Day 394 – (AD 824) – 22.5 Miles – Jim's Trek Part III – Almost On My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

This morning I chalked up another 22.miles on my Schwinn 170. My daily average number of miles has increased to 20.8. My totals as of this date are: 17,162.5 miles; 27,620.4 kilometers.

And I am still in the bush/woods/forest/jungle of Queensland. My virtual journey has me located on the Unnamed Road, if it really is a road/street/lane/path. I have 23.2 more miles to go to get to my next destination and goal point. I have never ever told anyone that I am looking forward for tarred and paved roads.

I have a weakness - Chicharones - Chicharrón.

Ever since I was a young boy I have had a penchant for Chicharrón. You know, fried pork rinds, the kind of stuff that comes in a snack bag or the hot type right out of the oven. Crispy fried or baked pork skin. Crispy and sort of like flavored, that is, pork-flavored crispy and crunchy styrofoam. For me a great snack is a bag of chicarones, spicy ones, and a bottle of real Coca-Cola.

Well I found a new type of bag of Chicharones at a store the other day. I quickly stuffed a bag, only one, into my cart, paid at the cash register and headed home. I salivated to try the new chicharones. This one was labeled "Hot Chili Pepper & Lime". A new 'gourmet' treasure.

I opened the bag. I immediately gobbled down a couple of the tasty morsels. I then began to examine the chicharones.  I was perplexed.  Since when are chicharones in any bag or dish almost all the same shape.  Each one appeared to be a similar sized rectangle.  There was a sort of distinct taste.

I examined the bag.  Made in Mexico. And ingredient list seemed to be missing pork.  I turned the bag over and there at the bottom left hand corner -

"Spicy Wheat Flour Snack".  These were fake, I mean false, I mean fake, substitute...Not the real thing.  These Chicharones were not Chicharrón.  Damn. 

Did I tell you that I like food?  I do NOT like fake chicharones.  No bloody way.  And the rest of the bag went right into the trash.  Bloody hell.  Fake Chicharrón.

Work progress well at the piecing of the strips of our new quilt Moon Over Bayshore. Follow our beginnings and our updates at Quilts SB.

This is my 880th post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this morning, 67,389 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek.

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 393 – (AD 823) – 22.6 Miles – Jim's Trek Part III – No Images On My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

Just got back from a number of appointments, and I am now just sitting down to write up my day’s journey and Trek.

This morning I pedaled 22.6 miles on my Schwinn 170. My totals are 17,140.0 miles; 27,584.2 kilometers.

I’m back on the bicycle path in Queensland and once again I find myself on an Unnamed Road. My directions have reversed themselves from yesterday and I am now headed in southeasterly direction. Who ever said “as a crow flies” was expecting the shortest distance between two points? And I haven’t seen any crows in this part of Australia.

Is it my imagination or do I truly read and see that there are more double-dealers and self-serving religious people? Everyone seems to be quoting this or that Biblical reference. As I look I can find at least 100 passages/verses about hypocrisy.

And even though this is an advertisement…and it may have been done with electronic magic, the feeling and the sensitivity truly are amazing.



This is my 879th post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this morning, 67,333 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek.

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 392 – (AD 822) – 22.1 Miles – Jim's Trek Part III – A Road On My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

Today I pedaled 22.1 miles on my Schwinn 170. Totals now: 17,117.4 miles; 27,547.9 kilometers. That's the real part.

And this morning it looks like I finally am able to cycle on a paved road, virtually of course. I am still in Queensland and I am headed north on Mulligan Highway. I’ve got 70 more miles to go get to my next destination and goal point on this crazy journey.

My blood sugar was down again this morning by 15 points. It registered 94 mg/dL. It is smack dab right in the normal range…

And here’s the rub; watching my diet, this consistent pedaling, and NO diabetes medication for almost 2 years. If I were to have gone to any doctor in the past 3-to-4 months, and without his/her knowledge of my medical history, I would be diagnosed as ‘not diabetic’.

Yes it is known that I have been trying to discover my genealogy and ancestry via a search of documents and through current Y-DNA and mtDNA methodologies. Here are my issues –

I have the most common surname in the English language. According to Sofeminine.co.uk the number 1 and most common surname in the United Kingdom is, guess what? Smith of course. Well that’s my paternal line. Oh and on my maternal line, Robertson is the 72nd out 8,460 most common.

