Day 76 – (AD 981) – 23.4 Miles – Jim's Trek Part IV – Another Day On My Schwinn 170, Today in Andorra, Spain, and France.

Good Day,

This morning I pedaled 23.4 miles on my Schwinn 170. I’ve racked up 20,722.7 miles; 33,350.0 kilometers since December 2nd, 2012.

On my virtual trek today I am located at 41 Avenue Docteur François Gomma, 09110 Ax-les-Thermes, France.  Today I traveled from Andorra to Spain to France.  And I just keep going.

Ax-les-Thermes, France - Original by Eugène Trutat (1840 - 1910)

My next destination and goal point is about 80 miles north.

And just about bloody time – A gadget, Cellcontrol, that blocks drivers’ phones, Technology, Stuff.co.nz, Nov. 11, 2015


“Cellcontrol sells a black box that is attached to the inside of a car's windshield. It uses Bluetooth signals to split the car into zones, preventing smartphone usage in the driver's seat while allowing it in the front passenger seat and the back seat.”

This is my 1,057th post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this evening, 79,570 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.)

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 75 – (AD 980) – 23.8 Miles – Jim's Trek Part IV – My Next Destination and Goal Point On My Schwinn 170 Today

Good Day,

This morning I pedaled 23.8 miles on my Schwinn 170, and it is still holding together. My grand totals are: 20,699.3 miles; 33,312.4 kilometers. Part IV totals: 1,709.8 miles; 2,751.7 kilometers.

And I reached another destination and goal point on my journey – Andorra la Vella, Andorra. This morning I can celebrate 17 goal points along Jim’s Trek Part IV.

Andorra la Vella is the capital of the Principality of Andorra and is located high in the east Pyrenees. It is the highest capital city in Europe at 3,356 feet; 1,023 meters.

I continued on the CG-2 for 11.3 miles after Andorra la Vella. Virtually I am still located in Andorra.

Election 2016: 364 Days Away. And if you do not get out and VOTE, and feel that you have to express your opinions, bloody hell I will find you a cosmetic surgeon/seamstress to sew your mouth shut. Period.




No-Knead Loaf #52, just out of the oven. White and Mulit-Grain - Wheat; Soyabean; Oat; Corn; Ragi; Barley; Jowar; Channa Dal; and Psyllium Husk.

Daughter Light quilt update - All the hearts, cut from treasured clothes kept by her mother, are fused and appliqued. Next steps - the Moon, the Landscape, the photo transfer to fabric. Then the quilt sandwich and the quilting; then the binding.

As Daughter Light and Son Shine are a part of a 3-piece commission Andy and I are also trying to create a personal story with all three quilts. Check Quilts SB FB for previous detail and progress.


I had a thought. Not that it is going to happen too soon, but one never knows, I will be cremated. And I thought that my remaining ashes can be placed in an hourglass. Just think, I can be used after I’ve gone in the kitchen.

Wonder if I am worth a three-minute egg? How about that game of infinite Chess?

This is my 1,056th post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this evening, 79,518 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.)

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 74 – (AD 979) – 23.5 Miles – Jim's Trek Part IV – On My Schwinn 170 Today

Good Day,

And this morning I pedaled 23.5 miles on my Schwinn 170. That’s the real, and the boring part. I have now pedaled a grand total of 20,675.5 miles; 33,274.1 kilometers.

I have completed 83% of my overall journey.

I am located; this is the fantasy and the fun part, at N-260, Lérida, Spain. Looks like I am heading in a northeasterly direction.

And yes it appears that I am in the mountains somewhere about the village of Castellciutat, population 451, which is in the municipality of La Seu d’Urgell, population about 13,000.

(Manu Fernandez/Associated Press)

Guess I am looking at a truly incredible world. I can only say that I may exist in synchronicity. The New York Times reported just hours ago “Catalan Lawmakers Approve Plan for Secession From Spain”.

And guess where I am? I am right in the area of Catalonia. What a bizarre coincidence? I did NOT plan this.

November 9th and Tropical Storm Kate has formed near The Bahamas.

And it is about time that some Florida politicians take their heads, and I will be polite, sand. From the Tenth Amendment Center “Florida Senate Committee Votes 7-0 on Bill to Legalize Hemp Farming, Effectively Nullify Federal Ban” and The Palm Beach Post published “Industrial hemp could be legal in Florida if this program passes”.  But the last line of the article may have the stand of Florida flamingo legislature sticking their heads back in. “Three Senate committees approved the plan during the regular session that ended in May, but it withered at its fourth stop.”

