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I will comply...

... with the directives given today by the National Weather Service in its heat advisory for San Antonio. Included in that advisory is:

The NWS encourages all to stay hydrated and to stay out of the sun if possible.

Roger that, NWS.

As a matter of fact, since we're supposed to have triple-digit temperatures here through the weekend I'll make it a point to stay inside under the a/c and maintain a good level of hydration throughout this heat spell.

The only time I have to be out over the next week is this Friday when I have a face-to-face appointment with my primary care physician. (Relax everyone. It's just a routine visit where he'll lecture me about getting more exercise and losing weight, but he'll tell me that all my lab “numbers” are very good and I'm doing fine. That's how it always goes.) And I'll be riding in an air-conditioned car to his office and back home.

And the adventure continues.

Published on 12 August 2020, ~12:10 CDT, this is my post number 55/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.

#100DaysToOffload #blog #RoscoeEllis #Texas #weather

by Roscoe

Good coffee and a little exorcism...

... have proven to be a great way to start my day.

One of the unexpected benefits of this 2020 pandemic lockdown has been the time it has afforded me to fully participate in the Let Freedom Ring: 40 Days to Freedom from the Devil prayer project. All of us in the project start our days with this “Freedom From The Devil” prayer.

My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, At a word from You the devil and his minions flee in terror. You are the source of all truth. You are the source of all strength. By the power of Your Cross and Resurrection, we beseech You, O Lord To extend Your saving arm and to send Your holy angels To defend us as we do battle with Satan and his demonic forces. Exorcise, we pray, that which oppresses Your Bride, the Church, So that within ourselves, our families, our parishes, our dioceses, and our nation We may turn fully back to You in all fidelity and trust. Lord, we know if You will it, it will be done. Give us the perseverance for this mission, we pray. Amen. Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception … pray for us St. Joseph … pray for us St. Michael the Archangel … pray for us (the patron of your parish) … pray for us (your confirmation saint) … pray for us

We are also expected to pray a full 5 Decades of the Holy Rosary each day, and we are provided daily meditations by one of the three priests who run the program. We're also supplied with other classic Church Littanies and prayers of reparation for each day, too.

This 40-day project ends Saturday but I plan to continue some elements of it indefinitely. The exorcism prayer offered every morning has proven to be a great comfort and I intend to keep at it. And the daily rosary is actually something I'm supposed to be doing as a member of the Knights of Columbus. When becoming a Knight we're instructed to keep a Rosary with us at all times, and to pray it often. In times like this, for most of us, that means praying it daily.

Fortunately for me, as soon as this 40-day project ends, a 54-Day Novena is scheduled to start: Novena For Our Nation , subtitled A Battle for the Soul of Our Nation & the Catholic Church will run from August 15 to Oct. 7, 2020. I've participated in one of these 54-Day Novenas before and already have a hard copy of the Training Manual in my library, so I'll be ready to join in as soon as it starts.

And the adventure continues.

Published on 10 August 2020, ~17:45 CDT, this is my post number 55/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.

#100DaysToOffload #blog #RoscoeEllis #Catholic #prayers

by Roscoe

There was still a lot of chess to be played...

BlackWin08082020

...on this board when White resigned in our game this morning, giving me the win with the Black army. But a win is a win and I'll gladly accept any that come my way.

This Correspondence Chess game played at the server-based lichess.org chess site began on 9th July when White opened with 1. e4 and it moved along at a pretty good pace until it ended with his resignation today, almost one month after it started. Checkmate was still far in our future, but my material advantage and his extremely exposed King left little doubt as to the eventual outcome.

The position of the pieces at game's end can be seen at the top of this blog post, and our complete move record is below:

1.e4 d6 2.d4 a6 3.d5 h6 4.Be2 e5 5.Bg4 Bxg4 6.f3 Bh5 7.Qe2 Nf6 8.g4 Bg6 9.Qg2 c6 10.Qh3 cxd5 11.g5 Nh5 12.gxh6 gxh6 13.Qg4 dxe4 14.Nc3 exf3 15.Qxf3 Qh4+ 16.Qf2 Qxf2+ 17.Kxf2 d5 18.Nge2 Bc5+ 19.Ke1 d4 20.Na4 Nd7 21.Nxc5 Nxc5 22.Ng3 Rc8 23.Nxh5 Bxh5 24.b4 Nd7 25.Rg1 Rxc2 26.a4 Nf6 27.Rb1 Rxh2 28.b5 Rg8 29.Rxg8+ Nxg8 30.Rb2 Rh1+ 31.Kd2 e4 0-1

And the adventure continues.

