2024 Winds Down

 

This year is on track to be the least posted Blog since I began this thing back in 2007 over 17 years ago...

Blogging is just not that high on the Internet Food Chain these days, but I will keep this up as long as I am able...I was 58 years old when I began and already retired from both Broadcasting {part time} and my full time work in Environmental Health.  I will turn 76 in March of 2025, God willing.  

Despite Diabetes 2 and some Neuropathy, I still can get up and go with the best of my age...and especially so since I went on the Carnivore Diet back in August, thus losing 25 extra pounds down to 171 {at 174 this morning} and A1C down from 8.7 to 6.1, along with Bad {LDL} Cholesterol down big as well.  I've since moderated my diet, from all meat, eggs, cheese, extra lite beers and coffee with swell sugar free cream, by adding some green veggies, along with darker, richer beers, and so far the weight has been maintained from 172 to 176...which is where I wanted it to be.

The VA visits of late tell that my left Carotid Artery is closed somewhat?  That I decided was strange, since when I had my right one stinted on my 63 birthday they said they couldn't do my left, because it had already found a new route...but they were ready to put me to the knife this time anyway.  I balked and have pushed any decision back until my next scheduled visit in April at Columbus.  I'll be past my 76th birthday and really have no desire to get cut again, I hated the last, the blood thinner things, metal stiches, etc...but I was much younger and quickly recovered...at this point I lean to saying "No" but will decide again after the next checkup.

Looking back at 2024...

The new Airedale "Pup" Millie who we got last December, a year ago next Monday the 16th, when she was 8 weeks old, is now a fully grown 100 pound 13 1/2 month old Mini Monster, at least size wise.  She is a great dog, like most Airedales I have owned, but is so damn strong that she has to jump on anybody she greets and lick and paw them...all out of love, but frankly it hurts like Hell when she does...we, especially the wife, is great with her, but work needs to be done.

Spend much of the year attending the two oldest Grandson's games, especially the middle one's travel baseball coached by his dad, my youngest son...he has potential and had a great Summer Season, and decent Fall Season as well. and for the 2nd time in 3 seasons he scored high enough to participate in Champions Day at Cincinnati's GABP, after a Red's Game in September.

Older Grandson is good at Soccer and Swimming, but is not quite as Gung Ho as the middle one...the youngest will turn 4 next March on my 76th BD...

Took a trip to South Carolina with the middle grandson to hook up with his parents and brothers, stayed a day or two, then headed to Flagler Beach, Florida, solo, to fish, enjoy the beach, and smoke a few good cigars.  Wife took her own vacation to Wisconsin to see her family and we took turns watching the Critters when we each took off solo.  

Older son and I took our annual Road Trip to an Ohio State Road Game, and the Buckeyes came away at Michigan State with an easy win.  Now after the loss to Michigan, we shall see how they do in the CFB Playoffs.  Next season, we will do the Illinois game on October 11th at the Illini Home...quick trip for him, since he lives in the Chicago west bergs, and frankly not  that far from me.  Other than that, not a lot of fixed plans for 2025.

Photography wise, I didn't do a lot...at least by my standards...the Full Eclipse did come out well, and I got some decent baseball shots of the Travel Season.

And then there was the election...needless to say, I'm smiling and laughing at the fools and suckers that have Terminal TDS...I wish them nothing but political {not personal} misery for the next 4 years.

Back Later, probably not until 2025 unless something big happens...

Carnivore/KETO Diets...What's in a Name?

Dropping Down...weight wise:

Back in the late Summer of 2009 it was discovered that I was Pre-Diabetes II and had high Blood Pressure...that was 15 years ago.  I went on a somewhat D2 Diet, and cut back on lots of things, beer drinking was not one of those "things". By the Spring of 2010 I had just turned 61 and my weight was hanging in the 183-187 range, that was down a good 30 pounds and I was satisfied with that...after all I was into weight lifting and could only drop so far {at least that's what I told myself}.  Over the next 15 years the weight fluxed between that 183 and 200, usually the lower number in the late Summer and high numbers around the Christmas Holiday Season{no surprise}.  Meanwhile I had developed full blown D2 and was on Metformin and 2 kinds of BP Meds, part of the Blood Pressure was my 'White Coat Syndrome"...every damn time I visited the VA Clinic in Columbus my BP was through the roof...I could never convince them that my BP was usually not that high, but was somewhat above normal...but the handful of doctors and nurses just looked at me with Jaundiced Eyes.

