Day 40 - (AD 470) – Jim's Trek Part III – 21.2 Miles – Still in Victoria, Australia On My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

Well I got back on my Schwinn 170 this morning and I cycled 21.2 miles. I have now cycled a total of 169.6 miles on my new Schwinn 170. On the combination of the 150 and 170 I have pedaled a total of 9,469.8 miles, 15,240.2 kilometers.

This morning I am still located on the Western/National Highway in Victoria, Australia. I am approximately pinpointed by the Deep Lead North West Bushland Reserve and I just passed the Canadian Gully Bushland Reserve.

Finally found a local Chinese restaurant close to my home that will deliver. For a small delivery charge, of course. I really haven’t found one that is actually great, cuisine-wise. Just fair to middling. And I could electronically order online. The online part is great, especially in light of the fact that sometimes a two-way phone conversation involves either party continually having to say “could you repeat that?” The order arrived and as I was checking I pulled out the attached receipt. What a shock?

I speak three languages and I can work my way through Latin text… I have lived in Québec, and in other parts of Canada. I lived in Puerto Rico, and in La Republica Dominicana. I never thought that I would ever see in central Florida a bilingual cash receipt. Well and honestly, I did expect to see an inclusive one of English and Spanish at some time in the future. But I never expected a receipt in my mother tongue and traditional Chinese.

Question – If Florida’s aged population is increasing, of which I am quickly becoming a member, is it of good judgment that the Florida Legislature is considering a companion piece to the contentious “stand your ground” law? Yup, the Yahoos are considering enacting a law that will allow one to fire a warning shot if you figure your life is being threatened. First of all, I am not as steady in the hand. Second my tri-focals have to keep changing every year. And sometimes I just can’t remember where I’ve put my keys. So I can picture myself firing a warning shot…and, oh well I thought it was a warning shot. I warned, I closed my eyes, and I shot, in that direction. Damn, I missed. Sorry…and I don’t own a gun.

And we are revealing our first of our H series quilts and wall hangings, H-1. The top to H-2 has been completed. The design for H-3 is on the board.

If you are reading this blog and just so happen to be somewhere along my route in Australia please feel free to drop me a line at jsmith58@gmail.com. Certainly would welcome it.

Trying to be healthy,

And enjoy,

Jim

Day 14 - (AD 444) – Jim's Trek Part III – 21.4 Miles – Over 8,900 Miles at About Bunyan in Australia on My Schwinn 150

Good Day,

This morning on a bright crisp Tampa day, with the sliding glass doors open, I cycled a new 21.4 miles on my Schwinn 150. This is my 14th consecutive day on my Jim’s Trek III journey. I have completed 299.9 miles or 482.5 kilometers. And today I reached 8,916.9 miles and that is just a wee bit farther than the distance from Tampa, Florida to Kolkata (also known as Calcutta), India.

So my question is “How many Schwinn 150s, end-to-end, does it take to encircle the globe at the equator?” Answer - Just about 1,300,000.

This morning I am located on Monaro Highway just north of Bunyan, New South Wales, Australia. I am headed in a southerly direction.

Julia Cameron in her book Walking in This World writes "As artists, we are irrationally, intuitively, and insistently inspired. Sir Arthur Sullivan attended a traveling exhibition of Japanese art and returned home to write The Mikado." Well of course there is synchronicity happening here. I am reading the book Walking in This World and Yum-Yum was played by Leonora Braham my first cousin 3-times removed. And her name was Lenore Abraham. But it is not just the fact that this was a relative of mine but that Julia Cameron is using something that hits close to home.

The Three Little Maids, Leonora Braham (aka Leonore Abraham) 

center as Yum-Yum, The Mikado, 1885.

Today's task in my morning pages is Exactly The Way I Am. I was required to list 50 specific and positive things that I like and approve about myself exactly the way I am. These likeable traits can be physical, mental, spiritual, personal, or even professional. I really had to think about this list but I certainly had a change when I wrote them down.

