Well it was an experiment but probably rushing it, making it undercooked with the wetness from the thawed 3/4 lb of frozen spinach and pulverized tomatoes left it soggy. I’m not saying it was bad as I eat all up but needs refinement. On that note…

Good morning! Clouds after the rain storm and 68 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁️ There is a south breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. Some good bolts of lightening as I cooked breakfast with rain but then it stopped.  ⛈ The dew point is 66 degrees. The skies will clear around 11 am. Probably within a few hours I’ll need to drop the shades in my office so I can see my monitor. I don’t mind the sunlight, especially on a cooler day today.

I ended up deciding to ride to work after realizing I was too late to catch the early express downtown 🚵, as it wasn’t too wet this morning, after the storm pulled away and the radar showed all clear. But if we get rain this evening or it’s too hot, I can always throw Blackie back on bus and take it home — but it’s rather ride, burn the 500 calories and save my buck thirty. 🚌 I figure in most cases when it’s nicer out, it’s best to take Blackie at least one way, as before you know it there will be snow on the ground, I’ll have to dress up for work, or actually have a good excuse for not riding in. That said, I’m kind of looking forward to moving over to the new office in North Albany, as Erie Boulevard is a much easier, flatter ride then the Madison Street hill, past Hill Cafe. Plus none of the serious traffic like on Madison Avenue. Won’t get rid of the Normans Kill Gorge climb in the evening commute, but that’s part of the calorie burning exercise.

Got my 36 inch jeans on 👖 and they fit pretty darn nicely. I almost could have gotten 34s, but these will do for now, as who knows where things will be in a few months. With some of those nicely-fitting shirts I got from the Salvation Army, I look pretty sharp compared to the baggie jeans and oversized t-shirts I often wear, though I’m getting more fitting clothes, but most of that currently is just shorts and hand-me-down t-shirts from dad. 👕 I think now that I have better fitting clothes, it won’t look like I’ve lost an excessive amount of weight, and that will hush up the critics. Now the key is just keeping off the pounds, though I think I’ve learned enough about food and nutrition in recent months that I’m unlikely to go back to my old ways. Yet, it will be harder to ride to work when the snow flies ❄️ as eventually the rail trail will be impassible due to snow. Plus when I move to the Erie Boulevard office, I won’t have the 18 flights of stairs to climb or that hard climb up the Madison Street, not that I’ll necessarily miss the later especially with the traffic.

Today will have showers and thunderstorms before 11am, then a slight chance of showers between 11am and 2pm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. 🌦 High of 77 degrees at 2pm. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 5th. Maximum dew point of 68 at 9am. 🏖️ South wind 5 to 13 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, which became light rain by afternoon. It was very sticky. The high last year was 90 degrees. The record high of 98 was set in 1953.

I think yesterday’s pizza would have been better, 🍕 had I baked the crust even further — more then 8 or 10 minutes before adding the spinach and sauce, and maybe boiled down the pulverized tomatoes 🍅 before applying them as sauce. I didn’t think the crust was a garlicly as I had hoped, and maybe I could have added more olive oil to the mix, though I didn’t want lard it up with too much saturated fat or calories. The loads of spinach were good, and the cottage cheese added flavor, and it was good to use up many of the tomatoes I had where starting to get soft and in some cases moldy in part of them. I think next time I’ll try preparing in advance with the addition of yeast, 🍞 maybe a little of Stevia for sweetness and maybe less oil. And make sure the crust is fully baked before adding toppings, and as then boil down the sauce in advance to make it thicker. Definitely felt full after this meal though, and I went for a five mile bike ride 🚴‍♀️ after eating, around the Nature Trail in the park, 🐸 then down Glenmont Road to the other part of Elm Avenue and back home before it was completely dark out at eight. 🌃

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:57 pm with sun having an altitude of 56.4° from the due south horizon (-14.4° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:58 pm with the sun in the west (277°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (283°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:36 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 58 seconds with dusk around 8:03 pm, which is one minute and 41 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Full 🌝 Moon in the east-southeast (110°) at an altitude of 3° from the horizon, 226,455 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:40 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 70 degrees. The dew point will be 60 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 13 mph. Today will have 13 hours and 18 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 45 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🎑 , with a low of 57 degrees at 5am. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around September 3rd. Maximum dew point of 61 at 6pm. Going to sweat this evening on the bike ride home, especially with long-sleeved shirt and jeans but I’ll take my time. 🚲 Northwest wind 8 to 10 mph. In 2022, we had light rain in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It was somewhat humid. It got down to 66 degrees. The record low of 37 occurred back in 1965.