Anyway the Metformin doses increased and the PB Meds doses did likewise...the weight as I entered 2024 remained pretty steady between 183-195...still, now that I was turning 75, and just a shade over 5' 10"  ... I became bound and determined to rid myself of another 15 to 20 pounds and get down to about 175, while losing the weight and dropping the A1C and Bad Cholesterol numbers too...

In 2023 I had a new VA Doctor, and I call her "Doctor Helen" since I cannot pronounce her last name...she was more open to my "White Coat" and my claims my BP was overblown.  Last winter they hooked me up with a pad and new BP Home Monitor which went directly to the VA ...my numbers were indeed better, Blood Pressure wise at home...but still no lowering of the Meds, at least not yet.

On my first visit to Columbus in April, Dr Helen was out of town at a conference, and the new guy, was OK, however my blood worked sucked...A1C was way to high at 8.6 and my Bad LDL was 84.

Fast forward to July, vacation with son, his wife, and 3 grandsons for a couple days at Hilton Head Island, the solo to Flagler Beach for some beer drinking, cigar smoking, and fishing...a bit of soul searching too...I wanted the damn weight to drop a bit, but most of all I wanted those A1C numbers down, along with the LDL numbers.

So August 1st upon my return I did a bit of research and discovered the KETO {which I had tried and found it a waste of my time} offshoot the CARNIVORE Diet...basically meats, cheese, perhaps a green veggie or two, but not much else...Beer?  Not really but maybe extra lite beers with few carbs...worked for me, because at my age, I'm not giving up beer completely nor good quality hand rolled cigars.  So off I went on the Carnivore...meats, even deli, plenty of cheese, and "Diet" beers, plenty of flavored water and gallons of coffee.  The so called "Health Experts" hate this diet...well I don't know if it will increase my life longevity, but the results on October 16th at the VA, with Doctor Helen back, were something that she said "Made Her Day"... and personally I feel as good as I've felt in years...170 from a top weight of about 220 in my weight lifting and fried food/any beer I could find days, is something I wish I had discovered 20 years ago.

Even though my BP there was still somewhat high @ VA...147-76, when I showed her the screen shots of two days worth at home testing, the numbers were actually way too low.  On the other hand, my weight had dropped from 198 in street clothes in April to 173 now, the A1C took a dramatic dip from that 8.6 down to 6.2 and the Bad LDL dropped to 56 from 84.  Amazing...she was amazed and dropped my one BP med to 1/2 dose, which will be dumped completely after a PC/Phone conference on November 13th...if the numbers remain low, and so far they have, I was in the 80-96 over 53-60 range today, so I've taken it on myself to dump the one BP med totally...and see what she says next month.

As for the diet, I did midway thru give up the Deli Meats and most of the cheese...instead opting for Burgers, Chops, Fish, Eggs, and no skin Chicken breasts, along with some Bratwurst ...a few green veggies remain, along with the coffee and sweet water.  I did buy some darker Christmas Ales, and have sipped those for the past week...NO weight increase thus far...

So a Cat Scan in early December to check heart and carotid {the one that I didn't get "cleaned" out} back at VA...and hopefully I can dump or at least reduce the Metformin intake by Christmas...The ONLY Drawback of this diet is you have to adjust, I did get quite a bit of constipation and not wanting to drink the sugar and carb loaded Prune Juice I opted for some mild laxatives, which seemed to overdo things, but so far I'm managing to find the happy medium...

Hopefully I will never go back, most diets don't work long term, this one however does seem to reduce your appetite and so far I have no desire to return to those days of Breads, Added Sugars, Chocolate, Pies, even Cheesecake, and frankly the Dark Beers and Ales, so far, after a week are not even that big a deal...



If I fall off this wagon, I'll let you know, right here...