I found a book that I have got to read, The Jewish-Japanese Sex & Cook Book and How to Raise Wolves by Jack Douglas. And there is a connection through Amazon; Hardcover $524.99; Paperback $199.95. I am gonna track this one down.

Oh and I got an email this morning from FedEx. Something is on its way.

If you are reading this blog and just so happen to be somewhere along my route in Australia please feel free to drop me a line at jsmith58@gmail.com. Certainly would welcome it.

Be healthy and enjoy,

Jim

Day 13 - (AD 443) – Jim's Trek Part III – 21.0 Miles – On Monaro Highway in Australia on My Schwinn 150

Good Day,

This morning I cycled 21.0 miles on my Schwinn 150. I burned 611 calories. I have now cycled a total of 14,315.9 kilometers. I reached, actually struggled, and got to 100 sit-ups.

Today I am headed south in New South Wales. I am on Monaro Highway/B23 and I am at Colinton. The weather here, and oh yeah it is tomorrow actually March 8;  is about 16° C and predicted thundershowers. And that is about 60.8° F. Tampa is currently 61° F and a wee bit cloudy. But that is today which is March 7.

And I now have about 413 miles to cycle to reach my next goal destination.

I know I am eating too much on my volunteer day each Thursday. My morning blood sugar was up to 97. It still is at a good level but the upward swing definitely is a reaction to the amount of stuff I shovel into my mouth. Looks like I have to plan my Thursday’s food intake a wee bit better.

Today I picked up my bi-weekly greens plus at Urban Oasis Hydroponic Farm. This year’s crops and harvest have been fantastic. Thank you Dave and Cathy et al. Check it out at http://www.urbanoasisfarm.com/.

I am currently working on a letter to Ms. Betty White regarding our BW 1950 and BW 2010. Also I am looking into moving our Blumish Two. Who knows nothing ventured, nothing gained? And just you wait until you see the development of our Tampa Kaleidoscope and Warhol’s Itch quilts and wall hanging and our Glowing afghan.

Viewing companion this morning on my Schwinn 150 - Fringe, Season 1, Episode 3.

If you are reading this blog and just so happen to be somewhere along my route in Australia please feel free to drop me a line at jsmith58@gmail.com. Certainly would welcome it.

Be healthy and enjoy,

Jim

Day 12 - (AD 442) – Jim's Trek Part III – 20.6 Miles – Heading South in Australia on My Schwinn 150

Good Day,

It is raining, and it is thundering here in Tampa. Tornado watch, but I am inside cycling on my Schwinn 150.  This morning I completed 20.6 miles.  Only 1,125.5 more to reach my 10,000 mile mark.  And I just wanted to get to Seattle.

 

According to Google Maps I am currently on the Monaro Highway/B23 and it appears that I am following the boundary between the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales. I am immediately east of the Gingerline Nature Reserve.  I am headed to my second goal point in Australia.

And you did realize that I actually cycling on a Schwinn 150?  My virtual Trek is just something to do to pass the time.

Our Betty Whites, quilted wall hangings, are now on display at the Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon. The exhibit, the Notable Women Quilt Initiative is being presented at the CVA Thorndike Gallery.

 

And today - National Frozen Food Day is celebrated March 6th of each year. Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 193, designated March 6, 1984, as “Frozen Food Day” and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation upon this occasion.

In Proclamation #5157, President Ronald Reagan said: “Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim March 6, 1984, as Frozen Food Day, and I call upon the American people to observe such day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.”

And say Cyronics equals Reganomics.

If you are reading this blog and just so happen to be somewhere along my route in Australia please feel free to drop me a line at jsmith58@gmail.com. Certainly would welcome it.

Be healthy and enjoy,

Jim

Day 11 - (AD 441) – Jim's Trek Part III – 21.6 Miles – First Goal and Canberra on My Schwinn 150

Good Day,

This morning I cycled 21.6 miles on my Schwinn 150. My total to date is now 8,853.9 miles, 14,249.0 kilometers.

