Blog BNB

Members of Easy Company from Band of Brothers

Last night I watched quite a bit of Band of Brothers. I have seen the entire series a couple of times. I can only comment on the things that I have seen but for all I have seen in movies and television shows Band of Brothers and Deadwood are among the best that there are.

I cannot believe it is almost 13:00. After I weighed-in today I went to Lowe's and got some more mulch. I spread three of the four bags of black mulch in the front yard and then the sky let loose (rain). I have one more bag for the front and I unloaded the four bags of brown into the garage. They may get done some time this week depending upon how accurate our weather reports are. They are calling for rain for, pretty much, the rest of the week.

Well, I did crack the 50 pounds lost mark by losing 1.2 pounds to making the total lost 50.2 this year. I still want to lost about another 30 but I am fine where I am if I even stop right here (remember the Al Sharpton discussion from yesterday?).

I am pretty sick today. I have a sore throat and a stuffed-up nose and I have aches in pretty much my entire torso. I think the sore thing may just be from the damn constant aging my body is doing. I guess the only way that is going to stop is by my body stopping all together (did you all just say that at the same time?). I guess aches and pains and stuffed-up noses and coughs just remind us that we are alive. I might take a nap after I get done writing this as Cha Cha won;t be home for another three hours or so and it is a nice rainy day on my last day of a three-day weekend. I fear, though, if I do that I will not answer the 05:00 wake-up bell on the morrow. I have always been a pretty good waker-upper and a light sleeper so I doubt that would really be an issue.

I saw a report today that we (you and I and whomever) can rent celebrity's homes through Airbnb. Airbnb is what we used for the condo we stayed in when we went to Puerto Rico a month or so ago. We were very pleased. Ironically, one of the people's homes you can rent is Aaron Paul (Jessie Pinkman from Breaking Bad that I blogged about just yesterday, I believe).  You could also rent: Kevin Jonas' New Jersey home, Denzel Washington's Malibu home, Elizabeth Taylor's Palm Springs house for a mere $598 per night,  Mickey Rooney's home in Toanga Canyon for only $220 per night, Charles Dickens' London flat (apartment) for only $134 per night (you cannot even get a hotel room for that usually), Ava Gardner / Artie Shaw's house in L.A. for just $85 per night, Bing Crosby's house in Palm Springs for $675 and John Steinbeck's writing studio in Pacific Grove, Cali for only $175 per night. There are many, many more too. For me it is all about location, location, location though it would be cool to swim in Bing's swimming pool. I am totally sold on the Airbnb thing and, on our next trip I will check and see which celebs are renting their homes at that time.

I have more to write about but I feel like even more dog doo doo than when I started writing this so I am going to lie down for a bit before Cha Cha gets home. Thank you so much for dropping by today's Airbnb (blog and bologna). If you do want to write one of the blogs I would gladly give you a great rate - do you think Blogbnb (patent/copyright/trademark... pending) would take off? Have a great week of rain in the MIDDLEwest but make the best out of whatever Mother Nature bring you. TTTSunday?...MITM (out) TA! Here comes the rain again (now you have the Eurythmics song stuck in your head don't you or is that just me?) I linked the video there for you, just in case you need a fix.

Happy Memorial Blog

I didn't think I would write today because I feel like poop. But, if military men and women can put their lives at risk 24/7 for you and I perhaps I can fight through a sore throat and a cough for 30 minutes or so to figure out what to write about and then write something.

Cha Cha and I rented the movie Trumbo from Redbox the other night. I have always been a fan of Dalton Trumbo's work and, with Bryan Cranston playing him, it was even an easier sell. It was a really good movie. I am not sure if I wrote about it here but I also watched the HBO original film All The Way a week ago or so. It is about Lyndon Johnson's presidency and the things he was faced-with following the assassination of JFK. I suppose his greatest thing was to get the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968 passed. He appointed Thurgood Marshall to the Supreme Court (first African American justice). He signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Higher Education Act to improve funding for schools. He did many things to try to battle poverty in America. Was at the helm during the Apollo 8 program (first manned space flight), signed the Immigration Act of 1965, increased our involvement in Vietnam ... He did many great things and some not so great, as everyone who has ever lived has done. Fortunately, most of us are not in the public spotlight with our foibles. I recommend Trumbo greatly and All The Way goodly. Cranston has come a long way since Malcolm In The Middle though he was awesome in that show too. I just looked and he has eight films in post-production right now. I am curious about The Untouchables - he is supposed to play Al Capone. I hope he makes an appearance as Walter White in Better Call Saul before the series ends. I think it would be cool to even see Jessie Pinkman (Aaron Paul). My college radio station (WIDB) co-worker, Bob Odenkirk, says it will not happen but I don't believe him - IT WILL HAPPEN!

I think I'd like to go back to D.C. again (been 3 or 4 times)

It is Memorial Day here in the U.S. and A.. It is nice that we have days like this to pay respect to the memories of the peoplewho have given their service and lives to us so we can have many of the freedoms that have been fought-for by these people. I will not bore you with the story about how I was sworn into the U.S. Army as a military police officer until fate changed my path so I could meet Cha Cha and we could create two wonderful humans to carry-on after we are gone. There is always a silver lining but this was an easy lining to find; they are not always that easy. I consider the day of that path-change as one of the greatest days of my life in retrospect.

I like days like today. Cha Cha is off of work and we are both at home and getting paid to be here. We went out yesterday and bought a whole bunch of plants and flowers and a bunch of mulch. Our yard already looks like a botanical garden because of her green phalanges (not only her thumbs). She did some planting yesterday while I did the mowing. There is more planting and mulching that needs to be done so I am sure that is on the docket for today. I think she is spreading some mulch right now actually.

Maybe it is just the haircut?

I am kind of worried that I will not have lost the ONE pound I need to lose tomorrow to make the 50-pounds-lost mark. It will happen and, hopefully, it will be this week. If not, I will continue on my journey. I would like to lose another 30 or so so I can look like Mr. Potato Head as Al Sharpton does now. He probably wouldn't looks so weird if we didn't remember seeing him as heavy. I don't think I saw him while he was losing the weight so, seeing the beginning and then the final result makes the contrast stark.