Back Later>>>>

Photos-Me at 62 back in 2011..I was still pumping iron and weighed in about 195, the other photo is an AI image of me of how I wanted to look when finished up with this diet, at least size wise, and I pretty much hit that nail on the head.  The key will be to moderate and keep it below 175..and the photo below was me and the two older grandsons at Great American Ballpark in late September weighing in at about 177, with still a handful to lose.  Grandson on the left was again participating in "Champions Day" at GABP, he finished 6th overall out of some 1300 participants at the various Red's Camp this past summer, he had finished 9th back in 2022, so he is into baseball, like the his uncle, his dad, and both grandads ... but it appears, if he stays focused, he will be the best of the lot.

Summer winds down 2024 Style

 Just keeping the old Blog alive past year 17...hard to believe I started this in July 2007, and for the first few years was posting semi-daily, now perhaps once every other month on average.

It's been a hot and mostly dry summer around Grand Lake but we finally got some overnight rain last night perhaps giving the parched yard grass and crops some relief...my Sunflowers did well and are now, except the Mexicans, being bird feed and seeds for next year...much of the spring and early summer we spent watching Grandson's baseball and swimming, and now fall baseball and soccer are on the agenda.

I did get a vacation in...while the wife stayed home and took care of the critters, including the now 10 month old Airedale, Millie, I gathered up one grandson and hauled him to Hilton Head Island to meet up with youngest son and the rest of his family for a 2 week vacation there, I stuck around for a couple days, then headed to Flagler Beach, Florida, for some relaxation on the Atlantic side this time around.  Then over to a buddy, Tom's, around DeLand, where we headed to Daytona Beach for some Oysters and Beers, stayed on his waterfront dwelling overnight.  After that the long ride home, in the 2024 Jeep Wrangler I had rented...more comfortable than my 2009, the new Jeeps, while not a off road friendly are for sure more like luxury cars than rough and tumble old time Jeeps.

After the vacation, and back to grandson sport watching, I have began a modified KETO\Carnivore diet, not giving up beer, but switching to the sickening extra light brands...been trying out a few different varieties, and will stick with a few of them until my Semi Annual VA check up in mid October.  This morning I weighed in at 183.0 my lowest since 1984 and topping last September's low of 183.6.  The goal is to hit 170 by October 16th...I frankly have little doubt that I can reach that, the plan is to keep it off until after the Christmas Holiday...then I will return to more carb, beer friendly, fare and see if I can hold my own in the 170-175 range.

Those are a look back at Summer 2024 and the goals for the rest of the year...besides seeing that lying whore Harris and the Stolen Valor POS Little Timmy Walz, defeated in November.

Back Later...

Photos...Me, Hal, and the 3 Grandsons at Hilton Head Island, July 2024...Oldest Grandson K~Man drives towards the Goal, he scored 4 of his teams 7 goals in this game last weekend and assisted in other in the 7-2 win.  Sunrise over Flagler Beach late July 2024.  And finally the middle Grandson Kam in the on deck circle...Kam had a grand spring and early summer season landing him a spot on the Dayton 10u all star team...and now is continuing that success in Fall Ball...

Just checking in...again

 2 posts in a couple of days...don't visit much but I saw 3 potential comments from some gutless asshole name of Butthead, or Bunson, or Dickless, something like one of those, using the tired old phrase of "Old Man" blah, blah, blah, saying he wanted to "Kick my Ass", on a February 29th comment...Just another in a long line of Leftist Internet Tough Guys, who would piss their panties if we every met face to face...age doesn't slow the trigger finger nor my aim...so tough guy, bring it.

The dumb son of a bitch left 3 comments and demanded, using Capital Letters in the last one, that I post his comments, I did the piss ant a favor and posted one...it's all the little bastard gets, and doesn't deserve even that.  And if he ever shows up on my door...well good luck punk, "Do you feel lucky"? 

OK enough of that...

Busy Summer continues...travel baseball, swimming, etc with the Grandsons...

Spent most of the week down south and finished up yesterday with the middle Grandson at GABP in Cincinnati, where he finished 3rd in his age group in the skills competition, with the two finishing ahead of him being a year older and somewhat larger to say the least...

Meanwhile oldest Grandson took a first, second, and a third in his 3 individual swimming races ...winning the Breaststroke by a finger nail...

