Day 181 – (AD 1,343) – 20.1 Miles Today – Jim’s Trek Part V – On My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

This morning I cycled 20.1 miles on my Schwinn 170. Totals are now at 28,538.1 miles; 45,927.7 kilometers.

I have now completed 51.5% of the distance to Lambert Crater.

This morning I clocked over 170,000 Pageviews since I began the crazy Trek and journey over 4 ¼ years ago.

That number, 170,010 translates to approximately 110 Pageviews a day. That’s not necessarily a great number, but to me that is a fantastic number of Pageviews for a somewhat insignificant blog, Jim’s Trek and Journey. Thank you very much.

My new glucose monitor is working and it seems to be tracking my blood sugar as it should. Time will tell.

Last night was an Indian meal for supper. I made, according to the recipe, Northern Indian Chicken Curry, Kidney Bean Dal, and Biryani Rice. Even though the image was sort of uniform in color between the Curry and the Dal the food was outstanding.

Tonight, I try Korean fare. I have lined up recipes for Cabbage and Cabbage Bok Choy Salad, Dae Ji Bol Gogi, and 12-Grain Rice.

Yes, I do love to cook. I love to eat. And I love to experiment with food.

This is my 1,446th post. Per Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this writing, 170,010 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek. (This link is my email address - jsmith58@gmail.com.)

Have a healthy day and smile,

Jim

Day 180 – (AD 1,342) – 20.1 Miles Today – Jim’s Trek Part V – On My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

This morning I pedaled another 20.1 miles on my Schwinn 170. Totals are now at 28,518.0 miles; 45,895.4 kilometers.

I have now completed 46.6% of the distance to Lambert Crater.

Soapbox –

100th day. No ticket, no return. Period.

I'll stay on Mars.

Update OPOY - The remaining strips being added, machine-appliquéd. Quilt dimension 70" L by 65" W. Yes, this will be a new and different quilt that Andy and I have designed and created. All-things-being-equal we hope that this quilt and design will convey that which we have been thinking and holding on to for the past year.

This is my 1,445th post. Per Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this writing, 169,778 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek. (This link is my email address - jsmith58@gmail.com.)

Have a healthy day and smile,

Jim

Day 179 – (AD 1,341) – 20.0 Miles Today – Jim’s Trek Part V – On My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

This morning I really felt like shoving the whole deal regarding my cycling on my Schwinn Fitness cycle. I truly had and almost decided to throw the towel in. But then I realized that I had made a commitment to myself. This was a commitment to myself no-one else. I was/am going to pedal at least the total of the equatorial circumference of the Earth plus the same of Mars.

To date, after pedaling 20 miles on my Schwinn 170, I have now completed 74.6% of my total and expected goal. Translated, that equals 28,497.9 miles; 45,863.0 kilometers. I am currently pedaling at a 15/25 resistance and I am cycling, albeit moving in a fantastical journey via Google Earth, 5 days a week. Not bad of an accomplishment for someone who is on the waning side of 65.

And speaking of my Martian Trek, I have now completed 41.7% of the distance to my next destination and goal point of Lambert Crater. I figure that at this point on the journey I have reached Charybdis Scopulus.

Just wondering if I should consider a Schwinn® 470 Elliptical.

OPOY Update - Five layers of strips have been added in keeping with our new design. 6 more bundles of strips remaining. Approximate completed size 70" long, 65" wide. All strips are solid colors.

OPOY - JS SB - 2017

OPOY - JS SB - 2017

It is a wonder to see our draft design come together and take shape.

Right now, I am taking in the fantastic aroma of a new type of bread that I am baking. It is an “Everything Bagel” no-knead bread. I just threw in some leftover King Arthur Flour “Everything Bagel Topping” into my dough.  And the flour is Sprouts brand Enriched Unbleached White Flour.

One cannot imagine the wafts of freshly baking bread in this house. And this is the bread, the Everything Bagel No-Knead bread…

This is my 1,445th post. Per Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this writing, 169,364 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek. (This link is my email address - jsmith58@gmail.com.)

