Saturday May 20

Nice you got some sleep. I'm going to try to nap. I don't nap well, usually. At least I will lie down and rest my body. That will help.

What system are you installing for the dust vacuum? I remember seeing a pic of the shop in the woods from the outside and it looked like it was built on a slab. I'm curious what you're doing with no crawl space.

I am using a modified harbor freight dust collector with suspended ductwork. I am using a 55 gallon drum as a pre separator. I also changed the filter bag from a 5 micron to a 1 micron. I had it under the floor in my last shop and it collected water. Nothing going under this floor anyway.

Clever. Did you need to increase power to manage drawing dust upwards?

I have plans for a larger dust collector but this one still works. The planer shavings are the biggest load and it is almost horizontal with the drum. It is working pretty good for the money.

Hydrangea are funny - they'll thrive on the proper conditions (soil and climate perfect on Cape Cod), but they don't like to much sun or shade. Our front is actually just right except in one corner where there is an old hydrangea which has too much shade now. Taking down the old arborvitae may help that one.

Weight up .6 today. Should have been more because I was low on water and as I mentioned yesterday had the ice cream sundae. Then dinner was very, very late and with my half turkey sandwich a few french fries passed my lips. But hey, I had a great poop today! A little crappy eating pushed it all out! LOL!

Today my appetite is low. Probably breeding stress. I've had a protein shake and about 1/3 or a left over grass fed burger. (Roughly 2 oz meat, some quac and a little bread). Lately, some days I'm hungry. Some days I'm not. I just sort of go with it. Overall my calories must be down since I continue to slowly lose. Uh, yeah, tracking didn't happen yesterday, but I'm back to it today.

Breeding was a total bust. The semen arrived from Canada worthless. All the little sperms were dead. Poor Ella has the worst luck with her beaus' fertility! Hehehe. So, instead I've decided to breed to a local dog I like very much and I know very well. He has great lineage. We will see what happens there. The happy pills make it much easier to let go of the things over which I have no control.

I'm still evaluating the Vyvanse dosage increase. I think it is going to prove to be the right thing to have done. I am noticing that I am talkative and that I have been digressing from my subject lines when in conversation. Had to get myself back on track a few times last night. Not sure if that is the Vyvanse, the Fluoxetine, or a combination of both. I'm sure that will settle down.

Dog show was great this morning. Went winners ***** for a 4 point major. (That was for Diane S.) For you all - it was a great win! I beat all the top professional terrier handlers in our area, too!

It's sunny and a warm 93 degrees here today. No complaints from me. Loving the warmth!

Welcome Joseph Samuel!

I feel like my free time has been taken over by looking for local hikes and browsing REI's website.

Today my hike was 14.5 miles! Only a couple of those miles was me wondering around lost. I was on Tiger Mountain which is covered with a million trails. I'll post a picture but I really don't capture the experience.

A lot of ultra marathon runners train up there. I met one as I sat and ate my lunch. I would guess he is about my age. His usual daily run is about 15 miles --- clearly his body is a physical marvel. But what really got my attention was that he said today was a shorter run so he didn't bring any water or food. He explained that "a fella who needs to lose 30 lbs has to teach his body how to use fat for energy." Suddenly, I felt like he was one of us. Specifically, he is Devon ;) I thought about offering him one of my two mini peanut butter cookies but I didn't pull them out. I didn't want to be the reason that he didn't meet his eating goal for the day.

Dave, love the workshop. I expect to see you in full beard surrounded by elves come Christmas time. Liz, hope you get some rest. I'm hoping Joey and her son are having fun at that crazy conference -- I think it was this weekend. DianeS, for a slug, you get a lot done.

Hope your evening is terrific!

Shel

Uh ... did you say 14.5 miles? FOURTEEN AND A HALF MILES?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!