Sun 30 Apr

Last day of April for 2017. Looks rather grey and I believe that rain is forecast for the next couple of days, but I prefer to get it "out of the system" before we head to Door Co to hike on Tuesday. Last time I checked, they were predicting fairly sunny days there with temperatures in the low 50s. I would rather have sunshine than warmth so we can enjoy photographing trilliums and other wildflowers. I can always dress warmly. Food: 8:25 am Steel cut oats w/protein powder and 1/2 c blueberries, 100 g blackberries, coffee 11:30 am 1 slice Omega 3 bread, 53 g Hillshire Farm oven roasted turkey, 1/3 c vinegar cucumber salad 2:00 pm 2 Lindt truffles 6:56 pm Chili pie, beet salad Exercise: 6:05-6:45 pm Walk w/Bob

Sat 29 Apr

Suzuki Festival Concert today, Bob and I will participate to lend Mary some extra vocal support. Apparently there are several conflicting activities today so they don't expect a great turnout. Then I cantor and Bob ushers for 5 pm Mass today. Food: 7:40 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c soy milk, 104 g blackberries, coffee

Fri 28 Apr

Looks like a little bit of sunshine out there today, mixed with some dark clouds. Supposed to get back to the low 50s today. I have gym, laundry, and baking brownies for Festival tomorrow on today's agenda. Really enjoyed reading an Aunt Dimity book yesterday after a break of reading other things, and also really enjoyed finally watching Fantastic Beasts DVD. Food: 7:40 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c soy milk, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:10 pm 1 slice Omega 3 bread, 44 g Hillshire Farm honey ham, 26 g Jarlsberg cheese Exercise: 8:55-9:25 am Treadmill 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class

Thurs 27 Apr

Il pluet comme le vache qui pisse. On a Thursday morning, surprise, surprise. We'll have to see if Kathy wants to go for it or wait til later in the day. I'm fine with either option. There's a band of weather coming which could last til mid afternoon and likely will turn to snow before it's all over. The walk was wet, but that's what umbrellas were made for. We had a very nice hour-long walk through city streets, actually Elk St to Madison to Illinois to Clark. Set up a coffee date with Rebecca for next Monday at her house. Looking forward to it. Wussed out and drove to my mammogram; tired of wet, cold weather. Don't think I'm venturing outside any more today. Food: 7:15 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c soy milk, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:20 pm 1 slice Omega 3 bread, butter, 34 g cheddar cheese, 94 g strawberries Exercise: 8:00-9:00 am Walk w/Kathy in the rain 9:40-9:55 am Walk to Suzuki in the snow 11:05-11:20 am Walk home in snow

Wed 26 Apr

Administrative Professionals day, FKA Secretary's Day in the pre-PC era. One of the original "holidays" set aside to remind folks that the workers in lesser-paid, lesser-esteemed jobs ofter are the ones who keep the whole operation running smoothly. I hope that other industries beyond offices also do something similar on some day to honor their line employees. Food: 7:40 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c soy milk, 101 g blackberries, coffee 11:50 am Asparagus crab risotto, seed cake Exercise: 8:55-9:25 am Treadmill 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class

Tues 25 Apr

Morning off today from tutoring; they need to finish up some required testing missed because of snow days and illnesses. Maybe I'll take a long walk to enjoy the nice weather before the rains come. Food: 7:45 am 1 c Quaker Oat Square, 1/2 c soy milk, 169 g strawberries, coffee 12:00 pm Slice Omega 3 bread, 2 oz Hillshire Farm honey ham Exercise: 10:20-11:50 am Walk through Schmeeckle