I reached my first goal on my virtual Jim's Trek III, Canberra, the capital city of Australia, population of over 332,000. I am in the Australian Capital Territory. From where I landed in Sydney to my first goal point the distance is 235.8 miles, 378.7 kilometers.

Last night I had a chicken salad from Panera, and of course a double helping of chicken. I then had one of their chocolate pastries. I followed that up with a dish of raspberry chocolate chip gelato. My early morning blood sugar count (FBS) reached 81. As the “written” normal range for fasting blood sugar or blood glucose levels is 70 to 100 milligrams per deciliter, I would say that I have succeeded. I have not taken any of my diabetes meds since last July, 2013.

Typical – “Some of that turned into outrage and manifested itself in an online petition asking the International Skating Union to investigate the results. The International Skating Union has responded by removing its contact e-mail from its website and monitoring, deleting comments from, and screening its Facebook page.” from The Wire, Alexander Abad-Santos article “Kim Yuna, Like a Lot of You, Thinks the Sochi Judging Was ‘Absurd’”, March 4, 2014

And after finishing the series Breaking Bad and watching The Hunger Games I had to find a new cycling video companion. Oh by the way I have been watching Scandal at night. I chose and began the series Fringe this morning. Without commercials it fits my bill and accompaniment to my cycling on my Schwinn 150. 100 episodes times an average of 20 miles, well I wonder where my Schwinn 150 will take me.

If you are reading this blog and just so happen to be somewhere along my route in Australia please feel free to drop me a line at jsmith58@gmail.com. Certainly would welcome it.

Be healthy and enjoy,

Jim

Day 10 - (AD 440) – Jim's Trek Part III – 21.8 Miles – Australian Capital Territory on My Schwinn 150

Good Day,

This is my 10th day of Jim’s Trek III. It is the 440th day since I began this crazy exercise and Trek.

I noted, (thanks Debra), that Amtrak is sort-of offering a writers-in-residence program. Wouldn't it be a hoot to set my Schwinn 150 on an Amtrak train line and en route I write my Jim’s Trek? Maybe when I am finished in Australia? Maybe? But I am definitely game.

(Photo: Joseph Rose, AP.)

Today I cycled another 21.8 miles on my Schwinn 150. And for those of you who like to be bored, my total to date mileage is now at 8,832.3; the equivalent in kilometers, 14,214.2. This morning I burned 666 calories. Only 1,167.7 miles and about two months to a “I can't believe it!” goal.

I am currently located, virtually of course, on Kings Highway or B52 and have just crossed over into the Australian Capital Territory. And yeah, I have to remember to cycle on the correct side of the road.

Close to where I completed a part of my internship with the Royal Bank of Canada in Montreal I read about and stumbled upon a truly neat assistance program. Coalition working to solve N.D.G. ‘food deserts’, Peggy Curran, February 24, 2014. And yes I still read The Gazette. But today it is -12° C or 10.4° F in Montreal. Think I’ll stay in Tampa.

Progress continues on our new Warhol's Itch. Thread has been picked for our new H-1 quilt and wall hanging. Yes it is Sulky. Working on name. Updates soon to Quilts SB - http://quiltsb.blogspot.com/.


And Max eats orchid blossoms.

I am closing in on 32,000 Pageviews to Jim’s Trek. Right now I'm at 31,721.

If you are reading this blog and just so happen to be somewhere along my route in Australia please feel free to drop me a line at jsmith58@gmail.com. Certainly would welcome it.

Be healthy and enjoy,

Jim

Day 3 - (AD 433) – Jim's Trek Part III – 21.9 Miles – Yerrinbool, Australia on My Schwinn 150

Good Day,

Today I cycled 21.9 miles on my Schwinn 150. I am now two days short of hitting the 8,700 mile mark. So far I have now cycled 8,681.7 miles, 13,971.9 km.

This morning on my Trek I made it to Yerrinbool in New South Wales. The population is about 1,100 give or take. I am located on Remembrance Drive which is also the Old Hume Highway. According to the 2009 Google image I am at The Falls Road. I wonder if that house is still for sale?