Published on 08 August 2020, ~12:30 CDT, this is my post number 54/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.

#100DaysToOffload #SeniorLiving #blog #RoscoeEllis #chess

by Roscoe

“100 degrees, 100 degrees, 100 degrees”

So said the man on my bedside radio this morning as he was giving the 3-day weather forecast. Typical for South Texas during this part of the year. And he gave no mention of any rain in his forecast. Also typical.

“And it keeps me from falling over.”

Heh. That's what F said this morning when we were talking about walking sticks.

F is my neighbor who lives two doors down the street from me. We're the same age, both are active in the same neighborhood Parish, and we've known each other for about ten years. and he's the only guy I know who is holding himself to a stricter self-quarantine during this pandemic than I am.

Early this morning while the coffee was brewing I stepped out onto the front porch to check my front yard as I always do and saw F standing on the sidewalk in front of his house. I waved to him, he waved back and started walking in my direction. I was surprised to see him using a walking stick, didn't know he had one. I've been using one for a few years.

He stopped on the walk in front of my house, keeping a healthy social distance from me, and I complimented him on his stick. I recognized it as one from the same company as mine. And I told him how I appreciated using my stick, how it improved my posture and stride when walking for distance. “Yeah,” he said, “and it keeps me from falling over.” I nodded my head and gave him a thumbs up. Mine steadies me and keeps me from falling over, too.

After a short chat we wished each other well, F headed back to his house, and I went inside to my coffee.

And the adventure continues.

Published on 06 August 2020, ~15:20 CDT, this is my post number 53/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.

#100DaysToOffload #SeniorLiving #blog #RoscoeEllis #neighbor #chat #WalkingStick

by Roscoe

Just another Humpday in the Dog Days of Summer

This evening finds me watching the Independence Day movie on AMC via Sling TV. And I'm enjoying myself much more than I would be if I was participating the the pandemic and/or politics hysteria filling the news shows, talk shows, and social networking sites I've become semi-addicted to. But that's a monkey I'm kicking off my back.

For most of my life I've been something of a news-junkie, and earlier this year I realized the panic that was being spread locally, nationally, and world-wide would reach seriously unhealthy levels. And it certainly has. So I have resolved to step away from the hooplah and fill my time with more enjoyable things.

Today I added a few more correspondence chess games to the load I'm carrying, and I spent more time on them that I've been doing lately. An hour or more a day on my chess from now on? Yeah, I can do that. And I put on some music and spent a few hours with a good book on my Kindle. Going to make that a regular thing, too.

Then a good movie in the evening and blogging during commercials: yeah, I can handle that, too.

And so the adventure continues.

Published on 05 August 2020, ~20:40 CDT, this is my post number 52/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.

#100DaysToOffload #SeniorLiving #blog #RoscoeEllis #movie

by Roscoe

Today's healthy exercise in the fresh air was ...

bushy fence

... provided by my backyard fence.

Part of the backyard that borders the alley behind my property is secured by a six-foot chain link fence inside of which are some really big and monstrously dense bushes. I like the extra security those bushes provide, but their branches tend to poke through and reach over the fence. If I don't trim back the protruding foliage every so often, those darned bushes would overwhelm the fence and block the alley. And we can't have that.

At an earlier work session I trimmed the corner and first two sections of fence. The result of that work can be seen in the picture at the top of this post.

Late this morning and into the early part of this afternoon I took my trusty hedge clippers and rake back into the alley and finished the job. The photo below shows the much cleaner length of chain link fence we have now.

clean fence

And I can log this as today's fresh air workout. As those of you who use the old fashioned manual hedge clippers know, they do work the arm, shoulder, and chest muscles.

The adventure continues.

Published on 01 August 2020, ~18:15 CDT, this is my post number 51/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.

#100DaysToOffload #health #SeniorLiving #SevenTwoProject #photograph #yardwork #blog #RoscoeEllis

by Roscoe

As July 2020 ends...

... and my end of month review winds down, there is more satisfaction than concern in my thoughts. And I like that.