Mon 24 Apr

Still one more week of April to go. Weather has been beautiful for the past several days, with at least one more lovely day forecast. Of course, there might be snow on Thursday morning. Michael's trivia team ended in 246th, not bad at all, especially since we all stopped playing around 4 pm on Sunday. We had been at 233rd when we stopped. We were actually in 146th in the second hour with a strong start. It was nice that several people were really interested in playing this year. Food: 7:40 am Hot cross bun, seed cake, 100 g blackberries, coffee 10:50 am 3 sugar crackers 12:05 pm Asparagus crab risotto Exercise: 8:45-8:55 am Walk to UWSP briskly 9:00-9:55 am Pilates class 10:10-10:25 am Walk home

Sun 23 Apr

Pollen season brings the spring. Beautiful weather this weekend. Bought new flower baskets at Costco yesterday so our back entranceway looks like springtime. Sunshine always puts a bit of a spring in my step. One last day of Trivia. We have spent some time there Fri evening, Sat morning, and Sat evening. We'll probably head over after church for a while before choir, not sure about this evening. Their team is doing the best ever due to some participants with a real interest in playing. Food: 8:30 am Hot cross bun, seed cake, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Sat 22 Apr

Happy Birthday, darling daughter! It's been a great 32 years, and here's hoping for at least twice as many more. Much love always! Trivia yesterday evening was a lot of fun. We'll soon head over for more this morning, but we want to get to a Costco today as we're in withdrawal. We may drive over to Green Bay and then eat at either St Brendan's or Cafe Chanson and take a sunny walk on the river path to get some exercise. Food: 8:35 am Hot cross bun, seed cake, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Fri 21 Apr

Trivia weekend once again. We'll stop over at Michael and Taylor's periodically, and I'll make a bean casserole in a crock pot for their food stash. Maybe a pan of bars, too? This morning I have the Suicide Prevention meeting and a massage at 11:30. Taking my tangled sock yarn to Sue RN along with the dollar I owe her for Heather's birthday lunch. She said she sometimes enjoys untangling things, so I'm going to let her have at, and if it isn't ever successful, I'll just give it up as a bad idea. Food: 7:15 am 1.25 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c soy milk, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:50 pm Half a turkey club sandwich Exercise: 11:20-11:30 am Walk to massage 12:35-12:45 pm Walk home

Thurs 20 Apr

Gloomy grey day, but of course, it's Thursday! The day to walk with Kathy. We have the option of going a little later if the weather is bad at 8, but it doesn't appear to be actually raining at this time. We'll see what Kathy thinks. We decided to go for it, constant misty drizzle but not too bad. Food: 7:20 am Hot cross bun, 102 g blackberries, coffee Exercise: 8:00-9:30 am Walk w/Kathy west side loop

Wed 19 Apr

Sneezy day today; Bob said pollen is high so that could be the culprit. Wednesday again already as well. Supposed to start raining this afternoon through tomorrow. Food: 7:40 am Cherry turnover, 101 g blackberries, coffee 11:50 am 1/2 turkey club sandwich 5:55 pm Easter leftovers Exercise: 9:00-9:25 am Treadmill 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class 5:15-5:40 pm Ellis St loop w/Bob

Tues 18 Apr

I was disappointed in myself last night in that I couldn't make the full Rib hike. I had to rest before even starting the big hill, and a short way up I realized that my body just wasn't going to go the distance. It was a good decision to turn around, but I'm having a hard time letting go of it as I really wanted to do the full Monty. Maybe if I start cutting back on the sugar again, I'll have more stamina. Had a "What're the odds?" experience leaving Suzuki today. A man coming into the building asked for directions to the stage, and wasn't sure if he needed Michelson or Jenkins so I walked down to show him where they both were. As we were walking, he commented that he hadn't been in this building for a very long time so I asked if he had gone to school here. He had, and he had graduated in 1977, same as me. Furthermore, he had been a psychology/sociology major so it's very likely we had several classes together! I thought he appeared vaguely familiar, so there may actually have been a basis to it. Food: 7:45 am Cherry turnover, 167 g strawberries, coffee 11:55 am Half of Dane salmon club 1:05 pm Decadent chocolate cookie w/Mary Exercise: 8:45-8:55 am Walk to St Steve's 10:10-10:20 am Walk home 12:45-1:00 pm Walk to Suzuki 2:15-2:30 pm Walk home