I am still wondering about the level of common sense allocated to persons who run for office today in 2014… But it is the voting public of whom I am beginning to think that there may be a definite correlation at the declining levels of our educational system and voting intelligence as compared to the world stage. I just came upon this December 2013 article from The Atlantic, American Schools vs. the World: Expensive, Unequal, Bad at Math. And from The Washington Post, June 2013 – Where U.S. stands in education internationally – new report. So as we continue to dumb down, it stands to reason that there are many illogical and unlearned Americans voting for dumber and dumber idiots. Sounds to me that we are nearing the thought processes of 10 June 1692 once again. 321 years 8 months and 15 days later, we are still at it, once again...

Okay James, off your soapbox.

My blood sugar count this morning was 98. It was up 9 points. Supper was a green omelet. Then I had a couple of chocolate chip cookies. And then some Ben & Jerry’s Volun-Tiramisu ice-cream. Then some ripple potato chips and about eight mini Twixes. And then I had a half a turkey and provolone sandwich at about 10:00 pm. I just was in one of “I got to eat” moods. And this morning I burned off 683 calories on my Schwinn 150.

If you are reading this blog and just so happen to be somewhere along my route in Australia please feel free to drop me a line at jsmith58@gmail.com. Certainly would welcome it.

Be healthy and enjoy,

Jim

Day 2 - (AD 432) – Jim's Trek Part III – 21.6 Miles – Tourist Drive, Australia on My Schwinn 150

Good Day,

One hour and 10 minutes and 21.6 miles, 34.8 km on my Schwinn 150 this morning. I burned up 658 calories.  I have now clocked 42.7 miles, and that is 68.7 kilometers.

Today I am located on Tourist Drive 12, southwest of Campbelltown in New South Wales. I am about 310 km or about 190 miles from my point goal #2.

And if I were sitting at the fringe about synchronicity for the last, oh about 40-plus years, I certainly can now say that I have stumbled over by what happened to me yesterday. As you know Jim’s Trek III is my virtual trek. It is my dream world of cycling on my Schwinn 150 in Australia. Well weird things, or should I say synchronistic events have been happening.

These coincidences have not been planned. The recipe for cod and kale, à l’Australien, no. I planned that. The movie Newcastle, yes. I chalked that one up to happenstance. But yesterday as I was reading Julia Cameron’s book Walking in This World, second in her The Artist’s Way series, and following my train of thought and daily reading, I turned the page to continue. In each margin on almost every page Cameron has added certain quotes. On page 150, my next page, is the quote “Those who lose dreaming are lost”. And all I could do was laugh out loud when I noticed that the quote was acknowledged “Australian Aboriginal Proverb”. I just laughed. And laughed…and laughed again. Synchronicity? Definitely.

My blood sugar this morning registered in at 89 mg/dl, 4.94 mmol.l. I did not feel like cooking and so I just had some grilled chicken, potato wedges, and coleslaw from KFC. I know that this meal was nothing to write home about but I was just trying to make sure that as I keep my diabetes in check I am making sure that I eat and sample from what may or may not be available.  And I am still diabetes meds-free.

Yes KB, the part that got me to Australia was me treading water continuously each time I paused for a breather. And BR definitely will I let you know as I attempt the perimeter. And thank you SF.

The inner top of our new crocheted afghan Glowing has been completed. Check out Afghans SB for updates shortly. The intricate work of piecing our design and quilt/wall hanging H-1 continues. We're trying to come up it's new name. Follow our progress at Quilts SB.

If you are reading this blog and just so happen to be somewhere along my route in Australia please feel free to drop me a line at jsmith58@gmail.com. Certainly would welcome it.

Be healthy and enjoy,

Jim

Day 1 - (AD 431) – Jim's Trek III – 21.1 Miles – Sydney, Australia on My Schwinn 150

Good Day,

I’m back on my Schwinn 150 this morning and I cycled 21.1 miles. I have started Jim’s Trek III. This is Day 1 of JT-III. Together and since 2 December 2012 this is Day 431 – AD 431.  I have now cycled a total of 8,638.2 miles or about 13,902 kilometers.

