Dr. Seuss wishes you all a BIG GREEN HOLIDAY!


Tall Man has his long legged jeans on and his exclusive bah humbug shirt, that only cast get to wear. He had to go back to houston early this morning for his theatre production of " A Christmas Carol." He recited his lines for us at breakfast on Xmas day. He is great and having so much fun, which is all that really matters. Of course he said he wants to go to Dartmouth so that made my morning. ( And if you really think i care, i dont, it is just fun for me to pretend that i am having some sort of positive influence...or that they just like the clothes... on them before they even know what college is!)
The future generation of Big Green had a great Christmas at Granny and D'daddy's house.
Aunt Julia has started early in her brainwashing to subliminally plant the big green seeds. did you know that we ate Green Eggs and Ham on our freshman trips and that Theodore ("TED") Geisel is an ALUM? No, no green eggs for us on Christmas day. Just the yummy rolls i made and yellow eggs.

Donut Swim
Hard to do a donut ride at 11 degrees and with 5 in of new powder. It could be done but not by me. So instead the donut swim took place. For those of you that swim, at least with your head in the water and with a tiny bit of exertion, isnt it interesting how you get SO HUNGRY when you swim? Maybe bc your insides arent jostled around and you dont usually have the same type of exertion you do on a bike or on a run or on a tennis court.
The pool i swim at is really kept too hot, though, so sometimes i feel like i am going to vomit (sorry Strats) even if i am not swimming too hard.
MY favorite is the sugar raised. The maple is for my sister Elizabeth and the sprinkles are for chippy who is coming in from Houston today between his performances for the Houston Children's theatre's production of "The Christmas Carol." If his agent (my sister!) allows i will post some pics of him.

Super Sone, i thought of you and DC when i posted this:)

Holiday Baking at Ma and Dad's.. aka Iona's adobe.
"Hey Baby, what are you doing, wanna help Juju do some baking? You look wide awake and ready to be festive in your new holiday coifed fur coat and jingle bell bandana..."

"Sure, lets go to it."

BEFORE:
AFTER:
BEST OF SHOW:

The Master Judge fell asleep during the competition:

Chicago continued....

this is Lulu. She is adoreable and even has a pink string to play with. My sister's cats have Pink String as well. The universal cat toy. Lulu's mom is Honey's daughter, so technically i guess Lulu is Honey's first grand child.
Honey continues to show us how to take self portraits that dont show your nasal/sinus passages since usually everyone holds the camera too low. Granted we had just walked miles in a blizzard to forage for food, with Honey singing holiday tunes the entire time, then walked home with my Iron Girl knapsack stuffed with food and bottles, so if we look a bit "wind blown," that is why.
But someone had to teach Emily how to make a cosmo and i wasnt going to leave her place till i was CONFIDENT she could do it on her own ....

Daughter-Father pic...nice smiles, arent they.
Hmm, lots of honky honky in the city. Although nothing like in NYC. Chicago is tame compared to the mess in the big apple.
I had to run fast to click this pic. I didnt want him to turn around and grab my camera like i was some crazed paparazzi, but it was a cool jacket. Not like i was in another country but i did tell Honey before we got on the plane that i was certain we would see the FED (no go, bummer) see someone from MN (this is close isnt it?) and we would see somebody from Dartmouth.

So, as we sat on the plane at Midway (delayed due to the weather in detroit) a nice older couple boarded and we exchanged seats so they could sit together. " Thanks so much" he said, "you dont know the day we have had, it has been a long long day. We were stranded out east. " I am thinking ("that is too bad, glad i am not out east.") He then calls to his friend up a few rows..."Jim we were in Manchester and the only carrier that would fly us out was Southwest, how about that!!" Now i am starting to get excited...knowing that Manchester is in New Hampshire and the only reason anyone goes to NH is to go to Dartmouth...Rich is starting to pretend to not be there. "So you were in NH ???" i say. "Yes we were at Dartmouth.." And there you have it..the rest of the story is as you would think. Their daughter was a class below me at Dartmouth, she was in my sorority (ok a story for another post, really, nice girls and we had a pong table and beer on tap)...enough said. The trip was complete.

Well not really, I still need some FED pics.

Thanks for reading.

Ok one more for now, this is really cool. It is called the puppetbike. If i ever figure out how to use my video i could give you the show. It is connected to a bike and i never saw who rode the bike and who owned the bike but this could give a whole new meaning to TT if this piece of art showed up at the DOG!

Look who i found in Chicago?

