My training hasn't been quite as neglected as this log, but instead of trying to untangle all those little slips of paper, I'll just start over with tomorrow's ride.
At yesterday's picnic, I went into the walk-out cellar to get cool three times. The first time, I stepped off the platform inside the door without thinking, staggered around a bit, and thought "I'm glad nobody saw that." The second time, I thought, while opening the door, "I must remember that there's a step down." I stopped on the platform for a moment, then strode off it so heedlessly that I ran across the room and regained my balance by clutching the back of the sofa after colliding with the wall.
The third time, I fell prone, rolled over, and the cold tile floor felt so good that I decided to stay there for a while. When people came in, I told half the truth and got up -- in the process discovering that I'd bruised both knees. (There *still* isn't any mark!)
The knees got stiffer and stiffer as the day wore on, and by evening I needed to pull on the doorknobs to get out of my typing chair. I didn't notice any improvement when I got up in the middle of the night, and started to worry, but today the knees didn't inhibit anything -- though they still hurt when I get out of a chair.
I just tried Dave's pedal exerciser, and I *think* that it will be safe to ride tomorrow. It's only eighteen miles and if I trim two long side loops and two zig-zags, I can make it into a twelve-mile ride.
Knees still sore this morning, but I didn't notice them during the ride.
Just stood up and sat down again. No pain attributable to the bruises.
One disaster on the ride. When I put my cycling shoes back on in front of Meijer, I balanced my sandals on top of a pannier and forgot about them. After trying to put them on at Walmart, I went back to Meijer without seeing them along the road, checked the lost-and-found, and retraced my route to Walmart without seeing any brown lump, and only one red-orange one on the wrong side of the street, which I made a U turn to inspect more closely. (The sandals were in an Owen's bag.)
The sandals had worn down enough to expose the cavity inside one heel and would have lasted only a few more weeks anyway, and I'd already found a similar style in my size and bought it, but I needed sandals if I wanted to get off and walk. Walmart had flip-flops for ninety- eight cents multiply displayed, and I got on fine with go-aheads when we were in Hawaii, so flip- flops would have done for one lap around Walmart, but I continued, hoping to find shoes that I could wear again. Lo and behold, around the first corner there was a pair of size seven lace-to-the- toe sandals such as I've been eyeing but haven't found in my size, exactly long enough and not enough too narrow to put extra strain on the straps. $16.82; $1.18 tax brought it to an even $18.
Turned out that after I put thick socks on (I wore them barefoot in Walmart) I could ride in them, though not as comfortably as in thicker soles. So I wore them all the way home from Aldi.
While wearing them barefoot, I kicked the wheel of a shopping cart -- with the same toe that had caught the end of a twig on Monday. Seems to be mostly healed now; it's still sore, but I have to squeeze it to tell.
Hah! Google maps says that it's exactly two miles from Meijer to Walmart. So I can simply add four miles after calculating the distance.
To Goodwill by way of Beyer Farm Trail: 4.9 miles
To Meijer, 5.4 miles
To Walmart, 7.4 miles
To 175 E, 11.4 miles.
I stayed on 174 E instead of going by way of 300 E. At five o'clock, this was a big fat mistake. But I suppose Wooster would have been crowded also.
Weird. I remember deciding to go straight instead of turning left at 75N, but I also distinctly remember approaching 30 on 250 E. I took no notes between Walmart and Aldi.
To Holiday Inn, 15.7 miles.
I didn't actually go there, but I'm out of waypoints and that's a reproducible point that I passed close to.
Holiday Inn to Aldi, .3 miles. And I've figured out how to save the last destination and make it the origin, so I won't need a reproducible point next time.
To home, 2.4 miles.
Total 18.1, plus four, 22.1
Yesterday, I rode home from Owen's in thirteen minutes, despite a long stoplight and a suicidal squirrel. Thanks to hard braking and a lot of luck, the squirrel made it across Park Avenue. It was a little brown one.
On Sunday, I forgot to climb the stairs, but didn't go straight home despite having forgotten my water bottle. I did get an extra half- flight in fetching the first-aid kit for the people attending to a man who had fallen down the back steps. He didn't seem to be tracking, and the ambulance took him with them when they left. A fire truck arrived a few minutes before the ambulance, and I was amused to see that they were wearing bunker pants. I refrained from telling how the girls of the ambulance crew at the gas explosion kept trying to get the guys out of their pants. Bunker pants are a pain to get in and out of, but you can't rest properly if you are being steamed.
The gas explosion was the only event I attended where the auxiliary called mutual aid.
Tomorrow we're promised good weather for extending the trip to the farmers' markets into a tour, but there is no place to go on that side of town. I definitely don't feel up to going to Mentone and everything else is either boring or "been there, done that". I could put in a couple of extra miles by coming back by way of The Farm -- but I'll have already bought produce.
I've been giving mostly-serious thought to taking a lap around the fair grounds. If I could strap the rolling walker to the bike, I definitely would go.
Didn't feel like fair food; bought a couple of bananas at Owen's East and went to The Farm, where I bought a couple of yellow squash, there being nothing else of interest except corn, and we still had an ear of what I bought at Sweet Corn Charlie
Yesterday the usual walk and no drama. I remembered to climb both sets of stairs, and didn't go straight home.
I left out a lot of zig-zags when asking Google Maps how far I'd gone. The ride was short for such a nice day, but a reasonable accomplishment in walking shoes.
I passed through the fairgrounds market. Forgot to bring my winter accumulation of egg cartons. Walked around the courthouse market, didn't buy anything. There were scotch eggs, but I'd had a slice of pizza for breakfast. I've decided that I'm not all that fond of them anyway.
Dithered a bit, then decided to go to The Farm to add a few miles and justify having brought a bottle of the sweet tea that came with the pizza. At that point I realized that I'd forgotten to put my bag of snacks into the cooler, so I stopped at Owen's and bought two bananas. I'd also forgotten that I'd meant to bring milk, but didn't think of it until I got back.
I realized recently that I should save some of the eight-ounce water bottles that Dave empties and use them to carry milk -- I sometimes use pint- size mayo jars, but always end up hauling them back -- I could toss flimsy plastic bottles into any trash can. But I usually eat a packed lunch out where there are no trash cans. Anyhow, the plastic can be squashed if I need the room.
Went to Lake street by way of West Street. Walked through Everything Outdoors, paying little attention to the merchandise, stopped into Open Air Nursery, where I saw "curry" among the herbs. The tag didn't say it was edible and did say it was grown for ornament, so I didn't buy it. I wrote the latin name down and looked it up in Wikipedia, which said to pick it out of the stew like a bay leaf -- it named some twig, not bay leaves, but I can't be bothered to re-read the article.
So I need to go back to Open air before all their herbs die of tight pots. There's a dab of motivation for next Saturday, but the ten-day forecast says Saturday will be wet. Perhaps I can work up enthusiasm for a lap around Winona Lake tomorrow. Or I could take Fox Farm up to Walmart, except that I don't want anything at Walmart.
