I though it was feeling better at about 3.5 miles, but I think that was just the softer beach sand as it was as bad as ever once I left the beach and hit the concrete sidewalk.  I stopped at the Drug Store and bought an ice bag and as I write, I’ve got my leg propped up on an over turned laundry basket.  I’ll keep the ice on it for 20 or 30 minutes and see what happens.  There’s no bruising.  Odd.  130 minutes, 6.39 miles, 2.9 mph, HR=97.  I have not had, nor will I have, opportunity to lay out in the sun and work on my tan this trip.  That is so very wrong and insult to the injury that I’ve also had to set an alarm every stinking morning.  I went to the Condo Association’s board meeting today and I’m not even going to start on that fiasco (in my humble opinion, of course).  I was going to go to town and see about window coverings, but there’s a truck parked behind my car.  Good thing I don’t need the car much as that’s been the case most every day.  Monday through Thursday, it was my own fault, sort of, since my Window Contractors’ trucks were using all the guest spots.  The guest spots are empty and I think I know where to find the driver of the truck so I could ask them to move it, but I think I’ll do a bit more cleaning while there’s still day light.  I need a third hand.  I guess my Mom, Ashley and Nicole will have to earn their keep by helping me put on the window film.  I suspect they won’t mind as there’s no perception of privacy without it.  I bet we do it the very first night.  I’m not even going to attempt another one as I hate to waste the film.  The patterned stuff was thicker and thus easier to hang but I like the white/frosted stuff much better.

02/04 I iced my leg again last night and decided I would give it a rest today if it was still sore.  Mother Nature gave me a little help in keeping that resolution as we had a nasty thunderstorm and quite a bit of rain.  I looked at four condos in the building across the street.  The one I was originally most interested in already sold.  Of the next three I looked at, I was only barely interested in one of them.  The Realtor brought me home and before I could even get back to my knitting he called and asked if I was interested in seeing one more.  He’s got a client who can’t decide if they do or don’t want to sell.  I’ll entertain the notion (depending on price) if they decide they do want to sell.

02/05 159 minutes, 8.52 miles, 3.2 mph, HR=114.  Surfer Video.  Since it rained all day yesterday, I got all my housekeeping done and have very little left to do before I leave today.  I’ve never seen so many dead Jellyfish on the beach as I did today.

02/06 The girls are home!  Coco bit Blondie’s ear again.

02/07 My refrigerator is all scrubbed clean and no groceries.  By the time I got around to completing my order last night there was no more room on the delivery trucks and I’ll have to wait until Wednesday.  This evening I couldn’t face either the thought of fast food or a quick trip to the grocery store so I ended up eating frozen mixed vegetables sprinkled with parmesan cheese.  Yes, I cooked the vegetables.  I took Blondie’s bandages off tonight.  I think Coco tore open the previous wound.  Finally!  My Caribou Coffee Card Travel Bug is traveling.  Don’t know what I’m talking about?  Click Here.

02/08 My Dell Precision M70 is doing so much screen splitting and flickering I’ll be lucky to finish this entry.  I can’t help but wonder if it’s related to the row of dead pixels.  Now that I’m absolutely surrounded by, and committed to, Dell hardware I would hate to see this machine go belly up on me.  About all I could make out of Dell’s Technical Support email was a phone number.  I called.  I just can’t say enough about their Technicians.  Long story short https://www.gseav.com/services/video-walls/ is installing a new LCD and Video Card tomorrow.  In the meantime, so long as I plug in a monitor, it works well enough to use.  The resolution is a bit wonky, but I’ll manage.  I was worried about arriving home late, but the dogs were fine.  Only one problem; no groceries.  I was just getting ready to go online and see if I might have messed up the alternate delivery day when I saw the Simon Delivers truck pull in to the neighbor’s driveway.  Dinner!  I feel better, Coco’s not the only one.  It’s been a long time since I’ve been sore from lifting weights and oh, it hurts so good.

02/09 This morning the bottom 2/3 of my M70’s desktop wallpaper is black.  It flickers when I go to the Journal2006 page, but not here on the main page.  LifeForm, Outlook and IE6 all seem fine.  Very strange.  The Technician is due here with the parts between 1:30 and 2:30, thereby forcing me to reschedule today’s 2:00 Eye Doctor appointment to Monday morning.  The Precision M70 is fixed.  This writing comes from the Latitude D410.  I give up a lot of screen real estate for portability and it’s going to take some getting used to.  I’m trying to set them up so I can easily take either machine.  The M70 is definitely easier to work with, yet the D410 is easier to handle.  I’m thinking the D410 is going to end up being a toy

02/10 I picked up Avery, we came home to play for a while and had lunch.  After lunch we went to my office to check on the server/workstation migration – what a mess, glad I missed it.  Then we visited with my Dad for a while, just before we left Mom and Gladys arrived home so they got to visit with Avery for a bit as well.  We came home, played a bit and had dinner.  I didn’t take a single picture!

02/11 95 minutes, 5.25 miles, 3.2 mph, HR=112 and “Gothika” on the treadmill this morning.  Yet again I find myself wondering how that ended up on my Netflix queue.  A “For Sale” sign appeared in the neighbor’s yard today.  I’ve been expecting that.  I got two major projects done at my office this afternoon, but after that I had a hard time staying focused, so I gave it up and came home.

02/12 105 minutes, 5.50 miles, 3.14 mph, HR=103 and “Sick” on the treadmill this morning.  Bizarre movie, I haven’t a clue how I ended up with it.  I’m starting to think my Netflix queue is haunted.  I don’t understand why I was so resistant to using Outlook for all my email.

