It's been a long time

Since I posted anything, so there's a lot to catch up on.

Once I had sufficiently recovered from my earlier illness, I became completely immersed in work. Even so, I was way behind, and finished tax season with more undone work than ever before since I've been in business, so I guess I'll be working right on into the summer months.

I've started a serious exercise program in an effort to get back in shape for cycling. I've been going to the pulmonary rehab facility at the Regional Medical Center in Kitty Hawk since the middle of March. The facility is really a glorified gym, but with very close supervision by medical personnel (nurses & exercise physiologist with MD oversight.) I've enjoyed using the facility, and I've really gained a lot of my stamina back. I'm now up to riding my bike 30 miles a day for about three days a week.

The first time I rode my 30 mile training route, it was a real morale-booster, I had been feeling kind of down about the progress I was making, and one day I just decided to go for it. It felt great, and really gave me a mental boost. I think I'll soon be ready for a long ride. Maybe in a couple of weeks, I can go 50 or 60. We'll see. I'm signed up to do a ride in late July called RAGBRAI, it's a seven day ride across Iowa. It's the oldest and largest cross-state ride in the country, and it has a couple of 80 mile days, so I need to be in pretty good shape by then.

So, I got through tax season with minimal damage, and now have had a couple of weeks to recuperate, Hilda and I didn't go away on vacation in April this year because of all the stuff that's been going on, but we did manage to go to a couple of concerts in April. Sean and Jantaporn gave us tickets to see Garrison Keillor's one man show for our anniversary. The show was on April 28 at East Carolina University in Greenville. The show was great, and we really enjoyed seeing him in person. We're faithful listeners to his "Prairie Home Companion" show on NPR radio.

We were lucky enough to land tickets to the Jimmy Buffet concert in Charlotte on the very next day, April 29, so we just continued our trip south and west. We've seen a number of Buffet concerts over the years, and we both agreed that this was one of, if not the best. Buffet is an amazing phenomena, he's 62 or 63 years old, and everyone on his stage is over 50, and yet he has a loyal audience of young people as well as those of who were "parrotheads" before some of them were born. I guess the philosophy he represents spans generations pretty well.

Now, it's back to work for me.

The weather on the Outer Banks has been normal for Spring, cool and dreary followed by warm and beautiful and then back again. It seems to have pretty well settled on being nice for May, although it's still a bit chilly at times.

I guess that'll about have to do it for now. Till next time.