Have a healthy day and smile,

Jim

Day 178 – (AD 1,340) – 20.6 Miles Today – Jim’s Trek Part V – On My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

This morning I cycled 20.6 miles on my Schwinn 170. Totals now stand at 28,477.9 miles; 45,830.8 kilometers.

I have also completed 36.9% of the distance to my next destinations and goal points.

And today I determined that my glucose meter, the one I got before Christmas has been off all this time. It has been driving me crazy and as I am anal about my numbers one can only imagine the confusion within my gray matter.

I discovered that the meter was off by about 16%. I’ve adjusted my FSB, A1c, and eAG numbers accordingly. All-things-being-equal my early morning blood sugar count this morning was 108 mg/dL. My A1c calculates out to 5.50% and my eAG to 111.0. I can sigh a sigh of relief.

I know that with the numbers being screwed up since December 15, 2016, I have been going stir-crazy as I haven’t done anything to change my exercise routine or my diet regime. There is still an upward trend in my FSB but I can now manage the future results with a correct meter. And yes, the two meters that I used were both made by the same company.

And speaking of supper, last night I made Hopping John Risotto and Shrimp Salad Rémoulade – Recipes from Healthy Cooking For Two by Frances Price, RD, Rodale, 1995.

My FSB dropped 26 points from the day before to 108 mg/dL.

Soapbox –

According to MarketWatch, April 25, 2017, “Unusual full Senate briefing to be held by White House on North Korea”, Robert Schroeder.

“The Trump administration is preparing to brief all 100 senators this week on the situation in North Korea, as President Donald Trump calls the country a “real threat to the world” and confers with the leaders of China, Japan and Germany.

The unusual full-Senate briefing is scheduled for Wednesday, according to reports, and comes after Trump criticized North Korea’s “continued belligerence” in a phone call with President Xi Jinping of China on Sunday. In a separate call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday, Trump discussed “the urgent security challenge posed by North Korea,” the White House said.”

Anything yet?

This is my 1,443rd post. Per Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this writing, 168,618 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek. (This link is my email address - jsmith58@gmail.com.)

Have a healthy day and smile,

Jim

Day 177 – (AD 1,339) – 22.0 Miles Today – Jim’s Trek Part V – On My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

This morning early, I pedaled 22.0 miles on my Schwinn 170. Totals now are at 28,457.3 miles; 45,797.7 kilometers.

And I have completed 31.8% of the plotted distance to Lambert Crater.

Just back from an appointment with my cardiologist. He’s extremely happy with the nuclear test and EKG I most recently had. His comments “Your heart is in such good condition, and working extremely well for a man your age considering, including your diabetes.” With that note, my cardiologist wants to see how my systems will do if he has me stop taking two prescriptions, Zetia and Fenofibrate. I’m to have some more blood tests in about 3 weeks.

Soapbox –

As I mentioned yesterday in Jim’s Trek “Day 95. Five more days before #45 changes the ranking rules.”

The Washington Post and David R. Jones, (April 25, 2017) “This is why the first 100 days is a ‘ridiculous standard’ for judging presidents.”

“President Trump, who has yet to pass any major legislative initiatives, recently tweeted his frustration with the “ridiculous standard of the first 100 days” as a benchmark for judging a new president’s accomplishments. The historical record suggests that he may have a point.”

Our new OPOY progress is moving along. We’re now adding the 3rd layer of strips.

When asked “Why we did not piece the fabric according to our design?” we responded that each strip, in keeping with the intent of our design all must be of an equal width. There is also a reason for all the strips being of various lengths.

This is my 1,442nd post. Per Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this writing, 168,200 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek. (This link is my email address - jsmith58@gmail.com.)

Have a healthy day and smile,

Jim

Day 176– (AD 1,338) – 21.2 Miles Today – Jim’s Trek Part V – On My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

This morning I pedaled another 21.2 miles on my Schwinn 170. Totals – 28,435.3 miles; 45,762.3 kilometers. I have now completed 74.4% of my Trek…and I am still going.

