Arrived back in Minnesota a few hours ago from our visit to our nephews in Kansas. It was a great trip, but fast. I can hardly believe how big these guys are getting.
Let me get this part out of the way first. I took a run early yesterday morning when the temperature was only about 75-80 degrees, but the dew point had to be about 70 and I ran maybe 4 miles. Thought. I. Would. Die. My hat’s off to those of you who live in the south for exercising in the heat and humidity day after day. I don’t know how you do it.
The rest of that day I spent rehydrating while we took the kids to this pretty cool place in Overland Park called the Deanna Ross Children’s Farmstead. I think there may be some money in Overland Park because this “farmstead” is a public park that incorporates Kansas history with hands-on farm exhibits, pony rides, goat feeding, fishing, Kanza Indian encampments and on and on. It was pretty fascinating actually, even though it was so hot I felt like I was walking on the surface of the sun. Here’s a picture of two of the boys at the fishing hole (which is really well stocked with sunfish and crappies so they’re guaranteed to catch something). Yes, their mom dresses all three of them in the same shirts. It’s easy to keep track of them even thought they’ll need to work things out with a therapist later on.
Admission was $2.00. Crazy cheap and they had a great time. So freaking great to be home, though. It’s cooler and I get to sleep in my own bed. Nothing says “I’m old” like fantasizing about sleeping in your own bed after you’ve been traveling.
Joe and I are heading to Kansas this weekend to visit our nephews, so I did just a quick one hour bike ride this cool but sunny morning. We’ve had a lot of rain recently so I stopped to look at Minnehaha Falls, which had ample water flowing over it today.
Otherwise, in bullet format:
* Lots of eye candy on the trails today. I’m going to have to take more Fridays off!
* People who wear iPods while biking then look startled then pissed when you pass them even though you gave a warning they didn’t hear because of said iPod, annoy me
* For the second workout in a row, my nipples were on fire. This never happens - WTF?! Going to have to find some Body Glide if this keeps up. Sheesh
* Have a great Memorial Day weekend!
All day long today it has been ferociously windy with storms just west of us. You can feel the tension of the storms building, but they’re stalled. It’s a good metaphor for how I’m feeling today. Anxious because my move to Madeline Island is one week away, with tons to do before I leave, the anticipation of packing up and moving my life away for six weeks, meanwhile still living life and carrying on as if things are normal. But I’m looking forward to not anticipating and dreading, but doing and getting on with it. Much as I cannot wait for those damned storms to finally hit, providing release.
Wrapping up the weekend and feeling a little random. We went out on our friends’ Mike and Charisse’s boat on the St. Croix River yesterday. It was hot and the river felt so good. Bobbed along for a good 3 hours before a massive thunderstorm rolled in and we high tailed it back to shore. What a great day.
I just happen to love this t-shirt from last year’s state fair. For how bad it’s supposed to be for you, bacon simply is just irresistible.
Two of my nephews and me. They were trying to teach me the sign for something and why I was flipping the peace sign I couldn’t say - I was never much of a peace sign flipper. Will be in Kansas visiting them next week.
And since this hasn’t been the most stellar day, I’ve decided to make this magnet my mantra for the rest of the day.
It’s a cool, drizzly morning, perfect for the mood I’m in — a little melancholy and reflective. It’s kind of nice to stop being so busy and just sit with things for awhile.
What rises to the top now is Sophie.
It’s been a year and one day since we had to put her down and Joe and I think about her everyday. What a joyful, curious, content dog she was. And I have to remember how she, and all dogs, are just in the moment, not worrying about the past or future. I never loved a dog the way I loved her.
I decided to make today a long bike ride, and to start it early before it got too hot and windy, and for once, I had a route in mind. I thought I’d give St. Paul a little biking love, so took the river trails to downtown St. Paul, then doubled back on the other side of the Mississippi River to downtown Minneapolis.
The distance in this graph shows 31+ miles in 2 hours, but that was to downtown Minneapolis. Like a moron, I prematurely ended my Map My Run feature on my phone while taking pictures and since it was getting really windy and I was getting hungry and thirsty, just shot straight home, closing the loop in pretty much a straight line. I think that’s about 4 miles, so I’m saying I did 35 miles today. I’m pretty pleased with it.
Here’s a shot of downtown St. Paul from Raspberry Island under the Wabasha Street bridge.
And back in Minneapolis, on the Stone Arch Bridge looking at the Falls of St. Anthony.
I went to the dentist this morning for x-rays and teeth cleaning, all of which went well, as I am very lucky to have healthy teeth, and parents who insisted on 6-month checkups throughout our childhood (thanks Mom and Dad!) that I just kept on doing through my adulthood.
As the dentist was looking at the x-rays, he gave me a nice compliment by telling me “you have a really nice mouth.” I knew what he meant, of course, but started hearing the theme to “Deliverance” in my head. Uh-Oh.
I was really caught by surprise today when I learned that Donna Summer had died. She was such an icon during my late teens and 20’s, and to no one’s surprise I’m sure, I loved disco and I loved her. When I learned of her death, I was surprisingly sad and maybe even a little teary. This is not usually the way I react to a celebrity’s death, and certainly not the way I reacted when, say, Whitney Houston died. That was certainly sad, but not in the same way this death was. I assume it has something to do with how important she was during such formative years for me. She was also a really wonderful, grounded and kind person (which means a lot to me) with an amazing voice.
I was still feeling a little blue when I went to my 5:45 spin class. The instructor, Giordi, is a pretty big fan too, and after class got started, admitted he was going to make the class a kind of tribute to Donna Summer by playing only Donna Summer songs for the class. He himself is a musician and he knows timing, how energy ebbs and flows, how music can pull you up or down, and honestly the class was extraordinary. As cheesy as it may sound, it was really a nice tribute to her to have a room full of sweaty bodies spinning to her songs. At another time and in another place, there were many roomsfull of sweaty bodies dancing to her songs.
I may have audibly gasped at Starbucks when I opened tumblr on my phone and saw this photo that @trivialbob posted. It’s the same car I posted about two or three weeks ago when it was parked near my office. I think the heinous implications are clear. It is stalking tumblrfolk. Be afraid @jordangetsfast, @iwillrunforfood and other Twin Cities tumblrs, be very afraid.