02/13 Rent-A-Geek got my Cingular 2125 WM5 Smartphone to sync to the exchange server.  Sorta.  I now have my email on my phone.  If there’s one thing I don’t want, it’s my mail on my phone.  I want my Contacts and my Calendar.  That’s all.  Why is it so difficult?  Precision M70 this evening:  BSOD and this message:  “Hardware malfunction.  Call hardware vendor for support.  NMI:  Parity check/memory parity error.  System has halted” I forced a power down, waited a minute, powered up, all seems well.  Great.  I’m thinking I just received motivation to get the Latitude D410 up and running.  Backup is under control, the Precision M70 could die tomorrow and it wouldn’t be so very painful, except on my psyche, having just converted my shop to Dell hardware.

02/14 Happy Valentine’s Day!  I got my Cingular 2125 Smartphone to sync with the exchange server via my Desktop machine today!  I’m not clear on what I did differently.  Hopefully, tomorrow I can sync the iPAQ 2795 via my Precision M70.  I had a hard time deciding on a dessert for Avery’s birthday party this Friday, so I ordered the ingredients for both.  Turns out one significant ingredient was unavailable for today’s grocery shipment.  Funny how fate makes decisions for us.  That’s when I realized a significant ingredient in the other dessert was also missing, though on my bill.  Off to the grocery store.

02/15 When I did this morning’s manual backup of my application software server I noticed all sorts of DLL errors.  Rent-A-Geek is here, she’s going to reboot that server.  One of two things is going to happen; a) The errors will go away.  b) The server will “blow up”.  The suspense is killing me.  I’m happy to report that server seems to have rebooted just fine.  Though Rent-A-Geek has been on the phone with Microsoft for most of an hour now trying to resolve our FAX issue.  I don’t leave until she does.  So much for getting home in time to make that dessert tonight.  I didn’t leave my office until 7:50, a whole four hours later than I had hoped.  At least the time wasn’t wasted as I kept at the fiddling with my settings to get the iPAQ 2790 and Cingular 2125 to sync.  Mission accomplished!  It came down to four measly characters; “.com” at the end of the domain name. 

02/17 Avery and I are housebound by the cold weather.  The Furnace Maintenance/Repair Man woke her up from her nap, but we forgave him since it turns out one of our furnaces was broken and he fixed it.  We had a little party in celebration of Avery’s first birthday. 

02/18 It’s so nice to be able to work at home!  107 minutes, 5.75 miles, 3.2 mph, HR=127 and “Monster” on the treadmill this afternoon.

02/19 110 minutes, 5.50 miles, 3.0 mph, HR=122 and “Psycho” the 1960 black and white on the treadmill this after noon.  A hugely productive day:  Laundry, taxes, knitting, exercise.

02/20 I had a hard time getting my car started this morning.  My theory:  When I moved it in the bitter cold Friday night, I didn’t let it run long enough and the electronic fuel delivery system got messed up.  Seems fine now.

02/21 My Insurance Man stopped by the office today and had much to say about my driving.  Seems he passed me on the road this morning and I was so focused on my driving he was unable to draw my attention to his wave, my hands precisely at “10” and “2” and I was going 69 in a 70 mph zone.  Yay me!  A month ago, he wouldn’t have been able to catch me, much less pass.  He assured me I won’t lose insurance coverage over a few speeding tickets.  I’m really not worried about that, it’s just the principle of the thing.  And besides, it won’t last.  Tonight I made roasted red pepper soup and I must admit I’m ashamed of myself.  Years ago, my Mother gave me an Immersion Blender for my Birthday or Christmas.  I’ve never used it.  A few weeks back I made such a mess of my kitchen while pureeing Ginger Carrot Soup that I figured I had nothing to lose by trying the Immersion Blender.  WOW!!!  Thanks Mom!!!  Now, perhaps I ought to drag out that Ice Cream Machine . . .

02/22 It was light when I got to work this morning!

02/23 I visited with my Dad at lunch time today.  I am now 100% converted to Windows Mobile 5.  The only device I can’t get to sync is the Treo 700w, but I haven’t tried real hard because for some reason I just don’t like the device and will be selling it on eBay just as soon as I can stop at a Verizon store or call Customer Service and have my account disassociated from it.  The next PayPal?

02/24 Just as I finished telling Jim how tired I was of all the dump trucks . . . I hit a BIG rock.  Most likely dropped by one of those #_)(%(*$&%(*&@$@$)*(#$&%(*@(#&*$ dump trucks.  My car is now pouring it’s oil all over the garage floor.  A flatbed is on it’s way to haul it to the Dealer and I’ve arranged to pick up a rental car at the airport later tonight.  Avery and I had a good day today.  She discovered the walker, scrambled eggs and toast.

02/25 99 minutes, 4.5 miles, 3.0 mph, HR=107 and “Along Came Polly” on the treadmill this morning.

02/26 150 minutes, 7.5 miles, 3.0 mph, HR=125 and “Cold Mountain” on the treadmill this morning.  Migraine.

02/27 That wasn’t oil on the garage floor, it was transmission fluid.  The transmission pan on my car is broken.  The onboard computer is telling them a few other strange things that must be checked out as well.  I’ll be lucky to get it back this week.  I realize I have stood up the BugMan twice, but I think he’s punished me enough already and I would like to leave for work.  Turns out I’m not on the BugMan’s schedule for today.  Great.

02/28 Avery and I went to an indoor park this morning.  She really wasn’t quite old enough to enjoy it enough that I felt it was worth exposing her to all those drooling and snot nosed kids.  Germs.  Ugh!  After a thorough hand washing we did find a park bench in the sun next to a “river” where we had a picnic lunch.