I took Fox Farm to 200 N, bought squash at The Farm, 350 W to Tippy Park, where I ate one of my bananas, back to Chinworth Bridge, 100 N, pit stop at CCAC, where the only potable-water faucet is behind a pay wall (luckily I only wanted to top off as a matter of principle), Chinworth Trail, more-or-less straight home, with stops at the Recycle Center (closed: stopping point for tomorrow?), Home Sweet Home (boring), pit stop at Owen's West, where I bought raw-milk cheese from the WooHoo display, Sherman & Lin's, where I bought three food bars and ate one. Not bad; perhaps I should go back and get fifteen for a dollar. Then Lakeview Plaza, where I was startled to see an International Market. Bought some chinese sausage (will go back to get more), forgot to take further notes.
And today I went back for more sausage. Also got a can of corned beef. There are some fresh veggies, but I don't know how to cook them -- or whether to cook them.
I stopped at the teller machine, at Lakeview Plaza, Sherman and Lin's (15 granola bars for a dollar), Warsaw Health Foods (Vitamin C powder), the recycling center (cool off; read part of a book in the freebie room.), Owen's (pit stop. Wanted some hot fried potato wedges, but they didn't appear to be sold separately). Open Air Gardens Center (the curry plant was marked down), Tippy Park (lunch), backtrack to CCAC (pit stop. Couldn't read the menu on the concession stand, but didn't matter, since I dare not stand in line. Also, I'd just eaten a banana, a half-pint of milk, a granola bar, and a piece of the candy I bought at Warsaw Health Foods.
I was at the Arbor Vita grove from 14:27 to 14:29; spoke to the householder, who was concerned for my welfare. Also stopped along the Heritage trail to sit on a bench and re-arrange my beverages.
Not pestering Google Maps with details:
Senior Center to Sherman & Lin: 1.1 miles
to Warsaw Health Foods: 1.8 miles
to Recycling Center: 3.1 miles
to Open Air Garden Center: 4.1 miles
to Chinworth Bridge: 6.6 miles
to CCAC: 7.0 miles
to Parks-Schram Road: 8.5 miles
to 1979 S 400 W: 11.5
from 1979 S 400 W to Widaman street: 5.5 miles
to Senior Center: 7.1
Total: 18.6
I really should have continued to 350 S, but I was getting poohed in the heat.
I sure wish one could still buy top maps. The things I find on the Web say "topographic map", but convey no information. And come in teeny snippets.
I suppose I could have turned left onto Country Club instead of right. It would have given me an extra mile, and I could have taken a look at the dam.
Forgot to climb stairs today, but probably walked a little farther than a mile.
Had some tingling down the outside of the thigh on the way home. I think I overdid while pulling weeds yesterday.
It took me sixteen minutes to ride to Dr. Ashton's office yesterday, and twenty-seven to come home.
Now let's see whether I can figure out how far I went the day before.
Squirrels cancelled my trip to Rentown Market. Having heard that Warsaw Schools had a chicken yard, I resolved to go see it, and stuck to my plan to inspect the school complex after learning that it's Wawasee High School that has chickens. I did see the bike rack that an Eagle Scout designed for Edgewood middle school.
I went south on the Heritage Trail and kept turning right until I got to the dam on Eagle Creek. I intended to follow Prairie to Logan Street, but absent-mindedly followed Columbia onto Godman, at which point I remembered that Edgewood has an entrance off Union Street, next to Hollar's office.
Looking at the map made me remember that I never notice crossing Eagle Creek on Union Street, so I blew Satellite View up to maximum -- and I still can't see any sign of a bridge. It's too much of a creek to flow through a culvert.
There's a slight climb just before the dentist's office, and it surely must begin at the creek -- perhaps that distracts my attention.
The routes I used inside the school complex aren't in Google's database, so I'll tell it I used SR 15 and CR 100 S to get to Logan Street, instead of emerging from Edgewood's back door. I found a ladies' room at the athletic field, but no water fountain.
Eh, Google says I looped around in Edgewood, went out their back door, and followed Logan to 100 S. That's close enough. 6.9 miles.
8.4 miles to Owen's -- but, having stopped at the athletic field, I didn't go to Owens, but went straight to Crystal Lake Road and followed it to Tippy Park.
Asking Google to route me to 350 W took me over the Chinworth Bridge to the intersection with 200 N. The side trip to Tippy Park is too short to bother with. 14.1 miles.
Hey, asking it the way to Open Air Garden center gave exactly the route I took. 17.4 miles. I stopped at The Farm and bought a green pepper.
I believe that I went directly to the Beyer Farm Trail. 19.7 miles.
Then I followed the Trail to Lincoln Street and Owen's. Google says I used Harrison; close enough. 21.0 miles.
Then I backtracked to International Foods. Oh, man, Google really, really doesn't want to admit that Owen's has a back door, and I'm out of way points.
From Owen's to International Foods, 1.4 miles
To Winona Lake Senior Center, 2.5 miles
Total: 23.5 miles
Home-Aldi 2.5 miles
to Taco Bell 3.5 miles
to K-Mart 4.3 miles
to Old Orchard Drive 5.6 miles
to Martin's by way of Roundabout 7.3 miles
to Beyer Farm Trail 8.1 miles
to Owen's 9.0 miles
to Winona Lake Trails 10.7 miles
Google routed me up Argonne again. And had me crossing Center on McKinley. I do sometimes cross Center on McKinley when going north, but it seems much more difficult when coming back.
Saturday is still predicted to be clear and dry, and it will be the second day of the festival in Pierceton. I want to go to the Farmer's Markets in the morning. The two rides would add up to barely twenty miles, but I don't recall ever succeeding at dropping something off at home and going on. The festival goes on into the evening; perhaps I should plan on taking a nap and then going.
There is supposed to be an old ford west of the Chinworth Bridge.
I forgot to climb stairs at church today. I did put in a few miles yesterday -- I went to the farmers' markets, came back by Beyer Farm Trail and Owen's Supermarkete, took a nap, and then went to the Pierceton Days festival. I was shocked, horrified, and deeply offended to find that the water fountain in Brower Park wasn't operational. A resident told me that they turned it off last fall and never got around to turning it back on in the spring. Luckily, it being a festival, there were tents selling bottled water -- the library and senior center were closed, and none of the businesses in town are the sort that have public fountains. I imagine that one can buy water at the Marathon station too.
There also weren't any portapotties, or I failed to notice them. But the convenient bush beside Arnolt Drive is still there.
Farmer's markets tour, about 6.7 miles, 3 hours 16 minutes, including nine minutes to turn back and swap a half bottle of tea for a full bottle of water. (I didn't take a sip while rolling out the driveway!)
Add to Pierceton: 13.8 miles
to Van Ness: 15.8 miles
to Winona Lake: 21.1 miles.