Those activities will continue for a couple more weeks...then off to Florida to experience more heat and humidity for awhile.  Then there is Millie the now 8 month old Airedale is using the old Kiddie Pool to escape from the heat and humidity these days...

Back Sooner maybe rather than later...

Another Summer is Here and an Old Friend passes...

 

Yeah, it's been since February, so thought I would post a quickie...

Been spending most of the Spring, first day of Summer is today, chasing around with youngest son and middle grandson at their travel baseball games and tournament...

Just a quick note, and old friend and riding buddy Bob Reynolds passes today at James OSU in Columbus...he lived one Hell of a life, although the last few years have been brutal with the various cancers...

On the positive side he did find Jesus Christ a couple of years back...

RIP  Bob, safe travels in the afterlife.  Photo Bob and his Hym and me at my TW200 October 2022 in Ohio's Hocking Hills...

ps:  I plan on getting back on here more as the baseball and swim seasons winds down, because at 75 I cannot afford to be looking back, the grim reaper might be gaining on me...

Before February Ends...

The plan is, is to get at least a post a month here for 2024...so here we are in later February so let's do it...

It has been, for the most part, a snow free and mild winter..."Man Made Global Warming"?  Bullshit...just nature doing what it does, going through a cycle of change...and turning 75 next month, I'm damn glad to see the warmer winter weather...and hopefully Spring, as they predict, is warmer than normal as well...

Millie, the new Airedale pup, is growing way fast...on her 3rd and last for now, visit to the Vets, for here final set of pup shots, she weighed in at just over 40 pounds...and she is just turning 4 months old this week...even for the Oorang/Ohio Strain, that is a big girl...100 pounds?  I hope not, but if it happens, we will adapt.

Only a few solid plans for the spring...watching the middle grandson during his 9u travel baseball season from March thru early July down in Dayton, another Vietnam Security Police get together in April at WPAFB and the Air Farce Museum in Dayton...and {maybe} some fishing in... 

I will, God willing, turn 75 on March 16th...does that bother me?  Not really, given the track record of the surname men in my family, I will be only the 2nd one that has reached 75 years old...my Uncle John made it to 75 and a couple months, but he had 3 heart attacks and some other later year health issues before he passed.  As for me, despite the Agent Orange related Diabetes 2 and related Neuropathy, I am pretty healthy.  On a few drugs from the Columbus VA, but all in all, I still ride the Dual Sport Motorcycle on occasion and get out and about ... we will see how that works out as time moves on...

OK there is my short February post...back in March, if not sooner>>>>

Welcome to 2024...

 2024 off and running...

Almost a month in to the new year...first few days/weeks were cold and windy, last 10 have been miserable, wet, above average temps, but now closer to normal temps but still damn, not seen the sun since at least a week, and not even before that...

The new Airedale Pup, Millie, is growing like a weed...turned 14 weeks on Sunday 28th} and is right at 30 pounds...mostly house broken, still a few mistakes on occasion, but doing as well as expected.  Training is moving along, wife is better and more patient than me...Millie is still over aggressive with Old Cam Dog, the Schnauzer Mix who is at 16 years and mostly blind...it all is a work in progress.

Not much else going on...I do need, approaching 75 years on this planet, to get back to working out more...I can feel the winter moving along slow...but spring can happen IMO at any time...the sooner the better.

Well that's about it...getting the year moving, and I will be back later, God willing...

When we had a bit of Snow Millie did enjoy playing out and about in it...

Looking Back at 2023...

No long look back at the year 2023 as it comes to a close...the few posts I have made thus far this year pretty much tells it ...

No major vacation for me and the wife this year, she spent about 2 weeks with her remaining family in SE Wisconsin this Summer, I took the oldest Grandson down to Space Camp in Alabama in July, then headed to Cedar Key, Florida, before the September Hurricane hit...got a bit of fishing in, some beer drinking, cigar smoking, and a larger part spent doing some Florida outdoor photography. I just couldn't see putting the old Schnauzer Mix Rescue Dog, Cam, in the kennel...he is now 16 and I won't mess with his life end times by sticking him in a kennel, while he can no longer see and is getting old...he eats fine and is aware so he is good to go for the duration.