Two Florida lawmakers are renewing an effort to legalize hemp
as an agricultural crop in Florida. (Getty Images)

 This is my 1,055th post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this evening, 79,439 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.)

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 73 – (AD 978) – Miles – Jim's Trek Part IV – Thinking On My Schwinn 170 Today

Good Day,

Our first Tampa winter is over. Yesterday I was able to jump into the pool. Floridians typically do not enter the pool water after October. Completely refreshing. My predictions for this year for Tampa – Three winters; two more, one passed.

And this morning I pedaled another 24.0 miles on my Schwinn 170. Grand totals – 20,652.0 miles; 33,236.2 kilometers.

I am virtually located on this part of my Trek at a point on C-14 in Catalonia, Spain. My journey took me due west and then I turned north.

I am about 35 miles from my next destination and goal point. I have now pedaled 1,662.5 miles; 2,675.5 kilometers in 73 days in my Part IV.

Question – How come there isn’t such a drink as raisin juice? (And I’m not referring to the French inference of grape juice.)  I mean there is prune juice which means one has to squeeze the hell out of prunes which in truth are just dried plums. And grape juice comes from grapes without acknowledgment to raisins which, of course, are dried grapes dried grapes. Who names these things?

Another question – should not the “–“ on a gravestone be represented instead by an ellipses “…”?

Typically today, the general public recognizes a “– “as a dash or a subtraction sign. It is used as an emdash, a symbol used to connect numbers, such as 1880 – 1945. But I think an ellipses, the “…” represents that there was much more to a life than just a connection or a subtraction point.


We’ve started another commission today.

This is to be a companion piece to our new Son Light.

This is my 1,054th post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this evening, 79,398 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.)

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 72 – (AD 977) – 23.9 Miles – Jim's Trek Part IV – Back On My Schwinn 170 Today

Good Day,

This morning I did, and I pedaled my Schwinn 170 23.9 miles. My totals now stand at – 20,628.0 miles; 33,197.6 kilometers.

I am currently headed in a north westerly direction on the C-55. I am located, virtually, at 25290 Clariana de Cardener, Lérida, Spain.

And now comes the “investigative” reporting of the candidates running for President… Mud-slinging and Geppetto.

Hey there, Pinocchio. This is much more of a horse’s arse; only 1 year and 1 day.




Son Shine quilt/wall-hanging update - The sun has been added. The photograph of the son has been transferred to fabric. Next steps: cut out son and fuse and applique. Create sandwich, quilt, binding, and label.

Andy and I are enjoying this journey.

I have decided that I need to spend some time learning Bangladesh cooking and recipes. Hell, just something different. Chittagong Chicken, Chicken Dopiazza, and Beef Kofta Curry.

Haven’t been watching my blood sugar too, too well this past month plus. Even though my PCP did say to me that for all considerations I have defeated the diabetes, I believe I need to just watch my food and snack intake. I’m still not taking any more diabetes medication.

My early morning fasting blood sugar count was 116 and my 90-day calculated A1c registered at 5.21 I can see an upward trend that I have to nip in the butt right now.

This is my 1,053rd post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this evening, 79,358 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.)

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 71 7/8 – (AD 976 7/8) – 0.0 Miles – Jim's Trek Part IV – Not On My Schwinn 170 Today

Good Day,

No cycling on my Schwinn 170 today.

This is my 1,052nd post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this evening, 79,296 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.)

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 71 ¾ – (AD 976 ¾) – 0.0 Miles – Jim's Trek Part IV – Not On My Schwinn 170 Today

Good Day,

A number of responsibilities and necessary commitments have me moving quite fast today. My Schwinn 170 sits patiently for my return.

The word today is “supercilious”. Why?

Now I know I live in Florida, in retirement La-la land. (Yes, I may be considered to be in that same age bracket.) I stopped at my usual gas station to fill up my car. You have to understand that at this gas station, the incline at the area of the gas pumps may slope at a fair 30° angle, maybe that's exaggerating a 30° angle, which immediately runs into the road and into traffic. (And of course at my age bracket I may have and considered it my right and tendency to exaggerate.) So you can imagine possible slippage. No, we do not have ice on the road in this part of Florida. And facing toward that downhill slope is a Toyota SUV with nobody in the driver seat but the vehicle is running.

From my vantage point I see someone in the passenger seat and two people in the back seat. I pull up to set myself up at the gas pump, facing in the opposite direction to fill up with gas. Then this robust gentleman with a cane comes plodding slowly across the parking lot obviously from pre-paying for his gas. Now the car, his car the Toyota, is still running. He starts to pump gas. He's having trouble with the gas machine. He begins to swear and wave the hose and nozzle about. He’s talking to someone. Definitely not me... And I say to myself, (oh I’m at the age where I am allowed to talk to myself), pump your damn gas, quickly. Get the hell out of Here.