I have now completed 26.5% of the distance to my next goal points and destinations.

Garden Tower 2 Update – The Red Wigglers arrived via FedEx. (Guess one can send anything through the mail or parcel delivery. All Wigglers have been entered the compost tube of the GT2. Did they ever scuttle, or should I say squirm off into their new surroundings? And now I am not going senile with pet dogs and worms. Nor am I trying to relive a youth where I thought I would be a Helminthologist.

I’m more interested in getting them squiggly things to do their thing for the plants that I have included in residence in the Garden Tower 2.

And here is the completed and planted GT2.

Work continues as the layers of strips are added to our latest and newest quilt OPOY.

Soapbox –

Day 95. Five more days before #45 changes the ranking rules.

This is my 1,441st post. Per Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this writing, 167,718 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek. (This link is my email address - jsmith58@gmail.com.)

Have a healthy day and smile,

Jim

Day 175– (AD 1,337) – 20.0 Miles Today – Jim’s Trek Part V – On My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

Yes, the bed was made. And The Pack most definitely believe that it is their nest. Certainly cannot be OCD in this house with 4 dogs.

And they do all have their own beds.



This morning I added on another 20.0 more miles on my Schwinn 170. My totals now stand at 28,414.1 miles; 45,728.1 kilometers. Overall I have completed 74.4% of my intended journey.

And this morning I have completed 21.3% of the distance to my next destination and goal points.

Garden Tower 2 filled with 192 quarts (~6.5 cubic feet) of organic top and planting soil. Took about 25 minutes to fill, water, and clean-up. Now to pick the plants.

Reading – Genealogy

From The Ancestor Hunt – “The ONE Absolute BEST Way to Find More Ancestor Articles in Historic Newspapers Online” (April 20, 2017)

 “My suggestion? Change your search criteria and exchange the letter string you are entering in the search box to include these alternative letters and letter pairs and see what happens. In other words - deliberately misspell the name or word. You will be pleasantly surprised!”

Our newest quilt project is in progress. The design and draft have been completed. Strips of various colors and lengths have all been attached to fusible web. Now the arrangement and sewing to our pattern have begun.

This is my 1,440th post. Per Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this writing, 166,749 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek. (This link is my email address - jsmith58@gmail.com.)

Have a healthy day and smile,

Jim

Day 174– (AD 1,336) – 20.3 Miles Today – Jim’s Trek Part V – On My Schwinn 170

Evening,

This morning I pedaled 20.3 miles on my Schwinn 170. totals update – 23,394.1 miles; 45,696.0 kilometers.

I have now completed 16.4% of the distance to my next destinations.

According to an article by Leah Wynalek in Prevention, “6 Foods You’re Buying That Are Secret Sugar Bombs” (April 10, 2017)

I guess I bomb out on 4 of the 6. And I thought that snacking on Deli meats was a way to not worry about my glucose count. All-in-all this article has had me thinking about the 6 food items in a whole new light. I do appreciate her alternative thoughts, (not facts), for substitutions.

Our 3 quilts - Apollo 1, The Beginning; Betwixt and Between; and Cosmo's Moon 2.5 will be on display with 176 other quilts of the "Fly Me to the Moon" collection at the Wing It Quilt Show, June 2-4, 2017 at the Dulles Expo Center, Chantilly, Virginia.

All three are presented at our site Quilts SB - https://quiltsb.blogspot.com/. Scroll down any page to see their story. Click on the "Q" number to link to their page.

I won a 3rd place gift certificate toward the purchase of a Garden Tower 2. And yes, I bought one.

This contraption stands about 4-feet tall, will hold about 50 plants, it rotates, has a worm farm and compost container. It is conservant on the use of water. It took me about 1/2- an hour to put it together, and well documented on YouTube. Many positive reviews, especially about organic growing in small space.

Next steps - get dirt, worms, start the compost, and decide on plants.

This is my 1,439th post. Per Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this writing, 166,469 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek. (This link is my email address - jsmith58@gmail.com.)