No major Dual Sport Motorcycle adventure rides again this year, and my riding buddy Nick and I decided to sell the Yamaha TW200s, but after nobody seemed to want to travel to our area to look them over, we are likely to pull them off the market...Hell old or not, we can still ride, and probably will in 2024...



As I posted last week, I did make a somewhat crazy decision to buy another Airedale Terrier Pup...as of today "Millie" is 9 weeks and 2 days old and already 18 pounds and headed towards 70 plus likely...she is about 95% house trained, but still does chew with those puppy choppers...the entire family was here for Christmas Eve and the 2 older grandsons, 12 and 9 got some quality time with Millie...

Top Photo: Millie this morning, taking a nap and back in 2015 Me, Old Blue, Fred and Nick at Canyonlands outside of Moab, Utah...


What will 2024 bring?  

No Idea...as fucked up as that Demented Son of a Bitch is, who knows?  World War III, Martial Law, Civil War against the Leftist Bastards, I have little clue...hopefully the Bastards and his Marxist Administration will be the Hell out of office by January 2025, and the gawd damn borders will be closed. Perhaps we will get lucky and Jesus will return soon...but I think more pain and blood letting will happen before that comes about.

I plan on enjoying what time I have left on this Earth {turn 75 in March}...and sure the Hell don't worry about what may come personally...I worry for the younger family members and friend's kids and grandkids, but as for myself...?  F' It...I have lived on Hell of a life and if it ends tomorrow I'm good.

Top 9 year old Kam and Millie, and his older brother 12 year old Kasyn with the pup...

Back Later, probably 2024, if all goes well>>>

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Airedales {Again}

 

When our last Airedale, Reagan, passed away in 2012 just a couple months shy of 14, we decided no more dogs...  Well!

Along came 2 Schnauzer mixed, rescue pups, courtesy of youngest son and his wife, when the grandsons started coming...they stayed off and on with us for a few years, then after Avery died, we got Cam Dog back a few years ago...he is still with us at about 16 years old.  A kitten came calling about 12 years ago on Christmas Night, she has now been a house cat for those dozen or so years..5 more outdoor kittens were rescued and became Garage/Outdoor cats...2 of them still hang around.

About a month or so ago I got a burr and even though I will be 75 in March, and wife just turned 70, we are in good shape, mostly, despite my {?} Agent Orange related Diabetes II...so I started looking for Farm Bred, non show quality Airedales...yep, crazy I know, what was I thinking?

After looking awhile, and the prices sure have changed since we sold our last litter, back on the farm for around $200 per pup {we started out at $50 per dog up in Northern Wisconsin back in the late 1970s}.  Today's Airedales are fetching anywhere from $900 to $2750 or so, that I could find on the Internet.  I found a farm that raised Large Oorang Airedale pups for $1200 each....and they had a litter born on October 22nd, they would be ready around December 16th...located about 140 miles away near Ashland, Ohio.

I conversed with the couple, the husband's parents and brother had raised Airedales as well...and they were well versed in the non show Airedales.  I ended up putting down the $200 deposit on one of the 7 females in the litter of 10 and was told I had pick #5....that was OK, I know Airedales, wife knows Airedales, and I know most people, unless they have had multiple Airedales, really don't know how to select one, so I was fine with #5...

Last Saturday I headed to just outside the tiny berg of Mifflin in Ashland County...the day was

mostly sunny and nice for mid December and I arrived about a half hour ahead of my scheduled selection time of 11:30am...giving me a chance to check out the parents of my pup as well as the other stud dogs and bitches...including one huge Airedale that was in the 130 pound range.  My original stud dog, Max, was about 100 pounds but this one, name of Boone, makes Max look "average"...Big Dog.  Boone is not our pup's {who wife named "Millie"} dad, Beau is about 90 pounds while momma Jasmine is around 70-75...big Airedales, but reasonable, so Millie won't be to big for the house...unless I miss my guess...at 8 1/2 weeks she is about 14 pounds and growing daily.

Anyway Millie got home Saturday, here it is Wednesday, she is about 80% trained, still pees in the Mud Room, on occasion, by the door instead of letting me know she has to get out that back door...but for the most part she does here business outside and only chewing on things other than her "stuff" is the only other concern, but with less than 100 hours at our place, she is learning quick.

