Tom's Diary

Today’s Activities

• Shower. DONE.
• Cat duty.  DONE.  Cat duty involves cleaning the litter boxes, bagging the excess, feeding, and house cleaning cat dirt of all types.

Log

06:30 AM: I’m up.

06:45 AM: Facebooked for a bit. Friend count: 627 (unchanged). Fan count: 114 (unchanged).

07:15 AM: The fellows from   Window World   just arrived to replace seven more windows here on the first and second floors.

09:30 AM: So far, the Window World technicians have finished replacing one window; the one in Mom’s old sitting room.

10:00 AM: Just heard from Mom’s cardiologist.  They want her to run a test of her pace maker. So I’ll take the kit up to the nursing home later this week to do that.  Hopefully, this test apparatus will work on their phone lines up there.  I have concern that those lines are not analog ones.  However, they tell me that there are some analog lines available.  We just have to find them.

10:40 AM: Posted the   Easy Spaghetti Squash Recipe   piece.

10:45 AM: The two bedroom windows on the second floor have now been replaced.  Also, the first of three windows in the living room is done as well.

11:15 AM: The second of the three living room windows has now been replaced.

11:55 AM: The bathroom window has now been replaced.

12:10 PM: All seven windows in this project installment have now been replaced.

12:00 PM: While the Window World technicians busied themselves with the above-mentioned project, I worked on administering and catching up on this blog.

01:45 PM: Watched today’s episode of   The Young and the Restless   via the DVR.

03:30 PM: I put approximately 50 more pounds of cement in the hollow columns between windows 1 and 2, and windows 2 and 3 here in my first floor office.  This should add lots of mass to that wall and thus, stop it from vibrating and thereby transmitting more road noise from the west yard into here.  However, I won’t know just how effective this strategy will be until I completely fill those columns and completely seal the extra piece of inner glass I’ve added to these windows.  Lots of sound can enter through very small holes, and with this glass not being sealed entirely, there are many gaps.  I’m sure that the traffic noise is finding its way in here through each and every one of those gaps.

05:00 PM: Listened to my iPod Touch while walking around the house, checking out the new windows.  Love them.

05:45 PM: Watched the 2012-01-30 episode of   Dr. Phil,   called   Unforgivable Acts?

06:35 PM: Watched the 2012-01-31 episode of   Dr. Phil,   called   What Were You Thinking?

07:25 PM: Watched the 2012-02-01 (today’s) episode of   Dr. Phil,   called   Double Trouble: Violent Twins.

10:00 PM: Watched tonight’s edition of   NBC’s Nightly News   broadcast via the DVR.

11:00 PM: Talked with   [Emmy].

11:15 AM: I’m heading to bed.  Good night and do stop back tomorrow for more content.     Good night.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

None yet.

Related Posts and Links

• Easy Spaghetti Squash Recipe
• Today’s Diet: 2012-02-01

I keep this food and fitness diary to stay aware of just how many calories I’m eating daily, my weight, and blood pressure with the hope that seeing these numbers repeatedly and often decreases the likelihood that I’ll overeat.  It seems to work, so here we go with another day…

Weight Log

Today’s weight: 179.0 pounds.  That’s unchanged from yesterday.  The 2012 year low weight so far: 179.0 pounds (established on 2012-01-19). The high weight for 2012 so far is 184.0 pounds (established on 2012-01-01).

Food Log

Today, I consumed the following items:

• Herbal teas throughout the day.  0 calories.
• 12:30 PM: Mrs. Paul’s fish fillets.  720 calories.
• 02:00 PM: 2 cups of V8 vegetable juice.  100 calories.
• 02:00 PM: 2 handfuls of almonds.  340 calories.
• 06:00 PM: 4 buckwheat pancakes with pure maple syrup.  1000 calories.
• 07:30 PM: 2 cups of organic skim milk.  160 calories.
• 09:30 PM: 1 bowl of cherries.  200 calories.
• 10:00 PM: 2 drinks throughout the evening.  200 calories.

Total calories: 2720

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Other Food Diary Entries
• Today’s Business: 2012-02-01

Today’s Activities

• Shower. DONE.
• Cat duty.  DONE.  Cat duty involves cleaning the litter boxes, bagging the excess, feeding, and house cleaning cat dirt of all types.

Log

08:30 AM: I’m up.

08:45 AM: Facebooked for perhaps ten minutes. Friend count: 627 (unchanged). Fan count: 114 (unchanged).

10:30 AM: Leaving now to visit Mom at the nursing home.  Back later.