Have a healthy day and smile,

Jim

Day 173– (AD 1,335) – 20.2 Miles Today – Jim’s Trek Part V – On My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

This morning I pedaled 20.2 miles on my Schwinn 170. Totals now 28.373.8 miles; 45,4663.3 kilometers.

I have completed 11.5% of the distance to my next destination and goal points.

Our 2 quilts, Wings and Elation will be on display at UQSM - Utah Quilting and Sewing Marketplace, South Towne Expo Center, Sandy, Utah, May 4th - May 6th.

WINGS - JS and AB - Sep 2016

ELATION - JS and AB - August 2016

Wings and Elation are presented at our site Quilts SB - https://quiltsb.blogspot.com/. Scroll down any page to see their story. Click on the "Q" number to link to their page.

This is my 1,438th post. Per Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this writing, 165,462 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek. (This link is my email address - jsmith58@gmail.com.)

Have a healthy day and smile,

Jim

Day 172– (AD 1,334) – Miles Today – Jim’s Trek Part V – On My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

Today I cycled 20.4 miles on my Schwinn 170. Totals – 28,353.6 miles; 45,630.8 kilometers.

Also, I have completed 6.5% of the distance to my next goal points.

We presented our 151st quilt ES20 in celebration of the 20th Anniversary of Equality Florida.

Soapbox –

#45 loves ratings. He thrives on ratings. A good portion of his tweets are in retaliation of ratings. The question is where does he get his ratings.

CNN Politics, analysis by Chris Cillizza, at noon today wrote this article “Is Donald Trump’s approval rating really 50 percent?”

Yes, per 538, the Pollster Rasmussen Reports/Pulse Opinion Research ranks #45’s approval and disapproval rating at 50% and 50%, respectively.

But Rasmussen is only one of dozens of pollsters that 538 takes into consideration. Their results, if I understand it correctly are folded into the overall computation of polls and #45 ratings on Day 88 is a 51.6% Disapprove and a 41.7% Approve. Rasmussen is also ranked by 538 at a Grade of C+.

“FiveThirtyEight’s pollster ratings are calculated by analyzing the historical accuracy and the methodology of each firm’s polls. Accuracy scores account for the type of election, a poll’s sample size, the performance of other polls surveying the same race and other factors. We also calculate measures of statistical bias in the polls.”

#45 will love Rasmussen’s ratings.

If you want to see a pink elephant, (no reference to the Republicans), you can damn well see pink elephants dancing outside your window.



And I will not get into the medical definitions nor diagnoses of “pink elephants”.

This is my 1,437th post. Per Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this writing, 164,990 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek. (This link is my email address - jsmith58@gmail.com.)

Have a healthy day and smile,

Jim

Day 171– (AD 1,333) – 20.5 Miles Today – Jim’s Trek Part V – On My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

This morning I pedaled 20.5 miles on my Schwinn 170. Totals now 28,333.2 miles; 45,598.0 kilometers.

And I reached my next destination and goal point on the virtual part of my journey, Bakhuysen Crater. I have traveled 3,431.6 miles so far on Mars.



My next destinations and goal points have been combined in the next leg of my journey. I will be stopping at 2 craters, Charybdis Scopulus and Lambert. The total distance of this next leg is 410 more miles.


Cooking with my Instant Pot. Decided to hard-boil one dozen eggs.


But don't do what I did... After cooking 1 dozen eggs in IP I decided to remove silicone basket with bare hands. Half-a-dozen bloody hot eggs went flying. Fingers burnt. Results - Egg salad sandwiches and 6 Easter eggs.

Soapbox –

On Day 85 #45 must be smiling as he walks the aisles in Airforce One, on weekly trips between DC and Mar-a-Lago. According to the compilation of polls regarding #45’s approval/disapproval ratings, there has been an ever so slight upward tick in his approval ratings. I know one could extrapolate the data and skew the data to forecast a steadily decreasing “smoothed” average, but one never knows how #45, as proven thus far, will react from day-to-day.

