Garden Update

Here's the first good sized crop of tomatoes and zucchini from the garden. 

And here is a look at what the garden is like today. Compare that with the previous photo... Actually, I took this one last weekend. The storms that blew through on Friday afternoon kind of beat up the tomatoes, so they aren't quite as tall now. 

 

Cubs v Cardinals

I knocked two things of my "baseball bucket list" this week. I got to see a Cubs/Cards game at Wrigley (I saw one at the old Busch Stadium a while back) and I went to a weekday day game at Wrigley. It was super fun. We lucked out and it was sunny for the game and didn't rain until later in the evening. Even better, the tickets were free and our seats were in the shade.

It was a long, hot day, but was a lot of fun. The game went pretty quick. We didn't get there until the middle of the 2nd inning. It was a great game and the Cubs beat the Cards 5 to 0. Not bad, considering the Cards are currently in 1st place in the NL Central. 

Yesterday, I walked the Bix with my friend Tim. His wife (also my friend) Jada ran it. It was pouring down rain. I'm talking cats and dogs. For those that don't know, the Bix is a 7 mile race with some pretty big hills. The start of the race is straight up Brady Street which is a 1/2 mile hill that's steep enough I always have to downshift in the bug to climb it. Tim and I made pretty good time. We finished at 1 hour, 49 minutes. This included a stop for Tim to tie his shoe, to contemplate going down the slip n slide someone had set up in their yard at the turn around, to get a couple Twinkies from the Hostess truck, for Tim to grab a Miller High Life off the water table, me to slap the hands of all the little kids along the road and just in general having fun. Tim and I did not go down the slip n slide. Jada did. Tim and I are still kicking ourselves for not doing the slip n slide. 

All that aside, it was super fun. I think Jada and I have started a tradition now of having a bloody mary after a race. We did it after the Bridge Run in March and we did it again yesterday. Here's a photo of us at Mac's Tavern in Davenport. You can't see it, but we are still soaking wet. We are all fired up for the Bridge Run next year. 

Old Man Chase

I know I have written about The Yellow Bandit before, but I am not certain if I have ever mentioned Old Man Chase. Chase is the yellow lab across the street. When I first moved in, I thought his name was Jake for some reason. Chase lived to the nice old are of 14. He was a beautiful almost white yellow lab who had the most distinct bark. I'm sad for my neighbors. What a crummy way to start a weekend. :(

Miner says, "You're a slacker!! Post something, damnit!"

I need to get out and take some pictures of my garden today. There's tons of stuff growing. It's just too hot out right now. And it's not even that hot! Maybe this evening. 

I took Miner swimming out at West Lake Park. He was already pretty stinky and in need of a bath, so who cares that he smells like lake now. He is currently napping. I might decide to join him. 

My first ever guest post on a blog!

Check out The Mighty Rib...Kevin asked me to do a short review of a place I went while in St. Louis last weekend.

What I've Been Up To in the Back Yard

This year, my 4 foot X 4 foot garden has the following:

• grape tomato
• yellow pear tomato
• beefsteak tomato
• red bell pepper
• jalapeno pepper
• yellow banana pepper
• 8-ball squash
• radishes
• flat leaf parsley
• sweet basil
• thyme
• cilantro
• green beans when the radishes are done

I took this picture earlier in the week. Everything has pretty much doubled in size as we've had plenty of rain and warm weather. 

Everything else has been blooming for a while. The begonias up front look great. I'll take a picture of them once the Asiatic Lilies open up. There have been several baby birds in the yard. A few very young cardinals and assorted "chee-chee birds" as my dad calls them. I potted dahlias this year in some new blue pots I got a good deal on and one old one I've had for ever. 

All that warm weather and rain has been sticking around. Last night my friend Elisabeth and I ran a 5K out in Blue Grass, IA. It started at 7 PM and was 86-degrees and high humidity. Elisabeth was great and ran slow with me and walked and was a great running buddy. I beat my 5K personal best by a little more than a minute. Finished in just over 43 minutes.