Hopefully she will survive and we will survive over the coming Christmas weekend, with the kids, and grandkids here...after that we should be able to concentrate on getting her trained properly...but after all these years of being sans Airedales, it will still be a challenge.

One other thing, old Cam Dog wants no part of her, he is about totally blind and just wants to eat, sleep, and for her to leave him alone...the indoor cat avoids her, and the outdoor cats despise her and her rambunctious ways of puppyhood...they warn her off, which they need to, because by spring she will be way to large for them to handle.

Turning 100 years old...

 

No not me...the old home aka:  Parsonage 

Built by the First Church of God, the basement was poured in November 1923 as the living quarters for whoever would be the Pastor at that time...among those living here was Pastor and then Congressman, Tennyson Guyer.  The church {Old Church still standing} built a new structure in the late 1980s about a mile north and west, so the church sold the parsonage to Jeff Larmore and his wife at the time, in late 1989 ... When Jeff and ex got a divorce he sold it to me, and we took possession in early June 1995.

The nearly 2000 sq foot structure, including the 2 car garage and kennel, was smaller upon completion in 1924...the kitchen, second small bathroom, and storage "Mud Room" was added in 1945 and the Garage was built in 1990.  In the early and mid 1970s wife and I lived just 2 houses and a block away from the Parsonage, and Patricia loved the way the place looked...so when the chance came, I put some money down, and purchased it, paid it off early and is now ours, with the exception of the damn property taxes which will be going up again soon.  Now we are getting older, and the neighborhood is not what it once was, I could probably get 3 maybe 4 times what I spent to buy it...but, not gonna happen.  I refuse to move at my age, and when I pass on, Patricia, if she feels the need, can do with it what she wants.  If by small chance she should go first...this will be my final spot to live...



The youngest son was 11 when we moved in and now it is just us, with occasional overnights from the grandsons, and Sam when he visits from Chicago...but I'm happy with the way we have kept it up, although the old wood is a pain in the ass to paint every 5 years or so...I've done it 4 times thus far, it will likely need it again within the next two or three years, but I will finally give up the ghost and have that done by somebody younger and with more skills on that roof and ladder.  

For now however it remains the longest, by far {the farmhouse on Coldwater Creek is 2nd at 10 years} of anyplace I have ever remained in...and hopefully it will remain that, after more than 28 years, I have no interest in moving again, if I don't have to...did that way to many times in my first 46 plus years..

Back Later>>>maybe before 2024 

A Day in Cincinnati with the Boys

Youngest son Hal, and the two older grandsons, K~Man and Kam, headed to the Business Day Special on Wednesday to watch the Reds take on the Twins...big game for the Reds, but they blew it late and fell 5-3, wasting a great performance by young Hunter Greene, 14 strikeouts in 7 innings, just one run and 3 hits...but the bullpen blew it in the 8th and 9th...Reds are still in the hunt but cannot afford to lose more than one or two games out of the last 8...starting tonight at home vs Pittsburgh.

The boys, who are home schooled part time and go to a quality Christian School the rest of the week had competed their lessons so we were off...with less school age kids in attendance because of the time of the game, they had access to grab some quality autographs from some of the Reds young Stars...namely Matt McLain and Andrew Abbott ...the also got tossed game balls from T J Friedl the Reds young Centerfielder.  As so happens, T J is the nephew of my post Vietnam Air Force buddy and roommate, the late Jack Friedl...proving once again it's a small world indeed...

Me on the left, with Jack Friedl in the middle and our buddy Bruce Dei...at a November 1971 Wedding in Rome, New York:

 The Reds game will be one of two contests in Cincinnati I will take in, in a 5 day period...Monday night I will take in the Bengals vs Rams on MNF...that won is looking "iffy" for Bengals star QB, Joe Burrow, and the once promising season, which is now 0 wins and 2 loses is on the brink of disaster...Burrow's leg injury could indeed undo the season.

But Hal has season tickets and this is the game I picked out...so off we go.

The {mostly} retired life, as I near 75 years on this planet, is going quite well thank you...

Back with more sometime later...{gotta get those 10 posts in this year} >>>