And then my Y-DNA Haplogroup R1b “is the dominant paternal lineage of Western Europe…and in parts of sub-Saharan Central Africa”. While my mtDna Haplogroup H1 “is by far the most common subclade in Europe…”

What can I say? I can narrow my roots down to an area, Western Europe, and it means that we may all be connected in one way or another. And I keep looking. Still pending – Smith Test CTS699.

And now I have to figure how to get Vital Records from Wisconsin.

I used to think the brain was the most important organ. Then I thought, look what’s telling me that.

This is my 878th post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this morning, 67,255 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek.

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 391 – (AD 821) – 23.1 Miles – Jim's Trek Part III – Get Me Off This Path On My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

This morning I pedaled another 23.1 miles on my Schwinn 170. My totals – 17,095.3 miles; 27,512.3 kilometers.

I think I am beginning to lose it with the new Google Maps Beta. After every couple of changes it keeps asking me to enter a scrambled phrase… Wonder if it is checking to see if I am really a human? On some sort of virtual journey?

I am located still in the woods/forest/jungle of Queensland on an Unnamed Road headed north… I think. Only 91.6 more miles of this to go.

And this is me after pedaling.

I do not take selfies, as they are called, but a number of friends just wanted to know if I still had my hair.  Receded a bit and a touch of grey. Widow's peak long-time gone and I still can not grow any sideburns.

If you see me walking down the street,
with a chicken at my feet,
Walk on by, walk on by.

Make believe
that you don’t see the wings
Just let me believe
in sunny-side eggs and things
‘Cause each time I see you
it’s breakfast and try

And walk on by (don’t stop)
And walk on by (don’t drop)
And walk on by.


Last night for supper I tried a quick version of Calabacitas con Elote y Pollo, zucchini with corn and chicken; my version sprinkled with Queso Fresco served on orzo with flour tortillas.

And then I made some Cake Mix Gooey Butter Cookies.

Cream Cheese, Butter, Vanilla, Egg, and Yellow Cake Mix…and Icing Sugar.

Damn, they’re good. Sort of like a cheese cake and cake and cupcake and cookie all rolled into one. And of course my early morning blood sugar points jumped to 109. Wonder what they would taste like substituting a Chocolate Cake Mix and adding some mini-Chocolate Chips.

This is my 877th post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this morning, 67,171 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek.

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 390 – (AD 820) – 22.5 Miles – Jim's Trek Part III – It’s Sunday On My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

Yes I got on my Schwinn 170 and pedaled 22.5 miles. I have now clocked 17,072.2 miles; 27,475.1 kilometers.

And I am somewhere in Queensland, somewhere on an Unnamed Road, somewhere on a bicycle path, and in a forest, I think, of trees. Only 115 more miles to get to my next destination and goal point. I’m headed in a southeasterly direction. This short leg of my Part III journey seems to be going the longest yet.

Spring must be here… in the Northeast. I just received notice of a Sous Vide recipe for Fiddlehead Ferns. My mouth is watering.

For me New Brunswick is synonymous with Fiddleheads and Black Salmon from the Miramichi. Tonight’s supper, a dish with Chicken and Zucchini.

Oh yeah, my blood sugar this morning was down 9 points to 95.

And for the one who just has so much money that this is a must have. Looks like it may be up for sale again… for only $2,500,000.00

The 007 Lotus Espirit ‘Submarine Car’ sold at Sotheby’s for £616,000, September 2013

This is my 876th post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this morning, 67,106 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek.

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 389 – (AD 819) – 22.0 Miles – Jim's Trek Part III – Bike Paths On My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

Today I have now completed just over 80% of my Trek III goal…

And believe it or not I still have days when I truly do not want to get on my Schwinn 170. I can say that there is still that little voice inside me that keeps egging me on when I get to this point in my journey. It’s like having a voice saying “Damn it Smith, you only have about 19% of your goal to go. Get up off your ass and get on your bike. And pedal.”

And I got on my Schwinn 170 and I cycled another 22.0 miles. My totals are: 17,049.7 miles; 27,438.9 kilometers.