FiveThirtyEight may be honing in on the short-term upward movement to project an ever so slight increase in forecasted approval ratings.

This is my 1,436th post. Per Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this writing, 164,421 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek. (This link is my email address - jsmith58@gmail.com.)

Have a healthy day and smile,

Jim

Day 170 – (AD 1,332) – 20.5 Miles Today – Jim’s Trek Part V – On My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

This morning I pedaled my Schwinn 170 20.5 miles. Totals now – 28,312.7 miles; 45,565.0 kilometers.

And I have completed 93.9% of the distance to my next destination and goal point. Time to start surveying for my next one.

I’ve noticed that there are many, many persons, persons who may be considered artists who are extremely touchy and disturbed with the issue of copyright infringement. They are concerned with someone “stealing” their creative idea(s).

The opening of Austin Kleon’s book “Steal Like An Artist – 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative”, (Workman Publishing Company, 2012)

“How To Look At The World (Like An Artist)

Every artist gets asked the question,

‘Where do you get your ideas?’

The honest artist answers,

‘I steal them.’

First, you figure out what’s worth stealing, 

then you move on to the next thing.

That’s about all there is to it…”

Something for me to ponder. And at some point, you may see our adaptation of Paul Klee’s “Château et soleil”.

This is my 1,435th post. Per Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this writing, 164,144 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek. (This link is my email address - jsmith58@gmail.com.)

Have a healthy day and smile,

Jim

Day 169 – (AD 1,331) – 20.8 Miles Today – Jim’s Trek Part V – On My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

I getting to despise getting on my Schwinn 170. It must be my age. It must be the season. It must be the temperature. It must be… But I got on anyway. And I pedaled 20.8 miles on my Schwinn. This is the furthest I have pedaled in my 1-hour allotment. Guess I was trying to hurry up and get off. Totals now stand at 28,292.2 miles; 45,532.0 kilometers.

I have now completed 85.0% of the distance to my next goal and destination point on Mars. This one is a beaut of a crater as I guess I am already in the inner part. My goal point is the center.

Supper, the best always – homemade Jamaican Rice and Peas, (Pinto Beans); and Ackee and Codfish. I didn’t use Saltfish as I was too, too impatient, and had a craving. Ackee and Codfish/Saltfish is my most favorite dish…anytime of the day. Period.

My early morning blood sugar skyrocketed with the double servings of supper and then a late-night snack of Triscuit and Liverwurst Sausage. Dang fool. But I just couldn’t stop myself. Oh well, start over again.

I am sick and tired of would be, heel-clicking, uninformed and lack-luster homeowner association self-appointed “agents of doom”.

And WikiHow has a page titled “wikiHow to Become a Dictator”.

This is my 1,434th post. Per Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this writing, 163,308 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek. (This link is my email address - jsmith58@gmail.com.)

Have a healthy day and smile,

Jim

Day 168 – (AD 1,330) – 20.4 Miles Today – Jim’s Trek Part V – On My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

This morning I cycled my Schwinn 170 20.4 miles. Totals – 28,271.4 miles; 45,498.5 kilometers. I have now completed 74.0% of my overall Trek. Only 9,930.2 more miles to go.

And I have covered 76.0% of the distance to my next destination and goal point.

Thought –

"Immature poets imitate;
mature poets steal; bad
poets deface what they take,
and good poets make it into
something better, or at least
something different. The
good poet welds his theft into
a whole feeling which is
unique, utterly different from
that which it was torn."


- T.S. Eliot

Supper last night Fabada Asturiana. Ingredients – White and Pinto Beans; Andouille Sausage; Bacon; diced Tomatoes; chopped Onion; Green Pepper; Jalapeño Pepper; Garlic; Smoked Paprika; Chicken Stock; Lime Juice; Black Pepper




Soapbox –

Per FiveThirtyEight, since President Truman, #45’s popularity is even worse than President Ford’s on the 81st day in office.

This is my 1,433rd post. Per Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this writing, 163,022 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek. (This link is my email address - jsmith58@gmail.com.)

Have a healthy day and smile,

Jim