Got back poohed. I'd meant to take a break at Aldi, but a few drops of rain hit me on Wooster Road, and I'd bought two books, so I stopped to put more plastic over them and rode straight home.
Small tragedy: I didn't notice that Harvest Church was selling their lovely apple dumplings until after I'd tanked up on Baptist french fries with cheese sauce.
And if I recall correctly, Harvest either didn't attend the tomato festival, or didn't sell apple dumplings.
Extended dump tour yesterday, with a pause to check out the connection to Tacos Jalisco from Ellsworth Street. Getting across the railroad involves climbing and descending a pile of ballast, so I didn't, but I could see the traffic on Detroit, and thought that there were enough holes in it to cross. But upon leaving, one would have to either cross again, or ride *on* Detroit all the way to Canal Street.
Considered getting to it from the north, then crossing to escape, but Google says that it's nine-tenths of a mile from Anchorage, which is rather more Detroit than I care to handle. To Canal Street is only six tenths of a mile.
To Owen's, 1.3 miles. It's actually 1.6, but I'm measuring from the Senior Center.
Backing up, from Senior Center to Fort Wayne Street behind Owen's: 1.4 miles
To Beyer Farm Trail: 2.1 miles
Skipping the side trip to the ER
To Ellsworth Street: 4.1 miles. I rode back and forth a few times, but it's a very short street.
To Goodwill, 5.4 miles
To Meijer: 6.0 miles
Skipping the side trip to Panda Express
to West Bell Drive: 7.0 miles
to Walmart: 7.9
I missed the turn onto 175 N, and turned left at the end of 75 N.
to 2998 E. 100 N, Warsaw, IN 46582: 15.4 miles.
And I'm out of waypoints.
from 2998 E. 100 N, Warsaw, IN 46582
to Animal Shelter: 2.4 miles.
I arrived at four fifty-nine to see the staff pulling out of the parking lot. I paused to change shoes, and one more person left, but she referred to the place as "they" and didn't know what size pieces I should cut my old quilt into.
I went directly through parking lots to Tractor Supply (stopped at a store that said "Western", but it was closed). About the same distance as going by road.
to Aldi: 4.4 miles
I didn't like that section of US 30, but despite it being after five, I was able to make a proper left turn, without ducking into De Puy and darting across two lanes, two right-turn lane/shoulders, and a median when the light finally changes.
To Senior Center: 6.9 miles
Total 22.3
Kin I claim 2.7 miles of walking, and call it a century? Walking is four times as much effort per mile as riding.
I was in Meijer nearly an hour, and Walmart was only two minutes short of an hour -- I thought I darted in and out to check for canned sausage. And I was in Aldi about three- fourths of an hour.
I was on my feet long enough to walk 2.7 miles without the multiplier.
I'm feeling the skipped nap this morning, but perking up now that it's nearly nap time.
Beyer Farm Trail to Ace Hardware, then backtrack to International Foods. Cool weather. Sunny; parked in shade when possible on account of the tomatoes and corn. Forgot to look for fruit.
I really, really miss odometers.
I went to the dentist on Wednesday, and spent the rest of the day wandering around town. I bought some bungees at the auto parts store where Kroger used to be, then backtracked to the health- food store and the fairgrounds. The weekday farmers' market starts at two, not two-thirty, which pleased me and disgruntled the fellow I bought little tomatoes from.
bridge over Eagle Creek on Union
Street The bridge is hardly noticeable
when moving, but when I stopped and looked on my
way back, I had a clear view of the creek.
The upstream side didn't look like much of a
creek; more like a deep place in a swamp.
Then I crossed the road and walked back on the
sidewalk -- which had a chain-link fence to keep
Edgewood students from falling into the creek --
and saw that the bridge serves as a dam to calm
the upstream side; there is a large and turbulent
flow coming out of the tunnel. And a
blockage on the north edge perhaps deposited
during a flood. The dirt pile looked very
old.
Which reminds me of the new picture over the dentist chair. (Actually, I think I was in the room to the right of the usual one.) It was a falls as big as Niagara, and I spent a lot of time reflecting on what a nasty surprise the calm-looking water above the falls would hold for an unwary boater or swimmer. I also meditated on what a high-resolution camera had taken it, because the rainbow suggested that they had cropped off all but the upper left corner of the shot, and there were a *lot* of pixels in what was left.
Ink-Free news said that Smith Street would be worked on on Tuesday and Prairie Street on Wednesday, so I figured that Smith Street would be great and I'd have to go around Prairie. It was the other way around.
Smith Street was covered in fine gravel or coarse sand that had been beaten into the tar in the wheel tracks, but was loose in the "bike lane". On Winona, there wasn't even any tar under the sand; only the auto lane had been treated, then the sand had been trafficked into the "bike lane". Fortuneately, I wasn't on Winona very long. I met a street sweeper cleaning up the other shoulder on Smith Street.
Work had not yet begun on Prairie, and I had it pretty much to myself. I got to the office in fourteen minutes flat, which I don't rightly believe.
I looked down Prairie on the way home, and didn't see any sign that work had begun, but continued downtown on Union. I meant to have lunch downtown, but none of the restaurants appealed to me, so I followed the Beyer Trail to KCH, planning on lunch in the cafeteria, but found the door locked: lunch is over at one o'clock. So I ate one of my emergency candy bars and bought some goodies at Warsaw Health Foods, but the only package I opened was the sesame crunch. Been a long time since I saw anything but the little sticks; I much prefere the kind that looks like peanut brittle.
Bought bungees at Auto Zone on the way to Warsaw Health Foods even though they didn't have the bulk package that I wanted. I bought two pairs of 24", the size I use the most.
Now I need a point of interest for tomorrow's Farmers' Markets tour. Could go the The Farm on the way back, but I already have corn (Dave went to Sweet Corn Charlie today.) and summer squash. and I'll get more little tomatoes at the fairgrounds market.
If I had a companion, I could go look for the ford that the Chinworth Bridge replaced, then have lunch at the Crazy Egg, but I strongly dislike waiting to be served with no-one to talk to.
I took a nap, then rode to Aldi for chocolate and cheese.
I was planning another split tour for this coming Saturday, but the Tomato Festival closes at four, which means that the latest I can arrive and expect to see some of the stuff still there is three, which means that I must roll out at two. I think I can manage that, if I don't start out late for the markets, don't dawdle, and get to bed promptly. Then I can have a liesurely ride back by way of Van Ness and Sprawlmart.
But I must take enough water for the entire trip, since all the public fountains are in institutions that will be closed.
Thursday is supposed to be a perfect day: clear, and a comparitively-low high temperature. Perhaps I can work myself up to *finally* visiting Rentown Store.
Got rained on coming and going, but not while riding from Rentown to Miller's Variety Store and back.
I never saw rain hit anything but my windshield, and there were only a couple of minutes when I put the wipers on "low", and not too many when it was on "interval" instead of me flicking it on and off manually.