I put some red lentils to soak in the refrigerator today, 🍛 this evening I will drain, and try running them through the food processor again with some sea salt, for a second attempt at making red lentil wraps. I have generally avoided wraps as I think they’re extra calories and carbs for no reason, but I could see different things I could make up with them too. Somehow I don’t have turmeric in my pantry despite shopping at Farmer’s India Market on Saturday, but I should get some so I can make dhal up as it’s an healthy option. I need eggs, 🥚 I could get them with the Turmeric this afternoon commute, though I’m a bit hesitant to buy eggs and then ride home with the bumps, 🐣 as often it’s a bit rougher riding in the basket then in an an automobile. Plus if I wait until Friday I can get farm-fresh eggs at Samdil Farm, which I was surprised are only selling for $3 a dozen, probably because they mill their own chicken feed from farm-grown grain that is primarily for their dairy operation. 🐓 But then again, I don’t really need any more food, my refrigerator is full and I don’t want things to start going bad. Maybe next week when I back from camp I can try dhal.

Tonight I’m going to start packing for the Labor Day Weekend. 🏕 There is only so much I can do this soon but the more I have ready, the less to do tomorrow, and then I can get to bed early 🛌 and be up and on the road before seven come Friday. Then to Samdil Farm early, which is a bit out of the way but worth it, Johnstown Walmart for any other miscellaneous supplies and hopefully to that campsite I want by nine. 🎪

Then when I get up to camp, by mine, the plan is clear: 🎪 Set up the tent, then chill, as I have day off and I’m not remote working. 🚲 Spend the afternoon riding dirt and gravel, see how many bears 🐻 and wildlife I can see along the way. Cook up some shrimp, squash and other goodies, eat sweet corn. 🦐 🌽 Hammock time, and kayak and swim time, especially come Labor Day. No need to rush home on Labor Day, as I’m not visiting my parents this weekend though I want to be home by 8 PM so I’m not driving home in the dark. But that leaves a lot of day to poke around and have fun in the greater Speculator-area.

A picture perfect Labor Day Weekend on tap. 😎 Friday, sunny, with a high near 77. Light north wind. Max dew point of 53. Very nice. Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 80. Maximum dew point of 60 at 4pm. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 85. Maximum dew point of 66 at 4pm. Monday, sunny and 89 degrees with a maximum dew point of 69 at 4 pm. A bit sticky for sure. Typical average high for the weekend is 79 degrees. 🍂 That said, it won’t be long before we start seeing a lot of color up north. Not sure, I could be back up there in three or four weeks to take in autumn’s colors.

On this day in 1967, Thurgood Marshall is confirmed as the first African American Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. ⚖ Had to have been quite the step forward in the country at the time, but now seems so long ago, with Justice Clarence Thomas long ago now replacing him. And in 1974, a powerful bomb explodes at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries headquarters in Marunouchi, Tokyo, Japan. 💣 Eight are killed, 378 are injured. Eight left-wing activists are arrested on May 19, 1975 by Japanese authorities. Usually it’s right wingers these days blowing up shit. But who knows if Trump is reelected not that I think it’s likely to happen at this point.

Looking ahead, there are 4 weeks until More Night then Day 🌌 when the sun will be setting at 6:46 pm with dusk at 7:12 pm. On that day in 2022, we had partly cloudy, rain showers and temperatures between 68 and 50 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 70 degrees. We hit a record high of 89 back in 2017.