Okay, I am gonna take some medicine for this cold that is trying to take over my body and then go out and haul some mulch around. Thank you for stopping by and thank you to everyone who has served our country so we could have our own yards to mulch. Have a great day and, most likely, I will blog tomorrow. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

You Zip in, You Zip Out. It's Like Blogging in Wisconsin!

Yesterday I mowed the lawn and right now I have a sprinkler on in the front yard. I always thought it was stupid to mow and then water so I keep doing it anyway. The watering is mainly for all of the flora and fauna that reside and/or hangout there but it is just creating more work for me for next week. I suppose it is all done so things look nice and I need the lawn mowing exercise anyway.

I was happy to see the Cardinals win last night. I hope I can have a rerun of that outcome tonight. I would have preferred a day game today and a night game tomorrow rather than the night game tonight and a day game tomorrow so I could have watched them both. I will be able to see the game tonight and maybe I will just record tomorrow's game and watch it when I get home in the afternoon. The trick is not hearing a score on the radio or having someone say something before I watch the recording. The DVR version also makes watching all of the beer and food commercials optional (I opt out).

Did you know that the first spam (not the pseudo-food meat rather the unwanted message) was sent by telegraph in 1864 via Western Union? Well, it was whether you knew it or not but now you know it even if you didn't or even if you did.

 No, it was not this movie (but I like this one too) 

This morning while I rode the stationary bike for 15 miles (it took 52 minutes which probably is kinda slow maybe but remember a stationary only measure peddling and doesn't count coasting) I watched one of my very favorite movies. I am sure it would not make many people's top ten lists but we are all the same and I think people will agree that they like it if they are near my age or have a similar sense of comedy. The cast is pretty good. It has, as actors: John Candy, Harold Ramis (who also co-wrote it), Joe Flaherty, Sean Young, Timothy Busfield, P.J. Soles, Bill Paxton, Warren Oates, Dennis Quade, John Larroquette... It was directed by Ivan Reiman. I know I am forgetting somebody.. oh yeah, Bill Murray who I like in just about everything he has ever done. I am sure you know the movie I am talking about by now, right? Great movie in my warped humble opinion. I don't even to put the title here do I? Now I am really thinking about what a great actor/writer/comic genius Ramis was.

After that I went over and weighed-in and found that I have lost another 3.4 pounds over this past week. I have lost exactly 49 pounds since December 29th. If I can lose 3.0 pounds one week and 3.4 the following week I sure hope to Helser that I can lose one stinking, measly pound before next Tuesday to make a cool 50 pounds lost in just about five months. Ten pounds per month (average) seems pretty healthy I think? I will not stop at 50 but that will put some nitrous oxide back in my tank.

I have a few things to get done before I watch Cardinals' game tonight; I am sure hoping for a series sweep though I do not have tremendously high hopes of that happening. Thank you so very much for stopping by on this gorgeous MIDDLEwestern day. I wish you a pleasant rest of you day and a great night. I will probably not blog tomorrow but who knows tomorrow will bring until it arrives? TTT? (Sunday at the latest)...MITM (out) TA!

Oh yeah, in case you didn't/don't know - the answer is Stripes!

Be well. Be Happy, Be Peaceful.

I Am Bushed - What in the Helser Does that Even Mean?

  So now I have to be mindful to be mindful, ARRGGHH  

I HAVE NO IDEA WHY SOME OF THE WRITING IS IN RED AND IT WILL NOT LET ME CHANGE IT!

My friend of 40+ years, Ed (you know who you are), posted something on Facebook about how 58-year-olds shouldn't spend all day fixing lawn sprinklers... I can so associate with this even at a mere 52. I am so sore this morning from quite a few things that I have done over the past few weeks. I also had a very stressful nightmare last night. It was one of those dreams that repeats itself infinitum which did not end until I woke up with an extremely dry mouth and crusty eyes. I have not had one of those kinds of dreams in a very long time. I am a worrier, always have been always will be, and I am sure that is the root of this nightmare. I really have nothing to be worried about but I imagine this is our mind's and/or body's way of working things out so our issues either don't carry over to our days or so we can work them out in a blog or by talking to someone about them and letting them go. I thank you for helping me to let this one go and I especially thank Ed for helping me to help myself in letting this go. We never really know what we are going to do or say that might impact someone else in a small or even a sever way. I will try to remain mindful of that today and, hopefully, beyond. I will probably also have to take a nap today after mowing and building another section or fence and grocery shopping and whatever else I wrote on that list yesterday. Yes, there will be a nap in there somewhere even if it doesn't come until 22:00 tonight.

Since the last paragraph I have mowed the yard, reworked the fire pit a bit per Cha Cha's specifications / recommendation (and, as usual, her vision was 100% spot-on), I reattached the vines above the garage door that had been beaten-up a bit my Old Man and Young Woman Winter (never refer to any women as old - NOT ANY!). I think it is really cool that we have two birds' nests in those vines now and the one is actually currently being used as I saw the birds exiting it when I began their remodel. It is a very wise place for nests (and they aren't even owls): pretty much blocked from the wind, just about six wing-flaps away from daily food supply by the Tiki Room, near people who would never harm them intentionally and would even defend them from predators, about six escape routes from trouble... Birds are pretty damn smart; they have evolved quite a bit from when they were dinosaurs (especially in size). I cannot even imagine having to rework dinosaur nests.

It looks much better installed and with a gate

It is just now 11:01 and I have a few other things I need to attend to: I need to go get two more sections of three-foot tall decorative fence and one gate so Jeff doesn't bother the neighbors as much this summer as they have their pool open now. It will also save some of our yard from his constant, destructive digging. I wish I could get him to use his digging more constructively to help put in those gate sections and plant flowers and bushes. He loves to herd things like water mist and smoke... So, Cha Cha bought him a battery-powered bubble maker that we have on a hammock post in the backyard. Splenda video taped him attacking the bubbles yesterday - you can see it on Jeff's Facebook page (that red underlined part is a link to his page). Splenda also tied to teach him how to turn it on and off by himself but he is not that mechanical; perhaps he is still sore about evolution over-looking canines in the opposable thumb department. I would hold a grudge about that one too I suppose.

