Before 8 o'clock

I got up at my usual time (4:30am) after roasting all night. The humidity came back with a vengeance, and I didn't open the windows more than a crack. I did have the ceiling fan running all night, so that helped.
Before I left the house for my bus route, I was able to bring a pot of kidney beans to a boil, then lowered the heat and let them simmer while I was gone.
Temperature in the house this morning was 78 because I am cooking the chili. The humidity is so bad that the back door is sticking. It swelled up a bit.
When I came home, I did all the prep work for the chili, including browning some ground Bison along with onions and other seasonings, browning sausage links removed from their casings, mixing the tomatoes, paste, and seasonings, finishing up the beans, mixing them all together in the crock pot, and eating my meal.
Now, I am going to turn on the AC and cool off. The fan just isn't doing it.
The grass could use a clipping today, but I think I will pass in favor of doing some other stuff that needs to be done.
I should go shopping too.
The mortgage application is finished, and waiting for the fee to be sent out.
And, most of this was done before 8 o'clock!

In between, when I should be working on something else.

I am 3/4 of the way through the paperwork to refinance our home in order to save it, so I thought I would take a break and ramble a bit.
I like bullet points, so here goes:

• I am still sore from East Petersburg day, but I cut the lawn on Monday, and still did other things. Tuesday, I trimmed all the bushes around the house. My wife is going to be upset when I cut down the Forsythia bushes in another day or so. I would love to pull them out, but will settle for the major trimming, in hopes that I can afford to hire a landscaper next year to redo the whole area. I have a third of an acre and there are areas that are in terrible shape that I can't fix without help. I am going to research types of mulch to see if I can use stones instead of mulch where the sun doesn't hit.
• I have to clean up the rest of the basement, and back bedroom in the next week in order for the appraiser to come over and give the house a fair value.
• I am going to work on some songs for playing my guitar in the next week, come Hell or high water. I have been promising myself to do this for a few months now. I am a good player and decent singer. I should use my talents again.
• The lawn has needed to be cut every other day all summer with a short break in July when things slowed down a bit. They are back up to full speed now, so I get my workout every other day.
• My arms and face are now tanned from being out in the sun. I look good with clothes, and most people can't tell I had surgery. They just know that I'm thinner. I had lots of positive comments at East Pete day, and didn't use my nasty replies to anyone there.
• Oh well, time to get back to work.
  

The Longest day 2009

I know this is a reference to a terrible day is our nation's and world's history, but I am borrowing it for now.
It is not a negative reference. Rather, it is a triumph for me.
The fact that I survived is one milestone.
The fact that I am writing this so soon after the day is amazing.
I started out around 7 am. yesterday morning and finished up around midnight. I had to unwind, so I stayed up after I got home at 10:45pm or so.
East Petersburg Day turned out to be something special for me this year. It usually is, but this year proved that I can still push the envelope and survive.
I have a sunburn on my nose and neck, and am a little sore, but I survived.
Read my Facebook picture pages to see what it was like.
Today, I took a Helix ride to see a monster million pound pair of generators being moved to TMI
Our ride took about two hours total. My back was sore, but I did that too. I also went grocery shopping. But, I am bushed now, and heading to bed a little early.
I'm happy to be alive.
nuclear power plant. They were parked for the weekend and there were hundreds of people gawking at it.