Mon 17 Apr

A nice Easter with brunch with Laura and a pleasant day hiking at Devil's Lake. Almost missed Laura since the communication wasn't clear what time we were coming and she had her phone in the other room and wasn't getting the texts and calls. We nearly gave up on her, then she thought of checking her phone about the same time I thought of emailing her. Liliana's brunch wasn't worth the $29 price tag in my mind, but it was small and pleasant anyway. New shoes are here, not sure yet if they feel quite right. There's no extra room in the toe bed, though they don't touch at this point. I just walked home from Pilates so my feet are probably a little bigger, but I'm going to wear them around the house awhile to get a better feel for it. Food: 7:35 am Hot cross bun, 77 g blackberries, coffee 11:55 am Slice Omega 3 bread, 54 g ham, med banana Exercise: 8:40-8:55 am Walk to UWSP 9:00-9:55 am Pilates class 10:05-10:25 am Walk home

Easter Sunday

My, but it's been awhile since I had to get up on too little sleep (except for leaving on vacation, which doesn't count!) You tend to forget about the slightly groggy feeling in the morning, which hopefully will pass once I get my coffee into me. Heading down at about 7 am to Madison to pick Laura up for brunch at Liliana's in Fitchburg. It will be nice to spend time with her on Easter. It's been several years since we've been able to do that. Food: 6:30 am Hot cross bun, 79 g blackberries, coffee

Sat 15 Apr

Ah, preparation for a big meal. Up at my usual rising time, but right to work getting the ham into the oven. Wrestled the angel food out of the pan in one piece, though not as neatly as I would have liked. Probably should have baked about 5 min more so it would have come out more easily. Regardless, I was able to finish slicing it, filling it with lemon curd and raspberries, and making a lemon glaze. Hopefully the taste will be good. I've assigned Bob to clear the table which he has mostly accomplished, then I can put on a fresh tablecloth after I finish breakfast. Then I need to assemble the cheesy potatoes and bean casserole and ready the asparagus. After that, it's pretty much waiting for the right time to do subsequent steps. Easter dinner went quite well. Plenty of food but not so much as to make one uncomfortable. Cake was good, but not quite up to my expectations. Food: 8:00 am Hot cross bun, 100 g blackberries, coffee 10:00 am Butterscotch brownie 11:30 am Ham, cheesy potatoes, bean casserole, asparagus, angel food w/lemon curd & raspberries, white wine 1:10 pm 1 Dove peanut butter egg Exercise: 2:45-4:05 pm Walk w/Bob

Fri 14 Apr

Got the tax results yesterday. Income went down enough that Bob likely won't need to pay any estimated taxes at all this year, so all of the tax payment comes from my pension for 2017 plus the overpayment from this year (which would be half mine). I'm just anxious now to see if my pension will go up in May as the news seemed to imply would happen for most retirees in the Wisconsin system. I would be happy with a raise. Good Friday today. Gym as usual in the morning, then laundry, church, and baking my scratch angel food cake for tomorrow's brunch. Food: 7:40 am Copps morning bun, 100 g blackberries, coffee 1:15 pm 64 g cheese curds, 155 g strawberries, hot cross bun Exercise: 8:55-9:25 am Treadmill 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class 2:40-3:00 pm Walk to church 4:30-4:50 pm Walk home

Thurs 13 Apr

Holy Thursday already! Potluck at 6 pm at the church basement. Although it isn't quite the same as the Newman potluck, it is more heavily attended by Newmanites than other new parish functions since it is really our tradition. I will make a Meyer lemon pound cake (from a mix) as my contribution. Getting to walk with Kathy at the usual time this week for the first time in about a month or so. Looking forward to it. Food: 7:15 am Copps morning bun, 100 g blackberries, coffee Exercise: 8:05-9:25 am Walk w/Kathy to Schmeeckle