It was a little too cold for what I was wearing, and I wasn't in the mood to ride. Miller's is closed on Thursdays, but I found white colby at Woodland Variety on the way, and bought a piece on the way back. In the Nappanee-Bremen area, a "variety store" is a grocery. I saw plain people shopping at both Rentown and Woodland. One was a woman riding a cargo bike, but I thought it rude to walk over to take a closer look, so I'm not sure she wasn't pulling a trailer. Didn't see any provision for buggy parking at Rentown, but there was a bicycle- parking area on the east side -- strictly for bikes with kickstands. A boy I spoke to said "all that way?" when I said, while changing shoes at Rentown, that I planned to go to Millers.
If I'd taken tea, perhaps I'd have put in the extra five miles to see Hilltop Craft and Variety. But that's just as well, as it started raining while I was putting the bike back into the truck.
And I was stiff after supper; sixteen miles isn't much, and it was almost perfectly flat, but about half an hour of driving in each direction is hard on the legs. Not to mention the rotator cuff.
I'm not sure how long the drive was; I forgot to write the time in my notebook both of the times that I started the Toyota. I left in the neighborhood of eleven, and arrived at Rentown at 11:40.
I returned to Rentown at 15:09, and had all my stuff back in the truck at 15:25. Then I bought cheese, after wandering around in the store and standing in line at the checkout. After putting the cheese into the cooler, I reflected that even though it's a short drive, I *am* seventy-six, and went back to the ladies' room. Rentown has automatic lights but, thank goodness, non-automatic toilets. There are two stalls, one for handicapped people, and one as big as handicapped stalls used to be.
My post to rec.bikes.misc pretty much covers it.
Didn't mention that I rode past Noa-Noa with an empty salad box in my pannier, and didn't go in to buy a piece of key lime pie to go. I don't know whether this was missed opportunity or great restraint.
26 August 2017
Did go; used only two handkerchiefs per tour, but had more handy. Morning was the usual farmers' markets tour, except that I ran into my niece and nephew at the Center Street market. At the fairgrounds market I bought three pints of little tomatoes (yellow, orange, and red. The orange are the best.) and put them into two Little Salad Bar boxes I'd brought for the purpose; they fit the bottom of my insulated pannier neatly, and allowed me to pack stuff on top of my tomatoes. I didn't buy anything at the Center Street market, but I did have a couple of food bars and some spare handkerchiefs on top of the boxes. (I carry table napkins as handkerchiefs.)
In the morning, I diluted the remaining sour switchel with the rest of the older switchel base and some ice cubes. Upon return, I dumped the lemon peel and basil (which by then were in plain wateer) onto the winter savory, and refilled after my nap with the new switchel base, strained orange juice,fresh basil, and ice cubes.
I put a bottle of plain water into the other cage, and two bottles for the trip back into a pannier, grumping at the space they occupied and cussing the town of Pierceton for turning off its only drinking fountain. Then the dime dropped and I fished a one-liter tonic bottle out of the recycling bin. Holds as much water as two bike bottles, takes up less space in the pannier, and I can throw it away if it gets in my way. And at Aldi, after buying a bottle of cherry juice that I wanted its space in the pannier for, I did empty the bottle onto an ornamental bush and threw it into the trash can. Also refilled the bike bottles, which had lasted that far.
Took two more Little Salad Bar boxes to the festival, but boought only one tomato. I'd had my eye on another, but the booth packed up before I got there. Putting first things first, I'd bought a plate of fried green tomatoes and a bowl of apple crisp under a pint of homemade ice cream before shopping for tomatoes.
At Aldi, I manfully resisted the urge to buy a box of Little Salad Bar potato salad and throw the empty box after the tonic bottle. (Spouse isn't supposed to eat carbs.) I did buy a package of beef snack sticks, because I had a craving for somenthing salty.
On the way to Pierceton, I was overtaken by a boy in Lycra, and met him coming back when I'd almost reached the town.
I calculate that it took me about forty minutes to get from Pierceton to my private steps behind Aunt Millie's Outlet, and close to the same to ride from there to home. I've deducted the pauses in Aldi and Big R, and the time spent changing shoes on my private steps.
I always wonder why the steps were built; I did once see a long-haul trucker use them. What a long-haul truck was doing on 250 East is an equal mystery.
Walked to the bank. Took less than half an hour, but not much less. Trip back took about the same time.
Drove to Tractor Supply, stopped at Big R and Aldi on the way back. I don't seem to have annoyed my rotator cuff. I think that it's long straight stretches without much movement of the wheel that get to it.
After my nap, a short ride to the Wednesday Farmer's Market to buy two pints of tomatoes and a very small melon. I stopped too long at International Foods on the way back and got rained on. Not wet enough that I needed to change clothes. Sprinted the full length of the village.
In the morning, garden work: bury a duck, push the cultivator around, and dig up nine potatoes. That's the best hill so far.
Lot of catching up to do, but I don't feel like sorting little slips tonight.
I went to the Wednesday Farmers' Market, just there and back with no side trips.
I came back from today's Saturday Farmers' Markets by way of Aldi and Dollar tree. My notes say that it took twenty-seven minutes from downtown to Aldi, and forty-five minutes to get from Aldi to Dollar Tree. Google Maps says the whole trip was 10.7 miles.
My hip hurt me whenever I walked, and I used shopping carts as walkers. It still doesn't want me to rest more than half my weight on my left leg.
I hope I have the guts to use the walker on the way to church tomorrow, no matter how good I feel when I wake up.
No guts required, but I didn't need it except as a substitute for the retaining walls that I usually sit on when I need a rest. I got the wheels dirty
My Friday the Thirteenth tour: to Panda Express, 7.2 miles. I went by way of the KABS office, and crossed the railroad on Bronson before riding back to Owens to dump my bags. The usual dump tour from there. I followed Anchorage, 175 E, Patterson, to the construction zone:
Oops, out of waypoints at 175 E and Patterson. I was planning to consult my map, since I couldn't remember what Patterson was called at that end, but when I got to the intersection I saw a small sign leaning against a stop sign that said "Martin's this way".
Is there a stop sign at that intersection? Whatever, the waymarker was supported by another sign.
It was ten point six miles to this point.
And 1.3 from there to a wild guess as to how far I went beyond the roundabout, 1.6 to the road leading out of Harrison School, 2.0 miles to Clear Water Car Wash, which is behind Aldi. 3.5 miles to Owen's. Or a spot on Fort Wayne behind Owen's, which is as close as Google Maps can come to showing the way I went.
And 4.8 to the Senior Center, for a total of fourteen point fourteen -- 15.4.
Google said I took McKinley instead of Cleveland, because you can't cross a parking lot. Or a three-foot strip of grass, which probably added about as much as avoiding Cleveland removed.
Pasting in my post to rec.bikes.misc.:
Came back sweaty -- it's hard to dress for fall weather. In hot weather, at least you know where you're at. It doesn't help that it's been decades since I could buy wool clothing, and today I was dressed mostly in mostly-cotton. (Perhaps I should have gone into Meijer's to look over the leggings.)