11:15 AM: I just arrived at the nursing home.  Mom is up already and in fact, greeted me at the elevator.  She wants to arrange flowers.  The local nurseries, funeral homes, churches, and such, donate their old stock flowers to the nursing homes in the area.  Some of the so-skilled residents (like Mom) then arrange them into pretty bouquets.  The staff then places them around the facility to make a more cheerful environment.  Nice.  Mom often mentions how she looks forward to the flowers shipments arriving.

12:30 PM: I got us both a cheese steak sub for lunch at Mom’s favorite Mexican restaurant, and we ate them while watching today’s episode of   The Young and the Restless.

01:30 PM: After that show, we went to the lobby to await my ride home, and just talked about this and that all the while.

02:30 PM: My ride home arrived.  I bade Mom good-bye and told her that I’d come back again to visit her later this week.

03:00 PM: I’m home, and it’s nap time.  Back later.

05:00 PM: I’m awake again.

08:00 PM: In an effort to more evenly distribute the electrical load here at home across all the available circuits as well as to replace the old cloth-style insulated wire, I moved the kitchen chandelier and south porch lights off of the old wiring over to some new circuits I ran upstairs ten years ago.  I actually want to run brand new circuits up there for the first floor overhead lights exclusively so that varying loads on the outlets cause less fluctuation in the brightness that said lights emit.  But temporarily, I’ve tied those lights in with the same circuit that feeds outlets on the 2nd floor.  I’ll move the lights to their final home-circuit whenever I run the new lights-only circuits from the basement up to the second floor.

09:00 PM: Talked with   [Emmy]   and we listened to tonight’s Penguins hockey game via Internet radio on her computer.

10:00 PM: Watched tonight’s edition of   NBC’s Nightly News   broadcast via the DVR.

11:00 PM: Talked with   [Emmy].  She filled me in on the rest of the hockey game.  The Pens beat the Maple Leafs in an overtime shoot-out, 5 to 4.

12:30 AM: Watched some Misc. TV.

12:35 AM: I’m heading to bed.  Good night and do stop back tomorrow for more content.     Good night.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

None today.

Related Posts and Links

• Today’s Diet: 2012-01-31

I keep this food and fitness diary to stay aware of just how many calories I’m eating daily, my weight, and blood pressure with the hope that seeing these numbers repeatedly and often decreases the likelihood that I’ll overeat.  It seems to work, so here we go with another day…

Weight Log

Today’s weight: 179.0 pounds.  That’s unchanged from yesterday.  The 2012 year low weight so far: 179.0 pounds (established on 2012-01-19). The high weight for 2012 so far is 184.0 pounds (established on 2012-01-01).

Food Log

Today, I consumed the following items:

• Herbal teas throughout the day.  0 calories.
• 12:30 PM: 1 fifteen-inch cheese steak sub with veggies and Italian dressing.  1000 calories.
• 01:30 PM: 1 Snickers candy bar.  250 calories.
• 02:15 PM: 20 Oz. lemon iced tea.  200 calories.
• 05:15 PM: 2 cups of V8 vegetable juice.  100 calories.
• 10:00 PM: 2 drinks throughout the evening.  200 calories.

Total calories: 1750

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Other Food Diary Entries
• Today’s Business: 2012-01-31

Today’s Activities

• Shower. DONE.
• Cat duty.  DONE.  Cat duty involves cleaning the litter boxes, bagging the excess, feeding, and house cleaning cat dirt of all types.
• Wash (3) loads of pending laundry.  DONE.

Log

08:30 AM: I’m up.

08:45 AM: Facebooked for perhaps ten minutes. Friend count: 627 (up one). Fan count: 114 (unchanged).

02:15 PM: Washed all pending laundry; most of which is for Mother this time.  I’m visiting her tomorrow and will take her a clean batch up then.

03:00 PM: Watched today’s episode of   The Young and the Restless   via the DVR.

05:15 PM: Moved a glider rocking char in front of one of the only windows on the first floor that has enough space in front of it for such a chair.  My grandfather used to watch the traffic going by through another window on this same wall, in this same room, in this same house.  Now, I see why he enjoyed it although he used just a plain chair; not a rocker.  He used to listen to baseball and football games there.  Now, I listen to music on my iPod Touch in a similar fashion, by the window.  I guess I’m getting older and adopting some of Grand Dad’s older ways myself.   It’s quite fun.  I’ll have to try this with talking books sometime.

05:30 PM: Talked with sister Christine.  Made plans to watch the first half of the super-bowl with she and her family.  I’ll come home for the second half, as they all must work early the next day, and so, do not want to drive me home after the entire game is finished.

06:30 PM: Continued basement cleanup and organization efforts after the replacement of all ten windows down there with glass block.  Man, I just love these new glass block windows.  Very quiet and warm.