I am gonna break again now to do some of my errands. I will be back soon to wrap today's blog up. It will seem like only seconds to you as I am like greased lighting. BRB...

Well, my goodness it is now 16:47. I went to Target and Lowe's and Menard's and then I came home and put in the new section of fence that I bought at Menard's. It was not as easy as I had hoped. Since the sections I added are on the swail the ground was not level I had to did a few trenches so the fence would work and the water would have to problem reaching the storm sewer. My back hurts quite a bit but it has for quite some time. Cha Cha says it is from texting and typing so much but I think it is from the work that I have been doing in the yard and elsewhere for the past few weeks. 

Walter White, Hal or Lyndon Baines Johnson?

I have on the HBO movie All The Way starring Bryan Cranston as President Lyndon Baines Johnson working on the Civil Rights Bill following John Fitzgerald Kennedy's assassination. I guess Cranston played LBJ on Broadway too. He is very convincing as President Johnson. I have always been interested in this era as Kennedy was President for a couple of months at the beginning of my life. Quite a bit happened during Johnson's presidency. No matter his reasons for pushing civil rights through it was a great things. Unfortunately, there are still many narrow-minded people in the world who think that their race or gender or political views or any one of hundreds of different things that people can disagree about are more valid than any other person's opinion. We all know we are right about everything but that is not possible if we disagree on things. We can believe what we believe and we can let other people what they believe and we can just get along knowing that our differences are what makes us who we are. 

I have loved Brian Cranston in just about everything I have ever seen him in. Did you know that, in the television show Malcolm In The Middle where he played the dad
(Hal) they never said what their last name was. There was one episode, however, when Francis wore a shirt with the last name, Wilkerson, on it. But, since it was Francis, it may have been a stolen shirt or a stolen name badge. Anybody who knows me well knows that I love trivia. That is a bit of Matt In The Middle trivia for you.

Okay, I am going to end this and hit the play button on the DVR because the DIRECTV loco is just floating aimlessly across the screen ever since I paused it to write unencumbered. Thanks for stopping by. I will blog again tomorrow after I weigh-in. I think I lost weight again this week so I will probably keep it that way until right after I weigh-in. Have a great night sleeping with the windows open again. Blog to you tomorrow... MITM (out) TA!

Be Well, Be Happy, Be Peaceful (now you know what that is all about too don't you?) TA!

BIG ASS BLOG

 I have been thinking like a Buddhist all my life if this is Buddhism 

It's Sunday morning at 08:33 and Cha Cha and I have been sitting on the patio for about an hour or so. It is already 70 degrees out and it is supposed to be around 80 degrees later on. We will be going to Geneva again this afternoon so it will be nice weather to take a longer walk in Wheeler Park this week with a picnic lunch. Th lunch will not walk, you understand, unless we eat that before we begin strolling. Then, of course, the salad will be inside of us and, of course, the salad will walk-along by circumstance.

If you have been following the blog for while you know that Jill and I had been going to Woodstock, IL every Saturday morning for quite some time. Then, when my life's schedule changed, we started going to Geneva last week. We will go there every Sunday no until who knows when? I never revealed why we went to Woodstock every week. I was ready to tell everyone right away but I respected Cha Cha's wishes and waited until she was ready to let the cat out of the bag. Well, she told some of the people at her work on Friday and now I have been given toe green light to spill-it too. She says that almost all the people she told thought it was pretty cool and there were one or two that gave disapproving looks. I know this build-up is making it seem ominous or foreboding or something but it is not. We started going to The Blue Lotus Buddhist Temple for meditation. I think it has really
helped both of us a great deal. For me, it has helped me let the little things go and let me let other people be in charge of their own journeys and let me focus on mine alone. I believe I am calmer now, I believe I am more quite and introspective, I don't judge people or things or situations nearly as much as I did before, I am far less materialistic... I feel that I am a better person and I feel I get better each day. Buddhism isn't really a religion in the sense that many people are used to but, I guess, anything that we do can become "religious" can't it? I have learned, just recently, that there are quite a few famous people that are Buddhists. Of course, we all know about Richard Gere but there is also: Jerry Seinfeld, Orlando Bloom, David Bowie, Uma Thurman, Rosa Parks, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Alex Rodriguez, Dennis Weaver, Herbie Hancock, Tiger Woods, Keanu Reeves, Leonard Cohen, Oliver Stone, Sting (Gordon Matthew Sumner), Marcia Wallace,Tina Turner, Bill Clinton... I could go on for a long time but you get the idea. Incidentally, I did not know these people were all practicing Buddhism until I researched it - I am not meditating to be like the rich and famous. Even if I stop practicing in a brick and mortar facility I will continue to meditate and try to become better and better each day. The breathing techniques I have learned have helped me in many, many ways.

 This one is not even as big as many BIG ASS FANS as I have seen 

Within the past few weeks I became aware of one of my favorite companies ever -  Big Ass Solutions. I love the Big Ass Fans especially. They really call a spade a spade. These fans could turn our Fiat into a helicopter I believe. That makes me think that we have been thinking Buddhist much longer than we have been meditating - the Fiat has ecology plates with the tag reading EXIST. I am so easily entertained and amused I guess. I am like a ten-year-old when I see the words BIG ASS FAN written on the blades of a big-ass fan.

Tomorrow I have to mow the lawn and change a natural gas line for the drier. Cha Cha says she smells gas in the laundry room and, though I do not, I will switch-out the line. When I checked the line is pretty taught since I stacked the washer and drier and I certainly would like to err on the side of caution. I will get a longer line and that should be a pretty easy thing to do. I hope those don't turn-out to be famous last blog words. I also have to fix the vine above the overhead garage door. The wind and the winter did quite a number on it and the fines are starting to grow pretty well and we don't want our garage door to look like a briar patch though it would be a cool driving through vines to get to the hidden Matt Cave in The Black Maria (I never understood why that was spelled Maria but pronounced Mariah).