I have adjusted rather well to the new lifestyle forced upon me by the CCP-flu and its somewhat related near worldwide lockdown / quarantine.

Financially, my income streams have remained steady and my expenses, especially as this month ends, are lighter than they have been for years. Baring the unforeseen, I expect my budget over the upcoming months to become increasingly easier to handle.

Healthwise, I have no major complaints. During this lockdown I have gained about ten pounds. But most people have gained some, and some folks have gained much more than me. Though I keep myself pretty seriously self-quarantined to avoid the Covid, I can exercise at home and get plenty of fresh air and sunshine working on my yard. Sylvia loves to cook so we eat healthy meals every day. With email, Zoom meetings, and social networking sites, I have all the social contact I want. An introvert by nature, I am very comfortable with what solitude this lockdown affords me.

As far as long term life goals are concerned, our move to the Philippines (which we would have been making next month had not the pandemic lockdowns happened) will not take place until late next year at the earliest and maybe not for two or three more years, depending on international economic and political realities that are out of my control. Of course, the longer we have to wait the more time we will have to prepare. And the move, when we do make it, will be that much easier and less stressful.

So July 2020 ends well in the Roscoe-verse. God willing, my end of August review should find my situation even better. I'm looking forward to it.

And the adventure continues.

Published on 31 July 2020, ~21:00 CDT, this is my post number 50/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.

#100DaysToOffload #health #SeniorLiving #RoscoeEllis #blog

by Roscoe

They decided I should take a test.

Home test

A week or so ago my Health Insurance Company sent me a letter to inform me that in their opinion I should take an HbA1c test. They said they were sending me a home test kit that would be arriving soon, and that I should take the test and return the blood sample to their lab as soon as possible.

My first thought on receiving this letter was WTF? There's been so much hooplah in the news and social media over the last several months about the Covid CCP Flu, I automatically thought this test was somehow related to that. Some quick Internet research showed that wasn't the case at all.

HbA1c refers to glucose and haemoglobin joined together (the haemoglobin is ’glycated’). Haemoglobin is the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout your body. The amount of HbA1c formed is directly related to the amount of glucose in your blood. Red blood cells live for up to 4 months, so HbA1c gives an indication of how much sugar you’ve had in your blood over the past few months. It’s different to the blood glucose test, which measures how much sugar you have in your blood at that moment.

So it's a diabetes/prediabetes test of sorts. My doctors check my A1c number regularly and they've never (yet) diagnosed me as diabetic. But I am older and pretty overweight, so it makes sense that the insurance company would want a close look taken.

Anyway, this morning I poked my finger, collected the blood sample, filled out the little form, and this afternoon I'll mail the collected material up to the lab in Dallas.

My next scheduled face-to-face appointment with the Primary Care Doctor is in a few weeks. This will probably give us something to talk about.

And the adventure continues.

Published on 28 July 2020, ~11:56 CDT, this is my post number 49/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.

#100DaysToOffload #health #SeniorLiving #RoscoeEllis #blog

by Roscoe

Saturday morning chore

Barber Shop

This morning found me at my neighborhood barber shop for a sorely needed haircut.

The shop is located almost exactly one mile from my front door, so when I have to walk there and back I get a healthy workout. But when I can catch a ride, like this morning (thank you, Sylvia), it's just a few minutes out of my day.

#SeniorLiving #SevenTwoProject #personal #blog

by Roscoe

Some days I'm surprised at how little it takes to tire me. Friday was one of those days. 

Mid-mornings usually find me napping after a good breakfast but that didn't happen Friday. And that may be one reason that the day fatigued me so. 09:30 found me waiting on my front porch for a friend to pick me up and take me to his home/office where I was to help him with his new computer. He arrived, we went, and we worked for about two hours before I returned home shortly before Noon. 

The work on his computer was stressful and frustrating for me, though we did complete some of the tasks he wanted done. You see, I've been pretty exclusively using Linux Operating Systems for over twenty years, and his new machine runs Windows 10. Two totally different worlds, those: the Gnu/Linux world, and the Microsoft world. And I was trying to help him through territory that was very foreign to me.  

Returning home I was mentally exhausted. And that exhaustion stayed with me through the rest of the day

#SeniorLiving #personal #blog

by Roscoe