Sick

It has been a while!  I was out of town for most of February, returning on the 20th, and became ill!  I took a Covid test, and it was negative.  I felt absolutely worn out but had my sense of smell and taste.  I am sure the flu is a complex case.

I could not work out and spent most of my time lying down.  I had a fever running in the low 100s and was miserable.  It has been about 10 to 12 days, and I am just starting to feel slightly better.  I got one bicycle ride in, but it impacted me the next day.  Being older increases the impact of the flu.

I don't know if it's the flu, or what caused it.  I'm assuming that I got something on the plane on the way back.  I plan to work out regularly in the next few days.  I had a trend of riding a bike at least every other day for an hour for 12 weeks before I got sick.

On top of being ill, my mother has stated she is so unhappy, and everyone at the facility is mean, so we moved her. The frustrating thing is that I think people do not talk to her, as she has been locked up on the farm for so long. She has no social skills, and she has a look that, quite frankly, is scary! She rarely says hello in return and just walks around like everyone hates her! Below the image is a good day. 

The big news is that Shelley did put in her retirement notice for May 2.  I'm also looking forward to her being retired because I think she has been jealous.  I love my freedom.  She'll not want to travel as much as I do, but we will see.  She really likes tinkering with flowers, the lawn, landscaping, and summer and is concerned that if we leave tomorrow, what will happen to her plants? 

I purchased a 3D printer to work on prosthetics for my son.  I have been making them with fiberglass from a mold, and it worked, but I still had some issues.  My son and his engineering background created a great model, allowing selective padding and increased comfort.  I would use a thin fiberglass shell on the outer portion of the 3D print for added stability.  The design uses traditional zip ties to mount.  This will make it easier to replace the supports.  We used hose clamps before, but fixing them was a significant task when they broke. I want to write with more regularity.  Even if it is never read, it is a great mental exercise to process life as I age.  Things are not as easy as they once were. I am spending less time challenging the mind.  I am going to look for projects and activities that are challenging! Until next time - Carry on!

Snow Sculptures

My effort to ride my bicycle every other day is intact. In early January, I had three days in a row, which wore me out, so I started with every other day. It will be different in the warmer months riding outside, as just ride and enjoy the more straightforward exercise on off days. With Rouvy, I get too competitive, and it is a hard workout!

To date, I have logged 278 miles in about 17 hours. That is 16.35 miles per hour on average, which is good. Each ride has been at least 16 miles for the past two weeks, and a few have been over 20 miles.

I have been diligent about my iron intake, yet I am not noticing any improvement. I will continue to monitor my health and look for ways to improve.

I did get out and test the new camera at a friend's broomball game.  It was my first time seeing Broomball in action.  It was a cold day, but it was worth the experience.  Sample images below.

If you missed a past post, we moved our mom from the Wheatland, North Dakota, farm to All Saints Senior Living in Shakopee, Minnesota, in August.  She had not adjusted it as well as we had hoped, and the cost is nearing $5,000 a month.  We have been searching for alternatives and found a new home for her in Prior Lake.  This is a building that reminds me of North Dakota-style housing.  We will move her there next month, costing about $2,900 a month.  This is reduced rent if we use the buydown program of $17,000 upfront.  This will pay back in about 15 months but is not refundable if she passes.  At this rate, her funds should get her through the next 8 years.

Today, I took my mom to the Minnesota State Fair Grounds snow sculptures. This year's total number of entrants was down. There has been very little snow, and it is supposed to be 50 degrees here on Wednesday. Images are shown below.

 My retirement funding is still ahead of the anticipated funds.  I hope this continues to be a more decisive year for the market, but I fear President Trump will destroy much of the security.  He is not a leader but a dictator who scares me.  I hope we make it through the next few years safely and financially stable.

Until next time, carry on my friends, carry on!

2025 started

It's been a busy few weeks for the start of 2025.  

For some reason, I feel swamped, but I don't know what I've been doing. One thing for sure is I have been able to ride a bicycle for at least an hour every other day with a heart rate of 125 to 130. I decided to work out every other day only as I did not want to get too exhausted at my age. Additionally, working out too aggressively and getting injured set me back.

On January 7, I had my annual physical and anxiously awaited the blood test results to see if I had improved. One thing I was ecstatic about was that my weight was 302.7. That is an out-of-the-ordinary high, and I need to get it under control, but that means I have lost about 23 pounds since I retired. My high weight was 325.3 when I retired.  Therefore, I am losing about half a pound per week. That is a sustainable weight loss, and I hope to maintain that trend.  The three months that I needed to help my mother, who needed to move from the arm and is not in a home close to me.  The stress caused me to gain a few pounds back, dealing with the issues.