It is now 10:29. My services were required in the backyard for some of the heavy lifting and rusted screw removal. I am glad I have the talents of being able to lift heavy things unscrew tight screws or I might be put on the curb some Thursday night for a Friday morning pick-up for a free right to Mount Trashmore.

I am happy to see that the St. Louis Cardinals seem to be coming-around. They are still in the toughest division in baseball so far this season with the Chicago Cubs jumping out of the starting gates pretty well and the Pittsburgh Pirates playing well too. I may try to get to a Sunday. Monday or Tuesday game at Wrigley Field this season when the Cards are in town. I must say that I like just watching games in my living room. The Cubs and the Cardinals start a three-game series tomorrow in St. Louis. The first two are night games and the one on Wednesday is a day game that I will be unable to watch live. I guess I will DVR it and watch it when I get home that night. It may still be gong by the time I get home? The birds are seven games being the baby bears so a sweep would be very helpful. No MATTer what these two teams always come to play when the meet-up.

Okay, I am going to wrap-up and head back out to see where my might needs to be used. I hope you have a great Sunday and the weather is good for you wherever you may roam. Thank you for stopping by and I look forward to blogging to you again tomorrow between my honeydews. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

Bloggering Succotash!

It is 10:19 and Butkus Jeff and I just got back from our 4.35 mile jog. It was not all jog as there were too many fire hydrants on our journey; I am going to have to find a more fire hydrant-free route next time I take him with me.We just went out of the back of our subdivision and thorough our old subdivision, past our previous house, and then down the bike path back to where we started. I would have liked to have done more pavement but he did not seem interested. I will write here for a few minutes and then I will head down to the basement to ride the stationary bike for five - ten miles before I head-over to weigh-in. Supposedly I have burned 583 calories so far today according to my watch. When did our watches replace Richard Simmons, Jack LaLanne and the 20-Minute Workout?

Okay, it is 10:30 and I am heading down to do some spinning. Why did riding a stationary have to become "spinning" for awhile? Spinning makes me dizzy but riding a bike in place does not have that effect on me. Oh. well... I will be back to write more in a few hours but it should feel like nanoseconds to you. Incidentally, one nanosecond equals 1e-9 seconds but I do not know what that means. Now I am really gonna be back or I will not have time to shower before weigh-in.

I'm back like magic (not Johnson). It's 13:43 and I: weighed-in, went to the grocery store, came home, folded another load of towels and ate lunch (a salad, of course). I lost three pounds over this last week which makes just over 47 total pounds lost on this go 'round. I think I will have a parade when I have lost 50 pounds. Sadly, losing 50 won't even be quite enough for me to be happy that I have crossed the finish line but it will be on sight from there. Man, I was really quite robust - more than just pleasantly plump. Now I am really tired; I did eight miles on the bike at a pretty good pace after writing those last two paragraphs. I may take a nap though I still have many things I want to get done today.

 Sylvester Popeye or Popeye Sylvester? That is the question 

I am not hungry and I am already thinking about what I will have for dinner. I think I will have - wait for it - SALAD! I, seriously, cannot get too much salad. I realize that I would not feel the same if it weren't for giardeniera but "if it works go with it" has always been one of my mantras. I think I may try to duplicate the spinach corn succotash that I had at California Pizza Kitchen this past Sunday. I bought all of the ingredients yesterday when I was shopping and now I just have to whip them all together. I will cut a few corners to make it even more healthy: I will use olive oil instead of butter and I will used reduced-fat Feta rather than the full-fat version. I will probably work celery salt in there somewhere too I suppose. I love cooking and experimenting in the kitchen and, once I have this perfected I will share it here if I remember to do that. I cannot hear the word succotash without thinking about Sylvester (the cat) and I cannot think about spinach without thinking of Popeye the Sailor Man. Maybe I will call mine just Popeye Sylvester or is Sylvester Popeye a better name? I suppose the corn is the color of Tweety Bird too isn't it? I bet giardeniera

I have to get a few more things done now before my new four-day week begins. Thank you so very much for stopping by and letting be blather-on. I hope you have a great rest of your day though it seems a but chilly again here in the area of the MIDDLEwest. I may sneak a blog in here or there before Sunday but, if not, I will blog Sun, Mon, Tues. TTTWhenever I have blogging time...MITH (out) TA!

Be well. Be Happy. Be Peaceful.

Go Ahead, Make My Blog!

Good thing he was wearing a batting helmet (hardhat)

Happy Monday to many of you and Happy Hump Weekend Day to many of my new friends who don't even know my name and, therefore, do not know I have a blog and they are not reading this. I believe that telekinetic energy will reach them, however, and they will get the message and think they just thought of it themselves. here.

I ended-up mowing the front and back yards yesterday so I have that out of the way. I also trimmed one of the trees in the backyard of dead branches, At one point I had to take an ax and chop one of the trunks or whatever the large off-shoots of the main trunk are called. It took about 40 whacks so I called it Lizzy Borden's Mom. I was very impressed with my accuracy in the swings - I knew I played baseball for a reason. I was also very happy that I used to work in the construction industry and I was wearing a hardhat as branches were Henny Pennying all over my head. I also was smart enough to tie the branch being chopped to the tree further away from the house so said branch would not cause State Farm to up our monthly payments. I have found lately that State Farm is not as good a neighbor as they claim to be. It was not anything that caused us to lose any money or property... but I realize they are not either the Hatfield or McCoys depending on which one we are.