And my word for the day is supercilious.

Definition, (Merriam-Webster), “having or showing the proud and unpleasant attitude of people who think that they are better or more important than other people.”

And I noted and bookmarked an article that I have to read. Today’s Tech Times has a published article by Ted Ranosa – “Scientist May Have Found Proof of Alternate, Parallel Universe”.  I just know I am open to new trips and travels.

 And maybe I do consider that I may have come through some closet door…virtual, possibly real. Yes, I am thinking about Narnia.

This is my 1,051st post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this evening, 79,255 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.)

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 71 ½ – (AD 976 ½) – 0.0 Miles – Jim's Trek Part IV – This Body Not On My Schwinn 170 Today

Good Day,

Today my body is telling me not to get on my Schwinn 170. I know, I know it has to rest. And on the 8th day and 189.0 miles after he rests.




I thought Presidents and would-be Presidents wrote their memoirs after their term of Office. Is it recorded anywhere that a candidate for the highest office of the land include pseudo-literary scholarship and signature stops as a part of his or her platform?

I guess it is.

An article by Allen Barra for The Daily Beast “The Best Books by U.S. Presidents”, (Feb 18, 2013) sort of sums it up in its first phrase “Let’s be honest: most U.S. presidents aren’t really known for their writing…”

My No-Knead Bread habit is in full swing. This morning’s loaf #51, White Raisin, is in the oven. The aroma of bread baking is beginning to fill the house.

Son Shine update - Landscape completed and tacked on to the body of the quilt.

Looking good.

This is my 1,050th post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this evening, 79,163 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.)

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 71 – (AD 976) – 23.7 Miles – Jim's Trek Part IV – Due North On My Schwinn 170.

Good Day,

This morning I did accomplish 23.7 miles on my Schwinn 170. 41:38 minutes into my pedaling on my fitness cycle my body just gave up. I had to stop. Three minutes later I got back on and completed 30:22 more minutes for a total of 72 minutes. And I burned 766 calories…supposedly.

I am located Carretera Circumval·lació de Manresa, 08243 Manresa, Barcelona, Spain on the lower road. I am headed in a northerly direction…sort of.

Fingers crossed. Toes crossed. Hopeful aspirations. Google Fiber is coming to Tampa.

Maybe?

Just think. Really think. It is just 5 more days until it is 1 year until the 8th of November 2016. And what pray tell is that? Election Day in the United States of America. And the mouthing began a couple of months ago and, exponentially if one was to strategically align and assess who called who what, and who screeched at whom over what…this is gonna be one hell of a name-calling, caterwauling, ululating… with all the bloody TV, video, and sound ads, ear-deafening presidential campaign. (And I purposely used a lower case “p”.)

Freshly baked, out-of-the-oven. No Knead Bread, loaves #49 - White; #50 - Whole Wheat Rye with Flax Seeds.

White No-Knead Bread #49

Whole Wheat Rye with Flax Seeds #50

(Check-out Jim's Gotta Eat - http://jimsgottaeat.blogspot.com/ )

Son Shine quilt/wall hanging progress - Landscaping.

This is my 1,049th post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this evening, 79,129 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.)

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 70 – (AD 975) – 23.9 Miles – Jim's Trek Part IV – 17th Goal Point On My Schwinn 170.

Good Day,

This morning I pedaled another 23.9 miles on my Schwinn 170. Totals – 20,580.4 miles; 33,121.0 kilometers.

And today I reached my 17th goal and destination point on the 70th day of my Jim’s Trek Part IV.

That destination is Barcelona.

It is a wonder what one, (me), can do with a little bit of imagination, Google Maps, and a Schwinn fitness cycle.

I am located at C-58, 08223 Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain.

And I am now headed in a north-westerly direction.

And here are a couple of images of the next two parts of Son Shine; the landscape and the figure. Will be printing figure to fabric. We're incorporating one of our techniques in the landscape which I think will make this a very unique piece.

Check out our Quilts SB site and Quilts SB Facebook.

A positive foreshadowing in the short future, hopefully, “Google Fiber seen as boon to business as Tampa prepares for digital giant”, William R. Levesque, Tampa Bay Times, Nov. 1, 2015.  I’m in line…at my desk.

The best phrase I’ve heard thus far from any candidate this current campaign. “When we entertain these ridiculous questions from the media, we empower them.” Chris Christie, CNN, November 2, 2015. And I will further append that, as any ridiculous questions. Period.

This is my 1,048th post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this evening, 79,043 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.)

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim