No workout but hard day

This morning, I woke up and decided to do home maintenance for my son. He has lived in his home for almost five years and could be better at exterior maintenance. Of course, it does not help that he travels more than 150 days a year, and many times, that is international. 

My first chore was to sand and restain worn or aged parts of my son's deck. When he moved in, his girlfriend and I stained the deck, and nothing has been completed since. There were also some boards the builder needed to replace that were never stained. So I stained those, the stairs, high-traffic areas, and the tops that are exposed to direct sun most of the day. Since there was more than enough stain, I sanded the worn tabletop and stained that as well.  This was more of a task than anticipated, but it was finished in about 2.5 hours.

Then, the neighbor lent me the powerwasher for the garage floor and the driveway, which had yet to be washed since the house was built in 2020. It is a 2500 PSI power washer with a concrete circular cleaner. The garage had many stains from bicycle repairs, and it took over two hours to remove the stains and scrub the floor.  

Then I started the driveway. I wish I had taken pictures, as it was so dirty—almost a black-and-white change. However, it took several passes to get it clean.  After three hours, I was finished and exhausted!  It was nice to get that done!  I was so tired that I did not ride bicycle today.  I hope I sleep well tonight.

Carry on my friends, carry on!

Feeling better

The pain in my derriere has finally gone away.  It is nice to sit and sleep without the pain!  I am still baffled as to what it could have been.  I have been riding my bicycle regularly and lifting weights a few times weekly.  I have logged 130 miles in the past six days and can feel it in my legs.

I have noticed that movement helps with minor pains and stiffness as I age.  I get stiff when I go days without working out, making it difficult to get moving.  I am sure there is science behind the experience, yet I am still determining the reason.  

I will be spending the entire month of November in Cary, NC.  My son and his fiance plan a three-week trip, and I will take care of their child (a dog named Lulu).  Lulu really likes me for some reason, so she will be okay with spending time with me.  I will also miss the first part of Minnesota's cold weather.  There was snow last week, yet it has already melted.  Yet, I am not missing the lows in the 20's and highs in the 40's.  When I finally get back, it will be 8 weeks away with my trips and babysitting times.

During this trip, my favorite camera, the Nikon D810, finally ceased working.  That is a long story, and replacement cost is about the same as repairs.  The repairs required are questionable at best.  Therefore, I have been looking at mirrorless options for a few years.  I have the crop sensor Fuji X-T2, which isn't even sold anymore!  Switching camera brands, yet the camera is not the a is not most expensive part of photography; it is the glass (lens). 

I have some quality Nikon lenses, including the Nikkor AF-S 14-24 F2.8D ED, Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED VR, Nikkor AF-S 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G ED VR, and the Nikkon AF-S 50 mm F/1.4G.  Those alone are over $7,000 in quality lenses.  I also have the Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2, yet I use it very little.

Therefore, I researched for several weeks and was interested in the Nikon Z 8.  Yet the price was $4,000 with an occasional sale for $3,500.  All the literature and videos emphasized that the picture quality of the Nikon Z7ii was the same.  The Z8 offers much better focus speed.  The Z7ii retails at $3,000. However, I found it on a pre-black Friday sale for $1,899!  I did need to spring an extra $250 for the FTZii mount for the old lenses, but that was necessary for the Z8 as well.  That helped me make my upgrade decision.  The focus speed requirement is less of an issue for what I do, and both are worth $1,600!

So now I will learn the new camera.  The initial images appear better than my D810.  The Z7ii DxOMark score is slightly higher, and Camera Decision scores the Z7ii at 78 and the D810 at 59.  I thought I might upgrade in 2025, so it was close to the planned change.

Carry on my friends, Carry on!