When I empty a bottle of water into a saucepan and boil tea leaves in it, there is usually considerably less than a bottleful to pour back in, but this morning there wasn't enough space to add orange juice, so I squeezed a lemon that's been in the crisper tray ever since July into it and added a little honey. I didn't squeeze the lemon very hard, and put the remains into a jar of water and chilled it for later reference.
I'd drunk only part of the tea at the turn-back point. To avoid diluting it, I topped it off with some of the tea that came with my "kids' meal" and drank water with my rice after I'd drunk the rest of the "Panda Passion". I figured that one bottle of tea and one bottle of water was as good as two bottles of water. I didn't finish the tea until I got to Aldi. At which point I drank half the bottle of water. I didn't go back in to refill the bottle, as I'd bought frozen food and I was nearly home.
I think I was ever so slightly under-hydrated on the first leg of the trip, but I arrived at Aldi in excellent condition.
There was no traffic on Husky Trail at all -- the construction was visible from the intersection. A sign said it was open as far as Canterbury House Apartments, but I don't like to share a road with construction vehicles, and I strongly doubted that there is a walking path from Canterbury to the completed part of the road.
The good news: they appear to be making the road wider. The bad news: they are definitely putting CURBS the full length! The curbs on Old 30 West aren't bad because there is a whole extra lane for cars to get around you, but on Husky Trail, "wider" is a long, long way from "wide".
More bad news: I stopped at KABS to ask whether I could take my bike with me -- I'd thought I could overcome the boredom problem by having them dump me in Silver Lake and other places I can't quite reach. But the clerk explained that they have no bike racks and it's against the law to allow bikes inside because they might shift during a sudden stop. I didn't bother to explain that I know how to secure a bike so it doesn't shift -- a bright line is a bright line.
And if they did have racks, they'd still be useless to me because I cringe at the thought of carrying my bike on the outside of a vehicle, not to mention that I like to carry the bike loaded up and ready to ride. It takes at least ten minutes to pack it when I've got the conveniences of home. Not to mention that I couldn't fold the panniers without removing the reflectors, which would take tools, and the screws are *not* stainless and most of them have been there ever since I wore out the previous pair of panniers, so it might not be *possible* to remove the reflectors.
The trip was fifteen point four, give or take a mile.
What a long post! That comes of missing my nap. When I was in school, I could always manage to churn out enough words to fill the required number of pages just by staying up late.
Walked to church and back, climbed both staircases, did "pushups" at the top of each. Climbing to the prayer room required me to open a chain saying that only the audio- visual team was allowed in the balcony. That appeared last Sunday; I was minded to do Club 56 a second time, but didn't.
I had to unlock the prayer room. Took me a minute to figure out how to lock it again, because you don't do it with the key.
I climbed only one staircase Sunday -- and lay on the futon for a while before doing my pushups and going back to the kitchen.
Laundry Monday, sewing today, checking out the bridge tomorrow. If it looks usable, I'll go to Leesburg on Saturday, with "Black Ice" in a newly-refurbished insulated pannier. Assuming the prediction of a clear day still holds, that is.
Time to get all those little slips of paper out of my notebook so I can have a clean sheet for tomorrow.
Friday the Thirteenth appears to have been thorooughty transcribed.
Wednesday 3 October 2017 -- appears to have been a quick afternoon dash to the farmers' market.
Saturday 7 Oct 2017 is stricken off, but still in the notebook because of the note "front brake". I finally saw to that tonight, with Dave's help; all it needed was a shot of TriFlow in the pivot. I wiped the rim thoroughly with a rag afterward.
Saturday 2 September 2017 -- looks like a Tour d'Warsaw, but I didn't get home until 16:16. The Banner for the following day says "Spent yesterday wandering around on my bike". The notes give few clues as to where; Owen's is on there four times. Something reminded me of the chunks of spray-booth paint that Uncle Ralph polished up; apparently I thought that I couldn't possibly forget what. I eventually figured out that "Bann:Picnic:Owen" must mean that that was the day that I noticed that Owen's West has a picnic table hidden away with the trash cans, and that I had something I wanted to say about it in the Banner.
"AG: shirt pocket" -- I had an idea for a column, but I'll never know what it was.
Oops, the notebook isn't clean; there are more on the other side.
Wed 5 July appears to be a dump tour with return through Sprawlmart. Began at 10:18. ended at 19:57. I must have meant to count up the miles later when I made the 6 July entry in this file.
Banner says I "rode around Pike Lake", destination Walmart.
Saturday 23 September 2017 -- Farmer's markets, with return through The Farm and Walmart. Two untranscribed notes: the first was a reminder to write something hysterical in the Banner about going to see whether the only water fountain in the CCAC had been shut off for the winter, only to find that it had been removed and the pipe was capped. They didn't even leave the faucet!
The second note, written after finding the foutain capped and before recording my arrival at Tippecanoe Park, is "Revised Leaves", just that and nothing more. I recall peeling leaves off the golf-ball sized cabbage I ate with my lunch at Tippecanoe, but I'm pretty sure that isn't it.
Whatever, I was out from 09:59 until 18:00. That was the first time I ever got off before ten, and didn't know how to write a time with only three digits.
Two slips for Saturday 30 September 2017: A figure-eight tour. I went to the farmers' markets in the morning, and to Aldi's last day at the old location. The notes I took for the Banner don't have green lines through them, but the following day's entry covers all of them.
I keep a green pencil under XP's monitor, for marking off notes as I transcribe them. Notes of expenditures get marked off with the red pencil kept beside the machine that Quicken runs on.
Or, rather, with the vermillion pencil that I bought by mistake for red. I've grown so accustomed to it that red mark-offs look wierd.
And now the notebook really is clean.
I don't have much time to read my funnies, and I'll have to postpone today's paper and most of Usenet.
Read most of Usenet and got to bed late; woke up at eight anyhow, and might get off before ten.
At 9:59, to be exact. It was before 4:24 when I got home. Felt later; I thought I was late to feed Dave when I was two hours early! (We shared a Jimmy-John submarine.)
I learned that crossing the bridge on a bike going north is quite out of the question; I had to dismount and walk in the grass to get close enough to see the construction. But I want to use it coming south, to get home before my chicken thaws, and if I am the last man to cross the bridge, which should be easy to arrange, I'll have sole possession of the southbound lane until the northbound people clear the bridge and the next platoon of southbound people start from a standstill and catch up -- I rode back to 300 N. Got a late start because of having to cross the road and mount up -- mounting up takes a while these days -- but I made it to Sheldon Street before the platoon arrived.
Clearwater Drive isn't very far north of the Tippy, so I won't have to ride on much of SR 15 north of the bridge, and Sattellite View suggests that I'll be able to stand beside the road and wait for the end of the platoon to pass.