Tomorrow is weigh-in day and I am right where I was last week according to the scale up in this hizzy. If one pound is lost by late tomorrow morning I will have reached another lower decade in the weight world. If that happens it is only ten more pounds until a lower decade. Yesterday I mowed the lawn (front and back), Cha Cha and I walked around Wheeler Park in Geneva, we went to Menard's and did some shopping and then we came home and worked on the yard, and I trimmed a lot of dead branches off of one of our trees in the backyard and chopped one of the dead offshoots down. I loved chopping that tree. I felt like I was hitting home runs in The Polo Grounds. When I began some of the bark started raining down around me so I went into the garage and got a hardhat. Now I was the Mighty Casey (Matty Casey) at the bat (an ax) wearing a batting helmet (hardhat). I am really happy that I put that hardhat on because I would have had my bell rung at least eight or nine times. See, the past does come back to save us sometimes; had I not worked in the construction industry I would not have had a hardhat and I would have had some sense knocked into me yesterday. Incidentally, I did also tie-off the trunk I was chopping to another tree so it would not have a chance to falling into our house. SAFETY FIRST! I was really happy that I still have a pretty good swing and I could hit the sweet-spot over and over again.

Girl oh girl the day sure did get away from me. Those last two paragraphs were written at about 09:00 and it is now 17:01. In that time I shopped at four stores for various things - mainly groceries and items for the projects I have been doing for the past six hours or so. I put up a section of three foot high fence between the Tiki Room and the privacy fence. That totally encloses the area where I feed the squirrels and the birds. Jill is planting a lot more flowers and vegetation in there too and Jeff likes to dig stuff up. He was helping her dig-up and dividing her plants for this new area. I cleared away some more brush from the tree tree that I chopped down a section of. While Cha Cha and I were in Geneva yesterday Fabio cut down some more dead branches up high in that tree and tomorrow, weather permitting I may do some more batting practice and try to cut down the other dead section. It is leaning away from the house which is good. This is a much taller trunk and the girth is greater than yesterday's too. Gravity will do most of the work after I get done with my batting practice. Maybe a lightning bolt will hit it tonight and I can make my own Wonder Boy. I thought I had written about the chopping of the tree yesterday but when I added the WONDERBOY photo I realize it was from this morning writing and it is just above here. Thank goodness I have one more weekend day left to get my mind back together.

While I ate lunch (yes, it was a salad if you must know) I watched a bit of Dirty Harry, I have not seen that movie for many years and it is still a great movie. Harry Callahan has to be one of the best movie police officers ever. I have not seen many thing with Clint Eastwood that I have not liked. The westerns, Gran Torino, all the Dirty Harry films, Million Dollar Baby, Escape From Alcatraz, In the Line of Fire, Flags of Our Fathers, Every Which Way But Loose, Unforgiven, Trouble With The Curve, A Perfect World, Heartbreak Ridge... I am sure if I consulted that thing on the computer than lists stuff for us I would be able to add several others. He's almost always a bad asterisk in his movies - what we'd use to call a guy's guy. Those movies don;t even include the ones that he directed and produced and didn't act in.

Okay, I am going to quit for now. I am pooped and my hump weekend day is almost over. I am going to go shower and put some clean clothes on (maybe even pajamas; it's okay to sit around in my Hugh Hefner pajamas and eat a salad for dinner if I want to, right? My Playboy Bunny Cha Cha will be headed home soon too. Thank you so much for stopping by: you do a good deed every time you do because you make a fellow human being (or something relatively close to that) happy. I hope you have a great night and I will blog again Sunday which for me is tomorrow though it is difficult to figure which days are which when there are three days off. I do know that it is weigh-in day tomorrow and I am going to have lost three pounds this week (positive thinking). TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

Be well, happy and peaceful!!!

Sundae Blogger!

Tomorrow will have been a weeks since I have blogged. Now I am a Sunday Blogger I suppose. I remember, from when I was a yute, hearing adults saying people were Sunday drivers. I never understood that as a kid but, I supposed that it meant they were taking their time, driving slowly and enjoying the scenery rather than hustling and bustling. Maybe Sundays was the day of the week when people could just take their time rather than hurrying to punch the time clock? I wish we would all be able to do that a little more thee days if that is the true definition.

Over this past week I have met A LOT of new people. People from every ethnic group and every age group and people with every possible shoe size and jacket size and inseam. I like meeting new people. I have met quite a few people who think everything is about them. I must admit that I was guilty of that for quite some time but now I am more of a listener than a personal public relations firm. Hard to believe from a guy who has already written the word "I" thirteen times so far in this blog not including the one just typed. It is difficult to find a different word to use for one's self each time referring to said self. Most of us have heard the phrase, "we were given two ears and one mouth so we could listen twice as often as we talk." The person writing this blog right now has been trying to practice that mantra but it is more difficult for some than others. It took this typist a bit to finally grasp this but now he is better for it he thinks.

It is nice to be on my three-day weekend. Everyone should be on three-day weekends every week. It is nice just adding two hours (from eight to ten) to each of four days to make the 40 to have an additional day off. It is only 06:01 and my tiredness from the week has already washed away. It is probably more about attitude than anything else. Almost everything in life is more about attitude than anything else probably.

This afternoon Cha Cha and I are heading off to Geneva for what we had been doing in Woodstock every Saturday for the past three or four months. My new schedule made it impossible to go yesterday as we had been doing for quite some time (I am not sure if using the word "me" makes it less about "I" and more about "me").

Not sure "weather" to take a golf cart or a canoe for this water hazard

The backyard needs to be mowed. Not sure whether to do it today (the only full day I have with Cha Cha this week) or wait until tomorrow or Tuesday. The weather (rain and temperatures) lately make me think I should get it done whenever I can which means today. The golf course closest to us in town, River Heights, is almost completely under water from all of the rain. It is supposed to be partly sunny today and tomorrow and tomorrow is supposed to be warmer than today so I think tomorrow may be lawn mowing day. I don't mind mowing the lawn. There are few things that we can do in life that we immediately see the the amazing results like mowing our lawns. Plus, the walking behind the mower helps us get some extra exercise. Isn't it nice (and amazing) how the modern technologies make us want to get more steps? We were always told and led to believe that technology would make us fatter and lazier when, for many many of us, it has done quite the opposite. We certainly are a resilient species aren't we?

Okay, enough from me for today. Blogging should probably happen again tomorrow because the withdrawal was getting pretty severe with the writer of this one though he kept himself more than occupied in other ways. Thank you for coming back after the mini hiatus. I cannot say or blog that this will not happen every week but maybe less is more in this case as in many others, I hope you have a great rest of you weekend. TTTT (most likely)...MITM (out) TA!