One extremely disappointing factor about my visit was that my iron level was extraordinarily low. Once again, this is frustrating because I've been battling Anemia for so long!  Test results were:

• Iron (normal range 61-157 ug/dL) 
• Current 20 ug/dL - 31 below normal range
• This is the lowest it has ever been since the Anemia Diagnosis in 2017, when it was 23 ug/dL
• Iron saturation index (normal range 15 to 46%)
• Current is 5% - 15% below normal range
• This is the lowest it has ever been, with 7% in January 2023.
• Ferritin (normal range 31 to 409 ng/mL)
• Current is 11 ng/mL - 20 ng/mL below normal range
• The lowest it has ever been, with eight ng/mL in July 2016. I was also 11 ng/mL in November of 2023.
• Hemoglobin (normal range 13.3 to 17.7 g/dL )
• Current is 11.4 g/dL - 1.9 g/dL below normal range
• This is the lowest it has ever been; in January 2023, it was 12.1 g/dL
• MCV - Mean Corpuscular Volume (normal range 78-100 fl)
• Current is 72 fl - 6 fl below the normal range
• This is the same as January 2023 and the lowest it has ever been.
• MCH - Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin (normal range 26.5 to 33.0 pg)
• Current is  21.3 pg - 5.2 pg below the normal range
• This was at 20.9 in January 2023.
• MCHC - Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration (normal range 31.5 to 36.5 g/dL)
• Current is  29.6 g/dL - 1.9 pg below the normal range
• This was at 28.8 g/dL in January 2023.

Therefore, my Anemia is worse, not better.  I should have known with the shortness of breath and low energy!

I have been busy cleaning out the basement and tossing junk.  This will be a multi-week project as I build shelves to organize my junk.

For the first time since I retired, investments are clearly volatile. I have cash on hand to weather the storm. I am living off my tax-deferred savings since the Market is high and has performed well over the past two years.

Carry on, my friends, carry on!

2025!

 Since returning from my two-month trip to Tennesee/Carolinas, I have had an intense workout every other day.  I avoid it daily as I age; rest is essential.  My biking in December was 106 miles.  It was higher, but I have three club workouts for which I cannot load the miles into Strava automatically.   I rode the past three days, but the off day was easy with Shelley.

My mother's memory is stable, yet she is becoming more demanding.  Unfortunately, it is depressing to visit, knowing I am always getting closer to experiencing similar issues.  It helps me mentally focus on my health and lessen the potential for problems later.  Eating better and exercising significantly improve the aging body.

I had some fun with Mom and the photo booth app on the iPad.  Images below.

After traveling for 61 of the last 75 days, I am tired. Yet, being home in retirement during the winter is not enjoyable. I see all the activities I should complete at home and would rather avoid them. Things like minor house repairs and purging 60 years of possessions—even the pantry and garage—need a good cleaning and purge.

Over the new year, I started to think intensely about where life may have taken a wrong turn.  My relationship with Christopher is non-existent.  I reached out to him, yet like in the past, he emphasized we need to stay in contact; I never heard from him.  I wonder if I would have fought harder for other relationships if the people had avoided their hardships.  I regret not saying things when I had the chance, yet I regret saying things when I did.  I find that I get more intense thoughts about life as I age.  Fortunately, I can sort and control my emotions, yet I get a better understanding of the higher suicide rates in older adults.

I learned my boss is retiring at the end of the month.  He is only 55 years old, yet I was told after I left that all the crap I handled for decades was not on his lap and it was too much to handle.  He always hated conflict and complex issues, which I had no problem handling.  He is superior to me in intelligence, so we were a good team.  It is hard to hear that such a great organization has been dysfunctional for over 25 years, and people flee.  As of the first of the year, nearly 40 percent of all employees have less than 2 years tenure.  Such a sad state of events.

Slowly learning the new Zikon Z7iii.  There are basic similarities, yet setting precise variables for a picture takes time to make intuitive.  I have the time to head out for practice, but the temperatures are below zero!

Hope the new year has been good for you!  Carry on my Friends, Carry On!

And so it is Christmas!

  Shelley and I left early Sunday, December 22, and visited Lincoln to visit her father.  The drive was windy, yet there were no snow, ice, or rain issues.  We arrived, checked into the Staybridge Suites hotel at 2:00 PM, and unloaded before heading to Jon's.  We arrived at Jon's by 3:00, and Shelley and he went on a reminiscing drive. I went to Planet Fitness to work out.  

At 5:00, we were back, opened gifts, and set up his frame before heading to the dining room for dinner. I don't know the dinner cost, but the food was marginal. Shelley and I had fried chicken, and finding the meat under the breading was hard.

Afterward, Shelley, Helen, and Jon sang sane Christmas carols. I recorded the effort; I did not sing! It was late, and we were tired and had a long drive tomorrow, so we were back at the hotel and called it a night.

On Monday the 23rd, we were up about 5:00 AM and packed. We planned to have breakfast with Jon before heading to Arkansas.  The drive to Arkansas was simple, but it took longer than I had anticipated.  We arrived in Fayetteville at 4:30 PM and proceeded to Tim's Pizza to pick up pizza for dinner.  

The kids were so happy to see Grammy. They jumped into the car and onto Grammy's lap before we got to the driveway.  It started to rain, so we were confined indoors with Tickle Monster and other playing activities.  With the drive, we again tried to go to bed early and get a good night's sleep.

The following two days were spent playing, opening more gifts than we could have imagined, and, of course, eating. Taylor made brisket that was smoked to absolute perfection! So enjoyable.  Below are some images for the holidays.

Carry on my friends, carry on!