07:30 PM: Cooked a spaghetti squash for supper tonight for the first time.  I put spaghetti sauce on it, along with Parmesan cheese, and it made a quite delicious, low-calorie alternative to grain pasta.  Plus, its texture was much like spaghetti (the strings).

10:00 PM: Watched tonight’s edition of   NBC’s Nightly News   broadcast via the DVR.

11:00 PM: Talked with   [Emmy].  We watched tonight’s rerun episode of   Hawaii Five-0.

11:20 PM: I’m heading to bed.  Good night and do stop back tomorrow for more content.     Good night.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

None today.

Related Posts and Links

• Today’s Diet: 2012-01-30

I keep this food and fitness diary to stay aware of just how many calories I’m eating daily, my weight, and blood pressure with the hope that seeing these numbers repeatedly and often decreases the likelihood that I’ll overeat.  It seems to work, so here we go with another day…

Weight Log

Today’s weight: 179.0 pounds.  That’s unchanged from yesterday.  The 2012 year low weight so far: 179.0 pounds (established on 2012-01-19). The high weight for 2012 so far is 184.0 pounds (established on 2012-01-01).

Food Log

Today, I consumed the following items:

• Herbal teas throughout the day.  0 calories.
• 12:00 PM: 6 buckwheat pancakes with pure maple syrup.  1000 calories.
• 12:20 PM: 2 cups of organic skim milk.  160 calories.
• 12:20 PM: 1 multivitamin.  0 calories.
• 07:30 PM: 1 spaghetti squash with spaghetti sauce and Parmesan cheese.  700 calories.
• 08:30 PM: 2 drinks throughout the evening.  200 calories.
• 11:00 PM: 4 clementines.  160 calories.

Total calories: 2220

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Other Food Diary Entries
• Today’s Business: 2012-01-30

Today’s Activities

• Shower. DONE.
• Cat duty.  DONE.  Cat duty involves cleaning the litter boxes, bagging the excess, feeding, and house cleaning cat dirt of all types.
• Wash (1) load of pending laundry.  DONE.

Log

09:30 AM: I’m up.

09:45 AM: Facebooked for perhaps fifteen minutes. Friend count: 626 (unchanged). Fan count: 114 (unchanged).

11:00 AM: Examined the wiring in the basement in order to decide how best to tackle a new upcoming project; getting rid of most of the old cloth-insulated wires and replacing them with current wire technology.  I also want to add more outlets and circuits throughout the first floor.

12:00 PM: Watched today’s extended episode of CBS’s   Face the Nation    news broadcast via the DVR.

12:15 PM: Leaving now with sister Mary Ann to visit Mom and for a bit of shopping for   [Emmy].  Back later.

12:40 PM: We arrived at the nursing home.  Mom was still in bed, saying that she had trouble sleeping last night.  So we just sat alongside her in her bedroom and talked.

01:50 PM: Leaving Mom’s now for Sam’s Club.  Sister Mary Ann has some things to pick up there.  I need nothing however but love walking around in that huge place checking out the many thousands of different items they sell there.  I’m considering going halves on a membership with sister Jojo at some point.

02:15 PM: Then, we stopped at Subway for lunch.

03:00 PM: Finally, we stopped at Bed Bath & Beyond, where I quickly found the soap dispenser for    [Emmy].

03:30 PM: I’m back home.  I bought a   Simply Human   liquid soap dispenser for   [Emmy]   much like the one here in the kitchen that she likes so much.  Hers is a little taller, and unlike mine, comes with an additional holder dish for a small sponge.

04:00 PM: Nap time.  Back later.

06:00 PM: I’m awake again.

07:10 PM: Watched tonight’s edition of    NBC’s Nightly News   via the DVR.

08:00 PM: Watched some live news about the 2012 general election and the Republican nomination process that is happening right now.  Nothing surprising.   However, the negative rhetoric among the Republican candidates is heating up to feverish levels.  But this too, was not unexpected.  It happens that way every election cycle that I’ve observed over the past few decades.

11:00 PM: Talked with   [Emmy].

11:10 PM: I’m heading to bed.  Good night and do stop back tomorrow for more content.  Good night.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

No mail on Sundays.

Related Posts and Links

• Today’s Diet: 2012-01-29

I keep this food and fitness diary to stay aware of just how many calories I’m eating daily, my weight, and blood pressure with the hope that seeing these numbers repeatedly and often decreases the likelihood that I’ll overeat.  It seems to work, so here we go with another day…

Weight Log

Today’s weight: 179.0 pounds.  That’s unchanged from yesterday.  The 2012 year low weight so far: 179.0 pounds (established on 2012-01-19). The high weight for 2012 so far is 184.0 pounds (established on 2012-01-01).