I Guess the Kidding Around is Pretty Much Over

I may have my work cut-out for me but I can be stealthy when called-upon

I feel like I have not blogged in weeks and, as I began this, I see that I just wrote n Friday. Is that a sign of addiction?

I just went out and mowed the front yard. After that, I came in the house and went upstairs and got the computer. I looked outside the bedroom window and saw the squirrel lying (not sure if asleep or awake) in the gutter home that he.she made not long ago. I video recorded and put part of the building process on my Facebook page (here is the link if you are interested - before it goes viral because squirrels can carry disease). It is a pretty ingenious place for a nest. It is within leaping distance of a tree. it is on the roof which leads to a higher roof and about six escape routes, there is very little human traffic where it is and it is directly where I throw out seed and corn and nuts at least one time a day but most times twice a day). You don't think a squirrel under my care would be dim do you? I will wait to clear the gutters when we get a rain and, then, if we have a drainage issue. I am too big-hearted most of the time I think. Of course, I cannot help but think of Carl Spackler in Caddyshack though.

COMING SOON!

The day after tomorrow means the beginning of a new chapter in my life's journey; I am excited. I like change and I adapt fairly well ordinarily. I will be home every night of the week and I will have a three-day weekend every week. I am not really sure what to expect and I have a few details, very loosely related, that I will need to work-out shortly thereafter.

I am happy that I will still be able to weigh-in on Tuesdays. I am a creature of habit in many ways. At the moment I am a bit up weight-wise this week. I believe I will still be down for the week by weigh-in time tomorrow. I have been down every week since I started this program except for the one week that I was up 0.2 pounds. I know I will not continue to be down every week and I was down more than four pounds last week but I am very competitive (even if it is just with myself and against the previous week). I will probably ride the bike in the basement for 5 - 10 miles tonight and then do another 5 - 10 in the morning. I hope I can stay this motivated until I reach where I ultimately want to be even though I am not completely sure where that finish line is.

This ticket would make sense

Who will be Donald Trump's running mate if/when it comes to that time? Chris Christie maybe? Who will be Hillary Clinton's running mate should she get the nomination for the opposing side? Would Bernie Sanders accept that nod? Elizabeth Warren? We have a lot more drama and bologna ahead of us before the general election. I am so over it already. I will vote because I ALWAYS do but I will make no decisions until I know who I am deciding between.

Alright, I have to attack the kitchen now before the troops start piling-in again. I hope you have a great night and thank you for stopping by. Oh. and now the washing machine is yelling at me to empty it and make the drier take it's turn. When are these machines going to work together and leave me out of this. I will probably blog again tomorrow. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

The Super Mega Friday Extravagansblog!

I love that the The St. Louis Cardinals were on ESPN yesterday afternoon after the water heater was installed. I ate lunch and watched the game. I let it get quite a bit ahead so I could fast forward through a lot of the time-killing talk and the commercials. I believe that is the first Cardinals game that I have seen all season. I have listened to almost every game on the AtBat app on my phone but this is the first one I caught with my eyes. It was also nice that they beat the Phillies. I listened to the game on my phone the previous night and they won that one too. Hopefully, they are turning things around. They have scored more runs than any other Major League Baseball team so far this season (162) but, apparently, they are either scoring them all in the same games or not scoring enough when their opponents score. It will all sort itself out but The Chicago Cubs are still looking really good. Incidentally, the Cubs are the second highest scoring team in the Majors right now. The Cardinals' team batting average is higher than the Cubs' average too - the season is still very young I keep telling myself.

I woke-up exhausted this morning. I had a dream that I had been participating in a hostage situation at The University of Illinois. I was not sure if it was just a training exercise or there was actually a hostage/terrorist threat on the campus. No MATTer which it was I woke-up more tired than when I had gone to bed. It wasn't even a real thing it was just a dream. I suppose our minds do not know the difference since they are experiencing the same stimuli either way. Stupid brains!

Mother's Day is only two days away now. It looks like we are going to a local restaurant with my parents and Cha Cha's brother and his wife along with Splenda and Andy. Most of the people who will be there are orphans now. The only three with parents alive will be Splenda, Andy and I. So, it is more like Orphan's Day than Mother's Day, really. Fabio will not be able to attend as he has an eight-hour shift that day.

Tomorrow will be the last weekly visit to Woodstock for Cha Cha and I as I will be working Saturdays starting next week. At least we get one more week and it sounds like it will be good weather this Saturday. We will have to figure-out a new date ritual / day... It looks like we may start with Sunday evenings in Geneva. Perhaps we will even check that out this Sunday? But I don't know if I could handle excitement two days in a row.

I am hearing many people calling this upcoming Presidential election "negative partisanship." What that means is rather than voting for the party you support people will be voting against the party they dislike more. People will vote for Trump because they don't want Clinton as President and people will vote for Clinton because they don't want Trump as President. I think, at this point, it really is important who they pick as their running-mates. Bernie Sanders may help Hillary. I know Donald said he would pick John Kasich but Kasich has already said he would not accept that position with Trump. It sounds like Trump is talking about Ted Cruz as his V.P. candidate now. Rand Paul? Whatever happens it will be tabloid-worthy entertainment with our country's world reputation and position on the line. No big deal!

I wish we could go back to the days when we had very limited television and radio stations played music and our worlds were smaller. I realize we cannot go back but, when these things all exploded, the planet (at the very least, the United States) lost its innocence. I remember even the 1970's being a much different time. Perhaps I have changed a lot and I just notice these things now and they were always there but I do not think so. I could just be older and crabbier and pickier and it is my age that has just changed my perspective. Whatever it is I don't care for it much.

