Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Buzzy just got home from shopping...

Sometimes you just can't think of a clever title for your post.

I wanted to run this afternoon but ended up staying at the hospital for an extra hour or so and by the time I got home Linda needed a break from Aiden and time to fix dinner. So that went out the window. Maybe a longer run on Friday but the weather suggests it will be cold and wet. Today was warm and sunny, oh well.

Not much else going on so I'll just bag it for today.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Morning, Easter Monday

Up early with Linda, she has to work and I get to "veg" for one more day. It was hard to get out of bed. I'm sore this morning after yesterday's run. Now the sun's up, it's cold with a heavy frost and not likely to warm up too much throughout the day. Buzzy's up eating his breakfast. He's dressed and ready to go.

Watching "Morning Joe" as the talking heads trash and trade barbs with Obama and Clinton spokespeople. It just keeps going and going...

I still feel it will be Obama and Richardson in the fall.

We will see soon.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Easter Sunday 2008

A very cold morning but the sun was shining!

Mass at St. Pius X at 08:00 was packed, standing room only. Matt, Ciara and Aiden went to 9 at St. Pat's. While they were at Mass Linda and I fixed breakfast. It was delicious: crisp bacon, cinnamon french toast with double butter coffee cake, a real heart attack concoction but it was sooooo good! After reading the NYT and vegging for an hour or so I went out for a wonderful Sunday afternoon run. Perfect weather, perfect temperature, perfect dress; what a run. Banklick road for 8 miles round trip in exactly 1:30 with a negative split for the second half, yes!

Matt is on his way back to Charlotte.

Linda and I went for a relaxing drive this afternoon which we always enjoy and got home in time to finish up dinner. We had a roasted chicken with sweet potatoes, risoto with asparagus and salad. It tasted wonderful. Afterwards Aiden and I went out for a brief walk, it was too cold to do anything else.

Now we're watching Louisvill slam Oklahoma in the NCAA tournament.

A great day!

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Sunday Ramblings (short)

Mass at St Pius X at 08:00. What an adventure. Aiden was pretty good but it asks a lot for him to be still and behave for over an hour. Today was Palm Sunday so it was even more of a challenge but he and I both survived without joining the crying babies in the "cry" room.

It finally stopped raining and the sun was out on an intermittent basis but it was still in the 40s. We went over to Mill's Road Park for some exercise. Linda walked and I ran pushing Aiden in the running stroller (which I broke trying to fold; it was cheap for a reason). Aiden kept trying to fall asleep on the way home and then only slept for an hour when we put him down for his nap. He got off schedule with the party last night and we're paying for it today.

Now he's watching "Finding Nemo" as I type this note.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Running in Fog

Fed Buzzy and myself early. We both ate cereal; he Honey Nut Cheerios, me Wheaties. I ate a blueberry scone but Buzz wouldn't have anything to do with one. Our bananas aren't ripe enough to eat so Buzz passed on them.

This morning it's cool in the low 40s with a stiff breeze but also very foggy. There is no rain though, which is a pleasant change from yesterday. I got out the door in shorts, long-sleeve Patagonia capilene shirt and water/wind-proof anorak. I added a hat and was good to go. For once I was perfectly dressed for the conditions, not too hot or cold. Ran a moderate route of hills and was out for just over an hour, probably about 5 miles or so. It was a nice morning run.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Rainy Day in Independence

It's been raining here since dawn; a gentle downpour that doesn't seem to have waxed or waned. Ciara and Matt are househunting in Charlotte this weekend so Buzzy is in our hands. Currently he's napping. He slept in to 8 this morning so it's a little unusual that he's still asleep, I suppose it's a result of the rain. I made blueberry scones this afternoon and they turned out pretty good. The recipe I used calls for buttermilk and is relatively simple to make when using the food processor. I should make them more often.

The rain is disappointing but last Friday at this time in the afternoon it was 20 degrees and snowing. We were in the clutches of a full-on blizzard with 6 inches on the ground, blowing snow and another 6 inches of snow to come so I shouldn't complain. I was really looking forward to running but it just made no sense to try and run in these conditions. Maybe tomorrow.....

Monday, March 3, 2008

Sunny Morning before the Deluge




What a beautiful morning!

55 plus degrees, sun shining with a brisk southern breeze. Buzzy and I went for a run in the neighborhood. The wind made it a challenge especially given my deconditioning but what the heck it was fun. I heard a train coming as we got to Webster Rd. so we ran down to the crossing and got there just as the locomotive came around the bend. The engineer even tooted the horn for Buzz. It was a relatively short train with a bunch of empty car carriers but Buzzy still liked it. I was glad we got out for an early start because it's supposed to start raining this afternoon and quite heavily. There are already flood warnings posted.

Buzzy's watching "Cars" as I write and he's playing with "Lightning McQueen."

To the side I've posted two pictures of Buzzy. The first is him enjoying his birthday cupcake on Thursday (his actual birthdate) and then his cake on Saturday. I must admit he doesn't look too happy in either picture. I think he was tired after all the excitement in both pictures.

The top picture is Grandpa holding Buzz captive as we watch Nemo.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Sunday Listening to Ciabnw1 on Finetune

An eventful week!

Aiden turned 2 on this past Thursday, February 28. Last night we celebrated at the house with Molly, Charie, Colin and Aubrey in addition to Matt, Ciara, Linda and I. Of course the guest of honor was the focus and made off with gobs of loot! I made the family "marble cake" which is a scratch cake that takes a lot of care to make and the results reflected this; it looked like a refugee from a food fight but tasted wonderful. Surprisingly even though it had a Hershey's Milk Chocolate icing Buzzy wouldn't eat it (everyone else did). We have several pictures which I'll try to upload later. I still can't find my "daisy" that allows picture downloads. I know it's around here somewhere...

Ran this morning for the second time since getting sick on January 19th. It is amazing how deconditioned even a conditioned body can become in that short time. Today's weather has been changeable but a nice portend of spring. This morning's run was under a clear sky and sunshine with temps in the 40s. This afternoon it's been sunny alternating with overcast and a little bit of light rain but the temps are now in the 50s. Tomorrow I think it's supposed to be rainy but warm again.

Matt's grandfather died this past week at 94. He and Ciara are in Brookville, OH for the layout this afternoon and the funeral is tomorrow.

My friend Chris died on February 15 from pancreatic cancer. It's hard to believe. We were pretty close at one time but lost touch over the years. It still hits you pretty hard though. I picked up a card to send to his family when I can get my thoughts together.