I went first to Ace Hardware, by way of Lincoln Street, then to the Emergency Room, then to Goodwill, then to Sheldon Drive by way of Bell drive, side trip to Taco Bell, where I ate a taco salad, which sat rather heavy when I got back on 300 N and had to climb hills.
At Sheldon and 15, I waited through two changes of light without getting a left arrow, and I was the only vehicle on Sheldon at the moment, so I went straight from the right edge of the left-turn lane, then made a U-turn on 350 N and a right turn onto SR 15. When the shoulder gave out, I dismounted and walked in the grass. When the grass gave out, I was close enough to see the bridge. Alas, I was so engrossed in studying the traffic flow that I didn't observe the state of the construction. I didn't even identify the piece of earth-moning equipment that I had to avoid after crossing the highway. But they have until the end of November to finish the work.
Thence on 300 N to Sylveus Crossing, stopping from 13:05 to 13:14 at Madison School, to lie on one of their benches and digest. The thought of climbing hills on gravel with a full stomach made walking up a steep hill sound good, so I crossed 30 on Sylveus Crossing, instead of on 200 W as I had intended. Once across, I went to The Farm to verify that they are closed for the season, then turned back to follow Fox Farm to Lake Street. I left The Farm at 13:35 and passed where Avila used to be at 13:49. Spent 14:07 - 14:14 at the North Lake Flea Market (boring) and 14:28 - 14:31 at the fairgrounds farmers' market, where I bought three pears.
I used up all my waypoints getting to the corner of West Street and Fort Wayne.
Google Maps says that it's 14.1 miles to this point.
I more-or-less followed Columbia to Prairie Street, which led to the flea market and the fair ground. Maple Street to Clarke, then Lincoln to Zales, where I bought a bottle of PreserVision. Fort Wayne to Owen's, where I bought eggs and soda, then to Jimmy-John's to buy a sub for supper, across Center on McKinley and straight home.
Google Maps says this leg was 4.7 miles.
Total 18.8 miles.
Somewhere along the way I told someone I was going about twenty miles -- that's close enough!
I realized that I don't have to put all my weight on my bad leg when I stop for a moment; I can straddle the top tube and stand on both feet. Alas, this is very hard to remember.
I went out to the garage intending to rebuild my cooler with thicker insulation for tomorrow's frozen-chicken run, and discovered that I'd found a valve cap earlier in the day and had dis-assembled my tool kit in order to put the cap into the patch kit.
So I figured that I'd better empty it and put stuff back in again, so I'd know what was in there.
All the time I had been untying knots, I had kept saying to myself that I really should get a better container so that I could actually use the stuff in there. When I dumped the stuff out, I found that there was very little stuff.
I found a plastic fork and spoon wrapped up in a paper towel, and moved them to my bag of emergency food. I found three sweat rags and put one of them into the dog-collar bag in which I carry spare handkerchiefs, since I'd raided it one washday morning. The other two are chambray, and make good towels. I thought about supplementing them with paper towels to wipe the grease off my hands, but that is what the towels wrapped around my tire levers are for.
Since I no longer carry a frame pump, I really ought to ditch the levers and the patch kit, but it's a matter of principle.
I found a dried-up and brown sliver of soap -- I *think* it was soap -- and swapped it with the sliver of Ivory I've been rubbing on stains on my clothes. There was room for it in the patch kit.
I tossed a half-century-old sample envelope of Fuller Brush hand cream into the waste basket. The half-full sample bottle of Eucerine hand lotion remains; it's good for taking off chain grease. (As is the lip-salve box of A&D ointment I carry in my pocket.)
A large brass safety pin holding two paper clips was stuck into the bag; I pinned it to the purple-striped sweat rag.
The 10 mm Craftsman combination wrench, the 8" Crescent crescent wrench, and the bobbin of nylon thread will remain -- I once tied a trunk lid down with the predecessor of that bobbin of thread. (This was khaki linen, and much easier to use, but WWII has been over for a long time — strong linen thread will never be seen again.)
I must keep my eye out for an 8 mm combination wrench.
To my surprise, aside from the sliver of soap, the only first-aid item in the patch kit is an ampoule of merthiolate.
This pitiful collection doesn't require the five pockets inside the old purse I've been carrying my tools in ever since the lamentable loss of the decades-refined kit that I documented in my sewing diary.
And if I find a nylon bag, I can do without putting the kit into a plastic bag and tying both to the rack.
There, that takes up much less space.
I should have photographed it from the other side to show how the drawstring of the bag loops around the rod of the rack, but it's late and I have a cooler to rebuild.
Oops, when putting stuff into the new bag, I forgot the deplorable hat.
Well, it had been so much trouble to get into my toolbag that I hadn't been wearing it anyway, and it's so deplorable that I think I'd have left it out on purpose. One of these years I'll cut the crown out, make the brim into a tennis visor, and put it back.
Got off at 10:26 despite having got up at eight. When I left the courthouse farmers' market at 11:25, I regretted having dilly-dallyied at home, because that meant that I had only two hours to get to Leesburg and buy chicken cordon bleu before Duck, Down, & Above closed at two. And I did pass an auction on 200 W, and didn't dare stop.
For the record, it took an hour and twenty-one minutes to get from the courthouse to Hop Lore. (11:25 -- 12:46)
I wandered around Leesburg until nearly one in the afternoon before going to DD&A. I'd meant to look the place over and come back at 13:30after lunch at Hop Lore, but my "black ice" was still rock hard, so I redeemed my coupon at once, and also bought a package of duck bacon, of which we are both very fond. Little else in the freezer case appealed to me. I signed up to get e-mails about the "Friday specials"; I suspect that these are the dinged ducks that I used to buy at their main plant on Fridays. It took about three hours to come home -- I stopped at Sherman & Lin's, then filled my other pannier with instant noodles at International Foods -- and the bacon was rock hard; I presume that the chicken under it was also still frozen. I put the chicken into the freezer and the bacon in the fridge.
I found that if I put the chicken into the pannier flat, it just filled the width, there was space at each end to drop in a packet of Black Ice, and the bacon fit neatly on top if the empty parts of the package were allowed to bend up. When putting in the second cold pack, I found that if I pushed it down on its side, it blocked the end of the pannier perfectly, and was exactly as high as the food. I forgot to turn the first cold pack, and the part of it that stuck up above the food had begun to thaw when I got home -- shows the importance of close packing. The side next the newspapers on both packs had softened a bit, but they didn't honestly need to be laid flat in the freezer (save for the sticky-out bit) I could simply have thrown them back into the box of cold packs in the smaller freezer.
Clearwater Drive comes out very close to the bridge, so I couldn't see the stop lights change to yellow, and was off the back from the beginning while crossing the bridge. I suspect that the northbound cars were waiting for me, as they began to move as soon as I cleared the bridge. If I go to Leesburg again before the construction is finished -- and now that I know that I can keep food frozen for three hours, I might -- I'll wait pointed south in the oncoming lane for the last car to pass, which should save a few seconds. It would also enable me to start moving before he is completely past, if I can see that he's last soon enough.