From the satellite map, from about 1000 feet up, I am still located on some bicycle path in Palmer, Queensland. I just crossed over Sandy Creek. And I just read the new Google Maps beta warning –

“Use caution – may involve errors or sections not suited for bicycling”.

Questions – What happens if you are a real cyclist and you are using Google Maps to navigate your journey? Is the blue line truly a virtual bike path? I know the trouble that I have following and using the virtual application in my virtual trek. But what about the real cyclist adventurer? Is the real now only the fantasy/virtual journey?

No more cooking competitions. Finally Netflix must have heard my complaints. (Yeah right.)  This Sunday, April 26th, a new show starts “Chef’s Table”, a show without the gimmicks or the competition, a show supposedly about cooking.

Definitely going to check it out. (The New York Times, Neil Genzlinger),

And if you get a chance watch "Jiro Dreams of Sushi", same Directors.

Our latest project, Moon Over Bayshore. 9 of 38 strips pieced. Follow updates at Quilts SB. (http://quiltssb.com)

This is my 875th post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this morning, 67,035 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek.

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 388 – (AD 818) – 22.2 Miles – Jim's Trek Part III – Head’s On, On My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

This morning I pedaled 22.2 miles on my Schwinn 170. My totals are: 17,027.7 miles; 27,403.5 kilometers.

I’m trying to finagle the bicycling path program in the new Google Maps beta. It could be me, and if I work it out correctly I will have another 160, plus or minus, miles to go to get to my next destination and goal point.

Got to make some pepper aka capsaicin relish. I got me some Orange Habaneros and some Hot Green Fingers.

Will make three types; one with the Orange; one with the Green; and one with a mix of the two. Simple and basic recipe…and HOT. Peppers, Onions, Salt, Water, Cider Vinegar, and Sugar. Did I mention that I like hot, spicy food and sauces?

According to MedBroadcast

"Evidence is preliminary, but there's a possibility that capsaicin could be used as a treatment to lower blood pressure and cholesterol. Eating meals with capsaicin-rich peppers may also help to regulate blood sugar levels and lower the risk of diabetes. And when you lower your diabetes risk, your blood pressure, and your cholesterol, you lower your overall heart health risks!"

And that’s not all.  There's other proposed benefits.  But I just like the hot stuff…and yes I know there has been an exponential increase in the number of quack doctors and medicine “experts” since the increase of the electronic age.

Today’s saint of the day is St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen… and if you can pronounce his name in your prayers correctly, according to Sister Charles Edwards, the blessing of Sigmaringen will be upon you. Oh and by the by, St. Fidelis was originally Mark Rey and a lawyer. Hell if I knew that lawyers could become saints? Recommendation for supper – Salmon and Potato Hash.

Two of our quilts - Warhol's Itch and Sleep Jezebel have been accepted for entry and display to The Festival of Quilts 2015, 6th-9th August at NEC, Birmingham, England.

Also two, Chopsticks and Warhol's Itch, will be on display at The Home Machine Quilting Show (HMQS) 2015 in Salt Lake City, Utah 7th-9th May.

This is my 874th post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this morning, 66,974 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek.

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 387 ½ – (AD 817 ½) – 0.0 Miles – Jim's Trek Part III – Day Off My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

CK’s school class presentation.

Day off. No Schwinn 170.

And as from Ashleigh Steel, graphic designer in Sydney, Australia.



Day off.

This is my 873rd post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this morning, 66,937 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek.

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 387 – (AD 817) – 22.3 Miles – Jim's Trek Part III – 17,005.5 Miles on an Unnamed Road on My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

This afternoon I pedaled another 22.3 miles on my Schwinn 170. I switched my schedule around today. But I am still cycling.

And I have now crossed over the 17,000-mile mark; my totals 17,005.5 miles; 27,367.8 kilometers.

The new Google Maps has a new Beta program that allows for the mapping of Cycling. And guess what? I am using it. I just got off the Burke Developmental Road and I am now pedaling, virtually, on an Unnamed Road. I’m still in Queensland and I am now headed north. The little drag-on Google man does not work in the new Beta. And I captured a satellite image from 2 miles up.

That’s me at the Unnamed Road marker.