Went looking for the FED but 2nd place was Lance. Not what i had hoped for but it will have to do. Interestingly enough they had a full wall of Alan Culpepper, and nothing with the FED. I know who Alan Culpepper is but i would guess most people walking around NikeTown dont.
Do you?

Julia

Holiday Party. Skinsuit optional.
Fantastic party with a FANTASTIC GUY.

Not gonna see my hair looking anywhere near this come bike season. Even looks as if i have remnants of helmet head. And Charlie looking on in the background.
I can see the remnants of the "shark bite" on my left triceps as well. For all you folks that dont wear sunscreen read that shark bite as "melanoma." Doesnt seem like something to worry about today, at 8degrees does it?

THE IONA SUMMIT


Since lately the most exciting thing i have done (other than steal ideas from other people's blogs) is to housesit iona. So here is a photo montage of our weekend together:

"hmm. Kinda boring out here, no tennis balls and nobody at the grill meaning no scraps."
"why are the tennis balls in the can and not in the yard?"
"Get off the couch and play with me in the yard."
"Ok then have it your way, but at least you could sit someplace other than the kitchen where the floor is mighty hard and cold."

"Ready when you are!"

Meet Iona...
otherwise known as "HI-HO IONA!"

These first 2 pics really could be misunderstood. If you havent had the chance to meet her, she may appear to be rabid and crazy. I have to admit though that if you ever need love and attention and want someone to cry and howl at your feet, let me know.

This summer she had a few days where she wasnt herself. She didnt get off her bed and she didnt hop on the couch to see you walking up the stairs (about 5 minutes before you even got in the door) I thought she was heading to the happy hunting ground where all good golden's go. And all that have gone before her ...Penny, Mocha, Candy...They would be free to catch squirrels, have endless supplies of "second scoops," tennis balls everywhere (wait she already has that?!), and never have thunderstorms or any noise that may have ruined their hopes of being hunting dog of the year.

Luckily she just had a bit of overtraining syndrome. At the age of 11 she had been walking too many steep ascents and descents at the cabin, and the squirrels in the yard had kept her running on days she should have been resting. A little visit to the MD and some Celebrex ( i am not kidding) and she was back to her old tricks.

FEED ME...best trick is when dad feeds me and mom doesnt know and i get double rations for the night. Sweet. The grandkids (nephews to me) also do a nice job of overflowing the scoops.

"Hopefully I will get a new bed from Orvis for the holidays. I had at least better get my hair washed and groomed and one of those holiday bandanas for the Christmas pictures."

Ok she was done with the photo shoot and i made her do one more. You can only ask royalty to pose so many times you know.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING...And First Snow Ride.
You know that this picture is most rewarding and best explained as a final chapter to.....


This picture.....Honey wants to know why the flag man isnt there on Thanksgiving. And why he isnt holding a cup of hot joe instead of what appears to be an 8 x 10 piece of paper. or is that just a Lobster Glove the flag man (person, sorry, P.I. I know) is holding?


And this one...What a pretty Turkey. Sorry he or she has to be eaten today.
Maybe that is actually a Tofu-rkey. I have never seen one other than in the freezer at the coop...

Happy day to you all.

Thanks for reading.

GO BIG GREEN
I know this is the wrong sport but the student athletes at all schools are amazing. I just happen to really think the student athletes are Dartmouth are special. So kudos to the women on the tennis team and.....

yum cookies on my letter blanket.
Did anyone else get letter blankets? I sure think i use it more than the letter sweater i have had on like once since college and that i think i wore once in college.

Kudos to Toby. Dont know him but he did good in the D2 RR. Nice job.

Men’s Division II Road Race – Toby Marzot (Dartmouth College)

taken from the USA Cycling weekly email rec'd 11-16-07

Sunday Stroll
Sunday we got out for a nice roll. My sister Elizabeth joined us and we meandered through Mendota Heights and Eagan. It was a great day to be out..I was a bit overdressed but my theory is that i have never gotten injured from being a bit too warm.

Yep that is me in my Christmas tree tights!!
Here is honey taking self portraits.
"HOW YOUUU DOIN??"
Self protraits are hilarious, ezpecially when you are rolling along around 15 mph.
Sister rolling along...

So tuesday we got out again for a good long ride..3 hours ! Phew I hope we get another one of those but the urgency of weather/cold toes/cold fingers may mean the outdoor rides are kept short and fast. Cant do anything about it so lets just see what ma nature drops our way.