Wed 12 Apr

Tax paperwork continues to be a headache, finding utility payment records for Michael/Taylor to fill out landlord certificates. Ugh! I was so tired after coming home from hiking Rib that I forgot to put away the groceries we bought at Aldi's there. Hopefully nothing was damaged. The few cold items still felt cold this morning. Food: 7:45 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c soy milk, 101 g blackberries 12:25 pm 2 egg omelet w/1/4 c each green pepper & roma tomato, white chocolate pu-erh tea, butterscotch brownie 6:25 pm 2 Priano cheese manicotti w/arrabiata sauce & green peppers, 3/4 c beets, sangria Exercise: 8:55-9:25 am Treadmill 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class

Tues 11 Apr

Annual physical day. Had to get a sub for reading because when I scheduled this year's physical, I had been tutoring on Thursday mornings so I thought Tuesday was a good day to schedule appointments. Had my labs at 7:00 and am eating a quick breakfast before seeing Paul at 8:30. Not looking good for hiking at Rib this week unless it's supposed to clear up later today. Bob has an estimate at 5 pm on Wed, and Thurs/Fri are Holy Week services. Weather's kind of crummy anyway. Clean bill of health from Paul, though both cholesterol and glucose levels are slightly high and up a tad from last year. He did recommend the calcium artery scan for me as well as Bob, so now we can proceed with scheduling. It costs $50 each, but he feels it is a very worthwhile investment as it can detect the buildup in arteries which often isn't obvious until a heart attack. Food: 7:35 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c soy milk, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:00 pm 2 slices Omega 3 toast w/butter & homemade raspberry jam, 77 g cheese curds Exercise: 8:05-8:20 am Walk to hospital 9:30-9:45 am Walk home

Mon 10 Apr

Excellent weekend with phenomenal weather up north. Got in some good hiking in Copper Falls, attended the smallest Palm Sunday Mass in Bayfield I'd ever experienced; Bob thought there were 15 people in church and I believe he was counting the priest, deacon, and two musicians. We found an excellent little bar/restaurant near the cabin where we stayed (on recommendation from the innkeepers). The whitefish on Friday and "steak night" on Saturday were both delicious and well-prepared with fresh vegetables. No Pilates today as the dance department is taking a dark morning after opening weekend of Danstage. This means I must find the energy to drag my achy body to the gym instead. Could not convince aforementioned body to go the gym, but promised to do quality workout time at home. Started with Stride & Strength to get some weight-based training in. Planning a HIIT session in a bit and maybe more. Don't think the energy is there for the big HIIT today. Did Belly, Buns & Thighs for 45 min. Will see what the afternoon brings. Food: 7:45 am Coffee cake, 102 g blackberries, coffee 1:05 pm 1 slice Omega-3 bread w/butter, Roma tomato, 41 g ribeye steak, 3 Hup Seng sugar crackers 2:00 pm 30 g Lindt chocolate 6:20 pm 2 beer-braised chicken thighs, 3/4 c beets, 3/4 c noodles Exercise: 9:30-10:05 am Jessica Smith Stride & Strength YouTube 10:30-11:15 pm Jessica Smith Belly, Buns, & Thighs YouTube

Fri 7 Apr

Sun is shining prettily (though it's still chilly at this hour), forecast for mid-50s today and 60s tomorrow with continuing sunshine. Leaving at lunchtime today for a cabin up north with hiking. Life is good. Food: 7:40 am White Gull Inn coffee cake, 106 g blackberries, coffee 11:55 am 1 slice Omega 3 bread, 1 tbl peanut butter, 1 tbl homemade raspberry jam, med banana Exercise: 8:55-9:25 am Treadmill 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class