Blood sugar count this morning dropped another 14 points. I registered 102. The movement downward is a positive direction.

Did some genealogy research this morning. I am still stuck on trying to figure out the connection of my grandson CK’s triple-great grandfather to his, possible, 4-times great-grandfather. The crux of the matter is the migration to Wisconsin from New York. Once I figure out the roadblock, all-things-being-equal, a lot will fall into place to Quebec, Lorraine, and Saarland.

This is my 872nd post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this morning, 66,882 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek.

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 386 – (AD 816) – 22.2 Miles – Jim's Trek Part III – Still On My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

This morning I clocked 22.2 miles on my Schwinn 170. I am nearing another milestone. My totals now equal – 16,983.2 miles; 27,331.9 kilometers. And today is my 816th day of pedaling.

I am located, I think on the Burke Developmental Road in Wrotham, Queensland. I think this is a road. I have adjusted my virtual Trek to what Google Maps deems as a Bicycle Path. I certainly do, virtually that is, want to stay out of the way of those virtual vehicles that may zoom past and leave me peppered with gravel and stones.

My early morning blood sugar dropped this morning by 17 points to register 116. I drank my orange juice after I jabbed my finger.

And it is nice to know that Florida politics includes nepotism just like for most degraded politicians. Yesterday Creative Loafing’s David Warner reported “Hey, Pam Bondi, you just helped the New York Times win a Pulitzer!” Eric Lipton just won The 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting. Congratulations, Miss Bondi.

 “Bondi was prominently featured in the story, which showed how lobbyists are using campaign donations, fancy dinners and other inducements to pressure attorneys general to drop lawsuits, ignore advice of state regulators and even adopt talking points pre-approved by the lobbyists' clients.”

The 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting was awarded to Eric Lipton of The New York Times for reporting that showed how the influence of lobbyists can sway congressional leaders and state attorneys general, slanting justice toward the wealthy and connected.

Work continues on our new quilts, Moon over Bayshore and An Unnamed Classic.  Follow our progress at Quilts SB.

This is my 871st post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this morning, 66,811 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek.

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 385 – (AD 815) – 22.1 Miles – Jim's Trek Part III – Thinking On My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

This morning I cycled 22.1 miles on my Schwinn 170. My totals – 16,961.0 miles; 27,296.1 kilometers.

And I have to find a way to get rid of my gut. Any ideas, without a scalpel?

My journey location is still somewhere in Highbury, Queensland on the Burke Development Road. I crossed over the Lynd River which appears to be a tributary of the Mitchel River. 225 more miles to go to get to my next trek destination and goal point.

And I drank a glass of orange juice just before I stabbed myself to take my early morning blood sugar count. Hell, what was I, or should I say not thinking? My blood sugar count registered at 133 mg/dL. And since I’m not you I haven't a clue how much the 8-oz of juice affected my count. Guess I will have to note the result – This fool forgot how to take his blood sugar count this morning! And yes I live in Florida.

Today, my Morning Pages, I have now written a total of 500,375 words in 647 days. Each morning I write, with acknowledgement to Julia Cameron’s The Artist Way, 750 words.

It just is sort of a brain dump. It sometime is a to do list; sometimes a tada list. But today I surpassed the ½ million mark. Hey, it’s not a book. Just a couple of minutes each morning. And of course I do not use longhand as she suggests, I use 750Words.com.

Thanks TQ for suggesting the site to me. I am definitely more at ease these days using an electronic journal…and I save trees.

A very good article from The Washington Post by Alexandra Robbins – “Nurses make fun of their dying patients. That’s okay.”

The first time I over-heard the phrase "circling-the-drain" was on the day when I was admitted to an ER with acute appendicitis. The nursing staff was ever so to kind but all of a sudden they had to leave me because the patient in the next room was "circling-the-drain".

I was a bit taken aback by the use of phrase. I just over-heard it, even though I was in what I considered "drastic and life-ending pain", I understood the colloquial use of "inner-sanctum" language. 

This article brings back a number of memories, but one I will never forget while I lay on the ER bed, racked in what I believed to be the most excruciating of pain. I laughed at the nurse's choice of words...in a morbid sort-of way. Thank you all doctors and nurses who just take time to make me enjoy life. And for me avoiding the great plumber in the sky.