For the record:

Top 5 shows of all time (in chronological order, because I can't possibly pick a best one):

Rollins Band, Helmet, Sausage @ International Ballroom in Houston, TX with Mel House

Hum, The Toadies, Bush @ some place I can't remember in Springfield, MO with Alex Silvius and Josh Sutterfield

Murder City Devils, Supersuckers @ Fitzgerald's in Houston, TX with Mike Quinn, Jason Kwiatkowski, Dave Hahn and Rich Macy

Ben Folds @ The Adler in Davenport, IA with Jim Purins

Robert Earl Keen, Bruce Robison, Todd Snider @ The Capitol Theatre in Davenport, IA with Robert and Lisa Burnett

So, the guy just stands up there and talks?

Either you have heard of Henry Rollins or you haven't. For those that haven't, here's what the wiki has to say about him and what he has to say about himself. I've now seen him twice. The first time was at the International Ballroom in Houston, TX. Mel House and I saw Sausage and Helmet open for the Rollins Band in the early 90's. That show is in my top five of all time list. I don't even know if the International Ballroom is still there. I think it used to be a grocery store. Anyway, that was an awesome show...so much bass it made me a little sick to my stomach (but in a good way) and I am pretty sure my ears rang for at least 2 days (this was back before I practiced safe rock). But I digress. Last night, I saw Henry Rollins for the second time. He was doing spoken word at The Capitol Theatre. Items of note:

• He talked for 2 hours and 45 minutes. Straight. Non-stop. No long pauses at all. Very few brief pauses at that. Never once took a drink of water. 
• I am fairly certain that he only knows one way to hold a mic: cord wrapped around his fist a time or two. 
• He's friends with William Shatner and Ru-Paul and had great stories to share.
• I now have a new favorite way to say spastic: spastique (as though it were a French word). Like me, Henry Rollins is apparently rather clumsy. 
• He does a good George W. impersonation. 

It was really quite fun. Josh, Emily and Chanda joined me. So yeah, the guy just stands up there and talks. But what he says is good, interesting and often quite funny.

W

No, not "W" as in former president. W as in a WIN for the Cubs. Today, I was moonlighting as a Cubs fan. It was a great game. I went with my friend Chanda. We drove in to Forest Park and took the "L" to Wrigleyville. It was Chanda's first Cubs game and my first trip on the "L." I LOVE public transportation! I didn't bring a camera and left my phone in the car, so I have no photos to show for it. 

I am thinking that now I need to make a similar trip to see a White Sox game. :)

New Stuff

Somehow, through a series of moves and the dividing of the stuff, I've found myself without a socket set. My friend Rob would tell you that this is a most unfortunate position to be in, particularly when you've just purchased a 1970 automobile. I kindly remind him that I have friends like him with well stocked garages and mad car-fixin' experience and skills to hold me over until I get off my duff and buy new tools. I finally got off my duff a few weeks ago, marched myself down to sears, and bought a new socket set. It has about eleventy-seventy pieces in it. It's a beautiful sight. Now that I have a set, I have not yet had a need for it. Now that I've said that, I will. This is the first in a series of tool purchases that are becoming necessary. Next on the list is likely a saw of some sort.

In other new stuff news, I finally found some new towels for my bathroom. I had pale yellow ones that matched a shower curtain that I no longer use. The pale yellow went with nothing else in the bathroom. The pale yellow does not get clean enough. The pale yellow is stained from using it to wipe off Miner's paws after late winter/early spring walks. And I really wanted some striped ones. And I really wanted some that had the blue-ish green color of the bathroom walls in them. And I really did not want to spend a fortune. As luck would have it, I scored big at Marshall's/TJ Maxx this weekend and found the perfect towels at a great bargain. I know, I know, I sound like a commercial, but seriously, don't they look great?! I wish you could see the photo my cousin Stephanie took a little better in this snapshot. It is so beach-y and looks great. Also, on the shelf, whose reflection you can see in the mirror, is a thrift store vase full of the seashells I picked up in South Carolina. I am so in love with my bathroom this week!

And lastly, there's a new blog I am following. A high school friend named Kevin has what I would call a foodie blog that I am really enjoying. Check out The Mighty Rib. I am thinking Mom and Dad will dig it. Kevin ranks Teotihuacan Mexican Restaurant in Houston, TX in his top 20. I always knew he was smart.

Neglectful

So, I realize I have been neglectful about posting lately. I must apologize. There's no real excuse, just nothing major happening on the home front lately. I've been running, Miner goes out with me most times. It's finally starting to warm up and the Bumble Bee has been out 3 times already this year. 

I did have a very fun long weekend and vacation this weekend though. The only bad thing is my throat and sinuses are messed up enough that I lost my voice on Sunday afternoon. I am going to do my best to not talk at work tomorrow, though it was difficult not to this afternoon at the Training Center.

My vacation was to South Carolina. I ran the Cooper River Bridge Run with my friends Jada, Tim and a group of their friends from Texas and the Carolinas. Here's all of us on the beach Sunday morning. Left to right is: Julia, Toby, Jes, me, Jada, Tim, Sara and Walt. 

It's a 10K and you go over this big pretty suspension bridge. The run ends up in downtown Charleston. We stayed out on Folly Beach which was great. They all headed home on Sunday afternoon and I stuck around two more nights. I didn't do a whole lot...I wandered around the beach and went and saw this huge tree.

I got up very early this morning to fly home. I got to pick Miner up all clean from his bath at the kennel. Since Easter is coming up, he got this little bandanna. This is only the second time he's ever had a bath there that they put a bandanna on him. I am thinking it may also be the only other time where I have picked him up right after his bath and not the following day. 

Miner's New Nick Name

Crash. That's his new nick name. This morning, he fell out of my bed. Those of you who've been to my house have seen how my bed is kind of ridiculously tall for someone my height. Yeah, Crash, boom. Little bit of limping and now he's OK. Maybe this was the universe's way of telling me that I need a new mattress. 

It's warming up!

Today's high was in the upper 30's. I ran 3 miles in just under 45 minutes. Outdoors. Yay, me!

And I came home to this...

California Visit

A bit delayed, but here are some photos of my trip to see John, Erin, Owen and Marcus. Brian flew in, too. There was plenty of good food, running around with nephews, Speed Scrabble, poker, and assorted fun. Erin put me and Brian to work helping pick out and install a new light fixture in the dining room. You can see the before and after pictures down at the bottom of this post on the Johnson's blog. 

It was really a team effort. Erin looked on line and found a couple she thought would work. It took Brian, John, Erin and me to take the old one down. It was heavy and awkward and ugly. Here it is waiting for me to take it apart and put it in a box. Erin found a woman to give her $200 or something for the whole thing and the ceiling medallion that was up with it.

We were a little concerned about getting that medallion down. Mostly just the unknown as to how it was up there. Luckily, the B was masterful with a putty knife and it was only up there with a couple finish screws. 

 

Once all that was down, Erin and I went to pick up the new fixture and assorted items to patch up the ceiling around where the medallion was. Brian did a fine job with spackle and sanding. I put up a coat of primer and we installed the new one. John played a very important role in getting the boys out of the house for a while. Brian was the height and muscle behind the whole operation. Owen was the vacuum cleaner operator to clean up our mess. Mar was just busy being cute. Erin finished up the painting in the next couple of days. I was the consultant/supervisor. ;) 

Here's a picture of Brian and me with the finished product.

 

Ever Wonder...

...what I looked like at age 9? Check out the video my cousin Sarah sent us.

I do believe that my voice is operating at what Quinn would call the Pousson frequency there at the beginning of that video.

Delayed Post of Christmas Fun

Over Christmas in Houston my cousins Kelli, Nick, Stephanie and Matt came over to play with Owen and Marcus and introduce us all to baby Ivy. They also brought along quite possibly the funniest present I have ever seen! We had a blast.

Erin got a little behind on her waxing. Marcus doesn't seem to care.

I think Owen looks like a junior Einstein with black hair instead of white.

Might be a good new look for Brian.

Even little Ivy got in on the action. She just didn't know it.

The Yellow Bandit is Back!

While sitting in the dining room reading other people's blogs, I saw movement in the back yard out of the corner of my eye. The Yellow Bandit is back! He was running across the parking slab and down the alley. Hope he finds a nice warm spot to curl up tonight. Maybe that sketchy garage on the other side of the alley, 3 doors down.