The Titanic Weight Loss Challenge

As I began sorting out years of accumulated junk and treasures from SPU piled in my basement,
I came across this photo.  I knew I was quite overweight when I left the UW and moved to SPU in 1989, but this shows I didn't begin to lose much weight before I got to the business school in 1991. 
I was over thirty pounds down from my high at the start of July.

My last A1c score was 7.7, down from 8.8 three months earlier.  It is my sincere hope that both my weight and Diabetes score will fall.  I see Dr. Kelley again on August 23rd.

On the diet front, I was doing great until Charis insisted we bake cookies on the 16th.  Her solution was to cook "soup" for me in her play kitchen.  Then, on the opening night of the Olympics, Heidi James brought cupcakes as she and Dave came by to watch on our TV. 

Still, I am down over six pounds since starting this diet in late June.  Portion control has been the most successful tactic.  My short-term goal is to get to 160 by Christmas.  My long-term goal has been to get down to 150 and to be able to run again.

Tropical Fish this Month

Peter the goldfish got moved back outside to his 25-gallon Plexiglas hexagonal tank, thus freeing up the 20-gallon tank he was in downstairs during the heat event last month.  That is the biggest tank I had in my dorm room at Terry Hall in 1976-77.  The first thirteen Endler's Livebearer fry I rescued are now growing up in the 20-gallon tank. Then I rescued a few more fry from the other female Endler.  Endler's are a type of Guppy and will birth fry about every 30 days.

I bought a school of seven Gold Barbs (center-right) to contrast with the eleven Cherry Barbs purchased last month.  Barbs can be aggressive, but these are two of the smaller and more peaceful varieties.  I find that Denny's Pet World in Kirkland has a better selection and better service by far than PetSmart or Petco.  I also purchased a school of six Pristella Tetras (left) from Denny's to be "dither fish," fish that will swim about in the open and thereby coax out the more shy fish.   That has worked to bring the Barbs out of hiding. 

The Water Sprite plants I ordered last month (on the right of this photo) did not ship, so I contacted the eBay seller and they finally arrived on the 13th.  And when checking on Joel's aquariums while he and Jean were on vacation this month, I harvested some Duckweed for my tanks.  So far, it's been very slow growing.  Peter will be happy to graze on any excess.  A generous shipment of Moneywort (Bacopa monnieri) later in the month was enough to plant many stalks in all three tanks.  "Planted" tanks help clean the water of impurities.

Not all the Mystery snails I bought on eBay last month survived the trip, but those who did are now four times as big as when they first arrived.  I got the amazing photo (upper right) of one of them as he/she was reflected in the still water at the top of the 10-gallon tank.  It is the upside-down one.  If Laurie can photograph birds, I can shoot my fish.  On the 11th, I spotted a small pink snail I'd not seen before.  It looks like a pink Ramshorn snail, likely a hitchhiker on some plant I bought.  A few other surprise snails have popped up, but only the small black ones from Jenkins Creek seem to be multiplying.

I lost a crown and needed to see my dentist, Dr. To, to have it glued back on.  So, since Shoreline is just south of Edmonds, I made a second trip to the Aquarium Co-Op to see what other fish I wanted to add.  I asked the salesman if I should go with what I wanted (Leopard Danios) or what my wife wanted (Neon Tetras).  He strongly suggested pleasing the wife, so I came home with ten beautiful little Neon Tetras (right).  I have to admit, Nancy was right on this purchase.  The school looks amazing and completes the 29-gallon tank (left).  When all 34 little fish are feeding, it looks like 4th of July fireworks.

Officially Retired!

I had to contact Aetna to convince them that I'd had medical insurance last month.  Then I discovered that since Nancy made a very large IRA rollover in 2019, both of us will be required to pay over $50 extra each month, this year only, on our Medicare premiums.

But on the happy side, I was so lax in taking vacation days, that my last SPU paycheck included an extra $5,700!

On the 13th, I dropped off three boxes of computer wires, speakers, and audio wires at SPU's Computer and Information Systems office.  I also picked up my Emeriti Faculty ID card and the elegant emeriti resolution document shown in my June journal entry.

I was surprisingly depressed the weeks just before and just after my retirement.  I was prepared to retire in every way but emotionally. 

The Great Clean-Out Is On

We live in a neighborhood of elegant multi-million dollar homes.  But ours, the largest, is the only one hidden behind a fence and tall trees.  This relative seclusion gives us the freedom to stage our trash outside as we declutter the house this summer.

Having Annie home from teaching has been the key.  She is finding time to work in the over-full basement and to help clean out the Library.  While she does so, Nancy has begun to install more oak flooring, beginning at the top of the basement stairs.  We hope to finish the Library floor this year!

What is between a pack rat and a full-on hoarder?  Our basement is full.  While we were building our house and for the next twenty years, our 2,300 square foot basement attracted family items from grandparents, parents, uncles, and aunts that had passed on.  Wedding gifts, Christmas items, lumber, oak hardwood flooring, tools, electronics, and much more found its way here.  While we were busy raising a family upstairs, the basement absorbed an excess of excess.

Annie and I took a second van load to the Houghton Recycling and Transfer Station, and I also took a few loads of cardboard and recyclables there.  By mid-month these piles had been recycled and long overdue progress had been made clearing out the Library, basement, and garage.

Good Times in Auburn

Jonny is happy to see me whenever I can visit him.  Reuben begins my visits skeptical of me.  But by the end of my visit on the 10th, Reu was asleep in my lap.

Nathanael and Cynthia had the one large tree in their yard chopped down because it had parasites.  I went south to watch the boys so the parents could play an online game with Cynthia's brother Daniel on the east coast.

When Jonny got his shorts wet in the wadding pool, he switched to Mickey Mouse below and Thomas the Tank Engine for a hat.  (He also got a quick swat from Grandpa for splashing his brother.)

Photographing these little guys is a challenge.  At first, Reuben doesn't seem to smile, but his grin comes out when he spots his daddy.  On the other hand, with Jonny, I just need to be quick with the shutter button. 

A return visit on the 15th found their new tent set up in their back yard.  They had camped out the night before.  I installed a new back porch light I'd bought for them.  I'd placed the glass cover of the old one in a precarious spot, where Reu could get to it and knock it onto the concrete porch where it shattered.  It needing replacing anyway, since I found a bees nest made of mud behind the light fixture.

I learned that Jonny liked the nickname Grandpa David gave him, "Peanut."  Both boys are climbing champions, like Nate was at 3-and-a-half.

Bits and Pieces 

I made an off-cycle appointment with Dr. Robert Kelley on the 15th.  Annie and Nancy insisted that he check on a soft lump on the right side of my neck.  And (see below), he sent me off to get an ultrasound of my neck and to see a dermatologist for spots on my back.

Watching the AquaSox in Everett for $13 beats paying $60 prices for similar Mariner's tickets.  And AquaSox parking is free.  I drove up to Everett on the 30th to enjoy a ballgame with Randy.