I update Quilts SB last night and included the construction and progress of our 128th quilt – Crystal. Check it out at http://quiltssb.com or at http://quiltsb.blogspot.com .

This is my 870th post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this morning, 66,723 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek.

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 384 – (AD 814) – 22.4 Miles – Jim's Trek Part III – New Google Map On My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

Today I cycled 22.4 miles on my Schwinn 170. My totals are now 16,938.9 miles; 27,260.6 kilometers.

This morning I decided to change over to the new Google Maps. Classic Google Maps is going away and you know what that means? I’ll have to learn something new once again, and tweak these aging brain cells. I do like routine. I do like to have moving in a continuous line and prescribed format. Oh well. Bear with me as I learn what I can do on the new Google Maps.

This is a snagged image of my virtual route this morning in Queensland, Australia. If I follow the proposed bike path I will get to my next destination and goal point in about 251 more miles.

Still wondering if the Burke Developmental Road has been paved since 2008.

I was in no mood to cook last night. I did not have the gumption to create even a salad. And so I took a coupon, 2-for-1 and lay a spread from Mickey-D’s. That’s right Chicken McNuggets, Fries, and a large Chocolate Shake…of course with no whipped cream.

Later on I gorged myself on a bag of pretzels smothered with cheese spread chased with ginger-ale. And then to curb my continued appetite, Cocktail Onions. And my early morning blood sugar jumped up 26 points. McDonalds equals sugar. Period.

Tonight I’m going to try a very, very fast recipe, sautéed Shrimp with Tortellini. Prep and cooking shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes.

Crystal has greeted her new owner in Delaware.

Our new Moon Over Bayshore is in process. Quilting is one of the few hobbies that I am aware that one must work in a number of directions – Think; design; decide; cut; sew back to together; draw/draft; choose; take apart; sew; sew; construct; quilt. We’re at the second “sew” part of our progress.  Keep checking with Quilts SB for updates and progress.

Pretty proud of myself. I used a Phillips head screwdriver and a monkey wrench yesterday. Question is whether it will hold up for at least the upcoming Hurricane Season?

Why is it that there is something, to me only, about the time 12:34, am or pm? I seem fixated and have been for a good many year about the fact that I may glance at a clock and see the time at 12:34.

And I’m still trying to figure out what Red Velvet cake tastes like?

This is my 869th post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this morning, 66,643 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek.

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 383 ½ – (AD 813 ½) – 0.0 Miles – Jim's Trek Part III – Rest Day, Sort of From My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

Day off for Grandpa. No pedaling on my Schwinn 170.

Early morning swimming lessons, CK with two buddies. It was a ½ –hour episode of Musketears. I really thought coach should invest in disposable ear plugs.

Only about 21% more of my mileage goal to finish up in Australia.

My blood sugar dropped another 3 points last night to 102. Sautéed Flounder with Zucchini ‘Pasta’ with Cantaloupe and Blood Orange Ice for dessert. I borrowed and tweaked an Emeril Legasse recipe. I will probably write this one up for Jim’s Gotta Eat.

Work has now moved from the design to the technical stage on our new commissioned quilt, Moon Over Bayshore. Check our progress at Quilts SB Facebook and Quilts SB.

Our new quilt Crystal was delivered to its new home in Delaware.

And quilting continues on our new quilt An Unnamed Classic.

Is it my imagination or is the pending 2016 Presidential appears to be going to be an extremely expensive exercise in boredom? 

From The Hill, Amie Parnes and Kevin Cirilli –  “The 2016 presidential election could cost as much as $5 billion, according to top fundraisers and bundlers who are already predicting it will more than double the 2012 campaign’s price tag.”

That works out to just under $15.70 per every man, woman, and child here in the good ole US of A.

Assume, (yes I know I should never assume), that 40% of the population do not vote then the capital expenditure in advertising of the electorate jumps to just over $26.10 per voter. $26.10 does not appear to be a big deal, obviously to the running candidates…but just think of what could be done with $5,000,000,000. It truly is nauseating when one thinks about it.

This is my 868th post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this morning, 66,582 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek.

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim