Photos

Photos taken recently. Flower baskets are a story all thier own. Let's just say they had a hard journey getting here but they were worth it in the end. The purple daisies arrived 4 days late and a bit wilted, the carnation, daisy basket arrived fresh and are now on my dresser looking pretty. Thanks Pam! We were at our sons house over the weekend for a delicous dinner and he and Sandy made us feel very welcome. The photos of our son and my mom were taken at his house. Cyndi and Derick arrived later on Mother's Day after we got home dressed in outfits Derick had made for the kids he looks after at the Boys and Girls Club. They gave us quite a giggle. My walking is harder this week because not only has it turned quite warm but the humidity is high too. 73 temp and 87 humidity! Blech.

Roundup

Place Austin, TX


Name & City
 Bib No 4730
Age 65
Overall 595
Chip Time 58:18.38
Gun Time 1:01:19.00

That's me in the red visor. Didn't do as well as last year, about 2 minutes more this year which surprised me because I felt good except for a couple of blocks near the end. There were people older than me who had fantastic times and people younger than me who had crappy times so I guess I should be happy with what I did.  I'm thinking about taking the training classes for the CapMetro for next year but they don't start until October so I have lots of time to talk myself out of it. I do want to break the 50 minute mark so it's something to think about. The picture below is not at all flattering but the face I was making was near the two mile mark and I knew hills were coming up. Not my favorite things.

First posting of the year

As you can see I haven't posted anything since the first of the year. After fighting with blogger for half an hour today I remember why I almost quit doing it. Evie did want to see some of the pictures I took of our garden and of places along my walking route. Speaking of my walking route I do have some things to write about that are pleasant. Two different ladies stopped me while I was on the road (one got out of her car) to tell me that they had been watching me for several years and were inspired to get out and do some sort of exercise. They both said they admired my willpower and I told them thanks but willpower had little to do with it because I do it for medical reasons. One said I looked 'terrific' which was nice to hear. It was very nice of them to stop and give me compliments and encourage me to continue on. Having said that I will tell you that I signed up again for the Texas Roundup which is on April 28th. My doctor wanted me to sign on for the Cap Metro 10K but I'm not ready for that, maybe next year if I'm still around and able to walk. My medical tests were good by the way with cholesterol and tryglicerides way down. Trying my hand at meditation but so far I'm doing poorly. Frank's checkup with the doctor who did his leg surgery (17 years ago now) was good and his x-rays clear. Also his bladder cancer is in check with no new signs so that's a wonderful thing to hear. The first one was taken in January when it was snowing, the second this week in April when it was raining, same location.

Yellow rose blooming in our yard. It appears they are long lasting ones and we look forward to seeing many more of them bloom.

Pink and lemon zest petunias. Really pretty and they'll bloom until it gets too hot.

Last day of 2009

Got my last walk in on the last day of 2009. Austin is getting ready for First Night and the news media said 100 thousand people are expected to downtown tonight. Festivities start at 4pm and run until about 3am. Hopefully 2010 will be a great year for everyone. I know we could use a good one. I'm currently reading John Adams by David McCollough (a gift from Krys) and it's very good. I really like John and Abigail Adams. So live a long healthy life and prosper in whatever manner you hold dear be it money, love, self help, etc. .

Happy New Year 2010!

Greetings

A very Merry Christmas to all.

Monday of Christmas week

Did my walk this morning, 3 and half miles. It was coolish and sunny. Today it should get to 67 for a high. Then we did a bit of Christmas and grocery shopping. Just finished helping my mom get out a few Christmas cards and now we're going to do a little more grocery shopping. Oy.
We saw The Road yesterday with Viggo Mortensen and it is an excellent film. It puts people in an apocalyptic situation seemingly without hope and leaves you with the feeling that not only can the earth renew itself after a cataclysmic event but that human beings can retain their humanity and desire to go on living in such a situation. Go see it if you get a chance.

Stuff

Walked 3 days this past week and did okay. Krys and I saw New Moon and it was better than the first film in the series. Today we plan to see The Road at the Alamo Draft House. This morning I watched part of the Shawshank Redemption (based on a Stephen King short story). It's a very good film, full of hope, and one of my favorite film adaptions of King's stories. This week I got a phone call from a dear, dear, friend and it made my heart smile to hear from her.

We watched most of the Cowboy game on the nfl.com, had to get on and off the site to keep the play going because if you just let it run they switched to the studio. Guess that's what you get for the 'free' showing no matter that it has lots and lots of ads just like the regular TV showings. Glad the Cowboys won but wish they would do better in every game and not just the ones they 'have' to win.

Took the photo on the Hike and Bike Trail. Thought it was sweet that someone decided to decorate the tree for Christmas.