SPBRC club ride
7:30 am Saturday
Didnt check the radar till 7:15 am where one of our trusty weatherpeople told me that it would be "wet" I think they like to use "snizzle"(what kind of word is that? sound like nasal drip to me)
I looked out the window, and it looked just fine to me. So figured I may as well go out and investigate. It took me 20 minutes to gear up so i may as well spin around and see what was out there. Plus I knew honey was already on the road...too late to call it quits. and i knew that the GP train would be hauling up Summit ready to pull me in.

This weekend across the high bridge we were pelted with little ice pellets. "What did we do to deserve this???" was called from the back of the group. A few people peeled off after what was not really a sprint on Delaware. The pace was moderate and I applaud the normally "way aggressive" lead riders for shortening the course by 10 miles as we got wetter and the snizzle turned to rain. Monty missed a good ride!

View from the High Bridge 11-10-07
Honey smartly went home to spin since he had some "snizzle" leftover from a bad cold.
Blah blah blah, it wasnt too bad really. My feet got REALLY wet and I wasnt really that cold in my core but even Super leaders of the ride complained of cold feet, so i felt kinda happy that my feet werent frozen yet...usually those guys dont even wear booties.

Anyways we skipped to post ride coffee at DB to go home and shower and warm up.
All in all it was a good 2hours and now i need to drain and wash the bike.
Bummer.

The only thing that made the ride less than ideal other than the weather was that honey went home to spin. But he did what was best for him.

The guys said it was a ken woods 2006 ride. Since i had never heard of KW until 2007 I will take their word that i will prefer sun and 20 to rain and 35.

Last week's view from the high bridge.

I know it sounds crazy to ride in the rain but i dont go out in the rain intentionally and once you are wet you are wet. It is mostly about getting out. I can do a much harder workout indoors and somedays i will / and i do. But kinda like when i used to run in sub zero temps, it is more about the great outdoors. Something about that air and being outdoors....as long as the Reynauds in the hands and feet stays away i will keep at it. (oh yea and had to floss a bit as the pearly whites got some grime in them)

Thanks for reading.

48 Years...Mom and Dad's anniversary
November 7 2007


I think that is pretty cool. 4 kids, 3 grandkids, and many many golden retrievers latter they are married..still..happily...and still living independently in a big old house that has an extra lot (for the dog, you know...she needs her "squirrel chasing" space.)

Love you mom and dad, and congratulations. I am sure we kids drove you nutso and i am glad we are now able to celebrate your good health and commitment to each other.

Tonight I am making risotto, lots of labor and love goes into that dish. And if you have strong forearms from gripping a tennis racket or holding on to handlebars for dear life (yea I know you arent supposed to hold on tight, but come on..) then this dish is just about cross training with all that stirring. Then again maybe i will make the boxed risotto. Ha kidding.

Love you mom and dad!!!

Julia

So did you know that....



and that Mr.Polarbear is really quite nice and lets you take pics on your own camera at no charge? Even tho there is a roaming guy that will sell you one in the gift shop?

COKE ANYONE? or should i say COCA-COLA ???

The Coke museum is really cool. Or it was until i sat in the "throw up" 4D theatre where the seats moved and since we were in the front row we got the best of the effects. For me that meant taking off the glasses and closing my eyes, and just being a good sport while the chairs slammed back and forth. This was worse than the Omni-theatre's "flying" movie.

I thought my stomach had settled. But I was ready to get out of there.

So we headed to the gift shop but had to stop at the "tasting" area where you can sample and I mean AS MUCH AS YOU WANT of all the coke products from all over the world. Of course there is an entire separate room with JUST COKE.

We headed to Spain, Africa, Japan, all over the place trying to not continent jump. Wow, there are some NASTY soda-pops out there. I think England had a pretty good one that was like a weak ginger ale, but there was one from Africa that tasted like sun tan lotion. Gross.

I dont really drink too much pop anyways so I am sure i didnt appreciate it as much as some others.

We went to the ALL COKE room and did a blind taste test with the following:

diet coke

diet caffeine free coke

coke free

diet cherry coke

And the winner is......

COKE FREE!!!

Now I go to Target when i get home and buy some. It doesnt taste all that great but it was good marketing on their part.

So back to the story...We sample all that stuff and i am starting to want some air. We get outside and walk thru Olympic Centennial Park (cool) and hail a cab. The taxi looks clean and the guy seems to know where we need to go, as opposed to the one at the conference center that handed the Zagat book at us to find out where we were going..as the meter was running already. nice.

But lets just say that i dont care how "good" they look, this guy got us out of Downtown Atlanta and back to Emory at rush hour without even coming to a complete stop EVER. I rolled down the windows, closed my eyes and sat it out.

