Last Saturday November '08

Slept in today (07:07). The bed was just too warm to get out from under the covers. When I dragged myself into the cold kitchen the sun was peaking over the ridge east of the house and the skies were clear. There was frost dappling the deck despite the light breeze pestering the pampas grass on the edge of the yard. After shopping online for a few items Linda and I went out to EI for a run/walk. We expected the trails to be packed but surprisingly that was not the case. There were a few mountain bikers and a couple walking their dogs and a dad and 4 kids out for a hike. Even with that it felt like we had the place to ourselves. We stopped at Krogers for lunch things afterwards.

This afternoon we started unpacking and putting out our Christmas things. The first thing was the tree. It's trimmed and in fine shape. Linda plans on getting some tinsel and putting that up later. Aiden should have a field day when he sees it at Christmas. I hope to get his train up sometime this week.

Hopefully I'll get a picture posted soon.

Thanksgiving Day 2008

This has been a wonderful week for several reasons. I especially enjoyed the crisp sunny mornings. Tuesday and Wednesday I managed to get out to EI for some runs. On Tuesday I completed two-thirds of the circuit for about 100 minutes. On Wednesday Linda joined me and we went out after lunch for about 40 minutes or so. The trails are in excellent shape but a little muddy on Wednesday because the early afternoon sun had thawed things out. Scared up lots of deer.

This morning we went to Mass at St. Pius. Fr. "Rapid" Robbins celebrated the Mass with Frs. Brink, Riesenberg and Bejai (?Sp.). Most folks brought food and non-perishables to place on the altar during the offertory. Fr. Robbins homily was thought provoking. He told the story of a man who was thankful for many of the things we complain about because they reflected how well-off he truly was. Stopped by Starbucks afterward and it was packed!

Spent the late morning getting the turkey prepared, cleaning, making a desert and getting everything cooking.

Finally managed to get out for a run around 13:00. What a beautiful day! Crystal blue skies, cool but not cold with a refreshing breeze. Little traffic. Did a lot of long slow hills which wasn't fun but I enjoyed the mental and physical challenge.

Colin just walked in the door. We're expecting Charie, Aaron and maybe Aubrey; they should be here shortly. I'll be de-corking some wine shortly.

Finally, the following quote was published in a French newspaper shortly before Marcel Proust's death (at age 51 on 11/18/22). This was his response regarding what he'd do if he knew he only had hours to live....

I think that life would suddenly seem wonderful to us if

we were threatened to die as you say. Just think of how

many projects, travels, love affairs, studies, it — our

life — hides from us, made invisible by our laziness

which, certain of a future, delays them incessantly.

But let all this threaten to become impossible forever,

how beautiful it would become again! Ah! If only the

cataclysm doesn't happen this time, we won't miss

visiting the new galleries of the Louvre, throwing

ourselves at the feet of Miss X, making a trip to India.

The cataclysm doesn't happen, we don't do any of it,

because we find ourselves back in the heart of normal

life, where negligence deadens desire. And yet we

shouldn't have needed the cataclysm to love life today.

It would have been enough to think that we are humans,

and that death may come this evening.

An interesting and reflective insight and perhaps on this of all days one to ponder. Linda and I have been blessed. We are truly thankful.

Zoo's Monday

Aiden is visiting with Grandpa and Mimi for the week.

Monday we visited the zoo. It was very cold, overcast and snowing/raining off and on but the upside was that no one was there. Aiden and I had every display to ourselves. It was kind of eery at times. But the fun thing was that we could spend as much time as we wanted without having to "share." I think Aiden enjoyed the elephants (who were inside and close) and some of the cats but the most interesting was the manatee display which was essentially one huge floor to ceiling enclosed glass tank/viewing area filled with hundreds of fish and the two manatees. The manatees just floated around without a care in the world while Aiden stood mesmerized by all the activity. There was also a large display representative of a mangrove or sugarcane grove that was filled with numerous snakes of all colors, shapes and sizes the most memorable of which were several large rattlesnakes. What was distinctive about the display was how active they were and visible. Their case was essentially the size of a small room with floor to ceiling glass so you could get up close and personal. There was also a small, aquarium size tank with several large freshwater turles that were right at child's level for viewing and of course Aiden loves turtles so he really enjoyed that too. Despite the cold it was a worthwhile couple of hours.

Buzzy's Playset

Buzzy just sent me this picture of him playing on his new playset. His Daddy spent the weekend putting it together just for him.

First "Autumn" Day

It rained a little overnight; just enough to makes wish for more. My run on the roads around the neighborhood started in the rain but it was over in the first mile. Temps were in the high 50s. To night we look forward to the first cold night of autumn (45). I'm looking forward to that and maybe we'll see the trees brighten in color as a result. My run was 1 1/2 hours and uneventful.

Inquiring Mind Wants to Know

I just love this picture of Aiden. It is so expressive. He seems to be asking a really serious question of his grandfather and I don't know the answer. That's the problem of course I never have the answer!

I think I'll go into the "office" for a few hours this morning while Linda's at work. If we're lucky we'll get some rain but luck of course is a tricky thing. Linda's been good about watering our trees and for the most part they look good. The ash and sweetgum are a brilliant golden yellow. The smaller pin oaks in the side yard are turning red. The maples are just starting to shade. I'm concerned about the large pin oak in the front yard. It looks like something's been eating it and both Linda are concerned enough to consider getting an arborist in to look at it.

I'll try to get a run in this afternoon.

Addendum:

Linda and I got out to Mills Road Park for the first time in a very long time. Like E-I there was a lot of damage from the wind storm but most of it had been cleared off the trails. I was really sore so I ran slow and short, only about 30 minutes but I did get some quality hill running. It started out sunny and clear but by the time we left 45 minutes later it was overcast. Thankfully we're supposed to get some rain tonight and tomorrow.

JoAnn, 5 in 1 is 5 minutes running 1 minute walking. It's good for muscle and cardiovascular recovery. Very important to ultra long distances.

Monday's Run at EI

I met my friend Jeff for a long run at England-Idlewild Park in Boone County. The weather was perfect and the trails were in really good shape. There were a lot of downed trees from Sunday's windstorm 3 weeks ago but they were either off the trail or someone had come through with a chain saw and removed the offending lumber. It must have taken a long time and lots of work to get things back in shape. I was amazed at the extent of the damage. Some of the trees were huge. They often as not snapped off 30 or 40 feet above the ground or were simply uprooted. Anyway it was a crystal clear morning with temps in the high 50s and a stiff breeze that all but evaporated down on the trails. We ran the circuit taking 2hrs 45 min in all. It was a great morning!