When crossing 30 on Parker -- which I didn't do yesterday; this must have been part of the scouting tour -- yes, I believe that I was crossing 30 on 350 N. That doesn't feel right either. Well, whenever and where- ever it happened, I was riding across a four-lane busy road from west to east when I discovered that it's possible to unship my chain when trying to shift onto my smallest cog. So when I was wanting to be pedalling hard in my highest gear, I was coasting. I draisined desperately, but the light turned red while I could still see it. It was easy enough to shift the chain back onto the cogs once I could do it calmly.
Old 15 has been paved since I last rode there. Judging by the color of the tar, it's a *long* time since I rode there.
SR 15 is even worse than I remembered; I didn't want to venture onto it even to get from one closely-spaced Leesburg street to the next.
I wonder how many times I circled the parking lot near the teller machine while waiting my turn?
To Owen's West, 3.0 miles -- 11:36
To West Street, 3.3
To 200 W by way of Fox Farm, 5.6
To 600 N, 9.7 miles -- 12:25
To HopLore, 12.5 miles -- 12:46
An hour ten to ride 9.5 miles -- 8.1 mph
I'll count the forth and back in Leesburg only once:
To SR 15, 13.1 miles
To Levi Lee, 16.1 miles -- 13:55
To Jalynn Street, 18.8 miles
And I'm out of waypoints.
To Bell & Biomet, 0.9 miles
To Goodwill, 1.4 miles -- 14:33
From Levi Lee to Goodwill, 4.1 miles, 1 hr minus 22 min equals 38 min, 6.5 mph -- long delay at bridge.
To Market Street, 3.5 miles
To home, 5.7 miles.
Total: 24.5 miles
And I went at least half a mile that wasn't recorded.
Hey, I was fiddling around with Google Maps and discovered that Tippe Downs Drive connects to Jalynn street! I can bypass the hill on 300 N that I can't quite climb by cutting through the housing development.
Now all I need is a reason to go to Walmart or Lowe's.
To the fairgrounds, where I bought onions and apples, and back by way of Owen's for bread and milk.
My first e-mail of Friday specials came today -- and today is the day grocery ads come in the paper. I deleted the Duck Down & Above ad, and stashed the newspaper ads.
Yesterday I walked to the Gordon Rec Center twice, about a mile each trip. Took my key the second time and changed the ice trays at the church, but forgot to climb the staircases.
Today I came back from the last farmers' markets of the year by way of Aldi, about eight miles. I got rained on at least twice, but it was sunny and warm for the last leg.
Wore the same black socks -- well, I opened the last new package of thick black socks -- that I've been wearing all week. I should have gone for the thicker gray socks, newspaper sleeve, and black hose. Switched from the sheer yellow linen to the fuzzy linen-cotton scarf; should have stuck by the thin scarf and put my wool liner in it. I wore poly tights, cotton tights, and navy sweat pants; could have done with another pair of pants.
Wore two silk undershirts, my thicker short-sleeved cotton jersey, and my windbreaker. Which last was very welcome when the rain hit. The rain hurt when it hit my face, like pellet snow.
Wore the rags of my Baa-Baa socks under freshly- washed thick black socks. Kept my toes adequately warm.
I crossed over 30 by way of Bell Drive to have lunch at Taco Bell. The advertised taco was for breakfast only, and I didn't want to read the whole menu in the middle of a transaction, so I ordered the old reliable "mexican pizza" -- and it was dreadful. I'm pretty sure they used to put it on corn tostadas, not on low-grade piecrust.
I meant to bypass the gravel road by way of 400 N and come down on 250, then return to Fox Farm on the paved portion of 300 N, but I hadn't printed out a map snippet, so when I saw 200 E, I took it.
Stopped at Open Air to get my breath back after the roundabout, and petted their elderly counter cat for a while. Poor thing is skin and bones; I saw the clerk tempting her to eat when I left.
Walked through Everything Outdoors, stopped at International Foods to buy a packet of Kim Chee noodle soup "with real Kim Chee". Every time I go there, they have re-arranged the place. The fresh produce display is a fraction of what it was. I still haven't shared the store with another shopper.
I forgot to write the time when I came in, but I just barely made it by civil twilight -- at the cost of having hot dogs for supper instead of the sushi that I'd planned to pick up on the way home.
And it's good that I did, because waiting for a chance to cross Winona Avenue took more time than dashing in for sushi would have.
Anyhow, civil twilight ended at 5:59, so I got home before six, but not a lot before six. It was 17:30 precisely when I passed Owen's. Probably fifteen minutes to get home, but after I checked the time, the zipper on my windbreaker caught the fabric, and I had to take off my gloves to repair it.
I didn't plan to spend so much time in Aldi. I knew where everything was in the old store, but I went up and down and back and forth and I never did find the pickles. There were some pickles next to the peanut butter, the ones made for sandwiches. The old store kept all the pickles together, and all the chips together; it was much easier to find things!
They could at least put up a map.
For once, I'm transcribing my notes while I remember what they mean.
Left at 11:03. Stopped at the teller machine and left at 11:17. Stopped in Zales from 11:35 to 11:50. Turned onto 200 W at 12:24. Made note that I need a zipper pull on my windbreaker when I wear mittens. I think there is some yellow braided cord around here somewhere.
It was in a flour cannister marked "string and twine". Now I can draw a green line through "zipper pull".
Also noted that it's aggravating that mitten weather is also blow your nose every few minutes weather, so I tabbed away from here and made a rec.bikes.misc post out of that.
I reached 700 N at 13:13. 200 N changes to gravel at this point, but I was turning right, and 700 N is as flat as 600 N and almost as well tended. I saw a fox trotting across a pasture on the south side of 700 in. Took a bit to believe it; I've never seen a fox in the wild before. I've seen fox tracks, but no foxes. It didn't seem to notice me, but it was well away from the road.
I got to Duck Down and Above before 13:50 and left at 14:01 with six stuffed chicken breasts and twelve ounces of duck bacon. Rejected a six-pound box of meat without looking to see whether there were smaller packages inside the box.
I got to the Old Mill at 14:13, only to discover that they don't open before four on Fridays. That means that it will be March before I can have a pulled-pork sandwich on the way back from Duck Down and Above.
Somewhere along Old 15, I threw my bottle onto the roadway. I haven't done that since the confident-but-not-competent stage of learning how to use a water bottle. Fortunately, there was no traffic at the time.
Near the end of Old 15, I passed CP 21 S Leesburg.
I left Taco Bell at 15:22, and Karma at 11:54.
Took my mittens off at 16:17. I had stopped to note that my knees hurt.
Arrived at Aldi at 16:34. Departed after five. Passed Owen's at precisely 17:30. Since sunset was 17:31, I did not go in to buy sushi for supper. Fortunately, I had bought a package of hot dogs at Aldi.