Food Log

Today, I consumed the following items:

• Herbal teas throughout the day.  0 calories.
• 01:00 PM: 1 small box of frosted flakes cereal.  100 calories.
• 01:00 PM: 1 handful of M & Ms.  100 calories.
• 03:00 PM: 1 foot-long Subway Philly Cheese Steak sub with veggies, double meat, and double cheese.  900 calories.
• 07:00 PM: 6 buckwheat pancakes with pure maple syrup.  1000 calories.
• 07:15 PM: 2 cups of organic skim milk.  160 calories.
• 07:20 PM: 1 multivitamin.  0 calories.
• 10:00 PM: 4 clementines.  160 calories.
• 11:00o PM 2 drinks throughout the evening.  200 calories.

Total calories: 2620

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Other Food Diary Entries
• Today’s Business: 2012-01-29

Today’s Activities

• Shower. DONE.
• Cat duty.  DONE.  Cat duty involves cleaning the litter boxes, bagging the excess, feeding, and house cleaning cat dirt of all types.
• Wash (1) load of pending laundry.  DONE.

Log

08:15 AM: I’m up.

08:30 AM: Facebooked for perhaps fifteen minutes. Friend count: 626 (unchanged). Fan count: 114 (unchanged).

08:45 AM: Beginning the upgrade / replacement of the last two of ten windows in the basement to glass block units.  This should keep me busy most of the day.

10:00 AM: Removed the lattice work under the south porch just now.  Unfortunately, it was nailed in place, and so I had to break a bit of it to gain access to the windows inside.  But repairing it should be no big deal once the weather warms a little.

11:00 AM: Both of the old windows 9 and 10 have been removed.

12:00 PM: I’ve chiseled out the loose old mortar in both windows.

01:00 PM: Both of the new glass block window units have been set in the window wells, leveled, and positioned for straightness.  Now, I’m applying the new mortar.

02:30 PM: About half-way through the new mortar application to the glass block windows, I’m checking both windows again for proper level and “plumness” and correct measurements around the edges.  Sometimes, these can shift a bit once the mortar begins to set.  A few minor errors found.  So I used a rubber mallet to bump them back into the proper locations.

04:00 PM: New mortar has been applied to both windows, shims have been removed, and the holes left behind by the shims after removal have been filled in.

05:00 PM: I’ve wiped any excess mortar off the windows both inside and out.  Now, to cleaning up the basement from today’s installation.

06:30 PM: All ten windows in the basement have now been replaced with much quieter and more energy-efficient glass blocks.  I love them.  This project was therefore, well worth the effort, and it really wasn’t that bad.  I’ll fix the lattice work on the porch outside on an upcoming warmer day.

07:10 PM: Watched tonight’s edition of    NBC’s Nightly News   via the DVR.

08:00 PM: Watched the 2012-01-27 episode of   Dr. Phil   via the DVR, called    Coming Clean.

09:00 PM: Facebooked for an hour and shared info about the basement window replacement project that I’m so pleased to report now, is finished. 

10:00 PM: Listened to my iPod Touch while unwinding with a couple shots of Ice 101 peppermint schnapps.

11:00 PM: Talked with   [Emmy].

11:10 PM: I’m heading to bed.  Good night and do stop back tomorrow for more content.     Good night.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

None today.

Related Posts and Links

• Today’s Diet: 2012-01-28

I keep this food and fitness diary to stay aware of just how many calories I’m eating daily, my weight, and blood pressure with the hope that seeing these numbers repeatedly and often decreases the likelihood that I’ll overeat.  It seems to work, so here we go with another day…

Weight Log

Today’s weight: 179.0 pounds.  That’s unchanged from yesterday.  The 2012 year low weight so far: 179.0 pounds (established on 2012-01-19). The high weight for 2012 so far is 184.0 pounds (established on 2012-01-01).

Food Log

Today, I consumed the following items:

• Herbal teas throughout the day.  0 calories.
• 05:00 PM: 2 cups of organic skim milk.  160 calories.
• 07:00 PM: 1 large bowl of mixed vegetables with Parmesan cheese and olive oil.  500 calories.
• 07:20 PM: 2 cups of organic skim milk.  160 calories.
• 07:20 PM: 1 multivitamin.  0 calories.
• 10:00 PM: 4 clementines.  160 calories.
• 11:00o PM 2 drinks throughout the evening.  200 calories.

Total calories: 11800

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Other Food Diary Entries
• Today’s Business: 2012-01-28