Enough gas from me for today. I am going to have a salad and then go to the supermarket. It is odd that they have called grocery stores for most of my life and there are now super stores. I wonder what the next phase of large grocery stores will be called. Thank you for stopping by and reading some things that you agree with and some that you don't agree with and others that you just ask, "huh?" I hope you have a great day - it looks like it will be a good one here today. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

Not Ted Cruz Endorsed

I hope God told Trump the same thing because He seems to be off-track right now

Is God a liar or are Ted Cruz and John Kasich liars? Cruz and Kasich both said that God told them that they would become President. Co-Presidents? Why would Cruz and Kasich ever drop out of the race after hearing this? Do they not trust their God's word or did they use he Lord's name in vain? I remember that 700 Club host/owner/conman... Pat Robertson once said that "the lord told me" that Mitt Romney would defeat Barack Obama to become the 44th President of The United States of America. I am not railing on religion because I love that people can find something that helps them navigate life and someplace to find their peace and answers. We all need to know that we are not alone from time-time. I do, however, have a problem with people manipulating other people by and with lies. I have never seen God and I doubt that I ever will but I think people who use the idea of a divine being to manipulate others is an abomination. Using peoples' own beliefs and hopes against them to further your cause or line your own pockets is among the most despicable things I can think of. It is like a Shepard leading innocent and hopeful lambs to their slaughter.

The movie Antwone Fisher is on right now. I cannot ever watch this film without crying a few times. It is a really good movie; you can never go wrong with a Denzel Washington flick. I didn't even know that it was based on a true story until right now. I have always liked Derek Luke (who portrays Fisher in the movie). You may remember Luke as Boobie Miles in Friday Night Lights (the movie not the television series) or as Sean "Puffy" Combs in Notorious... I predict an Academy Award for him eventually if he continues to act.

The plumbers are here now installing a new water heater. We are upgrading to a 50 gallon tank from the 40 gallon tank we have now. The price really was not that much different and it will increase the selling features of the home (unless we die here), I guess, if we do die here, it will increase the sales value of the house for Splenda and Fabio. It will also let us have hot water if all the sinks, spigots and showers are in use.

The old water heater just rolled past me and they are waiting for the new water heater to be delivered from wherever they get their water heaters from. I still smell good from my park district shower yesterday but I know that though some parts of me smell like roses eventually I will have to avoid noses. I love warm showers - they are my 1,343rd favorite thing. I feel bad that Jeff is stuck in the backyard but we have a large fenced-in backyard and Jeff likes to be outside. I have a feeling that he is lying under the patio table in the shade. I may take  short break from writing this and go throw the Frisbee for him - he is an amazing Frisbee catcher (360's, half-gainers, eight-foot leaps into the air, over-the-shoulder no-looks...). He could be in the Doggie Olympics I believe. Okay, he became a disc hog and didn't want to give

Woo hoo, the new water heater is ascending down the basement stairs in front of my right now. We should begin producing hot water up in this hizzy again within the hour (probably much sooner but I am willing to wait for 50 gallons of clear heat). The water should be heated by the time most of the residents of this flophouse return for the evening. I may sneak a shower in before they all get back home. I am willing to take a cold bullet for the family.

Fabio bought The Revenant DVD and handed it to me and told me that I should watch it because I would love it. I have liked Leo DiCaprio in almost everything I have seen him in since What's Eating Gilbert Grape. I will probably watch it later but I will wait and see if Cha Cha is interested first. If she is I will wait for her. I don't really know much about the film other than he is in it, Tom Hardy is in it and there is a bear in it and that Leo won an Oscar for Best Actor and it won Best Director and Best Cinematography. The film, crew... also won many other awards (Golden Globes, BAFTA, Screen Actor's Guild...).

I think I will wrap-up because I am hungry and the salad in the refrigerator is calling my name. Did you know that in Europe salads are served after the main meal whereas we in the U. S. and A. normally eat our salads at the beginning of the meal. I, being a MIDDLE man who likes to keep the peace most of the time, make salads the main course of my meal so I am true to my European roots (not a vegetable connection) as well as to my foster country of the United States of America.

We have hot water now for the low, low price of merely $920.07. I probably got raped but, since I volunteered, you cannot rape the willing or consenting I suppose.

Have a great day and enjoy the nice Spring weather (hopefully it is as nice where you are as it is here right now). Thank you, as always, for stopping in. I really appreciate you so very much. I will probably be able to blog again tomorrow and I will try to do something interesting today so I have something to pass-along tomorrow. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

I am Already Snoring I Bet

Welcome back Friend! I am happy to see you again today. May the Fourth Be With You!

It is only 12:27 and I am bushed. Bushed and petered-out and dragging donkey and plumb tuckered-out and wiped-out... you get the idea. It probably has a lot to do with just being MIDDLE-aged.

Last night after the pilot light went out on the water heater three of the household members went four or five houses to the East and took showers at Cha Cha's brother's and sister-in-law's (The Lost Sock and The Found Sock) house. I figured I would just wait until today and take another cold shower. After mowing the lawn in shorts in 47 degree weather I decided I needed a warm shower so I went over the the park district's Sports and Recreation Center and took a warm shower there. We really do take warm water for granted when the water heater decides that it is too old to carry-on. So, the plumber dude is coming back either today or tomorrow to look again and probably put in a new water heater. Another $500- $800 right after a vacation - sweet. I paid him $80 for the service yesterday but he said he will put the $80 from yesterday toward whatever he charges for the new heater and the labor.

After I took my Rec Center shower I decided to drive to my new job (where I go for orientation one week from today) and time how long it takes to drive between point B and point A and visa-versa. It took me eight minutes and 39 seconds.

When I mowed the backyard I noticed that the part of the fence that I installed about ten years ago or so was leaning slightly toward the neighbor's yard. The fence is on the property line and it is one of the swails that carries the rain water and such to the backs of the lots toward the drain sewer. I pulled the fence posts our way and bungees one to one of our trees and bungeed another one to a railroad spike that I drive into the ground. See, why I don't hire somebody else to mow my lawn? Had I not mowed the yard I never would have seen that and might have gotten missed. I also like the exercise of walking the yard mowing and weed-whacking. So, now I have to figure out how to permanently solve the fence issue. Well, nothing is permanent so I will have to find a medium-term fix.I sure am glad I had bungees and and a railroad tie in the garage.