Thurs 6 Apr

Kathy had to take her mother-in-law to the doctor this morning, but is open to walking later in the day as schedules allow. I have nothing other than laundry on my schedule today, so I'm open to that. Hope it materializes. Went to Watchman's Gone for pork tacos last night, and when it was time to pay, Bob realized his Costco credit card was missing. I walked him through our schedule over the past several days and he was able to determine that he last used it at Mikey's with the Hartmans. We called and fortunately they still had it behind the counter, so he was much relieved when we picked it up. Food: 7:35 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c soy milk, 100 g blackberries, coffee 10:15 am Brownie 11:50 am Chobani plain yogurt, 1/2 tbl homemade raspberry jam, 3 sugar crackers, slice White Gull Inn coffee cake Exercise: 10:00-10:10 am Walk to Tank N' Tummy and back 1:15-2:45 pm Walk w/Kathy around Mead

Wed 5 Apr

Supposed to be overcast again today - sigh. Sun coming for the weekend, though. Wednesday certainly seems to come around quickly, and then the remainder of the week just disappears. Especially since we are going up north on Friday, so tomorrow is already laundry day. Food: 7:40 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c soy milk, 102 g blackberries, coffee

Tues 4 Apr

At least it's not raining this morning, and I believe it's supposed to get a tad warmer. Maybe I'll get some good walking in this afternoon. I would have liked to hike Rib this evening, but Bob has a board meeting for ACT. I hope we get some really nice hiking in up north this weekend. Food: 7:45 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c soy milk, 101 g blackberries, coffee 11:50 am 54 g Hillshire Farm honey ham, 1 slice Omega 3 bread, med banana, Ghirardelli triple chocolate brownie Exercise: 8:45-9:00 am Walk to St Steve's 10:05-10:20 am Walk home 12>40-1:00 pm Walk to Suzuki (stop to vote) 2:00-3:15 pm Walk home via Asian Food Mart on Hwy 66

Mon 3 Apr

Here we go with another grey day. The revitalization of the sun doesn't last long into another streak of drab weather. I believe we're supposed to get rain most of the day today. Since the choir cabaret was canceled next weekend, we booked a cabin up north in the Chequamegon for Fri/Sat. It's supposed to be quite sunny and around 60, so I hope to get some good hiking in. I was a little disappointed as this cabin was originally part of a B&B, but the very nice owner is semi-retiring and no longer does the breakfasts or the evening treats, though she hinted that she sometimes does little treats occasionally. There's a full kitchen, so I'll probably take oatmeal for breakfast and maybe some sandwich meat and bread for lunches. Food: 7:35 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c soy milk, 102 g blackberries, coffee 11:40 am 1 slice homemade veggie pizza Exercise: 8:40-8:55 am Walk to UWSP 9:00-9:55 am Pilates class 10:05-10:10 am Walk to Bob's car

Sun 2 Apr

Hard to believe our choir is going to try to pull off this cabaret next Saturday already. I have a feeling it is going to be a pretty haphazard affair. Saw Laura's old Pacelli choir director, Angie, at Mikey's last night, looking much the same as always. Nice to see her again. Food: 8:10 am Honey bear pastry, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:00 pm 3 blueberry pancakes w/butter & syrup, 2 slices Nueske bacon Exercise: 9:40-9:55 am Walk to church 11:05-11:20 am Walk home

Sat 1 Apr

April Fool's Day and I didn't have the urge to pull any pranks on Bob today. Must be getting old. But the sun is shining and it looks like a lovely day. Perhaps spring is thinking about beginning. Laura sent an email that she got her new computer. Still awaiting pictures. Two successive walks, one to Worzalla and back followed quite shortly by a Schmeeckle loop with Bob. My legs are feeling it. Good practice for Walk Wisconsin in a couple of months. Food: 8:20 am Chocolate croissant, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:15 pm Slice Omega 3 bread, 2 oz Hillshire Farm Honey Ham, med banana Exercise: 2:20-2:50 pm Walk to Worzalla and back 3:10-4:30 pm Walk around Schmeeckle lake