Dont like riding in the back seat, dont like bumpy airplane rides, dont like the seats in the back of the old station wagons (Grand-daddy old car) that face backwards. I kinda dread any airplane ride where i need to sit in the back, and the worst is when you land and they turn off all the air and you get to sit there for 15 minutes while NWA says "we have the best arrival times," meaing we touched down on time but we are going to hold you hostage for a bit.

Well I know i didnt tell you that much about Asa Candler and the real history of coke, but if you go you can learn all about it. It was fun and it is truly amazing all the products coke produces. There are also letters from servicemen asking their mom's to send Coke to them, and letters that people wrote telling how coke changed their lives. Hmm..maybe i will give up sports and search for endorphins, long lasting friendship and a community with fellow coke drinkers. Nah.

Anyways, go if you can.

The Aquarium is next!

Dartmouth Weekend!!! Atlanta, GA!
Finally I am getting these pics up. I have to admit that I dont know how to do too much with this new camera. It took me about 30 minutes to find them and i cant figure out how to move the pics around so they are in chronological order. Oh well.

Weather was outstanding...arrived thursday night where Doris and I had our "usual" Don Julio Margarita. Rich was our designated driver, although Dor can man her Beemer with her eyes closed so he just had to be on-call. After a tasty meal she dropped us off at the Emory Conference Center which was party central.

Emory and the conference center are across the street from the CDC and right near lowwater park, the college president's home grounds. There are trails and ponds and wonderful hilly! places to run and walk. I logged quite a few miles there, walking to the gate with Rich and running, and then meeting him back on the road back to the conference center. One special run was with Jeff '92. Jeff is a pediatrician who is married to Deb '91. We chatted it up pretty good and managed to run 5.5 miles in about 40 minutes. Not bad for some a guy that has 2 kids, lives in flatland CT and works alot of hours. Me on the other hand can say I am fit bc i ride my bike, but i was happy to take a long nap that afternoon after the wedding. Thanks Jeff! I did finally figure out where that loop went and how we missed the turn back into the grounds.

Oh yea there was a wedding. I will get to the pics now.

Joanne and Kristy at the church
Joanne is a 92 and Kristy is 91. Joanne lives in chicago and Kristy lives in Chattanooga,. I think?
Joanne wondered why so many women are obsessed with tennis. Doris and I werent the best people to ask. I wondered HOW She couldn't be obsessed with Roger Federer! But then again i think i am a tad (ok ALOT) warped on that subject.

Me and honey at the reception...
Annemarie, Deb 91, Me, Joanne 92, Kirsty 91

Darmouth Pic!

Jeff 92, Deb 91, Kristy 91, Heidi 91, Dor 91, Scott (GO UNC!!), Me 88, Joanne 92, Tony (Doris sweet younger brother...93?) Tony and Juan are Doris' brothers. I didnt know Tony at all but wasn't the least bit surprised at how fun and genuine both he and his wife Judy are. I didnt get to see Juan as much. He and his wife Chandlee have 3 great kids but they are pretty young and i think Chandlee's mom (bless her heart!) had her hands full with them. Tony lives in Scottsdale, AZ and Juan lives in Macon, GA.

Check this out. When Doris asked if i wanted a "Mani-Pedi" I was like "what's that?"

So here you go! Not much to speak of but it was fun. They had these massage chairs that were so powerful that i nearly fell into the foot bath.

AND NOW FOR SOME BIG GREEN BIKE TALK.

TA-DAH! Doris plans to wear these on "cold" power walks and even on the tennis court! For now they are in her trunk with a spare pair of tennis shoes (hint hint) dont want to leave those under the bed again. Tuxedo strawberries. Very cool.
Scott wants to come to MN bc the red velvet cake here has cream cheese frosting and down there i guess caterers are afraid it will melt in Atlanta's heat. Heck it wasn't that hot!
Anyways...red velvet cake deserves CC frosting but the tuxedo berries were pretty cool.

Just another "family pic." Jeff gets along so well with the ladies that he fit right in. At that table we have quite a health care staff. 2 Radiologists, 1 Pediatrician, 1 Plastic Surgeon and 1 PT. Plus 2 lawyers. Huh, go figure:) Malpractice anyone?

Kristy, Me, Doris, Joanne, Heidi, Deb and Jeff.

What a fantastic time we had. I think honey was blown away by how all these Dartmouth folks that really didnt know each other can immediately bond and have so much fun. Gotta tell you, I know we sound arrogant, but Dartmouth is a special place.