This morning I dropped out of the iCloud. I have landed at a point in Sydney, Australia. Definitely much faster than a trans-continental and a trans-Pacific flight. The distance from Tampa, Florida to Sydney, New South Wales is 9,259 miles, 14,901 kilometers.

My starting point for my next virtual adventure and trek is a location on George Street at Martin Place. I take off going south on George Street toward Barrack Street. As I cycle my 21.1 miles, 34 kilometers, I land at a point on Hume Highway/A28 at Myall Road.

I am now headed to my Goal Number 2 and I have to remember that I am now cycling on the opposite side of the road.

Including Sydney I have identified 16 goal points that I will reach for for as I make my journey of Jim’s Trek III on my Schwinn 150. And I have a different request, I you are a reader of my virtual Trek and blog and just so, by chance, happen to be somewhere along my route in Australia, please be free to drop me a line at jsmith58@gmail.com. I certainly would welcome it.

And my blood sugar this morning registered in at 89 mg/dl, 4.94 mmol/l. Last night dinner’s recipe was from AllRecipes Australia - Baked cod with potatoes, tomatoes and rocket. I did not have any tomatoes or rocket. I substituted green pepper and curly kale and added some white wine. Tremendous dish that I had to have a second helping.  Another new goal I have chose is to make an Australian recipes at least once every week during JTIII.

Last night I randomly picked a movie to watch, the 2008 film Newcastle. Synchronicity is working here full-time. I had no idea that it was a surfing movie, because I did not read the summary, and I did not know that it was an Australian movie. And my viewing companion this morning while on my Schwinn 150 was the fifth episode of Season 5 of Breaking Bad. I kept the film going while I cycled and I finished my 75 sit-ups.

And spring and the pollen have arrived here in Tampa.

Be healthy and enjoy,

Jim

Day ¾ - (AD 430 ¾) – Jim's Trek Part III – 0.0 Miles – Preparation Continues on My Schwinn 150

Good Day,

I think that I am ready to start off on my new trek, Jim’s Trek III. Keeping true to myself I am still making sure that I have another day off. I have been working on some things that I need to accomplish just before I start this new journey. Max is waiting for me to start.

And to some of the responses that I have been receiving there seems to be a slight belief that Smith may have gone off his rocker and maybe is beginning to lose it. Maybe, I have…but then again I am losing it in a somewhat healthy way.

Prime Audi in Massachusetts is trying to send me a 2014 Audi Q7 3.0T. Someone must have got the email addresses mixed up. And for all intents and purposes I do not ever remember me be called “Jake”. But I definitely would like to head of the line if I was to be a “surprised” recipient of a new 2014 Audi Q7 3.0T.

Jim’s Trek III, Uluru. 16 goal points highlighted.


The component parts of our new H-1 quilt and wall-hanging are almost completed. And Chipper has been watching us place the design format on the dining room table.

Six rows left to complete the inner top of our new crocheted afghan Glowing.


Be healthy and enjoy,

Jim

Day ½ – (AD 430 ½) – Jim's Trek Part III – 0.0 Miles – The Preparation on My Schwinn 150

Good Day,

Today it is very strange that I am not getting on my Schwinn 150. Yes I am taking a break. It seems extremely weird that the process and habit that I have created over this past while, that is, to get on my stationary bicycle each morning, is so fixated in my mind. It is sort of like I have to hold myself back from something that seems to be calling to me from the distance. Just wondering.

I have been reworking myself and my Schwinn 150 for the next stage of my journey, Jim’s Trek III. I have laid out a schedule of key markers, mileage, distance, weight, etc. in a much more systematic way and a wee bit more organized than that of either Part I or Part II. I supposed I have created a habit.

Jim’s Trek III, Uluru.

Work is progressing on our newest quilt and wall hanging H-1. We haven't titled this one as yet. Advice to anyone working with fabric pieces near an open window, use weights or pins.

Fantastic news SC. Speedy recovery, Sir CN.

Be healthy and enjoy,

Jim