It was probably five minutes after five-thirty that I left Owen's; when I tried to zip up my windbreaker after checking the time, the zipper jammed and I had to take my gloves off to get the fabric out of the slider. I should have put stiff interfacing inside the overlap -- or I should have sewn an exposed zipper; it wouldn't let in all that much cold air.
Yesterday I woke up from my nap stiff enough to want the walker. Today I took my nap early, and feel disinclined to exert myself this afternoon. If the hip isn't cleared up in the morning, I'm going to ask Dr. Darr for another dose of corticosteroids.
The main reason I drove to Owen's for bread and milk yesterday was that I didn't feel up to struggling into my tights. I did wear tights under my jeans, but the looser pair that goes over the polyester pair.
Weather Undrground says rain tomorrow, but Thursday and Friday might be passable.
I must try harder to get wool clothing.
<checks Yellow Jersey> A size XL wool man's jersey might fit. I hate to spend ninety dollars when I can't try it on first! I don't think I have any synthetic knit to make front pockets from, but some of those worn-out silk T-shirts might give up sound pieces that are big enough; not too much trouble to make a new pair of pockets when the first pair wear out.
Whoosh! Wool tights are a hundred and thirty! And as near as I can make out, they don't come in sizes.
Mystery-fiber short-sleeved jerseys cut to drag in the back are sixty dollars.
I dashed to Owen's and back today. About three miles. And they were out of what I went after. But I bought enough canned cat food that there isn't a big rush to get more, though two of the four cans -- one can lasts five days -- are the fancy kind that he doesn't like. And the canned food is supposed to be a treat, with a side order of "so yummy that you don't notice the Cosequin".
They did have all-peanut peanut butter, and I bought three jars; one for the fridge, one for the cupboard, and one for the freezer.
I had really missed peanut button on an apple as a bedtime snack.
Motivation! I have two pairs of skin-tight "leggings", and two pairs of sweat pants without small holes, but both pairs are mostly cotton, and I've only one pair of tights that can be worn between the sweat pants and the "leggings" -- and they are 90% cotton.
It's past the season to buy warm clothing, so I've got to get to the big-box stores while there are still some on the clearance racks.
I've been checking Weather Underground. Tuesday should be a good day for a dump tour with return by way of Meijer and Walmart.
Google makes it 7.9 miles to Walmart. 14.7 to Fox Farm Road by way of 400 N., 19.7 if I go straight home from there.
Pushed the walker to church this morning. Didn't feel as though I needed it, but the pain in my hip might have developed if I hadn't had it. Also, it allowed me to walk faster when the pavement was smooth. I would have run up the hill if I'd had a way to lift my long skirt out of the way.
I climbed only one staircase, and did only one set of push-ups.
Bedtime, and the hip still hurts. But now I have to pay attention to notice.
Change of plan: The Aldi flyer says that they have wool socks, last day tomorrow, so I'll shorten the ride to 16.6 miles.
Hope I can find the socks. I suppose the new layout will make sense eventually, but the old one made sense instantly.
If I don't leave too late, and if I don't linger too long at any stop, I'll pick up some sushi at Owen's.
I've got the bike packed and my clothes laid out in hope of an early start.
Says in the Banner that the trip was cancelled by a threat of rain. I dashed to Aldi and back in the morning, and the threat made good about three in the afternoon.
I bought a pair of women's bright magenta socks and a pair of gray men's socks to wear over them. Wore them yesterday on a driving trip to be described later, and they worked well. I bought another pair of women's socks when I went back the next day to buy a fresh chicken. I've still got the frozen game hen that was my original menu for Thanksgiving.
Says in my notes that I finally made the Meijer-Walmart tour on the twenty-eighth. Didn't find any all-polyester sweat pants. Everything is a mixture of poly and cotton, which rules it out for all occasions for me. Cotton can kill you in cold weather, and I can't stand polyester when I'm not cold. I once had a beautiful summer dress with just a tiny bit of polyester in it, and every time I put it on, I was gasping for air within minutes.
The Banner doesn't say whether it was Owen's West or Owen's East that I stopped at on the way home.
Aha! That isn't "Bas" where I stopped from 15:26 to 15:30! It's "Bus" -- the fishing shop on Park Avenue where I looked for itty-bitty band aids. To my surprise, they appeared to have no first-aid stuff at all. When they sell all that sharp stuff, you'd think they'd have a small selection of stuff to put on cuts and punctures. So I had come back the shortest way, as is proper. Left at 09:50 and got home at 16:38.
Hmmm . . . there's a note in the notes that I need another layer of tape on that cable guide on my top tube.
Sorted. The only other note is one for the Banner that I remembered spontaneously. So that note is green slashed and in the wastebasket.
Snow season started last Saturday, 9 December, and I've declared that I'll give up bike-riding until the days start getting longer. So I'll have to start over in January. I walked to the bank on the twelfth, but forgot to climb stairs when I stopped at the church on the way back to leave off the five one-dollar coins I'd gone to the bank for. But I did go to the basement to change the ice trays. I've also walked to church when it wasn't Sunday at least once.
This is the fifth day of my prednisone for the rotator cuff. Since the object of the treatment is to be able to drive on divided highways again, I plan to try to work in a little bit of US 30 every time I go out in the car. Dave is getting me my own key today, so driving will be more convenient. Since the car is gone if he is gone, borrowing his key hasn't been *too* inconvenient.
Yesterday I went to Warsaw Health Foods, Owen's, Aldi, and Big R. The stretch of 30 between Aldi and and Big R is not only short, but quite curvy, so it wasn't much exercise. But I also had a few blocks of Center Street between the health-food store and Owen's.
My hip had me lumbering like Lurch in the evening -- probably because I had to stand in line at Big R -- but I was walking normally from the first time my feet hit the floor today. The hip hurt, but it was limber, and now I have to pay attention to notice the pain. Feels more like a slight itch. It's 11:21 -- egad and I haven't even cleared off the ironing board yet. And I'm starting to want lunch; all I had for breakfast was a slice of pizza.
Woke up with a bruise in my left calf from a cramp in the night. It's at least as sore this evening.
For a few minutes in the afternoon I thought that gimping around had touched off my meralgia -- perhaps I also stood too long while making fruitcake, but I was careful to sit down, or to keep the cakes on one side of the sink and the plastic wrap on the other, so that I had to walk back and forth to wrap a cake, and then step toward the table to put it down. I did all the outer wraps sitting.
But the sacroilliac pain has gone back to being a slight itch.
Yesterday I went to Glenbrook Mall and Target with Jan Balzer, Rita, and Helen. Lots of walking and some standing, but when they became engrossed in the calendar-and-toy store, there was a bench out front, where I sat down to wind my tatting shuttle. Got all the loose thread wound back to the ball, but there is a lot of winding yet to do before I cut it off and resume tatting.
I'm planning to start over from scratch after New Year's Day, with a goal of going to the Friday specials at Duck Down and Above. That can be a fairly short ride. New Year Resolution: work up to going to Spring Creek before warm weather.
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