I am trying to avoid this (our fence is imitating the Republican Party)

I heard that Ted Cruz has dropped out of the Presidential race and it appears that Donald Trump will be the Republican candidate on the ballot when it comes to election time. I would not call that a lock as The Donald has always done things that nobody could ever predict. I think the Republican Party is going to undergo some big changes as Ted Cruz is hinting that he is going to back Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. That is probably just sour grapes after losing but it will be entertaining to see what happens next in that clown show.

I think we should have stayed in Puerto Rico. I mowed the lawn this morning in shorts because I follow the maxim that shorts should be mainly worn after Spring has sprung. That reminds me - isn't Mother's Day this Sunday? Speaking of Spring,we can use our front door again and save the electricity we were using to go through the garage most of the time. The birds' nest on our front door wreath is empty and the birds have moved-on to bigger and better things. We had been going though the garage door for several weeks while the eggs were there and then while the chicks were young. I bet they are still close because they know where their daily seed comes from. That reminds me... there is a farmhouse right across from the entrance to our subdivision and yesterday, while I was driving toward the entrance to come home, I saw four baby bunnies crossing the busy road all by themselves (probably running from Mr, McGregor's garden no doubt) and as I approached they just stopped in the road. Of course, I stopped the car and they just stood there. I put the car in park, with the hazards on, and went to get out to shoo them but, when I opened the door, they scurried away. I do not harm any living being on purpose and I save any life whenever I can - occupational and liberal hazards. Mosquitoes may be the one exception to that rule but that is only out of reflex.

That looks like the four I saw alright!

This coming Saturday will be the last Saturday that Cha Cha and I will be going to Woodstock because of my new work schedule. We are going to change our weekly trips to Geneva on Sunday evenings I think. We really enjoy our weekly trips and Geneva is much closer that Woodstock.

Speaking of rabbits, I think I am going to end now and have a salad. Salads make-up about 80% of my diet these days. I have not grown tired of them at all. There are so many ways to change salads which makes it easy to eat that way. I must say, as many salads as I eat, I think I eat even more bananas. I might also take a nap because I am plumb tuckered-out. Now that we are all showered I think I would prefer that the plumber calls and says he will come tomorrow because he got too busy today.

Thank you for stopping-by. I wish I weren't so tired and had more to write about but I am and I don't. I do have to start some laundry before I hit the rack or the couch. I wish it were warmer so I could hit the hammock. I hope you have a great rest of your day and you have an even a better night. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

Hello, Mainland America!

Home again, home again, jiggety jig. What a wonderful trip we had to Puerto Rico. Cha Cha and I both agree that Puerto Rico makes more sense for us that Hawaii. We loved Hawaii but it was a lot more flight and a lot more money to get there and back. If we lived in California we would probably feel differently. I bet we go back to San Juan again before our ride on this rock ends.

pretty cool caves and such on our night-time kayak work-out

We did so many great things over the past four days. We: spent a lot of time in the ocean, walked up-and-down the beach many times, visited a castle in Old San Juan from when pirates were pirates, kayaked at night in a bioluminescent bay, gambled in a few casinos, took our lives on roads that would make New York cab drivers wince, hiked to the bottom of a rain forest (Fabio and I did) before getting thrown-out at the bottom because of a flash flood warning and then having to hike back to the top, ate a lot of great food and drank quite a few fun drinks... The people there are very friendly and quite hospitable.

I went and weighed-in today after getting back from living like an islander for a few days and I can say, based on losing 4.2 pounds in one week of which four of those days were traveling and islanding (yes, that is a new verb I just made-up), that island life is a healthy way of life. Like any other way of life, however, you still have to make the right choices of food and exercise. So, now I have lost a total of 43.6 pounds since December 29th. That is, what seems to me, a pretty healthy loss of 2.4 pounds per week on average. I feel like have lost about half of what I would like to lose; I should be where I want to be by the end of August if things continue to progress (or digress, maybe) as they have been going.

We still have not hot water in the house. This morning I had the heating/air-conditioning man come over and take a look at the water heater. He could not keep the pilot light going either. So, he put me in touch with a plumber who I spoke with and he is going to try to get over this afternoon and take a look at it. He thinks he can get us three or four more years out of this water heater if it is what he thinks it is. If not, it may be another $1000 to replace that water heater rather than the $100 for the four or five year deal. We never know which decisions are right and which ones are wrong in our lives because we never see the outcome of making the other choice. We just make the best choices we can based-on the information we have and we live with the results and go from there depending on what occurs thereafter.

Thank you sir, will you inspect the other?

I forgot that I got the pat-down at the airport by the TSA (Transportation Security Administration). Supposedly it was random but I felt racially profiles. It worked-out well because my testicles were itchy anyway. Then, when we got to home after landing in Chicago I went to unpack and saw that the one suitcase that we checked had been gone-through by the TSA. It was nice to put the suitcase on the plane in San Juan and go to Charlotte and not have to pick-up the suitcase and then take the next flight from Chicago to O'Hare and the suitcase was there for us. I wish we would have come straight home from San Juan as the plane we took from Chicago to San Juan had better entertainment features, I assume, because of the longer time in the air.

I wrote a lot of notes while on the trip but I am too tired and lazy to get them. I have already done all the laundry from the trip so I am happy to have that done. I also did some laundry and grocery shopped (two stores) and went to the bank and baked eighteen eggs which I will peel when I am done writing this. Incidentally, I have found with the baked hard-boiled eggs they are better if you peel them as soon as they cool. If you peel them later they are kind of slimy though they can be rinsed to make them normal again. Okay, 18 eggs peeled and refrigerated.

It is 13:27 already and no call from the heater dude; my guess is I will be seeing him tomorrow instead of today. He thought that might be the case but we both hoped it would be today. It may still be today, stranger things have happened.

The heater dude came and got the water heater going and now it is out again and I cannot light the pilot light again. I called and will await his new call tomorrow morning. UUUGGGHHHH

Crap, now it is 19:49 and I have done lots of important things since that last paragraph and now I am going to end. Thanks a lot for stopping by; I am happy and thankful and fortunate that you do. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!